March (Seeking Recommendations)

Black Stone City.

The southern city gate.

"Please, I beg you."

"You can't do this!"

A group of people wailed and pleaded. Judging by the silk brocade they wore, they were probably from wealthy merchants' and officials' families.

But at this moment, as they watched sack after sack of grain being looted, their eyes were filled with indescribable despair.

When the Demon Calamity first erupted, they had been lucky enough to escape the initial wave of impact and had followed Yuan He Mountain to the vicinity of the southern city gate to seek refuge.

Yet today, these Martial Artists from Yuan He Mountain had actually robbed them of their grain in broad daylight!

"My father was an adviser to the Governor of Dingzhou!"

A refined-looking scholar shouted, "My uncle serves in the Dingzhou Army. They won't let you off!"

He gazed at the sacks of grain and cured meat. He felt as though his very life had been snatched away.

"Oh?" Qiao Wuchang rubbed his plump belly. After being trapped in Black Stone City, he had not only failed to lose weight but had grown even fatter.

He stepped forward with a beaming smile. "So you're Young Master Xu. What a misunderstanding, what a misunderstanding!"

As he spoke, he suddenly swung his right arm in a full circle and viciously slapped him.

Smack!

Young Master Xu was sent flying. A large chunk of his cheek had caved in, and he was clearly dead.

"Hmph! You don't know when you're dead. I've been putting up with you for a long time."

Qiao Wuchang shook the blood from his hand and looked at the remaining nobles and officials with a ferocious smile.

The rules had long since changed. The masters of the city were no different from lambs waiting for slaughter.

That day, with Linghu Yang unable to break through the encirclement, he had no choice but to hold his ground and await developments.

Then, instead of dispersing, the Martial Artists of the entire Yuan He Mountain branch had become even more disciplined and obedient to orders.

When order collapsed, a group of people who held power through violence banded together, revealing an even more brutal discipline.

Because apocalyptic disasters awakened the bestiality within the human body!

Before long, Yuan He Mountain had seized the entire southern city gate and begun searching for supplies on a massive scale.

The ones suffering the worst luck were the wealthy households that had once held power.

The common people had already been stripped of everything worth taking!

"Haha... hahaha..."

Looking at these great figures who had once stood high above others, now cowering like quails, Qiao Wuchang could not help laughing heartily. He grabbed a woman whose head was covered in jadeite hairpins. She seemed to have once been the Assistant Prefect's concubine, but at this moment, he ignored everything, hoisted her over his shoulder, and prepared to carry her back to his room to enjoy himself.

Not far away.

Linghu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, coldly watching this scene.

Chunyu stood beside Linghu Yang, unable to bear the sight. "Qiao Wuchang has gone too far. Should we stop him?"

"No need." Linghu Yang waved his hand, his tone icy cold. "They're all going to die anyway. There's no need to care about their backgrounds... Letting Wuchang handle things is more effective!"

Chunyu felt a slight chill in her heart. She had yet to recover from the mindset of the peaceful years, but the outside world had already been turned upside down.

"Martial Niece Chunyu..." Seeing this, a strange curve formed at the corner of Linghu Yang's lips. He said coldly, "The Demon Domain has already formed. Unless the demon spirit voluntarily retreats, there may be only the lofty Grandmasters who have even the slightest chance of getting out. Most of us will die here..."

"But my martial path will never be cut short here!"

"As long as the demons do not come knocking, Martial Uncle will live. I will live by any means necessary!"

"Even if, in the end, the food and water run out, Martial Uncle will resort to every method... even eating people..."

"This is... my martial heart!"

Linghu Yang's gaze was resolute. "I must climb to the summit of the martial path and reach the Grandmaster realm. Even if I must use any means necessary, I will not hesitate!"

"Your martial heart?" Chunyu looked deeply shaken.

The same tragedy continued to unfold throughout Black Stone City.

Yet none of it could stop the Yao Mo Tree at the center of the city from continuing to flourish and grow taller day by day.

Its enormous crown first covered the entire area of the Prefectural Yamen, then spread across the inner city, before continuously expanding toward the outer city.

Beneath the tree crown, monsters multiplied, leaving neither humans nor livestock alive.

This scene, like an omen of death, drove the survivors to even greater despair, causing them to commit all manner of acts that crossed the line.

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, three months passed.

The western city gate.

Fang Xi wore a black robe and a bamboo hat as he entered a marketplace.

It was called a marketplace, but it looked more like a place where survivors gathered to trade and interact.

Frowning, he avoided the filth on the ground and looked at the women leaning against doorframes, each with a sallow, emaciated face.

When they saw a man arrive, quite a few women forced a smile. Traces of their former beauty could still be glimpsed between their brows.

It was said that quite a few official family's young ladies were among them. With only a small sack of grain, one could enjoy a night of passion...

Fang Xi had absolutely no interest in this. He quickly passed through the area and arrived at the stalls.

All kinds of rare antiques, precious medicinal herbs, treasured sabers and swords could be seen everywhere, sold off cheaply like scrap.

The sellers wanted no gold or silver at all. They only wanted grain!

"This customer, come and take a look at this ancestral Dragon-Slaying Sword. It can slice hair with a breath of wind, and it's only fifty pounds of grain!"

An old man held up the treasured sword. Afraid no one would believe him, he drew the blade and gently blew on a strand of hair placed atop it.

Pfft!

The hair snapped in response. It truly was a sharp weapon capable of cutting hair with a breath!

In the past, at an auction of rare treasures, martial artists and wealthy men would have fought tooth and nail for it.

But today, a sword that could not be eaten was no different from scrap metal.

"Peerless treasure... the White Jade Nine-Link Ring!"

"Jadeite Guanyin!"

"Selling a secret manual... the Red Rust Sword Manual, complete with a Divine Intent Diagram. Only one hundred pounds of grain!"

Ignoring the haggling cries of the emaciated people, Fang Xi walked straight into a house.

Inside was a slightly shrunken Meat Mountain.

"You're here!"

Fatty Han's voice sounded weak and listless.

Beside the Meat Mountain hung several bloody... rats?

This was a rare meat stall, selling rat meat.

"Fatty Han, you've lost weight again."

Fang Xi greeted him.

When Black Stone City fell into disaster, even the people of the black market could not escape unscathed.

However, while wandering through the marketplace in the western district, Fang Xi had unexpectedly found an old acquaintance. It was truly a pleasant surprise.

Even in the apocalypse, Fatty Han still had connections and methods, allowing him to obtain a certain quantity of rat meat to sell.

He was far better than the other stalls that sold dog meat under a sheep's head.

Throughout the entire marketplace, he was practically the only one of his kind.

Of course, Fang Xi had not come to buy rat meat.

Instead, when Fatty Han saw him, he acted as though he had seen a family member and complained, "Isn't that the truth? Grain prices have skyrocketed lately... The Taisui I'm raising is almost starving to death. I had no choice but to cut my own food rations and change to eating eight meals a day. I'm starving to death..."

As he spoke, Fatty Han stared at his belly, which had shrunk by an entire circle, his tone filled with boundless sorrow.

Fang Xi was speechless. He recalled that this man had supposedly eaten ten meals a day before.

At a time like this, when most people outside were so hungry their eyes had turned green, it made him seem even more... boastful!

"The Iron Arm Fist Method you sold me last month was truly mediocre. If this batch is the same sort of merchandise, I won't buy any secret manuals. I'll only take Taisui Meat."

Fang Xi spoke indifferently.

When he had encountered Fatty Han in the marketplace that day, he had been overjoyed.

The source of Demon Meat could continue to be maintained.

Moreover, the other party had a large number of secret manuals in his possession!

They had probably also been bought cheaply from Martial Artists with grain.

After Fang Xi saw them, he had immediately conceived the idea of cooperating.

He would have Fatty Han purchase secret manuals without restraint, then sell them to him at a markup, with grain as payment.

In any case, as long as it was not spirit rice, purchasing grain from ordinary farmers beneath Green Bamboo Mountain would cost no more than a little gold or silver.

Through my efforts alone, I don't even know how many people I've supported. Boundless merit, boundless merit...

Fang Xi secretly congratulated himself.

Fatty Han turned over. "The Iron Arm Fist Method last time was the genuine secret inheritance of the Iron household. Back then, the old master of the Iron family swept across nearly half the martial arts world with a pair of iron fists... If his youngest grandson hadn't been starving to death, he never would have sold it to me so cheaply... Forget it, forget it, enough about that. I still don't have the True Energy secret manual you want! But Yuan He Mountain seems very interested. Want me to introduce you and let you talk to them?"

"Forget it. I'll find them myself."

Fang Xi rubbed his fingers together.

Now that he was facing Linghu Yang, who was comparable to the second stage of Body Tempering, he was not entirely confident. "Bring out whatever you have!"

"This is the secret manual I've been saving for the bottom of the chest."

Fatty Han pulled out a book and casually tossed it to Fang Xi.

Fang Xi caught it and looked at it. A trace of delight flashed through his eyes. "Iron Cloth Skill?"

This technique was an external hard skill, specifically designed to temper the defensive power of the torso and limbs.

It had to be said that it matched fairly well with his White Cloud Palm and Red Snake Leg, at least without creating too much conflict.

Of course, whether the true conflict was serious or not would only be known after he practiced it.

"There's also a Divine Intent Diagram. It's absolutely a little gem. Not bad, not bad. What's your price?" he asked casually.

"One thousand pounds of grain! I went to great lengths to get my hands on this..." Fatty Han said firmly.

"Five hundred pounds, and give me ten pounds of Taisui Meat as well." Fang Xi frowned and immediately cut the price in half.

"You can't do this!" Fatty Han actually blinked at him pitifully. "Is it easy for me to save up grain? I'm doing it to feed the Taisui and supply you with Taisui Meat!"

Seeing this, Fang Xi's lips twitched.

A child or a beauty making such a wronged expression might still be cute. But when a thousand-pound—no, a several-hundred-pound overweight man made it, it felt rather off...

"Fine. Seeing you look as aggrieved as a several-hundred-pound child, I'll take another step back and give you six hundred pounds." Fang Xi waved his hand.

"No! At least eight hundred pounds."

After another round of haggling, the two parties finally struck a deal at the bottom price of seven hundred pounds of grain. Fang Xi took the secret manual and left first.

As for the grain and Taisui Meat, they would naturally be delivered later.

If they conducted such a major transaction in the marketplace, they would have been robbed by others long ago!

People driven mad by hunger were capable of anything!

"This man..."

Fatty Han watched Fang Xi's departing back and thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Hehe... Could he have robbed several grain shops? He really has an abundant supply of grain... What a pity, what a pity that he isn't someone to provoke. I hope those few fellows in the marketplace can be a little smarter..."

"Hm? No, that's not right. It suits me even better if they're idiots. Once they're all dead, I can take their stalls and grain by following the tide!"