Bone Refining Claw

After returning to the Grain Courtyard, everyone had gathered in groups of three or five, practicing their punches and techniques.

Others were honing their strength with stone locks in a corner of the courtyard.

Aside from patrolling, there was hardly anything else to do at the Grain Courtyard. After Xiang Geng assigned a few people their duties, he had someone lead two horses over from the stables.

Feng Xiu vaulted onto a horse, and Xiang Geng followed close behind.

The two riders left the compound one after the other, galloping east along the dirt road.

A quarter of an hour later, they had left the boundaries of Dendrobium Village and entered a stretch of desolate wilderness.

After riding for about another hour, Xiang Geng gradually reined in his horse and pointed ahead.

"Master, we're here."

Feng Xiu looked in the direction he pointed. Before them was a rocky slope overgrown with weeds, so desolate there wasn't even a bird in sight.

He frowned. "Here?"

Xiang Geng smiled, dismounted, and tied his horse to a crooked tree.

"If the Wild Market were out in the open, the authorities would've shut it down long ago." As he spoke, he headed deeper into the rocky slope. "Come with me, Master."

Feng Xiu followed him through a winding path and a patch of weeds taller than a person. Suddenly, the view opened up before them.

A narrow valley stretched across their path. Two men in black stood at its entrance, sabers at their waists and wary eyes on the lookout.

When they saw the newcomers, one stepped forward and held out a hand to stop them.

"Pass."

Xiang Geng pulled an iron token from his robe and handed it over.

The man took it and glanced at it, then looked Feng Xiu over before nodding and stepping aside.

Feng Xiu followed Xiang Geng into the valley. Gradually, the place grew livelier on either side.

Scattered stalls lined the walls of the valley. Some had a ragged piece of cloth spread on the ground; others used nothing more than a rock for a counter.

The vendors were a motley bunch. Some were burly, middle-aged men with lean, wiry builds.

The wares on the stalls were just as varied.

There were swords and other weapons, bottles and jars of pills, and even a few iron cages holding two or three Silver-Backed Gorillas, creatures never before seen on the Yunzhou Plateau.

Five fingers covered in coarse hair clutched the bars of one cage. The creature looked listless and sickly.

It was clearly suffering from the severe discomfort of altitude sickness.

As for another creature emblematic of Cloud Province, the Black Fighting Yak, those were common here too.

"They have these here?" Feng Xiu stared in astonishment.

"Of course—and that's not all. Look over there, Master." Xiang Geng smiled and pointed to a fat man using a wooden table as his stall.

Two neat stacks of smooth, flat, brown hides lay on the black table. Four or five men stood before it, asking the price.

Feng Xiu looked closely. The hides in his line of sight were shaped like the character for "big" and the character for "person."

His pupils constricted at once.

"Those are Martial Skins. A martial artist's skin is exceptionally tough. Once written on with Red Sun Ink, the words won't fade for a thousand years," Xiang Geng said quietly.

Feng Xiu's heart gave a sudden thump. The dark underworld of the martial world he had imagined now seemed laughable, like children playing house.

Ever since he had made some progress in his cultivation, he had gradually regained the mindset he'd had in his previous life—bold, confident, and even ready to crack a joke in his spare time.

But now, just one sentence had laid bare the cruel essence of the martial world.

My Lineage protected me too well. The more dazzling the world, the crueler the laws of survival hidden beneath it.

Feng Xiu's eyes gradually regained their calm.

Seeing him fall silent for a while, Xiang Geng knew his words had shocked him deeply.

"Master, don't dwell on it. There aren't many good things here." Xiang Geng changed the subject. "The real treasures are inside."

Feng Xiu glanced over the stalls. It was true—the goods on display all looked rather crude.

The customers wandering among the stalls were no ordinary people, either. Each had bulging temples and sharp eyes, and strode with the wind at their backs. They were clearly all trained fighters.

As he spoke, Xiang Geng led Feng Xiu through the market.

Past the first layer of the market, they came upon a cluster of low buildings.

Calling them buildings was a stretch. They were really just shelters thrown together from stone and wood, though they looked far more substantial than the stalls outside.

People went in and out of the doors, dressed more respectably, too.

Xiang Geng led Feng Xiu to a slightly larger stone hut. An old man stood at the entrance, dozing.

"Old Wu, anything happening today?" Xiang Geng walked over and patted the old man on the shoulder.

The old man opened his eyes and looked at Xiang Geng, then Feng Xiu. "You're in luck. It just started. Fifty taels a person."

Fifty taels.

Feng Xiu raised an eyebrow. The entry fee wasn't cheap, and he couldn't help feeling curious.

He pulled a banknote from his robe and handed it over. The old man took it, gave them each a wooden token, then stepped aside to reveal the door behind him.

Xiang Geng pushed the door open, and Feng Xiu followed him inside.

Beyond the door, a stone staircase descended. After walking down some thirty or forty steps, they came out into an open space.

It was a sizable underground chamber, lit by torches around the walls. A wooden platform, about waist-high, stood in the middle.

Dozens of chairs surrounded it. More than twenty people were already seated, each with a composed bearing. They were clearly not to be trifled with.

Feng Xiu and Xiang Geng sat toward the back.

On the platform, a lean, middle-aged man spoke loudly.

"Third item: Crimson Flame Palm, a Blood-Burning Realm martial art, a palm technique. With sufficient practice, your palms will grow hot, allowing you to wound people without leaving a trace. Opening bid: one hundred and twenty taels."

As soon as he finished, someone in the audience raised a bidding paddle.

"One hundred and thirty."

"One hundred and fifty."

Feng Xiu watched them bid against one another, feeling tempted.

What he lacked most right now were martial arts. He was just about to raise his paddle when Xiang Geng gently pressed it down.

"Don't rush, Master." Xiang Geng leaned closer. "You might not be able to leave with whatever you buy here."

Feng Xiu calmed down.

Xiang Geng continued, "Look at these people. How many of them are really here to buy anything? Most are watching to see who bids on something valuable. They'll make their move as soon as they leave the valley."

He paused, then pointed at the book of Crimson Flame Palm on the platform.

"Besides, you're not ready for this martial art yet. It can only reach its full power after your qi and blood begin to burn on their own. There's no harm in waiting to see what else comes up."

Feng Xiu nodded and suppressed the urge to bid.

A few more items went under the hammer, mostly saber and sword techniques. Opening bids ranged from a few dozen taels to two hundred.

As Feng Xiu watched, he gradually got the picture.

The goods at the Wild Market weren't particularly expensive, but whether you could leave with them alive depended entirely on your own ability.

Almost every time an item was sold, two or three people would hurriedly follow the seller out, their eyes flashing with sharp glints that clearly suggested other intentions.

"Next item." The middle-aged man on the platform held up a yellowing booklet. "Bone Refining Claw, a claw technique that specializes in training the qi and blood in both hands. Once mastered, your ten fingers will be like hooks, able to shatter bricks and stones. Opening bid: eighty taels."

Feng Xiu's heart stirred.

A claw technique.

Combined with Vajra Finger Blade, it would let him build a martial system of his very own.

"Eighty taels." He raised his paddle.

No one else bid.

The middle-aged man on the platform beamed. "Eighty taels to this young master. Sold."

That easy?

Someone came over to collect the money and handed him the booklet of Bone Refining Claw.

Feng Xiu took it and flipped through it. The first few pages explained the training method: rubbing the skin with sand and gravel to make it tougher.

There was also a corresponding medicinal bath, a method for nourishing and maintaining the hands.

When he reached the later pages, Feng Xiu stopped.

This page had clearly been sewn in, and didn't line up with the others.

It was densely covered in small writing. The handwriting differed from the earlier pages, and the characters were quite rough.

"I wish to create the Mighty Tyrant Fist: one punch, and everything within ten zhang will be reduced to dust."

"This method sets three Qi Locks within the body, sealing qi and blood in the dantian and forcing it upward to gather in the arms. Compress it again and again, then unleash it with a punch to multiply its power."

The writing on the following lines had been smeared out.

Feng Xiu was stunned. Three Qi Locks to seal the qi and blood, compress it, then unleash it?

Was this damn thing a martial arts theory?

He read on. The rest described how to combine the claw technique with this "Tyrant Fist theory."

It was only a theory, but it was described in such vivid detail that whoever had left those notes had clearly given it serious thought.

Feng Xiu closed the booklet, keeping his expression neutral.

Eighty taels for a claw technique, with a martial arts theory thrown in for free.

This trip felt worthwhile.

Just then, Xiang Geng asked quietly, "Master, what do you think?"

Feng Xiu nodded. "I'm very satisfied."

"Is there another auction?" After putting away Bone Refining Claw, he asked.

"Master, the Wild Market's auctions sometimes happen once a month. If you miss one, you might not see another for half a year. We were lucky to catch this one," Xiang Geng explained.

"Martial arts are precious to everyone. Otherwise, the market wouldn't be flooded with so many fakes."

Feng Xiu's interest grew. Xiang Geng naturally went along with it and added, "But we can look around outside. We might find something good."

"Mm, all right."

The two stood up and left the auction.

They returned to the first layer of the market. Since this was Feng Xiu's first time here, he didn't say much.

He watched Xiang Geng browse the stalls, picking through the wares.