After entering the city, Ning Tianchen turned into the street on the right at a fork in the road.
This street was bustling with people, crowded and lively. Stalls lined both sides of the street, displaying a dazzling array of goods, while all sorts of people weaved through the crowd, and the noise rose and fell like waves.
"Wow, the city is actually this lively."
The scene reminded him of what he had seen in his childhood in villages and towns in his past life.
This must be the marketplace of Balak City.
The city was so big, of course he wouldn't try to search every street block for Ning Rongrong.
Based on his understanding of her, whenever she encountered such a bustling market, she would definitely come to join the fun.
Moreover, Ning Rongrong was generous with her spending; every time she went out shopping, if she liked something, she would even buy out the entire stock.
With just a little inquiry, it wouldn't be difficult to find her.
Walking along the busy market street, Ning Tianchen's eyes not only watched the people nearby but also kept scanning the stalls out of the corner of his eye.
The merchandise was dazzling and diverse, impossible to fully take in at just a glance.
Before long, Ning Tianchen's gaze was drawn to a stall selling miscellaneous items.
He approached, picked up a book on the stall, and examined it carefully to confirm he wasn't mistaken.
"'The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls'?"
If he remembered correctly, wasn't this a work by a certain master?
Could it be that the master had come to Balak City?
Thinking this, he raised his head and glanced at the stall owner.
In his impression, Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man with a crew cut. But the person before him was an elderly man with graying hair and beard.
The old man's physique was strong and sturdy, clearly not the type of lethargic man Yu Xiaogang was known to be.
The old man was reclining in a rocking chair, humming lightly, "If you're not buying, then don't touch it!"
Ning Tianchen wasn't annoyed. Holding up the book, he asked, "This book is rare. If I'm not mistaken, it has never been officially published. So this must either be a unique copy or a handwritten manuscript."
The old man obviously knew the book's origin and replied lightly, "This was left here for consignment sale by an old friend of mine. But if you know the author of this book, then I'll just give it to you."
Ning Tianchen did not rush to answer but opened the book to read its contents.
Sure enough, the book discussed the "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls" proposed by Yu Xiaogang. Nine of the points were common knowledge and had long been proposed by others.
Ning Tianchen, having seen books in the sect's library, could immediately recognize the source of five of these theories. Yet Yu Xiaogang, when writing the book, didn't cite any sources but claimed these as his original theories.
Moreover, shamelessly, he added his own opinions to each theory.
However, any member of a prominent family could easily see the plagiarized content.
The only point that wasn't plagiarized was actually a disguised criticism of himself.
If treated as an introductory popular science book, it would be fine, but insisting it was Yu Xiaogang's original work was ridiculous.
Well, he'd keep it anyway. It might be useful later when researching soul master theories.
"I'm not taking it for free," he said, placing a gold soul coin on the stall.
"Heh, interesting little fellow. I think we'll meet again soon," the old man chuckled lightly, covering his face with a fan and ignoring everyone else.
"What a weird old man," Ning Tianchen murmured.
This book was definitely created after Yu Xiaogang's time. But since Yu Xiaogang had extensive connections, who knew how many people he had gifted copies to?
Tucking the book away, he continued searching the streets for Ning Rongrong.
He didn't want to store the book inside his soul ring yet, as there were many pickpockets here. A moment's carelessness and his soul ring could be stolen, which would be hard to explain to Ning Rongrong.
...
After about half an hour of wandering, Ning Tianchen discovered another bookstall.
Curious, he approached it.
His eyes scanned the books and finally rested on one without a cover.
Picking it up, he flipped open the first page.
It was an illustrated guide, depicting various herbs along with descriptions of their effects and characteristics.
"Hey hey hey, don't just look without buying! If you finish reading it, who else am I going to sell the book to?" The middle-aged owner snatched the book back when he saw Ning Tianchen engrossed in reading.
As the book was taken away, Ning Tianchen caught a glimpse of the last few pages which seemed to record some kind of immortal herbs.
Since the owner had taken back the book, Ning Tianchen couldn't confirm if they really were immortal herbs.
Pausing briefly, he smiled and asked the owner, "Boss, may I ask where this book came from?"
The owner glanced at him warily and snorted, "These books I collected around the city. If you're not buying, then get lost and don't disturb others who want to buy."
Ning Tianchen smiled faintly, took out a gold soul coin from his pocket, and said, "Boss, I like stories. If there's a story behind this book, this coin is yours."
As a member of a big family, money was the least of his worries.
The shop owner looked at the shining gold soul coin, almost drooling.
However, those who know their own business understand the truth — there was no real story behind this book. It was just recently picked up as scrap from a noble family's household.
Seeing that the book was in decent condition, he decided to sell it separately.
"Oh? Which noble family?" Ning Tianchen asked.
The owner smiled bitterly, "I think it was the Longshe family, or maybe the Ruan family... I'm not quite sure."
Ning Tianchen stroked his chin thoughtfully.
If this book had leaked out from a major family, the herbs recorded inside were probably genuine.
He tossed the gold soul coin into the owner's hand, who wisely handed the book over to him.
Flipping through the contents, Ning Tianchen saw many herbs that were both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Fragrant Qiluo Immortal Grade, Ink Jade Divine Bamboo..."
The herbs recorded in this guide were at least high-level medicinal materials, and most were immortal herbs.
Immortal herbs were extremely rare. The family that once owned this book probably never found the herbs listed within, so they considered it a useless book and casually discarded it.
Besides, many of the immortal herbs in the book had no clearly marked effects, so it would be useless to ordinary people.
...
After wandering the market for about the length of a stick of incense, suddenly a large crowd gathered directly ahead.
"Quick, come see! The eldest daughter of the Longshe family is having a public fight with a little rich lady. If you miss it, you'll regret it for life!"
Someone started to stir up excitement, and others quickly responded.
Ning Tianchen searched his memory and recalled that the Longshe family should be the family of the famous martial couple, the Mighty Dragon and Serpent.
The eldest daughter of the family was probably their granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
Meng Yiran's fiery temper could definitely lead her to argue openly on the street.
Moreover, her family was based in Balak City — she had no reason to be afraid.
As for the other little rich lady—
Ning Tianchen's heart tightened. "Could it be Rongrong?"
With Ning Rongrong's personality, she was definitely capable of causing such a scene.