Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Fatty Lamb

The stall owner was still enthusiastically touting the various advantages of the manual, boasting to the point of exaggeration, almost claiming that mastering this Divine Skill would allow you to conquer the world and become an unparalleled expert.

However, Gu Sheng did not hesitate in the slightest.

He turned and walked away!

Not to mention that he currently couldn’t come up with nine taels of silver, even if he could, there was no way he’d throw it away on a gamble.

The entry-level of the Shapeshifting technique might be simple, but one could easily deduce that it’s likely one of those special martial arts that’s easy to pick up but hard to master, with a chance of never reaching even the Small Success realm in a lifetime.

The simple transformation of facial features at the entry-level might well still be recognizable to acquaintances, rendering it largely useless.

This person was merely looking to scam his silver.

If not for having a system as his companion, Gu Sheng wouldn’t have stopped at this stall to begin with. He was interested in testing it out but unwilling to pay too high a price.

The short stall owner, seeing Gu Sheng’s decisiveness, grew anxious and quickly darted to block his path, cursing under his breath.

”Sir, hear me out! Nine taels of silver is the price for others. I noticed you seem somewhat interested in the Shapeshifting technique.”

”How about this: I’m currently short on cash, so I’ll bite the bullet and give you a fifty percent discount, how does that sound?”

”Four and a half taels! Just four and a half taels, and this peerless martial art Shapeshifting technique is yours!”

His eyes revealed an expression of immense pain, as if he had made an enormous decision.

But Gu Sheng merely sneered inwardly.

He had observed for long enough, and he was far from being some naive, easy-to-swindle sucker.

Remaining silent, he bypassed the stall owner and kept walking.

”Don’t go, don’t go!”

”Three taels of silver!”

”Two taels of silver! Truly, it’s only because destiny brought us together!”

”If that’s still too much, name your price!”

Watching this fat lamb about to slip away, the stall owner grew increasingly agitated and unwilling to let go.

Finally.

Gu Sheng stopped in his tracks under the stall owner’s hopeful gaze.

”One tael of silver.”

Gu Sheng’s calm voice rang out.

The stall owner’s expression twisted bitterly.

”One tael... That’s too little... Wait, no, don’t go! One tael it is!”

Seeing that Gu Sheng was about to leave again without hesitation, the stall owner eventually gritted his teeth and agreed.

Looking at Gu Sheng, he lamented:

”Sir, your bargaining skills are truly... unmatched!”

He raised a thumb in exaggerated admiration, wearing a bitter smile as if he had suffered the greatest of losses.

However.

In his heart, he wasn’t nearly as pained as he appeared.

After all, this manual was nothing but a no-cost deal; it was copied manually, and there could be as many copies as desired.

One tael of silver might not be a lot, but it wasn’t little either; at least it was enough to buy a portion of Body Refining Ointment.

He merely felt a twinge of regret. Originally, he’d thought Gu Sheng was a first-time visitor to the black market and wanted to rip him off good, but Gu Sheng didn’t fall for it at all.

Gu Sheng silently watched the man’s performance, his heart as clear as a mirror.

Having seen many similar cost-free scams in his past life—take pirated resources, for instance—usually as long as your offer exceeded the seller’s psychological bottom line, they were guaranteed to sell because it had no intrinsic cost.

Gu Sheng still held some anticipation for the Shapeshifting technique.

With the system by his side, entering the technique and grinding out the experience was all he needed to do.

If he could reach Great Success or even the Perfect realm, this martial art, despite its flaws, might really yield some results.

It would certainly make future actions much more convenient.

”Sir, let me make one thing clear first: This manual is absolutely authentic. Once you’ve obtained it, you are forbidden from privately reselling it, or else you will incur irreconcilable enmity!”

The stall owner said sternly.

Seeing Gu Sheng nod indifferently, his expression relaxed slightly.

In truth, such words were as pointless as putting on pants before farting; if someone truly wanted to sell it, he had no way to control them—just don’t resell it in this black market. If someone took business away from him, then it really would become irreconcilable enmity.

He had already sold many copies of this manual. Early on, he wouldn’t sell for less than five taels of silver, but later, it became more a matter of selling as many as possible. One tael of silver? Still sold!

Scam as many as possible; if he didn’t scam them, someone else would, and losing money over that would be the real tragedy.

Gu Sheng lowered his head and flipped through the copied manual, attempting to follow the instructions to guide his Power. Immediately, he felt a sense of smoothness.

It was authentic.

Gu Sheng nodded, then turned to leave.

The stall owner saw the barely suppressed joy in Gu Sheng’s eyes and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Gu Sheng’s relentless bargaining had greatly annoyed him.

”Go ahead, practice away. There’s always someone who thinks they’re the cleverest one. You’ll realize how foolish you are when you fail to reach even Small Success no matter how hard you try!”

Customers like Gu Sheng were all too familiar to him—always thinking they scored a massive win.

In reality, without the special ointment that came with the manual, reaching entry-level was possible, but progressing further was harder than ascending to the heavens!

Unless one was an exceptionally rare world-class genius.

Every time he saw people suppressing their joy at thinking they scored a bargain, a sense of superiority surged in his heart.

As for coming back for revenge afterward?

This was the black market!

Once outside, who would even know who was who?

Moreover, he didn’t technically deceive anyone—after all, the Shapeshifting technique did genuinely allow for easy entry and did indeed provide benefits for Bone Refining at higher levels. If you couldn’t train to that level, what could anyone do?

The stall owner glanced at the sky, his expression subtly shifting as he scanned his surroundings, then quietly packed up his stall and left.

In the dark corners, he lingered for a few more laps. The originally short-statured masked man soon vanished, replaced by a medium-built black market regular.

Blend into the crowd, utterly inconspicuous, disappearing into the night.

Gu Sheng obtained the Shapeshifting technique.

Joy swelled in his heart.

To others, this might be just a useless novelty, but for him, as long as it was a martial art he could master, he’d grind away!

Even if it was nowhere near as miraculous as described, for just one tael of silver, it was undoubtedly worth it!

This black market trip.

Not only had he acquired a four-stone bow and Body Refining Ointment, but he had also gained valuable experience and even stumbled across the Shapeshifting technique—far beyond his expectations when he set out.

Gu Sheng was thoroughly satisfied.

He looked up at the sky—it was already the Hour of the Ox.

He had no intention of leaving immediately.

Among those frequenting the black market, eight or nine out of ten were vicious villains—robbery and backstabbing were par for the course. Gu Sheng wasn’t naive enough to believe no one had set their sights on him.

Despite his cautiousness, this was his first visit to the black market. There were bound to be oversights revealing his flaws to others.

Having spent close to twenty taels of silver in total, Gu Sheng had undoubtedly become a rich, juicy target in the eyes of some.

At each stall he lingered in front of, Gu Sheng could clearly feel hidden gazes directed toward him.

Leaving now, even under the cover of night, would surely result in a fierce battle.

If that’s the case.

Might as well wait until the market closes.

By then, the sky would lighten, and a surge of people exiting the black market would allow him to blend into the crowd safely. Although Gu Sheng had confidence in his strength, unnecessary risks were not worth taking.

With this thought.

Gu Sheng began wandering from stall to stall, calm and unhurried.

Time passed.

As if sensing Gu Sheng’s caution, some of the gazes withdrew—perhaps switching focus to other targets—but a few remained locked on him, though Gu Sheng appeared oblivious.

A number of stall owners packed up early and left as the black market’s crowd gradually thinned. However, others shared the same plan as Gu Sheng.

Before long.

As the Hour of the Tiger passed, the night darkened less densely, with hints of early light.

The stern shout of black market patrolling martial artists echoed coldly in the surroundings:

”The black market is closing. Leave within fifteen minutes, or face the consequences!”

In an instant.

The previously sparse black market grew restless, with hidden currents churning.