105: Chapter 105 S-Rank Soul Flame

Walking all the way, the anticipation in Lin Ye's eyes gradually faded, leaving only thick disappointment.

Wang Hu followed closely by his side, looking at the low-grade resources everywhere, and vaguely sensed Lin Ye's loss. He spoke in a low voice: "Brother Ye, it seems there are no high-grade soul fires here at all. Should we just go back and wait for Brother Zhou's goods?"

Lin Ye nodded slightly, his gaze deep and concentrated, and the intention to retreat had already risen in his heart.

It seemed tonight was a wasted trip. Although the black market hid opportunities, high-grade soul fire was an extremely scarce item to begin with, obtainable only by chance and not by demand. Relying solely on luck to explore rashly made it hard to gain anything.

"Let's go back."

Lin Ye sighed softly, turning around intending to leave this intricate maze of black market alleys.

But at the very instant he turned around, his peripheral vision suddenly swept across a deserted corner that was the most remote and darkest part of the alley.

That corner avoided all lights and crowds, dim and dead silent, completely unremarkable with almost no one stopping by. Yet, a wisp of extremely subtle, highly penetrating dim green light was slowly swaying and rising, appearing exceptionally unique amidst the mixed and turbid aura of the black market.

Different from the crimson and pale white undertones of ordinary soul fire, this wisp of soul fire was entirely dark green, with a condensed and pure color, free of any impurities. The firelight was steady and warm, yet it secretly concealed a majestic and profound divine soul origin fluctuation, faintly carrying a heavy dao charm capable of suppressing ten thousand souls.

Lin Ye's footsteps suddenly stopped, his pupils shrank slightly, and ripples instantly surged in his heart.

It was high-grade soul fire! And the grade was extremely high!

With his current profound understanding of divine soul origin and soul fire grades, a single glance was enough for him to be certain that this was by no means comparable to ordinary A-grade soul fire. Its appearance, origin, and dao charm crushed conventional high-grade goods in all aspects—it was undoubtedly an S-grade soul fire!

Easily found without any effort after a fruitless search!

After wandering through more than half of the black market and gaining nothing, he hadn't expected that the top-tier opportunity was actually hidden in this unattended, dark corner.

"Wait here."

Lin Ye instructed Wang Hu in a low voice, quickly pushing aside the scattered crowds around him, and walked straight toward that dark corner.

Within the corner quietly stood a hunched figure. The person was tightly wrapped from head to toe in a heavy black hood and cloak, completely concealing his face, skin, and figure without revealing a shred of his countenance. His entire aura was dead and gloomy, completely making it impossible to sense his specific cultivation and origin attributes, extremely mysterious.

In front of that person was only a dilapidated small wooden table, bare and empty except for a swaying dark green soul fire suspended right in the middle—precisely the S-grade soul fire Lin Ye had caught a glimpse of earlier.

Lin Ye suppressed the joy in his heart, maintaining a calm expression and trying not to show anything unusual, as he asked in a deep voice: "How much for this soul fire?"

The Black-robed Person did not raise his head, nor did he make any extra movements. A hoarse, dry, deep voice akin to sandpaper rubbing slowly came out, devoid of emotional fluctuation: "Ten billion credit points each, or it can be settled equivalently with faith liquid."

The moment he heard the quote, even Lin Ye, whose net worth was currently abundant and full of confidence, couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly.

Ten billion credit points each!

This price could be called astronomical, so outrageous it exceeded expectations!

The A-grade soul fire in Zhou Mingzhi's hands converted to a unit price of no more than tens of millions of credit points, whereas this S-grade soul fire directly multiplied by a hundred times and more. Ordinary prodigies exhausting their entire net worth probably wouldn't even be able to trade for a single one.

Wang Hu beside him shrank his pupils even more sharply, sucking in a cold breath. He was completely stunned, never imagining that a tiny soul fire could command such a terrifying price.

Lin Ye calculated rapidly in his heart; this price far exceeded his psychological expectations and was completely unacceptable.

But he also knew clearly that black market transactions always involved asking exorbitant prices and bargaining on the spot. The other party quoting an astronomical price was just a tentative baseline test, not the final transaction price.

He did not negotiate directly, but instead feigned indifference and tentatively asked: "Is this the only one you have in your hands?"

The Black-robed Person fell silent for two seconds, and his hoarse voice sounded once more: "How many do you want?"

The simple five words instantly made Lin Ye's mind stir.

The other party's tone was resolute and calm; clearly, the stock in his hands was more than just one. He was a veteran seller holding bulk sources of goods, not a small peddler reselling scattered pieces.

Lin Ye steadied his emotions, directly laying out his core demand and opening the rhythm of bargaining: "I want a large quantity, can the unit price be discounted?"

The Black-robed Person nodded slightly, his tone remaining indifferent: "I currently have one hundred complete-quality S-grade soul fires in stock. If your demand is large, you can come back here to place an order ten days later. The quantity is unlimited, just report in advance."

One hundred ready-stock items, and subsequent unlimited replenishment!

A sharp light flashed in Lin Ye's eyes, and the abacus in his heart instantly calculated things thoroughly.

One hundred S-grade soul fires would be enough for all the core vassals under his command to complete a round of ultimate spiritual intelligence transformation, greatly narrowing the gap with the intellect of mature humans.

And the replenishment channel ten days later could completely solve his long-term shortcoming in soul fire, no longer making him subject to Zhou Mingzhi's meager production capacity.

This batch of goods, he had to secure it!

But the astronomical price of ten billion each was absolutely unacceptable; he had to slash the price hard.

Lin Ye grasped his chips clearly in his heart and spoke calmly, his tone carrying the confidence of definite bargaining: "Although S-grade soul fire is scarce, its audience is extremely narrow. Across the entire Federation, apart from Undead and Demon-system practitioners, almost no one can use it or will buy it. Hoarding it in your hands, it suffers from year-round unsaleability; it has a price but no market."

"I will buy out all one hundred ready-stock pieces in your hands in one go, and I can also place long-term bulk orders afterwards. There is no need for you to bite down stubbornly on an astronomical price; give me a realistic landing price."

Lin Ye's words accurately poked at the vital point. Soul fire was originally a niche scarce resource, and high-grade S-grade soul fire had even fewer audiences. Ordinary prodigies couldn't use it, and mainstream paths were incompatible. The seller might look like he held astronomical resources, but in reality, they were very hard to sell off, mostly just being hoarded and pressing down inventory.

The Black-robed Person remained silent for a long time, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. His dead aura fluctuated slightly, and he slowly spoke to lower the price: "The lowest is seventy billion, no second price."

"Too expensive." Lin Ye shook his head without hesitation, directly pressing down the price, "Thirty billion each, I'll settle the full payment on the spot and take all one hundred pieces."

The price was halved with one knife and then halved again, instantly opening up the tug-of-war.

The Black-robed Person's tone turned slightly cold: "Thirty billion is too low; it's below cost, impossible to close the deal."

"Then let's each take a step back." Lin Ye was unhurried, steadily drawing out the tug-of-war, "I am a long-term major customer, not just for this batch. I will continue to replenish stock afterwards; small profits but quick turnover is the long-term business. Thirty-five billion, this is my psychological bottom line."

The two of them went back and forth, constantly tugging and gaming, and the atmosphere vaguely reached a stalemate.

Lin Ye consistently steadied his rhythm, seizing upon the other party's shortcomings of unsalable goods and urgent need for bulk customers, absolutely refusing to loosen his grip while simultaneously showing his sincerity for long-term ordering.