Sorting through the materials, Lin Hui packed them into an inconspicuous cloth bag. Early the next morning, he dragged the bag along, took a day's leave, and headed into town.
Xinyu Town was not large; the town center consisted of only a few intersecting streets. Although the streets seemed lively with people coming and going, most were farmers and peddlers from the surrounding area. Occasionally, a traveling merchant caravan would pass through, drawing a flock of chasing children in their wake.
That was likely the freshest, most exciting sight in this place.
The recent decline and upheaval of the Clear Wind Temple was arguably one of the biggest events in Xinyu Town in the last decade.
As for the various accidents and dangers that preceded it, to the people here, those were common occurrences that popped up from time to time—they had long since grown accustomed to them.
Lin Hui circled the few streets of the town with his materials but failed to find a suitable selling point.
The only shops on the street that barely fit the bill were the two pawnshops. But going to those would make it far too easy to leave a trail.
Among these materials were parts from the mutated four-armed Mist Barbarian. Monster materials of that tier would expose his true strength far too easily.
Helpless, he chose to sell off a portion of the lower-level materials first.
Low-level materials were much easier to handle. He found a channel his master had given him previously—the Illusion Restaurant.
This was a high-end restaurant located in the town center. It was said the owner came from the Inner City and was not from any of the large local clans. Their background was mysterious, and any material could be offloaded there. It was simply that the price was relatively lower.
However, because Mingde and the manager here were friends—Mingde having helped the man greatly during a low point in his life—disciples under Mingde could sell materials here at market price.
Inside the dim yellow appraisal room of the restaurant, Manager Huang Shangying stroked his beard with a smile, narrowing his eyes as he assessed the pile of materials on the table.
"Not bad. Fresh, and the crystal quality is good; no rot. There are even three pieces of high quality in here. How about seventeen in total—one hundred and seventy thousand?"
"Many thanks, Manager Huang!" Lin Hui clasped his fists.
"Don't mention it. Fair trade, willing buyer, willing seller," Manager Huang laughed with appreciation. "You were unwilling to leave your master's sect even until now; that shows your character. Your master and I have been close friends for years. Although I don't know martial arts, within my capabilities, if there is anything I can help with, feel free to come to me!"
"Lin Hui thanks the Manager on behalf of his Master!" Lin Hui clasped his fists again, his expression sincere.
"Stop with the 'on behalf of' this and that. Just tell your master to come drink with me when he's free. A man, once he gets old, doesn't have many hobbies. Drinking a little wine to pass the time is the only thing that feels decent," Huang Shangying laughed.
After speaking, he suddenly remembered something. He looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "By the way, a team from the Inner City went out recently to explore Yanshan, but they came back with heavy casualties—seven out of ten lost. The Black Mist may be approaching. The season suitable for exploration is ending. Exploration squads have been venturing out with particular frequency lately. Your Clear Wind Temple is located right next to an exploration passage—North Wind Forest Road, right? Be careful of yourself. If you run into experts from the exploration teams, stay far away."
"Black Mist?" Lin Hui searched his mind for relevant memories and found that his father had mentioned the Black Mist when he was a child. But he hadn't gone into detail.
"Manager, dare I ask, what exactly is this Black Mist? Everyone says it's dangerous, but where exactly does the danger lie?" he asked softly.
"The Black Mist can be considered a natural disaster. It appears once every uncertain interval of time. You're young and haven't had much contact with the mist zone outside, so naturally, you wouldn't be clear. Let me explain it carefully." Huang Shangying paused, organized his thoughts, and continued.
"The Black Mist is when the fog concentration in the mist zone rises drastically within a short period, turning black. Its toxicity and corrosiveness increase by a large margin. At such times, even Tranquil Incense struggles to last long. Moreover, once contaminated by this Black Mist, one contracts Insect Disease. Those infected have a long incubation period. In their subsequent life, they slowly become neurotic, irritable, and prone to madness. Eventually, they will go around killing people and attacking civilians, and their bodies will also undergo lesions and festering."
Lin Hui's expression changed slightly.
"Are there drugs to treat it?"
"Naturally there are, but only the Inner City has them, and the price is exorbitant. Ordinary people in the Outer City can only rely on Myriad Blessings Meat to resist the Insect Disease, but you know the drawbacks of Myriad Blessings Meat," Huang Shangying sighed, leaving the rest unsaid.
Myriad Blessings Meat was, in truth, just drinking poison to quench thirst.
Lin Hui's heart went cold. Suddenly hearing movement outside, he turned his head slightly to look out the window beside him.
Below the second-floor window of the restaurant, an Inner City sedan chair was slowly passing through the street. It forced the carts, horses, and pedestrians on the road to scatter in fearful reverence. Some commoners who were a bit slow to move were lashed by the whips of the martial artists clearing the way in front of the sedan.
Inner City, Outer City—the class gap between the two sides was revealed vividly at this moment.
"The Black Mist period usually lasts two or three months. Before it ends, ordinary people cannot enter or exit. This period also leads to a severe shortage of materials and monster meat in the city. So, by taking this batch of materials from you, I'm actually not losing out. I can stockpile them, and when the Black Mist period arrives, I can raise the price and sell them to the Inner City." Huang Shangying pinched his beard. "If you have more materials in the future, you can send them to me. I'll raise your price by ten percent!"
"Good!" Lin Hui nodded in agreement.
"By the way, if there's anything you want—goods from the Inner City—I can purchase them for you here," Huang Shangying continued.
"What good goods does the Inner City have?" Lin Hui was truly unclear about this aspect. His old man had merely supplied oil to the Inner City in the past and rarely had the chance to enter.
In his childhood memories, the Inner City was mysterious, lofty, and majestic. It was inhabited by the wealthy and the powerful. Occasionally, his father would bring him some novel little toys, such as a rattle-drum that beat automatically or a blue fish pendant that glowed automatically at midnight.
He knew of nothing else.
"The Inner City... ah, there are plenty of good things in there," Huang Shangying sighed with emotion. "Clothing, food, housing, transport—everything inside is more than a grade higher than outside. Resources sent in from the outside are processed inside and then sold back as the most ordinary, or even inferior, commodities."
He turned and took an object out of a drawer in the counter.
It was a feather from some unknown bird. It was sky-blue in its entirety, and inside the quill, a pale blue viscous liquid seemed to flow.
"This is Inner City Feather Blood. One feather is worth between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand coins. It's a hot item in short supply. Do you know what it's used for?"
"I don't..." Lin Hui shook his head, his eyes fixed on the Feather Blood. He felt an inexplicable sense of radiation from it.
It was like getting close to a red-hot stove in winter; the fine hairs all over his body stood up faintly. The perception was extremely distinct.
"This is a bloodline extract possessed by the vast majority of Inner City residents. Or rather, this is the threshold to becoming a true Inner City resident. Outer City people can become Inner City residents by buying a house and proving their identity, but once inside, they still have to spend money continuously to buy this, inject themselves, and increase the proportion of Feather Blood in their body. Otherwise..."
He sighed.
"Otherwise, you will only be eliminated in the Inner City."
"Why? Is there some troublesome danger in the Inner City?" Lin Hui narrowed his eyes, curiosity rising in his heart.
"Haven't you thought about it? If the Inner City possesses a power strong enough to keep out the mist, then the closer someone gets to that power, can ordinary people truly remain unscathed? Can they simply walk away without paying a price or being affected?" Huang Shangying sighed.
"..." Lin Hui understood instantly. This Feather Blood was perhaps a drug similar to an antidote, used to counteract the radiation of the Inner City's power. It required long-term injection and maintenance.
"Called Ones don't need this. Many Inner City residents whose ancestors were Called Ones don't need it either. But once the concentration of the Called bloodline falls below thirty percent, one must purchase this item. Otherwise, they will be eliminated and driven out to the Outer City," Huang Shangying said in a low voice.
Lin Hui's heart stifled. To his original impression of the Inner City, a new label was added.
Cruelty.
"And if this item is injected in advance outside the city, it can slowly elevate the Called bloodline within one's body. If injected enough to reach over thirty percent, one can easily obtain the qualification of an Inner City resident," Huang Shangying said calmly. "No need for hard requirements like buying a house or proof of identity."
"Then, dare I ask Manager, how many injections are needed to...?"
"I don't know either, but without ten or twenty vials, don't even think about it. And after entering the Inner City, the bloodline will slowly degrade. You still have to inject fresh Feather Blood continuously."
"Do Internal Force Realm martial artists need it too?"
"Same."
Lin Hui fell silent.
Next, Huang Shangying showed him some unique products from the Inner City.
Exquisitely shaped pastries, protective talismans said to bring blessings, black mushrooms full of honeycomb holes with a pungent smell, and small, egg-sized human skulls the color of white jade.
It gave Lin Hui a fresh update on his impression of the Inner City.
Half an hour later, he finally left the Illusion Restaurant. He went back home to take a look, but his parents weren't there; only a newly hired young girl was guarding the shop. She said they went to stock up on goods.
Resigned, Lin Hui returned to Clear Wind Temple.
On the way, he saw those strange child temples popping up from time to time again.
In Xinyu Town alone, he encountered three on the way.
Gathered in front of these temples were some wanderers with lazy expressions and blank eyes.
Their bodies clearly emitted a faint, rotting scent similar to a lesion.
Lin Hui had seen plenty of that scent when clearing the Demarcation Zone before.
Returning to his small courtyard without stopping, he put down the silver notes he had exchanged, hid the remaining materials from the four-armed Mist Barbarian, and then went out to join the sword practice.
Only during this sword practice, he couldn't control his mind; the image of the Feather Blood kept flashing through it.
For several days straight, he pondered whether entering the Inner City was a correct choice to guarantee safety. If his foundation wasn't solid, entering the Inner City might result in him eventually being eliminated.
Judging from the Feather Blood, this was the key.
Just as he was immersed in the hesitation of whether to enter the Inner City or not, on the fourth day, the evolution of the first move of the Clear Wind Sword Technique was completed.
Spring rain was continuous, bringing out diagonal lines, evenly sprinkling over the rear courtyard training grounds of Clear Wind Temple.
Lin Hui stood under a tree, gripping his sword. He looked as if he were resting, but in reality, after finishing his Body Tempering, he was checking his own status information.
As his use of the Blood Seal became increasingly proficient, he could now easily list the information he mastered into a status sheet within the Blood Seal for unified viewing.
At this moment, lines of bloody script constantly surfaced and reflected below his vision.
[Lin Hui]
[Mastered Martial Arts: Seven-Section Swift Sword (Perfect Version), Nine-Section Swift Sword (Perfect Version), Clear Wind Sword Technique (Incomplete).]
[Mastered Abilities: Sealing Array Toxin.]
[Mastered Items: ...]
In this status bar, the Blood Seal only displayed the things he had evolved. Anything not evolved through the Blood Seal wasn't shown.
At this moment, Lin Hui's attention focused on the Clear Wind Sword Technique entry, simulating a gentle tap.
Chi.
The options expanded.
[Clear Wind Sword Technique First Move: Boundless Wind Trend. Evolution Complete. (Body Tempering effects will undergo overall evolution after all eighty-one moves are completed).]
Reading the Blood Seal's explanation, Lin Hui wasn't disappointed. Anyway, he hadn't tempered his body to the limit with the Nine-Section Swift Sword yet, so he wasn't in a rush for the moment.
He looked around. The people were mostly gone; those ordinary students who came to practice casually had all finished class and gone to eat.