Shuriken

Ordinary hidden weapon techniques prioritize sneak attacks, and their force is far inferior to the hacking and slashing of handheld blades.

However, a Seventh-Grade martial artist possesses keen senses; the moment a projectile enters their proximity, they perceive it.

They can dodge with ease.

Let alone piercing their skin and flesh to inflict any real damage on a Seventh-Grade martial artist.

Back then, Li Beichen's moderately skilled Locust Stone could be easily intercepted by Hu San, a martial artist who hadn't even mastered the Flesh-Refining stage.

Therefore, after Li Beichen began practicing true martial arts, he almost stopped training with the Locust Stone entirely.

As his martial path deepened, this technique became increasingly useless.

It might still have some utility against Ninth-Grade fighters, but Li Beichen estimated it would pose little threat to anyone higher.

The Featherless Arrow was only comparable to a one-stone soft bow, and only true heavy bows and powerful crossbows could inflict damage on a Seventh-Grade martial artist.

But these were strictly controlled military armaments; even with the Liang Dynasty as corrupt as it was, they still held firm to this bottom line.

Openly, no one dared to bring such things out.

Yet now, this Shuriken claimed to be comparable to a heavy bow or powerful crossbow, possessing the power to threaten a Seventh-Grade martial artist, and Li Beichen was immediately intrigued.

However, he remained calm.

A hidden weapon technique capable of threatening a Seventh-Grade fighter must be precious; for it to be listed so early, it likely had some hidden flaw.

Li Beichen stood up, his piercing gaze passing through the Tiger-Head Mask to land on the booklet in Lady Li's hands.

"Lady Li, for such a technique to not be the grand finale, are there any restrictions?"

Lady Li's face was obscured by a veil, making her expression unreadable, but she paused for a breath after hearing Li Beichen's question.

Then, she spoke.

"This friend's question is excellent. This Shuriken does indeed have one small requirement."

"It requires the practitioner to have exceptional wrist strength, far beyond that of an ordinary person, to achieve the best results."

"Tch..."

A chorus of boos immediately erupted in the hall.

More than half of those who had just become interested lost it instantly.

But beneath the mask, Li Beichen felt a surge of joy.

After his Locust Stone reached moderate proficiency, the trait it brought was precisely this talent called [Iron Wrist], and the final line of the talent description on his panel mentioned reducing the difficulty of practicing hidden weapon techniques.

Li Beichen had not expected it to be applicable here.

He remained composed, quietly sat back down, and waited for Lady Li to state the price.

Seeing that the crowd had lost interest, Lady Li hurriedly added.

"Even without the talent for wrist strength, this Shuriken is still a rare technique, not to mention that it comes with these specially crafted blades."

"The Shuriken, starting bid at three hundred taels, with each increment no less than ten taels."

Once this price was announced, those who still had a sliver of interest immediately backed down.

Only a few people remained, hesitating over whether to raise their bidding paddles.

Seeing this, Lady Li cast a resentful gaze directly at Li Beichen.

Through the Tiger-Head Mask, it was as if she were trying to carve Li Beichen's appearance into her heart.

If not for Li Beichen's interjection, this [Shuriken] would not have fallen so flat.

At this moment, Li Beichen raised his bamboo paddle.

"Number thirty-three, three hundred taels!"

"One, two, three... Sold!"

Beside Li Beichen, Zhang Meng nudged him with his elbow.

"Old Seven, don't let this Lady Li bewitch your mind."

"She is not someone you can handle, kid."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I really have a use for it."

"Fine, you've got money anyway, and you just made a windfall."

The auction had now entered its second half.

The items appearing were becoming increasingly rare.

However, throughout the entire process, Li Beichen noticed that Zhang Meng hadn't raised his paddle once, remaining as steady as a mountain.

Just then, an item covered in red cloth was carefully carried onto the large wooden table by a man in black.

A faint, sweet, meaty aroma drifted into Li Beichen's nose.

He also noticed that as this item appeared, Zhang Meng, who had been indifferent until now, suddenly straightened his posture.

Beside the red cloth, a flush of crimson appeared on Lady Li's skin.

It seemed that because of this item's appearance, the atmosphere surged with excitement.

"Friends, we shall now enter the stage for our grand finale."

She lifted the red cloth.

A large slab of meat with clear textures and a black membrane, yet possessing a slightly crystalline quality, appeared before everyone's eyes.

"The grand finale: ten jin of Grade 7 Exotic Beast Meat!"

"Hiss..."

The crowd present drew a sharp breath.

"A Grade 7 Exotic Beast! Which Grade 6 Bone-Refining martial artist personally ventured into the Lingnan Mountains to hunt this?!"

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Li Beichen could not help but whisper.

"Senior Brother, is this Grade 7 Exotic Beast meat really that rare?"

At this moment, Zhang Meng was staring intently at the slab of meat, unable to tear his gaze away.

"Grade 7 Exotic Beasts roam dozens of miles deep into the Lingnan Mountains; those who can penetrate that far are undoubtedly experts."

"Furthermore, only a Grade 6 expert can typically kill a Grade 7 beast one-on-one."

"Take me, for example. While I can defeat an ordinary Grade 7 beast, I cannot prevent it from escaping."

"A Grade 6 expert in Ram City, even if they do nothing, receives at least eight or nine thousand taels in tributes a year. You tell me, for someone of that status to risk their life hunting such a beast, how valuable must this thing be?"

"Old Seven, you must understand, a medium-sized Grade 7 beast usually weighs three or four hundred jin, but the usable meat is generally only a little over a hundred jin."

Once Zhang Meng said this, Li Beichen understood.

"Senior Brother, I still have nearly four hundred taels on hand; I can lend it all to you for your turnover!"

"Good, Old Seven, many thanks!"

"With these ten jin of Grade 7 Exotic Beast Meat, combined with other meat and eaten sparingly, it will be enough for my needs for three months!"

On stage, Lady Li's complexion grew increasingly flushed, and her eyes seemed to mist over; she was very satisfied with the crowd's reaction.

She revealed the starting bid for the Grade 7 Exotic Beast Meat.

"Starting bid, two thousand taels; each increment must be no less than one hundred taels!"

Once this price was announced, ninety-nine percent of the Grade 9 martial artists present were immediately shut out.

Two thousand taels—unless an ordinary Grade 9 martial artist had a side business like Li Beichen, it was very difficult to accumulate such a sum.

However, the target audience for this item was not Grade 9 martial artists anyway.

"Number thirty-two, two thousand one hundred taels!"

Zhang Meng was the first to raise his bamboo placard, initiating the bidding.

Immediately following, the Red-Skinned Ascetic whom Li Beichen had seen earlier also raised his wooden placard.

"Number fifty-three, two thousand two hundred taels!"

The other Grade 7 experts also followed closely with their own bids.

The price climbed steadily, quickly reaching three thousand taels.

This price had been called out by the aforementioned ascetic.

Including Zhang Meng, the other few experts fell silent upon hearing this figure.

"Senior Brother, why aren't you bidding anymore? Is your money already insufficient?"

Zhang Meng shook his head, lowering his gaze.

"I have two thousand seven hundred taels on hand; adding yours, I could certainly bid."

"But three thousand taels of silver for three months of cultivation is simply too insane."

"If I exchanged that for Grade 8 Exotic Beast Meat, although the effect is a notch lower, it would be enough for me to eat for a year..."

Hearing Zhang Meng's words, Li Beichen could not offer a judgment.

He could only say that everyone's perspective was different.

If it were him, he would certainly fight for this rare piece of Grade 7 Exotic Beast Meat.

The path of cultivation requires one to strive and forge ahead!