Chapter 267: The Price of War
When the members of Shrek Academy, Tang Sect, and Body Sect, who had been dreaming of using war to make a fortune, were drowning in their frustration and helplessness, Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire suddenly barged into the suite and disrupted everyone's thoughts.
"Sister Jiujiu, are you looking for Huo Yuhao…" Vina looked over at Xu Jiujiu. As fellow princesses, their statuses were similar, and since they had worked together before, they were at least familiar.
"Sister Vina is here too," Xu Jiujiu said with a nod, her tone distant. "But I'm not here for you this time."
She strode confidently into the room and, without a word of pleasantry, pulled out a soul guide cannon from her storage-type soul guide and slammed it on the table before Huo Yuhao.
"Huo Yuhao, what's the meaning of this?!"
Seeing the cannon, Huo Yuhao quickly put on his salesman smile, calm and professional. "Ah, so this is what brought Princess Jiujiu here."
Vina frowned and narrowed her eyes at the device. "What is this?"
Although she recognized it as a soul guide cannon, she could tell it wasn't ordinary. And Xu Jiujiu wouldn't have come personally for something commonplace.
"It's a special type of soul guide cannon," Xu Jiujiu explained, her voice clipped. "It doesn't require a soul master to operate. Its power is equivalent to a standard level 4 soul guide cannon, but its range reaches that of a level 5 soul guide cannon."
"What?!" Vina shot to her feet in alarm. The implications of that single sentence made her breath hitch.
Soul kings with five soul rings didn't grow on trees. Cultivating someone to that level required years of time and significant resources. And only Soul Kings could typically wield level 5 soul guides. But this device allowed ordinary soldiers to wield comparable firepower?
In a flash, Vina understood the strategic value.
"Sister Jiujiu, are you certain? This really has the range of a level 5 soul guide cannon?"
"Absolutely." Xu Jiujiu didn't hesitate.
She then turned sharply to Huo Yuhao. "Now speak clearly. What's your asking price for the blueprints of this weapon?"
Huo Yuhao's smile didn't waver. "I'm sorry, Princess Jiujiu. The blueprints for this improved version of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow involve core Tang Sect secrets. We can't and won't sell the design."
Xu Jiujiu's voice turned cold. "Then what was the point of showing me this?"
"We won't sell the blueprints," Huo Yuhao replied smoothly, "but we can sell the finished products. As for the price… just 30% above the normal market price of a level 5 fixed soul guide."
The room went silent. Then—
"What did you say?!" Xu Jiujiu's voice cracked with outrage. "You're charging more than a level 5 soul guide? This cannon is made from standard steel! There's not a scrap of rare metal in its construction!"
Huo Yuhao maintained his composure, telling a lie even he barely believed. "The exterior is standard, yes, but key components inside use rare metals. The production cost is higher than it looks."
Xu Jiujiu sneered. "Oh really? Want to open one up and show me how much rare metal is actually inside? With this kind of markup, nearly the entire cost is your profit!"
Huo Yuhao didn't reply—he couldn't. She was right. The cannon was cheap to make. Not even up to the cost of a typical level 4 soul guide. But so what?
Star Luo was in crisis. The market belonged to him. And whether the empire rose or fell was none of his concern. Only the Tang Sect's revival mattered.
In the original timeline, the Emperor of Xingluo had given him a top-tier 100,000-year soul bone without asking for anything in return. But Huo Yuhao had never shown true loyalty in return. And now? With no such gesture, why should he care?
"Huo Yuhao," Vina suddenly said, "if this soul guide really works as advertised and can be used by commoners, how many units do you have? The Heavenly Soul Empire wants all of them."
In the original story, when Xu Jiujiu had tried to haggle, Vina's sudden interest had prompted Huo Yuhao to stand firm, even raising the price. That moment had inexplicably improved their impressions of him.
But this time was different. With Vina on the same team as Huo Yuhao, Xu Jiujiu wasn't going to let him manipulate the price so easily.
"Sister Vina," Xu Jiujiu snapped, "your Heavenly Soul Empire is really trying to squeeze us dry at this moment?!"
"Sister Jiujiu, this has nothing to do with our alliance. Though we're on the same team, our empires have separate interests," Vina replied coolly, glaring at Huo Yuhao internally.
Why hadn't he revealed this earlier? Why wait until Jiujiu showed up, when they couldn't even haggle? He clearly knew how to exploit a national crisis.
And yet, despite receiving no major support, he still considered himself Tang Sect first. Even the Body Sect had helped him extensively—given him resources, avenged his enemies, protected him despite his tainted past as an evil soul master—but he had never truly acknowledged them either.
Xu Jiujiu ignored Vina and turned back to Huo Yuhao. "Just answer me this. Can you lower the price or not? My bottom line is 30% below the market rate of a standard level 5 soul guide."
But Huo Yuhao didn't budge. "30% above market price is my bottom line. Moreover, our Tang Sect has limited manpower and production capacity. We can only provide 100 units per month."
"You…" Xu Jiujiu snorted coldly and turned on her heel, storming out without another word.
As soon as she left, Vina immediately began bargaining, trying to whittle the price down as much as possible. But Huo Yuhao remained firm. There was no negotiation.
…
After both princesses had left in frustration, Bei Bei quietly approached Huo Yuhao.
"Junior Brother… isn't this price too steep?" Bei Bei asked, his tone filled with concern.
Unlike Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei understood the precarious state of the Tang Sect's finances. Their surplus stock of Zhuge Divine Crossbows was just sitting in the warehouse. If they couldn't sell them soon, the Tang Sect would be unable to pay the soul engineers' wages.
But Huo Yuhao remained unmoved.
"No, Senior Brother. For the Tang Sect to rise again, this price is necessary. And don't forget, we're the only ones who can produce this cannon. They have no choice."
And to him, that was enough.