Seeing the whispers and murmurs rising, Han Yu did not give them time to protest.

"Five years of free maintenance included."

The whispers slowed.

"Exclusive servicing rights. Any issues, any damage, any instability, brought directly to me."

The murmurs changed tone.

"And if you are not satisfied…"

He paused again.

"I replace it."

That ended the resistance.

The hesitation in the crowd shifted into calculation.

Han Yu could almost see it happening.

Merit points being weighed against value. Risks being compared to potential gain. Pride being quietly set aside in favor of opportunity.

One of the High Elders finally spoke.

"And the upgrades that we heard about?"

Han Yu nodded immediately.

"Available. Customizable. You bring your existing Jiangshi. I improve them. If the process fails, you are compensated fully."

Another elder leaned forward.

"You take full responsibility?"

"I do," Han Yu replied without hesitation. "I will give you an entirely new Jiangshi better than the previous one!"

That sealed it.

Elder Jurhanzi watched from the side, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Even he had not expected Han Yu to handle the situation with such… boldness.

This was not the composed Legacy Disciple they knew.

This was something else entirely.

A man who spoke of power as if it were merchandise.

A man who presented deadly creations with the ease of a merchant displaying goods.

A man who smiled while setting prices that would make others hesitate.

And yet, no one walked away.

Han Yu clasped his hands again and gave a slight bow.

"The choice is yours."

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then the first elder stepped forward.

"I will take two, one Red and One Green!"

And just like that, the floodgates opened.

Orders began to pour in.

Questions turned into negotiations. Curiosity turned into competition. Even those who had come only to observe found themselves stepping closer, unwilling to be left behind.

Han Yu stood at the center of it all, smiling calmly as he answered, guided, and subtly pushed each decision exactly where he wanted it to go.

Somewhere along the way, the realization spread quietly through the crowd.

Ju Fan was dangerous.

Not just because of his strength and because of his techniques. But because beneath everything else, beneath the cultivation, beneath the talent, beneath the legacy…

He thought like a merchant.

And perhaps, just perhaps, he was the most ruthless one they had ever seen.

The aftermath of the exhibition unfolded faster than even Han Yu had anticipated, and for a brief period he genuinely wondered if he had underestimated the appetite of the sect or overestimated his own capacity to handle it. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The orders that came in on the very first day had already crossed a thousand, each one backed by elders, core disciples, and powerful factions who had witnessed the demonstration firsthand.

That alone would have been considered a major success for most craftsmen, yet for Han Yu it quickly became clear that this was only the beginning. The real surge began when the official notice spread across the sect.

At first, there was skepticism.

Many who had not attended the exhibition questioned the claims. Rumors in the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect were often exaggerated, and new creations were always met with a degree of suspicion.

Yet this hesitation lasted only a short while. The moment it became known that multiple High Elders and even a few Peak Heads had already purchased Ju Series Jiangshi, the tone shifted almost overnight.

Skepticism turned into curiosity and curiosity turned into urgency.

In the span of a single week, the number of orders climbed from a thousand to ten thousand. By the end of the first month, it had doubled again, reaching twenty thousand. The numbers did not slow down.

Instead, they continued to rise steadily, fueled by word of mouth, demonstrations, and the quiet competition between factions. By the end of the year, the total number of orders had crossed one hundred thousand.

Even Han Yu found himself staring at the figures in silence when he first compiled them.

He had expected success. He had planned for expansion. Yet the scale of demand had surpassed even his most optimistic projections. What had begun as a calculated move to infiltrate the sect had turned into a massive operation that threatened to consume all of his time.

The problem was simple.

He could not keep up.

Even with his enhanced efficiency, even with his mastery over the process, even with the minimal requirement of Eight Emotions energy per Jiangshi, the sheer volume of work was overwhelming.

Producing ten thousand Jiangshi in a year would already push his limits, and that estimate assumed uninterrupted work, perfect conditions, and no additional responsibilities.

The reality was far more complicated.

Han Yu still had to maintain his standing as a Legacy Disciple. He still had to participate in sect matters, attend gatherings, manage his political connections, and continue his own cultivation.

The time he could dedicate purely to production was limited, and the demand showed no signs of slowing.

He adapted quickly.

One of the first steps he took was expanding his facilities. His original workshop, which had once seemed more than sufficient, now felt cramped and inefficient.

He commissioned the Puppet Peak to construct multiple large scale workshops across his personal peak, each designed specifically for different stages of Jiangshi creation. Blood pools were multiplied, refinement chambers were enhanced, and new formation arrays were integrated to streamline the process.

By the time the next year arrived, these workshops were operating at full capacity.

Rows of blood pools stretched across reinforced chambers, each one containing carefully prepared materials. Formation arrays pulsed faintly beneath the surface, regulating temperature, energy flow, and structural stability.

The entire peak had begun to resemble a massive production facility, one that functioned with precision and discipline. But even with these improvements, the pressure remained. Han Yu soon realized that one of his own conditions had become a bottleneck.

The maintenance clause. He had not realized what kind of burden it would become for him later on.