Chapter 131
Baek Cheon-Sang returned to Wenzhou after eliminating the Black Sword Gang, leaving behind Baek Cheon-Gi and fifty Baek Sword Corps members in Shaoxing.
Baek Mu-Gun and Namgung Hyun-Ah personally went to Wenzhou Port to greet Cheon-Sang.
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome back, Father.”
“Why did you bother coming all the way here? We would have seen each other when I get home anyway,” Cheon-Sang said.
“You went all the way to Shaoxing to risk your life in a battle against an evil sect, so it’s only natural for us to greet you as soon as you return. Congratulations on annihilating the Black Sword Gang and gaining control over Shaoxing,” Mu-Gun replied.
“Thank you. Let’s go home for now.”
Mu-Gun and Hyun-Ah headed back to the Baek Sword Sect with Cheon-Sang. The Baek Sword Corps and Heavenly Martial Hall martial artists who participated in the battle against the Black Sword Gang followed behind them. Upon arriving at the Baek Sword Sect, they celebrated their victory with a banquet. Cheon-Sang, the three squad leaders, and the Baek Sword Corps and Heavenly Martial Hall martial artists enjoyed the celebration with great delight.
The next day, Mu-Gun visited Cheon-Sang.
“Come in. I was actually about to call for you.”
“How may I be of help?” Mu-Gun asked.
“Before I decide, I would like to ask your opinion about what to do with the rights and authority we took from the Black Sword Gang,” Cheon-Sang explained.
“Which ones specifically?”
“Out of all their rights and authority, the most important one is the exclusive Shaoxing Wine distribution rights.”
The Black Sword Gang made huge profits through their exclusive right to sell all Shaoxing Wine produced by Shaoxing’s breweries. They bought the product at a very low price, then used their exclusivity to sell it at a high price.
The Shaoxing breweries wanted to earn more from their products as well, but since the Black Sword Gang used force to haggle, they were left with no other choice but to sell low. It was also through force and threats that the Black Sword Gang obtained the exclusive Shaoxing Wine distribution rights.
The Baek Sword Sect, a righteous sect, found it difficult to take over that specific right because the Black Sword Gang obtained it using oppression, then used it to exploit the breweries. Hence, Mu-Gun suggested, “Why don’t we return the distribution rights to Shaoxing’s breweries instead?”
“You want to give up the interests we’ll earn from it?”
“No. In exchange for returning the distribution rights to the breweries in Shaoxing, we will receive a portion of the profit they earn as protection taxes. We won’t be earning as much as having the exclusive distribution rights to their products, but it’ll still provide us with a decent profit.”
“That’s a pretty good idea. The breweries will likely find it more profitable to pay us a certain percentage of their profit as protection tax in exchange for repossessing the Shaoxing Wine distribution rights.” Cheon-Sang liked Mu-Gun’s suggestion.
“That’s right. Most murim factions collect protection taxes anyway, so they likely won’t refuse our offer. We can’t set the protection tax too high, so we should just collect the same rate we collect from others to avoid problems.”
The Baek Sword Sect normally charged ten percent of profits as protection tax. Considering the Seven Great Families’ protection tax varied from ten percent to twenty percent depending on the revenue size, ten percent was quite lenient. Moreover, compared to the evil sects, which usually demanded more than thirty percent, the righteous sects were quite conscientious.
“Let’s proceed with that plan. I’ll send a carrier pigeon to the White Dragon Squad Leader to start the negotiations with the breweries in Shaoxing,” Cheon-Sang said.
“I assume the Black Sword Gang accumulated considerable wealth?”
“In total, they would probably have a little over one hundred thousand silver nyang.”
“That’s not that much, considering they had the Shaoxing Wine distribution rights,” Mu-Gun commented.
“They must have used their earnings for luxury and pleasure.”
“That’s probably it.”
It would have been great if they earned more from this, but one hundred thousand silver nyang was still a huge sum of money. Adding the manor the Black Sword Gang used as headquarters into the calculation, the Baek Sword Sect gained considerably huge profits.
“By the way, why were you looking for me? Is there anything you want to discuss?” Cheon-Sang asked, wondering about Mu-Gun’s purpose for visiting him so early in the morning.
“While you were at Shaoxing, I made a public announcement in various regions of the Central Plains that we are recruiting martial artists who used to be part of the army.”
“You want to recruit former martial artists of the army?” This was Cheon-Sang’s first time hearing this.
Mu-Gun explained that many martial artists left the army due to the collapse of the national treasury, then revealed his plan to recruit them to make up for the number of martial artists that the Baek Sword Sect lacked.
“Well, it’s not a bad idea. Martial artists from the army are bound to have decent skills and a greater sense of belonging and loyalty than the wanderers who put money first. I could not think this far ahead, so thank you for doing it in my stead,” Cheon-Sang said afterward.
“I should have asked for your permission first, but I decided to push through with the plan at my own discretion since the former members of the army could set their sights on another clan if we take too long.”
“Great work. If you can’t even push ahead with something like that as the Young Patriarch of the Baek Sword Sect, then what use would that position be? From now on, for as long as it’s for the sake of the Baek Sword Sect, don’t hesitate to proceed with your plans.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. By the way, how is the newlywed life?”
“It’s going well.”
“Will I be a grandfather soon?”
“What are you saying, Father? It hasn’t even been that long since I got married and you’re already expecting a grandchild?”
“Our family does not have many children. You have to pay attention to that.”
“Fine. On another note, I would like to set a date for my marriage with Lady Dan as soon as possible,” Mu-Gun mentioned.
“Aren’t you in too much of a hurry? It hasn’t even been a month since the last wedding. I doubt my daughter-in-law will be happy about that,” Cheon-Sang responded.
“Don’t worry. My wife has already given me her permission. It also seems impolite to keep Lady Dan waiting for too long.”
“Fine, I understand. I will look into it and set a date.”
Cheon-Sang no longer objected. He already knew Mu-Gun would marry the two women anyway, and there was no reason to postpone it now that Hyun-Ah had approved of it.
After their discussion, Mu-Gun left the White Sword Pavilion and returned to his residence to spend some quality time with Hyun-Ah.
* * *
Seok Gang repeatedly thought about whether to let Cho Woo-Kyung consume the ice qi beast core. Having consumed the fire qi beast core, Woo-Kyung now had over a hundred twenty years’ worth of internal energy. If he also consumed the ice qi beast core, he would possess more than two hundred forty years’ worth of internal energy, which was close to Seok Gang’s current internal energy. Seok Gang was not confident that he could control that amount.
Controlling someone else’s energy was twice as difficult as handling the energy in oneself, and the greater the amount of internal energy the other person had, the greater the difficulty became. No matter how much he thought about it, Seok Gang kept reaching the conclusion that he would fail to control two hundred forty years’ worth of internal energy. If they encountered an error and the energy rampaged, both he and Woo-Kyung would be in danger.
For that reason, it would be better not to even attempt it unless he was certain he would succeed. Hence, after much consideration, Seok Gang decided to leave it to Mu-Gun instead. Mu-Gun was stronger than both Seok Gang and Geom Woo-Saeng combined. Above all, he was the Thunder God’s successor. Seok Gang thought Mu-Gun could help Woo-Kyung absorb the ice qi beast core and safely guide him to the Absolute Realm.
Seok Gang would have to teach Mu-Gun the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique to proceed with the procedure, but for Woo-Kyung’s sake, Seok Gang was willing to teach Mu-Gun even the scriptures of the Qiankun Infinite Hands, not just the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique. Having reached a decision, Seok Gang called for Mu-Gun and requested he help Woo-Kyung absorb the ice qi beast core and advance to the Absolute Realm. Mu-Gun was more than willing to grant Seok Gang’s request.
After making Mu-Gun promise not to tell anyone about the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique, which was not far behind Mu-Gun’s Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art, Seok Gang began to teach it to him. While admiring its excellence, Mu-Gun absorbed all knowledge available within its scriptures, then practiced its circulation method.
The Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique was extremely profound, so its circulation method was naturally very intricate. On average, one would require a considerable amount of time to even begin to understand it. However, Mu-Gun had the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art, which was known as the best internal energy cultivation method. Since its circulation method did not differ much from the circulation method of the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique, it only took him less than a day to understand the latter and master its internal energy circulation method.
After fully understanding the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique, Mu-Gun looked for Seok Gang and Woo-Saeng and informed them that everything was ready. Unable to believe that Mu-Gun could fully understand the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique within a day, Seok Gang started quizzing him about the key scriptures.
Without hesitation, Mu-Gun answered every last one of Seok Gang’s questions and even provided insights into parts that Seok Gang himself could not understand. Realizing that Mu-Gun’s enlightenment toward the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique was beyond his comprehension, Seok Gang no longer doubted him. He immediately called for Cho Woo-Kyung.
“You will now begin absorbing the ice qi beast core and using its energy to reach the Absolute Realm.”
“Will you be helping me this time as well, master?” Woo-Kyung asked.
“No, the Young Patriarch will help you,” Seok Gang explained.
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry. The Young Patriarch’s martial prowess is much higher than mine, and he has a deeper understanding of the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique than I do.”
It was hard for Woo-Kyung to believe what Seok Gang just said. Although Mu-Gun’s martial prowess was great, he could not bring himself to believe that Mu-Gun’s enlightenment of the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique was higher than Seok Gang’s.
“What I can tell you for sure is that there is no one more suited than me to guide your martial arts level to the Absolute Realm, so don’t worry too much,” Mu-Gun told Woo-Kyung.
“Before we begin, I would like to ask a question that has been bugging me.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you so willing to help me improve my martial arts? If anything goes wrong, your life could also be in danger, Young Patriarch Baek. Even though I am staying at the Baek Sword Sect because of my two masters, I am free to leave at any time. That makes me curious about why you’re so willing to risk your life to help me reach a new realm,” Woo-Kyung asked.
“It is for the sake of murim,” Mu-Gun answered.
“For murim?”
“As you already know, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect threat is closing in by the minute. It would be great if you stayed with the Baek Sword Sect, but even if you didn’t, Wouldn’t it be in murim’s best interest to turn even just one more person into a martial arts master before the Nine Celestial Demons Sect earnestly takes action?” Mu-Gun explained his reasoning.
“You’re doing this ultimately for the great cause of murim, not only for the sake of the Baek Sword Sect?”
“Yes. For that reason, I hope you use the power you are about to gain for the sake of murim.”
“I’d be more than willing to. Moreover, I promise to spare no effort for the Baek Sword Sect as long as the sect does not go against murim’s path of righteousness,” Woo-Kyung declared.
“Thank you. Shall we get started, then?”
“What do I have to do?” Woo-Kyung asked, wondering if there was anything he was supposed to do.
“The same thing you did last time.”
Woo-Kyung sat in a lotus position.
“Please consume the ice qi beast core now,” Mu-Gun instructed.
Following the order, Woo-Kyung consumed the beast core that he received from Seok Gang. As soon as he did, Mu-Gun immediately sat behind him and placed his palm on Woo-Kyung’s myeong-mun point.
“Trust me and leave everything to my energy.” Mu-Gun began to let the Thunder God qi flow toward his internal body.
The Qiankun qi within Woo-Kyung naturally showed aggression toward the Thunder God qi, which was flowing from an external source. Remaining calm, Mu-Gun began to enter the harmonic state of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art. Likewise, the Thunder God qi took a harmonic stance and gently approached the Qiankun qi, easing the wariness of the latter until it no longer resisted the Thunder God qi, which was approaching like a spring breeze.
Not missing the opportunity, the Thunder God qi burrowed into the Qiankun qi and seamlessly mixed with it. Afterward, it proceeded to merge with the Qiankun qi, using itself as the core. Having surrendered, the Qiankun qi tried to harmonize with the Thunder God qi, which was a higher-ranked energy than itself. At that moment, Mu-Gun immediately began to guide the Qiankun qi using a natural flow he created by circulating the energy according to the scriptures of the Qiankun Harmony Body Cultivation Technique.
The beast core’s energy initially resisted the fusion with the Qiankun qi since their energies were incompatible. However, the Qiankun qi sneakily began to bond with the beast core’s energy as the former hovered around and constantly attempted harmonization. The first attempt showed some resistance, but everything went smooth sailing after that. In lightning speed, the beast core’s energy fused and bonded with the Qiankun qi, having realized that it would not be harmed even if it combined with the Qiankun qi. Now proceeding as slowly as needed, Mu-Gun absorbed the beast core’s energy by whirling the Qiankun qi around it.
As Woo-Kyung meditated and observed his internal body, he witnessed the Qiankun qi absorbing the beast core’s energy in a surprisingly natural flow. Mu-Gun guided the Qiankun qi much more naturally than Woo-Kyung himself could do through qi circulation, allowing him to witness the extent of Mu-Gun’s strength once more. Now focusing on the method Mu-Gun used to handle the Qiankun qi in him, Woo-Kyung was able to observe the Qiankun qi’s movements more accurately than anyone else. As a result, Woo-Kyung’s understanding of his internal energy circulation method deepened.
Meanwhile, the Qiankun qi within Woo-Kyung finally absorbed the last of the beast core’s energy, increasing it twofold. However, the most crucial step was just about to begin. Mu-Gun immediately guided the Qiankun qi from Woo-Kyung’s hoe-eum point to his chong-maek point.
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