Wildly Imaginative

Mountain Gang, Internal Affairs Hall.

Candlelight flickered, casting mottled shadows from the hall's pillars.

"Hall Master, He Xiuyong is usually cautious. I've checked his records for recent years, and he hasn't offended anyone of significance."

Fan Hao paused, then added:

"However, my subordinates discovered that half a year ago, he asked some brothers in the gang to track someone down."

"Who?"

Hall Master Deng Yang sat upright in the main seat, his fingertips tapping against the cold sandalwood table.

"It was a hunter in Mountain-Back Village, where he was stationed, named Li Yun.

That Li Yun also happened to join the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall in the Outer City at that time.

Following this lead, I discovered that this Li Yun had previously hidden game to sell in the Outer City.

He Xiuyong reported that he would handle it immediately.

Clearly, he failed to do so.

That Li Yun also successfully opened his surface blood-qi channels three months ago, stepping into the Body Tempering Realm."

"Useless!"

The room fell silent for a moment:

"He Xiuyong has been stationed in Mountain-Back Village for years, his blood-qi long since full. How could he fail against a mere hunter?"

Fan Hao bowed forward half a step, made a throat-slitting gesture, and asked in a fierce, low voice:

"Sir, do you need me to go to the Outer City and take care of that Li Yun..."

"No. Since that Li Yun has joined the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, he is considered part of the Outer City's influence.

The balance between the Inner City and the Outer City is already delicate; there is no need to tear it apart prematurely over a minor character."

Deng Yang paused:

"The Gang Leader and the Four Great Families have already discussed it. In a few months, at the tournament...

Well, in any case, we will have someone participate."

Fan Hao's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood:

"I understand, sir."

"Choose someone reliable."

"Rest assured, Hall Master. My brother-in-law Tang Feng has full blood-qi and has achieved minor success in leg techniques; he will certainly not fail."

The next day.

After tasting the benefits of the Blood Ginseng, Li Yun had been thinking about it constantly.

When Yu Qingqing arrived at the martial hall, he walked over to ask:

"Senior Sister, I wanted to ask where one might be able to buy Blood Ginseng."

Yu Qingqing was stretching her muscles, preparing for the upcoming boxing practice.

Hearing Li Yun's question, she replied:

"Junior Brother, Blood Ginseng is a scarce resource; it is very hard to buy.

Moreover, those who possess it generally do not sell it.

Most keep it for their own use or trade it for other goods.

You ate it yesterday, so you should know how attractive Blood Ginseng is to martial artists who need to accumulate blood-qi rapidly.

Such resources are naturally tightly controlled.

In Crow Mountain City, aside from what wealthy outsiders bring with them, the rest is basically in the hands of the Mountain Gang and the Four Great Families of the Inner City.

Do you think they are short on money and would sell such precious cultivation resources?"

Money couldn't buy it.

It seemed the path of rapidly accumulating blood-qi to reach Bright Force by consuming Blood Ginseng was a dead end for now.

Li Yun nodded in agreement.

If he had such resources, he wouldn't sell them either.

"Are there any other ways to obtain it?

For example, the Bounty Pavilion?"

Even though he knew the answer, Li Yun was still unwilling to give up and wanted to ask.

After all, Yu Qingqing was from a wealthy family and was close friends with Miss Huang of the Inner City; she might be better informed.

Yu Qingqing did not stop her movements upon hearing this; she bent her left knee into a forward lunge, straightened her right leg behind her, and turned her body slightly:

"The Bounty Pavilion is, at the end of the day, an organization run by people.

They have their own selfish interests, too.

When such good items appear, the moment a seller lists them, they buy them up directly.

There is no chance for outsiders to pick up a bargain.

Only if they have a surplus will they resell them at a high price."

"Then when would they ever sell them?"

Spending silver to convert it into strength was the best path.

If he could actually buy one, Li Yun was perfectly willing to pay a premium.

"As long as the price hike for such cultivation resources isn't too extreme, even if they are listed, they are immediately snatched up by those waiting in ambush.

If you really want to buy one, you have to go to the prefecture city."

Yu Qingqing retracted her long leg, changed her posture, crossed her hands above her head, and straightened her back like a pine tree:

"There is actually an opportunity to obtain a Blood Ginseng recently, and you have a good chance, Junior Brother."

Glancing at Li Yun, who was listening intently without letting his gaze wander, Yu Qingqing felt a strange sensation before continuing:

"When Master was guiding me last time, I heard him mention it in passing.

It seems that for this year's Year-End Tournament, the first-place winner of each stage will be rewarded with a Blood Ginseng of varying age."

The Blood Ginseng is only awarded to the first-place winner?

Li Yun pondered:

I had originally planned to just show off a little at the Year-End Tournament to get some extra resources. It seems that kind of thinking won't work.

I need to find an opportunity to understand the relationships between the various martial halls in the Outer City.

If everyone is friendly and focused on business, that would be fine. But if there are deep-seated grudges, wouldn't acting so flashy be begging the rival martial halls to come and stifle a 'genius' like me?

"If the first-place prize is a Blood Ginseng, won't this tournament become exceptionally dangerous?"

"Dangerous?

Fighting on the ring is naturally different from our daily sparring.

Everyone goes all out, so accidents are inevitable."

Yu Qingqing recalled:

"But in previous years, there haven't been any major mishaps.

After all, the tournament is just a way to promote the martial halls."

If things were truly as Yu Qingqing described, then showing off a bit to obtain the Blood Ginseng was not impossible.

Subduing Tiger Martial Hall might not be ranked first in the Outer City, but it was not bad either.

Li Yun was confident that none of the senior brothers in the Inner Courtyard at the Body Tempering Realm could defeat him in a real fight.

With more than five months left until the end of the year, his blood energy and fist techniques would certainly continue to improve.

Comparing himself to others, he had a high chance of going all out and securing first place in the Body Tempering Realm.

However, to be safe, he should still find Second Senior Brother Xiao Shun to learn more.

"Many thanks for the clarification, Senior Sister. I'm going to practice my stance."

With a plan in mind, Li Yun threw himself into the Tiger-Subduing Stance.

During his break, he wanted to ask Xiao Shun about the tournament, but he couldn't find him in the Inner Courtyard at all.

Ever since Fu Huaixing took Zhu Daqi as his closing disciple, Li Yun rarely saw Xiao Shun in the Inner Courtyard.

He only caught a glimpse of him every few days.

It seemed that this old scoundrel Fu Huaixing had truly hurt his second disciple this time.

In the afternoon, after sparring with his fellow disciples a few times and still not seeing Xiao Shun, Li Yun packed up and left the martial hall.

Head to the Outer City East District.

He wanted to see if Zhang Meili had lost any weight.

This concerned one hundred taels of silver, and a potential bonus on top of that.

He knocked on the gates of the Zhang Mansion once again.

This time, the moment the gatekeeper saw Li Yun, he became much more respectful.

The corners of his mouth, which had been drooping, immediately curled into a smile, and his waist subconsciously bent a fraction lower.

The gaze that had held a hint of negligence last time was now filled with deference, and he raised a hand to usher him inside:

"Master Li is here! Please, come right in, come right in!"

Li Yun followed his lead:

"How has your young miss been faring lately?"

At the mention of this, the gatekeeper cursed himself inwardly for having been so short-sighted.

He hadn't expected that the young Li Yun would actually be a man of true ability:

"Master Li is truly impressive. In just a few short days, our young miss has actually lost several jin.

If she keeps following your instructions, she will definitely be able to slim down."

As long as she was losing weight, that was fine.

It seemed that the one hundred taels of silver would be safely in his pocket by the end of the month.