“The ones in front should be non-Hark Gang dealers, appearing to be independent sellers.”
As their gaze swept over the staff members, Su Jiu and the other person paid them no mind and proceeded according to the signs.
After walking along the rather wide asphalt road, they entered a path paved with marble. On both sides of the road were various small stalls, their hawking cries piercing their ears like demonic sounds.
At the very front of the road, people were selling masks to conceal their identities. After all, in such a black market, anonymity was the safest way. Otherwise, if they found something good and revealed themselves, they could be ambushed by some gangs or shady individuals.
“Let’s change as well, and conceal our identities,”
The two looked at the people wearing various masks to hide their identities, then exchanged glances. Su Jiu reminded them in a low voice and put on the masks of the fox woman and dragon girl they had used before.
“We’ll probably have to go to the deeper Hark Gang area. Maybe we can gather materials to refine the [Fusheng-grade] bombs too.”
As they looked around, they didn’t find anything particularly interesting. After circling among these independent sellers for a while, they finally found the Hark Gang’s designated area, but there was a railing blocking the way.
Soon, a staff member dressed in gentlemanly attire, wearing white gloves, adjusted his glasses and looked Su Jiu and the other person up and down. There seemed to be a hint of thought in his eyes as he smiled and said,
“Do you two possess assets of twenty Intermediate Magic Crystals? If not, you won’t be able to pass.”
Su Jiu glanced at him, somewhat taken aback. She knew she didn’t have twenty Intermediate Magic Crystals; in fact, her pockets were cleaner than her face. She had initially planned to go in and try to barter.
Bai Zhi, not understanding the staff member’s words, blinked and looked at Su Jiu, her foolish gaze seeming to ask, “Silly, why aren’t you moving?”
“Can that bomb be exchanged…”
Su Jiu actually had over a dozen newly made [Dream Flower-grade] bombs on her. These bombs were much more expensive than Intermediate Magic Crystals of the same grade. As she said this, she waved her hand and took out two [Dream Flowers] of different colors from her ring.
The Dream Flowers floated in her palm, emitting a faint glow in the evening light, much more brilliant than ordinary Intermediate Magic Crystals.
“Bombs?”
The staff member was slightly startled. His gaze swept over the bombs, and just as he was about to refuse, a voice suddenly sounded in his earpiece, and his expression turned serious. He said in a low voice,
“Yes!”
“Allow these two young ladies to pass. Do you think those who can wear storage rings would be unable to produce a mere twenty Intermediate Magic Crystals?”
As the three confronted each other, a rather old voice sounded, with a hint of a smile in it.
“Moreover, just these two… [Dream Flowers], such special bombs, are worth four Intermediate Magic Crystals.”
“Third Master!”
Upon hearing the voice, the staff member trembled and quickly turned to bow. It was clear that the hierarchy within the Hark Gang was exceptionally strict.
“Third Master…”
Listening to his voice, Su Jiu also followed his gaze. Her eyes traveled from the metal pipe upwards, meeting a gaunt face with a gentle smile. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said,
“Are you the Third Master of the Hark Gang?”
“It’s just a bit of fleeting fame, Miss doesn’t need to worry about it too much.” The Third Master smiled and scrutinized Su Jiu and the other person again. After a moment, he slowly said,
“May I ask if you two are also here for the grand legacy?”
Faced with such a strange question, Su Jiu frowned slightly under her mask, then indifferently replied, “En, is there anything I should know, old sir?”
“There’s nothing specific, but I do know that when it comes to receiving this legacy, there’s no queuing; it’s essentially a queue based on strength.”
Patting his pipe with his hand, the Third Master said with a smile, his gaze still fixed on Su Jiu and the other person’s masks.
“Strength? That makes sense.”
Looking at the coffee-colored, turbid pupils, Su Jiu was highly vigilant of this special “program.” If pie were to fall from the sky, she would rather avoid it.
Because the price of something free is sometimes more expensive than you can imagine.
“Indeed, there are too many people.”
Seeing that Su Jiu and the other person remained silent, the Third Master chuckled again and waved the staff member away.
Seeing that there was no one else around, his eyes suddenly gleamed. He said casually, “Only the [Dream Flowers] from the Ravens are this brilliant because they have a special pursuit of art, which also leads to higher manufacturing difficulty. Ordinary people won’t try to imitate them.”
Hearing this, Su Jiu was stunned for a moment, then began to curse internally. These damn Ravens were renting it out, no wonder she felt many steps were redundant.
The Third Master glanced at Su Jiu, who appeared calm but was actually bewildered. He paused for a moment, then finally smiled with an expression that suggested he had guessed their identities, saying, “May I ask if you two can disclose whether you are A or B? Perhaps we can cooperate.”
Su Jiu quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes, softly uttering, “Sequence A. As for other things, I cannot disclose… Let’s talk about cooperation.”
It seemed that the Third Master mistook them for Ravens because of the Dream Flowers. This way, there was a chance for them to get something for free and also to see the Hark Gang’s objective.
“It’s very simple. I need you two to infiltrate Dream Cloud Pool as students and then assist our people in activating the formation inside.”
The Third Master smiled, and without waiting for Su Jiu and the other person to reply, he took out a Magic Crystal emitting a faint purple light from his storage bag and handed it over, saying softly, “If you agree, not only will the matter on the train be settled, but this Magic Crystal, close to high-grade quality, will be yours… and you will be allowed to take any three items from that stall freely.”
“Naturally, it’s no problem.”
She agreed calmly, and Su Jiu’s hand was quick. She directly pocketed the Magic Crystal. She understood that this matter would only bring benefits and no harm to them. As for formations or anything like that, who knew what they were.
However, she still had some apprehension towards this cunning Third Master, who actually knew that they had dealt with those low-level gang members in the station.
“Please keep this token. The three horizontal lines symbolize three trading opportunities, and the token also signifies that you are an honored guest of this gang, possessing certain rights.”
Upon receiving Su Jiu’s agreement, the Third Master’s old face beamed like a chrysanthemum. He took out a dark token from his person, with three horizontal bars on it, clearly intending to win over other Alchemists.
After speaking, he walked towards the crowd in the back and soon disappeared…
Snapping back to reality, Su Jiu pulled the bewildered Bai Zhi and took a few steps. She stopped and looked forward, finding the area sparsely populated, a stark contrast to the crowded area outside.
This designated area was completely different from the hawking sounds of the independent sellers outside. The environment was very quiet. Under the green shade were beautiful maids from Bear Country, with incense burners placed beside them, emitting a faint, fragrant scent.
The display cabinets were also the same as those Su Jiu had seen in the Magic City Alchemist’s Guild before, crystal clear, as if made of crystal.
“So many high-level Alchemists. These people should all be here to find rare materials.”
Most of the people walking around here exuded powerful auras. In just a moment, Su Jiu detected one or two Battle King Level Experts wandering around, searching for suitable items. The most eye-catching, however, were the many people wearing beige robes with multiple pockets.
Su Jiu was not unfamiliar with these beige robes; they were the symbolic clothing given for free by the Alchemist Guild. When one reached a higher level, wearing them could be used for showing off.
The arrival of Su Jiu and the other person naturally attracted the attention of some people. However, upon seeing their less experienced attire, they all withdrew their gazes, as this was not a place for young people.
Ignoring the passersby, Su Jiu and Bai Zhi began to examine the items unearthed from this so-called graveyard piece by piece. Initially, some strange alchemical items did not catch her attention.
“This is…”
As she led Bai Zhi to the last few stalls, she suddenly stopped, her gaze falling on a bottle of emerald green liquid. She squinted, looking at the strange font on the label, and recalled the explanation of such a potion she had read in a novel…
This was the same thing given to students in Huawen City, but this one was clearly of a much higher grade.
A very advanced Otherworldly Potion!
This potion had a very gentle effect and could be taken by Bai Zhi as a nutritional supplement, which would surely result in a much stronger infant than ordinary ones.
“What if I follow you? What’s so wrong about that?”
Just as Su Jiu was about to purchase it, the sound of a glass cover opening echoed from a distance, followed by a somewhat effeminate male London accent.
Su Jiu and the other person followed the sound and saw nearly ten people gathered around. She could barely see through the gaps in the crowd a hairy white man’s hand on the glass cover.
“Get lost, you sissy! What do you want by constantly following us? If you’re hungry, I’ll give you a shit!”
Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze, a familiar male voice suddenly rang out, speaking in the familiar Dragon Country dialect, and spraying profanities without restraint.
Su Jiu was stunned, then looked over. Indeed, three familiar figures appeared before her. They were all wearing masks, but Su Jiu would not mistake their figures.
It was her three teammates from the competition, Li Yi and the others.
After being sprayed, the white man seemed stunned. After his subordinate translated for him, his face turned ugly. He looked at Li Yi, who was slender and of intermediate strength, and a cold sneer formed on his lips as his aura subtly emanated from him,
“So what if I want to follow you? Can one Half-King Level stop me based on your numbers alone?”
