Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 75 - All for One, One for All (3)

Chapter 75 – All for One, One for All (3)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Nanjing in Jiangsu. Just as Beijing held the Imperial Palace, which represented the Great Imperial Realm, Nanjing held the Martial Alliance, which represented the martial world of the Central Plains.

People often condemned the present Martial Alliance as a useless group. They would say that with no Demonic Cult and no clear public enemy of the Central Plains martial world, what need was there for a Martial Alliance at all?

But that was the sort of statement that knew one thing and missed two. Certainly, regions that had one of the Nine Great Sects or one of the Five Great Families tended to have good public order, but in places without them, black-path people still ran rampant.

The first duty of the Martial Alliance was to oversee the peace of the entire martial world of the Central Plains, including such regions. Its second duty was to coordinate relations among the righteous sects, each of which held its nose high.

“What did the Zhuge Clan Head say?”

“He said to stay out of it because it’s a matter of the Hubei martial world.”

“Just what I expected.”

Su Je-heon, the Martial Alliance Leader, and Sama Ye, the Chief Strategist, let out sighs at the same time. Last year there had been the usual armed clash between Mount Hua and Zhongnan that required mediation, and now it was Wudang of Hubei and the Zhuge Clan.

“I’m not really someone who believes in reading faces, but there really is something unsettling about the Zhuge Clan Head’s eyes.”

“I do believe in reading faces, and you’re right. They’re unsettling.”

“This is exactly why I said I was retiring this year.”

“If even you can’t avoid this, Alliance Leader, then the next Alliance Leader will have it even harder. It would be better if you simply remained.”

“So what you’re saying is, if someone has to suffer anyway, better one person than two?”

“I wouldn’t quite put it that far.”

That means that’s exactly what you meant. Su Je-heon glared at Sama Ye, but Sama Ye didn’t even pretend to notice.

Then again, Sama Ye wasn’t wrong. The righteous martial world of the present age had enjoyed peace to an unprecedented degree. Because of that, each sect’s power had grown bloated, and matters had now reached the point where their swollen shoulders kept colliding with one another.

Su Je-heon was the most suitable person to resolve such conflicts. That was because he was the final surviving joint inheritor of the Nine Great Sects, a system that had long fallen into disuse in this age of peace.

Since Su Je-heon had ties to all nine great sects, he was better suited than anyone to mediation. And yet, despite that, these incidents were now beginning to break out one after another.

“Tsk. The place that looked least likely to explode was the one that did.”

“Exactly.”

Wudang, one of the foremost among the Nine Great Sects, and the Zhuge Clan, regarded as one of the weaker among the Five Great Families. No matter how one looked at it, the two seemed incapable of forming a real conflict, and yet astonishingly, it was the Zhuge Clan that had picked the fight first.

Apparently they had demanded that some lay disciple be sent away first, or something like that. The Zhuge Clan making such a request made no sense, but Wudang making an enemy of the Zhuge Clan over a single lay disciple made no sense either.

“What sort of fellow is this Muk Hui-yeong that they’ve gone this far over him?”

“I don’t know. I hear he’s a registered lay disciple. He doesn’t seem to have much of a backing either.”

“A registered lay disciple? That’s quite the strange status.”

“Apparently it was a system they briefly used during the Demonic Cult’s invasion in the past.”

“If that’s the case, why not just take him in as a main-sect disciple?”

“Ah, this isn’t a reliable story, but supposedly that fellow Muk Hui-yeong refused the position of main-sect disciple of Wudang.”

“Isn’t that too unbelievable to even count as unreliable?”

Who in the Central Plains would reject the honor of being a main-sect disciple of Wudang? In Su Je-heon’s view, it was absurd.

“In any case, look into this fellow Muk Hui-yeong a bit more, then send the final mediation proposal to the Zhuge Clan and Wudang.”

“So it comes to this after all.”

“Exactly. It would be enough if each side yielded just one step, so why is that so hard?”

“Because they all think they’re standing with a cliff at their backs, even though they really aren’t.”

Su Je-heon clicked his tongue. Once the final mediation proposal was delivered, it would naturally end up unfavorable to the Zhuge Clan. Right now, it looked as though the Zhuge Clan was pressuring Wudang by holding Hubei’s commercial sphere in its grip, but mediation in the Central Plains always required the parties to demonstrate force in the end. He simply couldn’t understand what the Zhuge Clan had been thinking when it started this trouble.

“This won’t do. I should make a trip to Hubei myself.”

“Pardon?”

“The Zhuge Clan isn’t some foolish place. They don’t pick fights they’re going to lose. And I want to see this Muk Hui-yeong fellow too.”

“That’s true enough. But why are you choosing to go on a business trip at the very moment when work has piled up like this?”

Sama Ye said that while openly looking at the piles of documents stacked tower-like beside Su Je-heon.

“That’s not why I’m going. The timing is merely peculiar.”

“Absolutely not.”

Folding his arms, Sama Ye blocked the entrance to the Alliance Leader’s office. Su Je-heon gave a short laugh. Then he immediately pulled the bamboo hat hanging on the wooden pole beside him low over his face.

“No, Alliance Leader!”

Sama Ye tried to rush over after noticing, but he was already too late. Su Je-heon had leapt out through the window. Sama Ye could only stare blankly at Su Je-heon as he ran off with his bamboo hat pressed low. In any case, their martial disparity was such that Sama Ye would’ve had difficulty stopping Su Je-heon.

“Hey, Su Je-heon!”

From behind came Sama Ye’s outrage, verging on outright insubordination, but Su Je-heon only laughed as he ran. The familiar and tedious scenery to either side slipped away behind him, and new air greeted him instead.

One of the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven. It was the first time in a long while that the Ink Sword Hero had stepped back into the jianghu.

***

When I went to the Outer Court, not a single lay disciple was outside. Normally there ought to have been at least someone out there training.

I more or less understood why. In a situation where Wudang itself was suffering hardship, the lay disciples, who were still living well, couldn’t help but feel awkward.

I quietly entered the lay disciples’ quarters. Once I stepped inside, I could feel the presence of people. I immediately raided the room where I felt the greatest concentration of presences.

The moment I flung the door open and went in, the lay disciples jumped in surprise. There were crumbs of dried meat on their lips. The smell alone was enough to tell that it was high-grade dried meat.

“Wh, what? What is it all of a sudden!”

“Why? I’m a lay disciple too, so I can come here.”

I answered shamelessly as I sat down. There was a heap of dried meat piled up like a mountain, so naturally I started chewing one piece.

“You’re basically a main-sect disciple.”

“The main-sect disciples say they’re basically lay disciples. What a disappointment.”

“You chose that yourself.”

Jeon Oh-su cut in coldly. These bastards really had no empathy. In my experience, martial artists were generally emotional, while merchants were rational. Of course, I found merchants easier to deal with.

“That’s true enough.”

“So why did you come? Don’t tell me you want lump-sum repayment.”

“As if.”

“Why not? The Green Forest Twelve Forms was a huge success too.”

“I need to reinvest in the merchant company.”

“Big dreams.”

Jeon Oh-su nodded. Yeo Hong-yang, who had been chewing dried meat silently beside him, slowly opened his mouth.

“Don’t drag us into what’s going on between Wudang and the Zhuge Clan.”

His voice was firm. Yeo Hong-yang truly understood politics. With that one sentence, he made all the lay disciples wary of me.

I put on the gentlest smile I could, so that their caution might relax.

“As if I would put you in that kind of difficult position.”

“If it isn’t that, then you have no reason to come.”

“That’s true enough.”

At my answer, the lay disciples’ guard only rose higher. In effect, I had just declared that I was indeed going to involve them in the current situation.

But everything is a matter of packaging. No matter how brilliant a jewel is, if you wrap it in stinking leather, no one will buy it. All those people who act lofty and say that essence matters more than appearance are mostly judging essence by appearance in the first place.

“There won’t be a single difficult thing for you. You’re the ones in the position to choose.”

“Choose?”

“Yeah. This is something that will stay just among us, so it won’t leak outside. Meaning that even if you don’t choose Wudang, there won’t be any disadvantage to you whatsoever.”

“How are we supposed to believe that?”

“That’s a matter of faith, so believe it or don’t. But what good would it do me to spread it? You’re my creditors. Why would I do something that turns you into my enemies?”

“That’s true.”

Yeo Hong-yang nodded. As expected, if you said something that made sense, he would understand it. He wasn’t like someone who simply tried to bulldoze through by force. It seemed the Money King had educated his son well.

“So what exactly are we supposed to choose?”

“Whether to enter this board or not.”

“Isn’t that obvious? The constant here is not entering it. Merchant companies mustn’t get too deeply entangled with the martial world. That’s basic.”

“That’s true enough. But more precisely, they mustn’t get entangled halfway. If you’re going to get entangled, then you should get entangled properly.”

I smiled. The lay disciples’ brows drew together. That meant they were focusing. Catching the chance, I continued.

“If you ignore the Zhuge Clan and help Wudang in a situation like this, then you can forge a real blood alliance with Wudang. Opportunities like this don’t come often, you know?”

“That’s definitely attractive. But it’s not as though we haven’t thought about it ourselves. Compared to the Zhuge Clan, Wudang might as well have almost no influence over the commercial world. In that situation, how are we supposed to help Wudang?”

“What if it’s going to start exerting that influence now?”

“What?”

Everyone’s eyes widened. It was only natural that such words would shock them all. Up until now, Wudang had done nothing but preserve its lofty seat as a martial sect, and now I was talking about it stretching its hand into the commercial world like other lay branches.

Yeo Hong-yang watched my face and asked cautiously.

“Is this something that’s already been agreed with Wudang’s seniors?”

“No.”

“You really are shamelessly confident.”

The tension drained out of the lay disciples’ eyes all at once. But I had no intention of retreating here.

“I’m going to make it happen.”

“We all know you’re favored in Wudang. Even so, it doesn’t seem likely that Wudang people would listen to you to the point of smashing apart tradition.”

“They’ll dislike me soon enough.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m going to force it down their throats. Silver, I mean.”

“Do you really think that’ll work?”

“Doesn’t seem like it, does it?”

Yeo Hong-yang looked at me for a moment, then averted his eyes. Apparently my gaze was burning with too much heat.

“Wuhan Money House will go in with you.”

At that point, Jeon Oh-su raised his hand and spoke. Everyone stared at him in shock. One of the lay disciples asked in disbelief,

“Have you lost your mind?”

“No. The calculation yields more than enough return. The Zhuge Clan doesn’t actually use Wuhan Money House that much anyway. Since Xiangyang is close, they use Xiangyang Money House. Even when they come to Wuhan, they usually use the Xiangyang branch.”

“Even so, getting marked is a different issue.”

“Wudang will protect us from at least that much.”

“Are you really in a position where you can decide that?”

“Of course not.”

Jeon Oh-su laughed.

“But think about it. Didn’t our families send us to Wudang for exactly this sort of thing?”

“What?”

“Think it through. If we go back down after learning nothing but Wudang’s martial arts and accomplishing absolutely nothing, there won’t be a place for us. You all have at least one sibling, don’t you?”

At Jeon Oh-su’s words, which were cold beyond merely rational, the atmosphere turned chilly.

“Originally, in business investment, you go in while accepting risk. And the greater the risk, the greater the return. That’s only common sense. You lot are all being too cautious. Think it over. If you try to enter later after hesitating, you know it’ll taste worse.”

At Jeon Oh-su’s words, everyone began watching one another. Even Yeo Hong-yang seemed to have sunk into deep thought.

“Fine. We’ll take a gamble too. In any case, we’re only a small-to-mid-sized merchant company, so I doubt the Zhuge Clan will bother paying that much attention to us.”

“Us too.”

One by one, people began getting hooked and joining in because of Jeon Oh-su’s words. I smiled faintly. Then I looked at Yeo Hong-yang. In any case, the biggest fish here was still Yeo Hong-yang of Thousand Hands Merchant Company.

“…For now, I’ll at least report it back to my family.”

Inside my sleeve, I clenched my fist tightly.

Now it was Wudang’s turn to begin its counterattack.