It had to be said that delayed final payments were a chronic affliction across every trade—an everyday occurrence that had practically hardened into standard practice, whether one fell under the White Stag or Tianyuan.
Except, it had always been the White Stag who dragged their feet on paying others; rarely did anyone have the audacity to turn the tables on them.
The trouble ultimately stemmed from the sale of calamity beast carcasses.
Bulk transactions of this scale entangled so many parties and interests that they routinely dragged out for four or five months, or even half a year; it was never something settled overnight. Endless bickering at every link in the chain, paired with a constant trickle of messy hitches and shifting variables, meant any minor snag could delay the final payout.
There was simply no avoiding it—the sheer volume of calamity beast materials harvested during the noxious wind season was astronomical.
Across the entire Endless Sea and throughout the Thousand Islands, the carcasses of countless calamity beasts erupted in the span of a few short months like a volcanic explosion or a breached levee. Even if the market wanted to digest it all, it needed time. To keep prices stable, every faction naturally enforced quotas and caps.
This in itself was a high barrier to entry. The entire cycle took far too long. Small-time operators relying on monthly cash flow simply couldn't afford to wait, which left only entrenched local middlemen with real clout and capital—like the Wild Gathering branches—capable of shouldering the burden.
Consequently, every time the noxious wind season rolled around, regional platforms throughout the Thousand Islands backed and controlled by Wild Gathering capital came forward to showcase their might. They typically bought up supplies from initial discoverers, small workshops, and local guilds, consolidating piecemeal lots into massive bulk shipments to supply major consumers like the Federation, the Empire, the Balance Chamber of Commerce, and the Ring of Taiyi.
Throughout this process, the local Wild Gathering branches served as lubricant, bridging buyers and suppliers while ensuring neither the market nor logistics faltered. To maximize their margins, the Wild Gathering fronted nearly all the funds to purchase these materials. Otherwise, if sellers had to endure the same tedious bureaucratic delays anyway, they could just as easily hawk their goods elsewhere.
After all, the markup between the Wild Gathering's acquisition price and its resale price could often be measured in multiples—and for rare, precious materials, it was tenfold, a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold!
It was a goldmine lucrative enough to leave any branch rolling in dough, feasting like it was New Year's Day every single day.
Unfortunately, the holidays were far off, and the gravy train had dried up.
Business?
Their damn business was on the verge of vanishing entirely!
Two main events had triggered this predicament.
First, late last night, the Ring of Taiyi had released a formal bulletin: Du Erchang, the newly appointed Chief of the Association's Audit Office, had committed bribery and embezzlement, betrayed the Ember, and accumulated a mountain of heinous offenses supported by ironclad proof. Following a unanimous vote by the Board of Directors, he was stripped of his office and subjected to rigorous judicial inquiry, becoming the first heavyweight culprit to fall beneath Chairman Gustav's rectification campaign.
As a result, an entire network of parasites and corrupt graft rings had been unearthed within the Association. The notice concluded by sternly warning all parties within and without that the Ring of Taiyi would never tolerate such malpractice, blah, blah, blah...
This was the Association's answer to Ji Jue.
Killing a chicken to scare the monkeys!
*You had the nerve to offend your Uncle Ji?*
*Blind bastard, useless mutt—go die!*
With a sharp pop, they threw the poor sap down like a firecracker to detonate him, just to let Ji Jue hear the blast.
On top of that, to earn Ji Jue's magnanimous forgiveness so he would let the matter rest, that wretched Director Medman had gritted his teeth and yielded rights belonging to his own faction, granting Ji Jue an extra week of access to the Grand Library.
A total surrender!
To outsiders, this wouldn't have seemed like a momentous affair—merely the Artisans Association cleaning house and clearing out a few bad apples.
Yet what followed from it was the second matter...
Another announcement.
In light of former Audit Office Chief Du Erchang's corruption, bribery, and perversion of protocol, the grade appraisals of a vast quantity of calamity beast materials handled through his office had suffered from severe discrepancies, and all of them now required re-verification and redetermination.
Consequently, the one hundred and seventy-one bulk material appraisal certificates previously 'specially authorized and issued' by said Chief were now revoked—our deepest apologies, of course.
And so, a single slip of paper from the Association drifted lightly out from Tianshu and slammed down upon the Endless Sea like a crashing mountain, whipping up towering waves. Every merchant guild and firm that had previously greased palms to cut the line, expedite processing, or secure special approval for their cargo was struck by a bolt from the blue. Not only had the appraisal certificates in their hands turned into worthless waste paper, but all commercial transactions involving the bulk materials covered by those certificates were now completely frozen!
They were ruined.
"Say what?!"
At the highest point of the ship reef in the Iron Hook District, Satria, who had been anxiously waiting for news, jerked his head up in disbelief, glaring at the sweat-drenched Himawan. "What do you mean Du Erchang got thrown into the Inescapable Prison? Wasn't he completely fine yesterday?!"
"The news broke last night and was only officially published today. It wasn't just him, either—a massive sweep of people, including the guy who always handled our affairs, were all..."
Himawan swallowed hard. "Basically, wiped out completely."
A suffocating silence fell. Satria remained speechless, nearly doubting his own hearing.
Gone?
All of them gone?
Fine, they were finished, but what about his damn money?!
What about all the fortunes poured into greasing palms and securing expedited appraisals over all these years?!
"Revoking the appraisals for a haul of materials this massive—has the Ring of Taiyi lost its fucking mind?!" He squeezed the armrests of his chair so hard the wood groaned. "What the hell are those artisans doing?!"
No one answered.
Including the Association.
Aside from the initial bulletin, they hadn't offered the slightest statement from start to finish.
Common decency dictated that after causing such a colossal disaster, someone ought to apologize, or at least put on a show and utter a token 'sorry.'
Nothing.
Not only was there no apology, they couldn't even be bothered to bow.
Faced with frantic inquiries from every direction, their only response was a flat: "Internal affair; no comment."
Yet even with the Association causing this absolute mess, switching to another appraisal agency was out of the question.
Apologies, but across the entire Present World, there was only this single shop—no alternatives existed!
Over centuries, the Association's reach had penetrated every sector. Backed by the collective might of countless artisans, it held the authority to define product standards and industry rules in an iron grip.
Such was the Ring of Taiyi's absolute monopoly!
To the point where, in any legitimate trade involving alchemical creations, once the Association's certificate was missing, regardless of actual quality, the goods could only be treated as defective rejects or illicit black-market wares. Even if one wanted to sell, they couldn't fetch a decent price.
At this moment, not just the Iron Hook District and Fog Hidden Reef, but every merchant guild caught up in the fallout was left utterly flabbergasted, scurrying about like ants on a hot skillet. Without the Association's certification, they were barred from large-scale procurement channels. What had once been hot commodities were now scalding potatoes, rotting away in their storage holds. The instant the announcement broke, all related purchases and negotiations ground to an immediate halt.
Not only did all buying freeze up, but even goods whose acquisitions had already concluded had to be fully returned under the contracts' contingency clauses because their appraisals had been nullified.
"I can't. I really can't. Look, it's not a question of price. Brother, we've known each other for years—if I could help, I definitely would, but this is truly out of the question."
On the other end of the line, the regional manager of the Balance Chamber of Commerce sighed helplessly, cutting short Himawan's desperate pleading. "I know it's hard on everyone. Out of respect for our long relationship, I won't make things difficult. As long as you can get the appraisals renewed within the week, the original price stands, and I'll act as though the breach-of-contract penalties don't exist.
"So don't put me on the spot, all right? I genuinely can't accept this shipment. It breaks the rules. If someone files a tip-off and an audit comes down from above, every pair of hands that touched this deal will be finished."
No matter how cordially Himawan extended dinner invites, begged, and exhausted every sweet word, the other side refused to budge an inch, standing firm on the rule that without certificates, not a single crate would be accepted.
Satria had already flown into a feral fury, cursing incessantly as his knuckles popped and cracked.
Back in the day, they called each other brothers and acted thick as thieves, begging like dogs whenever they wanted stock—and now they pull up their pants and pull this stunt?!
Even so, he swallowed his venom, keeping from blowing his lid on the spot as he forced words through gritted teeth: "Why does it have to be so damn complicated? If push comes to shove, shave down the price a bit more and let them take the goods back to appraise them themselves! Wouldn't that settle it?!"
Himawan's face twitched, numb and thoroughly at his wit's end. "The Ring of Taiyi's appraisals require origin tracing. The Artisans Association has always been a core partner of the Balance Chamber of Commerce; they will never risk offending the Association just to pocket a small discount."
More critically, if an issue arose in tracing the provenance of the materials, getting them appraised again would be a pipedream—to say nothing of selling them through official channels. They would be left flogging them off piecemeal in shadowy alleys until the end of time!
And so, after running in futile circles, the problem swung right back to the fucking matter of *appraisal*!
"Then go get it appraised, damn it!!"
Satria's face flushed crimson as he pointed a trembling finger and roared, looking ready to hurl his chair across the room.
Himawan was struck dumb.
Glancing left and right, he was already contemplating where he might find a sturdy rafter and a length of rope to hang himself.
If appraisals were that easy to secure, would they have splashed out so much cash to jump the line in the first place? If they went back to queue up now, the wait would drag out for at least a month!
Time was money, especially at this critical juncture. Never mind a day late—falling behind by a single shipment could mean an entirely different price! Yet the Association was currently acting like a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water, dragging its feet at a glacial pace.
Don't rush us!
The more you rush, the slower we go; push again, and we halt operations entirely!
They let the dozens of affected merchant guilds spin in panicked circles without sparing a shred of face...
Finally, several hours later, after ceaseless appeals and pressure from all quarters—and even a formal inquiry dispatched by Wild Gathering headquarters—the Artisans Association finally showed a shred of decency and released a supplementary notice:
—In consideration of market demand and exceptional circumstances, and to mitigate the adverse fallout caused by Du Erchang's dereliction of duty, the Association will make an exception and open a dedicated green channel specifically for calamity beast materials whose certifications were revoked, facilitating re-evaluations and expedited appraisal results. Furthermore, given the urgency of the situation and severe staffing shortages, and to avoid repeated travel and unnecessary delays, evaluations through this special channel are hereby delegated to local branches.
No need to travel far; you can get your appraisals done right on your doorstep.
Saves time, saves effort, and saves trouble!
Well? Are you happy? Are you surprised?
In an instant, the various parties who received the news acted like victims of gaslighting who suddenly forgot all their previous anguish and tears, scurrying in jubilant celebration to form lines at the Association's designated sites.
Expedited was great! Fast-tracked was fantastic!
What, there's a processing fee? Doesn't matter, chump change! As long as the paperwork cleared!
Shut up and take my money!
Just get it done already!
Only a handful of operations felt that something seemed slightly amiss.
Specifically, the three Wild Gathering branches of Fog Hidden Reef, Iron Hook District, and the Shiye Archipelago. When their eyes fell upon the roster attached to the bottom of the notice, before their smiles could even form, the situation seemed to... take a sharp nosedive.
And just who was in charge of appraising all calamity beast materials across the western sector of the Endless Sea?
What a coincidence!
Though this backwater possessed no Association branch, the Thousand Islands nevertheless harbored its very own towering pillar of jade and bridge of pure gold!
It was none other than the Association's Crown of Glory Master, Mr. Ji himself, who would personally oversee and handle everyone's appraisals!
Oh, what a blessing was in store for them!
Chapter 861