Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: The Grand Martial Arts Tournament (2)
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“Does it have to be now?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
I had no intention of welshing on the debt, but the timing was a bit difficult.
As Yu So-pyeong had informed me in his letter, the annexation of the lands south of Gansu had left us severely short on warriors.
Furthermore, with the three hundred members of the Black Dragon Brigade now here in the Nine Dragons Fortress for the founding of the Battle Dragon Hall, the manpower shortage was bound to become even more critical.
‘That’s why I’ve been gathering slaves…’
As I showed my reluctance, Yong Ma-san nodded as if he understood.
“I know the situation is not ideal.”
“…It is a bit difficult right now. Ah, of course, I have no intention of running out on the debt.”
In the last war, we received help from the Beggars’ Sect.
They provided real-time locations of the enemy, mapped out their expected routes, and supplied us with food.
Thanks to them, our forces could carry out their operations safely and well-fed, while the Beggars’ Sect lost over a hundred of its members.
I wasn’t shameless enough to ignore a debt like that.
“It’s the price of lives, isn’t it?”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
“Don’t thank me, I should be thanking you. Thanks to you, my men survived.”
I refilled Yong Ma-san’s cup.
“I can stretch my resources to settle the Beggars’ Sect’s blood debt. But my honest feeling is that I’d like to postpone it a little.”
“I’m sorry, but it has to be now.”
“I see.”
“Instead, there’s no longer a need to use the power of the War King Sect.”
“Hm?”
As I looked at him, puzzled by his unexpected answer, he took a sip of his drink and continued.
“The target is coming here. To challenge you, Hall Master Jin.”
“What? But why?”
“Hall Master Jin, do you happen to know the two things martial artists risk their lives for?”
“How could I not? Martial arts and fame, right?”
Though in my case, money comes first.
“Correct. Then what do you think is the fastest way to gain fame in the current martial world?”
“Well… through duels… wait a minute.”
“It seems you’ve caught on. That’s right. Defeating you, Hall Master Jin, has become the best way to gain fame in the current martial world. You’re the only one among the Seven Hegemons who accepts duels, and your whereabouts are always clear.”
“…”
“Besides, you’re young, so how could they not think they might have a chance?”
“…I must look like quite the pushover.”
“Victory isn’t always determined by who is stronger in martial arts, is it?”
“True.”
It was a ridiculous thing to say, but duels weren’t always fought fairly.
All sorts of dirty tricks were rampant, from poisoning an opponent beforehand to arranging a private duel under the pretext of not wanting to reveal one’s techniques, only to attack them together.
However.
“Are there really any madmen who would try something like that on me now?”
My thought was that no one would dare pull such a stunt on me, the first disciple of the Lord of the Nine Dragons Republic.
“It depends on the opponent, doesn’t it? What if it’s a villain with the power and background to do so, and who is skilled in underhanded schemes?”
“…Who is it?”
“The Mountain King Association and the Water Dragon Gate.”
“…!”
I couldn’t help but be surprised by the names that came from Yong Ma-san’s lips.
It was only natural.
The Mountain King Association, the successor to the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest, was a major sect that ran the Mountain King Escort Agency, said to be on par with the Silver Dragon Hall’s Silver Star Escort Agency.
The number of escorts under their command alone exceeded a thousand.
The Water Dragon Gate was no pushover either.
As the successor to the Yangtze River Water Fortress, they had built a large merchant guild based on the massive waterway of the Yangtze River and commanded over five hundred warriors.
Most importantly.
“…Aren’t they part of the Four Lions Alliance?”
They were major pillars of the Four Lions Alliance, much like the seven halls of the Nine Dragons Fortress.
“They are.”
“…You spoke as if they were no big deal before.”
“That’s because I had a plan.”
“What plan?”
“The plan was to split the War King Sect’s forces in two, seize the Mountain King Escort Agency’s goods, and burn the Water Dragon Gate’s ships. Considering the War King Sect’s mobility, it was a perfectly viable strategy.”
“What if you got caught? Do you think the Four Lions Alliance would stand by and do nothing?”
“We intended to erase all traces of the War King Sect and announce that we were the ones who did it. As you know, that kind of work is our specialty.”
“…But the situation has changed now?”
“Now that an easier way has presented itself, there’s no need to take the difficult path, is there?”
“…”
I was conflicted.
It was true I owed them a debt, but the Mountain King Association and the Water Dragon Gate were a different story.
‘This could easily escalate into a war.’
It might even give the Four Lions Alliance a pretext to act.
As if sensing my hesitation, Yong Ma-san’s eyes glinted.
“Don’t worry. I will handle it so that the kind of incident you’re thinking of won’t happen.”
“Tell me.”
“Ah, the plan is…”
I cut him off as he was about to explain the plan.
“No, tell me everything, right from the moment the Beggars’ Sect and those bastards got entangled. I think that’s the only way you’ll stir my heart.”
“…This is going to be a long night of drinking.”
“Don’t worry, the alcohol is overflowing.”
That night, I stayed up drinking with Yong Ma-san.
***
Recently, the atmosphere in the Military Affairs Department was like walking on thin ice.
The reason was simple: overtime.
With the three provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang being incorporated, the workload of the Military Affairs Department had more than doubled.
People get edgy when they’re tired.
As a result, not only the Grand Chancellor but also the secretaries who headed each division grew more irritable, and the common scribes were paying the price.
Into this tense atmosphere, an unexpected guest arrived.
“Mujeon is here!”
The Fighting Hegemon, Jin Mujeon.
An iconic figure who had reached the state of a Transcendent Master in his early twenties and, not long after, rose to become one of the Seven Hegemons, ranked just below the Ten Great Masters.
As if that weren’t enough to make him arrogant, the War King Sect, which he himself founded, had become a pillar of the Nine Dragons Fortress, and his master, the Combat King, had been appointed as the Fortress Lord.
In other words, he was a person whom others had to bow down to.
The scribes of the Military Affairs Department rushed out to greet him.
“Hehehe, what brings the Hall Master here today?”
“My, my! You look as dashing as ever today.”
“Servants, what are you doing? The ‘Great Young Lord’ has graced us with his presence. Bring tea at once!”
Numerous scribes hurried to his side, rubbing their hands together obsequiously.
“Oh? Isn’t that Scribe Jeong?”
“Hehe, to think you remember my humble name. It is an honor!”
“How could I forget? Back when I was a squad leader in the Outer Hall, you gave me such a hard time, nitpicking every single thing I did.”
“…”
“Hahaha, it’s all in the past, so it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“I… I am moved by your magnanimity.”
“By the way, who’s in charge here?”
At Mujeon’s question, an old scribe raised his hand.
“That would be me.”
“What is your name?”
“My surname is Ju, and my given name is Ho-pil. I am the Head Scribe of the Military Affairs Department.”
“I see. The reason I called for you, Head Scribe Ju, is because that Scribe Jeong over there seems to possess outstanding abilities.”
“Pardon?”
“How can you let such a talented person remain here? He should be entrusted with the administration of a place like the Southern Barbarian Jungle, at the very least.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Yes, yes sir!”
Leaving the ashen-faced Scribe Jeong behind, Mujeon strode confidently toward the Grand Chancellor’s office.
***
“Hmm…”
Meanwhile, the Grand Chancellor, who had been reviewing documents for some time, rubbed his eyes.
“I’m getting old. I should start looking for a successor soon.”
Just as the Grand Chancellor closed his weary eyes for a moment’s rest…
*Knock, knock.*
“The Battle Dragon Hall Master is here to see you.”
“…Let him in.”
News of an ominous guest’s arrival had come.
A name that made him anxious just by hearing it.
“What kind of scheme is he plotting this time…?”
The Grand Chancellor clicked his tongue, recalling Mujeon’s recent exploits.
‘To use a simple rumor to execute the stratagem of killing with a borrowed knife.’
Moreover, the ‘knife’ he had borrowed was the entire martial world; one could say his strategic mind was profound.
And of the over seven hundred members of the Baek Family Manor, almost none were said to have survived, which spoke volumes of his cruelty.
If he weren’t the Fortress Lord’s disciple, the Grand Chancellor would have wanted to make him his successor.
Just then, Mujeon opened the door and walked in with a bright smile.
“My, it’s only been a few days, but you look like you’ve lost half your weight. Are you making sure to eat properly?”
“Ahem, I haven’t been skipping meals. I wouldn’t be able to last if I starved.”
“Hmm, for someone who says that, your complexion is quite poor. I think you might need to take some elixir.”
“It would be a waste for someone like me who can’t even use martial arts to consume it. It would be more efficient to give it to the Fortress’s warriors.”
“Is that so? Hmm, then I suppose I brought this for nothing.”
Mujeon took something out from his robes.
An incredibly refreshing scent filled the Grand Chancellor’s office.
“…”
The Grand Chancellor knew. The moment he asked what it was, he would fall for Mujeon’s glib tongue.
That’s why he suppressed his soaring curiosity and didn’t even glance at it.
But that didn’t last long.
“Have you ever heard of seal penis? This, you see, is made from the ground-up, dried organ of a hundred-year-old seal as its primary ingredient…”
The Grand Chancellor’s ears perked up at the flamboyant rhetoric, like that of a medicine peddler.
Confirming the Grand Chancellor’s reaction, Mujeon continued his explanation with even more fervor.
“To such a precious ingredient, we’ve added hundred-year-old fleeceflower root, so its effects are beyond words. One of these pills, and even a seventy-year-old man will stand right up. You know? *Stand right up*.”
The Grand Chancellor questioned the absurd claim.
“…I find that hard to believe. Is it right for a Hall Master of the Inner Fortress to exaggerate so much?”
“No, it’s true! I wasn’t going to mention this, but do you know who made this?”
“How could I possibly know that?”
“Hah, I thought the Grand Chancellor would have been able to guess. There’s only one physician in my circle, isn’t there?”
“D-don’t tell me?”
“That’s right. The esteemed daughter of the Cheong Family Manor’s Lord and the genius of the century produced by the Cheong Family. The one whose fame now rings not just through the Nine Dragons Fortress, but all of Sichuan, no, the entire martial world—the Blue Flower Divine Maiden, Cheong So-so, made this. Naturally, its efficacy is guaranteed.”
“I-is that so?”
“So, what do you think? Should I take it back?”
“Kuh.”
A conflict arose in the Grand Chancellor’s mind.
If he accepted it, he would surely be played by that rascal, but if he didn’t, his physical condition was a mess.
And so.
Standing at a crossroads, the Grand Chancellor agonized for a long time before concluding to accept Mujeon’s gift.
‘Well, he hasn’t caused any harm to the Fortress…’
As the Grand Chancellor extended his hand, Mujeon quickly placed the elixir in it.
“The medicinal effects will diminish over time, so you should take it now.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. I was told clearly that once the seal is broken, it loses one-tenth of a fen of its efficacy every quarter-hour.”
“Then I mustn’t.”
*Gulp.*
The Grand Chancellor swallowed the elixir with the tea in front of him.
Perhaps because it was a secret elixir from the Cheong Family Manor, a whirlwind of vitality surged through him, and his eyes shot open.
“This is incredible!”
“How is it? Are you pleased?”
“…I can’t lie. I feel a vitality coursing through my whole body, as if I’ve slept for three days straight.”
“Hehehe, I’m glad.”
Looking at Mujeon’s sly expression, the Grand Chancellor let out a sigh.
He had received something, so now it was his turn to repay the favor.
“Alright, what did you come for this time?”
“It’s nothing major, just a simple favor I’d like to ask.”
A wave of anxiety washed over him.
“…Speak.”
As the Grand Chancellor spoke in a heavy voice, Mujeon began with a flourish.
“As you know, a number of things happened when my master was inaugurated as the Fortress Lord. So, what I mean is…”
“Get to the point.”
“Ahem, I’m thinking of holding a martial arts tournament.”
Yong Ma-san said with a scornful smile, as if it were nothing.