A False Alarm

Jiang Ping weighed his options carefully and, with the Stall Owner's permission, read the opening sections of several cultivation manuals.

In the end, he decided to buy the Jidao Martial Academy's Still Autumn Technique.

According to one Stall Owner, the major techniques were actually about equally efficient. The only difference was that Jidao Martial Academy's technique could cultivate Golden Skin.

This was also why the technique sold for more than the others. Though everyone claimed that Golden Skin could not be cultivated, who did not harbor a little hope? What if they succeeded?

Jiang Ping had chosen the Still Autumn Technique with that same expectation.

"Welcome back anytime."

The Stall Owner waved warmly at Jiang Ping's departing back.

Yet the moment Jiang Ping vanished from sight, his warmth instantly disappeared. His expression turned cold as he said to the Stall Owner beside him, "Shall we make a little extra tonight?"

The Stall Owner selling Chaoyang Martial Academy's technique immediately understood. Frowning, he said, "This person bought an Eighth-Rank technique, so his strength is probably nothing to scoff at. If we make a move against him, we could easily draw the authorities' attention. The losses would outweigh the gains."

"No need to worry. Isn't the Blood Gang's Second in Command short on silver lately? That Person is an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist and is right here. With you two added in, killing this person will not take much time."

"Let's do it!"

"That's more like it. What honest business can make silver faster than murder and robbery? It's not as if we're law-abiding citizens."

Jiang Ping had no idea that he had already been targeted. He sat down in an empty corner of the Black Market and began reading the Still Autumn Technique.

He first had to confirm whether the technique was genuine before he could rest easy. If he had been scammed, he could still go back immediately and settle the score.

He then read through the contents of the technique.

Like other Eighth-Rank techniques, it borrowed the power of Blood Qi to temper the skin and flesh, achieving the goal of cultivating Copper Skin and Iron Bone.

The Still Autumn Technique was even a top-grade product among Eighth-Rank techniques. Its contents were quite profound; for ordinary people, without the guidance of a famous master, it would take a long time merely to fully understand the technique.

However, Jiang Ping's talent was exceptional. In only a short while, he had grasped seven or eight parts out of ten.

He then circulated the technique according to its prescribed route, breathing in and out as he used his Blood Qi to stimulate his skin and flesh.

Before long, the Destiny in his mind flickered:

[Entry Level Skin Cultivation (1/200): Practice a hundred times every day, and it will be achieved in five years.]

The Destiny's effect remained steady, and Jiang Ping's natural gifts showed themselves as usual.

"The technique is genuine."

Jiang Ping let out a breath of relief. Having obtained the real thing, this journey could be considered complete.

Since he had achieved his goal, he intended to leave.

Before leaving, Jiang Ping had wanted to buy a pound of Lingxi Meat on the cheap. After examining it, however, he realized that the "fresh" Lingxi Meat was not fresh at all. Its color was far inferior to what he had seen with Escort Huang.

In the end, he spent half a tael of silver on some ginseng, intending to take it back and steep it in wine.

"Someone's following me."

As he headed toward the exit, Jiang Ping suddenly turned and glanced at the Black Robe figure behind him, wearing a Blood-Colored Mask and looking up at the sky.

How could one come to the Black Market without any counter-surveillance awareness? Not long after buying the technique, he had noticed this person. The other party had been watching him for quite some time.

"How did they set their sights on me?" Jiang Ping pondered, then sighed. The Black Market truly was dangerous. It was all too easy to become someone's prey.

With that thought, he quickened his pace and left the Black Market in the blink of an eye.

It was a moonless night, with high winds howling.

The Blood Gang's Second in Command and the two Stall Owners followed Jiang Ping out of the Black Market.

"When do we strike?" one of the Stall Owners asked in a low voice.

"He seems to have noticed me, but it doesn't matter. You two will test his strength first. I'll strike from the shadows," the Second in Command instructed.

Though he was an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist, he understood that even a lion had to use its full strength to catch a rabbit. Letting him, the strongest among them, find an opening to deliver an instant kill was the safest approach.

The four of them moved toward the city, one before and three behind.

At a street corner, Jiang Ping suddenly accelerated, clearly intending to flee.

Yet he discovered that no matter how much he sped up, he could not widen the gap between himself and the three people behind him.

Very soon, Jiang Ping was caught up to. The three men stood in three different directions, faintly forming an encirclement around him.

"Why do I get the feeling you've never wandered the martial world before? Traveling outside, and you haven't even learned a Leg technique?" the Stall Owner who had sold the Still Autumn Technique could not help laughing.

Only then did Jiang Ping understand that he had been caught because he had not learned any Leg technique for fleeing or pursuing others.

He had wanted to learn one, but unfortunately, he had no connections. The only silver he had possessed had all gone toward buying the Still Autumn Technique.

And by the moonlight, he recognized two of them. They were actually the two Stall Owners who had just sold him cultivation techniques. He could not help saying, "Is this really so devoid of martial virtue? I already gave you silver."

"Not enough! I want everything on you!!"

With that, the two Stall Owners gave Jiang Ping no chance to speak again and attacked at once.

Xiu!

A piercing sound tore through the air, and countless tiny flashes of silver abruptly reflected in Jiang Ping's eyes.

Hidden weapons!

Sure enough, those who roamed the martial world all concealed lethal weapons. Once they struck, they aimed to kill. The moment they acted, hundreds of hidden weapons flew out.

This gave Jiang Ping great inspiration. He would have to do the same in the future.

He would also have to coat his hidden weapons with poison and prepare more poisons while he was at it.

Clang!

As his first battle since setting foot in the martial world, Jiang Ping took it extremely seriously. By the time the hidden weapons all arrived, his Black Saber had already left its sheath.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Jiang Ping's long saber swept out afterimages. There was no grand, wide-opening style to it; instead, it was dazzlingly chaotic, fast to the absolute extreme.

"Fast Saber, Snowfall." The Second in Command raised his brows from afar, recognizing the origin of the Blade Art at a glance.

"From the Four Seas Escort Agency. A bit troublesome, but it changes nothing. Once he's dead, no one will know," he murmured.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Under Jiang Ping's Blade Art, all the iron nails fell to the ground. Yet several hidden weapons had slipped past his defense, only to have their attack blocked by a scarlet layer.

"Blood Cultivation Completion. He really is an expert."

Before the words had even faded, the two Stall Owners' longswords had already reached him.

From Jiang Ping blocking the hidden weapons to the two men's attack, it had taken scarcely the time of a spark flashing off flint. The two seemed highly practiced, coordinating with flawless tacit understanding and giving Jiang Ping no time to catch his breath.

Hum!

Jiang Ping blocked instinctively. Then, with a turn of his wrist, he actually shifted from defense to offense, one slash drawing dozens of Blade Lights.

"Radiance? We're all Old fellows who have cultivated for decades. Who doesn't know how to use it? You wield a Fast Saber; I wield a fast sword."

The two Stall Owners did not panic in the slightest, each unleashing Sword Radiance.

For a time, the radiance was like flying snow and like a torrential downpour, raging and colliding through the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions rang out like strings of firecrackers.

The three men "danced" through the street, fast sabers clashing against fast swords. After more than a hundred exchanges, neither side had gained the upper hand.

"The Old fellow is truly strong. Fighting two against one without falling behind—no wonder he came to buy this Eighth-Rank technique." The Still Autumn Technique Stall Owner chuckled.

"You old man sure are noisy."

Jiang Ping cleaved apart the two men's attack and spoke.

He did not disguise his voice as hoarse. Instead, he revealed a trace of youthfulness.

"Not an Old fellow—a Young man!" Hearing Jiang Ping's voice, the two men froze. Their exchanged glances carried a hint of astonishment.

Their opponent was not one of their Peers. He sounded like a very young youth?

Impossible. Since when had Yang City produced such a young expert?

There were geniuses in Martial Dao cultivation realms, but young people capable of displaying such Blade Art were exceedingly rare.

Bang!

When the two men lost focus for a moment, Jiang Ping seized the opening and wounded both of them with a single slash.

Xiu! Xiu!

The two Stall Owners used their Leg techniques to retreat, yet they still stood in different directions, maintaining their encirclement.

At that moment, the Second in Command said, "Do not be fooled by appearances. This person's Blade Art is so exquisite—how could he possibly be a Young man? He deliberately did this to make you two expose an opening. It only shows how rich his combat experience is."

"That's true. How could there be so many geniuses in this world, and how could we happen to meet one? Which of them is not a good little darling in the palms of their Elders?" The Still Autumn Technique Stall Owner nodded. So it had merely been a false alarm.

"Fight again!"

The two Stall Owners charged at him again, and Jiang Ping raised his saber to meet them.

Just as the battle reached white-hot intensity, the Second in Command suddenly struck. A powerful gust distorted the air, and immense might swept across the entire street.

Jiang Ping slightly raised his eyes, his long hair whipping in the wind. "Eighth Rank?"

Clang!

Almost the instant the Second in Command attacked with the force of thunder, an even sharper Wind Force swept up the robes of all three men.