Tang Wen took out a hundred-tael silver note and handed it to her: "Will you sell?"
"Huh?"
The middle-aged woman hesitated. She couldn't earn a hundred taels in half a year!
"Forget it then." He made a motion to take the note back.
"No, no, no! I'll sell, I'll sell!"
"But if you sell, how will you explain it?"
Stuffing the silver note deep into her bosom, the woman forced a smile: "It's just a sample! There's always some loss, isn't there?"
Tang Wen paid, counting out another fifteen hundred taels.
The woman handed him a redemption voucher, which briefly described the woman's details, serving as a receipt.
Tang Wen took it, leading the bewildered Woman No. 10 out of the room and continued browsing.
[Two: 17—20 years old, virgin, above-average appearance, skilled in sexual techniques, calligraphy, quantity: 144]
[Three: 15—17 years old, virgin, above-average appearance, skilled in sexual techniques, tea brewing, quantity: 289]
[Four: 17—20 years old, Third-Class Martial Apprentice, average appearance, skilled in physical labor, cooking, etc.]
[Five: ...]
Tang Wen went through each room one by one.
He only lingered briefly at each door.
[Eleven: 28 years old, lactating woman...]
Room No. 11.
Tang Wen stepped forward to enter, but as soon as he reached the door, he heard the manager inside shout: "Full capacity! Please queue for inspection or come back early tomorrow."
He shook his head. Even without looking, he already understood the state of the woman inside.
She must have believed that she was born to be bought and sold.
To serve others forever, enduring any grievances.
Just like the Woman No. 10 he had purchased.
[Thirty-two: ...fifteen years old...]
Cursing under his breath, Tang Wen quickly walked away.
Arriving at the staircase to the third floor.
The green-robed maid, though puzzled by Tang Wen's behavior along the way, still dutifully introduced:
"The third floor is the premium section. You can't just inspect the goods casually here."
With that, she took Tang Wen's arm: "Esteemed guest, please come upstairs."
The wooden floor of the third floor was covered with thick animal hides, the rooms were larger, and there were far fewer of them.
As a Beast Tamer, Tang Wen stared at the white long-haired hide beneath his feet but couldn't recognize it.
The maid explained: it was the white fur of a Longhorn Cattle.
By now, the third floor had been trampled by countless people, yet the white cattle hide on the floor remained pristine, untouched by dust.
This was also why Longhorn Cattle, a Mutated Beast, were rare in various regions, their population nearly extinct.
Every part of them was valuable, even their fur was a natural high-grade carpet.
If you're so useful, who wouldn't want to hunt you to extinction?
Stepping on it felt like walking on thick cotton.
Yet, there was no sense of bulkiness or sinking.
The softness was just right.
The first room.
[Sisters: Age: 16—20, appearance: above average, skilled in: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, Martial Arts: Second-Class Martial Apprentice]
The room door was tightly shut, with a sign hanging outside: "Full."
The faint sound of a man and woman conversing could be heard.
It was the sound of normal conversation.
Clearly, the customers on the third floor were more refined and patient than those on the second floor.
The green-robed maid lowered her voice, leaning closer to Tang Wen:
"There are no samples on the third floor. If the esteemed guest takes a liking to any, just pay and take them away."
As she spoke, the three of them walked to the next room.
The door was wide open, and the delicate voice of a woman could be heard.
Tang Wen listened for a moment, but from her words, he didn't sense any reluctance.
He couldn't help but ask: "I heard that your Slave Pavilion uses a rare artifact to tame these women."
The maid in green shook her head, "Rare item? I'm afraid I don't understand what you're referring to, esteemed guest."
This matter was something Tang Wen had heard from Wu Hao during their drinking session last night.
The reason the Slave Pavilion could become a slave factory was because the Huang Family possessed a rare item.
Tang Wen gently pulled her to a corner of the corridor and softly said, "Don't be afraid, I'm just curious. During your training, did you encounter anything unusual?"
The maid in green looked confused, "Esteemed guest, I don't understand what you're saying. Would you like me to take you to see the supervisor?"
Tang Wen shook his head and turned to ask the tenth woman behind him.
She was equally clueless.
Tang Wen had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and continue wandering around.
[Twin Lotus: 18 years old, average appearance, skilled in music and singing, Martial Arts: First-Class Martial Apprentice]
The Twin Lotus were twins.
Coincidentally, a pair of girls who looked exactly alike were being led away, their eyes showing no reluctance.
It seemed that even with the strength of a First-Class Martial Apprentice, they could be controlled and willingly serve others.
This Slave Pavilion was truly sinister.
He continued forward, wanting to see the Martial Arts Realm of all the women.
Before long, he had explored the entire third floor.
The highest strength among these women was "First-Class Martial Apprentice."
Hmm, perhaps this meant the Slave Pavilion couldn't control Martial Practitioners?
Unconsciously, he arrived at the staircase to the fourth floor.
Looking up, he saw a steel gate blocking the way.
"What's this?"
"The esteemed guest may not know, but the goods on the fourth floor are extraordinary. The iron gate is there to prevent them from rushing down and causing harm."
"Causing harm? Are they Martial Practitioners?"
"You guessed correctly, the women upstairs are all Martial Practitioners."
The maid in green maintained a slight smile and said cheerfully:
"Not everyone prefers docile women.
The fourth floor is what we call the 'Wild Horse Layer,' they are untamed.
Therefore, only Martial Masters are allowed on the fourth floor.
If you really want to go up, you need to pay an additional fee and promise that the Slave Pavilion will not be responsible if anything happens."
Tang Wen's current, surface-level strength was that of a peak Martial Practitioner.
He didn't insist on going up.
He simply asked if there were any other "goods."
The maid in green whispered a lot.
The Slave Pavilion was naturally not limited to its current scale.
The goods were varied, but some categories were very rare and wouldn't appear in bulk today.
To put it bluntly, what appeared in this building were all common goods.
"...I've also heard that a new White Horse Building has been built recently. The women inside have golden hair and skin as white as goat's milk..."
There were foreigners?
Or perhaps people of other races.
Where did they come from?
The Huang Family's waters were indeed deep.
He suppressed his many doubts, bid farewell to the maid, and descended the stairs.
In the first-floor hall, Wu Hao was lazily leaning back in his chair, sipping tea.
Well, it hasn't been long, and you're already out of bed, that's not good...
"Brother, did you buy one? The quality seems good!"
The Slave Pavilion's products were always top-notch.
Being top-notch, the prices weren't cheap.
Tang Wen settled the tenth woman in the inn's courtyard.
He then followed Wu Hao back to the Blackwater Gang's headquarters to train the "Water Sprite."
Time flew by, and under his deliberate control, it was only after ten days that he reported to Elder Li and Vice Leader Zhao.
He claimed that a large and a small male Water Sprite had been tamed and were ready for verification.
The method of verification was simple.
Tang Wen commanded the two Water Sprites to recognize a gang member as their master.
Afterward, Tang Wen left the Water Sprites' sight, keeping a distance and ensuring no trace of his scent remained.
If the gang member could command the two Water Sprites to work and perform tasks as he did, it would mean they were fully tamed.
The test passed without any issues.
The higher-ups in the gang were very satisfied.
Two days later, the Water Sprites had already started working, completely tamed.
Vice Leader Zhao and Elder Li personally summoned Tang Wen to commend him for his achievements.
Naturally, achievements deserved rewards:
His position as Deputy Commander remained unchanged, but he was granted the treatment of a Commander.
As a Commander: each month, he was required to tame three Mid-level Exotic Beasts.
For Tang Wen, this task wouldn't even take a day.
Additionally, he was rewarded with three thousand taels of silver.
Three opportunities to comprehend the Dark Night Divine Fist.
And one chance to attend a lecture by a Transcendent expert from the Martial Arts Academy.
As they stepped outside, Wu Hao pulled Tang Wen aside and said enviously:
"Brother, you must seize the opportunity to attend the Martial Arts Academy lecture. It's crucial for whether you can become the strongest Martial Master and achieve a perfect transformation!"
"The strongest Martial Master?"
"Those who naturally awaken their abilities, without needing external stimuli, refine their core essence, and transcend into the Transcendent realm—that's perfection."
Tang Wen nodded: Oh, then it's fine, I've already achieved that.
He asked, "If there's a strongest Martial Master, is there also a strongest Transcendent?"
"Of course there is. Those who achieve a perfect transformation are stronger than ordinary Transcendents. Moreover, it's said that some genius Transcendents can fight above their level, even taking on two opponents at once. How strong is that?"
Tang Wen's heart stirred, and he continued to probe.
But Wu Hao didn't know more and instead teased him for aiming too high.
"You're not even a Martial Master yet, and you're already thinking about the strongest Transcendent?"
Tang Wen didn't explain. If Wu Hao didn't know, surely the Transcendent experts in the Martial Arts Academy would, right?
(End of Chapter)