Chapter 80
Baek Cheon-Sang and the other patriarchs discussed matters related to the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s operations, including the Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps’ establishment. At the same time, Baek Mu-Gun collected his winnings of 100,000 nyang from the gambling event in which he betted on who the martial arts tournament winner would be.
The Hangzhou Merchant Company, which organized the gambling event, paid 100,000 silver nyang without making a fuss. Although they lost 100,000 silver nyang to Mu-Gun, so many people bet on Byeok Cheol-Gun and Tae Gong-Pyo that they still earned more than 200,000 nyang in profits after paying Mu-Gun.
Mu-Gun deposited the 100,000 silver nyang to the Myth Vault, receiving a credit note in return. He planned to use his earnings to establish the Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps.
The Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps’ establishment was expected to cost a few million nyang. However, that total amount already accounted for a few years. It would only cost 500,000 nyang to a maximum of 1 million nyang per year. As the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s leader, the Baek Sword Sect had to cover thirty percent of it, which meant they had to pay 150,000 to 300,000 nyang a year.
The 100,000 nyang he earned from the gambling event was not enough, but it would still be of great help. After depositing his winnings, Mu-Gun focused on improving the martial arts of the three clans, including the Wind Saber Sect, while the Ten Clans of Zhejiang leaders were in a meeting.
Among them, the one he invested the most effort into was the Wind Saber Sect’s martial arts. Mu-Gun tried to find a way to evolve the 18 Wind Blade Saber Art’s Wind Blade into the Wind Blade Scales. After several trials and errors, he finally achieved satisfactory results. If the existing Wind Blade could split a certain amount of saber qi into ten thin blades, the Wind Blade Scales that Mu-Gun revamped could split the saber qi up to a hundred blades.
Dividing saber qi into ten times the number of thin blades inevitably made the Wind Blades thinner. The new Wind Blades, which were now much thinner than before, could react more sensitively to the opponent’s aura. Its improved application of internal energy significantly enhanced its speed and power.
If Gong-Pyo could use the Wind Blade Scales, which Mu-Gun had revamped, in the martial arts tournament, Cheon-Sang would’ve had trouble blocking them. Nevertheless, if Gong-Pyo were to advance to the Absolute Realm, few people would be able to block his Wind Blade Scales. However, it was not omnipotent. Attacks that exceeded its speed or devastated the space itself could neutralize it.
Even so, there was a good chance that the Wind Blade Scales could become the greatest martial arts, although it would still be useless despite its excellence if its practitioner failed to use it to its fullest potential. Mu-Gun had increased the power of the Wind Blade Scales as much as he could. It was now up to Tae Gong-Pyo and Tae Mu-Gang to display its full power.
The Wind Blade Scales was the last martial art Mu-Gun worked on. Having successfully fixed all three sects’ martial arts, Mu-Gun met up with Draconic Tiger Gang's patriarch Yong Gun-Seong, Kang Household's patriarch Kang Won-Hee, and Wind Saber Sect's patriarch Tae Gong-Pyo in order and taught them their respective revamped martial art.
The three patriarchs could not help but be amazed by the improved martial arts. Gong-Pyo, in particular, was so shocked upon seeing the Wind Blade Scales, which Mu-Gun personally demonstrated, that he was rendered speechless. The improved martial arts, which had become much stronger in his hands, made the three patriarchs aware of Mu-Gun’s ability. The fact that he could improve their sect’s martial arts to this extent meant his martial prowess was very high.
It also showed the Baek Sword Sect’s truly amazing generosity. Although a part of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, they were different clans in the end. Hence, it was definitely not easy to willingly improve the others’ martial arts.
To put it bluntly, the improved martial arts would make the other clans stronger, perhaps even strong enough to pressure the Baek Sword Sect, yet they still willingly did so under the logic that the Ten Clans of Zhejiang had to become more powerful to strengthen the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. However, they could never have done something like that if they weren’t confident they wouldn’t get overpowered by other clans no matter how strong they became.
What was important was that their confidence was not a show of bravado. Having properly grasped Cheon-Sang and Mu-Gun’s abilities, the three patriarchs believed that the Baek Sword Sect would likely dominate the Zhejiang Martial Alliance in the future. Hence they thought it would be best for them to trust and follow the Baek Sword Sect than go against them. As a result, instead of forcing the other clans into submission with their martial prowess, the Baek Sword Sect showed undeniable strength, causing the clans to follow the Baek Sword Sect on their own accord.
However, not all the Ten Clans of Zhejiang were like that. The Baek Sword Sect still had an unfriendly relationship with the Byeok Sword Manor, the Clear Sun Sect, the Iron Palm Sect, and the Mei Household. There was nothing to worry about, though. The Byeok Sword Manor would likely say otherwise, but the Baek Sword Sect could easily move the hearts of three of those clans if the Baek Sword Sect did what they did for the other clans.
* * *
In the inner sanctum of the Hangzhou Merchant Company, Hangzhou Merchant Company's owner Jang Hyun-Chul and a man in his mid to late fifties exuding an extraordinary aura were having a discussion. Interestingly enough, the middle-aged man was the one sitting at the head table instead of Hyun-Chul, and Hyun-Chul was showing the middle-aged man the utmost courtesy. It could be surmised from such behavior that the middle-aged man had a higher status than Hyun-Chul.
“It’s disappointing that I have to step forward because you can’t even handle something like this properly.”
“I’m sorry. I did not expect the Baek Sword Sect's patriarch to reach the Absolute Realm in such a short period.”
As the middle-aged man reprimanded him, Hyun-Chul bowed his head.
“You said that he inherited the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s martial legacy, right?”
“That’s right.”
“The Heavenly Sea God Sect isn’t something we can simply look down on.”
“No matter how great the Heavenly Sea God Sect is, they would not dare compare themselves to the Demonic Monarchs,” Hyun-Chul flattered. Only those from demonic sects could earn the title 'Demonic Monarch.'
“That’s a given. However, it would still be better to be safe.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I’ll take the Poison Monarch with me.”
“Ah! If you two Demonic Monarchs move together, dealing with someone like Baek Cheon-Sang would be a piece of cake.”
The middle-aged man frowned. “The Poison Monarch and I shouldn’t even have to handle this ourselves.”
“I’m sorry.”
“One mistake is enough. If you disappoint me again, your head will roll.”
“I will make sure not to make any more mistakes.”
“Make sure that we properly control the Byeok Sword Manor’s patriarch, It would be meaningless for him to become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader if he does not follow our orders.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. The moment they decided to participate in getting rid of Baek Cheon-Sang, this matter became the Byeok Sword Manor’s decisive weakness. They will have no choice but to follow our cause out of fear of their weakness being revealed to the world.”
“You were also that confident about the Byeok Sword Manor’s patriarch becoming the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader, weren’t you?”
“I will make sure of it this time.”
“You should. Otherwise, you will lose your head,” the middle-aged man warned Hyun-Chul once again and got up.
“Are you leaving?”
“Why? Do you have anything else to say?”
“No. it’s just that I prepared alcohol and women for you, esteemed Demonic Monarch. Why don’t you stay back and enjoy it for a while before leaving?”
“It’s fine. I’ll enjoy it after I get back.”
“Understood. I will prepare thoroughly and make sure you enjoy it when you are back.”
“I look forward to it.”
The middle-aged man left the Hangzhou Merchant Company. After seeing him off, Hyun-Chul headed back inside and immediately sent someone to the Byeok Sword Manor to inform them to prepare the personnel that would be sent to Xiangshan.
* * *
After three days of discussion, the ten patriarchs finally decided how to form the Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps and its organizational system. To start, the Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps would be established in Shaoxing as planned, but instead of constructing a new manor, they decided to purchase an existing manor and expand it. To that end, they deployed an investigation team to look for manors that would serve as the uniter corps’ headquarters.
Furthermore, the basic framework of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s organizational system had also been created. The alliance leader naturally stood at the top of the alliance, while the nine other clan leaders were elected as elders. They would decide on all alliance-related matters, be they important or trivial, with the alliance leader.
The smaller clans all over the Zhejiang Province would also be integrated into the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, forming an external division. To that end, the Ten Clans decided to actively encourage the smaller clans in their respective territories to enter the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. Of course, they didn’t plan to force them to join, so only those willing would be recruited.
The Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s martial forces would mainly be divided into internal and external divisions. The Ten Clans’ martial artists would lead the internal division, and the dispatched members of the Zhejiang Province’s smaller clans would take charge of the external division. On top of that, it was agreed that martial artists would be fostered and trained to form a martial squad that would be under the direct control of the alliance leader.
However, reaching an agreement did not mean they could immediately accomplish all their goals. It would take at least a year for their plans to have a substantial impact. After the meeting between the patriarchs, the Baek Sword Sect’s group prepared to return to Wenzhou. The Justice Martial Sect and the Flying Lance Sect decided to travel with the Baek Sword Sect since it was much more comfortable to travel to Wenzhou by sea, then return to their respective homes from there.
Just like when they came to Hangzhou, the Baek Sword Sect’s group used the Eun Merchant Group’s ship on their return home. During that time, the Eun Merchant Group’s Eun Ye-Sang approached Mu-Gun more assertively. Mu-Gun knew quite well she did so to secure benefits for the Eun Merchant Group through the Baek Sword Sect.
Once the Zhejiang Martial Alliance United Corps had been established, various rights and privileges would also come into effect. The total number of personnel that would be dispatched to the united corps’ headquarters by the Ten Clans of Zhejiang and the Zhejiang Province’s smaller clans was estimated to be at least two thousand. Just being able to provide the food and daily necessities for so many people would bring the Eun Merchant Group a lot of profit. Many merchant associations, including the Eun Merchant Group, would want to get the privileges and supply rights related to the establishment of the united corps.
Cheon-Sang, the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader, could exert considerable influence in determining who’d get trading privileges and supply rights. Ye-Sang approached Mu-Gun more assertively with that in mind. If the Eun Merchant Group and the Baek Sword Sect were to be connected by marriage, she thought Cheon-Sang would give the Eun Merchant Group trading privileges and supply rights for the united corps. That was also one of the reasons why the Hangzhou Merchant Company tried to make the Byeok Sword Manor the Zhejiang Martial Alliance's leader.
As expected, Mu-Gun ignored Ye-Sang, whom he was not interested in, in complete disgust when she approached him from a political standpoint. Anger could devour her if he kept ignoring her, ultimately making her put a stop to the procurement of the herbs necessary for the Medicine King Family to concoct the spiritual pills. However, the same applied to the Eun Merchant Group. The Baek Sword Sect could also decide to no longer escort the Eun Merchant Group’s mercantile journey.
The ship carrying the Baek Sword Sect’s group arrived in Xiangshan three days after leaving Hangzhou. They decided to stay the night in Xiangshan and depart again the next day.
* * *
In an inn on the outskirts of Xiangshan, the middle-aged man whom Hyun-Chul had met the other day as well as another middle-aged man received a report from someone who appeared to be their subordinate.
“The Baek Sword Sect’s party arrived at Xiangshan Port a while ago.”
“How many are there?”
“There are ninety people in total, with thirty people each from the Baek Sword Sect, the Justice Martial Sect, and the Flying Lance Sect.”
“There aren’t that many of them. As planned, we’ll launch an attack tonight, so prepare thoroughly and make sure not to make any mistakes. Inform the Byeok Sword Manor of this as well.”
“Understood,” their subordinate answered, then immediately left.
“I doubt I’m even needed here, considering there are only ninety of them,” the second middle-aged man, who had been listening in silence, said with an indifferent expression.
“You don’t even have anything to do anyway, so stop complaining.”
“What do you mean I have nothing to do? Do you know how busy I am?”
“You are well aware that the patriarch is in a bad mood because of the Great Sima Family incident, are you not? If we make another mistake, we would be severely reprimanded. As you said, this is something that I can handle on my own, but since we’re doing it, wouldn’t it be better to make sure we deal with it properly?” The first middle-aged man brought up the Great Sima Family to persuade the second middle-aged man. They both sounded like they were related to the Asura Cult of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
“You’ve got a point.”
“Stop complaining and cooperate, then. In return, I will let you have a taste of a bunch of energetic girls when we’re done.”
“Hoho, I can’t wait.” The second middle-aged man smacked his lips, looking all excited.
“We still have a lot of time, so why don’t we play a game of Go?”
“Why, though? It’s so boring.”
“What’s that? Are you afraid you’ll lose to me?”
“Lose? Who? Me?”
“If you’re so confident, then let’s play.”
“Do you think I will fall for such a shallow provocation?”
“Stop playing hard to get. We’ve got nothing to do anyway, right?”
“You really like doing troublesome things.”
The second middle-aged man reluctantly accepted, and the two began to play a game of Go. After a while, night fell. While they were waiting idly, their subordinate who gave a report earlier returned and informed them that they had completed all the necessary preparations.
“Well then, let’s go.”
The two middle-aged men, who were itching to go, quickly got up and headed outside. Upon exiting the building, they found the fifty men the first middle-aged man had brought and a hundred Byeok Sword Manor warriors. They were standing by with black masks and clothes on.
“Are you all ready?” the first middle-aged man asked them.
“We are.”
“Keep this in mind, everyone. No one should know what is about to happen tonight. For that purpose, we have to kill every single one of them, leaving no man alive. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Move out.” At the first middle-aged man’s order, the one hundred and fifty black-masked men headed toward the inn where the Baek Sword Sect’s group was staying.
Byeok Cheol-Ryong, who led the Byeok Sword Manor warriors, could not get rid of his doubts. The people the Hangzhou Merchant Company had brought were all giving off a gust of dark energy. It was as if he was looking at demonic sect members. In particular, the two middle-aged men leading them gave off terrifying energy that went beyond what could be called dark. It felt similar to the commonly known demonic qi of demonic practitioners.
Cheol-Ryong was very suspicious of their identity since he didn’t know anything about them. He only knew that they were mercenaries hired by the Hangzhou Merchant Company. If they were indeed demonic sect members, the Byeok Sword Manor could fall into a perilous situation. However, he could not dispute that now that they had come this far.
Regardless of whether they were the demonic sect figures or not, not getting rid of the Baek Sword Sect’s group would threaten the Byeok Sword Manor’s existence. Cheol-Ryong tried to turn a blind eye to his suspicions. After an hour, they arrived at the city street three hundred feet away from the inn where the Baek Sword Sect’s group was staying.
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