The moon was high, obscured by the thick, medicinal smog that always hung over the Blue Dragon Sect.
Jin Ryeong moved through the shadows of the outer wall. As a Disposal Servant, he possessed one thing the Inner Disciples didn't: knowledge of the sewage drains.
He slipped through a cracked grate near the western waste chute—the one used to dump toxic sludge from the Pill Halls. The smell was atrocious, a mix of sulfur and rotting herbs, but it masked his scent perfectly.
He emerged thirty minutes later in the forest outside the sect. He didn't stop. He pulled a rough cloth mask over his face, hiding his features, and walked toward the valley where the lanterns burned green.
Ghost Street.
It was a black market that clung to the sect's periphery like a tumor. Here, rogue cultivators, thieves, and corrupt disciples traded things the Elders pretended didn't exist.
Jin Ryeong stepped onto the muddy road. The noise hit him first—the shouting of hawkers, the clang of metal, and the smell of roasted beast meat masking the metallic tang of blood.
He touched the sash at his waist.
Silver: 65 Taels.
Weapon: None (The iron poker was left behind).
Pet: Queen Larva (Vibrating hungrily in his pocket).
He needed a weapon. But good steel cost hundreds of taels. He had to be smarter.
"Spirit Grass! Stolen directly from the Elder's garden!" a merchant yelled. "Beast Cores! Grade 1! Guaranteed to explode your dantian or double your power!" another shouted.
Jin Ryeong's eyes scanned the stalls.
[System: Diagnosis Eye (Passive)]
Target: "Spirit Grass" -> [Analysis: Common weed dipped in luminescent dye. Value: 0.]
Target: "Beast Core" -> [Analysis: Dried kidney of a wild dog. Toxicity: Moderate.]
"Trash. Trash. Scam," Jin Ryeong muttered.
He walked deeper into the market, toward "Scrap Alley." This was where scavengers sold broken weapons and unidentified ores found in ancient ruins or battlefields.
The Larva in his pocket buzzed.
Hungry.
Jin Ryeong stopped at a stall run by a one-eyed old man. The table was piled high with rusted metal—broken sword hilts, cracked breastplates, and lumps of undefined ore.
"Looking for scrap to melt down, boy?" the old man grunted, not looking up from his pipe. "One silver for a kilo."
Jin Ryeong reached into the pile. He picked up a rusted dagger handle.
[Analysis: Rusted Iron. Durability: 0.]
He tossed it back. He picked up a cracked shield fragment.
[Analysis: Bronze. Durability: 5.]
The Larva buzzed harder. It was reacting to something in the pile.
Jin Ryeong moved his hand slowly. The buzzing intensified near a jagged, black lump of metal that looked like slag. It was ugly, covered in barnacles of rust.
He touched it.
[System Alert: High-Grade Material Detected.]
[Item: Meteorite Iron Essence (Encased in filth).]
[Purity: 85%] [Hidden Attribute: Conductive to Poison Qi.]
Jin Ryeong's heart skipped a beat. Meteorite Iron (Star Steel) was a Tier-3 material. A weapon made of this would cost 500 taels easily.
But to the naked eye, it looked like a rock.
"How much for this rock?" Jin Ryeong asked, feigning disinterest. He picked up two other pieces of actual junk to blend it in. "I need ballast for a fishing net."
The old man squinted. "That lump? It's heavy. Hard to melt. Five silver."
Five silver was robbery for a rock, but a steal for Star Steel.
"Three," Jin Ryeong countered.
"Four. And you take the rusted cleaver too. I'm trying to clear space."
"Deal."
Jin Ryeong paid the coins. He felt the weight of the Star Steel in his hand. It was cold, dense.
As he turned to leave, a hand clamped onto his shoulder.
"Hold on, little brother."
Jin Ryeong froze.
He didn't turn around immediately. He checked his status.
Qi: 1/2. (Recovered 1 point during the walk).
Constitution: 13.
He turned. Three men stood there. They wore leather armor, not sect robes. Mercenaries. Or bandits. The leader had a scar running down his cheek and was eyeing the "rock" in Jin Ryeong's hand.
"That's a nice piece of ore you bought," the bandit leader smiled, showing yellow teeth.
"I was eyeing it myself. I'll give you double what you paid. Eight silver."
Jin Ryeong narrowed his eyes. The bandit didn't know it was Star Steel. He just saw a weak kid buying something and wanted to bully him. If Jin refused, they would mug him. If he accepted, he lost the treasure.
"It's sold," Jin Ryeong said, his voice low.
"I insist," the bandit stepped closer, his hand drifting to the hilt of a saber at his waist.
"This is Ghost Street. Accidents happen to greedy boys."
The other two bandits circled behind Jin Ryeong.
Jin Ryeong sighed.
"You really want this rock?"
"I do."
"Fine." Jin Ryeong held out the black lump.
The bandit smirked and reached for it. "Smart choice."
As the bandit's hand touched the metal, Jin Ryeong triggered his inventory.
[Skill: Thousand Venom Hand (Active)]
Cost: 1 Qi.
Medium: The Meteorite Iron (Conductive).
Jin Ryeong didn't touch the bandit. He channeled his Qi into the conductive Star Steel.
The metal flashed grey for a split second.
The bandit grabbed the rock. "AAARGH!"
He screamed, dropping the rock instantly. He stared at his palm. The skin where he had touched the metal was blistering, turning black and peeling away as if he had grabbed a red-hot coal.
"My hand! My hand is burning!"
The other two bandits drew their weapons.
"You little..."
Jin Ryeong didn't fight.
He kicked the heavy Star Steel rock into the air, caught it with his sleeve covering his hand, and shouted: "POISON MASTER! MAKE WAY!"
He sprinted.
In the Cultivation World, shouting "Poison Master" was like shouting "Leper" or "Bomb." The crowd parted instantly, terrified of getting touched.
The bandits hesitated. Their leader was on the ground, foaming at the mouth from the shock of the necrotic Qi.
By the time they decided to chase, Jin Ryeong had vanished into the smog, clutching his prize.
He reached the safety of the forest edge and leaned against a tree, panting.
He looked at the Star Steel. He looked at his Larva, which was now crawling out of his pocket, clicking its mandibles excitedly at the metal.
"You want it?" Jin Ryeong whispered. "Eat."
He placed the Queen Larva on the Star Steel. The insect bit down. Its jaws, reinforced from the poison leech, crunched into the meteorite iron.
CRUNCH.
[System Notification]
[Pet 'Queen Larva' is consuming 'Meteorite Iron Essence'.]
[Evolution Triggered.]
[Metamorphosis: 5 minutes.]