It had already been half a month since the Dao Discussion Platform opened.
In this half-month, the impact on Dahe Market had been tremendous!
Perhaps to foster a combative atmosphere, or perhaps to pique the audience's enthusiasm for spectating, the local Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion had put up vast, lavish rewards.
In battles against demon beasts of the same tier, the victor could claim all materials from the beast.
In matches between high-stage cultivators, the victor could win a dharma artifact staked by their opponent prior to the match.
As for the local monthly rankings, the top three could even obtain a high-grade dharma artifact, pills, or even cultivation techniques!
Not only that, the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion flexibly adjusted ticket prices according to the importance of the matches; normally, the cheapest ticket could be bought for a mere ten spirit stones.
As for ticket scalpers, anyone caught would be locked up in Chizhu Prison for a month and forced to participate in a match against an opponent of the same stage before they could be released.
Rumor had it that some shameless scoundrel had previously scalped a hundred-spirit-stone ticket for two hundred.
A certain someone had taken a stray bullet quite innocently.
The mid-stage Qi Refinement battles Qin Liangchen had mentioned were a new category introduced by the local Sword Pavilion just a few days earlier.
They divided Qi Refinement cultivators into three tiers: early, mid, and late.
For battles between mid-stage cultivators, winning a match did not grant the opponent's dharma artifact, but one would be awarded a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion, worth a hundred spirit stones.
If one maintained first place in the monthly rankings, they could receive ten bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills!
Ten whole bottles!
That was a hundred pills, enough for over three months of uninterrupted cultivation.
All at once, countless rogue cultivators scrambled to enter the Dao Discussion Platform's contests!
Many of the outside rogue cultivators who had come to Dahe Market half a month ago had stayed behind as well.
According to them, newly opened Dao Discussion Platforms usually offered far higher rewards than the older platforms elsewhere.
These rogue cultivators who had stayed formed the main body of contestants.
Following Qin Liangchen's gaze, Luo Chen glanced at the massive jade wall.
Besides the rankings, it displayed today's match schedule—over twenty bouts in total.
Today, blood would likely flow like a river!
Of course, ordinary bouts were not death battles; they stopped upon touch, with referees standing by at all times to intervene.
It was fair to say that the Dao Discussion Platform was genuinely a fine venue for cultivators to debate the Dao and hone their martial arts.
"Though you don't have many dharma artifacts on hand, they're exceptional enough. Whether it's the Jasper Saber or the Soul Breaking Nail, both are practically unbeatable in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
"What's more, your effortless knack for spellcasting makes even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator like me take utmost care.
"Add to that your sinister fighting style, kid, and taking first place in the monthly rankings would be child's play!"
Qin Liangchen poured out praises as if they cost nothing.
To this, Luo Chen merely rolled his eyes incessantly.
"Nothing is that simple. Once you've fought enough matches, others will figure out your fighting style and artifacts; sooner or later, you'll lose.
"Li Zhuoqi of the Li family in Dahe Market's White Jade Valley dominated first place for ten days with a high-grade flying sword, and didn't an outside rogue cultivator topple him anyway?"
There was no such thing as an invincible person in this world; once one's secrets were thoroughly analyzed, defeat was only a matter of time.
If mortal enemies caught wind of that information and devised countermeasures, running into them out in the wilderness would mean death and the end of one's cultivation path.
Luo Chen would never put himself under the spotlight for mere rewards like that.
Besides, who said that earning spirit stones from the Dao Discussion Platform required getting up on stage to fight?
Luo Chen walked over to the small plaza opposite the jade wall, where a little stall was set up.
"Xiaoyue, how's business today?"
In front of the stall, a young girl of only seventeen or eighteen crouched.
Hearing this, her face blushed slightly, and she immediately sprang to her feet.
Fingers twisted together, she said bashfully, "We sold seven portions of immortal beans, five portions of beef jerky, thirteen portions of popcorn, and only ten bottles of yellow pear wine. We made thirty-five spirit stones in total."
Luo Chen frowned. "I just checked—aren't there twenty-five matches today? There must be at least four or five thousand spectators! How did we only sell this much?"
Xiaoyue wrung her fingers, on the verge of tears.
Nearby, Qin Liangchen couldn't bear to watch Luo Chen pick on a young girl and said, "The combined cost of ten portions of those knickknacks of yours doesn't even come to one spirit stone. You have the nerve to charge a spirit stone per portion, but nobody is eager to be taken for such a sucker!"
"Hey, hey, hey, watch your mouth. The immortal beans are my exclusive secret recipe, and the popcorn is made from spirit rice popped using my unique spellcraft. That yellow pear wine is even more extraordinary, brewed by the elderly father of Ravine-Leaping Tiger, former master of the Mountain Breaker Gang's Medicine Hall. Which one of them isn't worth a spirit stone per portion?!"
Luo Chen argued vehemently, red in the face and neck, his spittle practically spraying into Qin Liangchen's face.
Qin Liangchen was dumbfounded. Had he truly failed to recognize real quality?
Miss Xiaoyue pouted, tears ready to spill down at any moment.
She felt completely useless, unable to sell such fine goods.
Seeing this, Luo Chen could not help but sigh.
This Yuan Xiaoyue was the only daughter of Ravine-Leaping Tiger, the Mountain Breaker Gang's late former Medicine Hall master.
Ravine-Leaping Tiger had died on the Dao Discussion Platform, leaving behind an elderly father with a crippled leg and a young daughter at only the second layer of Qi Refinement.
Mi Shuhua had promised earlier to look after the families of those who fell in battle, but in practice, that merely meant arranging relatively safe chores for them within the gang.
Barely enough to keep food on the table!
As for earning spirit stones to buy medicinal pills, that was out of the question.
In truth, ordinary gang members could only scrape together barely enough spirit stones to sustain their cultivation.
The lion's share was taken by the high-ranking figures of each hall, and by the gang leader himself.
Such care was calibrated just right—enough to survive and not arouse jealousy, but making any real progress was utterly impossible.
During the past half-month, because he needed to familiarize himself with gang affairs while also keeping up with cultivation, Luo Chen had simply halted concocting Myriad Wonders Pills.
Conveniently, under the guise of helping Qin Liangchen—one of the four elders—recover his form, he had dodged several mundane gang chores and furiously ground his spell proficiencies.
And truth be told, he had progressed at flying speed.
He had even earned Qin Liangchen's assessment: "Unbeatable in the mid-stage, capable of battling late-stage."
However, coming and going from the Dao Discussion Platform every day had revealed a business opportunity to him.
Not scalping tickets!
Rather, when cultivators watched the bouts, whenever an uninteresting fight occurred, it was utterly boring.
Hence, he introduced a line of snacks including immortal beans, popcorn, and beef jerky.
Later, hearing in the Medicine Hall that Ravine-Leaping Tiger had loved a fruit wine brewed by his elderly father, Luo Chen went straight to contact the old man to see if he could brew it in bulk and sell it to him.
The old man did not refuse; his sole condition was that Luo Chen take care of Yuan Xiaoyue.
As for why there was such a condition:
It was actually very simple. Luo Chen was arguably a rising star in the Mountain Breaker Gang of late.
He was the protégé of Wang Yuan, the former protector and current elder.
He was also good friends and neighbors with another elder, Qin Liangchen, and every day he sweetly greeted Murong Qinglian, the master of the Medicine Hall, as "Sister-in-law."
Furthermore, Sick Tiger Zeng Wen of the Combat Hall dropped by Luo Chen's place every few days. Each time the two spoke, it was in hushed, conspiratorial tones, appearing remarkably close!
Tsk, tsk. With connections like these, anyone looking at Luo Chen would think his future was limitless.
Luo Chen saw no harm in it and simply agreed.
After all, he needed to find someone to help sell these snacks anyway.
Yuan Xiaoyue was a young girl, gentle and delicate, evoking pity in anyone who saw her—just right for a salesperson!
Except, looking at it now, the decision was somewhat flawed.
Having lived sheltered under the wing of her father, Ravine-Leaping Tiger, Yuan Xiaoyue had had it too easy and was far too meek.
After sighing, Luo Chen waved his hand.
Yuan Xiaoyue stared blankly for a second, then stepped aside, letting Luo Chen take her spot at the stall.
Qin Liangchen did not understand what he intended to do.
The very next moment, his face flushed crimson and he slunk off to a quiet corner.
"Popcorn and yellow pear wine! Beef jerky, the tastiest of all!
"Watch cultivators fight in blood, savor life on the immortal path! A single immortal bean contains all the wisdom of the Great Dao!
"Step right up, take a look! For just one spirit stone, you get a big bag of popcorn popped from spirit rice!
"Watching the fights while eating popcorn to cultivate—what could be more wonderful?!"
Empowered by spiritual power, his clear, resonant voice carried across several li.
Whether onlookers idling before the jade wall, degenerates at the gambling stalls, or the ticket-selling cultivators at the passage entrance, all turned to look in unison.
There stood a handsome young man, grinning wide to reveal a row of glistening white teeth.
"Immortal beans, beef jerky, popcorn! Come check them out!"
Chapter 68