Ghost Market

White Ape Martial Hall.

"Huh!"

Arriving at the training grounds, Sun Wu's gaze suddenly sharpened.

The person he was looking at was none other than the sweat-drenched Jiang Chen.

"Second Stage of Blood and Qi!"

After a careful look, Sun Wu's eyes gleamed.

There was no mistake.

Jiang Chen's martial blood and qi had already fused with the essence of his five internal organs.

It had only been about ten days since Jiang Chen left the martial hall, right?

To have refined the essence of the five internal organs in such a short time?

One had to know that refining the essence of the five internal organs was far beyond what mere origin energy could compare to.

Even he had taken nearly half a month to refine the essence of the five internal organs back then.

And he was a genuine middle-grade talent, and a rather outstanding one at that.

"Junior Brother Jiang must have grasped the true meaning of the White Ape Fist!"

Watching Jiang Chen, who moved as if an ape were dancing, Sun Wu's eyes grew brighter.

To display such astonishing cultivation speed with only ordinary talent.

There was no need to ask.

This must be related to the perfection of the White Ape Fist.

As expected, he had not misjudged the man; Jiang Chen possessed shocking comprehension.

The morning sun rose into the sky.

"Hoo!"

Steaming with heat, Jiang Chen finished his cultivation.

[Cultivation: Second Stage of Blood and Qi · Early Phase (6%)]

On the Myriad Dao Chart interface, his cultivation continued to increase by 1% every hour.

"Senior Brother Sun."

After wiping away his sweat, Jiang Chen did not rest and walked toward Sun Wu.

"Junior Brother Jiang, congratulations."

Sun Wu smiled and offered his well-wishes.

He was becoming increasingly optimistic about Jiang Chen.

With Jiang Chen's monstrous comprehension, his potential was definitely no weaker than a middle-grade talent.

"Just lucky."

Jiang Chen smiled modestly, but Sun Wu's attitude was exactly what he wanted.

To be valued by others, one had to display sufficient talent.

"Senior Brother Sun, is there a secret medicine better than the Five Elements Pill for the Second Stage of Blood and Qi?"

After some polite pleasantries, Jiang Chen went straight to the point.

"How much silver do you pay for the Five Elements Pill you buy now?"

Sun Wu was not surprised by Jiang Chen's question.

Every disciple who stepped into the Second Stage of Blood and Qi would inquire about better secret medicines for cultivation.

"Thirty taels of silver."

Jiang Chen replied.

The price of the Five Elements Pill was quite transparent; whether bought at the martial hall or at outside shops, there was no difference.

"What you bought is only a common-grade Five Elements Pill."

Sun Wu remarked.

"Common-grade? Are there different grades of medicinal pills?"

Jiang Chen caught the implication in Sun Wu's words.

"Naturally."

"Because of different medicinal ingredients, different techniques, and different heat control, the quality of pills varies. Even within the same batch, there can be subtle differences."

"The pills circulating on the market are all of common quality. Those high-quality pills are monopolized by major factions and almost never flow out."

Sun Wu explained in detail.

"Then, does our martial hall have high-quality Five Elements Pills?"

Jiang Chen felt a surge of joy.

White Ape Martial Hall was backed by the Zhou Clan.

Given the Zhou Clan's foundation, they surely possessed high-quality medicinal pills.

Since White Ape Martial Hall could both generate profit and unearth martial arts talent, the Zhou Clan had every reason to funnel resources their way.

"The martial hall naturally has them, but only disciples with exceptional bone structure can obtain high-quality pills."

Sun Wu said.

Over the years, the number of disciples who had joined the martial hall and managed to secure high-quality pills could be counted on one hand.

From this, one could see just how high the martial hall's standards were.

Unless one was a true genius, they would never receive the martial hall's attention.

"Can't I buy them if I pay more?"

Jiang Chen refused to give up.

"Junior Brother Jiang, do you think our martial hall is short on money?"

Sun Wu laughed.

Jiang Chen felt helpless.

As expected, in any world, the best things could not be bought with money alone.

"However, just because the martial hall doesn't sell them doesn't mean they aren't available elsewhere."

Unexpectedly, Sun Wu changed his tone.

"Senior Brother Sun, didn't you say that high-quality pills almost never circulate on the market?"

Thoughts churned in Jiang Chen's mind.

Could it be that Sun Wu had some special channel?

Come to think of it, that was entirely possible.

The more something is prohibited, the harder it is to suppress.

As long as there is sufficient profit, people will do it in secret, even if it is a capital offense.

Moreover, those major powers were not monolithic.

Whenever profit passed through someone's hands, even if they didn't eat the meat, they would at least get some grease on their fingers.

"The merchant houses on the open market certainly don't have them, but if you're lucky, the brokers at the Ghost Market might have a small amount for sale."

"Junior Brother Jiang, if you trust me, I can go to the Ghost Market and ask for you."

Sun Wu's words confirmed Jiang Chen's suspicions.

"Then I will have to trouble you, Senior Brother Sun."

Jiang Chen cupped his hands in request.

He had no intention of going to the Ghost Market himself.

The Ghost Market was a place where all sorts of people mingled.

He was currently too weak and frail to risk going there.

"It's just a small favor, no trouble at all."

"But Junior Brother Jiang, items at the Ghost Market are significantly more expensive than on the open market."

"Take high-quality Five Elements Pill for example; a single pill costs sixty taels of silver. Why don't you go home and discuss it first?"

Sun Wu added.

Sixty taels was equivalent to twice the price of a regular Five Elements Pill.

Taking one a day would cost one thousand eight hundred taels a month.

The price was so high that an ordinary family might not be able to save that much in a lifetime.

"No need to discuss."

Jiang Chen led Sun Wu to his residence and took out one thousand taels in banknotes, dividing them into two portions.

Nine hundred taels were for purchasing Five Elements Pill, enough for half a month's supply.

The remaining one hundred taels were a gratuity for Sun Wu.

Since Sun Wu was helping out of kindness, he couldn't let him run the errand for nothing.

"Junior Brother Jiang, I'm helping you because I see your potential; consider it an investment. As for the money, I'm really not short on it."

Sun Wu, however, did not take the gratuity.

What he wanted was not this small amount of silver, but to have Jiang Chen owe him a favor.

As the saying goes, monetary debts are easy to repay, but debts of gratitude are hard to clear.

"Then I shall accept your kindness, Senior Brother."

Since Sun Wu had already made it so clear, Jiang Chen did not bother with any false modesty.

This was a good thing for him as well.

Sun Wu was a personal disciple of the Martial Arts Hall master and was responsible for instructing the outer courtyard disciples, holding a very high status in the Martial Arts Hall. Building a closer relationship with Sun Wu would make it easier to enter the sights of the Zhou Clan in the future.

Returning to the training grounds, Sun Wu continued to instruct the outer courtyard disciples.

As for the Ghost Market, it would not open until nightfall.

After Jiang Chen finished his Standing Post Technique to nourish his blood and energy, he continued with a new round of cultivation.

Around the mid-morning hour.

"Hmm?"

Luo Yang, who had arrived at the training grounds, paused in his tracks when he saw Jiang Chen cultivating.

"Second stage of Blood and Energy?!"

Luo Yang certainly would not misidentify such a familiar fluctuation of blood and energy.

"In less than a month, he went from mastering the Standing Post Technique to reaching the perfection of the second stage of Blood and Energy..."

Luo Yang's eyes were filled with shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

As for the nonsense Jiang Chen had spouted about condensing blood and energy two months ago, he did not believe it for a second.

Martial blood and energy were things that, once condensed, were difficult to conceal unless one practiced special breath-concealing techniques.

But for a martial artist at the first stage of Blood and Energy, there was never enough time to cultivate, so how could they have the leisure to practice breath-concealing methods?

It was precisely because of this that Luo Yang felt so deeply shaken.

He also possessed ordinary aptitude and knew well the difficulty of cultivation for those with such talent.

Over the past six months, while Jiang Chen had been busy sucking up to Zhou Qingzhu and messing around with Zheng Hao and the others, he had never once slacked off.

Even so, he was currently only at the late stage of the second level of Blood and Energy.

Look at Jiang Chen, by contrast.

How long had he even been cultivating, and yet he had already stepped into the second stage of Blood and Energy?

Was this something someone with ordinary aptitude could achieve?

Whose ordinary aptitude had this kind of cultivation speed?

Forget ordinary aptitude; even those with medium aptitude like Jiang Xuan and the others were likely no match for Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Chen is over there."

While Luo Yang was stunned, Zheng Hao and a few others snuck over.

"Looking at Jiang Chen, he doesn't seem to be affected at all?"

"Does that mean Jiang Chen had nothing to do with the deaths of those two?"

"This kid really has good luck, to be able to avoid that..."

Watching Jiang Chen, who was focused on his cultivation, the veteran disciples whispered among themselves.

"Was it really just stumbling into a gang fight?"

Zheng Hao also observed Jiang Chen.

If this matter were related to Jiang Chen, given the temperament of a young man, it would be impossible to be involved in a killing and remain completely calm.

But Jiang Chen's current appearance clearly showed that everything was as usual.

This could be seen from the smoothness and flawlessness of Jiang Chen's movements.

Whether it was the static post of the first stage of Blood and Energy or the dynamic post of the second stage, one had to be fully concentrated and unaffected by external influences.

If there was something weighing on his mind, his cultivation would inevitably be affected.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Zheng Hao's gaze sharpened as he scrutinized Jiang Chen.

"Second stage of Blood and Energy?!"

Zheng Hao found it hard to believe.

Jiang Chen had broken through?

How was this possible?

Was the second stage of Blood and Energy so easy to break through?

Then what were they, who had exhausted every means to achieve their own breakthroughs?

Just what kind of precious medicine had the Jiang Clan found for Jiang Chen!

"Brother Zheng, what do we do now?"

The few veteran disciples looked at Zheng Hao in unison.

According to past patterns, Jiang Chen would likely not leave the Martial Arts Hall for another ten days or half a month, but they could not wait that long.

If the debts to the gambling den aren't repaid by the deadline, they'll come knocking to collect.

Once that happens, there will be no hiding the fact that they've lost money and fallen into debt.

"I'll find a way to stall the gambling den for a few days. As for Jiang Chen, we'll stop tailing him for now to avoid alerting the prey."

Zheng Hao thought it over, then led the others away.

He wouldn't let a fat sheep like Jiang Chen slip through his fingers; one successful score was all they needed to plug every hole in their finances.