5 Yu Lin

Although Ning Fan didn't fully connect with the vendors punches, he was still dealt a considerable amount of damage. Ning Fan's body was full of contusions. Despite these injuries Ning Fan's indifferent expression made one feel he had no injuries.

Ning Fan's eyes became like a hunter eyeing at his prey. The vendors movements became sluggish, his vision was becoming blurry, and his breathing became heavy so he couldn't use his advantage of being in Nascent realm as freely anymore.  

Ning Fan didn't hesitate and kicked towards the right side of the vendor's ribs. The vendor stepped back one step and stepped back in lunging forward to hit Ning Fan at his side but what greeted him was Ning Fan's foot in his face. Ning Fan's first kick was a feint, his follow up kick was his real attack.

The vendor was thrown in the air by Ning Fan's kick, he was sent flying five meters from where he was last standing.

The vendor seemed completely exhausted he could barely stand.

"Hahahahaha… I underestimated you it seems that you're experienced in life and death battles, I had no chance of victory from the start." The vendor was laughing maniacally.

The ring on his right index finger shined. A pellet as small as a marble appeared on his hand.

"You wanted to buy a Spirit pill for twice it's value right. A Spirit pill is worth more than your life so I'll destroy your soul to make up for the rest" the vendor evilly grinned.

The vendor swallowed the Spirit pill and his body started having abnormal changes. His nails became three inches long, his eyes had a yellow hue, the vendor became three feet taller. The vendor was shorter than Ning Fan by a few inches, but now his height exceeded Ning Fan.

Ning Fan's face became solemn. He started preparing for the worst.

"System can you give me an idea of what's happening" telepathically asked Ning Fan

「 He swallowed a pellet that changes his structure to that of a beast, his Qi isn't increasing but his strength is so his strength will be greater than yours again」

"Great so that means we're back to square one" remarked sarcastically Ning Fan.

Ning Fan was too injured to try and outrun the vendor and the vendor became more lethal than before. Ning Fan's injuries didn't help him for round two. Ning Fan took a deep breath and yelled.

"Run for it I'll hold him off for as long as I can…" Ning Fan was stopped mid-sentence from Yue's actions.

In Yue's right hand suddenly appeared a two meter sword that had a crimson hue to it. One could immediately tell this sword's value by the natural laws the sword emits and the elegant decorations inscribed on it, as well as the Dark Red Dragon he saw from his own sword the only difference was that the man wasn't on top of the dragon. Ning Fan didn't know if the man was supposed to be there or not since his memories from the previous owner were too fuzzy.

Yue sprinted towards the vendor. Yue's speed was eye-opening, the average speed for a fifth rite of the Metamorphosis realm is one-hundred and sixty feet per second but she was moving almost at two-hundred feet per second, if one wanted to have such strength in the Metamorphosis realm they would have to repeatedly endure through extreme training unbearable to normal humans.

Yue was moving at the vendor's blindspot. Since the vendor's left eye couldn't see anymore and he didn't notice Yue's attempt at his life. He completely forgot about her existence this gave Yue an opening. Yue's attack was quick and concise, by the time the vendor noticed something was wrong the sword was already against his neck.

SLASH!

There wasn't a single drop of blood or noise of flesh being cut, only the sound of her blade slashing down. The vendor's head was enveloped in flames as it fell to the floor.

PLAT!

Before the vendors whole body was consumed in flames Yue took off his ring.

"If she was trying to scare me into submission, it worked" Ning Fan thought to himself while gulping.

She threw Ning Fan the ring after taking all the Essence Crystal's.

" I don't need this you can have it, take this as well" Yue threw two pellets towards Ning Fan

"What's kind of pellets are these" Ning Fan suspiciously asked.

"The green pellet will help you recover and the purple one will restrict you from gathering too much Qi to be a threat" Yue replied

"What if I choose not to take it" Ning Fan felt hurt but understood her intentions.

"I don't think I need to explain what would happen" Yue's tone became colder.

"Seems you like old men since you treated him better than me, don't lie to me I treated you generously and you only killed him when he…" teased Ning Fan before he was kneed in his abdomen.

"You sure like to talk a lot, how about you keep speaking so you can see what happens next" Yue was upset by what he said.

"You two seemed like lover's no wonder you're ups…" Ning Fan was punched in his solar plexus, nearly vomiting.

"This is fun do you got anything more to say" behind Yue's mask was a smile that would make many cower.

"Th-they, s-say the more b-beautiful a women is the m-more thorns she has, I'm s-scared for the unlucky man that will m-marry you" Ning Fan finally finished a sentence.

"Firstly I'll never marry anyone and I already know I'm beautiful. Secondly if I did marry anyone they would surely be crying with joy. Thirdly you sure like to run your mouth a lot. Fourthly making fun of my personality will be your biggest regret" Yue exclaimed

This time she didn't stop beating him until he was body was black and blue. Ning Fan's body looked worse than the time he fought with the vendor. Ning Fan could clearly tell she can skip realms and win, but he wasn't afraid. The worst he thought that could happen was a beating.

" Hmph… Now take those pellets as I instructed you" Yue harrumphed before ordering him around.

Ning Fan didn't tease her anymore and took the green pellet first.

After an hour later his injuries were mostly healed.

"How will I be able to defend myself if I can't use Qi to defend myself " asked Ning Fan.

" I'll properly protect you, once we part ways I'll hand you another pellet that will remove the Qi restraining pellet's ailment" explained Yue.

" I see you really have no trust in me" Ning Fan sighed as he swallowed the pellet.

" Also I forgot to say this pellet's production process is confidential and only a few people can create a remedy so you shouldn't think of anything malicious or I'll crush the remedy pill" revealed Yue, after he swallowed the pill.

Ning Fan's eyebrows twitched once she revealed the pellets rarity. He really felt she could be the greatest villain in history if she wanted to. Ning Fan took a deep breath.

"Did your sword have the Celestial Kingdom's crest on your sword." asked Ning Fan.

"So you noticed, that's right it is" Yue admitted openly.

"I don't think a normal person from the Kingdom could have such a valuable sword" Ning Fan continued.

In the memories Ning Fan obtained his current birth father once used a sword of a similar caliber that came from the royal family. Only Great General's could possess such formidable weapons. Ning Fan suspected she must be someone with high status in the Kingdom, but he's never heard of a genius at such a young age.

"Could this person have possibly altered her voice?" thought Ning Fan

"You shouldn't stick your nose where it doesn't belong" threatened Yue.

"You said you would protect me and I can tell you're not the type to go back on your word without reason so your threats don't frighten me" replied Ning Fan

"So what happens if you know my identity, come back for revenge?" asked Yue.

"I thinking you might be Shui Feng with an altered voice, so I find it weird to call you by a feminine name" replied Ning Fan

"I'm not, can't you tell from our conversations that I am a female or are you deaf" Yue said indignantly

"You really have no femininity so how could I tell yo…" Ning Fan was once again brutally beaten but not to the point to impair his movements.

"You really know how to make someone want to beat you up" Yue remarked hatefully.

Ning Fan never met such a violent and spiteful girl before, he started questioning his life at highschool. At highschool all the girls around him acted feminine so he thought that girl's always had some feminine side to them at the very least. This was the first time he met such a violent girl, he couldn't see a hint of femininity.

"It seems that she hates being scrutinized about her personality and actions a lot, she must have been judged and treated strictly by the people around her, people with great talent will always be judged by others." thought Ning Fan.

"I apologise for being rude, you really aren't that bad and if you're ever in a situation you can't handle I'll do my best to help you" Ning Fan smiled wholeheartedly.

Ning Fan felt it was a really long time since he felt this way and a piece of his heart was once again showing warmth after being empty for so long.

"Your too weak to be of any help to me, don't think just because you beat that vendor to such a point that you can assist me, if he wasn't exhausted you would have been killed helplessly" Yue scolded Ning Fan.

Ning Fan just smiled back at her not saying anything. He felt they would understand each other in the future. He also thought that if they did separate he could most likely spot her by her eccentric personality.

Yue didn't want to restrict Ning Fan's Qi, but she felt she needed to be cautious. She didn't want to take anymore chances.

They soon reached the thirty-eighth area. Ning Fan explained to her some of the basic things from the Black Market. She had a clearer understanding of the Black Market now and even instructed Ning Fan to guide her around. Thanks to Ning Fan's knowledge they didn't get into any trouble.

Ning Fan showed her some of the shops he remembered in the thirty-eighth floor. Yue wasn't interested in their low-quality goods and instructed Ning Fan to take her to the next area.

"Of course they are low quality otherwise how would I afford them." remarked Ning Fan in his head.

Ning Fan already told her about his lack of Essence Crystal's so he didn't see why she was still expecting something.

After the thirty-eighth area there's another passage way but this one splits off to different area's rather than just leading to one area. To people who didn't want to die they headed to the thirty-nineth area. If they went through any other route they would be ambushed by strong bandits and die.

It didn't long to reach the thirty-nineth area. The thirty-nineth area was full of rundown shops, people staring at each other, it was a chaotic city that ruled by strength. As long as one was associated with a powerful group no one would think about touching him.

The first thing one should do is build connections with some of the powerful people in the district. Not everyone is cruel but no one would help a stranger. It's a common occurrence for them to kill each other and they don't know the other's character, they could end up being betrayed or backstabbed.

Another way to be safe is being a customer. There are several big companies in the black Market that guarantee protection of customers during business so they would spend more on their businesses. Some small time shops do the same hoping to make it big but often fail. These types of businesses are rare in the northern area.

Ning Fan guided Yue to a store that he is a regular in. From Ning Fan's memories he could see he has a good relationship with this business. In Ning Fan's memories it seemed this is the place he would always go to if he needed pills.

Ning Fan and Yue arrived in front of the store. The words on the sign are "PHOENIX". As soon as Ning Fan opened the door, there was a small whistling noise coming from it. As soon as he stepped in he saw two familiar faces and five unfamiliar faces.

" I hope you can find a solution soon, we'll meet again in a week" a middle-aged man in the center of the group reminded.

The five left soon afterwards. Ning Fan was confused and thought the shop owners were being threatened, Ning Fan became upset at the group and glared at the group as they were leaving. Ning Fan knew that the shop owners were good people so he became upset.

Ning Fan and Yue, continued walking forward to the shop owners. The shop owners had sparkling eyes as they walked in.

"Good your still alive seems your bet has paid off, although the pill had a lot of dregs, it gives you a higher chance to break through to the Metamorphosis realm. Is this, wait a minute why is your Qi drained, how come you haven't recovered. Hmm… I see it's the Qi restraining pill. I think it would be wise to hand him the Qi unrestraining pill" the female store owner stared at Yue.

The female store owner is exceedingly beautiful she adorns a willowy figure that causes men to drool and an ample chest that would drive men crazy, a deadly combo for any male. She also appears to be in her early-twenties.

Yue felt like she got lead into a trap and glared hatefully at Ning Fan. She could tell this store owner is a powerful expert.

"I really meant no harm" Ning Fan felt wronged.

"Are you going to hand it over or do I have to make you" the beautiful store owner reminded.

"Fine" Yue said begrudgingly

As Yue was handing the pill Ning Fan stopped her.

"You still don't tru…" as Ning Fan was refusing, his mouth got slapped.

"Just swallow the damn pill already" Yue slammed the pill into his mouth.

Ning Fan couldn't stop the pill going through his mouth and into his throat. Ning Fan swallowed it in the end.

Ning Fan once again could start accumulating Qi again. He stared at Yue opening his mouth.

"Don't say anything I already trusted you, I was just taking precautions, I didn't want to be backstabbed twice" Yue explained before Ning Fan could say anything.

Ning Fan's face became bright as he listened, he then came closer and patted her head.

"Then everything works out right, I would never backstab you, if I did, I promise I would cripple my arm that's patting your head" Ning Fan adamantly responded.

"I don't think you need to wait I can cripple your arm right now." Yue menacingly spoke

Ning Fan quickly retracted his hand. He forgot how spiteful she is and almost took another beating.

The female shop owner smiled as she saw this scene. She appeared as she was watching her child grow up.

"You seem to finally found a woman that makes you smile if I were you I'd never let her go" talked the shop owner.

Ning Fan suddenly became embarrassed. Ning Fan rarely gets embarrassed, but after going through so much he treasured life and was more emotional than before. He realized he smiled more around Yue and treated her differently. She's the first person he opened up to since his reincarnation.

"I never introduced myself I'm Rury, people find my name strange but I think it sounds beautiful I hope you take good care of Ning Fan" giggled Rury

"I think your eyes need to be checked we just coincidentally met why would I have to take care of him" Yue bluntly retorted.

"That's what I mean, he usually wouldn't associate with strangers seeing how he treats you he must have took the initiative, also seeing how his Qi was exhausted he must have at the very least got into trouble for you Ning Fan knows his way around there's no way he would be bothered by anyone" Rury explained

Yue stared at Ning Fan and started evilly grinning behind her mask.

" Who said that the person who marries me will be very unlucky and I have no femininity it seems you were eyeing me the whole time hehehe." Yue brought up a past conversation.

"Treating you differently and being love with you are two different things, the only femininity you have is your voice otherwise they would confuse you with a m…" Ning Fan was about to finish his sentence when he started feeling the heat around him suddenly drop.

"Care to finish your sentence" Yue voice sounded especially eerie this time.

Ning Fan gulped and didn't dare finish his sentence.

"Hahaha… You two act a lot like a married couple it's too funny I can't stop myself, hahaha... really you two get along extremely well" Rury abruptly laughed.

"Hmph" Yue harrumphed

Ning Fan just turned the other way as if he wasn't paying attention to her. Ning Fan felt as this is the most embarrassing moment in his life. He never felt as embarrassed as he did now. He couldn't understand why he was so embarrassed.

"Okay, I guess that's enough teasing, I wanted to ask you two something, it's very beneficial for you. There's a tournament being held in the area seventy-two, our faction chose us to select two Representatives, you two came at a perfect timing." Rury smiled.

"This wasn't just a small shop?" Ning Fan was shocked

"Surprised? I guess I never did tell you, I didn't lie this is just a small shop but we're from a faction in the Black Market, this shop is just a small branch of the 'Phoenix' faction, so it's no different than a small shop." Rury explained.

"I'm not interested in such a dangerous competition" Yue shook her head as she refused.

"Is that so, too bad there are several rare materials and pills, I heard there's an earth pill as a reward and can help a person break through to the Nascent realm as well as build a sturdy foundation, and only cultivators at the Metamorphosis realm can participate" Rury slyly pointed out the benefits.

"What's too bad, I said I'm ready to leave at a moment's notice." Yue didn't show any embarrassment at being thick-skinned.

"Great just remove your disguise and state your name, it doesn't matter if you come from nobility or even royalty, the Black Market is open to all people" Rury explained to Yue to get rid of her anxiety.

Yue was relieved, she unmasked herself revealing her crimson eye's and removed her full body robe. Yue has peerless beauty that's unmatched to any woman Ning Fan has ever seen, her crimson hair gently laid on her body as she removed her robe. Ning Fan was at a loss for words from her beauty.

Ning Fan once had a moment where he was confessed by a rapid-rising model in his class. This model was said to be one of the most beautiful woman on Earth. Compared to the beauty in front of him, he felt they were universe's apart. Saying they are world's apart would be a compliment to her.

"My name is Yu Lin" Yu Lin announced.

"Y-your from the Royal family" Ruri gripped the Recording Crystal tightly.

Ning Fan's mind was blank he never considered this possibility. Ning Fan couldn't be blamed, if she was part of the Royal family of the Celestial Kingdom why would she be in the Black Market by herself. The other shop owner that was silent this whole time had his mouth agape.

"The only thing I got right was that the more beautiful a woman is the more thorns she has" Ning Fan silently thought this while sighing.

"You said your name is Yu Lin, aren't you sixteen years old" the male shop owner dropped another bomb.

Yu Lin nodded confirming his statement.