Fists and feet clashed fiercely, and the air cracked.
The two figures met and immediately sprang apart.
The Tiger Form Three Styles came naturally to them, as if they had practiced them countless times.
Though there were only three moves, they seemed to unfold into dozens of variations.
"Fantastic! Fantastic!"
Qi Yuan loved his drink more than anything. He snatched up the wine jug from the ground and downed a mouthful. His other hand never stopped moving, fending off five or six of Jiang Shu's fierce attacks.
"Junior Brother, this wine of yours is strong. But why are your fists so soft?"
"You surely know that the difference between Full Body Vital Energy Circulation and a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist lies in Inner Strength. But do you know what Inner Strength is? If you can't gather your whole body's strength into one point and unleash it, you'll never understand Inner Strength!"
"Our school's Roaring Tiger Mountain Strength has an unstoppable momentum: once a fist is thrown, there's no regret. Don't hold back just because I'm your senior brother. What, do you think someone like you, with only Full Body Vital Energy Circulation, can hurt me?"
As he drank the strong liquor Jiang Shu had brought, Qi Yuan sparred with him and pointed out his shortcomings.
His voice already carried a hint of drunkenness, but every word hit home.
Each time he spoke, Jiang Shu gained a fresh insight.
Jiang Shu adjusted himself, striving to gather the strength in every limb and bone into a single punch. Before their sparring match, he had known that Skin Grinding Realm martial artists were powerful.
But he had never imagined the gap would be so enormous.
Qi Yuan hadn't even used Roaring Tiger Mountain Strength.
Simply relying on his control over his strength, he could keep Jiang Shu pinned down with one hand.
No wonder it was only upon reaching the Skin Grinding Realm that one became a true martial artist.
"Phew. Senior Brother Qi, let's take a break."
The first drumbeat was rousing, the second weaker, the third exhausted.
After another twenty minutes of sparring, the strength in Jiang Shu's body was beginning to ebb. He lowered his fists, stepped back, and cupped his hands to Qi Yuan apologetically.
He stood off to one side, practicing his stance and breathing as he regained his composure and reviewed what he had gained and lost in the spar.
In his mind, on the semi-transparent panel,
the three methods of the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School—training, nurturing, and combat—had each gained several proficiency points at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Time flowed by like water.
Jiang Shu came to the small courtyard almost every day to spar with Qi Yuan.
He brought a jug of strong liquor from Mystic Star.
The two grew closer and closer, gradually becoming able to talk about anything.
Besides sparring, Qi Yuan would sometimes tell Jiang Shu about the various styles practiced at other martial arts schools in Pingling County.
"Junior Brother Jiang, once you become a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist, I'll invite a few friends over for a little gathering and bring you along to spar with them. Every school's martial arts have something worth learning. And every Skin Grinding Realm martial artist has their own understanding of the martial arts. The more you learn, the better your odds will be in a fight someday."
"As martial artists, we have realms on one hand and actual combat on the other. Improving your realm is slow, but improving through actual combat is incredibly fast. Especially for someone like you, who hasn't experienced much fighting yet. You must have gained quite a bit from sparring these past few days. Let's take a break from it for a few days. After pushing yourself to the extreme, you need to return to stillness; after a stretch, you need to relax."
"Don't go home tonight. Your senior brother will take you somewhere good and broaden your horizons."
"Sparrow Pavilion?"
Jiang Shu blurted out without thinking.
It really wasn't his fault. Ever since he had arrived in Pingling County, every man he met talked about Sparrow Pavilion. He hadn't met a single one who hadn't been there.
"What's the fun in a place like that? If you want to go to Sparrow Pavilion, you should ask Third Senior Brother. He's the oldest. He's in his thirties and still stuck in the Stone Skin Realm, with no hope of reaching the Bone Forging Realm. He's spent the past couple of years frequenting Sparrow Pavilion. If you really want to go, he's the one to ask."
"With your means, Junior Brother, he could even introduce you to a refined courtesan."
Qi Yuan curled his lip. "Lust is a knife that scrapes the bones. You haven't even reached the Bone Forging Realm, so it's best to stay away from Sparrow Pavilion. The place I mean is somewhere you've definitely heard of."
"At the Full Body Vital Energy Circulation stage, you can still take Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine to improve rapidly. But once you reach the Skin Grinding Realm, will Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine still do you much good?"
"Ordinary meat can boost the vital energy of someone practicing martial arts. But for a martial artist, eating nothing but ordinary meat is like an ordinary person eating rice without meat. Their vital energy won't be replenished, and their strength will keep declining."
"So every Skin Grinding Realm martial artist needs a way to make money."
"With silver and gold, you can buy those resources."
As he spoke, Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Shu enviously.
Given his position, he knew that Jiang Shu owned a tenth of the profits from Zhou Family Restaurant.
That income alone was enough to support Jiang Shu's early Skin Grinding Realm cultivation.
Qi Yuan stopped there, certain Jiang Shu had already guessed where he was taking him.
Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Shu's faint smile vanished. He looked at Qi Yuan and offered his guess in two words:
"The Black Market?"
"Every martial artist has their own way of making money. Most of us in the Skin Grinding Realm come from reasonably well-off families. We also put our names down at various shops and collect hefty endorsement fees. Some become Attendants to wealthy households, entering into an equal exchange: the martial artist works for the household, and the household pays the martial artist well."
Pingling County.
Night fell.
The bright moon hung high, and the streets grew quiet as passersby dwindled.
Qi Yuan took a white monkey mask and a cloak from his room and handed them to Jiang Shu. "Put these on. You can't let anyone see your real face there."
As he spoke, he put on a cloak himself and donned a black bear mask. He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, his voice had grown steadier, as though he were a middle-aged man in his forties. "The resources needed by a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist are already beyond what an ordinary, well-to-do family can afford."
"Bone Forging Realm resources cost even more. Most martial arts schoolmasters are already past their prime, their vital energy in decline. That's why they only charge ten taels of silver, letting small sums add up. Those who can truly advance all come from wealthy families. If even the Bone Forging Realm costs that much, guess how many resources the magistrate of Pingling County—the county's only Viscera Refining Realm martial artist—needs every day?"
"Does he rely on the court's salary?"
"The Black Market has managed to survive all this time because behind it..."
Qi Yuan left the sentence unfinished and walked out of the courtyard.
Jiang Shu held his breath and followed close behind.
Sure enough, secrets like these would remain hidden until you had reached a certain realm and status.
Behind the Black Market, there had to be the County Office and the wealthy households.
The stability Pingling County showed on the surface was nothing more than an understanding between the two sides.
So as long as the wealthy households didn't go too far,
the County Office would side with them without question.
Qi Yuan's footsteps were light. He wound through many alleys before reaching an ordinary-looking house deep in one of them, seemingly uninhabited.
He pushed open the door with practiced ease. The room was tidy and completely empty. He walked to the wall and pressed against it. A hidden door swung open.
At once, another world appeared before Jiang Shu's eyes.
Two wooden pillars stood firm, with several lanterns hanging high above them.
In front of the pillars stood two masked men holding sabers. Their vital energy surged, and the saber edges looked especially menacing in the moonlight.
"Those standing guard are all Skin Grinding Realm martial artists. They're here to keep outsiders from breaking in. The minimum requirement to enter the Black Market is the Skin Grinding Realm. Of course, someone like you can come in and take a look with me accompanying you."
Qi Yuan spoke softly. He walked up to the two men, stood facing the air, and threw a punch. Inner Strength rang out.
Only after they nodded did he lead Jiang Shu into a street just wide enough for two people to pass through.
After several twists and turns, they arrived at a vast square, like a small marketplace.
"There are five small trading areas like this in the Black Market. We entered from the east. There's one at each of the other three directions, too, and they offer martial arts resources for the Skin Grinding Realm."
"As for the very center, no one can enter unless they're a Bone Forging Realm expert."
Qi Yuan drew Jiang Shu into a corner and quietly filled him in.
He had only officially entered the Black Market after reaching the Skin Grinding Realm. It had taken him months of exploring to learn this basic information.
If Jiang Shu hadn't struck him as such a good fellow, and so often brought him strong liquor,
he wouldn't have told him so readily.
"The Black Market opens on a regular schedule, usually once a month, on the fifteenth. Ordinary goods can be bought with gold and silver. Rare ones are mostly traded for other goods. The things for sale vary in quality and are hard to authenticate. The rule is simple: once money and goods change hands, that's it. No refunds, no responsibility."
"Will you come with me, or look around on your own and meet me later?"
"I'll go by myself."
Jiang Shu kept his voice low, disguising it.
From a safety standpoint, since he hadn't reached the Skin Grinding Realm, sticking with Qi Yuan was clearly the best choice.
But the Black Market didn't open every day, and as a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist, Qi Yuan needed to buy his own cultivation resources.
He had only brought Jiang Shu along to broaden his horizons.
If Jiang Shu stayed by his side the whole time, Qi Yuan would surely feel constrained while shopping. After all, who could lay all their business bare in front of someone else?
"Fine. Let's meet back here in half an hour."
"Okay."
Before you continue