Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on top of the canoe, looking at the slightly smoky lake and said, “May I ask old man, what is your name?”
The green-shirted old man rowing the boat smiled and glanced at Zhang Ruochen, saying, “The old man’s surname is He, everyone calls me Old Man He.”
“Old Mr He seems to be very familiar with Earth Fire City?” Zhang Ruochen said.
The green-shirted old man laughed, “After a lifetime of running boats on Hidden Mist Lake and doing business to and from Earthfire City, how could I not be familiar with it?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, “You boat runners, in Earth Fire City, should also be a sect, right?”
The green-shirted old man said, “My guest is insightful, we, the Green Lake Alliance, may not be ranked in the entire Yunwu County Kingdom, but we hold the entire entry and exit hub of Earth Fire City, controlling a total of six piers and five hundred and thirty ships. In Earth Fire City, apart from the Vermilion Bird Building, the Earth Sect, the Black Tiger Hall, and the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce, it is our Green Lake Alliance that is the biggest.”
Zhang Ruochen said without leaving a trace, “The Earth Mansion Sect also has a branch in Earth Fire City?”
The green-shirted old man thought that Zhang Ruochen wanted to go to the Earth’s Mansion Sect to hire an assassin, so he didn’t think much of it and said, “The Earth’s Mansion Sect and the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce are the strongest dragons in the black market, and their power isn’t just in the Earth’s Fire City, or even beyond the Yunwu County Kingdom as well. It is said that the business of the Earthly Mansion Sect and the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce has spread throughout the entire thirty-six counties of the Heavenly Demon Ridge.”
The black market was an alternative market formed by various small organisations joining together, specialising in unseen underground transactions.
There would always be a dark side to the human heart, so black markets had existed since ancient times.
However, the forces in the black market were also divided into various classes.
For example, the forces of the Hellmouth Sect and the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce spread throughout the 36 counties of the Heavenly Demon Ridge, belonging to the highest level of forces.
The power of the Vermillion Bird House, covering the nine counties in the western part of the Ridge, belonged to the second order of power.
The Black Tiger Hall’s power covered the Yunwu County Kingdom, and was considered a third-order power.
The power of the Green Lake Alliance was merely limited to the area of Earth Fire City, so it belonged to the fourth order of power.
Of course, in Earth Fire City, the Earth Sect and the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce were only a branch, whereas the Green Lake Alliance’s roots were here.
Although a strong dragon was strong, it might not always be a match for a ground snake.
“Dang!”
Suddenly, from the water in the distance, the sound of a war drum was heard.
The drums continued to sound, getting louder and louder, and the loud sound shook the entire water surface to the point that it kept tumbling.
A few moments later, a seventy-odd feet long red iron and steel giant ship came rushing in from the distance, lifting up tens of metres of huge waves, emitting a “clattering” sound, like the momentum of swallowing mountains and rivers.
It was like a moving steel city.
On top of the giant ship, there were martial artists wearing purple clothes and black trousers, all of them were in high spirits and were by no means ordinary martial artists. They held ebony lances in their hands, their gazes were like swords, and they were many times more powerful than those rabble of the Black Tiger Hall.
“Red Spider Giant Ship!”
The green-shirted old man’s face changed, and he immediately urged his true qi, rowing the boat rapidly and retreating non-stop.
Seeing the green-shirted old man’s fearful expression, Zhang Ruochen was a little curious and asked, “Who exactly are they? As far as I know, even the court of the Yunwu County Kingdom doesn’t have such a powerful warship.”
That one warship was indeed powerful, and there were densely packed array inscriptions etched on top of the hull. It could be imagined that if the ship guard formation was activated, it would definitely erupt with incomparable power and would not be much weaker than a city guard formation.
The green-shirted old man said: ”The court of Yunwu County can’t build the Red Spider Giant Ship, that’s the warship of the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce, and there are only two of them in the entire Yunwu County. The power of the Red Spider Giant Ship is more powerful than even a Ninth Order True Martial Treasure Artifact.”
“Thirty years ago, in order to destroy one of the Red Spider Giant Ships, Yunwu County Kingdom’s previous county king, Zhang Xianyi, personally carried the state-supporting divine weapon, the ninth-order True Martial Treasure Artifact Tairen Halberd, and led an army of 100,000 troops to engage the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce in the waters of the Yunjiang River with a Heavenly Extremity Realm powerhouse.”
“As a result of that battle, Zhang Xianyi suffered a crushing defeat, his 100,000 strong army was almost completely wiped out, and even he himself was severely injured and fled back to the royal city, where he died in the royal palace after only half a year had passed. The Red Spider Giant Ship is so powerful that even a Heavenly Extreme Realm powerhouse couldn’t stop it, so it’s obvious how terrifying its battle power is.”
Zhang Xianyi, the father of the Yunwu County King and Zhang Ruochen’s grandfather, was also a Heavenly Extremity Realm Martial Myth thirty years ago.
If he hadn’t died, he would probably be the number one powerhouse of the Yunwu County Kingdom right now.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the imposing warship, and on the deck, there stood a huge savage beast, both a Red Flame Tiger with flames emanating from its entire body, as well as an Ice Armoured Lion that radiated blue light.
At the same time, a single ragged slave stood on top of the deck, numerous in number, with their hands and feet all chained. There were both big men with powerful bodies, as well as petite and beautiful tender women, and some lowly slaves.
War slaves, female/slaves, servants ……, different slaves, are divided into different areas.
The green-shirted old man said, ”Those are the slaves that the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce shipped to Earth Fire City, these slaves, will soon be sent from Earth Fire City again, in batches, to other small black market chapters in the southeastern part of the Yunwu County Kingdom. Some will become war slaves of the great clans, some will become playthings on the beds of the rich, and there are also those lowly slaves who have not cultivated true qi, nor do they have any poise, and are presumably being marched into the mines to dig for minerals.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze, however, was fixed on another direction, that was the compartment on the Red Spider Giant Ship, which emitted an incomparably powerful aura that made Zhang Ruochen feel incomparably dangerous.
Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully, ”It seems to be the bigwigs from the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce that have rushed to Earthfire City. This instantly makes Earth Fire City even more lively, it’s really curious, what other characters will rush over?”
The green-shirted old man said, “The bigwigs from the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce are probably here for the four trainees from the Martial City Academy Palace, and it is said that one of the trainees has a great deal of importance, and will definitely be able to fetch a big price.”
Zhang Ruochen was a little curious and said, “What big head?”
The green-shirted old man smiled faintly, but kept his mouth shut.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed out a handful of silver coins and stuffed them into the green-shirted old man’s hands.
The green-shirted old man accepted the silver coins and immediately revealed a smile on his face as he said, “That one Inner Palace Cadet, said to be the County Lord of a certain superior county, is not only very beautiful, but her cultivation level is also extremely high. After she was captured, she was imprisoned in the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce. The Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce didn’t dare to move her easily, so naturally, they had to notify the senior figures.”
Zhang Ruochen’s face stared slightly, a county lord of a superior county, in the entire Martial City Academic Palace, only Huang Yichen was a county lord of a superior county.
If what the green-shirted old man said was the truth, then it was definitely her.
How could it be?
Because Zhang Ruochen was wearing a metal mask, the green-shirted old man did not see the change in Zhang Ruochen’s expression as he continued, “When the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce grasps that one County Lord, it is the same as grasping a money tree, and there is no fear that the Martial City Academic Palace and that one Upper Class County Kingdom will not compromise.”
Zhang Ruochen exhaled a long breath and sighed in his heart, the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce was a power in the black market and would not be afraid of the Martial City Academic Palace and the Thousand Waters County Kingdom at all.
Of course, if Huang Yichen was really imprisoned in the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce, the people of the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce would definitely not touch her for the time being. After all, the Poisonous Spider Chamber of Commerce was a force that did business, and holding a county lord of a superior county kingdom was like holding a valuable piece of goods.
No matter what price they offered, the Thousand Water County King would definitely compromise as well.
“What bad news, I hope it’s just a rumour.” Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh.
……
At this moment, on top of the Red Spider Giant Ship, the senior figures of the Poisonous Spider Chamber of Commerce were gathered together, also discussing the matter of that one County Lord of the Superior County Kingdom.
An old man in purple clothes laughed, “I really didn’t think that I would actually catch the County Lord of Smoke and Dust of the Thousand Water County Kingdom in Earth Fire City, this is a valuable treasure, at least we should ask the Thousand Water County King for 100 million silver coins.”
“One hundred million silver coins? Elder Xue, you’re also looking down on the Thousand Water County Kingdom too much, even if we ask for a billion silver coins, the Thousand Water County King will definitely give it to us.” Hua Ming Gong laughed.
Hua Ming Gong was the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce’s chief in the Yunwu County Kingdom, his cultivation had reached the Heavenly Extremity Realm, and he was many times more powerful than the Black Tiger Hall’s Master, Iron Hunchback, and he was also one of the top three figures in the entire black market of the Yunwu County Kingdom.
Hua Ming Gong Dao: “It’s not just the Thousand Waters County Kingdom, there’s also the Yunwu County Kingdom that needs to be extorted ruthlessly.”
On the seat, sat a young man wearing a gold silk robe shirt, playing with a sharp curved sword in his hand, smiling evilly, “It is said that that one Smoky Dust County Mistress is engaged to the Ninth Prince of the Yunwu County Kingdom, looking like a flowery and beautiful woman, I really want to go and meet her right now.”
Duke Hua Ming stared at that one young man, his face solemn as he said, “Qing Shan, for other women, my father can give you as much as you want, but that one County Lord Smoky Dust, you must not touch her. She is someone who can give us the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce in exchange for a huge amount of wealth. If you botch it up, I will never spare you.”
Hua Qingshan, was the only son of Duke Hua Ming, his natural talent was strangely high, and his cultivation was stronger than many of the older generation of martial arts experts. However, he had one hobby, and that was women.
Duke Hua Ming understood his son’s nature very well, so he had to explain to him the powerful relationship.
If something really happened to County Mistress Smokey, not to mention exchanging a huge amount of wealth to the County King of Thousand Waters, it would instead anger the County King of Thousand Waters and bring a huge disaster to the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce.
“Got it!” The corner of Hua Qingshan’s mouth hooked in an evil smile.
He felt that his father was just too fearful, the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce was a major power in the black market and had the shelter of the black market. Even if he offended the Thousand Water County Kingdom, could the Thousand Water County Kingdom still exterminate the Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce?
