New Identity

Azure Sun County's Black Market was forever hidden in the most remote and shadowy corner of the county seat. Only after sunset would it lift that secret veil and welcome all manner of visitors, each carrying their own motives.

Following the route from his memories, Lin Qing moved with ease through winding, twisting alleys carpeted in moss.

Compared with before, his attire had changed considerably this time.

He still wore a loose black robe that completely concealed his figure. A plain bronze mask covered his face, devoid of any patterns and revealing only a pair of cool, sharp eyes. Thick black leather gloves covered both hands, wrapping his palms and wrists entirely.

Today's objective differed somewhat from before, so he had hidden himself even more thoroughly.

After arriving underground, he headed straight for the Myriad Beasts Shop.

The moment he crossed the threshold, the shrewd-looking middle-aged shopkeeper immediately piled on a smile, hurried forward, and said warmly:

"Welcome, sir. Our Myriad Beasts Shop has a complete selection: First Tier and Second Tier ferocious beast meat, as well as plenty of ferocious beast parts. Please, take your pick!"

Lin Qing nodded slightly. He had deliberately suppressed his voice, making it low and hoarse to avoid revealing his age, and asked bluntly:

"Shopkeeper, how much is Second Tier ferocious beast meat?"

The shopkeeper replied with a smile:

"Our Myriad Beasts Shop displays its prices openly and never cheats the young or old. Second Tier ferocious beast meat costs ten taels of silver per pound."

Before Lin Qing could respond, the shopkeeper continued:

"To be frank, sir, our supply of First Tier ferocious beast meat has been abundant lately, and the price is only half the usual rate: one tael of silver for two pounds. If you are not in a hurry to break through, why not consider First Tier ferocious beast meat? If you only need it to replenish Qi and Blood Realm in daily life, First Tier ferocious beast meat offers an extremely high value for the price right now."

The shopkeeper's suggestion was quite sensible. The main difference between First Tier and Second Tier ferocious beast meat was their Qi and Blood content per unit.

If one merely wanted to replenish Qi and Blood Realm, ten pounds of First Tier ferocious beast meat could completely replace one pound of Second Tier ferocious beast meat.

With First Tier ferocious beast meat currently selling at half price, it was naturally the most cost-effective choice.

Meanwhile, Second Tier ferocious beast meat was already considered high-end merchandise in Azure Sun County and never lacked buyers. That was why the shopkeeper was more willing to consider his customer's interests and recommend First Tier ferocious beast meat.

Lin Qing naturally knew all this, but he was not swayed in the slightest. He still firmly chose Second Tier ferocious beast meat.

He knew that First Tier ferocious beast meat was more economical, but he also understood that the Black Market remained far too dangerous for him.

The robbery he encountered when leaving the Black Market last time had been purely a stroke of luck. The three people he met had not been Certified Martial Artists, allowing him to resolve the matter easily. But if he encountered a Certified Martial Artist blocking his way next time, with his current strength, he might not be able to retreat unscathed.

One should not assume that Certified Martial Artists were scarce in Azure Sun County merely because the masters of the county's four great martial halls were only First-Tier Martial Artists.

In truth, Azure Sun County had quite a few Second-Tier Martial Artists. It was simply that most of them did not concern themselves with the county seat's trivial affairs and spent all year active in Azure Sun Mountain.

These people were Demon Hunting Teams who made their living by hunting ferocious beasts.

Every established Demon Hunting Team had at least one Second-Tier Martial Artist serving as captain, leading several or even more than ten First-Tier Martial Artist members.

If a Demon Hunting Team was particularly strong, it might even have two or three Second-Tier Martial Artists working together, making its combat strength formidable.

This was also the core reason why the Martial Suppression Office in Azure Sun County stationed a large number of First-Tier and Second-Tier Martial Artists year-round, with even Xiao the Centurion, a Third-Tier Martial Artist, overseeing it.

The Martial Suppression Office's primary defense targets were never the martial halls or Lineage martial artists within the county seat, but the Demon Hunting Teams of Azure Sun Mountain. It existed to prevent those powerful martial artists who licked blood from the edges of their blades from clashing within the county seat, causing unrest and endangering the common people.

Besides that, Lin Qing's own Qi and Blood consumption was also a key reason he had no choice but to select Second Tier ferocious beast meat.

The current Lin Qing required a shocking amount of Qi and Blood replenishment every day. First Tier ferocious beast meat alone would require a full ten pounds daily.

If he purchased First Tier ferocious beast meat, it meant he would have to visit the Black Market almost once every two days. Entering and leaving this place of trouble so frequently would cause his chances of encountering danger to rise by geometric multiples.

If he bought over a hundred pounds of First Tier ferocious beast meat at once, he had no storage equipment. Carrying such an enormous quantity of ferocious beast meat out of the Black Market would make him, in the eyes of others, nothing less than a fat sheep.

All things considered, Second Tier ferocious beast meat was the best choice for the moment.

One pound of Second Tier ferocious beast meat was equivalent to ten pounds of First Tier ferocious beast meat. Buying just ten pounds would be enough for his cultivation over the next ten days. Visiting the Black Market once every ten days would both meet his cultivation needs and minimize the risks.

Having made up his mind, Lin Qing no longer hesitated and said to the shopkeeper:

"No need. Weigh out ten pounds of Second Tier ferocious beast meat for me."

Seeing that Lin Qing had made up his mind, the shopkeeper did not try to persuade him further and swiftly cut out ten pounds of Second Tier ferocious beast meat. Lin Qing immediately took out one hundred taels of silver and handed it over.

The shopkeeper also gave him a sealed iron box. The Qi and Blood in Second Tier ferocious beast meat was pure and rich; if it were wrapped only in ordinary oil paper, its Qi and Blood aura would easily leak out, drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives in the Black Market.

Having purchased the ferocious beast meat, Lin Qing carried the sealed iron box, turned, and left the Myriad Beasts Shop. He headed toward the mysterious shop he had noticed on his very first visit—Skyvault Pavilion.

Unlike the exquisite storefront of the Myriad Beasts Shop, Skyvault Pavilion's facade was exceptionally crude and cramped, inconspicuously tucked among the other shops. Without careful attention, one could easily overlook it entirely.

Yet when Lin Qing entered Skyvault Pavilion and went deeper inside, he discovered that there was a whole new world within.

The interior space was far larger than the exterior suggested, though it had been divided into separate small rooms. Each room had its own entrance, ensuring an extremely high level of secrecy.

A young attendant in blue led Lin Qing to one of the small rooms. As he pushed open the door and entered, he found the room cramped and dimly lit, with only a weak oil lamp burning. Its yellowed glow barely illuminated the tiny space.

A plain wooden table stood in the center of the room. Behind it sat someone likewise wrapped head to toe in a black robe, even their head hidden beneath a hood, making their appearance impossible to discern.

Noticing Lin Qing's arrival, the person slowly raised a hand and motioned for him to sit on the stool before the table. Their voice was flat and unruffled, without a trace of emotion:

"Please sit, sir. What information have you come to inquire about today?"

Lin Qing sat down. He felt somewhat tense, yet did not waste a single word as he asked directly:

"I want to know where I can browse a large number of Second-Tier Cultivation Arts."

He had said browse, rather than learn. When ordinary people selected high-tier cultivation arts, they would prioritize those highly compatible with the arts they had cultivated before, as that would help them comprehend them more quickly. Naturally, finding such cultivation arts required extensive browsing and searching. Thus, his question was perfectly reasonable and would not arouse excessive suspicion.

Hearing this, the black-robed person did not answer immediately, but instead slowly asked:

"Is this your first time at Skyvault Pavilion, sir?"

Lin Qing's heart suddenly tightened. His body instinctively tensed, and even the aura around him seemed to solidify as he asked in a low voice:

"What makes you say that?"

The black-robed person gave a soft laugh, their tone calm and composed:

"Because you are very nervous. There is no need for you to be so guarded, sir.

Skyvault Pavilion has stood for several hundred years. The reason it has endured all this time rests on two words: 'reputation.'

Whether you are imperial kin, an ordinary commoner, or a murderous madman guilty of every conceivable evil, so long as you enter Skyvault Pavilion, we will never ask about your identity or your past.

Come a few more times, and you will understand. Skyvault Pavilion is a place even more relaxing than a brothel.

Here, you may cast off every disguise and every defense and speak freely. Even if the words from your mouth are a heaven-shaking conspiracy to rebel and usurp the throne, once you step out through that little door, what happened today will be known only to Heaven and Earth, you and me."

After hearing this, Lin Qing's body relaxed involuntarily.

Before Lin Qing could reply, the black-robed person continued:

"Your question is very simple. I shall answer it for you free of charge today, as a meeting gift for a first-time customer."

Lin Qing immediately pressed:

"Please enlighten me."

The black-robed person did not deliberately keep him in suspense and answered directly:

"If you wish to browse a large number of Second-Tier Cultivation Arts, there is only one place in the entire Summer Kingdom that can meet your needs: the Martial Suppression Office. Even those great sects that dominate entire regions cannot compare to the Martial Suppression Office in the number of cultivation arts they possess."

Lin Qing fell silent, lightly tapping the tabletop with his fingertips as he rapidly weighed the benefits and drawbacks of joining the Martial Suppression Office.

To enter the Martial Suppression Office and browse its cultivation arts, he would inevitably need to join it and become one of its members. The minimum requirement for recruitment was a First-Tier Martial Artist. At his current cultivation speed, he would reach that threshold before long.

But the problem was that his true age was only fifteen.

A fifteen-year-old First-Tier Martial Artist could not merely be called extremely rare in the Summer Kingdom. Such a thing was simply unheard of.

Joining an official force like the Martial Suppression Office would inevitably lead to a detailed investigation into his background. At that point, ordinary lies would certainly not withstand scrutiny. Yet if he joined the Martial Suppression Office under his true identity, he would inevitably attract the attention of countless people.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Qing raised his eyes to the black-robed person and asked in a lowered voice:

"I do not want to enter the Martial Suppression Office under my real identity. Can you help me create a false identity?"

"A false identity? No." The black-robed person refused without hesitation. Before Lin Qing could feel disappointed, they slowly added, "However, we can give you a real identity."

"A real identity? What do you mean?" Lin Qing was somewhat puzzled.

The black-robed person explained slowly:

"Skyvault Pavilion never engages in the crude business of creating false identities. What we sell are genuine, bona fide identities. The identity you purchase can be found in official archives. From birth through upbringing, every experience is fully documented, leaving traces to follow and no flaws whatsoever. Even if someone follows the identity information to investigate your birthplace, there will be corresponding villagers and childhood companions ready to step forward and testify for you."

"In other words, what you buy from Skyvault Pavilion is not a false identity. From this day onward, you will possess a brand-new, flawless real identity. You may use it openly as you travel the martial world, without any hidden dangers."

Lin Qing's heart stirred, and he hurriedly asked, "What is the price?"

"That depends on what identity the customer chooses. Different identities have prices as far apart as Heaven and Earth." As the black-robed person spoke, they reached beneath the table, pulled out a thick booklet, gently placed it on the tabletop, and pushed it toward Lin Qing. "You may look through it first. It contains general information on all kinds of identities. If you decide to buy one, I will then provide you with the detailed history and all proof items for the corresponding identity."

Lin Qing picked up the booklet and examined it carefully by the dim light.

The identities in the booklet came in every variety, from ordinary commoners and peddlers to scions of prominent county families, minor officials, and even heirs to princely estates in remote regions.

However, such top-tier identities were outrageously expensive. An identity as the heir to a princely estate cost five hundred thousand taels of silver.

Quickly skipping over those expensive and conspicuous identities, Lin Qing browsed for a long while before finally stopping at a rural identity: eighteen years old, raised from childhood in a remote mountain village, came alone to Azure Sun County at fifteen to apprentice in martial arts, cultivated bitterly for three and a half years, had now just broken through to become a First-Tier Martial Artist, with both parents dead and no family or kin, living alone in the county seat.

This identity was utterly ordinary and would not stand out in a crowd. It matched the strength expected of a First-Tier Martial Artist while lacking complicated social ties, perfectly suiting his needs.

The price of this identity was two hundred taels of silver, also within what he could afford.

Lin Qing pointed at the identity and said to the black-robed person, "I want this one."

"Good eye. This identity is clean and simple, the least troublesome of all." The black-robed person nodded. "Please wait here a moment, sir. I will retrieve the relevant items."

With that, the black-robed person rose to their feet, turned, and left through a concealed door on the other side of the small room.

In less than half the time it took an incense stick to burn, the black-robed person returned, holding a thin booklet and a wooden identity plaque, which they handed to Lin Qing together.

Lin Qing accepted them and first examined the booklet. It recorded the name, birthplace, and life experiences of this new identity in detail. Even childhood incidents and martial training experiences were written with crystal clarity and meticulous detail.

The wooden identity plaque was an officially recognized proof of identity. The new identity's name and birthplace were carved into it, the markings neat and orderly, clearly not forged.

After confirming that everything was correct, Lin Qing took out two one-hundred-tael banknotes and handed them to the black-robed person.

The transaction complete, there was no unnecessary small talk. Lin Qing carefully put away the identity booklet and plaque, tucked them into his robes, carried the sealed iron box containing the Second Tier ferocious beast meat, turned, and left Skyvault Pavilion before swiftly departing the Black Market.

On the way back, aside from seeing two corpses in an alley at the outskirts of the Black Market, he encountered no further disturbances.