"If you want to enter the black market, first you need to wear a mask and a hood to hide your identity." Tang Peng listened attentively to the instructions from the assailant.
"It is very important, in order to not be robbed by other parties involved in the transaction. Remember that you must call me Shadow at all times. That is my code name at the black market." The assailant, no, Shadow, told Tang Peng about the rules of the black market.
"How am I sure you are not lying?" Tang Peng looked suspiciously at Shadow. After all, only a loyalist would be brave enough to sacrifice their lives for an organisation.
"Well... if you don't trust me, then you don't need to follow me then." Shadow tried to convince Tang Peng to join him.
"Well then, I don't trust you. So die." Tang Peng snapped Shadow's neck immediately the moment he made up his mind. There was no way he was going to entrust his life to a villain's words.
However, the existence of Long City's black market was probably real. He would probably have to ask around Long City's darker establishment to find out how to join the black market.
The killing of Shadow produced a large amount of Yin Qi. Tang Peng felt relieved that he had not believed in Shadow. Otherwise, he would have probably been ambushed to death in that shady black market.
As Tang Peng sat down and started to focus on the Yin Qi, the Yin Qi suddenly condensed to form a ghostly apparition. Its claws were so long that it started scrapping the ground as it headed for Tang Peng.
As it lifted its claws to swipe Tang Peng, it suddenly found itself in a dark place. Inside the dark place was a slumbering powerful presence, which made it shiver in fear.
Then, the powerful presence suddenly overwhelmed it with a massive tail made from a golden light, turning it into specks of reddish Yin Qi, which the powerful presence feasted on. Upon eating this apparition, the Mountain Walker started to upgrade itself again.
"They actually had a way to form Yin Qi as a last form of attack? These people are not as simple as I thought..." Tang Peng thought that the knowledge of Yin Qi would be limited to the cultivators with higher realms, but that was apparently not the case.
If these people really had a way to use Yin Qi offensively, who was he to reject the gifts that they held to me on a platter? However, Tang Peng had to increase the strength he had first, before opposing this enemy.
The organisation probably had more weapons, more men, and more everything than him. It was seeking death to try and attack them without even knowing anything about them. All of this tied back to the black market.
He could not trust the officials of Long City. The chances of them noticing the organisation's activities across Long City should be pretty high, so why was there nothing done about it until now? It was either that they were too weak to deal with them, or that they were taken over by the organisation themselves.
He needed to prepare himself. That meant that he needed more money! Money could procure resources. Money could buy people to his side. Money could help him level up!
Since he did not have any real skill that could produce things of incredible value, the best income he could get was from bounty hunting. Not to mention, if he managed to get some magical weapons, that could only be a boon to him.
Now that the problem was done with, Tang Peng could now return to sleeping. He had been woken up nearly before dawn, so he only needed to sleep off a few more hours. As Tang Peng tossed and turned, he kept muttering about his village.
Before long, the first rays of sunlight shone on Long City. "Now, let's set off to see the bounty list!" This was the first thing that Tang Peng said as he woke up. Now that the sun had risen, the daily life of the citizens had finally begun again.
As he walked outside of the master room, he could see the servants diligently cleaning the tables and chairs in the main hall. "Hi!" Tang Peng did a casual greeting to the servants, before he headed off to the market with the golden coins in his pouch.
Tang Peng had remembered the route to the market. The market was run by a lot of vendors, which catered to the needs of many citizens. Besides the market, there were numerous shops, which catered to the rich and the martial experts. Tang Peng had learned that martial experts referred to those who cultivated body tempering skills.
Instead of cultivating their inner soul, these cultivators tempered their inner strength instead. They turn their bodies into weapons, so they could fight with all sorts of weird techniques. They did not need to depend on the potential in their body, but they needed to endure endless amounts of pain and use up an exorbitant of resources to raise their body.
There were numerous experts who posted their bounties in the market as a result. They had certain feuds and grudges that they needed settled, which could be done by someone for a fee.
"Selling Crystal Cabbages for 5 bronze coins!" "We provide the best weapons in the city!" Cries like this could be heard as Tang Peng entered the market. As he entered the crowd, they made way for him. They were too afraid to squeeze against someone of a higher standing than them.
It allowed Tang Peng to move smoothly to the centre of the market, where there was a signboard. This signboard was where experts would post their bounties, after putting a deposit in the Registry.
It was only through a stroke of luck that Tang Peng had actually completed a bounty set by Long City, so someone which served Emperor Li had gave him the rewards directly.
"500 gold coins for the death of the Life Defying Monk, 200 gold coins for Heiress Li Yuanzhi to be retrieved..." Tang Peng sucked in his breath. All of these bounties were so much more rewarding than the city's rewards. It was enough to buy several mansions in Long City by the looks of it.
As Tang Peng slowly narrowed down the number of bounties, it was not long when he finally landed on one that seemed to be within his league. Tang Peng's heartbeat quickened, as he saw how much the bounty offered for his services. He had really struck it big this time!