Black Market

Biodata

Location and Layout

The Black Market is an underground city hidden in an alley behind the commercial street. It is dimly lit and crowded with chaotic piles of materials and player stalls, resembling a bargain-filled night market. 17

• Located near the Commercial District; nearby commercial streets include player-rented shops and access to the Auction House. 13
• Players may freely set up stalls without paying rent. 12
• Haggling is an established part of trade, allowing buyers to find bargains on cards and materials. 12 17
• Large purchasing stalls operate alongside casual player stalls. Some merchants professionally resell original cards, while collectors buy visually appealing cards for display rather than combat. 19 38

Commerce

Cards

The market primarily handles low-level and low-value cards rather than elite combat cards.

• Ordinary one-star cards commonly sell for about 50 gold coins. 19
• Poor-stat but attractive cards generally sell for 20–30 gold coins; miscellaneous cards can sell for under 10. 19
• Mediocre or failed original-card creations are notably cheaper here than in official shops. 12
• High-quality original cards are usually sent to the Auction House or sold through professional guild purchasing shops instead. 12 19 32
• Most cards sold at the market are one- to four-star collector cards with limited combat value, though exceptional cards can reveal talented new creators. 24

Materials

The Black Market is a practical source of card-making supplies.

• Xie Mingzhe purchases ten sheets of Grade 1 Nebula Paper there after bargaining the price down from 100 to 70 gold coins. 17
• Materials and low-level combat cards, including Firefly, Black Crow, and Water Sprite, can be bought from stalls. 17

Shops and Stalls

Notable Transactions

• Lin Daiyu Cards — Boss Zhang buys nine of Xie Mingzhe's low-stat original cards for 30 gold each, valuing their artwork despite their weak combat data. 20
• Lin Daiyu Card buyback — Red Candle purchases Boss Zhang's nine copies for 60 gold each after recognizing their potential as flower-type Instant-Death counters. 20 21
• Remaining Lin Daiyu Cards — Xie sells ten further copies through multiple stalls for 25–30 gold each, avoiding reliance on a single merchant. 23
• Wu Song Card — A merchant initially offers Xie only 50 gold, but another buyer recognizes its value and purchases it for 140 gold. 25
• Daiyu auction card — After leaving the Black Market sales route, Xie auctions an improved Lin Daiyu card for 660,000 gold coins. 40 43

Role in the Story

Xie Mingzhe's Early Card Sales

The Black Market is where Xie Mingzhe first learns the gap between artwork, card data, and market value. He sells his early Lin Daiyu cards there because he believes their low defense and narrow targeting make them little more than collectible curiosities. 19 20

His later Wu Song Card sale reveals the market's uneven expertise: one merchant attempts to undervalue the card, while another pays 140 gold after recognizing its superior attributes and specialized tiger-countering skill. 25

Guild Search for Yueban

The market becomes the center of a covert struggle after Fenghua and Judgment recognize the strategic value of Yueban's Instant-Death cards.

• Fenghua Guild searches for Lin Daiyu cards and attempts to lure Yueban with a high-priced stall seeking beautiful female character cards. 23 24
• Judgment Guild orders members to buy every card carrying the “Yueban” logo, especially Wu Song cards, before rival clubs can acquire them. 28 29
• The simultaneous searches by Fenghua and Judgment draw other major guilds to investigate, plunging the market into chaos. 29 30
• Tang Muzhou personally searches the market through his alternate account, eventually locating two Lin Daiyu cards from a collector and confirming that “Fat Uncle” is Yueban. 38 39

Talent Discovery

Tang Muzhou himself rose to prominence by selling plant cards in the Black Market. His success made the market a customary place for major guilds to search for promising card makers, though no comparable talent had emerged there for five years before Yueban. 24

Tang later identifies Xie Mingzhe's mistake: newcomers often sell powerful cards cheaply in the Black Market because its buyers primarily deal in low-level or collector cards rather than recognizing high-end combat potential. 32

Associated Figures

• Xie Mingzhe / Fat Uncle / Yueban — Sells his first original Lin Daiyu and Wu Song cards at the market before recognizing their true strategic value. 19 23 25 30
• Senior Brother Qi — Introduces Xie Mingzhe and Sisi to the market as a place for affordable attack cards and materials. 12 17
• Boss Zhang — Original-card buyer who purchases Xie's first nine Lin Daiyu cards, then resells them at a higher price to Red Candle. 19 20
• Red Candle — Fenghua Guild president who searches the market for Lin Daiyu cards and uses a purchasing stall to bait Yueban into revealing himself. 20 23 24
• Setting Sun — Judgment Guild vice president who searches for Wu Song cards and orders Shuangshuang to contact their creator. 25 28
• Tang Muzhou — Former Black Market card seller who later investigates Yueban's cards there in person. 24 38 39