“Why are you blocking the way? Are you an idiot?”
Bai Ye was nudged in the shoulder, snapping him back to reality.
He glanced at the man who walked past him, not bothering to argue, and continued towards the Evil Spirit Troupe's standee.
The standee had two main points.
First, recruitment. Second, purchasing.
“Young man, are you interested?” A young man, seeing Bai Ye standing before the standee, immediately approached enthusiastically. “Do you know about the Hidden Dragon Society? Have they been chasing you? Those guys are incredibly cruel…”
“Stop…”
Bai Ye knew well that during its early recruitment phase, the Evil Spirit Troupe used the Hidden Dragon Society as bait.
The general idea was to gather those who had been bullied by the Hidden Dragon Society.
If you hadn't been bullied by them, it didn't matter.
The Evil Spirit Troupe would tell you that the Hidden Dragon Society was a vicious organization, numerous and powerful, hunting others, snatching God Stone fragments, and entering restricted areas collectively to hog the rewards from those missions and slaughter other chosen ones within.
So…
You don't want to be bullied by the Hidden Dragon Society, right?
You don't want to be isolated and helpless when they attack you, right?
Beyond that, of course, there was a hidden message…
You also want to bully others and snatch God Stone fragments like the Hidden Dragon Society, right?
You also want a group to monopolize restricted areas and claim mission rewards, right?
Excellent, we've reached a consensus.
Join the Evil Spirit Troupe, and you can have all of this too.
Bai Ye knew all this very clearly, so he decisively cut the man off.
Bai Ye had no interest in joining the Evil Spirit Troupe. Moreover, Bai Ye always felt that the Evil Spirit Troupe's rise in his past life was not only because their leader, Harvey, was a smart person, but also because…
The early president of the Hidden Dragon Society was an idiot.
Because the Evil Spirit Troupe offered, the Hidden Dragon Society could have offered the same.
Joining the Hidden Dragon Society, of course, meant you wouldn't be bullied by them.
Joining the Hidden Dragon Society also meant you could join them in bullying others.
So, why must it be the Evil Spirit Troupe?
If Bai Ye were the president of the Hidden Dragon Society, he would have started recruiting with the exact same conditions.
This was a winning hand, a clear move that could have completely stifled the Evil Spirit Troupe's development.
Unfortunately, the current president of the Hidden Dragon Society might not have had a good head on his shoulders, always focusing on developing the chosen ones from his own world as the core.
Initially, he was only consolidating his forces, never considering recruitment, which gave the Evil Spirit Troupe the opportunity to grow.
Sometimes, a leader with brains is indeed very important.
At least in Bai Ye's past life, the Hidden Dragon Society wasn't exactly a hand dealt with terrible cards, but without comparison, there was no harm.
If you knew the origin story of the Evil Spirit Troupe and then compared it to the Hidden Dragon Society, the skill levels of their respective leaders were clearly not on the same tier.
However, what did this have to do with Bai Ye?
Bai Ye had no intention of interfering with the Hidden Dragon Society; after all, they had foundations and would surely develop. But concerning the Evil Spirit Troupe, Bai Ye wouldn't mind giving them a little help.
“I don’t intend to join you,” Bai Ye pointed to the “purchasing” sign. “I have something I want to sell, but it's a bit special. I don't think ordinary people can offer me satisfactory compensation, but perhaps your Evil Spirit Troupe can.”
“Oh?” The man didn't seem bothered by Bai Ye's refusal and smiled. “What do you intend to sell that requires describing it as 'special'?”
Bai Ye said, “Restricted Area!”
The man froze. “Restricted Area?”
Could a restricted area even be sold?
Bai Ye glanced at the standee. “You really hate the Hidden Dragon Society, don't you?”
The man nodded. “Of course. I nearly died at their hands. Do I not have a reason to resent them?”
Bai Ye smiled. “Then you should be quite familiar with the Hidden Dragon Society's modus operandi, right?”
The man said, “Indeed, I know quite a bit.”
Bai Ye continued, “Then you should know how they deal with restricted areas. Once they find one, they don't enter immediately. Instead, they gather enough people and then activate it.”
The man nodded. “That way, they have enough manpower to slaughter others at will within the restricted area and have a high chance of completing the mission.”
Bai Ye asked, “So, why can’t a restricted area be sold?”
As he spoke, Bai Ye took out a fragment of the Heart of Dawn. “With this, one can enter the Primordial Domain.”
The man looked at the Heart of Dawn, hesitated, and said, “I need to discuss this with someone. This is the first time I’ve encountered someone selling a restricted area.”
Bai Ye casually extended his hand. “Please do.”
The man took out a paper crane and handed it to Bai Ye. “I'll need some time. You can wander around for now, and I'll contact you with this paper crane.”
Bai Ye nodded.
The man extended his hand. “My name is Gao Ming.”
Bai Ye shook Gao Ming's hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
After speaking, Gao Ming asked others to watch the standee and then hurried away.
Bai Ye watched Gao Ming's retreating back. Was the person he needed to discuss with Harvey Stanson?
Currently, the Evil Spirit Troupe wasn't very large, so Harvey might be involved personally. However, Bai Ye recalled Harvey Stanson spending most of his time in the magic region and later settling in the cyberpunk region.
So, the possibility of him appearing here wasn't very high.
Thinking this, Bai Ye sauntered off to the side.
Bai Ye currently possessed the Insect Breathing style and two Blood Demon Arts. And…
After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the most frustrating thing for Bai Ye was…
The Thunder Breathing style and Instant Transmission were useless!
With the teleportation ability of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit via its electric field, Bai Ye found the Thunder Breathing style redundant. Even the value of Instant Transmission diminished.
The teleportation of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had no time limit and didn't require targeting. As long as he was within an electric field, he could use it, making other movement abilities largely unnecessary.
However, Bai Ye had already used both, so they couldn't be traded.
Lost in thought, Bai Ye walked through the market.
Suddenly, Bai Ye stopped and looked at a stall to the side, with a standee next to it.
The stall owner was selling a weapon—the Thunder Fang Fury Beast.
Bai Ye knew this weapon. It was a black-quality weapon, resembling both a saber and a sword, difficult to categorize precisely due to its lightning-shaped, exotic blade.
Bai Ye knew of it because he had once drawn it from a gacha machine.
Seeing it unexpectedly now made Bai Ye's eyes light up.
The effect of the Thunder Fang Fury Beast weapon was highly compatible with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!