Their commotion drew the attention of a few people.
"What's happening over there?"
"Looks like they're about to arm wrestle!"
"What's it all about?"
"See, that guy said he cultivates the Iron Cloth Shirt, and this big fella doesn't believe him. So they started arguing."
"That guy!? Looking so thin and frail, if it were me, I wouldn't believe him either!"
"Come on, let's go take a look."
"..."
Five or six people gathered around the rock, watching the excitement and chattering among themselves.
The two set their hands in position. The bearded man's large, hairy hand clasped Chen Ping'an's smooth, slender one.
"Don't blame me if I break your arm."
"Give it your best shot!" Chen Ping'an said.
Seeing a crowd gathering, the bearded man grinned smugly.
"I won't bully you. Come on, you say when to start!"
"I ask you all to bear witness. If I win, this bearded man will buy this Iron Cloth Shirt of mine for ten taels of silver. If I lose, I'll give him one tael."
Looking at the few people who had gathered, Chen Ping'an glanced around and made his announcement.
"A free tael of silver."
The burly bearded man sneered.
"Come on, kid. I'm ready."
"Alright, then... Start!"
As he spoke, Chen Ping'an's arm tensed with immense force. With the Iron Cloth Shirt transaction on the line, and considering the need to deter any would-be troublemakers, he held nothing back.
In an instant, the burly bearded man felt a colossal force transmit from his opponent's arm. He could no longer maintain his sneer. The muscles on his incredibly thick arm bulged, and veins popped out.
BAM!
The back of the burly bearded man's hand was slammed onto the rock.
"You lose!"
Chen Ping'an's calm voice rang out.
The burly bearded man's face flushed red.
No matter how slow-witted he was, he now understood that this person was not as simple as he appeared. He was a true Cultivator who had achieved Martial Arts Introduction!
Furthermore, his opponent's level was higher than his own!
'Is he at Qi Blood First Level Perfection!? Or the Qi Blood Second Layer!?'
The dramatic result sent the surrounding onlookers into an uproar.
"He actually won!"
"That brute really picked the wrong person to mess with."
"Martial Arts Introduction, he must have reached Martial Arts Introduction!"
"..."
Chen Ping'an ignored the clamor around him. He stood up and looked calmly at the burly bearded man.
"Ten taels of silver! Iron Cloth Shirt. One hand for the money, one hand for the goods."
"Fine, you beat me in strength, so I believe your Iron Cloth Shirt Technique is real! However..."
The burly bearded man stood up. His massive frame, which seemed to contain explosive power, was extremely intimidating.
"Ten taels of silver is too expensive! Six taels! Six taels is the most I'll pay, and I'll take it!"
The burly bearded man's reply drew a chorus of boos from the crowd.
However, the Black Market was the Black Market, after all, and most people were cautious. So, only six or seven people had actually gathered to watch the spectacle.
The bearded man ignored the boos from the crowd and just stared at Chen Ping'an.
Ten taels of silver wasn't actually expensive if you were buying an Iron Cloth Shirt from the Treasure Pavilion in the County City!
But for a handwritten copy of unknown authenticity, that price was far from cheap!
Six taels! That was a price more in line with the market rate.
No one who frequented the Black Market was a fool. No one would just throw away a few extra taels of silver over a bet.
In fact, even if the bearded man reneged on the deal and simply walked away, there wasn't much Chen Ping'an could do about it here in the Black Market.
After all, the bet between them was just a private squabble. It wouldn't hold up if things got official.
Chen Ping'an was clearly aware of this.
However, he had just thrown out the number "ten taels of silver" off the cuff. His real goal was simply to sell the Iron Cloth Shirt manual.
Haggling was the nature of business; the seller inflates the price, and the buyer pushes it down.
Chen Ping'an's gaze was as deep as a vast ocean. He stared at the bearded man for a long moment, until the man started to feel a chill run down his spine.
'This kid is a bit unsettling.'
'He looks thin, but his strength is far greater than mine. To have entered Martial Dao Cultivation, practiced Hard Skills, and still maintained such a physique, he must have cultivated some other Superior Cultivation Technique as well.'
"Alright, six taels it is. Consider it the price of making your acquaintance."
Chen Ping'an's voice rang out at just the right moment.
"Good! Straight to the point!"
Hearing this, the bearded man took a cloth pouch from his robes and pulled out a few small pieces of broken silver.
One hand for the money, one hand for the goods.
The moment the silver was in his hand, Chen Ping'an's eyes lit up.
'It's done!'
With the family's previous savings, his recently received Monthly Allowance, and now these six taels of silver, he had enough to pay off the fourteen taels of owed silver due on the Qingming Festival.
After the transaction was complete, neither the bearded man nor Chen Ping'an lingered, and they quickly departed.
"That kid looked so scrawny, who knew he had so much strength! He beat a guy that huge just like that!"
"You can't judge a book by its cover!"
"..."
One of the onlookers remarked with a sigh.
However, none of this had anything to do with Chen Ping'an. He had achieved his goal and was in high spirits.
As he left the Black Market, the massive, muscular man was still standing there, expressionless.
"Once you leave the Black Market, your safety is not guaranteed. You bear your own risk."
Chen Ping'an glanced subtly at the large saber hanging at the man's waist and nodded slightly.
'To guard the entrance to the Black Market alone, this man's Martial Arts Cultivation must be extraordinary.'
'Qi Blood First Level Perfection? Or Qi Blood Second Layer!?'
'As for Qi Blood Second Realm Perfection, or even the Qi Blood Third Layer, that's unlikely!'
'A Martial Dao Cultivator who has reached that level wouldn't be stuck guarding a place like this. A Cultivator of that caliber would be guarding a true Noble Family, even if it's just as a household guard.'
'Even the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office could only look up to a Noble Family like that.'
'A mere Black Market in Nanquan Lane wouldn't be able to afford one!'
'I wonder how many rounds I could last if I fought him?'
Chen Ping'an secretly calculated in his mind.
After leaving the Black Market, Chen Ping'an was extremely cautious, looking back from time to time.
He had heard plenty of rumors about the Black Market: people being followed, robbed, and murdered; people being secretly tailed, leading to the slaughter of their entire families.
Because of this, Chen Ping'an was naturally on high alert. This was also why he had waited until he achieved Iron Cloth Shirt Minor Achievement and reached Qi Blood First Level Perfection before coming to the Black Market.
He deliberately took a long, roundabout route before slowly making his way home.
It seemed his luck was good today; no one had set their sights on him.
The courtyard walls of Chen Ping'an's home weren't high, and Chen Erya had already closed the gate.
He thought for a moment and decided to just climb over the wall.
For a Cultivator who had entered the Martial Dao, a courtyard wall like his family's was merely for show. Even for non-Cultivators, a petty thief with some skill could easily scale it.
He hadn't paid it much mind on ordinary days. After all, they were within Weishui County City, and it was relatively safe at night.
But thinking about it now, a flicker of an idea to move houses crossed Chen Ping'an's mind.
However, it was only a flicker. And it was quickly extinguished.
In his current situation, wanting to move to a new place was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
Living in the County City was far from easy.
Even in the Outer City, a slightly better residence would easily cost one or two hundred taels of silver. With his pitifully small Monthly Allowance, buying a new house was just a dream.
However...
But when he thought of his incredibly profound Golden Finger, a boundless sense of hope finally rose in Chen Ping'an's heart.
'The Monthly Allowance for an unlisted constable is pitifully low, it's true. But what about an official constable!?'
'What about a Constable, or an Inspectorate officer!?'
'Learn to make friends with time, and one day, he would reach a new vista of glory.'
A great roc rises with the wind in a single day, soaring straight up for ninety thousand li!
...
PS: Xiaochen is soaring straight up for ninety thousand li, so why is the author still a flop? Is there any justice in this world? Is there no law?! Where are the whales? Where are the votes! Where are the regular readers! As expected, the masters were right. It's okay to be a flop, because as long as you work hard enough, you'll just be a hardworking flop!