Antique Street

Tch, Master really was ruthless.

Late at night, Liu Tian staggered out of the small courtyard leaning against the wall, like medicinal dregs that had been squeezed completely dry. As the strongest fighter of the current era, Tian Dao far surpassed Liu Tian in stamina, strength, agility, and combat experience.

Over nearly six hours, Liu Tian had tried every method he could think of, only to be brutally suppressed each time. He had heard "Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, Heart Severing Path" so often it was becoming a conditioned reflex, but this devilish training had not been without results.

Effort.

Liu Tian summoned the panel. The Heavenly Martial Fist, once its only skill, had transformed into Heavenly Martial Killing Dao. Perhaps because Heavenly Martial Killing Dao counted as an upgraded version of Heavenly Martial Fist, their levels had not converted at an equal rate.

After Heavenly Martial Fist transformed into Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, its original Level 4 had also regressed to Level 3. The effects had not changed much, except for the addition of a simple Level 1 effect called Dominating Thought.

Now, the panel's description of Heavenly Martial Killing Dao read as follows: Level 3. Effects: Sturdy Body (Level 3), Light Body (Level 2), Killing Intent (Level 2), Dominating Thought (Level 1). Cannot be upgraded.

As for the Dominating Thought effect, Liu Tian felt that when practicing martial arts or fighting, he would experience a certain sensation. A faint impulse would arise in his heart, as though a voice—a voice from the depths of his soul—was roaring: conquer, plunder, rule, command everything.

According to Tian Dao, this voice would constantly accompany those who practiced Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, growing stronger as their mastery deepened, until they broke through the Fighter realm and gained control over it.

Heavenly Martial Killing Dao was a martial art that focused on the heart. It was genuinely powerful, and genuinely insane.

If it did not only take effect during training and combat, if it constantly appeared in everyday life as well, then even practitioners who originally had no ambitions might be turned into lunatics obsessed with accomplishing grand things at any cost.

Even so, with Killing Intent and Dominating Thought working together, practitioners of Heavenly Martial Killing Dao often found it difficult to control themselves in battle. They might even temporarily fall into madness, dominated by their desire for slaughter. Yet at the same time, Killing Intent and Dominating Thought granted cultivators greater strength and more enduring stamina in combat. In a sense, the mind influenced the body.

It really was a demonic art through and through.

Once he was far enough from the small courtyard, Liu Tian—who had not actually suffered much injury—stopped pretending and straightened his back at once. If not for his superb acting, his hollow expression would never have fooled Tian Dao while Killing Intent and Dominating Thought were inactive. Otherwise, he might still have been dragged back for another beating.

I need to find another source of Origin Points. I can't keep getting beaten like this. Master said that at this rate, it'll take me at least three months to learn the Heart Severing Path.

Fuck, if I get beaten for three months, won't something go wrong with me? My talent can't possibly be that bad. Looks like I'll have to work even harder.

Turning back to look at the light behind him, Liu Tian dismissed Effort and could not help thinking to himself.

I'll skip class tomorrow and see if the antique market has anything that can provide Origin Points...

The next day, relying on a Martial Artist's formidable control, Liu Tian forcibly obtained sick leave with an expression that suggested a gust of wind could knock him over, then headed to the antique market in a remote part of the city's south side.

This was the famous Antique Street, filled with all sorts of people and countless genuine and fake antiques.

The stalls lining both sides of the street displayed "antiques" of unknown origin—perhaps dug out of graves, perhaps stripped from corpses, perhaps unearthed from someone's own backyard.

The items displayed inside actual shops had a higher degree of authenticity. Most had some history behind them, and at the very least, they would not have been made yesterday and put on the shelves as antiques today.

The main reason this Antique Street remained so prosperous despite being located in such a remote area was its lack of regulation. Whether something had just been unearthed from a grave or stripped off a corpse, no one would interfere if it was sold here.

There might be people lying in wait at the entrance, and there might be some dirty dealings going on in secret, but within Antique Street, everyone followed the rules—because most of those who did not had already become one with the sea, while anything valuable on their bodies was sold directly as antiques.

Violet Orchid and Silverwood Star, the city's two largest underground forces, jointly served as the protectors of Antique Street. If one dug deeper, there might even be more powerful backers behind them. That was precisely why order on Antique Street was better than in most parts of the city, and even people unrelated to the underworld were not uncommon here.

That was also why, when Liu Tian arrived wearing the Rose Academy uniform, he only drew a little attention at first. Soon, most people stopped paying attention and allowed this "young master" to wander around as he pleased.

It was not as though Liu Tian had no other clothes to change into, but as had been mentioned before—Rose Academy was an aristocratic academy. Its students were either rich or noble, and it also possessed considerable hidden influence.

These days, capital ran rampant. Everyone was out here just trying to make a living, and few people were willing to risk their lives on a whim.

That was why the Rose Academy uniform made for an excellent shield. It was also a sign that he had some wealth and could afford to buy antiques.

With it, he could first cross many invisible thresholds, and second, ensure that truly powerful forces would not consider touching such a hot potato.

As for those small forces blinded by potential profit—heh, they were just a bunch of clowns. What could they possibly do to Liu Tian, who practiced Heavenly Martial Fist—no, Heavenly Martial Killing Dao?

Perhaps they would even turn their lives into experience for Liu Tian's cultivation!

Since he did not know whether his guess was correct and was unfamiliar with what each shop here sold, Liu Tian first spent nearly two hours strolling around, getting a feel for the local scene and seeing whether he could directly sense anything capable of yielding absorbable Origin Points.

Sure enough—it was completely useless!

Thinking about it, even Prism Pillars, which could definitely provide Origin Points, required close physical contact before he could absorb the warm current. How could casually wandering around possibly allow him to directly sense things that could provide Origin Points?

Although the attempt had failed, it was clear that if he wanted to find things capable of yielding Origin Points, he could only search through them one by one.

But Liu Tian was not discouraged. His earlier stroll had not been entirely pointless. At the very least, he had familiarized himself with the local scene and found several possible targets.

Now that direct sensing was impossible, there was no need to keep wandering around. Once Liu Tian made up his mind, he headed toward the first target.

Completely ignoring the stalls on both sides, where 99.99 percent of the goods were fake, Liu Tian—unable to believe his own luck—walked toward the first shop that might contain relevant antiques.

It was an antique shop named Dust, with the broadest storefront and an antique-style interior. A signboard stood at the entrance: Business: antique appraisal, purchasing valuable antiques, selling antiques.

Of course, Liu Tian had no idea how to judge whether an antique shop was reliable, but common sense told him that a shop this large should have something useful.