A Dark Corner

Items of unknown origin were all sold at low prices in this Underground Trading Market.

But before entering the Underground Trading Market, it was best to conceal one's identity.

Once your true identity was discovered and you had bought something that could not see the light of day, enormous trouble would await you.

Driven by curiosity, Tie Li arrived at the entrance of the Underground Trading Market. He wrapped himself in a black robe and hid his face behind a mask.

Imitating the posture of those around him, he followed the lights into the Underground Trading Market.

The dim, damp street was lined with vendors, and the items displayed on their small stalls were all things that could not be seen in public.

Yet everyone was doing their utmost to hide themselves.

Would anyone show their true face in the Underground Trading Market? Of course. But when encountering such people, one had to be especially careful.

"This stone..." Tie Li stopped before a small stall. On it lay a thumb-sized gemstone.

"Thunderstone, ten gold soul coins," the vendor said directly.

Thunderstone was a type of high-grade ore that could be used as forging material, though ordinary blacksmiths lacked the skill to forge it.

With just this tiny piece, if it could be fused into an ordinary blade or sword, its quality would rise several grades in succession.

"Do you have any more?"

"No. Just this piece. Are you buying it or not?"

"I'll take it."

Outside, this tiny piece would cost at least thirty gold soul coins.

Tie Li paid without hesitation and took the small piece of Thunderstone.

Whoosh.

A sinister cold wind swept past, and its icy aura made everyone shudder involuntarily.

"There's an auction this time." The icy voice carried no emotion.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the source of the voice.

A gigantic figure appeared at the end of the street. He stood over three meters tall, yet was terribly gaunt, with nothing but cold skin clinging to the bones beneath.

There was no concealment on his body at all, and he did not look human in the slightest.

"I've guessed what items will be in this auction, heh heh."

"Let me think... It seems the Wind Thunder Sect was wiped out."

"No, no. Internal strife broke out in the Earth Clan."

It was Tie Li's first time here, so he knew nothing of the many unspoken rules.

But from the descriptions around him, it seemed there would be quite a few good things at this Underground Auction.

Even the vendors began packing up their wares, planning to attend the Underground Auction.

There was clearly order here. A powerful soul master or faction must have been controlling the Underground Trading Market from behind the scenes.

Then, as long as he followed the rules, he would at least be safe here.

Tie Li also wanted to see what an Underground Auction was like.

Following the crowd, he entered the Underground Auction.

Judging by their behavior, everyone simply found a seat at random.

Tie Li followed suit and chose the nearest vacant seat.

Once nearly everyone had taken their seats, the auctioneer finally appeared onstage.

He wore a special mask shaped like the head of some beast.

Without any opening remarks, the auctioneer had the staff below bring up the first auction item.

The staff member also wore a special mask, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.

"The first auction item: Tiger Bone Blade. Starting bid: one thousand gold soul coins."

There was no introduction at all, only the item's name and starting price, as though they had no concern that it would go unsold.

"Baron Mountain Tiger's Tiger Bone Blade? It actually appeared here."

"I heard that to forge this Tiger Bone Blade, he spent over ten thousand gold soul coins on supplementary materials alone. The main material was the spinal bones of three Ten-Thousand-Year Wind-Rending Tigers."

"I bid three thousand gold soul coins."

Hearing someone explain it, Tie Li sucked in a cold breath.

Its origin might be questionable, but its value was absolutely not low.

The bids rose one after another. When the price reached twenty thousand gold soul coins, it stopped.

The Tiger Bone Blade was certainly worth more than twenty thousand gold soul coins, but its origin limited its price.

Buying this blade was equivalent to offending Baron Mountain Tiger.

After confirming that no one else would bid, the staff member carried the Tiger Bone Blade over to the bidder.

After settling the gold soul coins on the spot and receiving the Tiger Bone Blade, he immediately left the auction.

Not long after, several others stood and left as well.

No one found this strange.

When the second auction item was brought onstage, the crowd reacted even more strongly. They were not shocked by the item's origin, but by the origin of its owner.

"Countess Sko's necklace?"

"I heard every pendant on that necklace is made from a rare metal."

"It's not worth completely offending a count over a necklace."

The starting bid was only one hundred gold soul coins, but very few people made offers.

Tie Li really wanted to bid for it. Bracers forged entirely from rare metals should be quite good, right?

But the price exceeded what Tie Li could afford.

When he realized that his gold soul coins could not buy a single auction item, Tie Li decided to leave.

Watching one high-quality auction item after another slip past at such reasonable prices was an extremely painful experience.

As Tie Li got up to leave, the auctioneer announced the next item.

"Thunder Dragon Meditation Method. Starting bid: ten thousand gold soul coins."

"Hahaha, I knew it. The Wind Thunder Sect's meditation method fell into your hands. I bid thirty thousand gold soul coins."

"The Thunder Dragon Meditation Method is in your hands. Does that mean the other Wind Dragon Meditation Method is in your hands too?"

"Even if you win it, would you dare cultivate it? If you were exposed, Martial Soul Hall would hunt you down as remnants of the Wind Thunder Sect."

"What's there to fear? I bid seventy thousand gold soul coins."

After leaving the Underground Auction, Tie Li planned to look around the street vendors' stalls and see whether there was anything he wanted.

I can't afford the auction items, but don't tell me I can't afford anything here either.

But many vendors had gone to the auction, leaving only a handful behind.

His gaze swept over the items on the stalls, but there seemed to be nothing he needed.

However, a bracelet placed at the edge of one stall caught Tie Li's attention.

It was not because the bracelet's material was particularly good, but because the forging technique was exceptionally skilled.

The bracelet was made from nothing more than ordinary iron, but after more than a hundred consecutive hammerings, even common iron could undergo a qualitative transformation.

Was this the hundred forging his father had mentioned?

"This bracelet?"

"One silver soul coin."

"Alright."

Leaving behind one silver soul coin, Tie Li put away the bracelet and prepared to leave.

After emerging from the Underground Trading Market, Tie Li unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

Before he had walked more than a hundred meters, violent fluctuations from clashing soul power came from behind him.

"Old Yu, why are you leaving in such a hurry? We haven't seen each other in so long. Won't you stay and properly catch up?"

"Heh, you think I don't know what you're planning? You want to snatch something from me? Who do you think you are?"