The Slave Exchange of the Sadoryeon
Lee Kang passed by the iron cages where modern-day slaves were locked up.
If his heart had its way, he would have liked to save them.
Really, just a little.
But.
What could I even do?
Lee Kang looked away.
He had neither the power nor the money to rescue them. And he certainly didn’t have the nerve to go playing the righteous hero in the middle of Sadoryeon’s slave market.
If he made a scene here for no reason, all that would happen was that one more modern person would end up in a cage.
Lee Kang quietly kept walking.
Then a thought struck him.
If he were trapped in one of those cages, how would he escape?
If bloodline contracts were real, then betraying one’s master would be impossible. Breaking the bars would be out of the question, and slipping past the watch of Sadoryeon’s martial artists would not be easy either.
So what was the answer?
Lee Kang thought for a moment, then quickly reached a conclusion.
The problem is letting yourself end up in a situation like that in the first place.
Once you’ve already been captured, thinking about how to escape is too late. Besides, why were they still wearing modern clothes at all?
If you lacked strength, you had to at least look as if you had it. If you didn’t know martial arts, you should have disguised yourself as a Murim martial artist. If even that wasn’t possible, then you should have stayed hidden inside a house.
The fact that they were caught and brought here was the real problem.
A cruel conclusion.
But Lee Kang believed that was exactly the kind of judgment that had kept him alive until now.
After passing the modern slave section, the next row of cages came into view.
This time, the state of the captives was a little different.
At first glance, they looked more presentable than the modern people. Men in long robes, men in martial garments, one stripped of the sword that had once hung at his hip, another wearing clothes whose sect insignia had been torn away.
They were probably martial artists, or at least people who had been involved with the Murim in some way.
But most of their eyes were dead.
Resignation.
Fear.
The helpless emptiness that came after anger had burned itself out.
Those things sat heavy inside the cages.
There were price tags too.
100 nyang.
110 nyang.
90 nyang.
They were more expensive than the modern slaves, but still cheap.
But cheap meant there was a reason.
Lee Kang slowed his pace.
Status Window.
Over the head of the nearest man in a cage, his arm wrapped in bandages, letters appeared.
In the next instant, Lee Kang shifted his gaze.
Next.
Next.
Next.
Next.
Even at best, they were Third-class.
That was the limit.
So there really is a reason the cheap ones are cheap.
Lee Kang clicked his tongue inwardly.
Third-class wasn’t bad. Lee Kang himself was only at Third-class aptitude. But that wasn’t what he was looking for now.
He needed material to raise the Black Moon Sect.
A blade he could put in front of him instead of himself.
That was the kind of person he needed.
Then someone inside one of the cages called out to him.
“Hey…”
Lee Kang did not stop walking.
“Hey. Did you come here to buy people?”
The voice was young. It sounded like someone who had been captured not long ago, a youth whose eyes had not yet gone completely dead.
Lee Kang glanced over.
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: Third-class
Affection: Unknown
Lee Kang looked away at once.
“I, I can be bought cheap. I’ll do whatever you tell me. Really.”
That opened the floodgates, and voices began spilling from the other cages.
“Me! I’m still useful!”
“Please, get me out of here.”
“I’ve learned martial arts. I can do labor too.”
“Just give me one chance…”
Lee Kang gave none of them an answer.
You couldn’t buy a person with pity.
The one thing he had to spend money on was not a pitiful person.
It was someone valuable.
Lee Kang lowered his head and moved on to the next section. The deeper he went, the more people there were.
There were those haggling in front of cages, and those who lifted a slave’s arm to check the muscles and bones. One man forced a slave’s mouth open to inspect the teeth, while another pressed around the lower dantian and shook his head.
The slaves were mostly quiet. Very few of them screamed.
They had probably learned.
That making a racket here would only get them hurt.
Further in. Lee Kang saw the Sadoryeon martial artists guarding the cages.
They looked as though they were standing loosely at ease, but their eyes were sharp.
This area was different from the ones before.
The things here were more expensive.
Or things that would be troublesome to let escape.
Lee Kang instinctively slowed his steps.
He couldn’t afford to stand out.
He followed the behavior of the people around him. He looked around slowly, as if he were interested, and checked the price tags from time to time. He kept the glances he used to activate the Status Window as short as possible.
This is where the real stuff starts.
Lee Kang muttered inwardly.
Then he looked into the nearest cage.
There was a martial artist there, chained up so tightly his back still didn’t bend. Even after having his weapon taken away, there was still power in his fingertips. His eyes weren’t dead at all; if anything, they were glaring at every passing buyer as though he meant to tear them apart one by one.
Lee Kang knew it immediately. These were not modern people. They weren’t even people who had only been loosely tangled up with the Murim.
They were the real thing.
Martial artists who had actually trained inner power and learned techniques, not some half-baked amateur fighters.
Some of them looked far stronger than Lee Kang himself. The moment their eyes met his, a chill ran down his spine.
Lee Kang didn’t keep his gaze on them for long. Instead, he gave them a quick check as he moved past.
Status Window.
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: Second-class
Affection: Unknown
Next.
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: Second-class
Affection: Unknown
Next.
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: First-class
Affection: Unknown
Lee Kang’s brow twitched slightly.
That was the first time he had seen that aptitude.
Someone like that would be worth paying attention to even in a proper sect. But judging by the look of him, his dantian seemed to be damaged, and he looked to be a middle-aged man who had seen a fair bit of life.
Lee Kang immediately checked the price tag.
1,000 nyang.
A bitter smile crept onto his face.
Insane.
His entire fortune right now was 800 nyang. He had savings beyond that, but he had no intention of spending them.
He was short on funds.
But even if he had the money, he didn’t especially want to buy a slave from this place.
Their eyes were too different. They were waiting for a chance.
Eyes that would sink their teeth into a master’s throat the moment he let his guard down. Eyes that would be willing to endure the torment of the bloodline contract if it meant they could draw a blade.
Lee Kang quietly shook his head. Buying slaves from here was beyond him.
But even just looking had value.
Which slaves sold for high prices. What the merchants emphasized. Where the buyers looked first. Which goods the Sadoryeon martial artists guarded more carefully.
If he wanted a better eye for choosing slaves, it was worth studying.
Then he saw it.
In the corner of a cage.
In the darkness where the red lantern light didn’t quite reach.
A small body huddled there.
At first, he thought it was just a pile of refuse.
Her whole body was smeared with black mud. Her hair, her face, her hands, her clothes were all caked in it. Her features were so buried in grime they were hard to make out.
A girl.
Her exact age was impossible to tell.
Small frame.
Thin limbs.
She was curled up as tightly as she could manage.
Unlike the others, she wasn’t glaring at the buyers, and she wasn’t begging to be saved.
She simply kept her head bowed and sat still.
The moment Lee Kang saw her, he stopped walking.
On purpose.
He could tell at a glance.
This wasn’t just dirt.
She had deliberately coated herself in mud to hide her body.
To conceal her skin color, her face, her build, even her scent.
Lee Kang had done something similar before.
Back when he lived in the basement of an abandoned house, he used to smear dust and mud over himself before going out to look for food.
If you stayed clean, you stood out.
If you stood out, people looked at you.
If they looked at you, you died.
You had to make yourself look worthless, like something nobody would want. That girl understood that.
Lee Kang carefully lowered his gaze.
The price tag attached to the cage came into view.
850 nyang.
Lee Kang narrowed his eyes.
Status Window.
Transparent letters floated above the girl’s head.
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: Transcendence / Realm of Transformation
Lee Kang stared blankly at the Status Window for a moment.
Transcendence.
Those two characters sank into his mind.
The problem was that Lee Kang couldn’t immediately recall exactly what they meant.
Transcendence?
He was sure he had seen it somewhere.
Maybe in the Gallery. Maybe in some martial arts novel.
Third-class, Second-class, First-class.
Then after that was Peak?
Wait. Just how strong is that supposed to be?
Maybe the Status Window had glitched.
That thought crossed his mind too.
But so far, it had never been wrong. Lee Kang hurriedly looked away.
His pulse was starting to race. If he stood here too long, he would look suspicious.
Trying to act like nothing was wrong, he glanced at the price tag again and quietly opened the translucent Gallery window.
He placed a finger on the search bar.
Transcendence.
Almost immediately, posts appeared.
Title: The Mount Hua sect leader is said to be at Transcendence
Title: What a Third-class can do when facing Transcendence, summarized
Title: How strong is Transcendence? Is it above Transcendent Peak?
Lee Kang swallowed a curse.
Jackpot.
No.
Jackpot wasn’t enough to describe it.
If it was real, that girl was not merchandise that belonged in the corner of a slave market.
She was on a different level from talent like First-class or Peak. If the Status Window had marked her aptitude that way, it meant she had the potential to one day reach that realm.
Lee Kang’s heart began hammering like mad.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
He could hear it in his ears.
Calm down.
Lee Kang forced his breathing under control.
If you show it, you die.
This was Sadoryeon’s slave market.
There were merchants around him. Martial artists. Buyers.
The moment anyone noticed his reaction, it would be over.