Sighing at the extravagance of the Blue Wind Society Hall, Duncan shook his head to clear the depressive feelings and longing that emanated from deep in his heart and focused on the other bit of information that he had gleaned due to his eavesdropping.
It was this that piqued more interest to his current self.
According to the discussions, several young talents from the righteous sects had gathered together and had initiated a hunt to chase him down. Apparently, The Dark Star City was one of the places where they have based themselves out of.
Duncan didn't know when he offended so many people. The news really took him by surprise. His name was in the mouths of various parties. His popularity was currently just a step below the bottle of Millenium Spirit Milk that was going to be auctioned next week.
Having so many young talents searching for him had become a hot topic to discuss amongst onlookers in the past two days. This group of prodigals had announced extravagant rewards to anyone who gave valid information about his whereabouts.
Hearing about the rewards, even Duncan was a little tempted to turn himself in.
Furthermore, these young talents from various forces didn't even have the decency to list out his crimes. They just stated that they were hunting him and asked for information outright. Such a behavior made not only Duncan but also the onlookers speechless.
Right now, most of the discussion amongst the loose cultivators was about what he did to incur such universal wrath. Hearing about the various speculations, even Duncan was a little dumbfounded.
Their reasonings ranged from spoiling multiple fairy maidens to stealing heavily guarded treasures. Some of them went further ahead and said that he had done something so unspeakable that the young talents were unwilling to disclose despite their anger towards him.
Duncan didn't know whether to laugh or cry about this pot of bad water that had been splashed on him. He didn't know what caused all this. He was completely clueless as to why these cultivators from the righteous factions were searching for him.
After his actions in Starmist City, he had at most expected to be hunted down by the Iron Mountain Sect. But, this big of a hunt was really not something he had even dreamt of happening. And it had only been two days since he came out of seclusion.
As a result of the extravagant rewards and the mystery of why he was being hunted down by the young talents of the various forces, Duncan had become very infamous in the entire Star Empire.
As one of the organizing points for this hunt, Duncan's infamy in the Dark Star City can be said to be at an all-time high. Almost everyone was speculating about his supposed deeds and the lucrative rewards.
From the time he entered the bar till now, several search parties have been formed amongst the loose cultivators to hunt down information about him. The only reason a blanket search hadn't been conducted so far to unmask his identity was that the security in the Dark Star City was at an all-time high due to the auction that was going to be held next week.
However, Duncan wasn't worried about the hunt at all. From what he had gathered, these so-called young talents were all at the Spirit Sea realm. With his current prowess, Duncan didn't feel the need to be cautious unless the person hunting him down was in the middle stages of the Violet Palace realm.
Even though Duncan wasn't worried about being hunted down by these so-called young talents, he didn't think it would be prudent to stay for long in the Dark Star City. Things escalating within the blink of an eye are pretty common in the cultivation world.
With so many people looking for him, it would only be a matter of time before his identity would be exposed. Once exposed, these so-called young talents would constantly hound him without giving him enough rest. Who knows when someone who is of higher cultivation will also take part in the hunt? Till now, he doesn't know why he was being hunted. So, being cautious was the best option for now.
Duncan wanted to be done with his errands and leave the Dark Star City as soon as possible. While he wasn't worried about the exposure and subsequent hunt, Duncan felt that it was a needless risk. The only thing that mattered to him currently was to accumulate enough resources and break into the Violet Palace realm as soon as possible.
Everything else can be postponed for a while.
So, Duncan decided to not waste any time and head to the black market directly to get rid of his ill-gotten gains. Rising up from his chair, Duncan calmly paid the tab and walked out of the bar with his mask on without any strange behavior.
Turning right from the bar, he soon came towards the entrance of the black market present in the city. In most cities, black markets were mostly located in impoverished regions.
Black markets are things that belonged to the dark. While everyone was aware of their existence, people usually didn't talk openly or care about it due to the low-key behavior exhibited by the people managing the black market.
However, in Dark Star City, the entrance to the black market was a large store that was both grand in appearance and extravagant in its design. In Dark Star City, the black market always had an important position. They were like the Shadow Pavilion and Blue Wind Society Hall.
The unique culture of the Dark Star City enabled the black market in the city to operate openly. With most people wearing masks to hide their identity, the people behind the black market didn't feel the need to hide like they usually did and operate in the dark.
Here, the black market operated openly and above board. Even the shops present in the black market looked no different from the regular shops that were present in the city elsewhere.
Duncan walked into the black market and made his way towards a shop that specialized in dealing with the kinds of black goods he had after some enquiry. Stepping into the shop, Duncan handed over the items he wished to sell in a storage ring to the shop attendant.
Looking at the attendant while he evaluated the value of good, Duncan was a little startled to see his cultivation was in the Spirit Sea realm. Even the attendant manning the shop was at the Spirit Sea realm. This refreshed Duncan's view about the background of the black market.
The black market wasn't an official organization. But, it had its own structure and power hierarchy. There wasn't any single force behind the black market. However, that only made it scarier. The large number of intertwined interests made sure that no one messed with the black market openly.
There was an infamous sect from the righteous path known as the Jade Star Sect. A higher-up of the Jade Star Sect once came into conflict with the black market due to some bad business. He didn't put the black market in his eyes and declared that he would eradicate all traces of the black market if he wasn't compensated for his loss.
At that time, the Jade Star Sect was a well-known first-tier force. There were several Nascent Soul level cultivators sitting in the sect. When the representatives from the black market tried to negotiate with the Jade Star Sect, they arrogantly refused to back down and announced their complete support to the cultivator hailing from the Jade Star Sect.
Within two days, the entire Jade Star Sect was decimated. Its orthodoxy was cut off and every disciple belonging to the sect was killed. Even servant disciples weren't left behind. Everything was annihilated within two days.
The scariest part was that no one knew who was behind such culling. No faction came forward to take credit. Everyone from the black market acted as if nothing happened and carried on with their activities.
This caused a huge uproar. While several righteous factions were dissatisfied, they didn't dare to shout out. The water behind the black market was very murky. No one knew all the powers associated with it. From then on, no one dared to cause trouble in the black markets across the Dragon Scale Continent.
Even though no official force took credit, that incident was enough for people to understand the inconspicuous black market that they used to look down upon had its own backer.
From then on, the power behind the black markets spread across the Dragon Scale Continent was called the Black Market Syndicate. However, the Black Market Syndicate was unique in a way that no one knew who the actual in-charge was. Everyone could only agree that the water here was too murky to figure out the dynamics between the various powers who have a foothold here.
Ever since then, the black market has been one of the places where no one dared to cause trouble. Even members of Blue Wind Society Hall and Shadow Pavillion will follow the rules when they visit the black market. The three hegemonic sects and even Duncan's Heavenly Demon Sect weren't an exception to it either.
However, despite this, the black markets across the continent only acted in a low-key manner. Only in the Dark Star City can the real power behind the black market be glimpsed slightly.
After the attendant finished evaluating the worth of the goods Duncan had given to him, the attendant returned with an appropriate amount of spirit stones. Duncan collected the spirit stones and turned around to leave, only to come up short the moment he exited the shop.
Right before him, a familiar figure was being led with a leash towards the interior of the black market…
