Twofold Comprehension, Double Kill!

"How much for a Treasure Fish?"

Liu Chu came to the stall and asked.

There was nothing else on this stall, only two Treasure Fish bound with the Bow Fish Technique. Straw rope passed through their gills, pulling the fish into bow shapes, with the other end tied to their tails.

The Bow Fish Technique allowed fish to survive for several days after leaving the water. It was exceedingly miraculous.

"This Single-horned Red Carp costs twenty-one taels of silver."

Seeing a customer asking for prices, the stall owner pointed at the Single-horned Red Carp, then pointed at the other green-scaled Treasure Fish. "This Green-scaled Blood-patterned Fish costs twenty taels!"

"Sure enough, they're cheaper than outside. They're probably embezzled stolen goods, so they need to get rid of them quickly."

Liu Chu thought to himself. Naturally, he recognized the Single-horned Red Carp as the kind of Treasure Fish he had caught himself. Its market price was around twenty-five taels.

He glanced at the stall owner again and saw that although the man had covered his face with black cloth, his thick neck and broad head made it obvious he was most likely a cook or something similar.

"Thirty-eight taels. I'll take both!"

Liu Chu pressed the price down.

"No. Forty-one taels. Not a copper less!"

The stall owner spoke in a muffled voice.

"Thirty-nine taels!"

Liu Chu raised his offer again.

In the end, the two settled on forty taels, saving only one tael of silver.

"Sigh, I'm still not good at haggling..."

Liu Chu sighed inwardly as well.

He had been terrified of poverty for the past three years. Now that he had suddenly become rich, he still spent quite a while wrangling back and forth over a few taels of silver.

Unfortunately, his bargaining skills weren't up to par, and he ultimately saved only one tael.

After putting away the two Treasure Fish, he went to the neighboring stall.

The owner of the neighboring stall was also a broad-headed, thick-necked fellow. The two seemed to be in the same group, and there were two Treasure Fish laid out before him as well.

"Do these rich households eat Treasure Fish like regular meals?"

Liu Chu hadn't expected these two suspected cooks to be able to pull such a sleight of hand and bring a full four Treasure Fish to the Black Market to sell.

It was hard to imagine just how wealthy the lineage they served truly was.

The people below could casually scrape together four Treasure Fish just by picking at the edges!

He spent another twenty taels to buy one Treasure Fish.

In the end, Liu Chu had spent only sixty taels to meet his goal of three Treasure Fish, leaving him with a full thirty taels of silver!

"Tsk, I didn't even touch the thirty taels I borrowed from A Qi!"

Liu Chu felt somewhat emotional.

Still, he had borrowed those thirty taels from Han Qi merely as a precaution, not because he absolutely had to spend them all.

Now that he had bought all the Treasure Fish, he didn't linger and directly left the Black Market.

"Hm? I was still followed."

Liu Chu sensed the tail behind him. He swiftly turned into an alley, and with a thought, said, "Sacrifice!"

In an instant, the three Treasure Fish in his hands were sacrificed.

A strange sensation surged forth. It felt as though a clear, ethereal breath had poured into his mind, making it instantly lucid and bright as all manner of marvelous ideas burst forth.

Attribute Panel:

Host: Liu Chu

Comprehension Amplification Multiplier: 2x (Sacrificable: ten Treasure Fish / one hundred taels of silver, lifespan: three years)

Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice (Minor Accomplishment Realm 1%)

Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique (Great Accomplishment Realm 11%)

"My comprehension has doubled. My comprehension is now amplified to twice what it was before!!"

A sharp gleam flickered in Liu Chu's eyes.

Twofold comprehension!

Without a doubt, from now on, his cultivation speed would climb to an even higher level!

"The next sacrifice requires ten Treasure Fish... that's equivalent to starting from two hundred taels of silver!!"

Liu Chu frowned. He felt that for the next sacrifice, he would have to put in considerable effort to save enough silver.

"Hm?"

Liu Chu suddenly stopped.

A figure had appeared at the end of the alley, blocking his path.

"Hehe, trying to run? My brother and I know this place better than anyone. Let's see where you can run to!"

The masked man before him held a long saber, sneering as he blocked the alley exit.

Liu Chu instinctively turned around, intending to flee from the other end of the alley, only to discover that another masked man holding a wooden staff had appeared behind him.

He was surrounded by the two of them!

"In the end, I don't know this area well enough..."

Liu Chu sighed inwardly. He had wanted to shake off his tail without clashing with anyone.

But he wasn't familiar with the area outside the Black Market. The moment he plunged into this alley, the two robbers, who knew the area well, circled around and blocked him off.

"Hand over the Treasure Fish and silver!"

The two slowly closed in, vicious light flashing in their eyes.

"Treasure Fish? What Treasure Fish? You've got the wrong person!"

Liu Chu spread his hands, showing that he had no fish in them, then pointed outside the alley. "Were you chasing someone carrying three fish? He ran out of the alley long ago. I was just passing through..."

The two froze at his words, exchanging glances as uncertainty filled their hearts.

"Big Brother, what do we do?"

The saber-wielding robber couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth and asked the other robber.

"He really doesn't have any fish in his hands..."

The other robber frowned slightly and looked into the dark depths of the alley. He too began to wonder whether the target he had been following had truly slipped away long ago.

Under the hazy moonlight, Liu Chu had covered his face with a black scarf, concealing his features. Everyone entering and leaving the Black Market was dressed similarly, making them extremely hard to distinguish.

When they had followed Liu Chu, all they remembered was the eye-catching three Treasure Fish in his hands.

Yet the man before them had no Treasure Fish!

"Forget it. A thief never leaves empty-handed!"

The staff-wielding robber hesitated only briefly before saying coldly, "Since the target has escaped, we'll switch to the one in front of us!"

"Hehe, Big Brother's right!"

Upon hearing this, the saber-wielding robber licked his lips. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he continued closing in on Liu Chu.

"Looks like I can't avoid this."

Liu Chu took a deep breath, his gaze abruptly turning fierce. "You... forced my hand!"

Whoosh!

Without another word, he charged fiercely toward the saber-wielding robber. After several months of martial training, his Combat Technique had reached Great Accomplishment, and his Stake Training had reached Minor Accomplishment, giving him physical abilities beyond ordinary people.

The muscles in his legs suddenly tensed, and his whole body became a black shadow. In the dark night, he was like a fierce tiger hidden deep in the forest, suddenly pouncing upon its prey.

"You're courting death!!"

The saber-wielding robber was startled at first, then angrily swung his saber down.

The saber light suddenly bloomed in the night, its edge flashing as it stirred up a howling gale and slashed straight toward Liu Chu.

Whoosh!

But Liu Chu twisted his body, narrowly evading the strike by brushing past the saber light. Then, like a flood dragon suddenly soaring into the air, he shattered the air with a punch and struck the saber-wielding robber directly in the throat!

That punch was both swift and precise, exquisite down to the finest detail, bringing the power of his Combat Technique to its absolute limit!!

Crack!

A crisp crack rang from the robber's throat. His eyes widened in disbelief before his body crashed heavily to the ground, never to rise again.

"Second Brother!!"

At nearly the same instant, the staff-wielding robber charged at Liu Chu, intending to surround him together with his companion.

Yet he hadn't expected his Second Brother to be instantly killed in a single move. His eyes nearly split apart, and killing intent surged within them.

Clang!

The long saber fell, and Liu Chu caught it.

He suddenly turned around without wasting a single word. Like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, he lunged toward the staff-wielding robber. The long saber sliced through the night as it suddenly slashed out.

The robber's expression changed. Sensing the speed of the strike, he hurriedly raised his staff horizontally before him to block.

Bang!!

With one slash, the blade embedded itself directly into the wooden staff.

"Something's wrong. That was too light..."

The robber was startled. Feeling that the slash hadn't carried enough weight, he instinctively prepared to swing his staff away.

Yet Liu Chu's hand had already become a sharp claw. His five fingers tore through the air in an instant, the wind howling as they seized the robber's wrist.

As it turned out, Liu Chu had never intended to fight the robber with the long saber. The instant he slashed out, he abandoned the weapon and attacked barehanded, unleashing the Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique upon him.

The robber had never expected Liu Chu to abandon his saber. After all, fighting a long staff with bare hands was a disadvantage no matter how one looked at it.

Who would simply throw away a long saber and choose to fight barehanded instead!?

But reality was that Liu Chu had done exactly that!

Once his Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique at Great Accomplishment was unleashed, he firmly seized the robber's wrist in but an instant.

His five fingers were like sharp claws and steel hooks, locking tightly around the robber's wrist. Then he violently twisted, explosive force bursting forth.

Crack!

The robber's wrist snapped, and the wooden staff fell with it.

"Damn it!"

The robber's pain was unbearable, his face twisted in agony. Yet terror rose in his heart, and he instinctively stumbled backward, trying to break free.

Naturally, Liu Chu wouldn't give him the chance. Grabbing his wrist, Liu Chu yanked him forward, while the fingers of his other hand clenched into a fist and launched a fierce punch.

"Die!"

The punch struck the robber's throat with perfect accuracy.

"He's a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist..."

The robber's eyes widened as his final thought arose. Scenes of his past training at the martial hall and sparring with Grade-Entry Realm martial artists flashed through his mind like a lantern carousel.

Back then, just as now, he had been utterly incapable of resisting... No, the man before him felt even more terrifying than a Grade-Entry Realm martial artist!