While the Golden Cauldron Merchant Union echoed with triumphant laughter and the mad rush of greedy cultivators, a suffocating, glacial terror had completely gripped the grand hall of the Cao Clan estate.
Crash!
A priceless celadon teacup shattered violently against the marble floor, splashing hot liquid across the silken boots of several trembling elders.
At the head of the long chamber stood Cao Yan, the patriarch of the Cao Clan.
His face was entirely deformed with rage, his veins bulging like thick purple earthworms against his temples as he clutched a freshly delivered intelligence talisman.
"A fifty-one percent discount?!" Cao Yan roared, his voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and raw fury.
"They undercut us by a single percentage point?! How?!"
"Patriarch, it's not just the low-tier market!" a logistics elder cried out, his voice cracking as he fell to his knees, sweat pouring down his pale face.
