The Inner Circle

Today, Lin Qing practiced martial arts in the courtyard.

He held a horizontal saber and performed his saber technique.

With a sweep, the blade sent loose stones skittering across the ground.

In that instant, strength surged through his body. His saber flashed out, conjuring more than a dozen blade-shadows.

A string of sharp cracks rang out!

More than a dozen pebbles in the air were cleaved apart by Lin Qing's blade.

As its name suggested, the Wave-Breaking Blade Technique could sever the waves with a single stroke.

Its main strength lay in its speed and ferocity.

Many of its force-generating techniques were quite similar to those of Iron Wire Fist.

So Lin Qing's recent progress with the blade had been remarkable.

With a thought, the Dao Record displayed his progress.

[Wave-Breaking Blade Technique (Mastered)]

[Experience: 5698/10000]

[Iron Wire Fist (Transcendent)]

[Experience: 8580/20000]

"With the Blood Seals forged through practicing two martial arts bolstering me, my Skin Refining Realm is nearly complete. I'm probably just one step away from perfecting it."

Lin Qing pondered.

His realm currently far outstripped his qi and blood.

If he wanted to build up his qi and blood faster, he needed to take medicinal powder for the Second Barrier Realm, whose medicinal potency was stronger.

But medicinal powders for the Tendon Opening Realm weren't easy to find.

At the very least, none of the apothecaries in Qingping County sold anything like it.

If any did exist, they were only sold privately, consumed within gang-affiliated martial schools and great lineages.

The formulas, however, weren't hard to find. He had come across several suitable recipes for Tendon Opening in books.

But every one of them required an exotic beast's tendon as a catalyst. Deer tendon, for example, was one of the most suitable.

There were no known sellers in Qingping County.

His only lead was the Brick Kiln Black Market.

No wonder people were always coming and going there.

Most of them were probably in the same predicament as him.

"Though the Black Market is dangerous, I have no choice but to go."

Lin Qing reached his conclusion.

Most of the city's martial resources were monopolized, leaving very little for ordinary people. In terms of wealth and connections, he couldn't compete with those lineage scions either.

During his recent time at Benevolent World Hall, he had earned several dozen taels. He had once counted his savings.

His entire fortune now came to nearly two hundred taels.

If he weren't considering martial arts cultivation, that would be enough for an ordinary family to live out their days in comfort.

When he went outside, the weather was bitterly cold, and a light breeze carried drifting snowflakes.

As usual, Lin Qing changed into an inconspicuous gray padded coat and subtly altered his appearance.

With silver tucked on him, he cautiously headed toward the abandoned brick kiln outside the city.

Along the way, he stayed alert out of habit.

But for some reason, he felt uneasy today, as if unseen eyes were watching him.

Several times, he used the excuse of adjusting his shoes or studying the plants by the roadside to whip around and sweep the path and woods behind him with a sharp gaze. But he saw no suspicious figures.

Only the rustle of windblown dead leaves and the occasional strange cry of insects or birds in the distance.

"Is it my imagination, or have I just been under too much pressure lately?"

Lin Qing frowned, suppressed his unease, and quickened his pace.

He made his way to the Black Market Blacksmith Shop with practiced ease. Ever since he had been robbed that one time,

he had returned to the Black Market several times, and the Kirin Spike had undergone further improvements.

It had been reforged from Black Pattern Steel, with a retractable spike.

It was nearly time for the work to be finished.

The burly man with burn scars on his face was still hammering iron in silence. When he saw Lin Qing, he merely raised his eyelids, pulled an object wrapped in coarse cloth from beneath the counter, and tossed it over.

"I reforged it. Take a look at the finish."

Lin Qing nodded and unwrapped the cloth. Before him lay a pair of dark, gleaming Kirin Spikes, their cold light glinting sharply.

The handles were made of refined iron, with retractable Kirin Spikes mounted on them. When he bent his hand, the spikes sprang out, their edges honed exceptionally sharp.

They had a satisfying heft in his grip, and the curves fit his knuckles perfectly.

Lin Qing threw a few punches to test them, each one making a faint whoosh through the air. Then he bent his wrist, and the Kirin Spike hidden inside the knuckle guard sprang out with a sharp snap.

Its destructive power was beyond question.

If he suddenly struck an opponent with one of these in a fight, it could very well pierce their throat.

Even in a fistfight, that sudden spike could take off several fingers.

"Fine craftsmanship."

Lin Qing nodded in satisfaction and promptly paid the remaining balance.

He put the Kirin Spikes on, hiding them beneath his sleeves.

They would become one of his trump cards.

The idea was to catch people completely off guard.

"No need to pay this time. What should I call you? I've made quite a few of these Kirin Spikes and sold them directly."

The scarred man returned the silver and pointed to the Kirin Spikes hanging on the wall.

Lin Qing froze. Someone had already copied his invention?

Even so, he took the silver back and said quietly, "Just call me A-Mu."

"And you?" Lin Qing asked.

"Call me Iron Slave."

The scarred man sighed, a deep look flashing through his eyes.

"All right, Brother Iron Slave." Lin Qing nodded. He had no intention of holding it against the man for using his invention.

After all, once anything proved useful, mass imitation was inevitable.

Seeing that Lin Qing wasn't going to pursue the matter, and noticing his good manners, Iron Slave replied politely, "From now on, I'll give you a twenty percent discount on any forging work you bring me. The rest aside, there aren't many blacksmiths in Qingping County who can match me."

"Thank you." Lin Qing nodded.

After that, he began searching the Black Market for the ingredients needed to make Tendon Strengthening Powder.

Besides several rare medicinal ingredients, he also needed precious exotic beast deer tendon.

He stopped at several stalls, quietly haggling with the sharp-eyed vendors.

He chose ingredients that looked worn and unappealing.

Thanks to his absolute grasp of medicinal properties, he could always buy seemingly ordinary ingredients that were actually rich in essence at a reasonable price.

By the time he had made a full circuit, he had spent nearly thirty taels of silver and bought a large bundle of medicinal ingredients.

If he refined all of them into Tendon Strengthening Powder, he estimated the profit would be at least three times his investment.

But for now, he needed the powder to break through in his own cultivation.

So he had no plans to sell any of it.

Lin Qing carefully looked around the Black Market, but the dried deer tendons he found were still rather poor in quality, and the prices weren't cheap either.

A single dried tendon from a Silver Flower Deer cost fifty or sixty taels, and its medicinal properties were only average. Lin Qing naturally wasn't willing to be taken for a fool.

Two quarters of an hour later, Lin Qing stood before a stall, looking uncertain.

Seven or eight dried deer tendons lay before the stall. They looked to be good quality, but each cost sixty taels.

The vendor wore a bamboo hat that concealed his face. Seeing Lin Qing hesitate, he didn't say a word, simply reading his book.

Just then, a skinny man who looked unmistakably like a broker approached, his face covered by a black cloth.

"Brother, looking to buy deer tendon?"

The skinny man asked in a lowered voice.

"Yeah. What, you have some?"

A low, hoarse voice rang out, unpleasant to hear.

After learning his lesson last time, Lin Qing had taken a medicinal herb that made his throat hoarse for a short time before entering the Black Market.

"I do, brother. What you see here on the outer edge of the Black Market is all common goods. If you want to find better, rarer ingredients, you'll have to go to the inner circle."

As he spoke, the skinny man pointed toward a path bustling with people.

There were guards stationed there.

Lin Qing had tried to explore inside before, but they had turned him away, saying he didn't have a token.

He had asked the guards about it, but they had ignored him.

"Can you take me in?" Lin Qing asked.

"Of course. I, Ma Xiaoliu, know this Black Market like the back of my hand."

The skinny man nodded with a grin.

"Is there a way to get in without an introduction?" Lin Qing asked.