Supreme Sword Exalt

Everyone at the black market remained fixated on their jade tokens, though their initial excitement had faded. Fu Fatty’s rank had reached fifteenth a short while ago, but it showed no further change. Furthermore, the two families had jointly issued a bounty an hour earlier, each offering twenty million essence crystals for Fu Fatty.

Someone sighed. “Yeah, just give it up. It’s hopeless now!”

“Right, with both families posting bounties, this matter should be over.”

Another got emotional. “This is a forty-million essence crystal bounty we’re talking about! Tsk tsk, I’ve been in the black market for so many years, and even a four-million bounty is rare. These two families seem to have gone all out. Fu Fatty has set a record for the highest bounty amount in the black market’s history.”

The first person walked over. “Enough! Stop fantasizing. With our level of strength, we wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. Besides, we have no idea who he is. Where would we even start looking? Honestly, I think only those gold-ranked assassins, especially Lone Eagle, would stand a chance.”

During the discussion, someone seemed to remember something. “Lone Eagle? Right, our bet! Seems like we won!”

The cultivator who had bet his entire fortune stood dumbfounded in the corner. He was on the verge of tears. Fifteenth place! It’s over! Fu Fatty, I’m so disappointed! I’m about to lose my entire fortune...

Someone patted his shoulder. “Alright, stop dawdling, hand it over! Consider this a lesson for you. Try not to be so cocky going forward\.”

“What are you standing there for?!”

“You’re not thinking of backing out, are you?!”

Upon seeing everyone closing in, the cultivator gritted his teeth. “Back out of what?! Those of us who operate in the black market keep our word. It’s just a hundred thousand essence crystals, anyway!”

Then, he reluctantly took out a hundred thousand essence crystals.

Everyone reached out their hands.

“My eighty thousand!”

“My thirty thousand!”

“Haha, my ten thousand!”

Watching the essence crystals dwindle, the man’s heart stopped bleeding as it had already bled dry.

Just then, a cultivator who hadn’t participated in the bet subconsciously glanced at his jade token. His eyes instantly widened, and he could barely say coherently, ”W-wait a minute! Q-quick! Look! The assassin leaderboard! H-he’s gone! Gone!”

What? Everyone was stunned. They also checked the leaderboard and froze.

Lone Eagle dropped off the leaderboard, while Fu Fatty soared to first. Everyone’s hearts dropped. They knew the black market’s rules all too well. A name disappearing from the ranking meant that the assassin was dead.

Someone gulped hard, trembling as he asked, “W-Who did it?”

Another pointed at the jade token. “Do you even need to ask? I remember a black market rule saying that if an assassin kills another assassin, they will usurp their rank.”

Everyone sucked in a cold breath, their minds filled with terror. Fu Fatty actually killed Lone Eagle!

Not only was Lone Eagle a gold-ranked assassin who had long occupied the top spot, he also struck fear into countless hearts across the Northern Domain. Yet he met his end at Fu Fatty’s hands!

Another person pointed at the jade token, his gaze profound. “Everyone, you’re forgetting another rule. The black market offers special protection to the top-ranked assassin on the leaderboard. Their name won’t appear on the bounty board!”

Everyone checked again and Indeed, the two bounties worth forty million essence crystals from moments ago had vanished without a trace.

***

The moment the golden light erupted, Gu Han’s identity jade token immediately turned gold, while Lone Eagle’s became dull gray, losing all its luster.

“Hmm? What’s going on?” Gu Han asked.

Yang Ying explained the black market’s rules to him, his tone tinged with envy, “You’re now ranked first on the assassin leaderboard. That jade token of yours is even better than mine. Only gold-ranked assassins are qualified to possess it. Now that you’re a top-ranked assassin, the black market will cancel all bounties on you for protection.”

Gu Han curiously examined the jade token. “Is that so?”

Sure enough, the bounties on Fu Fatty were gone. Of course, the bounty for the chief disciple of Fengwu Court was still prominently displayed at the top.

He was speechless. Hmm... Eight million essence crystals... Is there any real difference whether it was canceled or not?

He continued browsing and saw the various missions and bounties inside the token neatly categorized and arranged, clear at a glance. There was no longer any need for a painstaking search. Accepting a mission or bounty now required only a wisp of aura, which was extremely convenient. His identity information had also changed.

Code Name: Fu Fatty.

Rank: A+

Clearance: High.

Mission Count: Thirty-nine.

Ferryman of the Yellow Springs: Pending.

Besides the rank improvement, there were now the words “Ferryman of the Yellow Springs.”

Gu Han asked Yang Ying, found he didn’t know either, and lost interest. Becoming this assassin was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Ferryman of the Yellow Springs sounded troublesome, and he had no desire to get involved.

Taking the pills, their injuries recovered significantly, and they headed back to the black market. This time, there were no further unexpected incidents.

The moment they entered the main hall, an extremely excited voice, trembling slightly, rang out. “Fu Fatty, I knew you could do it!”

Gu Han and Yang Ying were stunned. Do it? Do what? What are these people doing?

The cultivator who had made the bet looked smug. “Hand it over! Quick! All of you who lost to me, give me back my essence crystals! Don’t blame me for getting rough with anyone who dares to back out!”

Everyone felt somewhat awkward. Despite outnumbering him, backing out of a bet was something they couldn’t bring themselves to do. They had no choice but to relent. Of course, the slight sting of losing essence crystals was somewhat offset by the excitement of witnessing Fu Fatty’s meteoric rise with their own eyes.

The cultivator laughed and couldn’t stop guffawing. He couldn’t contain his excitement! After all, it would usually take him years to earn seventy or eighty thousand essence crystals. Thanks to Fu Fatty, he had made a windfall!

Upon seeing Gu Han and the other enter, he warmly approached them. “Brother, you just arrived, right? You have no idea, a legend named Fu Fatty has emerged in the black market. He—”

Gu Han had no time for his rambling. “I’m not interested. Also, I don’t have a good impression of fat guys surnamed Fu!”

The man inwardly cursed. Pft! Who do you think you are, acting so high and mighty? I dare you to say that to Fu Fatty’s face. He’d crush you with a finger!

Gu Han ignored him and walked straight into the side passage with Yang Ying. Collecting the bounty was what they were most looking forward to right now.

Inside, the black-clothed man failed to recognize Gu Han, and his tone was as frigid as ever. “Bounty? Hand over the jade token!”

However, upon seeing the color of the jade token in Gu Han’s hand, his pupils sharply contracted. Gold?

He lost his composure the moment he saw the identity in the token. “Y-you are Fu Fatty?”

Gu Han was puzzled. “That’s right. Is there a problem?”

The black-clothed man calmed himself, calculated for a moment, and handed Gu Han a storage ring. “N-none! Thirty-nine bounty missions, total bounty of sixteen million eight hundred thousand essence crystals. As you currently hold the top spot on the assassin leaderboard, the commission fee is waived.”

Gu Han curled his lip. “Commission fee? Truly a black market, how ruthless!”

The black-clothed man was speechless. He doesn’t even understand these basic rules. Is it your first day or what? Wait! It seems like it really is his first day...

Gu Han asked again, “Is that all? Doesn’t first place usually come with special privileges?”

“Privileges?”

“Right, like essence crystals, any of those?”

“No.”

“Pills?”

“No.”

“Dao artifacts, cultivation techniques, divine powers?”

“Nothing of that sort.”

Gu Han turned to leave. “Hmph, farewell then!”

Just then, someone with a hoarse, aged voice shouted, “Hold on!”

The next moment, a gray-haired elder clad in cyan robe appeared before Gu Han. Although his face showed signs of age, his eyes occasionally flickered with a clear light, as if capable of seeing through people’s hearts.

Upon seeing the old man, the black-clothed man hurriedly bowed in respect. “Elder Mu!”

Gu Han’s heart skipped a beat as he instantly concluded, This old man gives me a feeling almost identical to when I met Murong Yuan back then... A master! He’s definitely not inferior to Murong Yuan! This is definitely a master not inferior to Murong Yuan!

Elder Mu waved his hand, signaling the black-clothed man to withdraw.

He then swiftly set up a barrier within the cave. “Young friend, might you spare a few words with me?”

Gu Han was speechless. Why even ask? You’ve already set up the barrier, can I even leave?

He cautiously remained on guard. “Senior, I earned this bounty rightfully and didn’t violate any black market rules, did I? Why—”

The old man smiled as he reassured gently. “Rest assured that I bear no ill will.”

“Then why did you seek me out, Senior?”

Elder Mu’s expression turned serious. “Young friend, have you noticed the change in your identity jade token?”

Gu Han’s heart jumped as he understood what Elder Mu meant. “I did!”

Elder Mu’s tone became extremely solemn. “Then, are you interested in becoming a Ferryman of the Yellow Springs?”