Beyond the Mountains Outside Pingling County

Unfortunately, weapon restrictions on Xuanxing were simply too strict.

Especially after Martial Dao promotion began, inspections had become even more stringent.

The only blades one could buy in the Xia Kingdom now were probably fruit knives and kitchen knives.

Thinking of the power of those two kinds of knives, Jiang Shu could not help shaking his head. He looked at the dagger and asked in a low voice, "How much?"

The stall owner glanced up at him without saying much. With a flick of his hand, force whistled through the air.

He was, astonishingly, also a martial artist!

He picked up the dagger and merely held it close to his arm. In an instant, a thread of blood seeped out.

"Anything below Iron Skin can be pierced. Thirty taels of silver, no bargaining."

The price was certainly steep, but Jiang Shu had no better options right now.

Thirty taels of silver was no longer an enormous sum to him.

What mattered most now was improving his strength.

The dagger was merely a temporary tool. Once he safely reached the Skin Grinding Realm and could come to the Black Market alone,

he could rent a stall and bring some lab-grown diamonds and glass mirrors from Xuanxing to sell in the Black Market.

As long as he concealed his identity properly, he could sell them at high prices and slip away.

A hundred taels of gold could be earned in a single night.

Putting away the dagger, Jiang Shu quietly calculated in his heart. Without realizing it, he had circled the square and reunited with Qi Yuan.

By then, Qi Yuan had an extra bundle on him, bulging with who knew what.

"Going?"

Qi Yuan was concise. He did not ask what Jiang Shu had seen or bought here.

"Mm."

Jiang Shu nodded.

The Black Market was a place where identities were hidden, where fish and dragons mingled in murky waters.

The longer they stayed, the greater the danger.

The two returned the way they had come. Only after they returned to the Small Courtyard did Qi Yuan remove his mask and cloak. He let out a long breath.

Though he was already a martial artist, though he had visited the Black Market many times,

he remained exceedingly cautious of it.

Qi Yuan sat in a chair, uncorked the wine jug on the table, and took several swigs. After catching his breath, he opened the bundle. At once, a bloody stench rushed at them.

Inside the bundle were several huge, bloodied chunks of meat. Their rank odor filled the air; it was impossible to tell what kind of Exotic Beast Meat they were.

"The meat ordinary martial arts practitioners eat is usually common fare like fish, chicken, and duck. But such meat provides us martial artists with extremely limited Blood Qi. If we want to maintain progress in Martial Dao, we must consume this Exotic Beast Meat over the long term."

"We martial artists can use martial arts to raise our Martial Dao realm. Yet among heaven and earth, there are also birds and beasts that undergo innate transformations, possessing strength comparable to ours."

Qi Yuan spoke very slowly.

Once Jiang Shu became a martial artist, Old Man Chou would mention such matters. They were hardly secrets.

Qi Yuan was only telling him now to build goodwill and give him an early introduction.

"We martial artists consume Exotic Beast Meat to strengthen ourselves, but every martial artist practices different martial arts and has a different constitution. Thus, different Exotic Beast Meat brings different improvements."

"Compatible Exotic Beast Meat can roughly double the speed of your martial arts progress. Incompatible meat may not even provide ten percent. It often takes many attempts before you can determine what you truly need."

"For Hungry Tiger Martial Hall's Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force, tiger and leopard meat is our main choice. Of course, the piece I bought today is not tiger or leopard meat. Pingling County is too small. If we keep buying one type of beast meat over a long period, people in the Black Market can easily guess our identities."

"In the Black Market, identity must be concealed from beginning to end."

His face solemn, Qi Yuan saw the thoughtful look on Jiang Shu's face and said no more. Carrying the wine jug, he cut off two jin of meat and left the hall for the kitchen.

The Small Courtyard was where he practiced martial arts. For the sake of peace and quiet, there was only an old servant to handle daily matters.

When the old servant saw Qi Yuan emerge, he hurriedly followed. After Qi Yuan sliced the meat into thin strips, the servant skillfully stepped forward, placed the slices over the large kitchen pot, then crouched down and stoked the firewood.

In the hall.

After Qi Yuan left, Jiang Shu did not linger either.

He assumed a stance in the courtyard and breathed, steadily improving himself.

The unusual aroma of meat drifted on the breeze from the kitchen and into his nose.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

"Little Junior Brother, still practicing your stance? Come taste this Exotic Beast Meat first. This is Fox Bear meat. The flavor is a little rank, but it can still increase my martial arts progress by fifty to sixty percent. Try it, then practice your stance again and see how it feels."

Drinking wine, Qi Yuan put on no airs and simply sat cross-legged on the ground beside Jiang Shu. He had deliberately bought quite a lot today, so there was no harm in sharing a little with Jiang Shu.

He would let him enjoy Exotic Beast Meat early and experience the Blood Qi boost it brought.

"Then I'll bask in Senior Brother Qi's favor today."

Ending his stance, Jiang Shu sat down cross-legged, grabbed a slice of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth.

At once, an overpowering gamey flavor filled his entire mouth. He forced himself to swallow it and began circulating Hungry Tiger Breathing...

"Not easy to take, is it? Want some wine?"

Qi Yuan passed him the wine jug.

But Jiang Shu did not take it. Instead, he asked, "Senior Brother Qi, I also saw some cured meat and jerky in the Black Market. Compared to the fresh meat you bought, are they much less effective?"

"Of course. Who knows how long those cured meats and jerkies have been sitting around? Who knows how much of the essence in their flesh and blood has already been lost? That is why Martial Dao cultivation becomes harder and harder. It is not only difficult because of Martial Dao itself, but even more because of resources."

"Ordinary people need meat to practice martial arts. We martial artists need Exotic Beast Meat to advance. At the beginning of martial arts practice, a well-off family with some savings can provide enough support. But once one becomes a martial artist, anyone without a merchant household behind them simply cannot afford it."

"And if you want to advance from the Skin Grinding Realm to Bone Forging, it is absolutely impossible without the full support of a wealthy household! If you cannot buy Exotic Beast Meat, then the end of your Martial Dao path is already in sight."

Qi Yuan sighed. Only after practicing martial arts for so many years had he learned just how difficult Martial Dao was. In Pingling County, a person's birth could be said to determine how far they could travel on the path of Martial Dao.

He was fairly fortunate. Though he had not been born into a wealthy household, his parents ran a shop, and he had never lacked food or clothing. That was how he had entered the Skin Grinding Realm before reaching adulthood.

But his Martial Dao realm would likely end here.

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan could not help taking another drink.

"Exotic Beast Meat is hard to come by in the county seat. What if we go to the prefectural city?"

Jiang Shu asked softly. He had been in this world for half a year, but because certain knowledge was monopolized, he knew nothing at all about the area around Pingling County.

"We can't get out."

Qi Yuan shook his head at Jiang Shu's question.

"Jiang Shu, Pingling County lies within Yongning Prefecture. To reach the prefectural city, we first have to cross who knows how many great mountains."

Qi Yuan rose to his feet and stared into the distance.

"We martial artists eat Exotic Beast Meat to improve our Martial Dao progress. But in those mountains, Skin Grinding Realm martial artists like us are nothing more than food for those Variant Ferocious Beasts."

"Only Bone Forging martial artists have a sliver of a chance to leave."

"But becoming a Bone Forging martial artist is easier said than done."