Counterattack

However, Li Beichen hadn't seen any fresh Exotic Beast Meat the entire way.

As he passed a stall, a blackened strip of dried meat caught Li Beichen's attention.

It looked somewhat like Exotic Beast Meat.

"Brother, how much for this strip of dried meat?"

"Five hundred taels. The price is firm."

"Is it dried Exotic Beast Meat?"

"It is!"

Exotic Beast Meat usually looked quite different from ordinary beef or mutton.

But the dried meat at this stall was just a blackened lump, and Li Beichen couldn't be sure.

"Cut off a slice and try it yourself."

He asked the stall owner to cut off a piece and eat it, but the man refused point-blank.

Li Beichen turned and walked away.

Just then, a masked man strode straight toward him.

"Brother, are you looking for Exotic Beast Meat?"

Li Beichen remained impassive.

"What, you have some?"

"Yes. Just up ahead. A pound of pure, fresh Ninth Grade Exotic Beast Meat costs only ten taels."

"Ten taels?"

"That's right. The other sellers charge fifteen, even twenty taels a pound, but I only charge ten."

"Let's go!"

When the masked man saw that Li Beichen still hadn't moved, he urged him again.

"No need. I'm not interested."

"You think you can toy with me, you little bastard?"

The masked man's eyes flashed with malice. He reached out, attempting to drag Li Beichen away by force.

Whoosh!

A silver flash shot out from beneath Li Beichen's cloak.

It was the Refined Iron Dagger.

Li Beichen slashed backward, slicing through the masked man's wrist tendons.

"Argh!"

A howl of pain rang out.

Hearing it, two muscular masked men suddenly darted out of the woods ahead.

In Li Beichen's estimation, both were Ninth Grade masters of the Meat Refining Realm.

Seeing the masked man injured, they immediately charged at Li Beichen.

Beneath his mask, Li Beichen's lips curled up. His gaze sharpened, and he charged straight at them.

Now that his Giant Elephant Fist had reached Slight Mastery, he hadn't yet had a chance to stretch his limbs.

Li Beichen held the dagger in one hand and clenched the other into a fist.

Although he didn't know any blade techniques, thunderous cracks rang out with every punch and slash.

With Hundred Echoes in his body, he could unleash his full strength without restraint.

The two burly men were only ordinary Flesh Tempering practitioners, at best about as strong as Wu Ming. How could they withstand Li Beichen's unrelenting attacks?

After just over ten exchanges, Li Beichen had knocked them both to the ground.

Together with the first man, all three curled up in a heap.

Each of them had taken a few injuries.

Li Beichen wiped the blood from his dagger, then picked at his fingernails.

He walked toward the three men.

"Tell me, what were you trying to do?"

"Spare... spare us!"

"We really only wanted to sell Exotic Beast Meat."

The first masked man, whose wrist tendons Li Beichen had sliced, was still trying to lie.

Li Beichen looked at him mockingly, making no effort to hide the murderous intent in his voice.

"Is that so? If there's no meat in those woods, I'll butcher the three of you."

"How does that sound?"

The men felt a chill run through them. One of them couldn't take the pressure and confessed.

"No! We only wanted to rob people of some money, make a quick buck. We haven't killed anyone!"

"Exactly, exactly! The two we lured in earlier, we only took their money and then let them go."

"Now that's more like it."

Li Beichen looked at the three men.

The masked man from earlier was clearly in charge of luring people to a secluded spot. Then the other two would threaten them and rob them of their valuables.

Seeing that Li Beichen had an average build, they had taken him for an easy mark and reached for his pockets.

They hadn't expected to run into someone who could fight back.

Li Beichen held the dagger and tapped the three men's necks with its flat.

The icy touch made their hair stand on end.

"How much have you stolen? Hand it all over."

The three men grimaced, but when they saw the dagger's glint, they hurriedly emptied their pockets.

"Is that all of it?! If any of you is hiding something and I find it when I search you, you'll leave your lives behind too!"

At Li Beichen's words, two of the men took out a few more banknotes.

By now, more and more people had gathered to watch.

Zhang Meng hurried over as well.

"Old Seven, what happened?"

"These petty thieves tried to lure me into the woods and rob me."

"You've got some nerve!"

Zhang Meng roared, making no effort to hide his terrifying presence.

"A Seventh Grade master!"

The onlookers recognized Zhang Meng's strength and couldn't help but murmur in alarm.

In Ram City's Black Market, Seventh Grade masters were already at the very top.

The three men were even more terrified. They hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

"You can keep the masks on your faces. Strip off everything else, then get lost."

The men were reluctant, but compared with the threat to their lives, they had little choice. Slowly and awkwardly, they took off their clothes.

Three bare white bottoms were revealed.

Covering their privates with their hands, they scrambled out of the Green Forest.

Ninth Grade martial artists were already people of standing in Ram City.

Even with their faces covered and a scrap of cloth to hide their shame, they could no longer show their faces in the Black Market.

"Hahaha! You've got some moves, kid!"

"Everyone gets a share. Come on, Senior Brother!"

Li Beichen divided the things on the ground into two piles and handed one to Zhang Meng.

"Get out of here! This was your own problem to deal with. How could I take your things? If Master heard about it, he'd smack me upside the head!"

"All right, then. I'll take it."

Li Beichen counted the banknotes they'd just seized from the three men. There were more than three hundred taels, along with a few odds and ends.

He tossed away anything that was useless.

Beside him, Zhang Meng adjusted his Ox-Head Mask and smiled.

"From the looks of it, you didn't find any Exotic Beast Meat."

"That's normal. Exotic Beast Meat is scarce. People barely have enough to eat themselves, so few are willing to sell it."

"Unless they're in some kind of urgent need."

Hearing Zhang Meng's consolation, Li Beichen nodded helplessly.

He'd walked around the whole place without spending a single cent. Instead, he'd come away with a hefty haul.

"Senior Brother, I heard that man mention Ninth Grade Exotic Beast Meat. Is Exotic Beast Meat also classified according to the grades of martial artists?"

"Yes. People are divided into nine grades, and Exotic Beasts have nine corresponding grades too."

"For Ninth Grade martial artists, and even Eighth Rank martial artists, Ninth Grade Exotic Beast Meat is enough."

"Martial artists at higher levels need Exotic Beast Meat of a higher grade."

Zhang Meng pointed at himself.

"Someone like me needs Eighth Grade Exotic Beast Meat to supply what I need for cultivation."

Li Beichen recalled what Meng Juxiang had told him: the path of martial arts actually split into three branches. Body tempering was the most common, while the others were qi cultivation and Spirit Refining.

He couldn't help connecting that to Exotic Beasts as well.

"Then, Senior Brother, are there differences between Exotic Beasts too? For instance, could an Exotic Beast possess true qi, or even other... supernatural abilities?"

The Black-White Strange Pig Li Beichen had killed was only average in physical strength, but its illusion had been lifelike.

If the panel hadn't warned him, he would have fallen for it.