The drifter took the wine and gulped it down, savoring the exhilarating sensation of spicy liquor mixed with spiritual energy rippling through his body. He exhaled a great breath of foul air before slowly sitting back down.
"I heard those Thunder Talismans have gotten in their way. Those academy brats are planning to ban them."
The moment he said that, everyone present fell into an eerie silence.
"Ha ha ha! Old Ghost, what the hell are you talking about?"
After a moment of silence, one man burst out laughing, and the others seemed to snap out of a dream and joined in.
"You might as well say the lords of the Alliance don't like the things, so they're planning to destroy them."
The man laughed uproariously and slapped his thigh. The others were much the same.
"My information came from Nine Harmonies Street. You should remember the leader of those little brats there—the one whose parents died in an accident caused by an outer sect. He entered the academy. A few days ago, someone said he showed up there again, bringing along some unfamiliar faces."
"And then?"
Hearing this, the crowd became even more disdainful.
"The Thunder Talismans are jointly sold by gangs from more than half the Outer City. You know perfectly well how many great sects are involved in this. Is that something an ordinary person can handle?"
"Yes, if it were those Alliance lords from the Inner City, ordinary gangs would be nothing but chickens and dogs. But in the vast Lower District, how many gangs like this are there?"
"They can control one side, but can they control them all?"
"Besides, they'd be cutting off people's paths to wealth. So what if you're an Alliance lord from the Upper City?"
"Wouldn't those who ought to deal