"If anyone can find it, can it still be called a black market?"
Shi Xuan thought for a moment. She had been to a place similar to a black market a long time ago. After making a comparison, she asked, "Is the entrance in the backyard of a shop?"
"Junior Sister is intelligent. She was in Qushang Courtyard ten years ago, but I don't know if she's still there now."
Shi Xuan said, "You'll know once you go there."
He then turned to walk outside.
“Hey,” Lu Shenzhi said, “If you go now, what will happen to tomorrow’s morning class?”
"I can come back at 5 a.m. tomorrow. I can also take a Nourishing Spirit Pill."
The Spirit Nourishing Pill is a second-tier elixir that nourishes the spirit and soul, typically used by cultivators who are fatigued or exhausted after prolonged periods of work. To consume a Spirit Nourishing Pill for something as trivial as staying up all night is considered an extreme luxury.
"Brother Rong, let me remind you," Lu Shenzhi said, "Your Nourishing Spirit Pill is worth a high-grade spirit stone. You might not even be able to earn it back on the black market."
Actually, it's not just one high-grade spirit stone; second-tier pills are even more expensive.
"Heh," Shi Xuan slowly took out the spirit stone bag he had obtained from Lu Shenzhi, then casually waved it in front of the Soul Nourishing Wooden Tablet a few times, saying, "Who told me to be rich?"
Lu Shenzhi fell silent. "Is that because you're rich? He was the one who was rich before, okay? I'm so tired. This life is worse than going back to being a corpse."
Even so, he still dutifully used a trick to make Shi Xuan look like a round-faced, slightly chubby girl.
Shi Xuan was quite familiar with the name Qu Shang Yuan. Several major sects had such a shop in their markets, which was an entertainment business, offering everything from meals and rest to music and opera performances.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the entrance to the black market.
Following Lu Shenzhi's instructions, Shi Xuan made a gesture to the receptionist after entering the room. The receptionist calmly nodded and led her into the backyard.
Unlike the bustling and lively front yard, the back yard is decorated in a very elegant and artistic style, which is in line with its name - Qu Shui Liu Shang (winding stream).
A winding stream encircles the entire courtyard, with artificial hills and secluded paths lining its way through. Against this backdrop, the buildings possess a hazy, alluring beauty, like a woman partially veiled.
The entrance to the black market is in a separate small building. Go down the stairs inside, push open a black door, and you step into a world completely opposite to the outside.
The more tranquil and beautiful it is outside, the more noisy and chaotic it is inside.
The crowd was dense and bustling, filled with laughter, shouts, and curses.
Suddenly, a burst of cheers and jeers came from one direction. Shi Xuan walked in that direction and found it was indeed the arena.
At this moment, a thin man on the field had been knocked to the ground by his opponent. He struggled to get up several times, but was mercilessly kicked away by his opponent.
The cheers from the sidelines grew louder, interspersed with occasional vicious curses, probably because the thin man's defeat had caused some people to lose spirit stones in the betting game.
The arena was more than ten feet lower than where they were, and it covered a large area. Half of the arena was surrounded by stands and private rooms, while the other half was surrounded by iron railings, which did not prohibit people from watching freely.
Shi Xuan glanced at it briefly, then went straight to the point and registered for the Qi Refining group competition at the registration desk.
The cultivator in charge of registration glanced at Shi Xuan and asked, "In the arena, swords have no eyes, and life and death are indiscriminate. Are you aware of this?"
Shi Xuan nodded: "I know."
The cultivator didn't ask any further questions. This black market for rogue cultivators was full of all sorts of unknown people. "State your name."
Shi Xuan hadn't thought about her name yet. When someone asked her about it, she only thought about her current appearance and casually replied, "Round face."
The monk who registered under this name glanced at her again and thought to himself, "She is indeed quite round."
"The registration fee is ten mid-grade spirit stones, and you will receive ten high-grade spirit stones for each victory. There will be an additional reward for ten consecutive victories."
After the monk finished his introduction with a blank expression, he put the iron plaque with "Round Face" written on it into a stone box.
Shi Xuan handed over the spirit stones, and then the text on the stone tablet behind the arena moved. The fourth line of the first row read: Qi Refining Level 8 Iron Blade versus Qi Refining Level 7 Round Face!
The first row is the Qi Refining group, and the fourth row indicates that they will be the fourth group to compete from now on.
Shi Xuan immediately regretted it; the nickname "Round Face" was too undignified to use.
Iron Blade faced Round Face; despite his cultivation level, his name alone put him at a disadvantage.
Lu Shenzhi let out a cheerful laugh, as if he had avenged the provocation he had suffered before leaving the house.
After laughing for a while, he reminded her, "Why don't you bet some spirit stones on yourself? With a name like yours, the odds must be pretty high, haha!"
Shi Xuan is a new face, and she has a round face. Her cultivation level is also a small level lower than the other party's. No matter how you look at it, all the disadvantages are piled up. Presumably, not many people will bet on her.
The betting booths were right next to the registration area, and people were already placing bets while referring to the match schedule. Many of the names were familiar to them, and they had a good understanding of the players' abilities.
But with new faces, it's all guesswork; it's all about luck. And Shi Xuan is one of those new faces that's least favored.
Shi Xuan stood at the entrance of the betting area and observed for a while. Fifteen minutes passed, and not a single person bet on her to win.
She now not only has a round face, but she also has a round face that makes her lose face!
This is intolerable.
Shi Xuan stepped forward, took out one hundred high-grade spirit stones, and bet them all on Round Face.
The cultivator handling the paperwork was shocked. One hundred high-grade spirit stones was no small amount. This person had directly bet on a novice. Could there be some inside story?
Looking up at Shi Xuan's round face, and then at the name she had bet on, he realized he had been overthinking things.
Round face bets on round face, probably because they are both round and feel sorry for each other.
Before long, the first three rounds were all finished, and Shi Xuan, sword in hand, walked into the arena through the designated passage for contestants.
Directly opposite her, a burly man carrying a large knife entered from the opposite passage and approached her.
As soon as the two stood still on the field, the surrounding onlookers immediately booed.
Just like his name suggests, Tie Dao carried a gleaming broadsword, had a thick beard, fierce eyes, and an imposing aura.
On the other hand, the round-faced, chubby little girl opposite looked like she wasn't even an adult yet. She was carrying a rather unremarkable spirit sword, and she appeared petite and delicate.
The two were too different in stature; Shi Xuan's height probably only reached Tie Dao's shoulder. Standing together, they formed a stark contrast, like a fierce tiger facing a small rabbit, giving the impression that Shi Xuan's round face was about to be knocked away in the blink of an eye.
Shi Xuan could hear their discussions.
"It's a sure thing! Betting on the iron knife was definitely the right decision!"
"I wonder who bet on Little Round Face and lowered Iron Knife's odds. They're probably crying with regret now!"
"I bet this fight won't last more than fifteen minutes."
...
Apart from herself, no one else had any faith in her.
A beautiful young female cultivator struck the gong forcefully, and with a loud "bang," the competition officially began.
The man opposite Tie Dao gripped the hilt of his sword backwards, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Excuse me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
