# Chapter 243: Great Stone City
Zhang Ruochen's fingers brushed over his storage ring. Light flickered on the ring, and a blood pellet the size of a mud pill appeared in his hand. He handed it to Han Xue, telling her to take it.
Blood pellets were condensed from the blood of barbarian beasts, containing extremely rich heat and spiritual energy.
Even just holding it in his hand, one could feel the heat emanating from the blood pellet.
After Han Xue took the blood pellet, she felt as if she had swallowed a ball of flame. Once inside her body, the power of the blood pellet began to seep into her bloodstream, like threads of fire spreading throughout her entire body. All hunger and cold completely disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Blood pellets are good things, aren't they?"
Han Xue was indeed quite amazed, so she nodded. "Mm!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you regret using ten blood pellets to hire those people to help you bury your mother?"
Han Xue shook her head.
"Very good!"
Patting Han Xue's head, Zhang Ruochen scooped up her small body, holding her in his arms. Stepping on the void, he rushed toward the giant Red Spider Warship in the sky.
Moments later, the two had already arrived inside the cabin of the Red Spider Warship.
Under Zhang Ruochen's control, the Red Spider Warship flew once again, moving away from Lin'an County Town and arriving above a large river where few people traveled.
The Red Spider Warship was enormous in size, too large even for a storage ring to hold. Zhang Ruochen could only hide the Red Spider Warship at the bottom of a large river. After leaving a marker, he took Han Xue and headed toward the largest city on the southern border of the Four Directions Commandery—Great Stone City.
The Red Spider Warship possessed extremely strong combat power, enough to crush a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts myth. Hiding it away first might prove useful in the future.
Great Stone City was not far from Lin'an County Town, only five hundred li away. With Zhang Ruochen's cultivation level, even without unleashing his fastest speed, it only took him an hour to enter this large city.
Compared to Lin'an County Town, Great Stone City appeared incomparably majestic, with towering city walls and a large population. Even in the depths of winter, one could see many martial artists riding barbarian beasts along the wide streets, hurrying on their way, or nobles driving ornate carriages, followed by groups of servants and guards.
The gap between rich and poor in this world was enormous. Wealthy people could activate their Divine Martial Marks, obtain resources, and cultivate martial arts. Poor people, even if gifted with talent, might not receive good training and could hardly compare to princes, princesses, and noble children.
Thus, the rich grew richer, and the poor grew poorer.
The Poison Spider Merchant Guild's power in the Four Directions Commandery was indeed quite vast, but on the surface, the Martial Market Bank still controlled half of the commandery's economy. Banks, shops, and Martial Market Arenas were spread throughout every city, large or small, in the Four Directions Commandery.
Zhang Ruochen wore a metal mask on his face and a simple white robe, holding Han Xue's hand as he walked directly toward the Martial Market Bank in Great Stone City.
The news that Hua Minggong and Mu Qing had died in Lin'an County Town would likely soon reach the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, so Zhang Ruochen naturally had to act cautiously.
Arriving at Great Stone City, Zhang Ruochen had extremely important matters to attend to, and they were quite dangerous. Therefore, he planned to first settle Han Xue down.
The Four Directions Commandery was a medium-level commandery, with comprehensive national power more than ten times that of the Cloud Wu Commandery. Even if the other eight commanderies of the Western Nine Commanderies were combined, they might not be a match for the Four Directions Commandery.
A commandery's national strength was first reflected in the number of its strong experts.
The Cloud Wu Commandery had only a dozen or so Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists in total.
However, according to the Martial Market Bank's statistics, the Four Directions Commandery had as many as one hundred and thirty-two Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists. Its level of prosperity was simply incomparable to that of a lower-level commandery.
As the foremost city on the southern border of the Four Directions Commandery, Great Stone City had a permanent population of over a million, and naturally, many martial arts experts lived there.
Arriving at the Martial Market Bank, Zhang Ruochen took out his token as an inner palace student of the Martial Market Academy. The guards standing outside the gate immediately knelt and saluted, then rushed into the bank to report to the bank's steward.
The steward of the Great Stone City Martial Market Bank was an old man at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, named Zhao Jing. After examining Zhang Ruochen's token, he immediately invited Zhang Ruochen into a warm chamber in the bank and ordered a maid to serve the finest hot tea.
A student of the Martial Market Academy, especially an inner palace student, could definitely enjoy special treatment at any branch of the Martial Market Bank, and could even withdraw a certain amount of currency for expenses.
Inner palace students could eat and stay for free at restaurants run by the Martial Market Bank, purchase cultivation resources at half price from Martial Market Bank shops, and even sit directly in the VIP seats when watching martial arts competitions at the Martial Market Arena.
"I was once an outer palace student of the Martial Market Academy myself, but unfortunately, my talent was too poor, and I couldn't enter the inner palace academy. I can only serve as a steward here in Great Stone City. Please don't laugh at me, Junior Brother," Zhao Jing said with a smile.
If one couldn't reach the Earth Extreme Realm before the age of thirty, they weren't qualified to enter the inner palace academy for cultivation. This was Zhao Jing's lifelong regret.
Zhao Jing had only broken through to the Earth Extreme Realm initial stage at the age of thirty-five.
Now, at eighty years old, he was still only at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, with almost no hope of breaking through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Senior Brother Zhao, I came to the Martial Market Bank this time to ask for a favor."
With one calling "Junior Brother" and the other "Senior Brother," the relationship between the two had drawn much closer.
Zhao Jing laughed and said, "We're all working for the Martial Market Bank, why be so polite? Junior Brother, whatever matter you have, just tell me, and I'll immediately send someone to handle it."
Zhang Ruochen pointed at Han Xue and said, "I'd like to ask Senior Brother to arrange for someone to escort this little girl to the Heavenly Demon Martial City and hand her over to the inner palace student Duanmu Xingling. Tell her that this little girl is a disciple accepted by Chen Ruo, and ask if she could help take care of her for a while."
Zhang Ruochen had considered having Duanmu Xingling take care of Han Xue instead of Huang Yanchen, and this was a deliberate decision.
Han Xue had lost both her parents and was in the deepest grief. With Duanmu Xingling's lively and quirky personality, she should be able to help Han Xue quickly emerge from her sorrow and avoid leaving childhood shadows.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen was certain that Xiao Hei was also hanging around with Duanmu Xingling.
Xiao Hei's origins were mysterious. Not only could he set up formations, but he could also refine pills and forge artifacts—he was skilled in everything. He would certainly be able to discover Han Xue's Thousand Bone Constitution and might even teach her some things, hopefully helping her build a foundation.
When Zhao Jing heard the name "Chen Ruo," his entire body trembled. He stared at Zhang Ruochen, his eyes filled with more reverence, and he quickly agreed. "It's just a small matter. Coincidentally, I need to send a batch of spirit crystals to the Heavenly Demon Martial City today. I can take her along."
"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother." Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands in salute.
Martial artists deposited silver coins and spirit crystals at various branches of the Martial Market Bank. When the silver coins and spirit crystals reached a certain quantity, the Martial Market Bank would dispatch experts to escort them to the headquarters in the Heavenly Demon Martial City.
Outer palace students and inner palace students of the Martial Market Academy often took on such escort missions, earning merit points as compensation.
After sending Han Xue away, Zhang Ruochen gave Zhao Jing a meaningful look.
Zhao Jing understood and led Zhang Ruochen into a secret chamber, dismissing all the guards and servants.
Zhao Jing's expression turned serious, and he bowed to Zhang Ruochen. "Greetings, Lord Chen Ruo."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Senior Brother Zhao, there's no need to be so formal."
Zhao Jing shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I didn't know your identity earlier, and I dared to call myself your senior brother. I am truly ashamed."
Now, everyone knew that Chen Ruo was the secret disciple of the Silver Robe Elder Council's Chief. His status was extremely noble. Zhao Jing was just a minor steward—how could he dare to offend the secret disciple of Chief Lei?
"Senior Brother Zhao, since you were once a student of the Martial Market Academy and are my senior, you deserve the title of 'Senior Brother,'" Zhang Ruochen said.
Seeing how easygoing Zhang Ruochen was, Zhao Jing felt even more close in his heart. He smiled and said, "Junior Brother is indeed worthy of being Chief Lei's secret disciple. I am full of admiration. Junior Brother, you must have very important business coming to Great Stone City this time, right?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded and asked, "Since Senior Brother is the steward of Great Stone City, you should be very familiar with the Four Directions Commandery. Have you ever heard of someone called 'Town Army Marquis'?"
"Town Army Marquis!"
Zhao Jing's expression changed with surprise. "Town Army Marquis, Huo Yundu. He is a member of the Four Directions Commandery's royal clan, the younger brother of the Four Directions Commandery King. His martial arts cultivation has reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm, and he commands three hundred thousand troops on the southern border. He is quite a formidable figure. Could it be that Huo Yundu has offended Junior Brother? If so, should I report it to the Bank Master and have him send people to deal with Huo Yundu?"
Chen Ruo was Chief Lei's secret disciple. How could Huo Yundu be so bold as to offend him? Wasn't he seeking death?
So what if he was a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts myth?
If Chief Lei wanted to kill him, it would only take a single word.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Not for now. There are some things I haven't investigated yet, so I shouldn't move against Huo Yundu yet, lest we alert the enemy. Also, there's another matter. Great Stone City should have a Black Market, right? Where is the Black Market located? I need to go there."
Zhao Jing advised, "The Black Market's power in Great Stone City is quite formidable, especially the Poison Spider Merchant Guild's influence, which even surpasses the Martial Market Bank. The Poison Spider Merchant Guild's responsible person in Great Stone City, Mu Qing, is a Heavenly Extreme Realm expert who controls a Red Spider Warship. He can be considered the top figure in Great Stone City's Black Market. Junior Brother, if it's not necessary, it's best not to risk going to the Black Market."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "If it weren't for important matters, why would I go to the Black Market? Senior Brother, just tell me the location of the Black Market. I know what I'm doing."
Zhao Jing knew that "Chen Ruo" was Chief Lei's secret disciple and was powerful. As long as he didn't encounter Mu Qing, there shouldn't be any danger, so he stopped trying to dissuade him.
Zhao Jing not only told Zhang Ruochen the location of the Black Market but also dispatched a martial artist from the Martial Market Bank who was embedded in the Black Market to serve as a guide, leading Zhang Ruochen to the Black Market.
Without a guide's leadership, entering the Black Market as a stranger alone was a very dangerous thing.