Chapter 19 The Mastery of the Nine Skills

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"Breakthrough!"

Boom!

Shen Qing, holding his hands in a circular posture, suddenly felt a shock of energy.

At the moment of the breakthrough, he noticed a warm current rising from his Dantian, surging through his meridians.

This warm current grew stronger with each Grand Circulation within his body.

In the blink of an eye, the warm current turned from the size of a thumb into a continuous flowing stream.

Shen Qing felt his Qi-Blood rapidly increasing, his muscles swelling as if inflated, every inch of skin brimming with explosive power.

Until a balance was reached, the strange phenomenon gradually subsided.

[Skill: Nine Skills (the level of mastery)]

[Progress: 3/300 points]

[Status: Cannot Upgrade]

Shen Qing found a stone strip in the house, grasped it with one hand, and with a fierce exertion, the stone strip shattered with a sound, falling to the ground in pieces of rubble.

He was somewhat incredulous, looking at his right hand, a surge of ecstasy rising in his heart.

"I've succeeded!"

With such strength, even Chen Yuan could be easily handled.

Although there was still a certain gap compared to true Martial Arts, not being able to match a real martial master.

But now, having surpassed Chen Yuan, no one in Hongshan Village had strength that could compare to his.

In such a messy environment, having this kind of power made him feel at ease.

In the afternoon, a commotion arose in the otherwise peaceful Hongshan Village.

Outside the Chen Family's house.

Chen Youguang had gathered many of the village's elders and young men at his doorstep.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he didn't delay any longer. He and his son, Chen Yuan, stood on either side in front of the cart and loudly announced, "Listen up, everyone!"

"Starting today, all hunters in Hongshan Village will sell their goods to the Boss through me. This year, all the villages have had great harvests, and the Boss said the purchase price will be thirty percent lower than before."

As soon as these words were spoken, a surge of indignation spread among the assembled elders and young men, causing an uproar.

"What? Thirty percent lower? Isn't this bullying?" A rough hunter said with extreme dissatisfaction, his face full of hostility.

"Exactly, originally the game this winter sold well enough, and now the Boss wants to take advantage of us!"

"A thirty percent decrease, we'll have worked all year for nothing, won't even be able to pay taxes!" A hunter from the Zhang Family waved his fist, full of righteous indignation.

Shen Qing, hidden in the crowd, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

He glanced toward his Uncle Shen the Second, who had furrowed his brow, apparently also very dissatisfied and surprised by this decision. "How can the Boss do this? Last time they came, the prices were fine, how can they just drop like this, and so much at once!"

The villagers were abuzz with discussion, the air filled with voices of discontent and complaint, and the atmosphere became suddenly tense.

Chen Youguang observed the villagers' reactions with a blank expression, as if he had long anticipated this uproar. He silently waited for the villagers' voices to gradually die down.

Then he slowly spoke, his voice steady and powerful, "Everyone, please listen to me. I understand your discontent, as this affects everyone's personal interests, but please also understand the Boss's difficulties, with more sellers, the price will inevitably drop."

He paused, casting his gaze around, ensuring everyone could hear him, sighed, and said, "However, considering everyone's hard work, I don't intend to profit from you. So in conclusion, we only need to reduce by ten percent, which is the biggest concession I can make."

Chen Youguang's words slightly calmed the people in the village.

Although lowering the purchase price was still displeasing, Chen Youguang seemed at least to have made a certain compromise.

The hunters in Hongshan Village began to whisper, discussing this new proposal.

"With just a ten percent decrease, though still disheartening, it's much better compared to thirty percent," Uncle Shen the Second sighed.

"Yes, now all we can do is try to hunt more game to increase our income."

Another hunter from the Zhang Family also had to lower his head.

In reality, facing the formidable Chen Youguang family, they had no choice.

Shen Qing took in all these people.

Being someone who had lived two lives, he saw through Chen Youguang's small scheming clearly, his tactic was nothing more than raising first and lowering after.

That abacus was so loud it could be heard from afar.

If he guessed correctly, the city Boss never intended to lower the purchase price of game. Lowering it this much was likely just Chen Youguang's own idea.

The profit margin between them was all pocketed by the father and son.

What was more terrifying was that their family had just lost two sons at his hands.

In recent days, their family had acted as if nothing had happened, and still proceeded with their purchasing business in high spirits.

They had eyes only for money.

Their family was truly somewhat cold and terrifying.

"By the way, there's one more thing to mention." Chen Youguang glanced around and patted the cart beside him. "My cart is rather small, and can't take people into town while carrying goods, I hope everyone can understand."

Compared to the issue of lowered purchase prices, not taking people into town seemed relatively insignificant.

However, some clever hunters in the village started to discern the meaning behind it.

Henceforth, unless game like mountain treasures, foxes, or minks—easy to carry and fetching high prices—were worth the trip.

For the remaining game of average value, it would not be worthwhile to spend half a day walking to town.

Chen Youguang, invisibly, increased the cost for independent selling, thereby forcing hunters to hand over their game for him to purchase.

It was a blatant, open scheme.

Shen Qing's brows could not help but knit together.

The father and son of the Chen Family were a bit unsightly in their actions.

"Alright, everyone knows now, right? If anyone has suitable game in hand, come to me for money. If the weather is suitable tomorrow, I will head to town."

Chen Youguang wore a faint smile, took out a heavy bag of large coins from his sleeve, hefted it in his hand in front of everyone, making the sound of Copper Coins clashing.

"I'll go."

The Chen Family's fifth son, smiling broadly, brought over a colorful pheasant, feathers and all, and placed it in the cart, happily receiving one hundred wen.

After him, a few Chen family members also sold some game.

"Anything else?"

"I didn't bring it with me, let me go home and fetch it."

"I'll go home and discuss with my wife."

"…"

The many assembled elders and young men present were no fools, after all, this matter concerned their livelihood, a significant issue, and could not be decided immediately.

"Alright then, I shall wait for everyone until tomorrow morning. After tomorrow morning, I'm not sure when I will next go to the county."

Chen Youguang said with narrowed eyes, "Everyone in the village knows now, right? Is there any family that hasn't been informed?"

"Not a single Tian Family member showed up!"

At this moment, Chen Yuan abruptly interjected from the side.

"Hmm?" Chen Youguang glanced around and asked Chen Yuan strangely, "What does their Tian Family mean? Chen Yuan, go and have a look."

"Okay, Grandpa."

With that, Chen Yuan led the fifth son and several other Chen family members, squeezing through the crowd, heading straight toward the Tian Family's direction.

Amidst the crowd, Shen Qing suddenly had a bad premonition.

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