Hunter's Bazaar

The class lasted over two hours.

But it felt like time flew by, and it was over in the blink of an eye.

The young hunters were very interested in joining the Storm Group, and they crowded around the podium, signing up as potential members.

Ji Xun didn't have any plans to join a team for now, so he walked out of the Hunter's Guild building.

Even though this class only covered basic knowledge for Spell Card Masters, he found it very rewarding.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the Guild's bounty hall again.

Ji Xun stopped to take a look.

As he had expected, a few days had passed, and there was still no sign of any "wanted posters" or "bounties" looking for him in Sinless City.

The Fourth Young Master Cao was probably keeping the news secret, likely searching for him through more covert means.

This greatly reduced Ji Xun's sense of threat.

As he walked, he scanned his surroundings with his peripheral vision and noticed a few suspicious individuals.

Perhaps they were after him, or perhaps not.

But he wasn't the only one with secrets in Sinless City.

Ji Xun didn't pay them much mind.

After all, they hadn't been able to catch him on the train last time; finding him now would be even more impossible.

Without further thought, Ji Xun left the building and continued to wander through the market outside the Hunter's Guild.

It was a rare day off, and he was quite interested in the strange and peculiar items on display at the stalls, so he strolled along.

Although these street stalls looked simple, they were all first-hand goods brought back by hunters from ruins. Extraordinary materials, ancient texts, antiques, blueprints, secret scrolls... Many of the stall owners didn't even know what they were selling.

There were many good things.

However, finding a bargain was entirely a matter of luck.

After all, out here, Enlightenment wasn't always reliable.

For things that far exceeded one's understanding, Enlightenment wouldn't display anything, or only display a portion of it.

Just like the [Mysterious Cause Medium] before, when it was outside his understanding, he couldn't even see it.

Ji Xun had gradually figured out some of the patterns of this mysterious "Enlightenment" over these days.

He discovered that everyone saw different content from Enlightenment.

This seemed to be related to personal cognition.

For example, Ji Xun himself had some vocabulary in his cognition, like "BOSS," which was a concept that didn't exist in this world at all.

But Enlightenment would still display it.

This meant that Enlightenment was a more advanced and special form of expression that surpassed humanity's current understanding and was not limited by the type of text.

Ji Xun didn't find it strange.

With "miracles" like Alternate Dimensions, this world held too many secrets.

It was this sense of mystery that made him find it increasingly interesting.

After browsing a few stalls, Ji Xun's gaze suddenly stopped in the distance.

He saw two beggars by the roadside.

It was a dirty little girl of about seven or eight, holding an even younger child who looked like her brother. The siblings huddled together on a filthy blanket, their eyes hollow as they watched the people passing by, hunger etched on their faces.

There were two types of beggars in Sinless City: thieves, and genuine orphans.

In this city of sin, human lives were not worth much. The mortality rate for hunters was high, and there were many orphans like them.

The passersby were all numb to the sight.

Most people in Sinless City were bloodthirsty jackals; no one pitied the weak.

Ji Xun thought of something, casually picked up a few items, and walked over.

He squatted down in front of the siblings and asked with a smile, "Little girl, what's your name?"

As he spoke, he took off his gas mask, and as if performing magic, his face transformed into that of a clown with a comically red nose.

Just the bright smile on his face seemed enough to amuse and bring joy to anyone who saw it.

The sister's eyes remained indifferent due to hunger, while the younger brother curiously reached out, as if wanting to touch the clown mask.

Ji Xun didn't mind and instead grinned, "I'll do a magic trick for you."

With that, under the siblings' finally curious gazes, he extended his hands, performed some flashy hand movements, and showed that his hands were empty.

"Watch closely."

At this moment, the smile on the clown's face became even brighter. He held his left hand horizontally in front of him as if hiding something, then made a grabbing motion with his right hand, pulling and pulling and pulling from the tiger's mouth of his left hand.

The very next second, the brother's clear eyes suddenly lit up because he saw a dark object being pulled out!

There was also the aroma of freshly baked bread.

The younger brother looked as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable scene of his life. He couldn't help but swallow, gasping, "Sister, it's bread! Bread!"

"Yes~ Look how long it is~"

The Clown was immersed in his performance, but his actions weren't finished.

He kept pulling and pulling, and a black bread as thick as his arm was drawn out longer and longer by him.

It was like magic; he actually pulled out a black bread longer than his forearm.

Watching this miraculous sight, the younger brother danced with excitement, tugging at his sister's clothes and saying emotionally, "Sister, sister, look quickly, this gentleman really conjured a loaf of bread!!!"

This was just a small trick many magicians could do.

But at this moment, on those two innocent little faces, it was as if they saw the whole world lit up, shining into their hearts shrouded in gloom, as if their bodies had suddenly warmed up.

Seeing this, the Clown's exaggerated red smile stretched all the way to the corners of his eyes. He handed the bread over, without the pity of condescension towards the weak, only a sense of equal goodwill: "Eat. This is for you."

With a loaf of bread, the siblings wouldn't go hungry for the next two days.

He didn't ask for money because he knew they wouldn't be able to keep it safe.

Holding the bread, the siblings' eyes trembled with excitement. Finally, the lifeless, dim colors on their little faces gradually brightened.

Seeing this, the Clown smiled with satisfaction.

He stood up, and the moment he put on his gas mask again, his gaze turned sharp once more.

Ji Xun turned and left.

After a few steps, the sister's hurried voice came from behind him: "Thank you, sir. My name is... Ning."

Hearing this, Ji Xun smiled faintly under his gas mask.

But he didn't look back, continuing to leave.

Even though he himself was not doing well, he couldn't bear to see others suffer.

This was probably what it meant to be a Clown.

Life had wounded him with pain, yet he always repaid it with laughter.

Bringing joy to others through his comical performances.

Ji Xun mused, a thought arising.

If it hadn't been for the kind-hearted, bearded man in the traveling circus back then, a little boy might have frozen to death in a cave by the railway that cold winter.

It was like a small interlude in life, not worth mentioning, just a casual act of kindness.

Or perhaps it was a professional habit ingrained in his bones after years of playing the Clown?

Probably.

Ji Xun didn't dwell on it at all.

He walked along and soon arrived at a shop with a sign that read "Old Benson's Ancient Books Shop."

The wooden board at the entrance also stated: Buying and selling various ancient books and documents.

This was a small bookstore selling breathing techniques, card-making manuals, and various magical texts.

The last time, Ji Xun had bought his [Great Dark Breathing Method] from this shop.

The shop wasn't large, but it had a good reputation among Hunters. The prices were fair, and many Hunters liked selling their items here, so there were quite a few good things.

He had come this time to look for other items.

"Boss, the [Great Dark Breathing Method] I bought last time is very effective. Worth the money!"

As soon as he entered, Ji Xun showered the shop with compliments before saying, "This time, I'd like to see other things."

"Oh. Feel free to look around."

Upon hearing this, the boss seemed to remember he was a returning customer. The words "Don't mess things up" were swallowed back, and he let Ji Xun browse some of the less important texts.

Ji Xun didn't stand on ceremony and began looking around the shop.

While he couldn't flip through the breathing technique manuals, the ancient texts on stone tablets and antiques were displayed.

It didn't matter if he could understand them or not; the key was that he had a photographic memory!

As long as he looked at them carefully once, these things would be recorded in his mind.

Knowledge was always the most precious thing.

And the writing and symbols of any civilization actually followed patterns. With enough references, one could even slowly decipher them.

Whether it was pictographic writing representing forms, ideographic symbols, or various alphabetic scripts representing sounds, it was all the same.

The various mysterious symbols and incantations in this world were also like this.

Essentially, they were all patterns used to express what the writer wanted to convey.

Ji Xun felt that as long as he memorized enough various symbols, he could even slowly decipher the ancient literature of this world.

The secrets of the world would naturally open their doors.

Looking at these ancient texts, Ji Xun suddenly felt that his photographic memory ability might be a good choice for transferring to some Scholar-type Card Master professions in the [5-Wisdom] sequence in the future.

He quickly flipped through various items in the store, his mind like a typewriter, imprinting various mysterious symbols.

Due to his scattered attention, Ji Xun looked through them very quickly. To others, it just looked like he was casually flipping pages.

The boss didn't say anything.

Many people came and went. Ji Xun only glanced at them occasionally and paid them no mind.

Before he knew it, a new customer suddenly entered the store. Their voice arrived before they did, "Old man, any new stock?"

Ji Xun hadn't paid attention initially.

Hearing the voice, he instinctively glanced over.

But upon hearing the question, the boss immediately stood up, his tone surprisingly showing a hint of fawning subservience as if a distinguished guest had arrived?

"Oh my, yes! Yes! Yes!"

Saying that, he took out a large stack of black and white photos from his storage ring and enthusiastically explained, "These are the latest ancient documents found by hunters recently. If you want the originals, I'll go to the warehouse and find them for you."

The person replied, "No need for now, I'll look at these first."

Ji Xun was also stunned upon hearing this: ???

This old man usually treated everyone with indifference, yet he was so enthusiastic towards this customer?

He even used honorifics.

Who was this person?

With a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw a woman in a black motorcycle leather outfit entering. Her figure was exquisite, the tight leather suit perfectly outlining her shapely form. However, she wore a half-face gas mask, obscuring her face, but her gaze was sharp.

Ji Xun wasn't particularly concerned with her appearance. Instead, his first glance fell upon the mechanical equipment she wore.

Although a large part of it was hidden beneath her clothes, Ji Xun caught a glimpse of a detail and immediately identified it.

This was undoubtedly the most sophisticated mechanical equipment he had ever seen.

TR-33 Military Single-Soldier Exoskeleton? Someone actually managed to get their hands on this thing?

He hadn't seen it before, but he had heard of it.

It was said to be one of the most advanced single-soldier equipment of the current federal military. Anything like this appearing anywhere outside the military was considered a "contraband item"!

Her identity was certainly not simple.

Ji Xun was guessing the leather-clad woman's identity, and his gaze drifted back to the stack of photos the boss had handed out.

The photos showed various ancient books, scrolls, or stone carvings, all with text.

There were also some blueprints.

Ji Xun took a look and realized that these seemed to be ancient documents related to machinery.

The steam machinery in this world was not a product of current scientific research, but rather an archaeological find. Just like the architectural standards of the "Demon Cross" ruins, which had stood for thousands of years without decay, even now they were difficult to replicate.

The leather-clad woman seemed very interested in the contents of the photos, looking at them intently, but her brow was furrowed, clearly not understanding them. "Old man, have you found anyone who can translate these mechanical blueprints?"

The boss replied, "No. The few scholar-sequence Spell Card Masters I know only understand a smattering of the Talen Language, and they can't translate many of the professional terms on the mechanical blueprints. If you're looking for a polymath who is proficient in ancient Talen, you'll probably only find one in Dragon City."

"."

The leather-clad woman also seemed a bit helpless. The drawings on the blueprints alone were no longer enough to satisfy her needs.

Only then did Ji Xun take another look at one of the photos.

It contained some strange symbols, which was the Talen Language.

The script of a lost civilization that was said to be thousands of years old.

It wasn't until the Old Continent on the other side of the world rift was discovered that people confirmed the existence of that legendary mysterious civilization.

Ji Xun had seen this script before.

The first time was in the 407 Alternate Dimension.

The Demon Cross was actually the ruins of a city from the Talen Dynasty.

The 407 instance had restrictions on Card Master Apprentices entering, and the difficulty was very high. The reason he could understand it at that time was entirely due to the enlightenment provided by the rules of the space itself.

Thinking of this, an idea popped into Ji Xun's mind: "Hmm, if I could get my hands on that material, wouldn't I be able to master some ancient script..."

The material he found in the safe back then was a thick stack.

Setting aside the content, the value of the script alone was completely different from these scattered, incomplete fragments of ancient documents in the photos.

Moreover, the near-death experience back then had deepened his memory, and Ji Xun could still recall much of the content in broad strokes.

With accurate meanings as a reference, deciphering it would be much easier.

Unfortunately, that material was with Chu Jiu.

He didn't know if she had brought it out of the space.

The thought flashed by, and Ji Xun collected his thoughts.

The leather-clad girl continued to look at the photos, occasionally picking out a few and asking the boss to prepare the originals for her to take away.

Ji Xun didn't have such VIP treatment. He quickly finished looking at what he could.

He didn't plan to spend too much time at this shop, as there were many others he wanted to visit. As if remembering something, he casually asked, "Boss, do you have any breathing techniques that can absorb multiple elements at once?"

The owner, having been replaced by someone else, reverted to his indifferent demeanor and coldly replied, "No."

After a pause, he couldn't help but add, "You're quite strange. Curse Power should be as pure as possible; releasing spell cards will be safer and more efficient, and the chance of losing control during advancement will be smaller. Yet you want multiple types?"

"."

Ji Xun found the response to be as expected.

He had already carefully examined everything earlier, and all the breathing techniques were for a single element.

He had only asked casually in the first place.

He figured it was probably as the owner said, that absorbing a single element to condense Curse Power was the right path? Or perhaps the shop catered to ordinary people and hadn't yet delved into those rarer breathing techniques?

But he thought that no matter what, if he couldn't find a suitable breathing technique, his talent for all-element tolerance would go to waste.

It was truly a pity.

Not getting the result he wanted, Ji Xun turned to leave the small shop.

But just then, the woman in the leather motorcycle outfit suddenly spoke, saying softly, "You're looking for a multi-element breathing technique?"