Practicing is easy when one has infinite skill points.54.10%

For a bottle?

In the city, the government oversees everything, so many things that cannot be sold openly require special channels, leading to the formation of the black market.

Here, one can buy many things that are rarely seen in everyday life, including many illegal items.

---

"Entry fee, one big copper coin. No fighting allowed inside. Violators bear the consequences."

At the entrance, a burly man with a thick beard coldly eyed Zhong Lin. Beside him was a basket already filled with a pile of copper coins.

Zhong Lin nodded. He had already heard about the rules from Old Zhou. He pulled out a copper coin from his pocket, tossed it into the basket, and stepped into the black market.

There were many people coming and going, most with a black cloth covering their face or wearing a mask. Of course, there were a few bold ones who didn't cover their faces.

As Zhong Lin wandered through the market, the vendors remained silent, simply sitting by their stalls.

Torches were placed every few meters, but they were made of some unknown material that gave off only a dim light, filling the market with a murky glow. To see the goods clearly, one had to get close.

Zhong Lin walked slowly, observing each stall. He quickly understood why this black market existed—because everything sold here truly couldn't see the light of day.

For example, at the stall he stopped in front of, the vendor was selling medicine—not the kind found in regular medical halls, but knockout drugs and poisons. Zhong Lin even spotted the venom of the golden-ringed snake, which he had painstakingly collected before.

No medical hall in the county would dare to sell such things, yet here they were displayed openly. The surrounding people didn't seem surprised at all, clearly accustomed to such sights.

Some stalls specialized in weapons—knives, swords, and daggers were common, but there were also crossbows.

If a crossbow appeared in the county, the government would crack down on it immediately.

Unlike bows, which required practice, a crossbow could be used by anyone, even a child, to kill. Plus, its small size made it easy to conceal.

As Zhong Lin continued walking, a sneaky-looking figure suddenly stepped in front of him.

Just as he became wary, the tall, thin man pulled out a booklet from his pocket.

"Brother, interested in martial arts manuals?"

"Hah!"

Zhong Lin scoffed and turned to leave without even acknowledging the man.

Old Zhou had already warned him about this.

In the black market, anything could be bought—except martial arts manuals, because they were all fake.

In this era, skills were guarded even more fiercely than in his previous life. Whether it was woodworking, blacksmithing, or tofu-making, these were family secrets, never passed on lightly.

Even among family members, skills were passed from father to son, never to daughters. If there were no sons, a chosen disciple might inherit the craft, but only after being tested for over a decade. Even then, a master would always keep one trick secret.

The saying "Teaching your apprentice starves the master" was no joke.

If even ordinary trades were so closely guarded, martial arts manuals were even more so.

Even if someone managed to transcribe a manual, it would be filled with hidden meanings and cryptic notes. Worse still, the most crucial parts were often omitted and only passed down orally.

The real scam was that some manuals contained just enough truth to appear genuine, but had key sections deliberately altered. Training with such a manual could result in paralysis or even death.

"My system panel doesn't have a function to distinguish real from fake, so I better not mess around."

With that thought, Zhong Lin quickened his pace.

The tall, thin man watched him leave, shook his head, and muttered, "What a shame, didn't fall for it. Onto the next one."

His scam was simple: ask every passerby, and eventually, some clueless fool would take the bait.

---

Zhong Lin continued moving forward, carefully observing the stalls around him. He now had a clearer understanding of just how "wild" the black market's inventory was.

Some stalls sold wild game, such as pheasants, wild boars, and tiger bones.

Others specialized in "burial goods"—from the damp soil on them, it was clear they had been freshly unearthed.

Grave robbing was a serious crime in this world. If caught, the offender would be beaten to death on the spot.

Deeper in the market, Zhong Lin even saw human trafficking.

At a particularly dim stall, an elderly woman with graying hair sat with her face partially covered by black cloth. Despite the covering, it was obvious she was quite old.

Beside her stood several burly young men.

Their "goods" were five unconscious children—three boys and two girls. Each child had fair skin and delicate features, and from their clothing, it was clear they came from wealthy families. But now, they were being sold as commodities.

A flash of killing intent flickered in Zhong Lin's eyes.

There was only one punishment for human traffickers: death.

However, the black market had its own rules, and Zhong Lin wasn't strong enough to take it down.

After a moment, he stopped in front of another stall.

The vendor wore a ghost-faced mask, making it impossible to see his true appearance.

On his stall were several small porcelain bottles, each carefully labeled with red paper.

Beauty Pill, Detox Pill, Blood Replenishing Pill, Bone Strengthening Pill, Muscle Enhancing Pill.

Seeing these labels, Zhong Lin's breathing quickened slightly.

This was exactly why he had come to the black market.

After advancing in martial arts, the effects of Eight-Treasure Blood Nourishing Soup had diminished significantly. When he visited the medical hall to ask for something stronger, the doctor had nothing to offer.

However, he did mention another, more potent option—Pills.

Unlike the toxic alchemy of his past life, these were real medicinal pills, refined through special techniques to extract the essence of herbs, greatly enhancing their effects.

Such pills were unavailable in Heishan County. They could only be found in major cities, but the black market sometimes had a few.

That was why Zhong Lin had sought out Old Zhou for information about the black market in the first place.

Crouching down, he pointed at the bottle labeled 'Blood Replenishing Pill and asked, "How much for this?"

"Ten taels of silver."

The vendor's voice was hoarse—whether naturally or deliberately disguised was unclear.