Chapter 203: Red Spider Giant Ship
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the small boat, gazing at the misty, vast lake surface, and asked, "May I ask, old sir, what should I call you?"
The blue-robed old man rowing the boat smiled and glanced at Zhang Ruochen, replying, "This old man's surname is He, everyone just calls me Old He."
"Old He seems very familiar with Groundfire City?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The blue-robed old man chuckled, "I've been running boats on Hidden Mist Lake my whole life, doing business to and from Groundfire City. How could I not be familiar with it?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded, "You boatmen, in Groundfire City, you must belong to a sect, right?"
The blue-robed old man said, "You have good insight, sir. Our Green Lake Alliance might not rank highly in the entire Cloudwu Commandery, but we control the entire hub of Groundfire City's traffic, managing six docks and five hundred thirty ships. In Groundfire City, aside from the Vermilion Bird Tower, the Underworld Gate, the Black Tiger Hall, and the Venom Spider Merchant Guild, our Green Lake Alliance is the largest."
Zhang Ruochen asked casually, "Does the Underworld Gate have a branch in Groundfire City too?"
The blue-robed old man, thinking Zhang Ruochen wanted to hire assassins from the Underworld Gate, didn't think much of it and said, "The Underworld Gate and the Venom Spider Merchant Guild are powerful forces in the Black Market. Their influence isn't limited to just Groundfire City, or even just Cloudwu Commandery. It's said that their business has spread across all thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge."
The Black Market was an alternative market formed by various small organizations, specializing in shady, underground transactions.
Since people always have a dark side, the Black Market has existed since ancient times.
However, the forces within the Black Market were also divided into different levels.
For example, the Underworld Gate and the Venom Spider Merchant Guild, whose influence spanned all thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge, were top-tier forces.
The Vermilion Bird Tower's influence covered the nine commanderies of Ridge West, making it a second-tier force.
The Black Tiger Hall's influence was limited to Cloudwu Commandery, placing it as a third-tier force.
The Green Lake Alliance's power was confined to the Groundfire City area, so it was a fourth-tier force.
Of course, in Groundfire City, the Underworld Gate and the Venom Spider Merchant Guild only had branches, while the Green Lake Alliance had its roots here.
A powerful dragon might be strong, but it wasn't necessarily a match for a local snake.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the sound of a war drum came from the distant water surface.
The drumbeats continued, growing louder, their immense force causing the entire water surface to churn violently.
Moments later, a seventy-zhang-long red steel giant ship sped over from afar, raising dozens-of-meter-high waves with a "whooshing" sound, as if it could swallow mountains and rivers.
It was like a moving steel city.
On the giant ship stood martial artists dressed in purple clothes and black pants, all full of energy—far from ordinary martial artists. They held pitch-black long spears, their eyes sharp as swords, many times stronger than the rabble of the Black Tiger Hall.
"Red Spider Giant Ship!"
The blue-robed old man's face changed color. He immediately activated his true qi, rowing frantically and retreating.
Seeing the old man's terrified expression, Zhang Ruochen grew curious and asked, "Who are they? As far as I know, even the imperial court of Cloudwu Commandery doesn't have warships this powerful."
That warship was indeed formidable, with dense array inscriptions carved into its hull. It was easy to imagine that if the ship's protective formation were activated, it would unleash immense power, not much weaker than a city-protecting formation.
The blue-robed old man said, "How could Cloudwu Commandery's imperial court build a Red Spider Giant Ship? That's a warship of the Venom Spider Merchant Guild. There are only two in the entire Cloudwu Commandery. The power of a Red Spider Giant Ship surpasses even a ninth-rank True Martial Treasure."
"Thirty years ago, the previous king of Cloudwu Commandery, Zhang Xianyi, in order to destroy one of these Red Spider Giant Ships, personally carried the nation-protecting divine weapon, the ninth-rank True Martial Treasure Taiyuan Halberd, and led a hundred-thousand-strong army to battle the Venom Spider Merchant Guild and a Heavenly Extreme Realm expert on the Cloud River."
"As a result, Zhang Xianyi suffered a crushing defeat. Nearly the entire hundred-thousand-strong army was wiped out. He himself was severely injured and fled back to the royal capital. Just half a year later, he died in the royal palace. The power of the Red Spider Giant Ship is so terrifying that even a Heavenly Extreme Realm expert couldn't withstand it."
Zhang Xianyi was the father of the Cloudwu Commandery King and Zhang Ruochen's grandfather. Thirty years ago, he was also a martial arts legend at the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
If he hadn't died, he would likely be the number one expert of Cloudwu Commandery now.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the imposing warship. On its deck stood massive ferocious beasts, including Blazing Flame Tigers covered in flames and Ice Armor Lions emitting blue light.
At the same time, many ragged slaves stood on the deck, a large crowd, all with iron chains on their hands and feet. There were burly men, delicate and beautiful weak women, and some low-level slaves.
War slaves, female slaves, servant slaves... different types of slaves were divided into different areas.
The blue-robed old man said, "Those are slaves the Venom Spider Merchant Guild is transporting to Groundfire City. These slaves will soon be sent in batches from Groundfire City to smaller Black Market branches in the southeastern part of Cloudwu Commandery. Some will become war slaves for big families, some will become playthings on the beds of the wealthy, and those low-level slaves without true qi cultivation or good looks will probably be sent to mines to dig ore."
But Zhang Ruochen's gaze was fixed on another direction—the cabins on the Red Spider Giant Ship. A powerful aura emanated from within, making Zhang Ruochen feel extremely dangerous.
Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully, "It seems a big shot from the Venom Spider Merchant Guild has come to Groundfire City. This makes Groundfire City even more lively. I wonder what other figures will show up?"
The blue-robed old man said, "The big shot from the Venom Spider Merchant Guild is probably here for the four students of the Martial Market Academy. I heard one of them has a significant background and will surely fetch a high price."
Zhang Ruochen was curious, "What significant background?"
The blue-robed old man smiled faintly but remained silent.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed a handful of silver coins and stuffed them into the old man's hand.
The old man accepted the coins, immediately broke into a smile, and said, "That inner academy student is said to be a commandery princess from a high-ranking commandery. Not only is she very beautiful, but her cultivation is also extremely high. After she was captured, she was locked up in the Venom Spider Merchant Guild. The guild doesn't dare to touch her lightly, so they naturally had to notify their higher-ups."
Zhang Ruochen's expression tightened. A commandery princess from a high-ranking commandery—the only one in the entire Martial Market Academy was Huang Yanchen.
If what the old man said was true, then it must be her.
How could this be?
Because Zhang Ruochen wore a metal mask, the old man didn't see his expression change and continued, "By holding that commandery princess, the Venom Spider Merchant Guild has a money tree. They're not afraid that the Martial Market Academy and that high-ranking commandery won't compromise."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath, sighing inwardly. The Venom Spider Merchant Guild was a force in the Black Market; they wouldn't fear the Martial Market Academy or the Thousand Water Commandery.
Of course, if Huang Yanchen was indeed imprisoned in the Venom Spider Merchant Guild, they wouldn't harm her for now. After all, the guild was a trading organization. Holding a commandery princess from a high-ranking commandery was like holding a valuable commodity.
No matter what price they set, the Thousand Water Commandery King would have to compromise.
"Truly bad news. I hope it's just a rumor." Zhang Ruochen sighed softly.
...
At that moment, on the Red Spider Giant Ship, the high-ranking members of the Venom Spider Merchant Guild were gathered, also discussing the matter of that commandery princess.
A purple-robed old man laughed, "Who would have thought we'd catch the Yanchen Commandery Princess of the Thousand Water Commandery right here in Groundfire City? This is a valuable treasure. At the very least, we should demand a hundred million silver coins from the Thousand Water Commandery King."
"A hundred million silver coins? Elder Xue, you're underestimating the Thousand Water Commandery. Even if we demand a billion silver coins, the Thousand Water Commandery King would still have to pay up." Hua Minggong laughed.
Hua Minggong was the overall head of the Venom Spider Merchant Guild in Cloudwu Commandery, with a cultivation at the Heavenly Extreme Realm, many times stronger than the Black Tiger Hall's leader, Iron Hunchback. He was one of the top three figures in the Black Market of Cloudwu Commandery.
Hua Minggong said, "It's not just the Thousand Water Commandery. We'll also extort a huge sum from Cloudwu Commandery."
Seated nearby was a young man in gold-embroidered robes, playing with a sharp curved blade in his hand. He smiled sinisterly, "I heard that Yanchen Commandery Princess is engaged to the Ninth Prince of Cloudwu Commandery. They say she's as beautiful as a flower, with a face that could topple cities. I really want to go see her right now."
Hua Minggong glared at the young man, his face stern, "Qingshan, you can have as many other women as you want, and I'll give them to you. But don't you dare touch that Yanchen Commandery Princess. She can bring our Venom Spider Merchant Guild a fortune. If you mess things up, I won't forgive you."
Hua Qingshan was Hua Minggong's only son, exceptionally talented, with a cultivation surpassing many older martial arts experts. But he had one hobby: women.
Hua Minggong knew his son's nature well, so he had to explain the stakes clearly.
If anything happened to the Yanchen Commandery Princess, not only would they fail to extort a fortune from the Thousand Water Commandery King, but they would also enrage him, bringing great disaster to the Venom Spider Merchant Guild.
"I understand." Hua Qingshan curled his lips, smirking wickedly.
He felt his father was too timid. The Venom Spider Merchant Guild was a major force in the Black Market, protected by it. Even if they offended the Thousand Water Commandery, could the Thousand Water Commandery really destroy the Venom Spider Merchant Guild?