1260: - Gambling with Your Life
After ten minutes of pummeling, it had already come to a point where it seemed like Pavilion Master chirayu would lose his life if the puppets continued hitting him. Thus, vipin could only reluctantly order his puppets to stop. After stowing his puppets away, vipin placed his finger on Pavilion Master chirayu’s renzhong 1 to wake him. Then, looking at the latter earnestly, he asked, “Pavilion Master chirayu, you have used a weapon in the battle, so I used mine as well. It was a fair duel, so you should have no disagreements with the conclusion, right?”
“A fair duel?” Blood spouted from Pavilion Master chirayu’s mouth once more. To send more than a hundred puppets to pummel the individual me, can that still be considered as a fair duel? “If Pavilion Master chirayu has any objections with the conclusion, I don’t mind having a match with you right now without using any weapons,” vipin replied.
“I fought four battle earlier without any rest whereas you have only fought one. Such will be advantageous to you, but considering that you are my junior, I’ll make an exception just this once.” Pu! Pavilion Master chirayu spouted blood once more. You weren’t even injured in the four matches you fought whereas I am clearly on the verge of death, unable to move at all… How the heck am I supposed to battle with you?
“Pavilion Master chirayu, can I take your silence as consent? Since that’s the case, I guess I’ll just have to reluctantly accompany you for a duel then!” Seeing how the other party was focused on spouting blood, neglecting to answer his question, vipin began walking over to Pavilion Master chirayu with clenched fists, ready to sink it into the latter’s flesh at any moment. “I admit defeat! I admit defeat!” Pavilion Master chirayu exclaimed. At this point, there was nothing else he could do.
He was clearly unfit for battle in his current state, so if the duel continued, he could very well lose his life. For a Half-Grand Dominion expert like him to be forced to admit defeat to a mere Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage lad… The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt. It’s all that bastard alim’s fault! Pavilion Master chirayu thought with gritted teeth. Had alim not misreported the information, he would not have been pummeled so badly. It felt as if alim wanted to pull him down with him!
“It’s good that you have admitted defeat.” Placing his hands behind his back, vipin straightened his body. “As the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, instead of thinking about how you can bring greater prosperity to mankind, you waste your time obsessing over your personal interest and making paltry gains.
“If I wasn’t strong enough, not only would I have humiliated myself here, I might even have been severely injured as well. I’ll report this to the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, and I’ll leave them to judge this matter.” Pavilion Master chirayu had exploited his position in order to settle his personal grudges. In the first place, the punishment that alim had received was justified, and yet, due to his personal ties, Pavilion Master chirayu still attempted to exact vengeance on him. Just the lack of magnanimity he had displayed this far was already enough to show that he was not worthy of being the head of a Master Teacher Pavilion.
“I…” Pavilion Master chirayu’s face paled. vipin was an honorary elder of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion. These words were more than enough to end his career as the head of the chong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. “Alright, feel free to continue. I’m going to rest now.” After everything that had happened, vipin knew that it would only be uncomfortable for everyone if he remained in the hall.
Thus, he turned around and left. The moment he walked out of the door, two apprentice master teachers immediately rushed up to lead him to his accommodation. Regardless of whether vipin had a conflict with Pavilion Master chirayu or not, he was still a guest of the chong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. Even if only due to formalities, they would still have to prepare a proper accommodation for them. vipin liaoshi, mohan, and the others quickly followed along as well.
Their accommodation was a residence. vipin took one of the rooms and closed the door before entering the Myriad Anthive Nest. While there were some unpleasant events that had happened at the banquet earlier, he did earn fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones, so it was not too bad. With this many spirit stones, he could attempt to break the bottleneck of Primordial Spirit realm and reach Half-Leaving Aperture realm.
Once he reached that cultivation realm, he would be able to deal with Pavilion Master chirayu even without his puppets. Sitting on the ground, vipin flicked his wrist and took out all the concentrated high-tier spirit stones that he had obtained earlier. After making some preparations, he began absorbing the pure spiritual energy through his acupoints and converted it into Heaven’s Path zhenqi.
Hong long! Some time later, he successfully achieved a breakthrough—Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage! Kacha! Kacha! Kacha! Soon after, just as vipin had reinforced his cultivation and was attempting a breakthrough to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, he found that the fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones had been completely expended, reduced to mere dust. vipin could not help but shake his head. The effectiveness of concentrated high-tier spirit stones is falling along with the advancement in my cultivation.
Back when he achieved a breakthrough to Primordial Spirit realm, he had already noticed that the effectiveness of concentrated high-tier spirit stones was starting to dip. Nevertheless, he had thought that fifty of them should at least suffice for him to reach Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle. However, in the end, it was only enough for him to raise his cultivation by one stage. It seemed like he would have to find some way to acquire higher tier spirit stones if he wished to achieve breakthroughs swiftly!
I should go out and take a look around! Seeing that there was no way he could cultivate on, vipin sighed deeply as he left the Myriad Anthive Nest and walked out of his room. “Young Master…” Upon seeing vipin, mohan and vipin liaoshi immediately walked over and greeted him. “vipin liaoshi, are you familiar with chong City?
I need someone to take me around. I want to check if there’s any place where I can exchange for or earn concentrated high-tier spirit stones,” vipin said. “I came to chong City three years ago, so I am quite familiar with the city. Is vipin in urgent need of spirit stones?” vipin liaoshi asked, slightly perplexed by vipin’s question. Did the other party not just earn fifty pieces at the banquet?
Was it insufficient for his use? “Un.” vipin nodded, not explaining anything much. If he told the other party that he needed more spirit stones because he had already expended those that he had earned during the banquet, there was a chance that the other party might have been shocked to death. In any case, it was a risk not worth taking. “How many do you need?” vipin liaoshi asked.
“As many as possible.” vipin roughly estimated. “It would be best if there’s around three hundred or so!” Based on his current consumption of spirit stones, in order to reach Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, he would require at least a hundred more. Furthermore, his soul cultivation was only at Saint 2-dan, and to raise it to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle as well would require roughly another two hundred. “Three hundred?” vipin liaoshi’s lips twitched. “You need so many of them?
It won’t be easy to find that many even in chong City…” While chong City did have a spirit mine that produced concentrated high-tier spirit stone, it was far from becoming a common commodity in the city. Only the strongest of powers in chong City would have the connections and wealth to obtain that many concentrated high-tier spirit stones. vipin liaoshi pondered for a moment. “Currently, I only know of three places that will have that many concentrated high-tier spirit stones.
First, the Master Teacher Pavilion, which is here. Second, the chong royal family. Third, the black market that I told you about earlier!” “How could I have forgotten the Master Teacher Pavilion!” vipin was taken aback for a moment before he slapped his forehead. Indeed! Considering how even those individual master teachers were able to take out ten to twenty of them easily, it should not have been too difficult for the Master Teacher Pavilion to take out three hundred of them.
“Hmm… Should I go look for Pavilion Master chirayu and have him take out those spirit stones?” vipin stroked his chin as he pondered. A moment later, he shook his head. “Better not. I have just beaten him up, and it would be bad for my reputation if I continued pummeling him.” If he extorted spirit stones out of Pavilion Master chirayu right after pummeling him to a state of half-death, it would have seemed as if he was taking advantage of the weak, and it would have reflected badly on him.
No matter what, he still had his image and standing to uphold. If he extorted spirit stones from Pavilion Master chirayu like that, he would have been no different from a street thug! “The Master Teacher Pavilion is out for the moment then. As for the chong royal family… I don’t have any ties with them, so that’s probably unfeasible, too.” After a moment of contemplation, vipin said, “Where is the black market you spoke of?
If I don’t have anything to exchange for concentrated high-tier spirit stones, is there any way I can earn some there?” “The black market is just outside of chong City,” vipin liaoshi replied. “The fastest way you can earn concentrated high-tier spirit stone if you have nothing to trade for them would probably be… gambling!” “Gambling?” “Un, gambling with your life.” vipin liaoshi nodded.
“The black market has something known as the Ring of Death. A victory in the Ring of Death will earn one a high-tier spirit stone, two consecutive victories two high-tier spirit stones, three consecutive victories three high-tier spirit stone, so on and so forth. But of course, that is only spare change—the big money lies in what comes later on. By winning ten consecutive matches, one will have earned the title of ‘Conqueror of Ten’, and that grants one the opportunity to clash with the other Conquerors of Ten.
There will be many people putting their bets on those matches, and if one plays it right, it’s possible to strike a windfall! “But to be honest, those who were able to become Conquerors of Ten are all nigh invincible existences in their own class. There’s no doubt that great wealth lies there, but the slightest misstep could spell one’s death. Every year, countless experts are brutally killed in the ring!” “I see.”
vipin nodded as his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was confident that he would not lose to anyone in the same cultivation realm, so if he became a Conqueror of Ten and clashed with the others, wouldn’t he be able to learn lots of money swiftly? Seeing through vipin’s thoughts, vipin liaoshi advised, “vipin, you are indeed extremely powerful in your power class, but… I think it would still be best for you to steer clear of the Ring of Death.” Intrigued, vipin asked, “Why?”
vipin liaoshi should have been fully aware of his strength, and yet, to still ask him to steer clear of the Ring of Death… could it mean that he had encountered cultivators who were even stronger than him in the Ring of Death? “Other than the usage of excessively powerful artifacts, the Ring of Death has basically no rules whatsoever. Usage of poison, hidden weapons, trickery… Such means are all fair game. Putting everything aside, it’s unlikely for even the powerful combat masters to last till the tenth round!”
At this point, a bitter smile crept on vipin liaoshi’s face before he said, “I also visited the Ring of Death out of curiosity back then, but in the fifth match, I was defeated.” In view of their standing, there were many means that a master teacher wouldn’t be able to use in a battle. On the other hand, the fighters in the Ring of Death were those who underwent life-and-death battles every single day.
They had no qualms resorting to whatever means they could think of, as long as it would aid them in slaying the opponent before them. “You were defeated by the fifth match?” “That’s right. The ten victories required to become the Conqueror of Ten must not only be consecutive but continuous as well. In other words, you have to remain on the stage and fight ten opponents without any rest in between. While the opponent chosen for each match is selected by random, they typically grow stronger and stronger.
“Furthermore, each of them have different specialties—some are adept in physical assault, some are more skilled in soul arts, and some are masters of mystical arts, making it extremely difficult to guard against them. The reason I was defeated is due to exhaustion piling up, and the fellow in the fifth match took advantage of that well,” vipin liaoshi explained.
“Take me over to take a look,” vipin said. To be plunged into a life-and-death battle one after another was indubitably a great challenge on one’s mind and body. But to vipin, it was really nothing at all. “Does vipin really want to go?” Seeing how the other party was still insisting on it after all he had said, vipin liaoshi shook his head and sighed. “If you find yourself in danger, it would be best for you to admit defeat quickly.”
“Don’t worry!” vipin said confidently. If he could earn spirit stones just by fighting matches one after another, just as vipin liaoshi said, he should be able to easily earn enough to shut down the entire black market! Just the thought of it left his heart trembling in excitement! ------oOo------
1261: - Trading for Spirit Stones
The underground market was located beneath a manor in the suburbs of chong City. Before heading over, vipin and vipin liaoshi had changed into leisurely clothes, assuming the roles of young scions heading out to play. “It’s said that the person who founded the black market in chong City is an ill-fated scholar. The injustice he has faced from the bureaucratic system has made him harden his heart to the world, and he decided to forsake academics for martial arts. In order to vent the frustrations within him, he created the black market.
“In there, there’s nothing that one cannot buy or do as long as one has sufficient money. Of course… the prices there are exorbitant as well. In fact, it could be said to be the greatest money sink in the chong Empire!” While advancing forward, vipin liaoshi briefly introduced the black market to vipin. “Considering the scale of the black market, isn’t it weird that the chong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion and the royal family have left them to their own devices?” vipin asked.
Since even an outsider like vipin liaoshi knew about this place, there was no doubt that the royal family and the regional Master Teacher Pavilion were aware of its existence as well. Thus, shouldn’t they have moved to strike down the black market instead of allowing it to develop freely, especially considering that they were gambling with the lives of others? “The Master Teacher Pavilion and royal family do keep a lookout for the black market just in case it gets out of hand, but otherwise, they usually leave it be for stability considerations.” “Stability considerations?”
vipin asked in incomprehension. Even though they had not arrived at the black market yet, based on what vipin liaoshi had said so far, it seemed like the black market was effectively a lawless area, devoid of any security or rules. How could an existence like that in chong City possibly contribute to its stability? “The larger a city is, the more cultivators it has. There’s always a lack of cultivation resources, so it’s inevitable that cultivators will clash with one another to vie for them.
As this is a fundamental problem, there’s no way that the royal family or the Master Teacher Pavilion can stop them altogether,” vipin liaoshi explained. “Un.” vipin nodded. In this world where strength reigned supreme, there was no doubt that raising one’s cultivation realm was extremely important. However, given that the resources in the world were limited, there was bound to be conflict and strife over them.
No matter how powerful the Master Teacher Pavilion was, it could not possibly prevent such matters altogether. If it implemented forceful measures to put a halt to such conflicts, it might face serious backlash from the stifled cultivators. “An underground black market might be unseemly, but it’s a possible channel where cultivators can acquire what they need as long as they have enough money.
And to earn sufficient money, they have to cultivate harder and battle. With such a channel, there is a lesser need for cultivators to engage in dishonorable actions such as stealing to obtain what they need. While there are quite a few casualties from the Ring of Death, there’s no doubt that the security of chong City as a whole has improved,” vipin liaoshi said. Where there was light, there were bound to be shadows as well.
There were misfits even within the Master Teacher Pavilion, let alone the other cultivators. Without an avenue to vent their darker desires or acquire their resources, there was no knowing what extreme actions cultivators might resort to within the city. As the saying went, ‘ A lake too clear will sustain no fish; a man too severe will find no companion.
1 ‘ The existence of a black market was unlawful and should have been frowned on, but if it could reduce crime rates in the city, there would be a meaning to its existence as well. Take his previous life for example, there was a certain occupation that was banned in several countries. But despite the authorities knowing where the people of that occupation operated, they still allowed its existence.
It was not that they could not shut it down, but the occupation served its own role in society. It satisfied the needs of others, and through doing so, it reduced crime rates in that aspect. If they really eradicated it altogether, that would potentially pose a challenge to the security of the society.
Such was the same for the chong Empire’s black market as well. It was unlawful on the surface, but its existence could prevent societal problems from arising in the city. In view of that, the royal family eventually chose to look the other way when it came to their operations. As for the Master Teacher Pavilion, as long as there was no grievous injustice being dealt and the matter would not harm mankind in general, it usually would not interfere. After all, its manpower was limited.
Thinking back, it was likely that Hongyuan City, rosaat City, and the other capitals should also have had such a place. It was just that vipin had been too preoccupied with other matters, and he had never stayed too long in each city either. Just as vipin was in the midst of his thoughts, vipin liaoshi said, “Alright, we have arrived!” Raising his head, vipin saw a massive manor right before him.
Before they could walk into the manor, two middle-aged men stood in their path and demanded, “Token!” Surprisingly, they were both Primordial Spirit realm experts, and they emanated a powerful killing aura. With just a look, it was clear that they were veterans who had killed many enemies in battle. vipin flicked his wrist and passed an object over. A middle-aged man took the object and examined it closely before passing two black cloths over, gesturing for them to cover their eyes.
Following vipin liaoshi’s lead, vipin wrapped the black cloth around his eyes, and he realized that not only did it hinder his sight, even his Spiritual Perception was impeded, preventing him from clearly perceiving his surroundings. Under the lead of the two middle-aged men, they walked for roughly ten minutes before the cloth around their eyes was finally loosened. A massive mall came into sight. There was a huge crowd milling about, and they extended all the way to the horizon.
Even though they were underground, the brilliant glow of the Night Illumination Pearls had the entire area brightly lit as if it was day. “This…” Blinking in wonder, vipin began scanning his surroundings. He had been to plenty of trading halls, markets, and malls, and even though the scale of the mall before him was not too big, the items that were on display were truly astounding. Walking past the various vendors, vipin’s eyes narrowed in astonishment. “Is that the Black Goldcrystal Ore?
It’s actually on sale here?” The Black Goldcrystal Ore was a treasure that grand master krishna had left behind in his heritage. It was known to be extremely rare, such that it could not even be found anywhere in rosaat City. Yet, in this black market, it was actually placed on public display!
Despite seeing all of this with his own eyes, vipin still found it difficult to accept. Noticing vipin’s expression, vipin liaoshi chuckled softly. “Even though the Black Goldcrystal Ore is rare, it isn’t completely unobtainable. It isn’t that surprising for it to be on sale here.” He had also been like that the first time he entered the black market, hardly daring to believe the treasures that were being sold so casually around him. However, after seeing more of it, he had gradually grown used to it.
“Cultivation technique manuals, Saint intermediate-tier artifacts, intelligence… As expected of a black market, they really have everything here!” vipin remarked in awe as they walked along the street. It was really as if everything was on sale there, regardless of whether the item was lawful or unlawful. Upon seeing a store that sold cultivation technique manuals, vipin stopped and asked, “Are there are Half-Leaving Aperture realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivation techniques here?”
“We do. Depending of the tier of the cultivation technique manual, we will charge different prices!” the elder watching the store replied lazily. The black market also had its own guards to maintain security. As such, the vendors did not fear that their good would be snatched. “Oh? How much do they cost?” vipin asked. Gesturing to the board beside him, the elder replied nonchalantly, “Take a look at it yourself.”
Saint intermediate-tier cultivation techniques and battle techniques cost roughly ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones at the minimum. Naturally, those of lower tiers were slightly cheaper. The price of a single book was still acceptable for vipin, but if he had to buy the thousands of books required for him to successfully compile a Heaven’s Path Divine Art, that would really be a huge expenditure. “How many Half-Leaving Aperture realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivation technique manuals do you have?”
vipin asked. “I have a total of 327 for Half-Leaving Aperture realm and 52 for Leaving Aperture realm. They are all on the shelves there. They have been sealed, so don’t bother using your Spiritual Perception to scan them. If there’s a book you are interested in, fork out the money and I’ll copy down a new one for you. Don’t worry, the cultivation techniques we have here are all complete and detailed. We even have the Crouching Dragon Art, which the chong royal family practices, and the Supersonic Severing Swordsmanship that Pavilion Master chirayu practices.
The prices are very fair as well,” the elder said with a proud wave of his hand. Hearing those words, vipin looked at the bookshelves before him. There were quite a few books on them, but they had been sealed with some kind of special formation, making it impossible to view their content through Spiritual Perception. However… When had vipin needed to rely on Spiritual Perception to read a book? Sweeping across them with his eyes, he muttered in his mind, Flaws! Huala!
The shelves of books immediately materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path. These books were indeed high quality, but it was a pity that they were lacking in quantity, so he was still unable to compile a complete Heaven’s Path Divine Art. There’s really the royal family’s Crouching Dragon Art and Pavilion Master chirayu’s swordsmanship… Isn’t this black market a little too powerful?
vipin exclaimed internally after swiftly browsing through the books in the Library of Heaven’s Path. On his journey here from karim nagar, the cultivation techniques practiced by the royal families had all been confidential secrets. Outsiders would never be allowed to even come close to them, let alone lay their hands on them.
Yet, for them to actually appear in a black market like this, placed on public display for sale… this was really frightening in another way. Seeing that vipin was scanning through the books, the elder asked casually, “Which one do you wish to buy? I’ll have it copied for you.” “There’s no need for it…” vipin shook his head.
Since he had already collected those books into the Library of Heaven’s Path, there was no need for him to waste precious concentrated high-tier spirit stones on them, not to mention that he did not have the money to afford any at the moment anyway. On the other hand, seeing that vipin would not be buying anything, the elder turned his head away coldly, not wanting to waste any effort on him anymore.
There were plenty of people who would ask him for the prices of his cultivation technique manuals just to put on a show despite not having the money to afford them. He was already used to it. After leaving the book vendor, vipin continued proceeding ahead. There were really all kinds of valuable treasures on sales, and even grade-7 pinnacle pills could be found here and there.
vipin liaoshi pointed to the area ahead of him and said, “vipin, the shop up ahead is the place where one can trade items for concentrated hightier spirit stones. If you have some spare high-tier spirit stones or other miscellaneous artifacts, you can have them exchanged for concentrated high-tier spirit stones. However, the prices will be pushed down, so you might not get a good exchange rate.”
Turning his gaze over, vipin saw a store with a long and narrow reception. There were two attendants on wait there, and there were hardly any customers to be seen. Walking up, vipin took a look at the exchange rate listed on the wall, and his mouth began twitching uncontrollably. It sure was a huge scam.
Under normal circumstances, the exchange rate for high-tier spirit stones to concentrated high-tier spirit stones was 1,000:1. However, the store actually tripled it, turning it into 3,000:1. In other words, he had to exchange three thousand high-tier spirit stones for a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone!
Most cultivators would pretty much have to bankrupt themselves just to trade for a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone here. At the same time, the average price for Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle Saint intermediate-tier artifacts would be around ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones, but over here, it was only worth three. Even Leaving Aperture realm Saint intermediate-tier artifacts were only worth six.
Well, Ding Ding is still rather valuable, worth about roughly thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones… vipin stroked his chin as he swiftly calculated the price of the Golden Origin Cauldron. Even though plundering the Ten Great Kings and Qingtian Emperor and the sales of the Cloudmist Flower had earned him a fair sum, all in all, that only added up to roughly sixty thousand high-tier spirit stones.
In order to raise his soul cultivation, he had expended quite a number of them, so he only had roughly forty thousand of them left at the moment. In other words, he could only trade for ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones in this store! That did not even come close to the value of his Ding Ding! vipin pondered hard for a moment before eventually shaking his head.Forget it, that fellow has been rather loyal to me, so I can’t really sell it. Sighing deeply, vipin walked up to the attendant.
“I want to trade for concentrated high-tier spirit stones.” “How many do you need?” the attendant asked nonchalantly. “How many can I trade all of this for?” Hong long! With a loud boom, a huge bunch of high-tier spirit stones, weapons, medicinal herbs, ores, and the like fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust in the area. “So many items?” The attendant rose to his feet in astonishment.
------oOo------
1262: - Annal of Bedstead Disquisition
This attendant was extremely young, appearing to be only in his early thirties. His cultivation was only at Half-Saint as well. He did not think much when vipin first approached him, but upon seeing the countless items on the ground, his eyes widened in agitation. Due to the exorbitant prices in the black market, unless in cases of emergency, rarely would there be anyone who was willing to exchange for concentrated high-tier spirit stones there. As a result, he had rarely received any customers.
Thus, it was completely inconceivable for him to see vipin pulling out so many items at once. It took a moment before the attendant shook himself out of his daze, and he anxiously turned to vipin and asked, “magan, do you want to trade in all of these for concentrated high-tier spirit stones?”
“Un!” vipin nodded. He had taken most of these items from the Qingtian Lineage and the rosaat royal family. In the past, they could still have been considered valuable resources to him, but after his cultivation reached Primordial Spirit realm, they were no longer useful to him. Rather than taking up space, he was better off trading them for something that could be used to raise his cultivation further.
“A-alright! I’ll have the appraiser come over right now…” Knowing that an invaluable customer was standing before him, the attendant dared not show the slightest disrespect to vipin. He quickly rushed into the store, and before long, he returned with an elder behind him. After swiftly assessing the items, the elder turned to vipin and said, “All in all, your items can be traded for 113 concentrated high-tier spirit stones.
Here’s the receipt, please take a look…” However, vipin waved his hand and said, “There’s no need for that. Bring me the spirit stones.” He had tabulated the total cost earlier as well, and his calculations were roughly in line with the final price the elder had mentioned. The elder nodded. “Very well. Bring me the spirit stones!” The attendant quickly rushed back into the store before returning with a storage ring in hand. Taking the storage ring, vipin quickly took a look inside.
113 concentrated high-tier spirit stones, no more no less. “magan, by trading a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stone at our store, you have already automatically become an esteemed guest of our market. It happens that we have an auction tonight that is only opened to esteemed guests, so I would like to extend an invitation over to you as well.” Smiling, the elder passed over a token that represented vipin’s identity as an esteemed guest of the market.
To trade in so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones at once, vipin could already be considered a huge customer of the black market, qualifying him to become an esteemed guest. “Auction?” vipin pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “For the time being, I’m not really interested in attending any auctions.” What he was lacking the most at the moment was spirit stones.
Everything aside from that was not of much use. “magan, please don’t reject my offer so quickly. Perhaps, you might change your mind after hearing my introduction of the auction tonight!” the elder replied with a confident smile. “Oh?” “In the auction tonight, there will be two Leaving Aperture realm Saint intermediate-tier artifacts and a quasi grade-8 pill that can fully restore the strength of a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator within three seconds, making it a miracle pill for clearing one’s Leaving Aperture Ordeal!” the elder said proudly.
The Leaving Aperture Ordeal was a battle against the power of the heavens. Just the slightest weakness in the midst of the ordeal could spell the utter annihilation of one’s body and soul. In view of the risks, many cultivators would spend huge sums of money to purchase quasi grade-8 pills that would allow them to swiftly regain their strength.
This would ensure that their strength would not be depleted in the midst of facing the lightning tribulation, thus enhancing their chances of clearing it. Of course, such pills were extremely expensive as well. The average cultivator would never be able to afford their exorbitant prices.
“It’s fine…” vipin shook his head. After cultivating the Saint Ascension Decipher, vipin’s zhenqi capacity could be said to be nearly boundless compared to ordinary cultivators. As such, the effects of those quasi grade-8 pills on him were truly insignificant. As for Saint-tier artifacts, he already had the Golden Origin Cauldron and his army of puppets. Why should he waste his money on purchasing others?
With a light chuckle, the elder said, “If magan is uninterested in those, there’s one thing that you might be interested in.” “Oh?” vipin asked. “Annal of Bedstead Disquisition!” the elder said. “Annal of Bedstead Disquisition?” vipin frowned. “When sant gajanan passed by this area, the head of the chong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion back then, Pavilion Master mayur, specially visited him to pay respects to him.
“Seeing that sant gajanan was resting, he stood perfectly still on the spot for three days straight, resulting in a huge heap of snow covering his entire body. In view of his sincerity, sant gajanan began lecturing Pavilion Master mayur while seated on his bedstead. “According to historical records, the sight then was truly phenomenal. Countless celestial flowers descended from the sky, and golden lotuses bloomed from the ground.
Origin Energy surged into the surroundings, and even the heavens seemed to rattle from his teachings. “Pavilion Master mayur recorded the teachings that sant gajanan imparted to him back then in a book and passed it down to the later generations, and that book is known as the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition!”
the elder explained. “sant gajanan?” vipin frowned. “Un. The old ancestor of Sage sant kabila, gajanan!” the elder replied with a nod. “According to the rumors, there are some secrets concerning the sant kabila’s cultivation technique hidden within the annal, and if one studies it diligently, it will advance one’s understanding of space significantly. “However, the annal went missing at some point in time, and for many years, no one was able to find it. It was only recently that someone coincidentally discovered it, and passing through many hands, it eventually found its way into our market.”
Hearing the explanation, vipin’s eyebrows shot up. In truth, he had no interest in the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition. However, hearing that it had some ties with the sant kabila, he could not help but feel a little moved. If he could uncover the secrets of the sant kabila’s cultivation technique through the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, this might very well add to his bargaining power against the sant kabila when he sought Pratyusha in the future. vipin pondered for a moment before asking, “May I know roughly how much the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition is likely to be sold at?”
If he could get a rough estimate of the price of the artifact, he would at least have a rough target as to how much concentrated high-tier spirit stones he would have to earn. Even though he had just exchanged for more than a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones, there was no doubt that this sum would be far from sufficient for him to buy something as valuable as the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition.
“While the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition was not written by sant gajanan himself, it does contain the essence of his teachings. Even if only a tenth of the original conception is harnessed in the text, there’s no doubt that it’s an unparalleled treasure to Primordial Spirit realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivators.
As such, even I can’t say for sure how much it’ll be sold for. “However, the starting bid is five hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones, so I reckon the auctioning price will be a thousand at the very minimum. magan, if you wish to purchase the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, you should quickly gather your concentrated high-tier spirit stones,” the elder advised. Due to vipin’s earlier action of whipping out countless valuables, the elder was already convinced that the young man was a wealthy scion.
If that was the case, it would not have been too difficult for him to fork out a few hundred or even a few thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones. “Alright!” vipin nodded. “Help me reserve a seat. I’ll make some preparations first. I’ll rush back later when the auction starts.” Seeing that there was some time until night fell, vipin decided to head to the Ring of Death first to see if he could rake in a thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones. “Alright.” The elder nodded as he began making preparations.
“Alright, let’s go!” After dealing with the matter at hand, vipin beckoned vipin liaoshi over and had the latter take him over to the dueling ring. The dueling ring was located at the very center of the black market. The personnel of the Ring of Death first checked their cultivation and handed them a token that represented their tier before letting them in. Seeing that vipin’s cultivation had already reached Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, vipin liaoshi was rendered speechless.
The rate at which this fellow’s cultivation rose honestly left him feeling deeply crazed within. The first time that they met, he was only at Spiritual Perception realm. Yet, in just a few days, he had become a Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage cultivator, just like him. And two hours ago, when he was fighting against the other young geniuses during the banquet, he was certain the other party’s cultivation had still been at intermediate stage too, but within this short period of time, vipin had actually managed to make a breakthrough.
All along, he had prided himself as a genius, but seeing the rate at which the other party was growing, vipin liaoshi suddenly realized that he was just an ordinary mortal after all. They were not even on the same level of existence. Seeing the traumatized look on vipin liaoshi’s face, vipin explained, “I managed to reinforce my cultivation sufficiently, so I was able to achieve a breakthrough just a moment ago…” “You managed to reinforce your cultivation sufficiently…” Those words only furthered vipin liaoshi’s trauma.
Others take at least months to fully reinforce their cultivation at Primordial Spirit realm, but this fellow took a day or two. Really, there was no comparing with him. Forget it. There’s bound to be a disparity between the both of us. After all, he’s a Celestial Master Teacher, vipin liaoshi consoled himself. If vipin could not achieve the extraordinary, how could he receive the acknowledgement of the heavens?
While vipin liaoshi was still deep in thought, a middle-aged manager of the Ring of Death walked over and asked, “Which of the two of you is going into the ring later?” “I’ll be going on the ring,” vipin replied. “I’ll first fill you in on the rules and requirements on the ring. In order to join the ring, you must first pay two concentrated high-tier spirit stones as a participation fee. During the match, the weapons, hidden weapons, and similar equipment that you are intending to use must be supplied by us.
You must not use your own personal items. This is to ensure fairness on the ring,” the middle-aged manager explained. “Un.” vipin nodded. The rules were also roughly as he guessed as much. Otherwise, if a participant were to bring an extraordinarily powerful weapon on the ring, they would be able to easily dominate the entire ring. There would be minimal suspense and entertainment for the audience, and the purpose of the Ring of Death would also be rendered meaningless.
“Also, after you win five rounds, we will start opening bets for your matches. As there are stakes involved, unless you are incapacitated or crippled, any attempts to surrender will be considered invalid by the Ring of Death. This is extremely important, so do prepare yourself for it,” the middle-aged manager said. “Incapacitated or crippled?” vipin frowned. vipin liaoshi had not told him about this previously.
“Yes. Every victory and loss will have great implications once we open bets. If a challenger who is capable of achieving victory intentionally admits defeat, it would be a crushing blow to the credibility of our Ring of Death. For this reason, we strike down very hard on challengers who lose on purpose,” the middle-aged manager explained. “I understand.” vipin nodded. He had some reservations regarding that rule, but he knew that it was necessary for the functioning of the Ring of Death.
It was precisely the excitement from the suspense of the matches that had cultivators betting their wealth frenziedly. If it was found that the results in the Ring of Death were manipulated, the ring would swiftly become boring and meaningless to others. As a result, the earnings of the Ring of Death would dip as well. “That’s all I have for you. If you still wish to continue, I’ll have you registered right now.
Otherwise, the both of you can proceed on to the spectator stand,” the middle-aged manager said. “I want to participate in the Ring of Death,” vipin replied calmly as he took out two concentrated high-tier spirit stones to pay the registration fee. After which, he passed his entire storage ring to vipin liaoshi. “I’ll need you to bet for me later on. Just go all in on my victory each time around.”
“Very well!” vipin liaoshi nodded. The reason vipin had gone there was to win spirit stones, and it went without saying the fastest way to win more spirit stones was to gamble their wealth! Soon, vipin liaoshi was led to the spectator stand whereas vipin was taken to the backstage to prepare. Boom! While passing by the spectator stand, vipin took a look into the ring and saw that there were two people battling inside.
Their furious clash of zhenqi induced a deafening reverberation in the air, and watching the adrenaline-filled sight, the crowd screamed in excitement. “Tear him apart! Tear him apart!” Such exclamations could be heard among the crowd. Looking into one of the rings through the door, vipin saw a middleaged man dressed in metal armor letting loose a raging roar as he raised his opponent into the air.
The middle-aged man had a towering physique, standing at two meters tall. In comparison, the opponent he was holding appeared to be a helpless, small chick instead. Si la! With a fiery bellow, the middle-aged man forcefully tore his opponent in half, and fresh blood poured all over him, dyeing him crimson. This sight left vipin’s eyebrows shooting up as he clenched his fists tightly.
He had undergone many battles, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a brutal and meaningless murder, as if a human’s life was nothing more than a toy. When he strolled through the area earlier and browsed through the array of items they had on sale, he had felt that the black market did not seem any different from other mall.
However, after seeing this sight, he realized that all he had seen before was just the very surface of the black market. It was not without a reason that the black market was labeled as a lawless zone. In here, a human’s life had no intrinsic value at all. Without superior strength in the Ring of Death, one was bound to be ripped into shreds in the ring.
It was no wonder vipin liaoshi retreated after five rounds. Even for a master teacher, such callousness was hard to swallow.
------oOo------