Chapter 18: A Lone Journey

Chapter 18: A Lone Journey

In a private room on the third floor of the Starcom Consortium.

"Esteemed guest, these are the weapons you requested." A young man in a black robe sat in the lower chair, pointing to several weapons on the table with a professional smile. "Close-fitting soft armor, constructed with silver and fine steel wire as the core materials. It was meticulously crafted by specialist craftsmen into circles, and even an Adept will struggle to tear it apart. Completely intact, rated a sixth-grade weapon by our Starcom Consortium. It is priced at 100 silver taels."

"A fine steel long saber, three chi two cun in length [1]...rated sixth-grade, worth 60 silver taels." The young man in the black robe looked at Wu Yuan.

"Mm, I'll take both the soft armor and the long saber. Pack them up." Wu Yuan said, appearing as a tall and thin young man.

In the Middle Land, weapons were divided into different grades, similar in many ways to the nine grades of martial artists.

Ninth-grade, eighth-grade, and seventh-grade weapons are not significantly different. These belonged to the category of ordinary weapons. They were sold at very low prices, and often made in common blacksmith shops.

Weapons of the sixth, fifth, and fourth grades were primarily constructed of extraordinary materials. They were commonly known as superior weapons and were capable of withstanding the terrifying impact of powerful martial artists. Their prices were more than a hundred times higher than that of ordinary weapons.

As for the top three grades of weapons? Also known as divine weapons, they were extremely rare, with prices ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of silver taels. Some legendary divine weapons couldn't even be acquired with money. Most weapon refiners wouldn't be able to refine a divine weapon in their lifetime.

For Wu Yuan, superior weapons were sufficient in the short term.

"In addition to these, I'd like to purchase detailed information on the Northern Mountain Gang." Wu Yuan casually said. The Northern Mountain Gang was a large gang on the same scale as the Vicious Tiger Gang, but even stronger, and with an even longer history.

"Information on the Northern Mountain Gang?" The black-robed young man's pupils shrank slightly. After a little thought, he said, "The Starcom Consortium's information is divided into three levels: 'detailed', 'rough', and 'brief'. Which level of information do you need?"

"Price." Wu Yuan said bluntly. That was his real concern.

"180 taels, 10 taels, and 1 tael respectively," the young man in the black robe said. "However, it should be noted that detailed information cannot be taken out of the Starcom Consortium, it can only be read in the building. Once purchased, it can be viewed free of charge for fifteen days, including any updates during the viewing period."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly, the price difference between these three levels of information was not large. And with a little deduction, it was clear that for rough and brief information, the Starcom Consortium wasn’t too worried about leaks. However, Wu Yuan understood that a single silver tael, the price of the cheapest level of information, could still feed a family of three for quite some time.

"No matter, it was a casual inquiry," Wu Yuan said evenly.

"A casual inquiry?" the young man in black robes blinked in surprise.

Wu Yuan soon departed from the Starcom Consortium, his newly purchased long saber and soft armor in tow.

After storing his weapons in the martial academy, Wu Yuan once again Transfigured into a sturdy man and entered the Starcom Consortium. Once again, he climbed the stairs and ascended to the third floor.

However, time waited for no man. Wu Yuan was worried that if he waited any longer, Chieftain Wu Qiming might not make it out alive. The audacious attack by the Vicious Tiger Gang showed their complete disregard for the Wu Clan.

Every year, within Li City's borders, numerous martial artists fell at the hands of the Vicious Tiger Gang, including members of major clans and formidable martial artists.

Thus, he decided only to split his purchases into two.

For 160 silver taels, the information on the Vicious Tiger Gang is rather clear. Various details about the Vicious Tiger Gang surfaced in his mind. He had spent around an hour in the Starcom Consortium committing the most important information to memory.

The gang leader, Raging Tiger Yang Long, is a fourth-grade martial artist. He is known for his extreme ferocity and maintains a constant presence year-round at...

Division Head Evil Tiger Li Ye, a fifth-grade martial artist, is the right-hand man of the gang leader...

The appearances of all six Adept experts in the Vicious Tiger Gang were ingrained deeply in Wu Yuan's brain.

As for those dozens of martial virtuosos and thousands of ordinary gang members, there were no individual mentions. The Starcom Consortium didn't go into much detail, only providing a rough number. The Starcom Consortium, despite its vast information network, could only keep tabs on the Adept experts.

Likewise, Wu Yuan also had a clear idea about the locations of the Vicious Tiger Gang's headquarters and the two sub-branches mentioned in the intelligence. This intelligence was updated by the Starcom Consortium ten days ago.

In a large gang of this size, significant changes within just ten days are unlikely.

With money, even gods can be bribed. The ancestors of old did not deceive me.

Large clans with manpower could also collect such intelligence as long as they had the patience, such as the Luo family. Unfortunately, a small clan like Wu Clan did not have that level of resources.

Was 160 silver taels expensive? Yes! But Wu Yuan felt it was worth it. At least, it allowed him to understand the strength of the opponent he was about to face.

The chieftain went to the headquarters of the Vicious Tiger Gang. It is about 130 li from Li City, located deep within Ninecloud Mountain.

Wu Yuan was familiar with the entire map of Li County. However, he had never actually left the city. The terrain of Li County was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills at most. Ninecloud Mountain was a famous mountain within a few hundred li of the city.

Gangsters were divided into two types, land bandits and water thieves. The bandits that roamed Li County and most of Southdream Province were mainly water thieves. The Vicious Tiger Gang was the largest group of land bandits in Li County.

It's about time. Wu Yuan stood up, donned his soft body armor, and carefully wrapped his weapon case, strapping it tightly to his back to avoid any noticeable irregularities. He then placed the throwing knives one by one into suitable positions. With the long saber in hand, he left the martial academy through a side door.

Weapons were not forbidden in the Middle Land, but in general, most county cities and provincial cities still conducted checks. However, with Wu Yuan carrying the martial academy's token, he encountered little resistance. Swiftly, he disappeared into the vast wilderness.

This was the first time Wu Yuan had left the county city since transmigrating here.

To slaughter!

1. 1 chi = 1/3 meter, 1 cun = 3.33 cm ?