10 **Chapter 10: Market of Opportunities!**

*Thursday, Gu Academy*

'I failed to refine the Poison Bullet Gu, and while I was at it, I just had to kill it too…'

"Four days have passed since you all received your first Gu."

"And only sixteen of you have shown up until now to demonstrate refinement to me."

'But worst of all, I don't know what went wrong in the refinement process for it to fail.'

"As today is Thursday, if the four missing individuals haven't completed the refinement by Friday midnight, they will be expelled from this class."

As I scanned the class, I tried to recall the missing students…

'Interestingly, only one of them is a C-Grade talent.'

'I can't imagine a scenario in which one would be unable to refine a simple Gu in three whole days, especially with B-Grade talent.'

'If there's one thing I can't stand in this world, it's complacency and laziness. There's something about it that boils my blood.'

"With that said, we won't write off your classmates as a lost cause, as long as it's not Friday yet."

"So, since not all students are present to learn with your new Gu, I suppose we'll just do some exercise. Follow me outside…"

"Damn," grumbled Mob A.

"If I get my hands on those guys…" muttered Mob B.

"Not exercise… Ahhh," groaned Mob C.

'I don't mind, but judging by my classmates' enthusiasm, the four missing people haven't made themselves any more popular.'

'In fact, I was quite relieved at the moment, this got me out of trying to explain how I managed to kill my Gu so quickly.'

'It should also be noted that everyone currently believes the Water Bullet Gu is my vital Gu, so it would raise questions about how I'm in such good condition after it died.'

It took three minutes for us to leave the building, and as soon as we did, Elder Chen summoned the two guards standing at the gate.

"These students will run around the Academy for the next two hours. If any of them slack off, come find me in my room."

The guards barely finished saying, "Yes, Elder Chen," before he turned and made his way to the staff building.

'This, on the other hand, is the kind of laziness I support…'

After a few more curses from my classmates, we began running.

'This works for me too… at least now I can think without being distracted by Elder Chen.'

'Now back to why I don't know why that refinement failed. This is the perfect time to reflect; my headache is gone but the experience is still fresh in my mind.'

'It could just be bad luck, but that explanation feels cowardly…'

'Heaven's Will?'

'Nah, if it cared, it would have prevented me from refining my vital Gu. That one's way more important anyway…'

'It even had a suspiciously high success rate. While I may have drawn inspiration from a few recipes my father showed me, I can't help but find it suspicious that a recipe I just made up worked so well.'

'So, it's back to a mistake I must have made…'

'It was very sudden after I added MP24…'

'It might have been a conflict between the poisons…'

'What does this one do again?'

And then it just clicked. ML3 had a very similar effect to MP24, both of them caused violent sickness and vomiting, but they also worked in a similar way. They both seemed to attack the nerves of the body to induce vomiting.

'It wasn't a conflict but a case of me not balancing the ingredients properly.'

'Just a mistake I made while creating the recipe.'

What's harder than most things in the world is knowing that something was solely your fault, that it wasn't luck or heaven. Not even a Venerable is responsible for my suffering, it's just me alone.

*Huff*

*Huff*

*Huff*

'Kind of like these people…'

'Barely thirty minutes of running, and the first are already failing…'

With no expression on my face, I can only think about how I would rather die right now than ever end up like them.

'To fail because you weren't enough, to have tried your best and failed, that's acceptable.'

'But to fail when you could have done better…'

After the two hours of running were over, Zhen Wei's face displayed absolutely no expression; his breathing was steady and slow. He was the only one in this class who wasn't utterly exhausted.

With a mind as calm as the ocean but without even the smallest wave, he made his way through the village, oblivious to the noise of the merchants advertising their goods or the crowd, nor did he notice the smell of the ocean.

"MP24, ML3… poison… stones…"

"Mom, what is that weird man mumbling about?" asked a cute six-year-old girl.

"Shhh… can't you see he's an esteemed Gu master?"

With that, the mother ushered the girl away into the crowd, but Zhen Wei didn't notice any of it, he was too deep in his trance.

He only snapped out of it when he unconsciously opened the light green back door to his home.

'I need to talk to my father.'

"Shi Long, get over here!"

*Three minutes later*

"Young master, what can I help you with?" asked the elderly head of the servants.

"Where is my father?"

"He received a mission from the third Elder this morning and said he wouldn't be back for three weeks to a month."

"This timing is just great, isn't it?"

"Is there anything else I can help you with, young master?"

"Yes, send two servants to pick up the primeval stones in my closet."

"Of course."

'I will try to buy my next Water Bullet Gu in the clan market, I'll definitely get a better deal than in the treasury. They each have their advantages, but usually, the treasury is better for rare Gu. Everything that's not rare, you can get cheaper in the market.'

After the Academy, Treasury, Clan Head's house, as well as the mission hall, the market of the Fei Yu clan is definitely the second center of the village. The market was just one long street, spanning kilometers upon kilometers, one time in a circle throught the village, with every imaginable item for sale.

You could see it too, buildings lined one after the other, without gaps, each containing something unique. This was whole street that you would never have to leave, as they had everything the heart desired. Food for both humans and Gu, materials, every imaginable kind of tool you could ever want, from gardening to torture – they had everything. Gu worms, slaves of all kinds, if you could name it, they sold it.

The buildings looked clean, made from wood and painted in green. All merchants in the village would paint their roofs green, at least those with Gu masters as their primary clients, so they would be easy to identify. The official clan buildings all had blue roofs, and they were the only ones allowed that color.

Along the length of the street, there was a second row of vendors, just normal mortals and Gu masters who set up stands in front of the more legitimate businesses. These were my targets.

'Patience; I need to find one that I can take advantage of.'

So, as I strolled down the bustling street, I kept my senses sharp, listening and observing keenly.

"Fresh Nine-Leaf Waterlilies! Come here, we have the freshest. Nine-Leaf Waterlilies…"

'No, not that one…'

"Greedy Toad Gu, just 1500 primeval stones. It's the best storage Gu. Greedy Toad Gu…"

'More interesting, but not what I'm here for though. Also, what's with that price... that's a rank 1 Gu.'

This Gu master was different from the one with the Waterlilies. He didn't have to advertise long before a young rank 1 Gu master approached him to negotiate...

"Hehe…"

'As they say, a fool and his money are swiftly parted.'

Now, you might be wondering what I was searching for. The answer is simple: a Gu master who possesses the Water Bullet Gu and one whom I can exploit easily.

An alcoholic? Excellent!

In gambling debt? Fantastic!

Struggling to feed their Gu? A dream come true!

Someone who recently advanced and needs money for new Gu? Passable, but not as promising as the others.

I made my way down the street slowly, observing and listening carefully.

*Time skip no jutsu – 20 minutes*

Nothing but Gu materials, some Gu not what I wanted though, as well as some obvious scammers.

Then, I was jolted from my thoughts by a man's angry screams.

"Yue Lin, you stupid whore!! Either you pay back the 200 primeval stones that your husband owes me, or you can get used to wearing this."

With that, he threw a woven armband that was the brightest red at her.

'What does he mean by this? She seems really shocked.'

She answered: "Don't overdo it or you'll eat a water bullet… And if it is… if it is the last thing I do."

'And there she goes, crying…'

*Sob*

"…" The man continued throwing insults at her.

*Sob*

I turned to my servants and asked: "What does this red band mean?"

The younger of the two was mumbling about something, his face turning as red as that armband.

I shot them a glare, and that seemed to do it as the older one answered with haste.

"Young master, women who… who sell their bodies wear them."

'Well, that explains why I haven't learned something like that from my teacher.'

My face displayed an uncontrollable smile. If a random person saw me like this at night, they would probably not feel safe.

'Control yourself….'

'Let me observe some more.'

With that, I moved to the other side of the bustling street, my eyes fixed on the woman named Yue Lin.

The first thing I noticed was the belt with a 1 on it. So she was rank 1, but not just any, the Gu masters of the Fei Yu clan wore a cloth around their arms to show their ranks. This could only mean one thing: she was a Gu master but didn't belong to the Fei Yu clan.

The same could be said for that very angry man who was still insulting her while demanding his money back.

'Jackpot.'

'A water bullet Gu, and most importantly...'

'A weakness, a chance to take advantage, to rip her off, take everything she has.'

'Calm down….'

'Well, I've seen enough, and I have a plan… If it works, great. If not, it's fine too; my financial situation isn't that bad yet.'

I approached her, with the servants following closely behind me. My gaze was on the red band lying next to her as she sat there. And as if I couldn't see or hear the man next to her, I asked:

"So, how much for a night?" I asked this in a tone so natural and matter-of-fact that for a moment, I myself believed that I wanted her for myself.

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