Huo Yuhao let Na Na observe everyone in the lobby who came to register. She realized there wasn’t anything difficult about Mu Xue and Wei Na. As a result, she sent a letter that came from the Tang Sect, along with a storage-type soul tool containing a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon and Sealed Milk Bottle over.
No matter how intelligent Huo Yuhao was, he couldn’t possibly manipulate time so well that both parties would meet. It might even not be a good thing for them to meet. That was why he was also very helpless.
Xiu Jiujiu suddenly turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao, “Tell me, what do we do?”
Huo Yuhao looked at both parties, and everyone’s attention was drawn to him. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll need everyone to suffer here in my humble abode for a while. I’m clear on your goals. Let’s do it this way. Since both parties representing the Star Luo Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire are here, we’ll carry out an open discussion. Both of you are Tang Sect clients, and we’ll do our best to be fair. What do the two of you think?”
“Wait a minute.” Xu Jiujiu interrupted Huo Yuhao suddenly. At such a timing, she revealed her strong character. “Huo Yuhao, let’s follow the price that we agreed on earlier. However, we’ll need to take priority. I won’t bargain with you either, but this sum of money is too astronomical. If you need it, we can make an exchange with some rare metals totaling to the same value.”
Huo Yuhao’s eyes brightened. To him, rare metals were better than gold soul coins. What he said before wasn’t a lie. More than seventy percent of the rare metals in the continent had been taken by the Sun Moon Empire and stored for potential use in a war. Even the Illustrious Virtue Hall had to seek approval from the imperial family and military if they wanted to use some for research.
If the Star Luo Empire could retrieve some rare metals to exchange for the cannons, it would undoubtedly be great for the future development of the Tang Sect’s Soul Tool Hall.
However, Huo Yuhao didn’t rush to agree at this moment. After everything that he had been through, his mindset had transformed greatly. He was calmer in dealing with things.
“Priority? Sister Jiujiu.” Wei Na called softly.
Xu Jiujiu twisted her head to look at her and revealed an apologetic look. She said, “Wei Na, I won’t hide it from you since we are all here for a reason. We are under great pressure from the Sun Moon Empire. It concerns the survival of the empire. While we are good sisters, there are some things that I can’t give in to you on.”
Wei Na nodded gently and said, “I understand. Huo Yuhao, the Heavenly Soul Empire is willing to increase our bid by ten percent. We want priority.”
Huo Yuhao was in a momentary daze. He didn’t expect her to be so decisive. Furthermore, the purchasing price of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon and Sealed Milk Bottle wasn’t small. She actually initiated an increase in her bid. This wasn’t just about how bold she was. It also signified her position in the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Xu Jiujiu was also stunned for a moment. After that, she looked dismal as she said. “Wei Na, you are very good at concealing yourself!”
Wei Na smiled and appeared as gentle as before, “Sister Jiujiu, you are right. There are some things that I can’t help if I’m representing my empire. I just hope this doesn’t affect our relationship.”
Xu Jiujiu gritted her teeth. In terms of wealth, the Star Luo Empire wasn’t inferior to the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, would the increase in bids stop if they continued like this? After the experiments, she was determined to get these two soul tools that could greatly increase the fighting strength of the empire’s military. What should she do? This was a question that popped up in Xu Jiujiu’s head.
“Hmph!” A cold snort caused the temperature in the room to dip. A strong aura spread from the Starcloud Douluo Yi Man and suppressed the people from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Mo Feiyun, who was standing at the front, subconsciously retreated and unleashed his soul rings as he was pressured. Even though Mo Feiyun was already an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, his face still turned serious against a Titled Douluo.
Princess Jiujiu was shocked too. Just as she was about to stop the Starcloud Douluo, a cold aura spread from Wei Na’s body. The temperature in the entire room dipped significantly, and a majestic aura surged. The Starcloud Douluo’s expression changed, and she quickly blocked Princess Jiujiu.
There was one more person beside Wei Na. This person’s body was engulfed by a deep blue cloak, and thus it was difficult to see what she looked like. However, it was possible to tell that she was a lady.
The aura came from her body. It swallowed the aura that the Starcloud Douluo unleashed. How strong was it?
“Transcendent Douluo?” Man Yi’s expression turned dismal. Even she didn’t realize when this person had entered the room. This showed that there was a gap in their cultivations. This gap also signified that she couldn’t challenge this person. There was only one possibility – that person was a Transcendent Douluo. As Wei Na lifted her right hand, the aura retracted, and she sighed. “Sister Jiujiu, do we have to do this? We shouldn’t be opponents.”
Xu Jiujiu also sighed and said, “We were reckless. I apologize. Alright, I’ll follow your raise. We’ll add ten percent to our bid too.”
“Ladies, please don’t do this.” Huo Yuhao suddenly made his move.
The two ladies looked at him at the same time. They didn’t appear very friendly as they looked at him. Adding another ten percent to their bids made the price of the soul tools even more costly! Whichever empire purchased the soul tools would experience a fall in their wealth.
“Ladies, please hear me out.” Huo Yuhao said.
“I don’t need either of you to raise the price.” Huo Yuhao’s words dissolved some of the enmity between the two ladies.
“The Tang Sect requires money and resources to grow. We don’t belong to any empire, but we don’t want lives to be lost because of a war. We are also part of the continent, and we have a common enemy. I hope that our appearance can help the Star Luo, Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling empires, and not cause a rift. That’s why we won’t raise the price of the soul tools to increase the burden on any empire.”
As he spoke until here, he turned his attention to Xu Jiujiu and said, “Princess Jiujiu, I’m very sorry that the two of you met. I really didn’t know Princess Wei Na was coming. It’s really just a coincidence. Since both of you are here, however, allow me to say that competing will only lead to greater problems and allow our common enemy to succeed. Let’s do it this way. You can use whatever gold soul coins and alloys you have to exchange for the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. With sufficient resources, our production can increase. I promise to supply ten sets of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and Sealed Milk Bottles every month. This number will increase once every month to meet your demands. I’ll give both empires priority. I’ll supply both of your empires before I supply any other partners in the future. That’s because both your empires are our first line of defense against the Sun Moon Empire. I think this is the best way to settle the problem.”
This fellow! The unfriendly look in Xu Jiujiu’s eyes disappeared. Although she wasn’t pleased with this, she appreciated Huo Yuhao’s rejection of a price increase and attempt to resolve their conflict. At least he understood what was important.
Mu Xue furrowed her brow, “Ten sets, isn’t that too little? Why don't you set an asking price, and we’ll buy the blueprints for these two soul tools? We’ll try to satisfy your asking price for these two soul tools.”
She was very bold! It seemed like Mu Xue wasn’t ordinary either. Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, but then immediately shook his head and said, “Apologies, it involves secrets of the Tang Sect. We definitely can’t sell our techniques. Ten sets is a conservative estimate. From what I know, each of the Sun Moon Empire’s Soul Engineering Divisions is equipped with around a hundred long-range cannons. They are around the standard of Class 4 soul cannons. There are less than ten cannons that are of a Class 6 standard. Although I’m not really sure, I believe there are no more than ten such divisions. This also means that it will only take one year for your empires to build up pretty strong defenses given our current rate of supply.”
Xu Jiujiu snorted and said, “How is it so simple? The Sun Moon Empire isn’t just about those few soul engineering divisions.”
Huo Yuhao replied, “Alright, I am really not sure how strong they are. However, what do the two of you think about my proposition? This is the best resolution I can find for now.”
Xu Jiujiu looked at Wei Na, and discovered that Wei Na was looking back at her. After pondering for a while, both princesses nodded their heads without hesitation.
“It’s a deal.”
“It’s a deal.” Huo Yuhao also revealed a smile on his face. Of course, he was clear that this matter wasn’t just so simple. These two princesses weren’t ordinary people!
“Let’s sign a contract then.” Xu Jiujiu knew exactly not to take things as they were. Wei Na’s actions earlier had already put her on alert.
They took some time to discuss the details of the contact before they finished, which took around two hours.
One of the most important clauses was that the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires couldn’t contact the Tang Sect privately and go against the contract. Whenever either party purchased soul tools from Tang Sect, they had to inform the other party. The Tang Sect also had to prioritize both empires whenever they were selling new types of soul tools. If the Tang Sect could produce a sufficient number of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and Sealed Milk Bottles, they had to supply both empires as best they could.