Killing Intent

"Ask for leave?"

Huang Haitao was still seething with anger. Without giving Lu Li a chance to explain, he immediately rebuked him. "Practicing martial arts takes years of steady effort. It requires perseverance day after day. If you fish for three days and dry your nets for two, you'll never achieve anything in your life."

"You're just a herb gatherer. Practicing martial arts is the only way you can change your lot in life, yet you don't even know to work hard?"

Lu Li bowed his head and listened quietly, offering no argument. He put on a humble air.

After lecturing Lu Li for a while, Huang Haitao sighed and said earnestly, "I can see you have decent aptitude and work hard. Don't hold yourself back."

"Only by becoming a martial artist can you earn a steady stream of silver, live better, and stop having to look to others for everything!"

Lu Li understood. He let a five-tael silver ingot slide from his sleeve and drop to the ground.

Then he picked it up and cheerfully handed it to Huang Haitao. "Martial Master Huang, you dropped your silver."

Huang Haitao paused, touched his chest, then smiled and took it.

"What do you need leave for?"

"My parents passed away, and tomorrow is the anniversary of their deaths. I've been running around trying to make ends meet, and never once stayed by their graves to mourn them."

Lu Li's expression turned mournful. He gazed up at the sky as though recalling the past, looking deeply sad. "Things are a little better now, so I'd like to keep vigil for them."

Huang Haitao seemed moved by Lu Li's filial devotion. He patted Lu Li's shoulder, visibly touched. "A truly devoted son. Approved!"

"Thank you, Martial Master Huang!" Lu Li clasped his hands and bowed, full of gratitude.

Huang Haitao helped Lu Li back to his feet. "If I didn't approve this, wouldn't I seem heartless?"

"I've seen how hard you work. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have let you take leave."

"Still, you're a little behind Li Qing and the other two. You need to work hard and catch up." After saying this with a mixture of sincerity and pretense, he waved and left.

Lu Li watched him go and spat under his breath. "Putting on such a show of benevolence. He's nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing! Good thing I was prepared and hid five taels in my sleeve ahead of time."

Lu Li felt a pang of regret. Five whole taels of silver! Of course it hurt to part with them.

Still, at least he had some time now.

Lu Li went home to fetch his silver, then wandered around the Outer City for a few laps to make sure no one was following him.

He bought some spices, changed into a black robe that covered his face, and headed into the mountains.

After finding Hu Niu, he gave her the spices. Hu Niu ate some meat sprinkled with them and immediately jumped for joy.

Once he'd coaxed her into a good mood, he set off for the Black Market.

Hu Niu had once followed the black-robed man to the Black Market, so she knew the way.

They traveled for about three hours, covering who knew how much distance.

The view suddenly opened up before them, revealing a hollow in the mountain.

Flickering yellow candlelight glimmered in the hollow, looking especially eerie in the dead of night.

The few scattered lights illuminated one corner of the Black Market.

Stalls filled the place, and a sparse handful of shadowy figures weaved among them.

A man stood guard outside the Black Market. His face was concealed too, leaving only his eyes exposed.

His eyes were exceptionally bright, like a hawk's, and he kept sweeping his gaze from side to side as if guarding the market.

Lu Li told Hu Niu to wait nearby and went in alone.

He paid the guard one tael of silver for the entrance fee, and only then was he allowed through.

He hadn't done a thing all day, yet six taels of silver were already gone. Lu Li felt the loss keenly.

He'd saved every bit of it through hard work.

And he hadn't even bought any martial arts manuals yet!

Feeling the one hundred and eighty taels of silver in his pocket, Lu Li grew a little worried.

It was his first time in the Black Market, and he took in his surroundings.

The goods for sale really were as strange and bizarre as the rumors claimed.

Someone was even peddling a rusty piece of iron, claiming it had once been a peerless weapon belonging to a great expert. It supposedly had the supreme secrets of martial arts engraved on it and could transform anyone's body and send them soaring to greatness in a single bound.

The worst part was, a crowd had gathered around it, and some people actually believed the claim.

It seemed that one's aptitude and natural endowments really did determine one's limits—and had kept the poor down for far too long.

But fortunately, he was a genius.

Lu Li wasn't interested, so he quickly looked away.

He looked around again and spotted a stall piled high with books, dozens of them. His interest was instantly piqued, and he walked over.

"No browsing. You can only buy." The stallkeeper wore a black outfit meant for night travel, but it did nothing to hide his portly build. He lay on the ground with his eyes closed, resting.

Lu Li stopped turning the pages and looked at the stallkeeper.

That carefree air suggested he was an expert!

He got straight to the point. "Do you have any martial arts that can take someone to the Inner-Qi Realm?"

The Inner-Qi Realm and all the realms before it were still about tempering the body.

But the Houtian and Pre-Heaven Realms above the Inner-Qi Realm weren't about honing the body. They involved cultivating a stream of qi within it.

That required switching to a cultivation method, not just practicing ordinary martial arts.

"Sure. The Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist can take you to the Inner-Qi Realm."

"Not only that, the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist is considered top-tier among martial arts."

"For instance, an ordinary practitioner in the Flesh-Refining Realm can lift two thousand jun, but the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist increases that by one and a half times, bringing it to three thousand jun."

The stallkeeper remained sprawled on the ground with his eyes closed. His languid voice made Lu Li's heart stir.

It could increase strength by that much? This martial art was truly impressive!

"How much silver?"

"One thousand taels. No haggling," the stallkeeper replied, still with his eyes shut.

Lu Li froze, astonished. Was a martial art capable of reaching the Inner-Qi Realm really that expensive?

He'd thought he had enough, but the price was five times the money he had on him!

How much would an even higher-level Houtian cultivation method cost?

Once again, Lu Li realized that practicing martial arts was a bottomless pit.

It was terrifying indeed!

The stallkeeper seemed to notice Lu Li's predicament and drawled, "Brother, don't think I'm trying to cheat you. If this martial art didn't have a shady origin, I'd be charging twice as much. The normal price is two thousand taels!"

"How about this? We're all struggling out here, so I'll let it go for less. How much silver do you have?"

Lu Li scratched his head awkwardly. "One hundred and eighty taels."

The stallkeeper finally opened his eyes.

His little eyes went round as he looked Lu Li up and down. Seeing that he wasn't joking, he rolled his eyes. "You think you can buy martial arts with that little? Dream on!"

"Hahaha, you've got a whole one hundred and eighty taels and you still dare show your face here!" Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind Lu Li.

Lu Li turned around and saw a white-haired, masked man walking slowly toward him, leading a dog dressed in a black robe.

The dog's eyes gleamed with a chilling light. Lu Li could tell well enough that it was definitely the Wind-Chasing Dog.

That meant its owner had to be the Fifth Young Master.

He walked up to the stallkeeper and tossed down a banknote. "I'll take the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist."

He picked up the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile. His heart brimmed with delight.

"Hahaha, what a score! My Huang Family doesn't have any martial arts that can reach the Inner-Qi Realm."

"I've done the family a great service!"

"Hmph. My aptitude for martial arts is nothing special, and I'm only in the Flesh-Refining Realm. Father favors my sisters, and I've never been the one he doted on. I've always received the least resources."

"But now that I bring this martial art back, they'll surely start paying attention to me!"

"I'll take back everything that belongs to me!"

Lu Li didn't get angry at the Fifth Young Master's mockery.

He'd heard that the Fifth Young Master wasn't favored and was a wastrel.

Judging by this behavior, it was no wonder he wasn't favored.

That might have been all well and good in the city.

But to make enemies so carelessly even in the Black Market—it was truly brainless.

Still, Lu Li thought it over and chose to turn around and leave.

The guard had said that fighting wasn't allowed inside the Black Market, so Lu Li decided to hold back for now.

Once the Fifth Young Master left, it wouldn't be too late to get revenge.

He was in the Tendon-Refining Realm. Beating the Fifth Young Master would be as easy as picking up a chick!

Then he'd simply take the martial art back!