Chapter 552: Hoarding For Profit

Let us set aside Gao Yuan's calculations and return our attention to He Zhenghao.

Gripped by restless anxiety, he spent another ten days or so scraping together the full hundred million contribution points.

Then, following Gao Yuan's advice, he quietly waited for Li Fan's next command.

The wait was excruciating.

However reasonable Gao Yuan's reasoning had sounded, it was still personal speculation. As for what the Secretary-Envoy was truly thinking, who could say for certain?

What if he actually intends for me, He Zhenghao, to manage that hundred million contribution points?

His face remained composed, but his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and his heart filled with trepidation. He felt like a condemned man awaiting the day of his execution. It gave him a genuine taste of what the ancient cultivators meant when they spoke of inner demons.

Fortunately, He Zhenghao's luck held.

Just when he felt he could bear it no longer, rhythmic fluctuations pulsed from his storage ring. Overjoyed, he quickly schooled his expression and retrieved the small metal figurine with eager hands.

"Sir, you wished to see me?" He set the figurine on the table and asked respectfully.

"Use the hundred million contribution points you raised to purchase the materials on this list as quickly as possible." Li Fan's voice emerged from the metal statue. "You don't necessarily have to buy from the Tianxuan Mirror. If other sources offer slightly lower quality at significantly lower prices, you may prioritize those at your own discretion.

“Once the prices of these items rise not long from now, sell them off..."

Li Fan's voice gradually faded.

He Zhenghao's mind went completely blank, ringing as though struck by thunder.

Gao Yuan was wrong. The Secretary-Envoy really does intend to entrust the management of this hundred million contribution points to me.

After a brief moment of mental paralysis, He Zhenghao slowly recovered.

But the fear and helplessness from before were gone. In their place was a strange excitement, almost fervor.

His own abilities alone would never be enough, but with the Secretary-Envoy's guidance, that was no longer an issue.

The art of investment, to put it bluntly, is actually quite simple.

It all boils down to information disparity.

As long as you know something others don’t in advance, even a pig could make money while lying down!

He Zhenghao's hands trembled slightly as he ran through the list Li Fan had provided.

"Heaven-Mending Pills, Rage Qi Powder, Slaughter-Frenzy Devil Pills..."

"Standard Heavenly Armor, Divine Martial Thunder..."

"Hundred-Battles Array Diagram..."

The further he read, the deeper his frown grew.

This was nothing like what he had expected.

He had assumed Li Fan would want raw materials—rare ores, spirit woods, medicinal herbs. The Tianxuan Mirror had a comprehensive grip on such commodities, and their price fluctuations were never too extreme, twenty percent at most in either direction.

Even if one unfortunately bought at the peak, holding long enough would bring the price back around; selling then would mean a small loss on transaction fees at worst, and for those with sufficient permission levels, even that was negligible.

But everything on this list was a finished product. Elixirs, artifacts, array diagrams—things used in direct combat between cultivators.

Purchasing elixirs made some sense. When exploring ancient sect ruins, cultivators encountered danger as a matter of course; keeping some on hand was simply prudent. But artifacts like the Standard Heavenly Armor and the Divine Martial Thunder? Outside of a life-or-death struggle, ordinary cultivators had no use for them. And the array diagrams were even less common.

He Zhenghao searched the market records for these items. Transactions were sparse, the goods practically unwanted, and their prices had held steady for ages. Worse, these were standardized, mass-produced items—inventories were almost certainly enormous.

Would the prices of these things really rise?

Li Fan had demonstrated what felt like prophetic foresight more than once before, but He Zhenghao couldn't stop the doubt from creeping in. Should he really be buying these things in bulk?

He hesitated.

But then, Gao Yuan's admonishing voice echoed in his mind once more.

.....

"For subordinates like us, ability isn't the main issue. The most important thing is to be obedient. Absolutely obedient. When the Secretary-Envoy tells us to do something, we must carry it out resolutely, without any hesitation or delay. Otherwise, with so many cultivators in the Congyun Sea, and us not being prodigies of any sort, why would the Secretary-Envoy favor us?"

.....

He Zhenghao gritted his teeth and made his decision.

Even if I don't fully understand it, I'll follow the Secretary-Envoy's instructions to the letter. And besides, these elixirs and artifacts are standard goods, widely circulated. When people think of cheap, effective items, these are the first things that come to mind. Even if the Secretary-Envoy's foresight falls short this time, how much could we really lose?

He steadied himself, focused his mind, and immediately began reaching out to his extensive network of contacts.

He Zhenghao had no shortage of goodwill to draw on. Word spread that he was looking to buy, and cultivators eagerly stepped forward with suggestions. After consulting and comparing prices across more than a dozen sources, he launched his great procurement endeavor.

The sellers were delighted. A major buyer had appeared, ready to take goods that had been sitting in inventory for ages. To lock in the deal before he changed his mind, they offered him very favorable prices.

A hundred million contribution points was a vast sum in total, but spread across each type of elixir and artifact, the quantity of any single item wasn't enormous. Even moderately sized workshops could meet He Zhenghao's demands without strain.

The purchases concluded faster than he had anticipated. When the last of the hundred million was spent, what he held in return was a stockpile of what appeared to be utterly useless goods. Even knowing it was Li Fan's order, a hollow unease settled in his chest and refused to leave.

And though he had been careful, He Zhenghao's unusual activity had not gone unnoticed.

In the eyes of the wider world, his every move carried implications beyond himself. Everyone knew he was Li Fan's trusted man. Purchases on this scale, if not made under the Secretary-Envoy's direction, would be frankly downright suspicious.

Had this ancient cultivator from the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect divined something new? Were the prices of what He Zhenghao was buying about to surge?

Many felt the pull of temptation.

But the memory of the Samantabhadra True Leaf affair was still fresh, and the wiser among them had learned their lessons from it. Most suspected this was simply Li Fan running the same scheme again, deliberately manufacturing a price surge.

So they waited, and they watched.

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