Handing Over Hundreds of Thousands of Pills Without a Second Thought—Are You Serious?

Showa Street, Yulin Street, Fenghua Street.

These three streets were where the Su Family Merchant Association was mainly concentrated.

When the Su Family's people had just arrived and were preparing to begin business, they discovered that many unfamiliar shops had appeared along the streets. At first, they had paid them little attention, but after a while, they noticed something strange.

These shops sold roughly the same things as them.

The only difference was the price. Their prices were about twenty percent cheaper than those of the Su Family's shops.

The goods sold by the Su Family's shops were not of a high grade. They were basically meant for ordinary cultivators. For such people, naturally, the more they could save, the better.

Prices twenty percent cheaper immediately attracted countless people, including the old customers of the Su Family's shops.

"Manager, I've found out what's going on."

Inside a Su Family shop, a middle-aged man's expression was gloomy, his eyes filled with killing intent. "Tell me, who dares to oppose my Su Family?"

The subordinate reporting to him looked somewhat troubled, but also deeply wary. "There are traces of the Four Great Families behind all those shops."

The manager's expression suddenly changed. "Are you sure all four of the Four Great Families are involved?"

"I'm certain. There are nearly sixty newly opened shops in total. Most of them belong to the Wang Family, while even the He Family, which has the fewest, has opened seven."

Hearing the subordinate's report, the manager's expression changed again.

The Four Great Families had joined forces to target the Su Family. Their intentions could not have been more obvious.

Su Yu stood up and instructed him, "Don't go looking for trouble with them."

After saying that, he left the shop directly and headed toward the Su Family. The matter was of great importance, and he had to report it to the Lineage immediately.

Su Family Council Hall.

Nearly thirty people were seated inside. They were all those who held real power in the Su Family. Besides the several Great Elders, quite a few members of the collateral branches were also present.

Su Qingtian said gravely, "I won't waste words. Su Yu sent word that the Four Great Families have joined forces to open shops and compete with our Su Family for business. They're selling the same things at prices nearly twenty percent lower."

What?!

Many of those present were shocked. There was simply too much information in that sentence.

First, the Four Great Families had joined forces. Did that mean they had already chosen sides?

Su He furrowed his brows tightly. "The business from our shops is the key to maintaining the Lineage's operations. The Four Great Families are trying to sever both our arms with this move."

Without the income from their shops, the Su Family could not possibly support a Lineage of more than a thousand people.

Even though Su Chen had given them thirty billion spirit stones, that was not a long-term solution. Their Lineage was not going to exist for only a few decades.

There was no clamor or whispering in the hall. Everyone wore solemn expressions, deep in thought.

The purpose of a council was, of course, to discuss solutions. Without a decision to make, there was no need for idle chatter.

Suddenly, a burly middle-aged man stood up. He was Su Zhuang of the collateral branch.

"There's one more matter I must report to the clan leader."

Su Qingtian raised his head. "Speak."

Su Zhuang said worriedly, "I received the news this morning as well, but I haven't had the chance to report it."

"Several Nascent Soul Realm mercenary groups that previously cooperated with our Su Family have all chosen to terminate their cooperation. They won't provide resources to our Su Family anymore. When I asked them about it, they said the Wang Family had coerced and enticed them, offering a high price to prevent them from cooperating with our Su Family."

Upon hearing this, a terrifying killing aura suddenly burst from Su Qingtian's eyes.

Wang Family, this is going too far!

No, it was no longer just the Wang Family. It should be said that it was all four of the Four Great Families.

Most of the resources sold by the various Lineages in the city came from cooperation with mercenary groups. Only a small portion consisted of natural treasures found by the Lineages themselves.

The mercenary groups searched for natural treasures, then handled the sales themselves.

If the mercenary groups refused to cooperate with them, it meant that their shops could basically no longer operate.

Su Yu said worriedly, "Our Su Family's foundation is still shallow. The shops rely on small profits and high sales volume. If we lower our prices by twenty percent, we won't just fail to earn spirit stones—we'll lose them instead. The Su Family is already in an extremely difficult position. What should we do?"

Many members of the Su Family wore troubled expressions, though Su Qingtian and the others remained relatively calm.

Although being unable to earn spirit stones would indeed have a major impact, they still had thirty billion spirit stones in hand, enough to maintain operations for a long time. As long as they found a solution during that period, everything would be fine.

Su Yunqian pondered for a long while before speaking. "Our Su Family definitely can't compete with the Four Great Families in a price war. Rather than that, we should temporarily lie low, reduce our investment in the shops, and put our manpower into more profitable areas."

"For example, we could form mercenary groups and search for natural treasures ourselves, or go to the Bright Moon Forest to hunt demonic beasts."

Although this method was the least desirable option, it was one of the few paths left to the Su Family.

"Greetings, Young Clan Leader!"

A respectful voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall.

Immediately afterward, Su Chen's figure entered the hall.

Su Yunqian immediately smiled. "Come, Chen'er. Sit beside me."

Everyone's hearts trembled at this sight. Su Yunqian was the Great Elder, and his asking Su Chen to sit beside him made his intentions self-evident.

Of course, Su Chen was also very powerful now, so he was indeed qualified to become one of the Su Family's higher-ups.

Su Chen did not stand on ceremony. He sat directly beside Su Yunqian, swept his gaze around the room, and said,

"Actually, there's no need to go to so much trouble. Since the Four Great Families like playing these petty tricks, let them play by themselves. We can simply ignore them."

"The purpose of opening shops is to maintain the Lineage's operations, but our Su Family isn't short on resources."

Hearing these words, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Quite a few people secretly shook their heads. The Young Clan Leader was ultimately still too young and did not understand the Su Family's current situation. Their Lineage was nearly empty now, so how could they possibly say they were not short on resources?

Only the direct-lineage higher-ups knew that Su Chen had given them thirty billion spirit stones. The others had no idea.

After all, thirty billion spirit stones was far too much. If too many people learned of it and word got out, powerful experts might covet it.

They still understood the simple principle that an innocent man drew trouble because of his wealth, while possessing a jade ring became a crime.

Su Qingtian knew that his son was not that foolish, so he could not help asking, "Chen'er, do you have some sort of solution?"

Su Chen let out a faint laugh, then handed Su Qingtian a spatial ring while transmitting his voice.

"Father, there are first-grade Spirit Gathering Pills inside, five hundred thousand in total, along with one hundred and thirty thousand second-grade Vitality Restoration Pills."

"I specifically asked my master for these. Use them without worry. They'll definitely be enough to maintain the Lineage's operations."

What?!

Su Qingtian abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with shock.

Five hundred thousand Spirit Gathering Pills and one hundred and thirty thousand Vitality Restoration Pills!

"Are you serious?"

The entire Bright Moon City had a reserve of only one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand Spirit Gathering Pills. Vitality Restoration Pills were even rarer. Having a reserve of ten thousand would already be considered impressive.

Several Great Elders, including Su Yunqian, were also shaken. They were far too familiar with this expression. When Su Chen had previously given Su Qingtian thirty billion spirit stones, he had looked exactly the same.

Could it be...

Su Qingtian accepted the spatial ring with trembling hands, then sent his divine sense inside. What entered his view was a mountain of porcelain bottles, each containing five round pills.

It was real!