"Damn, these two young men are both Hua Jin masters. That's incredible."
"The Martial Arts Convention is truly a place where dragons and hidden tigers reside. Normally, you wouldn't see a single martial artist, but here, not only are there countless martial artists, but you can even see two Hua Jin masters at once."
"I heard one of them doesn't even have a family. To cultivate to Hua Jin without the support of family resources, this person's future achievements are definitely limitless."
"If we could achieve half of their success in our lifetime, we'd be smiling."
As Du Fei and Fang Chao easily passed the verification and received their specially made martial arts convention identification, surprised voices erupted from the crowd.
While Hua Jin masters weren't unheard of, this martial arts convention was only open to martial artists under thirty.
To cultivate to Hua Jin before thirty was considered exceptionally talented even among the ten great martial arts families, and they were renowned among martial artists.
However, Du Fei and Fang Chao were both strangers, and their surnames had no connection to the ten great families, which made everyone even more astonished.
As soon as the two finished their verification, many people immediately stepped forward to express their goodwill and tried to befriend them.
But Du Fei disliked socializing, and Fang Chao understood this well, so they politely declined.
"I didn't expect us to directly advance in the first round. Let's go watch the excitement then."
Fang Chao had originally planned to showcase his skills on the stage after registering, but he hadn't anticipated direct advancement.
If he had known, he wouldn't have bothered with verification and would have just queued up with the ordinary martial artists, so he could have fought to his heart's content.
Du Fei, seeing Fang Chao's disappointed expression, couldn't help but show a faint smile.
The stage was very close to the registration area, only a two or three-minute walk away.
"Ha!"
"Hu!"
As they got closer, they could hear shouts coming from the stage.
However, after watching for more than ten minutes, Fang Chao completely lost interest.
This was because the martial artists in the stands had a vastly different level of skill compared to him. Their sparring lacked any discernible techniques or watchability; it was simply a contest of who had more strength and could endure more.
"I thought I'd see some exciting fights, but it's so boring."
As Fang Chao looked at Du Fei, the latter was also looking at him.
Just as they were discussing whether to just go back and return tomorrow, a conversation drifted into their ears.
"Huh, wasn't the exchange meet usually held after the Martial Arts Convention ended? Why is it starting so early this year?"
"Speaking of which, the Xie family is really good at business. They said that in previous years, after the martial arts convention ended, private exchange meets often led to backstabbing and even robbery and murder. So, the Xie family specifically prepared a venue and guaranteed everyone's personal and property safety."
"Of course, the Xie family also charges a certain fee."
"However, most people prefer this safe transaction method, which is why this year's Martial Arts Convention has a trade fair starting from the very first day."
Du Fei and Fang Chao exchanged a glance. Fang Chao went over, struck up a conversation with the martial artists who were talking, and inquired about the location of the trading fair.
Although Fang Chao had nothing to trade, since he was already there and the matches on the stage were uninteresting, he decided to browse the exchange meet.
"Strength Pills, one hundred thousand each. After consumption, your strength will double!"
"Five-hundred-year-old ginseng, an excellent raw material for alchemy and medicine. Willing to trade for pills that enhance cultivation."
"Golden Silk Soft Armor. Once worn, you'll be impervious to blades and spears, an absolute protective artifact that you'll cherish!"
"Eternal erection, a man's blessing, a woman's delight. Step right up, don't miss out!"
On a cleared space near the mountainside, squares had been drawn in advance, furnished with tables and chairs.
More than half of the squares were occupied, with people hawking their wares laid out on their tables.
With so many martial artists gathered together, acting like ordinary vendors, it was quite an amusing sight.
Du Fei and Fang Chao entered and began browsing the numerous stalls.
After browsing for a while, they discovered that most stalls only accepted bartering, with only a few accepting money. However, the amounts required were staggering.
After all, these were already martial artists, most of whom had some wealth. Ordinary money wasn't of much use to them anymore.
For them, items that could improve their cultivation or combat power were the most practical.
"Brother, I've got good stuff here. Just tell me what catches your eye, and I'll give you a discount."
Du Fei and Fang Chao stopped at a stall.
Fang Chao had taken a fancy to a dagger on display. It had a unique design, and its blade gleamed with a cold light, clearly indicating its sharpness.
After examining it for a while, Fang Chao held up the dagger and asked the stall owner, "How much for this dagger?"
"Brother, you have discerning taste. This dagger is a treasure rarely seen in a hundred years. Crafted from thousand-year-old cold iron, it can shave hair and cut through metal as if it were mud..."
"Tch."
As the stall owner was enthusiastically bragging about his dagger, Du Fei, standing beside Fang Chao, couldn't help but chuckle.
This guy was truly spouting nonsense without a second thought. The dagger looked quite sharp, but it was merely a trick of the eye on the blade. In reality, it was just a dagger with a slightly special design.
Fang Chao couldn't see through it, but that didn't mean Du Fei couldn't.
"What do you mean, brother?" The stall owner's face darkened as he heard Du Fei's laughter and stared at him.
"No, no, it's nothing like that."
Fang Chao quickly tried to smooth things over.
However, the stall owner insisted that with so many people watching, Du Fei was slandering his treasure blade and must either buy it or apologize to him.
Fang Chao saw the growing crowd and didn't want to become the center of attention. He was prepared to buy the dagger to resolve the situation.
"Wait!"
Du Fei first stopped Fang Chao, then looked at the stall owner and said, "Originally, your selling of fake goods was none of my business. But now that you're trying to cheat my friend and you're still calling this a treasure blade, you want me to apologize for your shameless behavior? How laughable!!"
"Damn it! Do you think just because we're at the Xie family's place, I won't dare to touch you? I'm going all out today!!!"
The stall owner was provoked by Du Fei's words. His eyes were red as he glared at Du Fei, looking as if he would lunge at him at any moment.
Fang Chao's eyes widened in surprise. He had never imagined things would escalate like this.
However, since Du Fei said there was something wrong with this treasure blade, there definitely was. After all, he had known Du Fei for a long time and trusted his character implicitly.
He recalled that if Du Fei hadn't given him a Marrow Cleansing Pill earlier, he wouldn't have even qualified for this martial arts convention.
"Since you claim this is a treasure blade, how about I stand here and let you slash me with it?"
At this moment, Du Fei said something that shocked everyone present, including Fang Chao.