West District.

Walking through the district buzzing in excitement due to the earlier fiery display, Bubai couldn’t help but comment. “So much fanfare for a few flames...”

Bubai’s steps eventually stopped in front of the Task Pavilion. “Well, one of those flames should have landed here.”

Entering the long, grand hall of the pavilion, Bubai was met with the sight of a bustling crowd gathered around a newly erected board, its height lifted up to draw attention. This should be the new bounty board.

He edged his way to the back of the crowd, his eyes flicking across the parchment-covered surface, absorbing the contents in an instant.

“Zhang Feng, outer disciple, late-stage Qi-refinement. 5 low-grade spirit stones. 10 taels of gold. 100 contribution points. Dead.”

“Li Wei, outer disciple, late-stage Qi-refinement. 10 low-grade spirit stones. 100 contribution points. Dead.”

"Li Yan, inner disciple, mid-stage foundation establishment. 100 low-grade spirit stones. 500 contribution points. Dead or alive."

“Chen Mei, inner disciple, early-stage foundation establishment. 10 mid-grade spirit stones. 800 contribution points. Alive only.”

"Chen Wei, core disciple, late-stage foundation establishment. 10 mid-grade spirit stones. 1000 contribution points. Dead or alive."

There were a plethora of other names, each belonging to a disciple from the Cloud Sword Sect. Many rung a bell in Bubai’s memories, while some didn’t.

At the corner of his vision, a couple of incoming eunuchs suddenly caught Bubai’s attention, more specifically, the thin stack of new bounties they were bearing.

As they rushed over, they announced their presence with a holler, "Esteemed lords, please make way! This is the final batch!"

Their high pitched voices cut through the murmurs of the gathered disciples, and the crowd instinctively parted ways for them.

Bubai watched the eunuchs swiftly make their way toward the bounty board. With almost no delay, one clambered up a ladder and began affixing the newly painted bounty pages near the top of the board, each one drawing the interest of the onlookers.

Upon seeing the painted images on the bounties, exclamations immediately rippled through the crowd.

“Isn’t that the saint son of the Cloud Sword Sect? Tang Xiu! I heard he’s not even thirty, but he’s already in the early stage of core formation!"

“So young?! No wonder his reward is 500 mid-grade spirit stones!”

"That’s the contemporary saintess, Yun Xinyue! Oh, even her image makes me wanna..."

A disciple, unable to contain his curiosity, approached one of the eunuchs and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Is there any more accurate image of...?" he pointed at the bounty of the saintess, his tone polite yet insistent.

The eunuch bowed slightly, his demeanor respectful. "Esteemed lord, you can consult the manager for this issue. For now, this is all we have.”

The disciple nodded and turned to make his way toward the Registration Hall. Shortly after he left...

“Huh? There’s an even higher bounty?”

The exclamation drew the crowd’s attention to the eunuch affixing a bounty at the very top of the board, its contents drawing gasps of astonishment from the assembled crowd.

"How come his reward is so high?!" one disciple exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief.

The bounty offered a staggering reward - a high-grade artifact, 500 mid-grade spirit stones, 5000 contribution points, and even guaranteed the coveted status of a core disciple!

Murmurs of surprise broke out among the disciples as they scanned the details of the bounty, their attention inevitably drawn to the name inscribed on it.

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“Eh? Fang Bubai? Who’s that?”

“Never heard of him. Where did this nameless fella pop out from?”

“Hey, hey, according to my sources, I heard he’s the real culprit behind the losses this time...”

At the back of the crowd, Bubai couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself. “Of course. How could he not be on the list?”

When Bubai heard the announcement earlier, he knew the Cloud Sword Sect was made into the scapegoat, bearing the brunt of the blame.

He thought this allowed the rootless protagonist to slip under the radar, but it seemed the sect had other plans. The biggest target was cast squarely on his back.

“Well, if this little reward could really take him out…” It’ll totally be worth it. Alas, it was a pipe dream.

Shaking his head, Bubai turned around, heading for the Registration Hall.

Entering the hall, he could immediately hear Manager Qiao's patient voice addressing a disciple in front of his desk.

"...The bounty had always existed, just that now it is turned into a task with merits. If young master Ji wants a better image, you can look in other territories or the underground exchange."

“Good.” The disciple nodded before turning to leave, brushing past Bubai without a second glance.

Seeing Manager Qiao was free, Bubai approached his desk, greeting him with a polite salute, “Manager Qiao-”

However, before he could finish his sentence, Manager Qiao raised a hand to block him. "I know what Young Master Mo wants to ask, but you should know the answer in your heart."

Bubai’s heart sunk. He could already picture the spirit stones spawning wings and flying away from him...

With a wry smile, Bubai ventured, "Can't there be an exception?"

Manager Qiao regarded him with a steady gaze, his tone firm yet not unkind. "If you can convince the elders above. Little one am just following orders. Please don’t be offended, Young Master Mo."

…

Bubai walked out of the pavilion, his footsteps heavy. He couldn't help but kick a stone on the ground, "Dang it."

The allure of the bounty rewards had tempted him, that much was undeniable.

But deep down, Bubai knew... they have nothing to do with him because he can’t even leave the sect.

Thus, at most, the bounties could only serve as a blaring warning device for him.

After all, the higher the protagonist’s bounty, the more dangerous his own future would become.

It was a sobering reminder of the dangers lurking on the horizon, ones he still felt ill-equipped to face.

“Alas…” He still wasn’t strong enough to escape this cage.

With a heavy sigh, Bubai glanced around at the stream of disciples bustling about, their fervor palpable as they freely went about in pursuit of their own goals.

Bubai allowed himself to drift into the stream, following their flow toward the plaza.

Arriving at the market, Bubai found it bustling with even more activity than before.

The stalls were packed to the brim once more, disciples hawking their wares and eager customers jostling for the best deals.

Despite his earlier disappointment, the lively atmosphere of the market offered a welcome distraction from his troubles.

Bubai wandered through the crowded stalls, his eyes scanning the array of goods on display.

"Brave souls! Allow me to present to you a rare artifact from the secret realm! A scroll of shadow mastery, said to grant its wielder the ability to move through shadows. It’s perfect for escaping or assassination!"

"Behold!" A stall owner brandished a gleaming kunai. "This dagger was once wielded by a master of the secret realm, its edge are sharper than the fangs of the Sunfire Komodo serpent!"

“Smoke bombs produced by the secret realm! Its efficacy doesn’t lose out to talismans!”

"Come closer, my fellow brothers!” A grizzled man bellowed, holding up some shurikens, “Check out these secret realm weapons forged from the finest metal. Perfect for sneak attacks against any foe!"

Checking out the assortment of nostalgic weapons, Bubai’s brows furrowed in thought. "Huh? This time, the secret realm seems to have a theme of… ninjas?"

Is it just normal ninjas? Or…

Mingling among the bustling crowd, Bubai’s gaze calmly jumped between the disciples around him, “Well, here should be good.”

With at thought, his divine sense extended outward, sweeping through the plaza. His intrusive actions instantly alerted some foundation establishment disciples!

Their reactions varied though - some casting wary glances around, while others simply bowed their heads in deference.

To avoid being traced back, Bubai quickly retracted his divine sense after a sweep and shifted his position, his expression thoughtful.

The scan was brief, but it rendered a clearer picture in his mind.

Indeed, most of the tools and artifacts from the secret realm this time seemed to be related to normal ninjas.

However, among the items that caught his eye was a particularly interesting broken humanoid puppet, its limbs twisted and contorted in an eerie semblance of life.

Hidden within its hollow frame lay an arsenal of deadly weapons and potent poisons, waiting to be unleashed upon unsuspecting prey.

Clearly, the secret realm had more to put on the table than just simple mortal ninjas.

But, his interest stopped here. He already had his own doll, and it’s a higher grade live-service version. There was no need to downgrade to a wooden puppet.

As for the other ninja tools that piqued his interest, their prices were too inflated.

Bubai simply dismissed them with a shrug, "Maybe I'll wait a couple of days or weeks before buying them.”

Anyways, his goal this time wasn't to acquire exotic treasures from the secret realm.

Instead, he focused on mentally ticking off items from his shopping list.

It didn't take long for him to spend five low-grade spirit stones and a tray of silver taels, replenishing incenses, drugs, and ingredients for his human mask preservation potion.

Accompanying this acquisition was a few types of dead herbs, rare seeds, and some handy trinkets, such as a small hourglass filled with clean sand.

After Bubai completed his purchases, his mind wandered to the elusive black Qi. "Too bad there's no signs of it this time."

Either items with it are rare, or maybe they only have ties with certain secret realms.

With a final glance at the rowdy plaza, Bubai turned to leave.

His schedule was tight. Not only was cultivation on the agenda, but so were his experiments.