My career has infinite upgrades.

A surge of power erupted from his body, instantly enveloping Gu Qing's entire body.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Your Phantom Contract has successfully advanced to a D-rank Abyss Attendant!]

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow, eagerly examining this new D-rank class.

[Class: Abyss Servant]

[Rank: D]

[Skill: Abyssal Service: Summons an abyssal creature to serve the master.]

[Passive Skill: Abyssal Feedback: By forming a pact with any abyssal creature, you can unconditionally share the other's 10% base attribute]

There are only two skills, one active and one passive.

Sure enough, after advancing to D-rank, combat power will increase significantly.

This D-rank class, Abyss Servant, far surpasses the previous E-rank class, Phantom Covenant.

But forget about the active skill; it summons an abyssal creature to serve him as his master.

I have no masochistic tendencies; it was I who whipped Cecilia with her little leather whip.

However, the passive skills are very useful.

Able to share 10% of the base attributes of contracted abyssal creatures!

Although it may only seem like a few points now, the bonus will be terrifying once Cecilia's level increases.

Moreover, Gu Qing will later form contracts with new abyssal creatures.

[Ding! The Abyss is feeding back...]

[The feedback is complete.]

Gu Qing instantly felt a warm current surge through his body, and his physical strength increased significantly.

Without hesitation, Gu Qing opened the attribute panel to check.

【Strength: 12】

[Physical Fitness: 23]

[Agility: 13]

【Spirit: 23】

Cecilia's 10% is roughly equivalent to Gu Qing's promotion by two levels.

The current attributes are still a bit too low.

But there's nothing we can do about it; humans and monsters are different.

The higher the monster's tier, the more attributes you gain per level.

However, humans need to advance to gain more attributes through leveling up.

Each level increases one rank. The better you perform in the rank-up trial, the more attribute points you will gain with each level up after rank-up.

This is also an important reason why high-ranking professionals can widen the gap between themselves and low-ranking professionals in the later stages.

Afterwards, Gu Qing began to check the advancement requirements for this new profession.

[Upgrade Requirements: Serve an abyssal creature until it achieves 100% satisfaction.]

Gu Qing rolled his eyes. He would never be able to meet the requirements for advancing to the next level in his entire life.

Then, Gu Qing's gaze fell on the simplified requirements for advancing to the next level.

[Simplified: Feeding or making physical contact with higher-level abyssal creatures grants one experience point per instance.]

Experience: 0/10000

The upgrade requirements are the same as before, only the experience required has increased tenfold.

acceptable.

After tidying up briefly and putting the items to be sold into a storage ring, Gu Qing rested.

The black market in the west of the city only operates at night; let's get some rest first.

That evening, Gu Qing changed into a black robe and headed directly to the black market in the west of the city.

The black market in the west of the city was built inside an abandoned air-raid shelter beneath an abandoned brick kiln in the urban village of the west of the city.

This area is not under the jurisdiction of the alliance, and there are no law enforcement teams patrolling.

But the black market has its own security forces, and causing trouble here is more serious than it is outside.

Gu Qing pushed open a hidden door disguised as a corrugated iron wall and walked down the damp cement steps.

At the end, two burly men with menacing faces, wielding spiked clubs, blocked the way.

They were around level 20 and wore tattered armor.

"Do you know the rules? The entrance fee is twenty energy crystals."

The bald man on the right spoke impatiently and reached out to Gu Qing.

The other person looked Gu Qing up and down, as if trying to see through him.

Gu Qing took out twenty energy crystals, handed them to the other party, and then went inside.

The man who had been sizing him up took out a communicator and whispered, "A sucker went in. He's probably here for the first time. It's up to you who can rip him off."

As you venture deeper inside, you hear all sorts of noises.

"The Shadow Panther Demon Core that was just extracted only costs twenty energy crystals."

"High-quality replica of the Holy See emblem, only 300 energy crystals! Wearing it will definitely help you pick up girls!"

"A family secret recipe; consistent use for a year can increase height by three centimeters, and a yearly dose can yield 5,000 energy crystals."

Gu Qing looked around at the densely packed stalls, pretending to be a regular customer, glancing left and right.

During this time, some people tried to solicit customers, but Gu Qing refused them all.

After venturing deeper inside, Gu Qing quickly headed towards the coordinates on the parchment scroll.

The further inside you go, the fewer stalls there are around.

Upon reaching the deepest part, only a few stalls remained around. Gu Qing's gaze fell upon a section of road not far away.

The area was abandoned, with broken stones piled up, cutting off the entire road surface.

The coordinates on the parchment were located behind the cut-off road surface.

"Master, the coordinates are just behind here. I can sense a trace of the abyss."

Cecilia's voice came from the contract space, which made Gu Qing more certain of his location.

However, with the road blocked, it would be difficult to get there without making a scene.

After thinking it over, Gu Qing decided to deal with the things she wanted to sell first.

After taking a look, Gu Qing headed towards the nearest general store.

The shops that can be opened here are basically all involved in buying and selling.

There was only one old man in the shop. He looked very thin, but he must be quite something to be able to run a shop here.

Gu Qing directly pushed Zhao Tian's heavy sword, along with some materials, over to him.

The old man, wearing a monocle, picked up the heavy sword, weighed it in his hand, and then carefully examined the patterns on it.

"The quality is good. According to the market price, it should be able to sell for 50,000 energy crystals."

"Unfortunately, this is Zhao's goods, a hot potato. The price I can offer is 10,000 energy crystals."

No bargaining.

Gu Qing's lips twitched. He knew the black market had high prices, but he didn't expect them to be this high.

My original plan to buy something here vanished instantly.

Given this situation, the markup on things bought here is probably not low. It's better to sell your items and buy them from a reputable place.

"Sold! Here are some other materials too; you can give me a price for them all."

The old man was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. He glanced at Gu Qing and then held up three fingers.

"I, Old Ghost, don't cheat people. This heavy sword is worth 10,000 because it's too hot to handle, and these materials are worth 20,000 at market price, for a total of 30,000 energy crystals."

Gu Qing nodded directly, indicating that the deal was done.

The old man accepted the items and then handed over a black card.

"This is an anonymous black card containing 30,000 energy crystals. The password is six zeros. Welcome to visit again."

Gu Qing took the black card and checked it; there were just the right amount of energy crystals.

After putting away the black card, Gu Qing was about to explore the area again to familiarize himself with the terrain when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Gu Qing turned his head, his eyes beneath the black robe falling on a person not far away.

He was wearing a faded gray jacket, had a Mediterranean hairstyle, and was holding a brown paper bag.

Li Tieshan!

Gu Qing's class teacher!