Back when he was at Song Academy, Lu Yuan had heard Chen Pi and the others mention the black market many times.
He knew that there, people traded stolen goods that couldn't be sold in the open, and all kinds of banned items were available for purchase.
If you were lucky, you might even find martial arts manuals for sale.
But the black market was a mixed bag, full of all kinds of people.
Unless you were strong enough to protect yourself, it was best not to go there lightly.
Just looking around and broadening your horizons was one thing.
But if you planned to make a major purchase—or worse, flaunt your wealth—you could easily attract unwanted attention.
That was why Lu Yuan, though curious, had never set foot in the black market before.
Now, however, he had enough confidence to go.
After days of nourishing and tempering himself, the qi and blood in his body had grown several times more abundant than before.
Even after using the perfected Wind-Breaking Blade Technique to unleash its blade aura, he should be able to sustain at least ten strikes.
With the perfected Flick Finger Technique on top of that, even against someone in the Transformation Realm, he might still be able to put up a fight.
If anyone tried to rob him, it was hard to say who would end up robbing whom.
After night fell, Lu Yuan made some quick preparations, slung a large bundle over his back, and headed out.
Though night had only just fallen, the streets were already nearly empty.
The houses on either side had almost all shut their doors and windows.
Even the refugees who were often seen by the roadside seemed to have vanished.
He didn't know whether it was because the New Year was approaching and the authorities had cleared them away, or for some other reason.
After turning left and right and winding through several alleys, Lu Yuan finally reached the black market entrance.
From the outside, it looked like little more than a courtyard, albeit one even larger than the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters.
Two burly, powerfully built men stood on either side of the gate like guardian deities.
"Entry fee: two hundred copper coins!"
As soon as Lu Yuan reached the gate, one of the men said.
Just the two-hundred-copper entry fee alone is enough to keep most ordinary people out.
Lu Yuan silently handed over two taels' worth of silver.
"Remember, fighting is forbidden in the black market, and so is taking other people's property. Break the rules, and you'll bear the consequences!"
After taking the silver, the man added.
Lu Yuan nodded, then walked into the courtyard with his bundle.
The moment he stepped inside, he felt as if he'd entered another world.
The place was brightly lit, and rows of stalls were laid out in neat order.
The people moving between them were almost all cloaked and masked. Their faces and appearances were impossible to make out, and it was hard to tell men from women at a glance.
Lu Yuan glanced at a stall nearby and saw that it sold cloaks and masks. He casually bought a set.
With the black cloak covering him and the mask hiding his entire face, even someone who knew him well might not recognize him.
As Lu Yuan went deeper into the market, he noticed that the goods on display became increasingly valuable.
Even banned items like crossbows and armor were for sale.
At a few of the stalls, he also spotted antiques with a strong smell of earth about them.
Lu Yuan had no interest in those.
"Friend, do you have anything to sell?"
Just then, a stall owner suddenly stood up and stopped him.
"I do."
Lu Yuan circulated the qi and blood in his body, making his voice sound much deeper.
"Then you've come to the right place. I buy anything. I don't ask where it came from, and I don't haggle the price down without reason. Goods for cash, cash for goods—an honest deal!"
The stall owner smiled and said, "If you're willing, let me inspect your goods first. I'll be sure to offer you a fair price!"
Lu Yuan didn't waste any words. He set down his bundle and let the man open it.
"These are all fine goods, and in pretty good condition!"
The stall owner's eyes lit up as soon as he opened the bundle. He quickly began taking stock.
"Friend, let's make it a round number. How about three hundred taels of silver for the lot?"
Before long, the stall owner looked up at Lu Yuan and asked with a smile.
"Fine."
Lu Yuan nodded. He had estimated their value at about the same amount.
"Then we have a deal!"
The stall owner beamed and quickly counted out three hundred taels' worth of silver notes for Lu Yuan.
"Friend, if you have more goods in this condition next time, I'll take as much as you can bring. And I won't shortchange you on the price!"
Lu Yuan nodded and put away the notes.
He didn't leave in a hurry, but continued browsing.
The Guangchun Hall sold everything from meat to Essence-Replenishing Soup and Qi-Replenishing Soup, as well as Rejuvenation Pills and Blood-Qi Pills.
So he wasn't short on resources to aid his cultivation. What he lacked were martial arts techniques.
The Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and Flick Finger Technique had both reached perfection, so there was no need to keep practicing them.
The Five Animals Fist had also reached perfection. He still needed to train it to nourish and temper his qi and blood, but he could only keep up a pace of three sessions a day. That still left him with quite a bit of spare time.
It wasn't that he didn't want to practice more. Essence-Replenishing Soup helped him recover quickly, but he still needed at least one or two hours of rest.
So he wanted to see whether he could find a new technique in the black market, something that would put his resting time to use as well.
Ideally, he'd find a movement technique to shore up his last weakness.
As for internal cultivation, his perfected Five Animals Fist was enough to nourish his qi and blood up to the Transformation Realm.
For offense, he had the perfected Wind-Breaking Blade Technique at close range and the perfected Flick Finger Technique at long range. Those were enough for now, so he didn't need to rush into learning anything new.
The only thing he truly needed was a movement technique.
With one, he could handle himself with ease whether he was chasing someone down or making a clean escape.
But after circling the market, Lu Yuan hadn't seen a single stall selling martial arts manuals.
Looks like I'll have to find another way to get a new technique.
Disappointed, Lu Yuan shook his head and turned to leave.
"Heh... friend, looking for a martial arts manual?"
After he'd taken only a few steps, a somewhat scrawny figure suddenly blocked his path.
The other person was also wrapped in a black cloak, with a rabbit mask on his face.
"What kind of manual?"
Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened as he asked.
"I've got Tiger-Subduing Fist from Sanhe Martial Hall, Blazing Sun Palm from Blazing Sun Martial Hall, and Master Song's Five Animals Fist from Song Tingwei... Today, I'm selling them dirt cheap, at a painful loss. Just fifty taels of silver each!"
The rabbit-masked man paused, then spoke in a low voice.
"Can I take a look at the Five Animals Fist?"
Lu Yuan's interest stirred, and he asked.
He hadn't expected to find Master Song's Five Animals Fist for sale in the black market too.
"You can only look at one page!"
The rabbit-masked man nodded.
He immediately took out a small booklet and opened it to the first page.
Half true, half false.
Lu Yuan only needed one glance to silently shake his head.
He had already cultivated the Five Animals Fist to perfection, so he could easily tell that no more than half the booklet's contents were genuine. The rest had been cobbled together and fabricated, making them impossible to practice.
Anyone who bought it and tried to train from it would not only fail to master the technique, but might even wreck their body.
He didn't need to look any further to know the other manuals this man was selling were likely just as bogus.
Without another word, Lu Yuan continued on his way.
"Wait!"
The rabbit-masked man hurriedly reached out and grabbed Lu Yuan's arm.
"Get lost!"
Lu Yuan snapped, easily shaking the man's hand off before striding away.
The black market really did have all kinds of people. This one had tried to swindle him with a fake manual. Good thing he'd been careful.
"Hidden... Hidden Energy!"
The rabbit-masked man looked down at his stinging, numb hand, his eyes filled with shock.
"Minotaur... wait... Minotaur..."
Just as Lu Yuan was about to leave the black market, the rabbit-masked man hurried after him again.
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