Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

(PS: A character’s name was problematic and has been changed to Li Qiang.)

"I don’t have any Guiyuan Pills, but I do have a Gang Qi Martial Technique called the Wind-Breaking Fist. Want to trade?" Xu Yang asked with a smile.

Zhang Yong’s face lit up.

A Guiyuan Pill was worth thirty contribution points in the Purple Sun Sect, and a Gang Qi Martial Technique was rarely worth less than fifty.

Getting a Gang Qi Martial Technique for it meant he would come out far ahead.

"Wait. I’ll take that Ginseng. I can also give you a Gang Qi Martial Technique."

But before Zhang Yong could agree, a voice cut him off.

Liu Qing strode over, stopping in front of Zhang Yong. "I too have a Fist Technique, an extremely powerful one. Are you willing to trade with me?"

He completely ignored Xu Yang, who had been talking to Zhang Yong first, and made the exact same offer, intending to snatch the thirty-year-old Ginseng for himself.

In an instant, all eyes turned to the trio, eager to see what Zhang Yong would decide.

Xu Yang frowned. "Senior Brother Liu, I was the one talking to Zhang Yong first."

Liu Qing shot Xu Yang an indifferent glance. "This is a free trade fair. There’s no such thing as ’first come, first served.’ Who he chooses to trade with is his business, and no one can interfere.

If he’s willing to trade with you, I’ll naturally back off."

He said it nicely, but any fool knew who would end up with the prize.

Pitting an Outer Disciple against an Inner Sect Disciple from Medicine King Peak—who was also an Alchemist—any idiot knew who to choose.

"Junior Brother, have you decided who you’ll trade with?" Liu Qing’s gaze swept over Zhang Yong.

"With you, Senior Brother, of course."

Zhang Yong shot Xu Yang an apologetic glance. He simply didn’t dare offend an Inner Sect Disciple like Liu Qing. If he accepted Xu Yang’s offer, even under the same terms, he feared he’d be found dead outside the Sect within a few days.

"A wise choice, Junior Brother!"

Liu Qing chuckled, tossing down a Secret Manual. He snatched the Ginseng from the table and walked away without so much as a glance at Xu Yang.

"Sorry," Zhang Yong said in a low voice.

Xu Yang’s expression was calm. "It’s fine."

He couldn’t afford to provoke an Inner Sect Disciple either, but he had committed this slight to memory.

He was starting to understand. At this trade meet, all the best items were destined for these few Inner Sect Disciples. Only the things they didn’t want were left for everyone else.

Even if someone had the means to compete, no one dared to challenge them.

He could have offered Zhang Yong a better trade, but he didn’t dare reveal what he had.

’Strength!’

Xu Yang took a deep breath, his eyes scanning the tables. Soon, he spotted another item he needed.

Pure Yang Grass!

A stalk of Pure Yang Grass lay quietly on the table in front of Lu Ren, and no one had approached to ask about it.

Xu Yang got up and walked over. "What do you want for the Pure Yang Grass?"

The two might not have been on good terms, but that didn’t have to affect a trade.

Lu Ren looked at him with some surprise and chuckled. "A Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill, forty contribution points, or a weapon-based Gang Qi Martial Technique. Got any of those?"

"Here’s a weapon-based Gang Qi Martial Technique!"

Like a persistent ghost, Liu Qing appeared again, tossing a Secret Manual directly in front of Lu Ren.

For him, a Secret Manual was just a matter of making a copy; he had plenty. Getting the Pure Yang Grass like this was practically a steal.

Just like Zhang Yong, Lu Ren immediately traded the Pure Yang Grass to Liu Qing.

"Junior Brother, if you’re interested in the Pure Yang Grass and the thirty-year-old Ginseng, feel free to come find me," Liu Qing said with a smile as he departed.

’So he’s just playing the middleman.’

A Secret Manual only required copying, making it a zero-cost business.

Xu Yang realized it wasn’t just Liu Qing. Cao Rong and Yun Heng were doing the same thing. Anything that people wanted to trade for a Secret Manual was forcibly acquired by the trio, who leveraged their status as Inner Sect Disciples.

He wasn’t the only one they had snatched things from.

Many people’s faces were grim. To get their desired items back from the trio now, a useless Secret Manual wouldn’t be enough.

’So the Qingyuan Association is just as rotten.’

He had thought this was a good place, but it was just a private playground for Inner Sect Disciples to hoard resources.

In no time at all, every item at the trade fair that was being offered in exchange for a Secret Manual had been acquired by Liu Qing’s trio. A large pile of goods was stacked in front of them.

"Junior Brothers, anyone who’s interested can come have a look. As long as the price is right, these items are for sale," Cao Rong announced with a smile.

Unwilling to enrich the trio, Xu Yang continued browsing the tables. He soon found another thirty-year-old Ginseng.

"What’s the trade?" he asked as he walked over.

He didn’t recognize the person, who must have been a Dragon Ascending Disciple from the previous year.

"Thirty contribution points."

Xu Yang shook his head. "Twenty-five!"

A thirty-year-old Ginseng only fetched twenty contribution points when turned in to the Sect. It was normal for this person to try and earn a little extra here, but thirty was just greedy.

Besides a Pill Master like himself, few people would spend so many contribution points on a thirty-year-old Ginseng. It was much more effective to just trade for a Guiyuan Pill directly than to consume the Ginseng raw.

"Deal," the man nodded.

Xu Yang took out the contribution points and quickly completed the trade for the thirty-year-old Ginseng.

He kept looking, but he didn’t see any more of the three main ingredients for the Gathering Essence Pill. He did, however, spot a piece of Spirit Iron, about the size of an egg, on someone’s table.

Xu Yang went over to ask. The owner wanted only contribution points—three hundred of them.

"Junior Brother Xu, need some Pure Yang Grass and Ginseng?" Liu Qing called out from a distance.

Naturally, Xu Yang was the only one likely to be interested in the items that had been snatched from right under his nose.

Xu Yang walked over. "Senior Brother Liu, what are you looking for in trade? I’m afraid I have nothing on me to exchange but silver."

Silver?

Liu Qing’s face twisted in disgust. While he didn’t have a truly inexhaustible supply of it, he certainly wasn’t hurting for it.