The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

If joining the Demon Hunting Squad group chat made Lin Yi feel like he’d found his people, then coming to the Ancient Tower Black Market opened up a whole new world for him.

It also gave him a truly new perspective on the so-called path of Martial Arts.

After leaving Sister Hua’s place,

Brother Sheng took Lin Yi and wandered around the black market some more.

They went from the second floor down to the first.

Everything he saw and heard was completely new and fascinating to Lin Yi.

For instance, there was the Spiritual Artifact Workshop that specialized in crafting weapons.

The weapons here were completely different from the ones seen on the open market.

They were especially designed to inflict irreversible damage on demons.

Some even came with additional effects like piercing, armor-breaking, bleeding, and poison.

However, with Lin Yi’s current financial situation, buying a decent weapon was simply impossible.

Any random Spiritual Artifact cost hundreds of thousands.

To say nothing of the ones that cost over a million.

"You’re new to this, so it’s normal that you don’t know a lot of things!"

"The truth is, Demon Hunting isn’t as simple as you think!"

"Take your current mission target, the Cat Demon, for example. They usually have their own clans and territories. Most Cat Demons are stray cats that turned into demons!"

"So, how many stray cats are there in all of Xinghai City? How many factions are they divided into? Are they divided by district, or do they form their own small gangs?"

"What are the consequences of killing one Cat Demon? Will you face retaliation from its clan?"

"And what about the Snake Demon you just killed? How many of its kind are out there?"

As Brother Sheng led Lin Yi through the black market,

he explained things the younger man had never even heard of before.

When he heard that those demons also had their own factions,

he was rather shocked.

This couldn’t help but make him think of the Snake Demon he had encountered today.

It had been staring at him on the bus.

Lin Yi hadn’t thought much of it at first, but the moment he left his house,

the Snake Demon had been lurking nearby again, waiting for a chance to ambush him.

This meant the Snake Demon had been targeting him specifically.

’But where could I have possibly offended it, or its kind?’

Lin Yi had no memory of it whatsoever.

He looked at Brother Sheng and asked, "Can demons of different species form a faction?"

"Of course... There are many examples of that!"

"Some wandering demons don’t have a faction of their own, so they often get bullied by other demons!"

"When that happens, if they meet other wandering demons like themselves, they might band together for protection, probably because misery loves company!"

"The truth is, demons are just like people. Once they gain a certain level of intelligence, they can think too!"

"Some higher-level demons will even set traps to kill people..."

When Lin Yi heard those two words, "set traps,"

a chill ran down his spine as he thought back to his encounter with the Dog Demons.

’Didn’t they set a trap to lure me in?’

’It was just that they were too arrogant, thinking three Dog Demons were enough to kill me.’

But Lin Yi had also been lucky.

He had met that motorcycle guy, who gave him a few pointers from the side, which allowed Lin Yi to barely win against the Dog Demons.

’If I hadn’t met him, I don’t even dare to imagine what would have happened that night.’

"What, you’ve been caught in a trap?"

Brother Sheng noticed Lin Yi had been quiet for a long time.

He turned back, sized him up, and saw right through him.

Lin Yi laughed awkwardly. "My last mission was for Dog Demons, and they managed to trap me. Luckily, I met a guy on a motorcycle. He gave me a few pointers, and that’s how I broke free!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Brother Sheng stopped in his tracks.

He turned back and stared at Lin Yi in surprise, which made Lin Yi a bit unnerved.

"Brother Sheng, what’s wrong?" Lin Yi asked, confused.

After a long moment, Brother Sheng finally said, "The man you’re talking about... was he burly and wearing a pink helmet?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that’s him! Do you know him?" Lin Yi nodded eagerly.

A sharp glint flashed in Brother Sheng’s eyes. "Me? Know him? I’m not worthy. Do you have any idea who he is?"

"I don’t!" Lin Yi shook his head.

Brother Sheng’s expression grew visibly excited.

"He’s from the Demon Hunting Bureau! The captain of the Fifth Demon Hunting Squad, Chu Zhengxiong! Getting advice from him is a massive stroke of luck for you..."

Seeing Brother Sheng’s tone become increasingly excited,

Lin Yi frowned slightly and said, "They’re also the Fifth Squad?"

"Of course! They’re the regular army; we’re just a ragtag militia!"

"Let me put it this way: Chu Zhengxiong is a legend in the Demon Hunting Bureau. The number of demons that have died by his hand is, if not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand!"

"He also has a nickname: the Butcher. As in, the Butcher of demons..."

"And a few years ago, his cultivation level already reached 6-star. Who knows if he’s progressed since then!"

Listening to Brother Sheng speak with such fervor,

Lin Yi was shocked to realize just how much of a badass the motorcycle guy he’d met before really was.

’Part of the Demon Hunting Bureau’s Fifth Demon Hunting Squad.’

’And he was the captain, with the nickname ’the Butcher’?’

’No wonder just a few casual pointers from him helped me improve so much.’

"It’s just that the Demon Hunting Squads usually hunt demons in the New District, or in the Restricted Areas."

"Why would they come to our Old District?" Brother Sheng’s tone shifted, sounding a bit perplexed.

Lin Yi smiled. "To kill demons, obviously!"

"Coming to the Old District, the city proper, to kill demons? There probably aren’t enough here for him to kill by himself. The Demon Hunting Bureau would have no reason to assign a Demon Hunting Squad to come here. It’d be pointless..." Brother Sheng shook his head,

dismissing Lin Yi’s suggestion.

Lin Yi wasn’t concerned about it, though.

Right now, he just wanted to get a good look at what this black market really had to offer.

He wanted to memorize any shops or stalls that might be useful to him in the future.

After he paid the registration fee and moved out of his house, he also planned to make a living by Demon Hunting.

He wouldn’t have realized it if he hadn’t come to the black market, but there were far too many things Lin Yi needed money for.

A mere thirty or fifty thousand was barely enough for anything.

"Brother Sheng, don’t overthink it. How could we possibly guess the Demon Hunting Bureau’s business?

By the way, do they sell masks here?" Lin Yi interrupted Brother Sheng’s speculation,

pulling him back to reality.

Brother Sheng paused, then nodded. "Right. What you need most right now is a mask, and a Storage Spiritual Artifact!"

"A Storage Spiritual Artifact?"

Lin Yi was startled and quickly looked at Brother Sheng.

Brother Sheng nodded. "Of course. A Storage Spiritual Artifact can store items like weapons, pills, or the Demon Cores and Demon Corpses you get from killing demons. You can put them all inside!"

"You’re not planning on walking around the streets carrying a sword, are you? Or parading through the city with a demon’s corpse?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi suddenly realized something.

Before, when he met Lei Hu and was given the [Star River Qi Transformation Technique],

it seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

At the time, Lin Yi’s attention was completely focused on the Cultivation Technique,

and he had overlooked this important detail.

If Brother Sheng hadn’t brought him here today and told him so much about Martial Arts,

Lin Yi still wouldn’t have known that things like Storage Spiritual Artifacts even existed.

’Another piece of strange new knowledge acquired.’