Starting With 1 Trillion Spirit Stones, I Power Up by Raising Empresses - Chapter 20:

Chapter 20: What Others Don’t Dare Buy, I’ll Buy

Li Er froze for a moment, scratched his head, and said, “The most expensive? Oh, our master once said that here at the shop, there’s no such thing as the most expensive—only the finest craftsmanship. As long as the customer can pay, we can craft a custom carriage worth over 10 million Spirit Stones.”

“Oh?” Xiao Jing’s eyes lit up with joy upon hearing that.

“Then I’d like to custom order a high-end one.”

“Ah, the accountant said we’re currently tight on resources and short on both Spirit Stones and materials, so we can’t take any high-end custom orders right now,” Li Er replied honestly, looking nervous.

“Tight on resources?” Xiao Jing frowned and glanced at the luxurious carriage on the central platform. “Why was the Crown Prince’s carriage custom-made, yet no other orders are accepted now?”

“Well… I’ve only been here for less than a month, so I’m not sure, and the shopkeeper told us not to speak carelessly to customers.”

Xiao Jing, “…”

This apprentice was a bit too honest. Every word out of his mouth was just repeating what others said. Clearly, he wouldn’t be able to provide much information.

Besides, Xiao Jing had only just arrived and didn’t yet fully understand how things worked here. So, for now, he figured he might as well buy something usable and spend a bit of Spirit Stones.

He said, “Of the vehicles displayed in these halls, whichever is the most expensive—I’ll take it.”

Li Er instantly understood, and his eyes lit up as if afraid Xiao Jing might change his mind. He quickly led him to a luxurious domed flying boat and excitedly pointed to it.

“This flying boat is powered by Spirit Stones and flies smoothly. It’s priced at 1.55 million Spirit Stones. If you’re sincere about buying, we can offer a discount. If you pay in full today, the discount can be even bigger.”

Xiao Jing felt numb.

Now he was even more disappointed!

This was supposed to be the best workshop in Changtian City, and the most expensive flying boat was only 1.55 million? And they were so desperate to discount it?

Why did it feel like they were just clearing stock at fire-sale prices?

Was this how business was done?

At that moment, a few more customers appeared beside the high platform in the central hall. One of them held a folding fan and gossiped with his friends, “This is the one I mentioned—the Crown Prince’s custom war chariot.”

“It can fly in the sky and race across the ground.”

“The beast pulling it is a flying griffin war beast!”

“The body of the chariot has ten layers of defense shields, and it’s equipped with over 300 hidden sword qi launch mechanisms on all sides. As long as it’s packed with enough Spirit Stones, it can shoot spiritual sword qi in every direction endlessly, serving both offense and defense!”

“Tsk tsk.” The others raised their heads in admiration, “For Windborne Workshop to build something like this, their skills are truly extraordinary!”

“I heard the Crown Prince had it built to guard against the Second Prince fighting for the throne. Is that true?”

“If you’ve heard it, it’s probably not a rumor~ just like how he seized the Fifth Princess’s bloodline. That was also to prepare for the succession battle with the Second Prince.”

“He really went all in then.”

On the Mystic Heaven Continent, royal authority couldn’t control everything. So cultivators with even a bit of power often gossiped freely about the Crown Prince in the market.

“Do you know why Windborne Workshop put this war chariot on display for public viewing?” the man with the folding fan asked, tossing out another question.

“Why?”

“First, to showcase the workshop’s skill. Second, to humiliate the Crown Prince.”

“Humiliate him? But wasn’t this war chariot made to his specifications?”

“Hehe, it’s a long story.” The man shook his fan slowly. “Several years ago, the Crown Prince commissioned this chariot from Windborne Workshop. But once it was completed, he suddenly claimed he didn’t have the Spirit Stones to pay. He pretended to be dissatisfied, nitpicked endlessly, and whenever the workshop tried to deliver and collect payment, he’d find faults. Then he said the spirit beast matched to the chariot wasn’t fierce enough and demanded a new war beast.”

“A war beast? He wanted to use a war beast to pull a carriage?” Everyone around shook their heads.

“Exactly. We all know that war beasts and spirit beasts used for transport are fundamentally different in temperament. War beasts are aggressive and hard to control—forcing them to pull a carriage is practically impossible.”

“But the Crown Prince ignored all logic. He said if they didn’t use a war beast, he didn’t want the chariot at all and wouldn’t pay a single Spirit Stone.”

“Clearly he was making trouble on purpose.”

“The shop had no choice. They spent a fortune to buy a top-tier Earth-grade purple-winged griffin war beast and tried to tame it to suit the chariot.”

“But griffins are proud by nature. They refused to be reduced to pulling a cart and couldn’t be yoked by force.”

“The Crown Prince tried multiple times to forcibly form a blood contract with the griffin, but it kept resisting and rejected him as its master.”

“Enraged, the Crown Prince demanded the shop give him the war chariot for free to compensate for the time he ‘wasted.’”

“The shopkeeper refused and held his ground.”

“The issue dragged on for two or three years.”

“So far, the workshop has sunk over 30 million Spirit Stones into this chariot and the griffin’s upkeep, yet hasn’t recovered a single coin.”

“So the griffin stays in the inner courtyard, and the chariot is displayed here for customers to view~.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is~.” The man’s friends all nodded in realization.

“No wonder they say the shop is mocking the Crown Prince.”

“This whole incident drained the workshop. To recoup funds, they’ve been selling many carriages and boats at reduced prices.”

“So if you see one you like, don’t miss out. These prices really are a bargain…”

Xiao Jing had been listening from the side. Now he understood.

The Crown Prince had ordered this war chariot and owed a massive sum, which crippled the shop’s operations.

No wonder the whole place felt like it was desperately clearing out stock and trying to recover cash.

So the Yan Empire didn’t just have the Sixth Prince being a scoundrel—the Crown Prince was just as bad?

But thinking further, the Crown Prince had forcibly seized his own younger sister’s bloodline, which led to her death. He burned her corpse to destroy the evidence, then brought in a substitute to cover the scandal.

If he could do something so heartless and monstrous, what couldn’t he do?

It seemed Crown Prince Bi Hao and Sixth Prince Bi Rui really were cut from the same rotten cloth.

…

He listened to the guests chat for a while longer.

When he heard that the chariot cost over 30 million Spirit Stones to build, Xiao Jing’s heart stirred.

Li Er had been cautiously following Xiao Jing the entire time.

Once Xiao Jing finished examining the purple-gold war chariot and listening to the gossip, a moment passed before Li Er gently asked, “Esteemed guest, about that spirit-powered flying boat… will you still be purchasing it? There’s a discount, and the price is really fair. You won’t regret it.”

“I’ll buy it,” Xiao Jing said casually. “But I want the Crown Prince’s custom war chariot.”

Because the cost of crafting it was high enough!

Spending those Spirit Stones could give him at least 30 million Cultivation Points!

Truth be told, he wasn’t fully satisfied with the chariot—it was custom-made for someone else and not exactly to his taste.

But he was going to give it to Chuchu anyway.

If she didn’t want it, it could just sit and collect dust in the rear courtyard.

As long as he could earn a massive amount of Cultivation Points, nothing else mattered!

Li Er looked troubled. “This one can’t be sold… Esteemed guest, how about reconsidering that flying boat I showed you? I can offer you a better discount. Or maybe you’d like to browse other options?”

Other options?

Xiao Jing did want to buy out the whole store, but the system wouldn’t allow it. It would count as wasteful spending without meaning.

So he could only choose the most expensive one.

“I really want that most expensive one. Go ask the shopkeeper for me.”