Chapter 430 - 271: Eternal Night Forest

Chapter 430: Chapter 271: Eternal Night Forest

Yu Fei briefly explored the small town named Museen before entering the realm.

The internal environment of this realm, the Forest of Savage Beasts, was extremely complex, but it had its own set of rules.

Many Martial Artists explored this place year-round. They had a wealth of experience and often led teams.

This way, they not only earned a share of the exploration’s profits but also a hiring fee.

People like this were called Forest Rangers.

Yu Fei stayed for two or three days, getting a general sense of the situation. The small town didn’t have much foot traffic.

It wasn’t until he entered the Cross-Border Black Fog that he discovered something different.

This was a huge city, a city of Martial Artists stretching as far as the eye could see, full of dazzling lights and debauchery.

Over hundreds of years, the Martial Artists who had continuously settled in this open realm had built it into a city with a distinctly antiquated atmosphere.

There were no towering skyscrapers. Nearly all the buildings in sight were made of wood. As Yu Fei scanned the area with his senses, he noticed that the wood faintly emanated an extraordinary aura.

This wooden city had a unique style. All sorts of wooden buildings shot up from the ground, varying in height and size, each with its own bizarre architectural design.

’So that’s how it is,’ Yu Fei understood. ’As an open realm, there’s no government oversight. The major factions must look down on this place, so freelance Martial Artists hang around here year-round, forming this unique ecosystem.’

And this city had a very strange name: Mengchu City!

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, the eight major gangs that had long operated in this realm established an alliance here. They pledged to help and support each other and to assist ordinary Martial Artists in establishing themselves and growing. Thus, the place came to be called Mengchu City.

To this day, the eight major gang seats are still maintained. However, after several hundred years, the gangs themselves have changed hands countless times, and the faces are now completely different.

After wandering around Mengchu City for a few days, Yu Fei came to understand the city’s structure.

Simply put, it was a city of gangs. Or rather, the long-term logic of survival in the Forest of Savage Beasts was gang warfare.

The people here were basically divided into two types. The first were lone wanderers, like Yu Fei, who came to experience the exotic atmosphere, hunt for treasure, or seek a breakthrough through life-and-death battles.

As long as they didn’t get involved in gang disputes, didn’t steal or rob, and spent their money normally, they could ask gang members for help with any problems within the city.

But outside the city limits, their lives were their own responsibility.

The other type were the Martial Artists who ran with the gangs. They had to complete various gang missions, which even included fighting each other.

Just like what was happening right now.

Yu Fei watched with his own eyes as two groups of people, armed with clubs and blades, swarmed a wide street and started brawling like a pack of thugs.

Blood spilled onto the streets, severed limbs flew through the air, and some were even killed on the spot.

These people weren’t at a high realm. Only a few of the leaders had barely reached the Inner Qi Realm, while most of the gang members were in the third or second realms.

He was in an establishment called the Wilderness Inn, savoring their signature dish: a meal called Clear Roasted Dragon.

The Hidden Dragon Beast was a common 3rd-rank desolate beast found in the forests around Mengchu City. It looked remarkably similar to the dragons of legend, with four claws and the ability to make short leaps through the air. It was covered in grayish-white fur and could change color to camouflage itself. Its only real distinction was its smaller size, being about as large as a bobcat.

Its meat was quite tender and contained a decent amount of energy. After being marinated and treated by a chef, it was roasted and served. The flavor was unique, but of course, the price was not low. It was listed at 3,299 merit points—about the same price as a single portion of cultivation resources for a second-realm practitioner.

Yu Fei was a bona fide wealthy bachelor now. After mining in the Golden Stone Gang Realm for so long, he had completely emptied three high-grade ore veins.

He had exchanged most of it for cultivation resources and had also used his teacher’s connections to convert some into about one billion merit points.

This amount of resources was staggering, even in the martial world. Most Grandmasters probably didn’t have this kind of wealth. And the heavenly materials and earthly treasures he had consumed were even more valuable.

"Young man, did that scare you?"

It was currently the afternoon, and there weren’t many people in the inn, so the foreman from the front desk came over to make some small talk.

It was because Yu Fei had ordered their signature dish right away, looking like he had some money, that the man was willing to chat and explain things.

Yu Fei nodded, surprised. "What kind of grudge do they have to start a brawl just like that? Doesn’t anyone care that people are dying?"

The foreman was a middle-aged man with a few scars on his face. He was in the third realm and looked like he had a story to tell.

He had been watching Yu Fei for a while. The young man spent money without a second thought, and his baby face made him look like he had just come of age.

Moreover, he was overweight. The foreman guessed that Yu Fei was probably a young master from some great family out for an adventure.

A Martial Artist’s cultivation was based on their physical body. Robust practitioners were common, but overweight ones were rare.

"Young man, these are just low-level thugs! What kind of grudge could they have? They’re just fighting over the protection fees for this half of the street."

Just as he spoke, one side retreated in disarray. The leader of the winning side, a shirtless man, raised his machete high and roared:

"Long live the Blood Blade Gang! Today, we beat those sons of bitches from the Red Hand Gang! From now on, South Tenth Street belongs to Blood Blade!"

"Brothers, tonight at the Anger Bar! Let’s party hard!"

"Bei is the man! Long live Blood Blade...!"

Watching this group of people acting so crazed in the street, Yu Fei found it hard to understand.

He turned and asked the foreman, "This... how much do they make a month from protection fees on South Tenth Street?"

"Probably around a million or so!"

"That’s not a small amount!"

Yu Fei was lost in thought. For this so-called Blood Blade group to make a million merit points a month from protection fees on a single street... that was a pretty decent income.