Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 119 - When the Forest Grows Dense, Tigers Enter (4)

Chapter 119 – When the Forest Grows Dense, Tigers Enter (4)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Myeong-il trembled as he gripped his sword hilt. He was shaking so badly that even the sword moved violently up and down.

If it had been Wudang’s Taiji Wisdom Sword, Myeong-il would have struck immediately. The only reason he was enduring it was because this was the Mount Hua Sect’s sword art.

As could already be seen from Namgung Hwi’s case, martial artists seemed to have a strong sense of camaraderie about sharing a single world. Right now, Myeong-il looked as though he himself had been insulted.

For a sect’s core martial art to be circulating in a black market like this was something that went beyond insult and shook the very foundation of the sect itself.

I grabbed Myeong-il by the shoulder and kneaded it lightly. Myeong-il turned to me with a red face. He looked as if he wanted to explode in rage at any moment.

“It could be fake. Calm down.”

I took Myeong-il by the hand and leaned my body toward Yeom Baek-gyu.

“Is this the rare item you were talking about?”

Glancing at me, Yeom Baek-gyu smiled.

“Exactly. The Mount Hua Sect’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms. If that isn’t rare, what is?”

“Manuals like that are usually fake. If you learn one wrong, your dantian will be ruined.”

That wasn’t something I said casually. It was true. Usually, martial manuals bought in places like this had incomplete mnemonic verses or were outright fakes, so learning them could lead to qi deviation.

In fact, people couldn’t even call out bids because they were too busy trying to judge whether it was genuine or fake.

“I’ve heard for certain that it’s genuine.”

Yeom Baek-gyu whispered that in my ear. The confidence in his eyes didn’t look like a lie.

“For the record, this item was listed by a seller whose identity our market itself guarantees. If you purchase it, you’ll even be able to meet the seller directly.”

People stirred. It was not something that happened lightly for a black market to guarantee someone’s identity.

Like an ordinary market, the black market also had a market overseer acting as its administrator. That didn’t mean he performed every duty of an ordinary market overseer, of course.

Normally, merchants wanting to sell things in a market all had to report to the market overseer and register. But in a black market, that wasn’t required. Everything brought here was stolen property or illegal goods to begin with.

Since everyone here was hiding their identity, for the market to guarantee someone’s identity was a very special matter. On top of that, they were saying the buyer could even meet the seller.

“Hmm.”

The thought escaped me naturally. That statement raised the confidence of the crowd, but Myeong-il’s trembling only grew stronger.

“Then two thousand five hundred taels.”

Someone made a bid. The Mount Hua Sect’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms truly were a priceless treasure.

Of course, no one would learn it and then swagger about openly through the jianghu. The Mount Hua Sect would hunt them with bloodshot eyes. But just researching a superior sword art of that level would create tremendous added value.

Whether it was genuine or fake, it was a gamble worth taking. In fact, people did begin bidding despite the risk that it might be fake.

With every word from the auctioneer, the manual’s value soared toward the heavens.

What was remarkable was that Yeom Baek-gyu kept trying to outbid everyone else. His bid increases grew smaller and smaller, suggesting he did have some limit to his budget, but still.

“Seven thousand five hundred taels.”

In the end, the manual’s price rose even that far. Yeom Baek-gyu clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Seven thousand five hundred taels of silver. Of course, if one assumed the manual was genuine, even this was a bargain.

Myeong-il looked at me uneasily. Even if it wasn’t his own sect’s martial art, it was still a core martial art of one of the Nine Great Sects. He couldn’t seem to endure the sight of it being sold like this.

“Ten thousand taels.”

At that moment, a bid came out that turned the entire auction on its head. And the one who called ten thousand taels was no one who had bid before. Every eye in the place turned that way.

The one who called ten thousand taels wore a bamboo hat pulled low enough that his face couldn’t be seen. That wasn’t unusual. I too had half my face covered with black spectacles, and everyone else here had their faces hidden as well.

What I paid attention to was his bearing. His build was as solid as an iron tower, and even the air around him seemed to sink with weight. At a glance, it was obvious he had cultivated deep, heavy internal energy. I even looked with my demon eye, wondering whether he might possess demonic qi, but there was nothing unusual.

“T-ten thousand taels. Are there no higher bids?”

The auctioneer nearly bit his tongue. Ten thousand taels of silver was just that shocking a sum.

People began to hesitate. Once the price rose that far, they couldn’t help but seriously account for the risk that it might be fake after all.

“Do you know who that is?”

Yeom Baek-gyu pressed in close to me as he spoke. He was referring, of course, to the man who had just bid ten thousand taels.

“How could I? He’s hidden like that.”

“I know.”

I looked at Yeom Baek-gyu. I was starting to grow curious about his identity.

He didn’t seem to be just some expendable lure sent in to approach me. He could spend thousands of taels of silver, there was the unsettling level of martial skill I’d glimpsed when he first approached us, and he seemed to have information too. He was not someone who could possibly be consumed as a mere pawn.

“Who is he?”

“The Fighting Exalt, Jang Gwang-yeong.”

“…Seriously?”

For a moment, I was too shocked to find words. Who was the Fighting Exalt? One of the Eight Exalts.

When people in the Central Plains were recognized as the foremost masters, they were usually titled with things like one of the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven or one of the Three Greatest Sabermen Under Heaven.

The Eight Exalts stood a step beneath that. They might not be included when naming the number one man under heaven, but if one named the ten greatest masters under heaven, they could make the list. That was how enormous the standing of the Eight Exalts was.

But what shocked me was not only the fact that he was one of the Eight Exalts.

“Of all people.”

Why did it have to be the Fighting Exalt, of all eight of them?

The Fighting Exalt had another title as well. Green Forest Chief. In other words, he was one of only two people among the Eight Exalts who belonged to the unorthodox path.

“Honestly, that’s hard to believe.”

Even Yeo Hong-yang, who had been eavesdropping beside us, chimed in. Yeom Baek-gyu twisted the corner of his mouth.

“That I approached you on purpose?”

To think he’d openly say that himself here. Yeo Hong-yang was momentarily at a loss for words. Yeom Baek-gyu smiled.

“So you did know. I hid it as best I could, too.”

“Who are you?”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is stopping the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms from going to the Fighting Exalt.”

There was no time to worry about his sudden shift between respectful and familiar speech. Because what Yeom Baek-gyu said was true. The Fighting Exalt wouldn’t learn the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms himself, but it could still become the starting point for some insight.

As a lay disciple of Wudang, and as a merchant too, it would not please me in the least for the Green Forest Chief to grow stronger. Even putting that personal matter aside, the moment it became known that the Fighting Exalt possessed the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms, the martial world would plunge into turmoil. The leakage of a core martial art of one of the Nine Great Sects was too grave a matter.

“First of all, are you certain? That he’s the Fighting Exalt, and that that manual really is the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms?”

“If I’m lying, you can cut out my tongue.”

“Good.”

At least in this moment, Yeom Baek-gyu was on our side. For some reason, he too was wary of the Fighting Exalt obtaining the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms.

Now it was time to put together a real strategy. Naturally, with the auction in progress, time was desperately short.

“Then what’s our budget?”

“Ten thousand taels. I thought that would be enough, but the Fighting Exalt seems to have more money than expected. It appears the Green Forest is a profession that earns well.”

“I see.”

I raised my hand at once. The auctioneer had been just on the verge of declaring the sale.

“Fifteen thousand taels of silver.”

The crowd’s horrified gazes all turned toward me. Fifteen thousand taels. It was a figure no one could laugh off anymore.

All eyes snapped around again. The man in the bamboo hat who had bid before. It was a thrilling auction. Would he bid higher, or would he let it die? The auctioneer’s eyes darted back and forth.

“You seem to be a young fellow. Aren’t you being a little too hot-blooded?”

The man Yeom Baek-gyu had called the Fighting Exalt, Jang Gwang-yeong, lowered his voice and spoke.

At this point, all I could do was trust Yeom Baek-gyu and go with it. I trusted the eye for people I’d honed over a life in commerce and the judgment I’d developed for telling lies from truth.

The man presumed to be Jang Gwang-yeong continued:

“It’s the Mount Hua Sect’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms. The moment it’s discovered in your hands, you may get to experience the Martial Alliance’s infamous Heavenly Net.”

“And you won’t?”

“I can bear it even if I do. You can’t, can you?”

It was certainly an arrogant thing to say, but if he truly was the Fighting Exalt, then it wasn’t empty arrogance. The Green Forest had roots spread densely throughout the Central Plains. Not only would it be hard to cast a Heavenly Net over such a man, but hunting someone on the level of one of the Eight Exalts would force the Martial Alliance to accept massive losses.

“And do you think just because you have the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms, you’ll immediately become one of the Plum Blossom Sword Guardians? If you don’t have that kind of talent or ability, give it up cleanly.”

“The owner of a treasure isn’t someone with talent, nor someone able to bear the treasure.”

“Then who?”

“It’s whoever has the wealth to buy the treasure. A simple calculation.”

I looked at Jang Gwang-yeong and smiled.

“So if you don’t have the money, stop flapping your gums and stay tucked away quietly.”

“How dare you!”

Jang Gwang-yeong’s robe swelled, and his bamboo hat flew off. In an instant, an immense pressure filled the auction hall.

“If you can’t recognize the person before you in the jianghu, then you deserve to die.”

The black-path men in charge of security at the black market felt the abnormal pressure and came rushing into the auction hall, but this force was beyond anything a few of them could deal with.

“W-who might this honored elder be?”

One of the black-path men shouted. As if he’d been waiting for that exact moment, the man in the bamboo hat opened his mouth.

“Jang Gwang-yeong.”

At the revelation of his name, everyone’s eyes widened. However many merchants there might be, knowing the names of the Eight Exalts was common knowledge in the Central Plains.

There was only one man in all the Central Plains named Jang Gwang-yeong who could release power like this.

“The Fighting Exalt!”

“Why is the Fighting Exalt here…?”

Not only the black-path men but even the merchants participating in the auction lost their wits. As one of the unorthodox path, the Fighting Exalt Jang Gwang-yeong was famous for his violent temperament.

“Now then. You understand who it was you dared say that sort of thing to, don’t you?”

With a smile, Jang Gwang-yeong walked toward me. The black-path men who should have upheld order in the black market had already lost the will to fight. Someone on the level of one of the Eight Exalts was almost a natural disaster.

“I didn’t say anything wrong. If the Fighting Exalt kills me here, then the story that spreads will be that you killed a rival bidder during an auction because you didn’t have enough money.”

Jang Gwang-yeong faltered. No matter that he was from the unorthodox path and paid little mind to others’ gazes, he was still one of the Eight Exalts. It would have been a lie to say he felt no pride at all in his own honor and reputation.

The moment I touched exactly that, even Jang Gwang-yeong flinched.

“Heh heh. You’ve got the sort of tongue that can stretch out a life that’s already forfeit for just a little longer.”

Jang Gwang-yeong laughed.

“But I’m not killing you because I lack money. Everyone here heard you insult me.”

“You mean telling you to shrink back if you don’t have the money? That’s not wrong either, is it?”

“No. That’s not wrong. The problem is that you insulted my values.”

“Your values?”

“A treasure belongs to the one with the ability to bear it. You twisted that into an insult. Well then, isn’t that enough justification to turn you into a corpse?”

I glanced sideways at Yeom Baek-gyu. He’d gone pale, crushed by the pressure. Then again, even if he did have hidden martial skill, it would have been difficult for him to stand against one of the Eight Exalts.

“The one who insulted first was you, Fighting Exalt.”

“I did? And when exactly did I insult you?”

“Didn’t you belittle me first by saying I had neither talent nor the ability to keep what I owned?”

“Because that’s the truth. How is the truth an insult?”

“What if it isn’t?”

I tore off my spectacles and drew my sword.

“I may not know about the ability to keep it, but I do have confidence in one thing. My talent.”

Jang Gwang-yeong stared at my sword, then tilted his head. It seemed he recognized what it was.

“…The Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword? Are you one of Wudang’s ox-nosed fellows? No, an ox-nose wouldn’t come to a place like this. What exactly are you?”

Myeong-il flinched for an instant, but I pretended not to see it and went on.

“I’m originally a lay disciple of Wudang.”

“Since when did Wudang start giving the Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword to lay disciples?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I have talent. Wudang recognized that too. So I receive special treatment.”

“Talent, talent, talent. Are you really babbling about talent in front of one of the Eight Exalts?”

“Would you like to test it?”

I let my momentum rise. The tranquil internal energy based on the Supreme Clarity Pill scattered Jang Gwang-yeong’s pressure. Jang Gwang-yeong’s eyes narrowed.

“So you did have a trick or two.”

“Then how about this? If the Fighting Exalt recognizes my talent, you give up cleanly.”

“Heh heh. Even if you really are some peerless genius, I have no intention of recognizing your talent. You seem to think I’m one of those hypocrites from the orthodox sects.”

“True talent is what overwhelms and wins admiration even beyond that.”

Jang Gwang-yeong threw back his head and laughed loudly.

“Fine. If you can win my admiration, I’ll hand over the thirteen thousand taels of silver I brought to buy the manual. But what will you stake?”

So he’d brought thirteen thousand taels. No wonder he could mouth off like that.

“Well now. Is there something you want?”

“Oh, very much so. Your treasure.”

“My treasure?”

With a cold smile, Jang Gwang-yeong answered.

“That three-inch tongue of yours. It seems to chatter too freely.”

“The arithmetic doesn’t match, but all right. We’ll call it that.”

“Splendid. Then shall we start right away?”

Killing intent swirled in Jang Gwang-yeong’s eyes. I held out a palm.

“One moment. Let me get ready first.”

“To have your tongue cut out?”

“No. It’ll only take a moment.”

I turned and walked over to Yeom Baek-gyu, who was staring at me blankly. When I held out my hand, Yeom Baek-gyu looked back and forth between me and the hand.

“Lend me some money.”

At those words, Yeom Baek-gyu’s expression twisted into something very strange.