But that wasn't the point. The real point was that while Chu Feng had been slaughtering the disciples of the six great forces, he'd seized quite a bit of resources. And during this period, he'd also visited an underground exchange in Qinzhou.
This so-called underground exchange was a place where the major powers and strong cultivators of Qinzhou traded goods. Most of these items might have come from dubious sources, but they were all treasures of considerable value — black-market goods, hence the name "underground exchange."
At the underground exchange, Chu Feng sold the pair of man-made mystic weapons that Jie Yan had given to Song Qingfeng, fetching fifty thousand Xuan Pearls. That went to show that even though these man-made weapons were merely imitations, they were still worth a pretty penny.
The Jie clan had handed out items like this to four major powers in one go, proving they were indeed trying to win over those factions — or rather five, since Sword God Valley had now boarded the same boat as the Jie clan.
However, Chu Feng couldn't care less about how the Jie clan was courting the five great forces. What pleased him was that the weapons had sold for a high price, and combined with the Xuan Pearls he'd plundered from Song Qingfeng, he had finally crossed that last little gap and successfully broken through to Xuan Martial 6th Stage.
It had taken roughly one million one hundred and fifty thousand Xuan Pearls for Chu Feng to advance from Xuan Martial 3rd Stage to Xuan Martial 6th Stage. And now his Dantian was completely empty, like a bottomless pit waiting for him to bring resources to fill it.
Chu Feng knew that even though he was now only a single step away from Xuan Martial 7th Stage, that step would be incredibly difficult — the amount of resources needed would be terrifyingly vast, several times over a million Xuan Pearls.
That day, Chu Feng had just finished off a batch of Yuangang Sect disciples. He hung their corpses from trees and left behind four large characters: "Killed by Chu Feng." Then he donned a bamboo hat, entered a city, and prepared to rest for a while and grab a meal.
Though Chu Feng was now wanted by all six great forces — a criminal everyone wanted dead — he felt no fear whatsoever. On the contrary, he actually hoped to run into people from the six forces. As long as their strength was inferior to his, he would slaughter every last one of them.
And if their strength was too great, he could always mount his Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens and slip away immediately. The problem was, so far, he hadn't yet encountered anyone from the six forces who actually made him wary.
"Hey, did you hear? The Yuangang Sect lost another batch of disciples and elders. Their branch sect in Qinzhou was completely destroyed by Chu Feng."
"Heard about it. That Chu Feng is a straight-up butcher — a demon. The six great forces really stepped in it by tangling with him."
"Sigh, even the six great forces can't touch him. If Chu Feng keeps growing like this, won't he eventually defy the heavens? At this rate, he's going to become the second Dragon Daoist."
"Don't mention it — I heard Chu Feng is actually from Qingzhou, and wasn't the Dragon Daoist from Qingzhou too? How is it that Qingzhou keeps producing these outrageous freaks of nature?"
"Exactly. Qingzhou had been quiet for centuries — they say that in hundreds of years, not a single Heaven Martial realm expert emerged from the whole province. But now they've produced a terrifying monster like Chu Feng."
"It's not just Chu Feng, though. Isn't there also someone named Zhang Tianyi? That Zhang Tianyi seems to be even more powerful than Chu Feng — he defeated Song Qingfeng, Liu Xiaoyao, Bai Yunfei, and Tang Yixiu long ago."
"No, no, no. I say Chu Feng is stronger. Sure, Zhang Tianyi defeated those four, but Chu Feng killed all four of them. And at the time, Zhang Tianyi's cultivation was the same as Song Qingfeng's, and his age was similar to theirs."
"But Chu Feng is different. He killed a Heaven Martial 1st Stage cultivator using only Xuan Martial 7th Stage — and he's still just a teenager. Now that's truly defying the heavens."
"Who's stronger doesn't really matter. The point is, they're both from Qingzhou. You have to admit, Qingzhou really is a sleeper — centuries of silence, and then they produce two terrifying monsters destined to shake up the Nine Provinces Continent."
Inside the tavern, people ate and talked at the same time, their discussions about Chu Feng buzzing with energy and excitement.
And Chu Feng sat right there in the tavern, sipping wine and eating meat, listening to people tell stories about him and guess at his cultivation level. It was, in its own way, rather entertaining.
In truth, over these past days, Chu Feng had grown accustomed to this kind of life. Because wherever there were crowds of people, no matter the place, the topic on everyone's lips was always Chu Feng.
"Hmph, Chu Feng's days are numbered."
Just then, a tall man walked in and slapped a wanted poster onto his table with a loud smack.
"Brother, why do you say that? Did the sect masters of the six great forces make a move?" someone in the tavern asked curiously.
"Sect masters of the six forces? Someone even more ruthless has entered the game. Take a look at this for yourselves." The tall man pointed at the wanted poster on his table.
"Heavens, is this—?!!" When the curious patrons walked over and read the contents of the poster, every one of them was stunned. Because this wasn't a wanted poster — it was a kill order.
"It's the Hundred-Faced Old Man! The one they call the greatest assassin on the Nine Provinces Continent — the Hundred-Faced Old Man. He's finally going after Chu Feng?"
"This is serious now. I've heard the Hundred-Faced Old Man is incredibly powerful. Almost no one he targets has ever survived," the patrons said in shock.
"Of course. The six great forces' wanted notices are nothing, but once the Hundred-Faced Old Man issues a kill order, Chu Feng is as good as dead. I'd wager it won't be long before we hear that Chu Feng was killed by the Hundred-Faced Old Man," the tall man declared with supreme confidence.
"The Hundred-Faced Old Man?" After hearing everyone's chatter, Chu Feng simply gave a faint smile and paid it no mind.
Aside from Jie Xingpeng, there was almost no one among the other five great forces who could make Chu Feng feel fear. None of them could catch him — not even the sect masters of the five forces could do a thing, let alone some assassin by trade.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo! Get lost, you stinking beggar! Don't ruin our business!"
"Good sir, please show some mercy — just give this old man something to eat. I haven't had a bite in three days."
A string of angry shouts erupted at the tavern's entrance. The waiter was pointing at an old beggar covered in festering sores, screaming curses and driving him away, while the old beggar kowtowed and bowed desperately, begging for mercy.
Chu Feng probed the old beggar carefully with his Mental Power. Not a trace of martial cultivation aura — just an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts. And he truly seemed to have been starving for days, his stomach completely empty. If this went on much longer, he would likely starve to death.