Exclusive Feeding, A Deadly Game in the Black Market

The most bustling central commercial street in Nuoding City.

The bluestone road was warmed by the sun.

Shops lined both sides of the street.

In front of a high-end clothing store named Brocade Cloud Garments.

Xiao Wu stopped in her tracks.

Her gaze was completely captivated by a pink-and-white Fairy Flowing Dress in the display window.

The dress was woven from the finest Ice Silkworm Silk.

The hem was embroidered with delicate, scattered floral patterns.

It shimmered with a soft luster under the sunlight.

Xiao Wu looked down at her own coarse cloth dress, which had been washed until it was faded.

Her fingers twisted together unconsciously.

"Do you like it?"

Su Chen walked to her side.

He followed her gaze toward the display window.

Xiao Wu shook her head vigorously.

"I don't like it. This dress looks too flimsy. It's not suitable for fighting at all."

Though she claimed she didn't like it.

Her eyes never once moved away from the dress.

Su Chen chuckled softly.

He did not expose Xiao Wu's insincerity.

He stepped directly into the shop.

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment.

She hurried to follow him inside.

"Hey, don't just walk in. The clothes here must be terrifyingly expensive."

Xiao Wu lowered her voice.

She reached out to tug at the sleeve of Su Chen's black brocade robe.

The shopkeeper was leaning against the counter, clicking away on an abacus.

Hearing the commotion.

He looked up.

His years of experience in greeting customers allowed him to immediately discern the high cost of Su Chen's fabric.

Black base with gold threads.

Top-grade cloud brocade.

This was undoubtedly a young master from one of the city's great noble houses.

The shopkeeper immediately tossed aside his abacus.

He hurried over with a face full of smiles.

"Young Master, what are you looking for? Our shop just received a batch of the latest fabrics from Heaven Dou City."

Su Chen ignored the shopkeeper's sycophancy.

He pointed at the pink-and-white Fairy Flowing Dress in the window.

"That one. Take it down and let her try it on."

The shopkeeper glanced at Xiao Wu.

Seeing her shabby attire.

A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.

"Young Master, that is Ice Silkworm Silk. It will be ruined if it gets even the slightest snag. If it gets dirty from trying it on..."

Clink.

Su Chen casually tossed a heavy money bag.

The bag landed on the counter.

The opening spilled over, revealing the gleaming Gold Soul Coins inside.

"Fifty Gold Soul Coins."

Su Chen's tone was indifferent.

"That's enough to buy ten of your dresses. Take it down."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up instantly.

"Enough. That is more than enough. Please wait a moment, young master."

He personally moved a ladder over.

He carefully took down the Fairy Flowing Dress.

He respectfully handed it to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu looked at the magnificent dress before her.

For a moment, she was at a loss for what to do.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Su Chen reached out and flicked the rabbit ears on top of Xiao Wu's head.

"Go put it on. Today, all expenses are on the boss."

Xiao Wu covered her forehead.

Blushing, she clutched the dress and ran into the fitting room.

An incense stick of time later.

The curtain of the fitting room was pulled aside by a small, fair hand.

Xiao Wu walked out with her head lowered.

The pinkish-white Fairy Flowing Dress fit her figure perfectly.

The Ice Silkworm Silk material made her already porcelain-like face appear even fairer.

The messy scorpion braid had been neatly re-styled.

She had used the Carrot Wooden Hairpin that Su Chen gave her last night to pin it up at the back of her head.

It lacked the roughness of a wild girl.

And gained a touch of charm and liveliness.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Does it look bad?"

Xiao Wu lifted the hem of her skirt.

She looked somewhat uneasily at Su Chen, who was sitting by the tea table drinking tea.

Su Chen set down his teacup.

He scanned her for a moment.

"It's passable."

Su Chen stood up.

He walked over to a row of clothing racks nearby.

"Shopkeeper."

"Yes, young master, what are your orders?"

"All the pink and white styles on this rack. Pack two of each in her size."

The shopkeeper gasped.

That was an entire row of high-end custom-made clothing.

It would add up to at least several hundred Gold Soul Coins.

"Pack... pack them all?"

"What? Do you not want to do business?"

"No, no, no. Please sit, young master. I will have someone pack them up immediately."

The shopkeeper's voice was trembling with excitement.

He hurriedly called the shop assistants to start working.

Xiao Wu ran up to Su Chen.

Her large eyes were wide open.

"Are you crazy? Why buy so many clothes? How could I ever wear them all?"

"Change into a new one every day."

Su Chen reached out and pinched Xiao Wu's slightly chubby cheek.

It felt soft and smooth.

"The coarse cloth clothes of a work-study student don't suit you."

"You are a member of my Dorm Seven. From head to toe, you must have the best."

Xiao Wu swatted Su Chen's hand away.

She rubbed her cheek.

The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

"What a spendthrift, wasting money like that."

She muttered under her breath.

Yet, her eyes were filled with joy that she couldn't hide.

In her one hundred thousand years of life in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Aside from Da Ming and Er Ming.

No one had ever been so generous to her.

The human world didn't seem so bad after all.

At least the person before her.

Made her feel a sense of security.

Just then.

A middle-aged man dressed as a common merchant walked into the clothing store.

His gaze swept across the room.

He walked straight up to Su Chen.

He knelt on one knee.

"Young Master."

The middle-aged man lowered his voice.

On the middle finger of his right hand, he wore an iron ring engraved with the dark pattern of a Six-Winged Angel.

This was the mark of a Martial Soul Hall secret scout.

"Speak."

Su Chen lifted his teacup.

"The target has left through the academy's back gate."

The scout reported in a low voice.

"He avoided the main roads, followed the secluded alleys heading west, and eventually slipped into the West Suburb Black Market."

Su Chen took a sip of tea.

Just as expected.

With all legitimate channels sealed off.

Tang San had no choice but to seek a way out in a place where filth and crime festered.

"West Suburb Black Market?"

Xiao Wu leaned in.

Her two rabbit ears perked up with curiosity.

"What kind of place is that? Do they sell good food?"

"They sell stolen goods and murder weapons."

Su Chen set down his teacup.

He took out a gold-plated value card and tossed it to the shopkeeper.

"Pack the clothes and have them delivered to Dorm Seven at Nuoding Academy."

Su Chen turned to look at Xiao Wu.

"Let's go. I'll take you to see a good show."

Xiao Wu followed immediately.

"Whose show? Tang San's?"

"Yes. To watch a stray dog with nowhere left to run struggle in the mud."

In the western suburbs of Nuoding City.

Beneath the abandoned slums.

The air was thick with the damp smell of mold and a faint scent of blood.

On both sides of the dim passageway.

A few flickering tallow lamps were lit.

Tang San was draped in a large, hooded black cloak.

It obscured most of his face.

His hands were still wrapped in thick bandages.

Hidden deep within his wide sleeves.

The soles of his shoes pressed into the mud, which was slick with filth.

They made a sticky, squelching sound.

The Black Market was not large in scale.

But though the sparrow is small, it possesses all its internal organs.

The stalls on both sides were piled high with items of unknown origin.

Blood-stained blades and swords.

Tattered animal hides.

There were even some contraband poisonous herbs and medicinal powders.

The vendors all kept their faces covered.

They scrutinized every passerby with wary eyes.

Tang San stopped in front of a stall specializing in medicinal herbs.

The proprietor was a One-Eyed Dragon.

A hideous scar ran down his face, splitting it from forehead to chin.

Tang San lowered his voice.

He made his tone sound like that of a grown man.

"Boss. Do you have Datura Pollen?"

The One-Eyed Dragon leaned back in his chair.

He sized Tang San up from head to toe with his single remaining eye.

"Datura Pollen. That is a prohibited poison that kills on contact. Martial Soul Hall checks for it very strictly."

The One-Eyed Dragon sneered.

"One hundred Gold Soul Coins per gram. Do you have the money?"

Tang San's brows furrowed beneath his cloak.

One hundred Gold Soul Coins.

He couldn't even produce half a Copper Soul Coin right now.

"Besides the Datura Pollen, I also need the roots of Rotten Bone Grass, as well as the venom glands of three Black-Tailed Snakes."

Tang San reeled off a list of poisons.

These were all the ingredients for the Tang Sect's entry-level poison, Blood-Sorrow.

As long as he could concoct this poison.

And smear it onto his hidden weapons.

Even without internal energy to drive it.

As long as it broke the skin.

A Soul Grand Master would drop dead on the spot.

This was the trump card he would use to turn the tables in the Black Market.

The One-Eyed Dragon sat up straight.

His gaze turned dangerous.

"Kid. The things you're asking for add up to at least five hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"You don't even dare to show your face. Do you have any money in your pockets?"

Tang San pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his robes.

He slapped it onto the stall.

"I don't have money. But I have this."

"This is a blueprint for the mechanism of a repeating crossbow."

"As long as you can find a blacksmith to forge it, its power will be enough to pierce the defenses of a tenth-level Soul Master."

"I'll trade it for the materials I just mentioned."

The One-Eyed Dragon extended a rough finger.

He pinched the parchment.

Drawn on the paper was the core mechanism of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, broken down into parts.

This was a partial diagram Tang San had drawn from memory.

It was also the only bargaining chip he had to trade at the moment.

Although the One-Eyed Dragon didn't understand mechanics.

He had been working the underground Black Market for many years.

He saw the ingenuity of the blueprint at a single glance.

If this thing were sold to those wealthy merchants who lacked the ability to protect themselves.

It would absolutely fetch an astronomical price.

A flicker of greed flashed through the eyes of One-Eyed Dragon.

He shoved the blueprint into his own robes.

"The blueprint is decent. But whether this thing is real or not, I'll have to find someone to verify it."

Tang San's expression darkened.

"What do you mean? Give the blueprint back to me. One hand delivers the money, the other receives the goods."

"Once something is in my hands, there is no reason to return it."

One-Eyed Dragon slammed his hand onto the table.

The merchants at the surrounding stalls immediately stood up.

Four or five burly men with fierce faces emerged from the shadows and surrounded them.

They blocked Tang San tightly in front of the stall.

"Kid, I see your hands are wrapped up like rice dumplings. You're a cripple, aren't you?"

One-Eyed Dragon stood up.

He pulled out a dagger that shimmered with a cold light.

"Coming to the Black Market to pull a con? Do you think this is a charity house?"

"I'm keeping the blueprint. As for the materials, you can pay for them with your life."

The rule of the Black Market.

Is that there are no rules.

Bullying the weak.

Thieves robbing thieves.

This is the law of survival in the underground world.

Tang San took a deep breath.

The killing intent within his chest churned like a physical force.

He ripped the cloak from his head.

Revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes.

He forcibly circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy.

The broken finger bones sent piercing pain through him.

But he could not afford to care about that now.

He clenched his left hand.

A small, black Iron Hammer flickered in and out of existence in his palm.

Clear Sky Hammer.

If he didn't use it today.

He would absolutely never walk out of this underground Black Market alive.

Just as Tang San prepared to reveal his trump card and fight for his life.

A loud crash of splintering wood suddenly erupted from above.

BOOM.

A section of the second-floor ceiling was smashed through.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

A black figure descended from the sky like a meteorite.

Landing steadily on the stall between Tang San and One-Eyed Dragon.

The sturdy wooden table shattered into pieces instantly.

Amidst the flying wood debris.

Su Chen slowly stood up straight.

His black and gold brocade robes shimmered with a blinding nobility under the dim tallow lamps.

He brushed the dust off his sleeves.

His gaze swept over the stunned thugs surrounding them.

"Such a lively transaction, why didn't you invite me?"

Su Chen's tone was indifferent.

One-Eyed Dragon was startled.

He gripped the dagger in his hand tightly.

"Who the hell are you? Daring to wreck my place on my own turf."

Su Chen did not even spare him a glance.

He raised his right hand.

And snapped his fingers.

Whoosh.

A black shadow leaped down from the second floor.

The Cardinal appeared behind One-Eyed Dragon like a ghost.

A withered, bony hand clamped directly onto One-Eyed Dragon's neck.

The pressure of a Soul Douluo descended like a massive mountain.

Thump. Thump.

The burly men nearby were forced to their knees by this sheer pressure.

They couldn't even lift their heads.

The dagger fell from One-Eyed Dragon's hand to the ground.

His face turned deathly pale with terror.

"My... My Lord, spare me."

Tang San stared fixedly at Su Chen, who had his back turned to him.

The hatred in his eyes was practically overflowing.

"Su Chen, must you drive me to a dead end?"

Tang San gritted his teeth.

He never imagined that even after hiding in the Black Market, he still couldn't escape Su Chen's pursuit.

Su Chen turned around.

He looked at the disheveled Tang San.

"Drive you to a dead end?"

Su Chen chuckled softly.

"I am merely here to inspect the underground industries of the Martial Soul Hall in Nuoding City."

"You probably didn't know."

"Seventy percent of the profits from this Black Market are handed over to the Martial Soul Branch Hall."

Tang San felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

His entire body went cold.

The dark sanctuary he thought he had found was actually just a backyard for the Martial Soul Hall.

Su Chen walked up to One-Eyed Dragon.

He pulled the draft paper depicting the Godly Zhuge Crossbow mechanism from his pocket.

He glanced at it.

"Is this your trump card? A diagram of a few broken springs and gears?"

Right in front of Tang San, Su Chen pinched the paper between two fingers.

It instantly crumbled into a pile of scraps.

They scattered onto the sewage-filled mud floor.

"No!"

Tang San's eyes were bloodshot.

That was the first step in his attempt to replicate the secret arts of the Tang Sect.

And just like that, it was destroyed.

"Looking for materials to concoct poison?"

Su Chen ignored Tang San's fury.

He looked toward the Cardinal.

"Pack up all those trash herbs he asked for. Give them to him."

The Cardinal was stunned for a moment.

But he nodded immediately.

"As you command, my lord."

Tang San was also stunned.

He did not understand why Su Chen would do this.

"Take the medicine and get out of Nuoding City."

Su Chen's gaze was indifferent.

"I will give you three days to concoct these poisons."

"After that, you may come find me with those hidden weapons you are so proud of."

"If, after three days, you still lack the qualifications to make me look at you even once..."

"I will personally break your limbs and throw you into the Soul Hunting Forest to feed the dogs."