Chapter 293: The Grandmaster Behind the Black Market
What’s going on?
Within the Black Market, all the managers were greatly alarmed.
They hadn’t even had time to react before, in the blink of an eye, the hunchbacked old man was seized by Chu Liang.
With a calm face, Chu Liang casually flung him aside as if throwing away trash.
“Bang!”
The hunchbacked old man was thrown aside, coughing a few times.
Despite this humiliation, he was not angry. Instead, he got up and said with a smile, “Good, good, this old man misjudged you. Young Hero Chu, no… Grandmaster Chu, this way please!”
Grandmaster!
Hearing this, everyone present was shaken.
Such a young Grandmaster, is it possible?
The hunchbacked old man smiled and said, “The Sword Immortal Chu of Shu, even if not a Grandmaster, is akin to one!”
“The Sword Immortal Chu of Shu?”
“What?”
“The Chu Liang from Shu, is it this Chu Liang?”
“……”
Hearing this, the many Black Market managers were even more shocked.
During this period, they had often heard rumors of the Sword Immortal Chu of Shu, who was said to be a very young and talented prodigy.
But they could never connect that Sword Immortal Chu with Chu Liang, since one was elegant and unrestrained with Grandmaster-level strength, while the other had fled in panic from a Grandmaster.
But Chu Liang did not speak, clearly acquiescing.
He was the Sword Immortal Chu of Shu!
“Greetings, Grandmaster!”
“Greetings, Sword Immortal Chu!”
The Black Market managers all cupped their hands and bowed their heads, treating Chu Liang with the respect due to a Grandmaster.
To be able to continuously kill more than ten High-Rank Demon Beasts, traverse the mountains of the Southwest, remain unharmed, and be a master of both internal and external martial arts…
Such strength, as the hunchbacked old man said, was not that of a Grandmaster, but akin to one!
“Where is He Xiao?” Chu Liang asked, his voice indifferent.
“He Xiao has returned to Anping County Town. He still needs to train in the county town for a while,” the hunchbacked old man replied.
“Oh.”
Hearing that his old friend was safe, Chu Liang felt slightly relieved.
At this moment, the local Market Master of the prefectural city hurried over and personally welcomed Chu Liang.
“Grandmaster Chu!” He greeted him with a smile, “Whatever you need, just say it. Our Black Market will do our best to satisfy you.”
“I only need information.”
Chu Liang glanced at him and said, “I won’t take your benefits for nothing.”
With that, he tossed out more than ten High-Rank treasures.
The Black Market had indeed helped him several times, and these treasures were enough to repay that debt.
After that, the local Market Master invited him into a secret chamber and explained in detail what had happened during his absence.
“First, there’s the Golden Stone Escort Agency.”
The local Market Master said, “Grandmaster Chu, on the third day after you left, the Chief Escort of the Golden Stone Escort Agency, Jin Peng, rushed back. He issued a death challenge to you, but since you had already left, no one accepted it. This matter caused quite a stir in the city at the time, and many people said you were afraid to fight…”
Not long after, everyone learned that Chu Liang had already fled.
Thus, he gained a reputation for bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Jin Peng did not withdraw the death challenge and put a bounty on Chu Liang’s whereabouts. Now, the bounty has exceeded two hundred thousand taels of silver.
In addition, many other factions are also offering bounties for Chu Liang.
◈◈◈
“Many people believe that you probably took the treasure from the valley, which is why they are offering bounties for you,” the Market Master said.
“Yes, I did take it,” Chu Liang nodded. With his current strength, there was no need to deny it.
“As expected.”
The Market Master looked unsurprised.
Without the help of that mysterious treasure, how could Chu Liang’s strength have increased so quickly?
“Not long after, Treasure Pavilion also joined the bounty for you. The Treasure Pavilion Master even appeared once and stated that whoever could capture you would become an Elder of Treasure Pavilion.”
The Treasure Pavilion Master still hasn’t left and is currently at the local Treasure Pavilion!
When he arrived in Wenhai Prefecture and learned that Chu Liang had left, he was furious and stormed into the Black Market, demanding an explanation.
Fortunately, the Grandmaster behind the Black Market intervened and reached an agreement with him.
“Grandmaster Chu, it’s time for you to know,” the local Market Master said, “The Grandmaster behind our Black Market is ‘Many Treasures Master’. You could say you have some connection with him.”
“So it’s him.”
Chu Liang was enlightened. He had heard of this Grandmaster’s name long ago.
Many Treasures Master, also known as “Many Treasures Old Ghost,” was a long-established and powerful Grandmaster.
This old Grandmaster did indeed have some connection with Chu Liang.
He possessed one of the three treasure-seeking demons, the “Treasure Gathering Toad.”
He was originally a hunter with poor talent and low status. Later, he accidentally formed a contract with a Treasure Gathering Toad and embarked on the path of martial arts through the treasures provided by the toad.
Chu Liang, the Treasure Pavilion Master, and Many Treasures Master all had treasure-seeking demon beasts as followers, and even their life trajectories were similar.
“Where is Many Treasures Master now?” Chu Liang asked.
“He went to the mountains to search for treasures and it is unknown when he will return,” the Market Master replied.
“Alright, if he returns, please inform me,” Chu Liang intended to thank him in person, as the old Grandmaster had indeed helped him greatly.
If Many Treasures Master hadn’t blocked the Treasure Pavilion Master for him, the Treasure Pavilion Master would likely have caused even more trouble.
The Market Master continued, “Before he left, he left a message for me to relay to you when you returned. He said… the Treasure Pavilion Master is narrow-minded and of low character. Although he has the strength of a Grandmaster, he lacks the bearing of one. He cannot be trusted.”
“I understand.”
Chu Liang nodded.
How could someone with the bearing of a Grandmaster kidnap someone’s relatives?
Then, the Market Master talked about the current situation of some of Chu Liang’s friends.
“In the Yongjia Count Manor, the second young master, Fei Yangyang, has fallen out of favor. He has been having a hard time lately and can’t even step out of the manor’s gate. He is practically imprisoned within the manor. Moreover, the Count of Yongjia has already chosen the next heir, and it is the eldest young master, Fei Yangchu.”
This incident happened three months ago, surprising many people at the time.
After all, based on his past actions and style, the second young master, Fei Yangyang, was the most likely to inherit the position of Count of Yongjia.
Countless people in the prefectural city believed that the problem lay with Chu Liang.
The second young master made friends carelessly, befriending a big trouble like Chu Liang. It was already fortunate that the Count didn’t strip him of his legitimate status.
“In addition, the Clearwater Count Manor has also taken action,” the Market Master said, “During this time, the Clearwater Count Manor has been intentionally suppressing the Gathering of Heroes Gang and the Purple Snake Martial Arts Hall. These two factions have been having a hard time lately.”
The root cause was still Chu Liang.
The third young master of the Clearwater Count Manor, Wang Teng, had a grudge against Chu Liang and clashed with him multiple times. Later, he even planned to use the entire manor’s power to deal with Chu Liang, but Chu Liang had already left the prefectural city.
After all, the Count Manor had its pride and did not take out their anger on Second Uncle’s family.
However, the Gathering of Heroes Gang and the Purple Snake Martial Arts Hall suffered.
These two factions had already distanced themselves from Chu Liang before he left. The Hall Master of the Purple Snake Martial Arts Hall even publicly declared that he did not have a daughter named Xue Jiaojiao.
But the two factions were still implicated and repeatedly suppressed, constantly shrinking. Their current strength is not even one-third of what it was before.
