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

78 taels.

A local-level cultivation technique.

This price is indeed too low, so low that it makes one wonder if prices have collapsed.

Since the other party dared to sell, Zhou An naturally dared to buy as well.

Firstly, he didn't have much silver on him.

Secondly, the martial arts he is currently learning bear too many imprints of the Seven Mysteries Sect, making it inconvenient to conceal his own traces at crucial moments.

"Honest and fair dealings with both young and old."

The raccoon stall owner smiled and nodded.

"And what about the Bone Forging Pills from the Red Thread Martial Arts School? How much do they cost?"

Zhou An felt relieved and began to inquire about the pills.

The Jade Toad Technique is excellent; it can help him save a lot of resources during his cultivation.

However, if there are sufficient resources in this process, a lot of time can be saved.

"50 taels per pill, buy three and get a 20% discount."

"..."

Zhou An was stunned for a moment, wondering if he had misheard.

"50 taels?"

"Honest and fair dealings!"

The raccoon stall owner remained as steady as a rock, showing no trace of his previous cheap selling of cultivation techniques.

Zhou An fell silent.

Just moments before, he had suspected that the Bajiquan Broken Mountain Saber manual was fake because it was too cheap, or that the Bajiquan martial arts school was deliberately releasing a portion of the martial arts to attract more people to become its disciples.

But now...

He seemed to understand why the cultivation technique was so cheap.

"These medicine sellers are too greedy... I'm afraid the sect's medicinal cuisine and blood-replenishing powder are actually priced far below the real price."

Perhaps its actual cost is less than a third of the quoted price.

Zhou An sighed inwardly, no longer dwelling on the Bone Forging Pill, and instead inquired about other cultivation methods.

This time, their offer was much more reasonable, but still 20% to 30% cheaper than what was offered elsewhere.

Among them, a low-level cultivation technique that can unleash about three times one's own strength costs between 100 and 150 taels of silver.

According to the two stall owners, this kind of cultivation technique, if classified, belongs to the lower-grade Earth rank.

As for martial arts techniques beyond that, they are no longer available, or are rarely seen.

Although they lack martial arts skills.

However, it also includes all kinds of exercises that can improve blood circulation, strengthen the body, and even cultivate internal organs.

This made Zhou An suspect that this was a kind of unspoken rule deliberately created by the black market.

After all, martial arts skills don't kill people and can be practiced repeatedly, so the quality of martial arts skills that are released will be limited. For example, the "Eight Extremes Mountain-Breaking Saber" from the Bajiquan Martial Arts School is a low-grade Earth-rank martial arts skill.

As for stance training and bone-forging techniques, they are the foundation of cultivation.

Theoretically speaking, they should be even more precious, but without sufficient martial arts resources, even if you obtain these techniques, they are useless.

Selling more martial arts manuals means gaining more martial arts practitioners, and the forces that control these resources can earn more money.

Zhou An suspected that the number of pills on the black market was not large, and that the ultimate outcome for the buyers would be that they would gradually come into contact with the forces behind them.

"I see that the matters you inquired about are all related to bone forging and internal organs. If you really don't have any money, you might as well go to the Hidden Affairs Pavilion."

Seeing Zhou An hesitate after asking about the cultivation method, the cat-faced stall owner chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of encouragement.

"The Hidden Affairs Pavilion?"

Zhou An's eyes flashed, and his words carried a hint of inquiry.

As the saying goes, there is the Bureau of Military Affairs in the open, and the Hidden Pavilion in the shadows.

The raccoon noodle stall owner chuckled and explained slowly.

"Unlike the Criminal Investigation Bureau, which punishes criminals and apprehends evildoers, the Hidden Affairs Bureau simply offers bounties for lives."

Although the Seven Mysteries Sect and the Black Tiger Gang have recently seemed to have quieted down, they still have quite a few bounties offered by each other.

At the end of the conversation, the Tanuki Noodles vendor pointed to a shop not far away with a dark red lantern hanging there.

"I really don't have enough money on hand. Could I reserve the 'Five Qi Form and Intention Skill' for the next purchase?"

Zhou An turned his gaze from the distant shops to the rabbit-faced stall owner.

The raccoon noodle stall owner seems warm and friendly, but in reality, he has too many tricks up his sleeve and is even more ruthless. On the other hand, the rabbit-faced stall owner, although he also makes money, has a kind of aloof and arrogant air about him.

"The Five Qi Form and Intention Exercise is a common, readily available skill; anyone who comes here will receive it."

Thank you!

Zhou An cupped his hands in greeting, then got up and headed towards the shop with the red lanterns hanging on it.

The Hidden Affairs Pavilion offers a bounty for lives.

"This is a standard assassin organization; I just wonder if there's a bounty on my head inside?"

Looking at the gate of the Hidden Affairs Pavilion, Zhou An's eyes flickered for a moment before he immediately went inside.

......

"Do you think he'll make it back alive after leaving the Hidden Affairs Pavilion?"

After Zhou An's figure disappeared down the street, the raccoon noodle stall owner suddenly spoke to the rabbit-face stall owner next to him.

"Shall we take a gamble?"

Upon hearing this, the rabbit-face stall owner immediately became interested.

"How about we bet on whether he can make it to the black market alive next time?"

As he spoke, the rabbit-faced stall owner gestured with his hand in the air to represent the number one hundred taels.

"I thought you were going to drag me into a heist."

The raccoon noodle stall owner looked somewhat helpless.

Doing business honestly is nowhere as fast as murder and robbery.

Compared to gambling, he would rather pull off a big heist... but unfortunately, the accomplice he could win over didn't share that idea.

"Although that person is a novice, the fact that he was able to buy bone-forging and internal organ cultivation techniques means that he is very likely a martial artist at the bone-forging realm."

"If it were just the two of us, things might go wrong, let alone the fact that someone else is already eyeing him."

The rabbit-faced stall owner shook his head, then asked again whether he wanted to gamble or not.

"What if he's just bluffing?"

Thinking of Zhou An's decisiveness in going to the Hidden Affairs Pavilion, the raccoon-faced man began to hesitate, though he was reluctant to give up.

Although that person kept saying they had no money, it might have been a deliberate cover-up after being discovered to be a newcomer.

After all, they went through the same thing.

Are you going to gamble or not?

The rabbit-faced stall owner was getting impatient. Why did he always want to get involved in a perfectly good gambling game?

Gambling only requires money, but the outcome can be a life-or-death struggle.

"Gamble, why not gamble?"

At this moment, the owner of the raccoon noodle stall turned his eyes, chuckled, withdrew his gaze from the Hidden Affairs Pavilion, and immediately nodded in agreement.

Just now, he noticed that two familiar stall owners on this street got up and left after Zhou An stepped into the Hidden Affairs Pavilion.

"Let's bet on whether he can survive a month and buy the cultivation technique from you."

"We only gamble on life or death, not on martial arts techniques."

The rabbit-faced stall owner shook his head. He had a strong gambling addiction, but he was also very shrewd and didn't fall for the trick.

"Okay, let's bet on life or death."

The two men clapped their hands and gave each other a high five to signify the formal establishment of the bet.

"I must warn you, those people dared to follow the monkey-faced customer after he left the Hidden Affairs Pavilion, they are definitely not ordinary strongmen."

The raccoon noodle stall owner rubbed his palms together, his words filled with an air of certainty.

"I know."

The rabbit-faced stall owner didn't seem to care and just chuckled as well.

"You think I didn't see Donkey Face packing up?"

"No wonder you were unwilling to add the cultivation technique at the end."

The raccoon noodle stall owner was in a bad way; he almost became invincible.

Even if the donkey noodle stall owner and others die, that person will not lack cultivation techniques and will naturally not come to buy them again.

No matter what, he can win.

Unfortunately, the rabbit-faced creature wasn't fooled.

"The time isn't up yet, nothing is set in stone. What if you win?"

Rabbit Face offered words of comfort, but his tone was full of confidence in his own winnings, just like those two all-in bets months ago.

Outside the black market.

"As expected, someone still followed us. It seems that going in and out of the Hidden Affairs Pavilion has not dispelled the hostility."

Zhou An felt somewhat helpless, and at the same time wondered if the people who came were the two stall owners from before.

If so, he could not only recoup his investment but also obtain all the cultivation techniques for free.

Thinking of this, Zhou An quickened his pace.

......