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After entering the city, Ning Tianchen turned into a side street at a fork in the road.
The street was bustling with people. Stalls lined both sides of the market, their displays filled with all sorts of goods. People of every description moved through the throng, and the clamor of voices rose and fell continuously.
"Wow, the city is so lively."
This scene reminded him of the bustling markets he had seen in his childhood during his previous life.
It seemed this was the marketplace of Balak City.
The city was vast, and he certainly wouldn't search for Ning Rongrong block by block.
Based on his understanding of her, Ning Rongrong would surely come to such a lively marketplace if she encountered it.
Moreover, Ning Rongrong was always generous with her spending. Whenever she went shopping, if she saw something she liked, she would even buy out the entire store.
With a little inquiry, it wouldn't be difficult to track her down.
As he walked through the busy streets, Ning Tianchen's eyes not only scanned the crowd but also glanced at the various stalls along the way.
The array of goods was dazzling—there was no way to take it all in with just a single glance.
Not long after, Ning Tianchen's attention was drawn to a stall selling miscellaneous items.
He approached, picked up a book from the stall, and examined it closely, confirming that he hadn't misread the title.
"The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls?"
If he remembered correctly, wasn't this one of Master Yu's works?
Could it be that Master Yu had come to Balak City?
Thinking this, Ning Tianchen raised his head and glanced at the owner of the stall.
In his memory, Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, but the shopkeeper before him was an old man with white hair and a beard.
The old man's body radiated strength and vitality—he clearly wasn't the kind of person who idled away his days like Yu Xiaogang.
Lying back in his rocking chair, the old man grumbled, "If you're not buying, don't touch!"
Ning Tianchen didn't get upset. Instead, he held up the book and asked, "This book isn't common. If I'm not mistaken, it was never officially published. This copy is either a rare edition or a handwritten manuscript."
The old man, naturally aware of the book's origins, replied dismissively, "This was left here by an old friend of mine for consignment sale. However, if you recognize the author of this book, I'll give it to you for free."
Ning Tianchen didn't rush to respond. Instead, he flipped through the book's contents.
Sure enough, the content inside was Yu Xiaogang's "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls." Nine of the ten points were common knowledge, already proposed by others long ago.
From the books Ning Tianchen had read in the sect's library, he could immediately identify the sources of five of these theories. Yet Yu Xiaogang, when writing the book, hadn't cited these sources and instead presented them as his own ideas.
What's more, he shamelessly added his own commentary to each point.
However, anyone from a prominent family could easily spot the plagiarism in his work.
The only original point in the book was, ironically, a veiled insult to himself.
Such a book would have been better suited as an introductory guide or encyclopedia rather than being passed off as Yu Xiaogang's original theories.
Still, it might come in handy later when researching soul master theories—it could save time looking things up.
"I won't take it for free," Ning Tianchen said, placing a gold spirit coin on the stall.
"Hoho, what an interesting young fellow. I think we'll meet again soon," the old man chuckled, covering his face with a palm-leaf fan and ignoring everyone else.
"What a strange old man," Ning Tianchen muttered quietly.
This book must have been written by Yu Xiaogang. However, given Yu Xiaogang's wide network of acquaintances, there was no telling who he might have gifted copies of the book to.
Tucking the book into his chest pocket, Ning Tianchen continued searching for Ning Rongrong on the street.
It wasn't that he refused to store the book in his soul-guidance device—it was simply that there were too many pickpockets around. If he weren't careful, his soul-guidance ring could be stolen, and then he'd have no way to explain it to Ning Rongrong.
…
After browsing for about half an hour, Ning Tianchen spotted another book stall.
Curious, he approached the stall.
His gaze swept across the display and finally settled on a book without a cover.
Picking it up, he flipped to the first page.
This was a compendium filled with illustrations of various herbs, along with descriptions of their effects and characteristics.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't look if you're not buying! If you finish reading it here, who else will buy it?" Seeing Ning Tianchen absorbed in the book, the middle-aged shopkeeper snatched it back.
During the snatch, Ning Tianchen caught a glimpse of the last few pages. It seemed the herbs recorded there were miraculous herbs.
Now that the book was back in the shopkeeper's hands, Ning Tianchen couldn't confirm whether they were truly miraculous herbs.
Pausing briefly, he smiled and asked, "Boss, may I ask where this book came from?"
The shopkeeper eyed him suspiciously and snorted, "These books were collected from around the city. If you're not buying, move along and stop bothering other customers."
Ning Tianchen gave a faint smile and pulled out a gold spirit coin from his pocket. "Boss, I enjoy hearing stories. If this book has a story behind it, this gold spirit coin is yours."
As a member of a wealthy family, Ning Tianchen certainly wasn't short on money.
Seeing the gleaming gold spirit coin, the shopkeeper nearly drooled.
But knowing his own affairs, this book had no real story behind it. It was simply something he had acquired while collecting junk from a noble household a few days ago.
Since the book's condition wasn't bad, he had decided to sell it separately.
"Oh? Which noble family?" Ning Tianchen asked.
The shopkeeper gave a bitter smile. "I think it was the Long She (Dragon Serpent) Family, or maybe the Ruan Family—I can't quite remember."
Ning Tianchen stroked his chin thoughtfully.
If it had come from a noble family, the herbs recorded in this book were likely genuine.
He tossed the gold spirit coin into the shopkeeper's hand, and the man wisely handed the book over.
Flipping through its contents, Ning Tianchen saw descriptions of many herbs that were both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Aromatic Silk Beauty, Ink Jade Divine Bamboo…"
The herbs recorded in this compendium were at the very least high-grade medicinal plants, and most of the rest were miraculous herbs.
Miraculous herbs were incredibly rare. The family that once owned this book probably never found any of the herbs listed within, deemed it useless, and discarded it carelessly.
Besides, many of the miraculous herbs in the book didn't specify their uses, making the book practically worthless to the average person.
…
After wandering through the marketplace for about an hour, a large crowd suddenly gathered ahead of him.
"Hurry up and check it out! The young miss of the Long She Family is having a public spat with some rich girl. The scene… you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss it!"
Some people began to cheer, and others quickly joined in.
Ning Tianchen searched his memories and recalled that the Long She Family should be the family of the legendary Dragon Serpent couple. Their granddaughter, Meng Yiran, was likely the young miss being referred to.
Meng Yiran's fiery temperament made it entirely plausible for her to get into a public argument.
Besides, her family was based in Balak City, so she had no reason to fear anything.
As for the other rich girl…
Ning Tianchen's heart tightened. "Could it be Rongrong?!"
Given Ning Rongrong's personality, it was entirely possible for her to do something like this.
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