Chapter 238: Clashing Like Water and Fire

Hearing that, Jiang Cheng's mind flickered, and he vaguely guessed the identity of the person before him.

Because when he entered the room to discuss in detail with Li Guanshi, there were only Black Market people around, no one else.

Let alone the guy right in front of him.

But how does the other side know all this? Perhaps only the Spiritual Grandmaster could; his Spiritual Power can cover the entire Black Market, and he can know any word or deed of anyone there whenever he wishes.

Therefore, the person before him is most likely also a Spiritual Thought Master, and still not joined the Black Market.

The next moment.

Jiang Cheng said, "Li Guanshi invited me to join the Black Market, but I'm not very interested."

"Oh?"

The stranger said, "Why is that? The terms they offered should be hard for you to refuse, right? You're not even a Level 1 Spirit Mind Practitioner yet, and they promise to cultivate you into a Spiritual Grandmaster."

His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Their terms are indeed very attractive, but first, I think nothing that good comes without a price; second, I'm used to being free and don't want to work for someone for thirty years."

The man's mouth twitched slightly:

"If that's the case, why didn't you refuse at the time? Instead you said you needed to go back and think it over—were you indecisive?"

Jiang Cheng thought to himself, "Indeed."

This person and the Spiritual Grandmaster are in the same group; otherwise how could they know even this?

"I just felt that with their enthusiasm, it wouldn't be proper to outright refuse."

Jiang Cheng shrugged.

"I see, that makes sense."

The stranger nodded.

Then he asked again, "So you definitely won't join the Black Market, right?"

He stared intently at Jiang Cheng's eyes.

Jiang Cheng nodded.

He truly had little interest in joining the Black Market.

Since that's the case, there's no need to offend another group and isolate himself.

Rather, if he befriends these people, he could not only trade Secret Martial Arts, but perhaps also obtain the desired Visualization Diagram.

Sure enough,

After Jiang Cheng's change of attitude, the stranger's tone softened considerably.

"You're right; there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

He glanced at the open door and said, "Close the door first."

After Jiang Cheng shut the door, the man finally said, "It looks like the Black Market's terms are generous—providing you with free Cultivation Resources each month—but is anyone in this world truly that foolish to train you for free? In that month, the value you create for them is several times the resources they give you, and buying internal items at cost each month is even more of a waste."

He let out a cold laugh.

"You have thirty days a month, at least twenty of which you spend working for them; where's the time to earn money and buy their internal items? The expensive ones you can't afford, the cheap ones save you hardly any money, and what you buy isn't as refined as what you sell; I'm not just saying that."

"So that's how it is."

Jiang Cheng's expression shifted slightly.

He hadn't thought that deeply at the time.

He just thought that nothing falls from the sky like a pie.

"Yes, actually for you new Spiritual Thought Masters, whether to join the Black Market is your freedom; we're too lazy to interfere, as long as everyone keeps to their own business. Yet some people, after joining the Black Market, turn against us, which is truly detestable."

The man's tone carried anger. "Turn against us?"

Jiang Cheng was curious.

"Exactly."

The man seemed to realize his slip, and took a deep breath.

"Spiritual Thought Masters are already few in number, and those who attend Black Market auctions are even fewer. I'm sure you've heard it from others: at first, our Spiritual Thought Masters and Force Warriors participated in the same auction."

"Some items the Force Warriors can't use at all, or whose value in our hands far exceeds that in theirs, yet those people still eagerly join the auction, so many times we can't even purchase what we want, and even when we do, it costs far more than expected."

"Fortunately, after our repeated lobbying, the Black Market finally agreed to hold a special auction for our Spiritual Thought Masters. At that time everyone could purchase desired items at reasonable prices, and if an item was coveted by many, we'd discuss privately beforehand to avoid unnecessary expense. However, the good times didn't last long."

The man's tone turned cold.

"Some people defected to the Black Market and deliberately inflated the prices of items during the auction, causing us to pay far more than expected, especially the final marquee item. At first we didn't realize it, assuming it was normal competition, until several items that had already been sold reappeared on the auction list, and we realized someone had become a dog of the Black Market."

Jiang Cheng, upon hearing this, understood why the man had come to him.

However, it's hard to say who's right or wrong in this matter.

From the Black Market's perspective, they naturally want auction items sold at the highest possible price.

From most Spiritual Thought Masters' viewpoint, they obviously hope to buy desired items at lower prices.

And those who defected to the Black Market naturally side with it, doing whatever it takes to create difficulties for other Spiritual Thought Masters.

Thinking of this, a slight sense of luck rose in his heart.

Fortunately, he hadn't agreed to the other party at that time.

Otherwise, later he would have had to do something against his conscience at the first auction.

"Don't want to do it? Take advantage of their weak hand and short mouth."

"You won't join and become one of them, will you?"

The man, uneasy, asked again.

Jiang Cheng shook his head decisively.

"That's fine then."

The man nodded, "Rest assured, if you don't join them, we won't make things difficult for you. If there's anything you want at the upcoming auction, tell us in advance and I'll inform the others so you spend less. However, while we can cooperate with you, those few people may not, so be prepared mentally."

"This, I haven't looked at it yet."

Jiang Cheng glanced at the auction item list on the table.

He thought, even if he looked, with the little money he has, he probably couldn't afford anything.

"It's fine, it's okay to wait until you've finished looking."

The man gave Jiang Cheng a glance.

"Hope, when you go in later, can you keep your word and not sit together with those people?"

Jiang Cheng shook his head, indicating he wouldn't.

He knew that after hearing his words, the other party was still half‑believing, half‑doubting.

One must obtain a definite transformation before accepting oneself.

So before that, he also has to secure some benefits for himself.

After all, his current self still has some united‑front value; if not used, it will be gone once the Auction starts.

(End of chapter)