Chapter 25: Black Market
The reference to a statistics window was merely a joke.
The status [Core Formation: 0/514] only meant that theoretically speaking he would need to strike out Core Force 514 times.
He had received nourishment from his primordial qi and the Eight Enormities True Fire Force that had been put through many layers of refinement. Now, even when his qi and blood were depleted, he could still strike out Core Force twice. However, this didn't mean that he really had to practice 514 times before he could successfully consolidate his qi to form a Core.
This statistic would change constantly.
If he were to obtain a new way to form a Core and grasp a new understanding of how to consolidate his qi to form a Core, the number could change. It could drop from 514 to 500 or 450, for instance.
Each time he struck out Core Force, he would obtain new comprehension, and the increment in the numbers could potentially increase from 1 to 2, or even 3 after each practice.
Moreover, there were differences in Core Force as well.
A martial artist could unleash Core Force by erupting their qi and blood. Likewise, when a martial artist was in utter desperation and their mind and spirit were pushed to a limit, they would also be able to unleash Core Force too. However, the impacts of the Core Force release in both instances were completely different.
Therefore, this number was merely for reference.
He needed to constantly make adjustments based on his cultivation progress, only then would he be able to produce the optimum cultivation effect.
"Condense the qi to form a Core… there should be enough time to achieve this before the Jiang Province Martial Competition starts," Li Pin said.
There was hope for him to consolidate his qi to form a Core. The next step for him would be.…
"Aura Force."
Li Pin recalled the Aura Force videos he had watched. "Such Force mainly stems from minute resonance to create tremors within oneself, using one's body as a magnifying tool before release.
"Top-notch experts' high-frequency Aura Force tremors tend to be at supersonic speed. They would form a layer of white qi currents. Ancient people refer to these as innate Aura qi. This is the beginning of Aura Force."
Creating tremors within the body and using the body as a magnifying tool might sound easy; however, this was extremely difficult to achieve. That was because, to achieve this, a martial artist had to first receive the impact from the Force.
It was one thing to withstand Force impact through one's skin, muscles, and bones, and another to withstand Force impact internal organs—that was the real test.
A martial artist's body and internal organs needed to be sturdy enough; otherwise, before the Aura Force was stuck out, they'd first be injured from the backlash of the Aura Force and would puke blood.
"There's quite a lot of videos on Core Force martial artists on the Internet. However, the number of videos on Aura Force Grandmasters is much fewer in comparison."
Li Pin gave it some thought. "This is because Aura Force Grandmasters are considered actual higher-tier characters. Although they have Senior professional titles, their status is a notch higher than people from other occupations who enjoy the same professional title.
"The martial arts circle carries a heavier weight than other occupations. Aura Force Grandmasters enjoy government subsidies and are shown respect regardless of the situation. Therefore, there wasn't a need for them to upload videos to get attention and attract potential students like Core Force martial artists do."
They were where the hype was.
In a city like Zanglong City, which had a population of several million, the number of Aura Force Grandmasters known to the public could be counted on two hands.
Core Force martial artists were surrounded by wealthy merchants, family, and friends. They were considered to have made a name for themselves and could help the people around them lead a better life.
As for Aura Force Grandmasters?
Chatting and smiling without restraint with well-educated people. Not a single illiterate or uncultured person by one's side. [1]
They were a group of people who had truly reached a whole new level.
"Given my current knowledge, my physique, and my understanding of Aura Force… if I wish to train to be able to unleash Aura Force externally as well as strengthen my internal organs, I'll probably need around.…"
Li Pin quickly came up with a figure.
[Aura Force: 1/6,481]
It was a distant goal, something that wasn't within the foreseeable future. However, that didn't matter.
"Steps should be taken one at a time and food should be eaten one bite at a time. I'll first set a small target of hitting out Aura Force, then gradually progress to move from external to internal."
Li Pin calmly accepted the gap that existed between him and attaining Aura Force.
Moreover, the primordial qi obtained from practicing the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique had an exceptional effect on nourishing the internal organs. Backlash, injury, nourishment, recovery—this process in itself was a sort of training.
This would establish a good foundation for him to unleash Aura Force.
"It'd be best to get my hands on a complete book or legacy on training for Aura Force. I hope the private market next Friday will not disappoint me."
***
Friday came very quickly.
At 8 P.M., Li Pin made his way to the Luo Family Compound at Fangzheng Street.
As the large-scale flower market took up a lot of land, it was impossible for the place to be located in the city center.
The fact that the Luo Family Compound was located close to the flower market showed that this place wasn't a prosperous site. Additonally, because the undeveloped Hengyu Mountain was right next to it, the place appeared a little desolate at night.
However, when Li Pin arrived at the Luo Family Compound, the place appeared to be very lively. The few old alleys next to the compound had a lot of people walking through them as well.
Most of these people, like Li Pin, were dressed in dark-colored clothes, wearing caps, or masks. Some of them even had their entire body covered up to change how their figures looked.
Other than that, most people looked muscular, energetic, and had a strong qi and blood. They were clearly very successful in their martial arts training.
There were people guarding the entrance of every alley, with a warning sign put up next to each guard.
The illuminating streetlights showed the words on the sign very clearly.
Making a racket is prohibited.
Forcing purchases or sales is prohibited.
No asking about the sources of products.
Neither party will be held responsible once the transaction is completed.
…
There were over ten rules written.
Li Pin took a look at the rules and entered one of the alleys.
There were several tens of people setting up stalls in the alley. There weren't many people passing by. There were approximately a little over a hundred.
Taking into consideration the other alleys, Li Pin could infer that each time the black market took place, there would only be around a thousand people overall who participated.
Li Pin looked through the stalls. There were all sorts of items put on sale.
There were martial arts of unknown origin, ancient books, strange items with unknown effects, seemingly decent-looking medicinal herbs, and medicinal pills obtained through smuggling. There were also tokens, blades, and ancient artifacts that had stories behind them.
However, 90% of these items didn't have much value.
Thankfully, the black market here was unlike black markets catered for antiques where there was a very high chance that most of the things would be fake. There were still some people here who sold real products.
For example, the Dragontiger Pill that came from martial societies was one of them.
After searching around for a while, Li Pin quickly found a martial art that could bring one's cultivation to Core Formation.
"Dragon Form Fist, Longquan Hall. [2]"
This martial hall was renowned in Jiang Province. They had hired an Aura Force Grandmaster to have their name in the hall.
"How much for this?"
"160,000."
160,000?
The price was a lot lower than Li Pin had anticipated.
However, it made sense. Longquan Hall was very influential in Jiang Province. If a person was found to be secretly practicing Longquan Hall's fist technique, those with connections would only need to pay monetary compensation. On the other hand, it wouldn't be strange for the people who didn't have any connections to be beaten to death.
In the black market, secret manuals wouldn't be restricted to only one buyer.
The most crucial point here was that if a martial artist could succeed in consolidating qi to form a Core just from referring to a secret manual, then there'd be an overwhelming number of Core Force martial artists in this world.
This was the same as how very few students could rely solely on books to become successful in their studies and thereafter be recruited as top-notch university professors.
Li Pin continued to browse through the stalls. He wasn't in a hurry to make his purchase.
There were many stalls selling cultivation books on Core Formation.
After going through all the stalls in the alley, Li Pin found six cultivation books on Core Formation. The highest priced among them was a cultivation book left by a successor of a martial hall that had gone into decline. There were no hidden troubles that would come with since it was sold by the owner himself. However, it came at the steep price of 500 thousand.
The rest of the martial arts were priced within one to four hundred thousands.
The book priced at 100 thousand was a martial art that belonged to Zanglong City's top martial art faction, the Five Elements Sect. The book was on their core legacy, the Five Elements Body-Refining Art.
It had been over forty years since the Five Elements Sect had been founded. They had many branches in several cities nearby. They even had one in the Jiang Province Capital City
Furthermore, they were also a local influence in Zanglong City. They had disciples and students in all trades and professions.
When Li Pin was flipping through the book on the Five Elements Body-Refining Art, he vaguely sensed that someone had their eye on this stall. So if he were to really purchase this body-refining technique… it'd be unknown if he'd be able to return home safely after leaving the Luo Family Compound.
There were two possibilities on why this stall owner had brought out this Five Elements Body-Refining Art to sell.
One, it could be that he was simple-minded. After all, the ignorant knew no fear.
Or… it could be that the seller was doing this to go up against the Five Elements Sect.
1. An extract of a poem by Tang Dynasty poet, Liu Yu Xi. ☜
2. Longquan literally translates to dragon and fist/punch. ☜
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