I was told I'd be a late bloomer, but I was born with the potential to achieve great things!

"Clap clap clap!"

Inside the room, Zhou An assumed a horse stance, his arms forming a bow.

His back bulged high, and the muscles and skin of his body throbbed, emitting a deep tremor, accompanied by the sound of rumbling thunder.

As the blood and qi surged, the fair skin began to turn crimson, and the surrounding temperature began to rise and blur, revealing a golden hue.

"roar!"

A moment later, Zhou An opened his mouth, and a tiger's roar and thunderous sound rose from his abdomen and came out of his throat, like a fierce tiger eager to devour its prey.

"call!"

Another incense stick's time passed, and a white mist of sword energy spewed from his mouth.

"I have mastered the Tiger Roar Bone Forging Technique. The hidden energy surging throughout my body has long since merged into one, transforming into a powerful force that penetrates to the very marrow."

The reason I was able to achieve the Golden Bone technique in such a short time is because of my superb control over the technique.

But this is also the current limit of Tiger Roar Bone Forging Technique.

It is difficult to achieve jade bones in a short period of time using only this technique, because jade bones require a transformation of the bones from the inside out.

Unless, of course, I can obtain a powerful elixir that directly strengthens bones.

As the burning blood faded from his arms, revealing fair skin, Zhou An thought to himself.

Since he condensed the golden bones half a month ago, he has been tempering his bones every day with the Tiger Roar Bone Forging Technique.

However, to this day, apart from a portion of the spine showing a jade-like texture, the progress has been extremely slow.

The human body has 206 bones.

If one continues to cultivate at this pace, it's unclear when one will be able to undergo a complete transformation.

Upon thinking of this, the image of the Seven Mysteries Sect reappeared in Zhou An's mind.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

The Seven Mysteries Sect has limited resources; it's difficult to even supply a single Golden Bone, let alone a Jade Bone.

Golden skin plus golden bones.

"Within Ningshan City, even if I encounter the masters of various internal organs, I can still escape unscathed."

Thinking of this, Zhou An went to a hidden compartment in the room.

The hidden compartment opened, and an exquisite human skin mask was placed inside.

Zhou An carefully put on the human skin mask, and an ordinary face appeared in the reflection of the basin of water.

"Not enough."

Looking at his reflection in the water, Zhou An circulated his energy, causing the muscles in his face to move again.

That ordinary face was transformed into a burly man with a rugged appearance.

"That's about it. A rugged face always makes people keep their distance."

Zhou An smiled.

He's not the type to play dumb to fool others, even though that tactic works... it's always good to avoid some trouble.

Today, he is no longer the junior apprentice who just joined the Seven Mysteries Sect half a year ago; he can earn resources on his own.

Instead of being like Mo Kai, who relied entirely on the sect's training and was thus too deeply bound to it, resulting in him being unable to control his own destiny.

of course.

If the Seven Mysteries Sect had enough resources, Zhou An wouldn't mind binding them, but unfortunately, the sect's resources were insufficient.

Rather than gambling that the entire Seven Mysteries Sect would work together to supply him alone, incurring a huge debt of gratitude that is difficult to repay, it would be better to go to the black market.

For a martial artist at the Skin Polishing Realm, venturing into the black market alone is dangerous.

But he had already forged his bones and had enough confidence.

Night, midnight.

"We've arrived. This is the entrance to the black market."

Looking at the alley in front of him, Zhou An glanced up at the pitch-black night, tightened the hood of his black coat, and stepped into it wearing a monkey mask.

The black market in Ningshan City is located in a corner of the outer city.

This place is extremely remote and little known; it is only activated at specific times and locations.

If it weren't for Steward Li providing the method to find the black market, even Zhou An would have thought that a hidden black market existed here.

"stop!"

As Fang approached, a sharp shout came from a corner, and two burly men wearing dog masks stood in his way with knives.

"To enter the black market, you need to pay an entry fee of one tael of silver."

The black market has its own rules; it's secretive and dangerous, but it also has its own order, so you can't act rashly.

After all, the black market contains resources that are difficult to obtain from the outside world. To operate a black market, one must have formidable strength; otherwise, it's like a child trying to get rich—a dead end awaits.

"Private fights are strictly prohibited in the black market; violators will be killed without mercy."

"clear."

Zhou An took out one tael of silver, gave the dog-faced gate a warning, and then ignored it, quietly retreating into the shadows.

As you pass through the alleyway's entrance, a cacophony of noise greets you.

Zhou An was taken aback.

This place was different from what he had imagined. If it weren't open only at night, it wouldn't be any different from an ordinary bustling market.

Street stalls can be seen everywhere along both sides of the road.

Looking further ahead, there was a constant flow of people in front of each shop, with dim lanterns illuminating the way.

As Zhou An passed by a shop, he could even hear dogs barking.

The dog was completely black, like a ferocious wolf, and very wild.

But there were two people there who were making comments and occasionally haggling over the price.

As Zhou An walked, he surveyed his surroundings, constantly searching for his target.

"Blood-replenishing powder, the Blood-replenishing powder from the Ultimate Martial Arts School, only 9 taels of silver per dose."

"Special wound medicine, the wound medicine of Hongxian Martial Arts School, will not leave scars after training. Even Master Zhu said it was good. One bottle is only 8 taels of silver."

……

As they went deeper, the items in the black market gradually changed from exotic objects to martial arts techniques and medicines needed by martial artists.

"Iron Shirt Skill, the Skin-Refining Iron Shirt Skill of Bajiquan Martial Arts School, is on clearance sale with tears in my eyes. Only 18 taels of silver per book."

"Um?"

"The Iron Shirt Skill, a technique of skin-smoothing mastery, only costs 18 taels of silver?"

At this moment, Zhou An's ears twitched, and his gaze was drawn to a raccoon-shaped noodle stall in front of him.

He was surprised.

When Guo Tao taught the Qingfeng Sword Technique, he clearly stated that a human-level martial art would cost 18 taels of silver.

but now!

A technique that can forge iron sheets is only worth 18 taels of silver.

That's the Bajiquan Martial Arts School, a well-known and prestigious martial arts school in Ningshan City.

"A sword manual, the Earth-rank sword manual of the Bajiquan Martial Arts School... You can take away the 'Bajiquan Mountain-Splitting Sword' for only 78 taels of silver, and also get a Human-rank 'Willow Leaf Three-Cut Sword' as a bonus."

"A low-rank sword technique can't even sell for a hundred taels?"

Zhou An blinked, feeling utterly incredulous. This was supposed to be a low-rank sword manual... Could it be fake?

"Hey, you guys are going too far! When did Bajiquan martial arts become so worthless?"

At this moment, a masked man who had been loitering nearby spoke in a deep voice, his words, though seemingly calm, were full of anger.

Obviously.

Even if this person is not a member of the Bajiquan Martial Arts School, he is someone who is on good terms with the school.

"So what if it's a Bajiquan martial arts school? This is a black market, not a legitimate martial arts school."

The stall owner, wearing a raccoon mask, said without even looking up.

"Exactly, do you really think it's still like it was a few months ago?"

The stall owner selling rabbit noodles next to him added sarcastically.

"Two of the most elite disciples of the Bajiquan Martial Arts School were defeated by a newcomer. Their martial arts techniques have long been commonplace, and I spent a long time copying them, but I couldn't sell a single copy. I should have known better than to gamble."

Ultimately, it's because the martial arts from the Limitless Martial Arts School and the Red Thread Martial Arts School are better...more valuable, and sell faster.

As they spoke, the two stall owners ignored the masked man's exasperated appearance and continued their conversation and hawking.

"..."

Watching the man leave in a fit of rage, Zhou An, hidden behind his mask, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"So, the reason why the Bajiquan martial arts school's training methods are so cheap is because of me?"

Zhou An was taken aback.

In his view, techniques are static, but people are dynamic.

One person's success or failure cannot define the failure of a martial art... It's just that, as things stand now, most people love empty fame.

What a coincidence, it's him too.

His purpose in coming here was also to learn the Jade Bone Cultivation Technique from the Limitless Martial Arts Academy.

"Although these two people don't seem like they're selling counterfeit goods, just to be on the safe side, we still need to double-check to rule out any tricks by the merchants."

Zhou An pondered for a moment, then walked towards the two men's stall.

"You two, aren't you afraid of being held accountable by your respective martial arts schools for openly selling your martial arts techniques?"

......