Uttar's hands trembled slightly as he unfastened the Silver King's bag, anticipation surging through him. The bag felt noticeably heavier than the others, and his instincts told him that something valuable lay within. As he pulled the opening apart, a glimmer of gold immediately caught his eye.
Stacks upon stacks of gold coins filled the bag to the brim, their lustrous surfaces reflecting the dim light. Uttar's breath hitched for a moment, his eyes widening in astonishment. He reached inside, running his fingers through the neatly arranged piles of wealth. His mind raced as he estimated the amount.
"Two lakh fifty thousand gold coins," he murmured, almost unable to believe it. The sheer fortune in front of him was overwhelming. He had expected the Silver King to possess a significant amount of wealth, but this exceeded all his expectations.
For a moment, he simply stared at the gleaming treasure, letting the reality of his newfound riches sink in. Then, as if needing to reassure himself, he began recounting his total wealth.
"First, I collected forty-five thousand gold coins from two of the Silver King's men," he thought. "Then, I found ninety thousand gold coins from the remaining two. And now… two lakh fifty thousand gold coins from the Silver King himself."
A slow grin spread across his face as he finished his mental calculation.
"That makes a total of three lakh eighty-five thousand gold coins."
As Uttar secured the bag filled with gold coins, he noticed something else inside. His fingers brushed against a small, solid object buried beneath the coins. Frowning slightly, he reached in and pulled it out.
The moment his eyes landed on the item, his expression shifted. It was a sleek, jet-black card with intricate golden engravings. A faint aura of authority and secrecy surrounded it. The weight of the card alone indicated its value.
"A VIP card…" Uttar muttered, his gaze sharpening as he examined it closely.
Emblazoned in bold letters on the surface were the words: Black Market – Gunj Pradesh.
Recognition dawned on him immediately. The Black Market of Gunj Pradesh was infamous. It was a lawless territory, a place where wealth and power determined survival. Here, rules were mere illusions, and violence was an unspoken agreement. Murder, theft, smuggling—everything was tolerated as long as one had the means to back their actions. It was a hub for illegal trades, forbidden artifacts, and rare cultivation resources that couldn't be found in the legal market.
Uttar's lips curled into a smirk. "This is useful," he murmured to himself, flipping the card between his fingers.
With a VIP card, I have direct access to high-level deals, privileged transactions, and insider information. More importantly, I can sell high-grade beast cores at an excellent price, far higher than what normal merchants would offer.
As Uttar sat beneath the towering trees, he gazed up at the sky, watching the golden hues of the setting sun filter through the dense canopy. Time had passed faster than he had realized. His body was stronger, his mind sharper, and his spirit filled with confidence.
"Ten days…" he muttered to himself. "Ten days have passed in this forest, and now, only three days remain before the tournament."
A determined light flashed in his eyes. The tournament was his next goal—a grand event where only the strong thrived. He couldn't afford to enter it unprepared.
"I have to go to the Black Market and purchase a good-quality weapon," he decided. His battle with the Silver King had made one thing clear—he needed a better weapon to fully unleash his strength.
Rising to his feet, he dusted himself off and took a deep breath. The journey through the forest had been nothing short of transformative.
"This trip has been amazing for me," Uttar murmured, reflecting on his gains. "Now, I'm skilled in movement arts, my cultivation has reached the 5th Chakra, I've earned a fortune in gold coins, and I possess several valuable beast cores."
But among all his treasures, one stood out the most—the Ancient Void Vine. He reached into his bag, feeling the vine's faint energy pulsating through the cloth.
"The Ancient Void Vine…" he whispered, a hint of excitement in his voice. "This will be crucial when I attempt my breakthrough from the 7th Chakra to Sādhak."
With everything in place, there was no reason to stay any longer. His preparations for the tournament had to begin, and his first step was to leave the forest.
Uttar took one last glance at the wilderness around him, a smirk forming on his lips. "Time to move forward," he declared. With that, he turned and strode toward the exit, his next destination clear—the Black Market of Gunj Pradesh.
As Uttar prepared to leave the dense forest, he took out the VIP Card he had found in the Silver King's bag. Unlike an ordinary card, this one radiated a faint energy, indicating its special nature.
He examined it closely, his fingers tracing the intricate markings on its surface. "This card… it must have some kind of hidden function," he muttered.
Recalling what he knew about the Black Market, Uttar realized that this was no ordinary entry pass. The VIP Card was designed for select individuals, granting them access to the hidden underground world of trade, where anything—from rare beast cores to forbidden weapons—could be bought and sold.
"If this is truly a VIP card, then it must have a way to reveal the market's location," Uttar thought.
He placed the card on his palm and channeled his chakra into it. The moment his energy touched the card, it trembled slightly, emitting a dim glow. A sudden surge of information rushed into his mind—maps, secret paths, and the exact coordinates of the Black Market of Gunj Pradesh.
"So this is how it works… only those who infuse their chakra into the card can access the market's location," he whispered, a smirk forming on his lips.
Now that he knew the way, he didn't waste any more time. The tournament was only three days away, and he needed to purchase a high-quality weapon before facing strong opponents. With his mind made up, Uttar turned and left the forest, heading straight for the Black Market.