Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 266: That Would be Really Shameless of Him

After hearing more rumors about the incident, Chu Liang couldn't help but think to himself.

According to Shen Qiongguang's description, the robbers were a man wearing a conical hat and a particularly fierce little girl. It was the little girl who had beaten him half to death with a punch.

After hearing such a descriptive story, Chu Liang couldn't help but be reminded of those two people.

In the world of immortality cultivators, there might be more than one man in a conical hat looking after a child. Yet, there wouldn't be many children of such a young age displaying such fierceness.

This combination was especially rare.

But why would they be robbing fruit outside Mount Shu? Why not simply hike up the mountain and ask me for some fruits?

Then he thought about the girl's identity and her complicated ties to the legendary Cataclysmic Ba. Maybe that was why it was inconvenient for them to come up the mountain.

Chu Liang sighed inwardly, thinking this robbery was completely unnecessary. After all, they had met once, and it was thanks to the little girl that he had found the Celestial Herb of Ascension. If they had just sent a letter up the mountain, he could have brought them some fruit himself.

The next day, more news arrived.

It turned out that Shen Qiongguang wasn't the only victim. Yesterday, more than twenty immortality sect cultivators were robbed after leaving Mount Shu. The only commonality was that all of them had their Golden Vein Berries taken. However, after the berries were robbed, they received gifts far more valuable than the berries.

In fact, even Shen Qiongguang experienced this.

Although the man in the conical hat didn't leave him any items, he used his foundational qi to heal him, which also cleansed his meridians and expanded his acupuncture points, greatly benefiting his future cultivation.

Hearing this, Chu Liang couldn't help but feel annoyed.

This was like buying the berries at an even higher price. If he had known, he would have delivered a few hundred boxes himself.

Why would he let the middleman benefit from this?

Before he could do anything, Lin Bei and the others came looking for him early in the morning and told him there was a crazy boost in the sale of the berry gift boxes!

Initially, many people showed no interest in the Golden Vein Berries, feeling that they were not worth the slightly high price. Perhaps only one in ten people would consider them.

But after this incident, everyone suddenly became interested in the berries.

Mysterious cultivators at the Dao Attainment Realm were willing to resort to highway robbery to get these magical fruits!

This gimmick was even more effective than the fruit tea advertisement featuring Jiang Yuebai. After all, in the world of immortality cultivators, more people were inclined to follow powerful figures than beautiful women.

Some suggested this to likely be a publicity stunt, but many people quickly refuted this theory. Could Chu Liang really have the power to enlist two mysterious Eminent Ones or the money to bribe over twenty cultivators from various sects?

If he were capable of doing so, he wouldn't need to bother with these petty profits.

Today, when Chu Liang’s team went out to sell the berry gift boxes, everything was different. Before, they had to work hard to promote them, but this morning, they were swarmed by people, causing a commotion as they fought with each other to buy the gift boxes.

Usually, it would take them an entire day to sell all their stock, but now, it sold out in the blink of an eye. The group quickly returned to Silver Sword Peak to restock.

Shang Ziliang said, "Big Bro, this is simply a godsend opportunity. Hurry up and restock so we can go back and raise the prices!"

If they took advantage of this wave of popularity, even if they increased the price tenfold, the boxes of berries would likely still sell out!

He was a second-generation heir with a wealthy background, as his father was the peak master of Mount Shu. Money wasn't new to him. Initially, he joined Chu Liang in business out of friendship, not for profit. But the longer he worked with Chu Liang, the more excited he became about it.

He had seen money before, but never this much!

Chu Liang took the lion's share of the profits, but Shang Ziliang still managed to save over a thousand sword coins from his share of the profits. His father couldn't give him that much allowance in a year, but he earned it in just a few days working with Chu Liang. And it wasn’t even hard work; all he had to do was set up stalls and sell goods.

He had fully experienced the charm of selling goods!

If they raised the price, he could even give his father an allowance after the Mount Shu Summit.

As he imagined swapping roles with his father, Shang Ziliang couldn't help but smile wryly.

But after pondering for a moment, Chu Liang firmly said, "No price increase. In fact, not only will we maintain the original price, but we also won't restock. You can only sell a limited amount each day."

"Huh?" Lackey A was puzzled. "Once the Mount Shu Summit ends, we won't have such a good opportunity again. Shouldn't we take this chance to make more money?"

"The hardest thing to build isn't a product, but a brand," Chu Liang explained. "If we eagerly raise prices at the first opportunity, what will our product become? Just a fleeting trend stirred up by the two Eminent Ones. Once the trend is over, no one will remember us.

"We must have our own style. We should be attracting the Eminent Ones to want to be our customers instead of having to seek their favor.

"Spread the word. We have sold out all the berries for today. If you want to buy more, please come early to Heaven-Reaching Peak tomorrow. Additionally, using sword coins will give you priority in purchasing."

He didn't fully explain that for relatively low-value products like the Golden Vein Berry, maintaining a high profit margin required building brand value. If everyone could easily buy and consume them, it would soon become obvious that they weren't worth much, and people would quickly abandon them.

The fact that only some people could buy them, while others couldn't, even if they had the money, would give those who managed to purchase them a sense of superiority, making them feel their money was well spent.

Lin Bei nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."

Lackey B looked at him curiously. "Did you understand that?"

"Not really," Lin Bei admitted. "But I know that whatever Chu Liang says is definitely right."

...

When Chu Liang led his team to Heaven-Reaching Peak, they immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Some of the onlookers were those who had wanted to buy the berries but couldn’t. They had heard from other Mount Shu Sect disciples that this handsome young man was the owner of the berry garden and the mastermind behind the berry business. These people looked at Chu Liang with surprise.

The other group consisted of people focused on the Mount Shu Summit, who were indignant that Chu Liang had already secured a place in the top four.

It’s worth noting that Chu Liang had only fought a total of three matches so far, and those three matches combined had only taken him five seconds.

Never before had a disciple become one of the top four in the Mount Shu Sect with such minimal effort. The time was so short it wasn’t even enough for a person to relieve themself.

Moreover, each of his victories seemed to rely on enchanted tools, tricks, or cunning, showing no real strength. Many Mount Shu disciples felt that they could have achieved the same results.

They were both surprised and jealous.

Some even secretly speculated whether Chu Liang's opponents were actually injured by him and his teacher working together. Although Shen Qiongguang’s description didn’t match Di Nufeng, who’s to say she couldn’t have hired someone else?

This was definitely something she would do.

Scholar Sun, who sat on the spectator stand, asked curiously, "Ah Feng, did you really not hire someone to beat up your disciple's opponent?"

Di Nufeng rolled her eyes and replied, "Do I need to hire someone if I want to beat anyone myself?"

"Yeah." Elder Huang hastily nodded as he spoke. "Don't question her character."

His left eye was slightly bruised, and there were burn marks on his body, giving him a slightly disheveled appearance. However, his unwavering expression of support for Di Nufeng remained unchanged.

It was hard to believe that his unwavering support wasn't influenced by the bruises.

"I just thought it was weird. Which Eminent One would rob people for some fruits?" Scholar Sun laughed. Seeing Elder Huang's bruised appearance put him in a good mood.

"I can probably guess some of it. Combining some information I got previously, I already have an idea of who did it," said Elder Huang, "But I'm not telling you."

"Hmph, I can't be bothered to ask anyway," Scholar Sun snorted coldly. "But Chu Liang has entered the top four. Although he didn't have to fight, this should be considered a win, right? So does this mean that I have won our bet?"

"In your dreams!" Elder Huang glared at Scholar Sun as he spoke. "He didn't lose, but he didn't win either. I suggest we postpone the bet and wager on his next outcome."

"You're a cunning one," Scholar Sun chuckled. "How can the quarterfinals and the semifinals be the same?"

Although it sounded like postponing the bet wouldn't change anything, the opponents Chu Liang would face in the quarterfinals and the semifinals would be completely different. The disciples who could make it to the semifinals of the Mount Shu Summit were considered the youngsters at the pinnacle of the nine provinces, which meant that Chu Liang's chances of winning would be much lower in the semifinals than in the quarterfinals.

Elder Huang immediately looked back and said to Di Nufeng, "Ah Feng, did you see that? This guy doesn't have faith in your disciple anymore. He thinks your disciple will lose. Hehe..."

He was clearly trying to provoke Di Nufeng against Scholar Sun.

"Shut up with your nonsense!" Scholar Sun shouted when he felt Di Nufeng's scrutinizing gaze. "I will bet with you. But Ah Feng, remember this. I am betting on your disciple winning, and he is betting on your disciple losing."

Scholar Sun made a comeback.

Feeling the dangerous gaze shift towards him, Elder Huang's thoughts raced, and he quickly interjected, "Ah Feng, I heard you have a bet with Wang Xuanling of Mount Shu. You're using your Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade to wager against his position as the grand peak master. Are you that confident in your disciple?"

"No," Di Nufeng said honestly. "To be frank, when I made the bet with Wang Xuanling, Chu Liang was still very weak. I am proud and happy to see how much he has grown."

"What?" Scholar Sun asked, "And yet you dared to use the Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade in a bet? Aren't you worried about losing?"

"Can’t I just take back what I said?" Di Nufeng stared at him weirdly.

"But what if Wang Xuanling doesn't keep his word as well if he loses?" Elder Huang asked.

"If he does that, that would be really shameless of him!" Di Nufeng exclaimed.

Scholar Sun and Elder Huang were so confused.