Myriad Manifestations Tower, Powers Within the City

Within his sight were several bluestone roads branching out in various directions, wide enough for four carriages to travel side-by-side.

Along both sides of the roads were various shops, with two- or three-story buildings above them.

They sold all sorts of things, like food, pills, and talismans.

There were also small vendors trying to attract customers.

Seeing all this, Chen Feng was a bit amazed.

He felt as if he had returned to the past, wandering through a marketplace.

Liu Yuan glanced at their surroundings and smiled at Chen Feng, "Chen Feng, I need to head back. You can explore the county town first and get familiar with the environment. Since it's your first time here, I suggest you find an inn in the city to stay tonight."

"Although the cost of living outside the city is lower, the safety is not as good."

Chen Feng nodded, "Okay."

"If I want to quickly understand the basic situation in the city, where should I go?"

Liu Yuan replied, "You can look for the Myriad Manifestations Tower. Buy a diagram of the basic forces in the city, and you'll be able to understand more."

"As for the Myriad Manifestations Tower, it's a truly top-tier merchant guild that spans multiple states of the Great Gan. While their goods are a bit more expensive than outside, they are all genuine and have a good reputation."

"Some small vendors outside might also have these things and even lower prices, but they are more likely to be counterfeits, which might give you a wrong impression of the county town."

"As for the Myriad Manifestations Tower, just follow this main road straight ahead. See that golden rooftop? That's the Myriad Manifestations Tower."

"It's a full seven stories tall."

Chen Feng nodded, "Alright, I know."

Liu Yuan was just an apprentice and needed to report for duty quickly.

After parting ways with Liu Yuan, Chen Feng, along with Lin Xue, headed towards the Myriad Manifestations Tower.

Lin Xue followed closely behind Chen Feng.

Looking at the surroundings, her eyes were filled with amazement.

Taking Chen Feng's hand, she whispered with surprise, "Husband, this county town is truly prosperous. Will we be living here from now on?"

Chen Feng replied, "Yes."

"Don't worry."

With over a thousand taels of silver in hand, he had no reason to worry. Now he just had to decide whether to rent or buy a house.

"Let's go, we'll check out the Myriad Manifestations Tower," Chen Feng said with a smile.

He then led Lin Xue, and they walked towards the Myriad Manifestations Tower, taking in the sights of the roadside stalls.

However, along the way, Chen Feng felt a great sense of impact.

He saw shops selling pills on both sides of the road.

This caught his attention.

He didn't have much information, but he knew that with the aid of pills, cultivating martial arts would significantly speed up progress.

However, he noticed that even the lowest-grade Qi and Blood Pills cost several taels of silver each.

This made Chen Feng exclaim, "Pills are so expensive. Alchemists must be incredibly wealthy!"

"No wonder they're called one of the richest professions."

Lin Xue, walking beside him, also had a sparkle in her eyes.

He also saw shops selling cultivation techniques.

In the villages outside the county town, the forbidden scriptures were openly sold in large quantities here.

However, they were only labeled as low-grade or mid-grade cultivation techniques and martial skills.

The Iron Fist Technique he had seen before was also among them.

But the lowest price was fifty taels of silver.

Chen Feng pondered for a moment and decided to give up.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, but he still didn't understand the situation in Black Stone City.

Under these circumstances, it was better to gather information before buying.

He then didn't look at any other shops.

He proceeded directly to the Myriad Manifestations Tower.

Upon arriving, he understood why Liu Yuan had called the Myriad Manifestations Tower the most reputable.

It was arguably the most luxurious commercial building he had seen in Black Stone City.

It was seven stories high.

Each floor exuded a sense of splendor.

Two maids in golden and silver attire stood guard at the entrance.

Upon reaching the entrance, he was immediately welcomed inside.

"Young Master, I am the maid Xiao Lu. What can I get for you?"

Chen Feng replied, "I need books that can quickly familiarize me with the current situation in Black Stone City and the state of the cultivation world."

"May I ask where they are located?"

As he spoke, Chen Feng's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

On this floor of the shop, there were rows upon rows of glass display cabinets.

Inside the cabinets were the items sold at the Myriad Manifestations Tower, along with their prices.

With just a glance, Chen Feng saw various pills, weapons, and spirit herbs.

The quality and grade of these items were indeed far superior to those sold by the small vendors outside.

This filled Chen Feng's eyes with a touch of awe.

However, after just a quick look, the prices generally started at several taels of silver.

And this was only for the items on the first floor; he wondered what the prices would be on the higher floors.

On this first floor, most of the people he saw were martial artists dressed in ordinary clothes.

Martial artists dressed slightly more attractively were invited to the upper floors.

Soon, Chen Feng, led by the maid, found two books that caught his interest.

One was titled: "Black Stone City's Twenty Years of Vicissitudes, A Detailed Explanation of Martial Arts Fundamentals."

After receiving the two books, Chen Feng glanced at them and felt a surge of excitement.

It was true.

Seeing Chen Feng's eagerness to examine the books, the maid beside him smiled and said, "Young Master, our Myriad Manifestations Tower has private study rooms on the third floor, which are more conducive to reading. Would you like one?"

Chen Feng asked, "How much is it?"

The maid smiled, "The basic ones are three hundred wen per hour."

Chen Feng was slightly astonished. It was indeed expensive!

He then directly said, "Alright, I'll take one in a quiet environment for two hours."

The maid's eyes lit up with a hint of surprise. "Thank you, Young Master."

Then, he and Lin Xue proceeded directly to the third floor.

As expected, they were individual private rooms.

Upon entering the room, Chen Feng immediately picked up the detailed explanation of Black Stone City's martial arts.

Even with the recommendation from the red-clothed woman, he still planned to understand the current situation thoroughly first.

Then he would make his choice.

First, he focused on the major powers within the city.

As he continued reading, Chen Feng's eyes showed contemplation.

"The city is like this."

In Black Stone City, the strongest force was naturally the City Lord's Mansion.

Besides the City Lord's Mansion, there were several major families in the city that controlled most of the city's businesses.

In addition, there were various gangs that controlled certain areas.

To survive in the city, one basically couldn't escape the influence of these forces.

Even setting up a stall required affiliation with a gang, otherwise, you might be in business today and have your stall smashed tomorrow.

Furthermore, Black Stone Academy was also one of the most powerful forces.

This was because Black Stone Academy was essentially a subordinate academy of the Demon Patrol Division.

As long as one became a student of Black Stone Academy, they could naturally survive well in the city.

Even ordinary gangs would show some respect and wouldn't easily provoke them.