Seventy years old is the age to take risks!

hum-

The sword box in Jiang Yuan's hand trembled slightly, and a layer of eerie light appeared on its surface. Then, a small flying sword shot out from the sword box!

Swish!

In an instant, the flying sword transformed into two streaks of light, slashing towards Xue Tu and Zhou Yun!

It moves so fast that it is almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.

"This is...."

Xue Tu's pupils dilated violently, as if he had realized something, but it was too late to dodge.

"puff--"

The next second, the flying sword pierced through his chest, and blood gushed out!

"You actually..."

Seeing himself pierced through the heart by a sword, Xue Tu stared at Jiang Yuan in disbelief, seemingly unable to believe that he had been killed.

He wasn't wrong; his treasure had been taken by Jiang Yuan.

Moreover, it has now become his deadly weapon.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yun on the other side was already terrified and turned to run away.

However, the flying sword has already been drawn, and the thirst for blood will not cease!

puff!

The next second, another flying sword pierced Zhou Yun's back with lightning speed.

Zhou Yun looked down at the bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with terror, as if he had never expected this day to end.

"You...you..."

He opened his mouth, but before he could utter a second word, he collapsed to the ground.

Do not look down.

Jiang Yuan retrieved his flying sword and resealed it in its case, already drenched in sweat.

With his current Qi Condensation Realm cultivation, he could only activate one flying sword, and it almost drained his true energy!

Moreover, this thing not only consumes true qi, but also physical strength and mental energy. It also requires extremely strong sword intent to support it, otherwise it is impossible to use.

With such stringent conditions, it's no wonder Xue Tu never dared to use it.

Every time it is used, it must be done with utmost care.

However, this thing truly lives up to its reputation as the work of a grandmaster of swordsmanship; its power is simply terrifying.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "The rest of you, come out."

The air froze for a moment after he finished speaking.

Before long, laughter came from the reeds, and more than a dozen burly men came out.

The leader was the one-eyed giant from the black market.

"Haha, Brother Jiang, you're really something!"

The one-eyed burly man at the head of the group laughed and clasped his hands in greeting, "This junior is Liu Mang, a steward of the White Tiger Hall in the Black Market. I've long heard that Brother Jiang is no ordinary person, and seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved!"

Jiang Yuan glanced at the three of them but didn't say anything.

If it weren't for his perception being far more acute than that of ordinary people, he probably wouldn't have noticed these people.

Liu Mang wasn't embarrassed and continued to laugh:

"Brother Jiang, don't misunderstand. The outer city is our black market's territory. We are definitely not here to ambush you, Brother Jiang."

"so?"

"so……"

Liu Mang chuckled, "I'd just like to humbly invite Brother Jiang to our black market for a chat, a cup of tea, and to make friends. What do you say?"

Jiang Yuan sneered inwardly.

The hospitality of a host?

If he hadn't swiftly and decisively killed Xue Tu and the others, they probably would have already reaped the benefits.

However, he has consumed too much of his true energy and really cannot afford to break ties with the other party.

"Steward Liu's hospitality is too kind of me to refuse."

Jiang Yuan adopted an air of superior skill and daring, and nodded indifferently.

"Lead the way."

"readily!"

Liu Mang was overjoyed and waved his hand, "Brother Jiang, this way please!"

...

About an hour later.

Jiang Yuan followed Liu Mang and others to the headquarters of the black market.

The black market was extremely powerful, with branches in major cities throughout the Great Yu Kingdom.

On the surface, the Black Market is a large chamber of commerce, but in reality, it is the largest underworld force, controlling the underground economic lifeline of almost all major cities, and its influence extends to all kinds of underground gray industries.

Take Jiangning City as an example.

Jiangning City is divided into an inner city and an outer city. The inner city is entirely under the jurisdiction of the city lord's mansion, and most of the residents are registered Jiangning citizens. The outer city is more controlled by the black market, and there are merchants from the south and north doing business, as well as refugees who cannot settle down, and many people from the martial arts world. It is a mixed bag.

The outer city and the inner city are separated by only a river, yet they are worlds apart.

The inner city was prosperous and peaceful, while the outer city was chaotic and noisy; the two sides kept to themselves and did not interfere with each other.

The black market's headquarters wasn't large, but it was heavily guarded. Several men with long knives at their waists stood at the entrance, and they all bowed when they saw Liu Mang.

"Deacon Liu."

"Um."

Liu Mang nodded, smiled, and led Jiang Yuan through the gate, as warmly as if he were an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

This behavior surprised everyone in the black market.

"Who is this old man that he can make Deacon Liu greet him with such a smile?"

"I don't know, and don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

"..."

Along the way, Jiang Yuan secretly observed.

He was not a registered resident of Jiangning and had always lived in the inner city, so he was unaware of the situation in the outer city.

According to the patrons at the teahouse, this place is a lawless area where you have to pay protection money to the black market to get in, making it seem extremely dangerous.

But seeing it today, it seems that's not the case.

The outer city looks like an ordinary market, with many shops and vendors hawking their wares along the roadside. Everything is well-organized and even looks more bustling than the market in the inner city.

The black market has managed to grow so large in this chaotic world; it must have some tricks up its sleeve.

Seeing Jiang Yuan's curiosity, Liu Mang asked with a smile, "Brother Jiang lives in the inner city, so this is probably your first time visiting our outer city, right?"

"Not bad." Jiang Yuan nodded.

"hehe."

Liu Mang chuckled twice and said, "Brother Jiang, there's no need to be surprised. Our black market isn't the kind of arrogant and rude force the government talks about. On the contrary, we're all legitimate businessmen, and we've even taken in many homeless refugees."

"As for the small amount of protection money collected, it is nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the government's taxes."

"There are many people here who are willing to do business with us."

Jiang Yuan nodded slightly, without refuting.

In this chaotic world, the taxes and corvée labor imposed by the government were indeed too heavy for ordinary people.

If the black market can support refugees who cannot afford taxes, then it has actually done a good thing.

However, business people are most concerned with profit.

The black market operators claimed to be businessmen, but Jiang Yuan didn't believe they would do any charity work.

They must be hiding something.

After entering the black market's headquarters, Liu Mang led Jiang Yuan directly to a magnificent manor, where they saw three large characters written in a flamboyant style.

White Tiger Hall!

Looking around, the manor covers a vast area, with several luxurious mansions and ancient halls, and fully equipped martial arts training grounds are scattered throughout the area, where the sounds of martial artists sparring can be heard from time to time.

This White Tiger Hall alone seems to be even more impressive than the government offices.

"Brother Jiang, please have a seat!"

Liu Mang smiled and invited Jiang Yuan into his courtyard, instructing his men to serve tea. Then, he solemnly addressed the two men behind him:

"You two were blind to the importance of respecting your elders back then. Why don't you quickly serve tea and apologize?"

They were the same guys who had clashed with Jiang Yuan in the refugee alley; their names were Li Ren and Li Yi.

Upon seeing this, Li Ren and Li Yi hurriedly greeted him with smiles, bowing and scraping: "Senior Jiang, we were blind back then, and today we solemnly apologize to you."

"I hope you'll forgive my petty mistake!"

Jiang Yuan took the teacup, took a sip, couldn't taste anything, and smacked his lips, saying, "It's alright, I don't hold grudges."

"Steward Liu, you invited me here today not just to offer me tea as an apology, were you?"

Liu Mang picked up his tea and took a sip, chuckling, "Hey, Brother Jiang, no rush. Let me first show you some hospitality."

"Hmph, since that's the case, I have important matters to attend to and will not keep you company any longer!"

Jiang Yuan snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, stood up, and was about to leave.

One doesn't visit the temple without a reason.

The less the other party explained their purpose, the more uneasy Jiang Yuan felt, and naturally he didn't want to stay a second longer.

Seeing this, Liu Mang quickly pulled Jiang Yuan aside and sighed, "Ah, Brother Jiang is decisive and efficient, so I won't beat around the bush either."

"Brother Jiang, would you be interested in joining our black market?"