Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 740: Zhao Liumen’s Real Goal

One disciple led Han Yu to another. Another pointed him toward a supervisor. A few spirit stones here, a few mid grade stones there.

Bit by bit, the picture became clearer.

A production group had been formed.

Not officially an elder sanctioned hall, but not illegal either.

It was backed by a powerful internal figure.

And the name surfaced repeatedly.

Zhao Liumen.

Han Yu stood near the edge of one of the refining halls, listening quietly as a mid level alchemy disciple spoke in hushed tones.

"Zhao Senior Brother controls the material routes," the man said. "He consolidated several merchant supply lines using his clan's backing. The ingredients are cheaper in bulk, even if the quality is slightly lower."

"And the alchemists," Han Yu asked.

"Some were recruited with incentives," the man replied. "Others were pressured. A few were forced out of independent refining entirely."

Han Yu's fingers tightened within his sleeves.

"And the profits."

The disciple hesitated. "Not as high per pill as before. But the volume is massive. Enough to satisfy the sect's internal demand."

Han Yu thanked the man with some spirit stones and walked away.

As he moved through the Alchemy Peak, the final pieces clicked into place.

Zhao Liumen had not wanted him dead.

He had wanted him gone.

Removed.

Unavailable.

Without Han Yu present, the primary independent producer of Blood Flood Pills vanished from the market. That created a vacuum.

And Zhao Liumen had stepped in to fill it.

With his clan's resources, merchant connections, and influence, he had established a controlled supply chain. By lowering individual profit margins and increasing volume, he had stabilized the market under his control.

It was not as efficient as Han Yu's method.

It was not as cheap.

But it was enough.

And more importantly, it removed Han Yu from the equation.

Han Yu stopped walking and stood still among the bustling peak.

His eyes were cold.

"So this was the real goal," he muttered internally. "He did not want revenge. He wanted control."

Zhao Liumen had used the sect's structure perfectly.

A long mission. No interference. No assassins. No overt hostility.

Just time.

Time for the market to shift.

Time for Han Yu's influence to fade.

Time for Zhao Liumen to entrench himself.

Han Yu exhaled slowly.

The situation was worse than he had expected.

But it was not hopeless.

If Zhao Liumen believed this was over, then he was mistaken.

Han Yu's lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile.

"The market is satisfied," he thought. "But satisfaction is temporary."

Han Yu stood in the Alchemy Hall far longer than he had intended.

The massive formation wall shimmered before him, rows upon rows of missions pulsing faintly with blood red light. Pill refinement requests, material gathering tasks, emergency commissions from other peaks.

It was all familiar, almost comforting, and yet for the first time for a while since he had entered the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, he felt a subtle sense of displacement.

Zhao Liumen had cut him off cleanly.

Not violently. Not openly. But thoroughly.

Han Yu folded his arms within his sleeves, eyes moving methodically across the listings even as his thoughts churned.

The Blood Flood Pill was finished for him.

At least, as a long term venture.

He understood that better than anyone. The pill had never just been about refinement skill. It had been about asymmetry. He had known a cheaper recipe. He had known how to disguise it behind orthodox ingredients. He had known how to price it just low enough to dominate without drawing attention.

But Zhao Liumen had done something far more dangerous.

He had normalized the supply.

Once the sect no longer felt scarcity, missions vanished. Once missions vanished, influence vanished. And once influence vanished, profit was no longer something that could be clawed back through skill alone.

Han Yu knew that if he tried to return to the Blood Flood Pill now, several things would happen simultaneously.

First, Zhao Liumen would notice immediately.

Second, his ingredient channels would be scrutinized.

Third, the moment he undercut prices again, the elders would start asking questions. And this time, Zhao Liumen would already be positioned to answer them first.

Han Yu had no intention of exposing the recipe from his home continent.

That knowledge was worth more than spirit stones. It was worth survival.

He let out a quiet breath and stepped back from the formation wall.

Other pills then.

That was the natural progression.

Han Yu mentally ran through the catalogue of pills he knew, comparing them against what he saw listed. Several caught his eye. Pills that strengthened blood essence. Pills that stabilized Qi after breakthrough. Pills that accelerated recovery from internal injuries.

On the surface, many of them resembled the Blood Flood Pill in demand profile.

But the moment he examined them deeper, the flaws became obvious.

The orthodox recipes for those pills relied on rare materials. Spirit herbs that grew only in specific regions. Beasts that required high cultivation to hunt. Even if Han Yu substituted ingredients, the margin for disguise was thin.

One wrong batch, one inspection, and the difference would be detected.

He could not hide forever.

Not in a sect that lived and breathed blood refinement.

After nearly an hour of careful consideration, Han Yu accepted the conclusion with a calm clarity that surprised even himself.

There was no immediate replacement.

Not one that fit his current position.

He would have to build something new. Or wait for the right opening.

For now, his priority had to shift.

Information. Assets. People.

His gaze hardened slightly as another thought surfaced.

The slave district.

He had been gone far too long.

In the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, fourteen months was more than enough time for things to change beyond recognition. Disciples fell. Debts accumulated. Punishments were handed down. And those who could not endure were quietly processed into a different category altogether.

Han Yu turned and left the Alchemy Hall without another glance.

The path to the slave district was one he knew well.

Too well.