Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Transfer Market
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#063: The Transfer Market
The Nine Dragons Tournament concluded successfully.
The winner, Dan Un, received the Blue and Red Twin Pills, 1,000 silver coins, and a sword considered a divine weapon.
Among these, the most valuable was undoubtedly the sword.
The Black Steel Divine Sword.
It was the signature weapon of the Black Killing Demon Immortal, a renowned great demon from a century ago. Forged from a mixture of mystic and cloud iron, it was hailed as the sturdiest divine weapon in the world.
For Dan Un, who had already trained in the heavy sword, it was the perfect gift.
And as for me, the runner-up…
‘It’s a cruel world that only remembers the winner.’
I got nothing.
All I received was 500 silver coins, and even that was snatched away by Cheong So-so.
“You have to pay for the medicinal herbs!”
“Didn’t you say you’d treat me for free if I won?”
“So you expect me to pay for the herbs too? Did you bury your conscience in the ground? Do you have any idea what it takes to heal internal injuries? Fine. If you’re that stingy, I’ll treat you with acupuncture alone. Just be prepared to spend the next year or two confined to your bed.”
“…”
Well, that’s how it went.
After paying for the herbs, I was left with a mere 10 silver coins. It was as if 490 silver coins had vanished just for using the Chain Ring Force once.
‘Losing half a billion at once… this must be a forbidden demonic art.’
But despite my regrets, my heart was full.
“Hehehe.”
I still had a hoard of money I’d won from betting on the Nine Dragons Tournament.
About 3,500 silver coins.
In modern terms, it was a massive fortune of 3.5 billion won.
‘Just a little more and I can!’
I’d be able to leave the Nine Dragons Fortress.
The mere thought of it made my stomach feel like it would burst with joy.
“Hehehe.”
As I was savoring my happiness alone, Myo Hyang entered with a small tray.
*Clank.*
“Time to eat!”
It was porridge, with steam rising from it.
“Aww, porridge again?”
“You wouldn’t be able to digest anything else. But I’ve added shredded chicken, so it should be palatable.”
*Slurp.*
Just as Myo Hyang said, one spoonful revealed a deep flavor.
To think that simple chicken porridge could be this delicious.
And in an era where you couldn’t find MSG like chicken stock.
I think I’ll have to take Myo Hyang with me when I leave the Nine Dragons Fortress.
I’ll hire a bunch of housekeepers, so all she’ll have to do is cook three homemade meals a day.
It sounds amazing just thinking about it.
Having three wives and four concubines while eating Myo Hyang’s warm, home-cooked meals—what could be more decadent?
As I was lost in such happy fantasies and focusing on my recovery…
“You don’t look too bad.”
Bukgung Baek came to visit.
“Hall Master.”
“Stay in bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…”
Bukgung Baek stood by my bedside, quietly looking down at me.
His already intimidating face looked even more so from below.
The scar running from his chin across his eye was especially overwhelming.
Still, perhaps because we’d been through the trenches together?
He felt more familiar than before.
“Is there something you wish to say…?”
“Hmm.”
He hesitated, which was unlike him.
Considering he usually blurted out whatever was on his mind without a filter, this was quite a rare sight.
“…Visitors from the Inner Fortress will be arriving soon.”
“From the Inner Fortress, sir?”
“Probably for recruitment.”
“…Recruitment.”
I roughly understood.
As a rule, once you join one of the Inner Fortress halls, you cannot transfer.
That’s true for any martial arts sect.
Allowing transfers would be tantamount to releasing your sect’s martial arts as open source to other sects.
Another reason a transfer market doesn’t exist is that one doesn’t pay a price to learn the martial arts.
You can’t just teach someone your sect’s core techniques for free, only to have them become a loyal worker for another sect.
For this reason, martial sects punish traitors severely.
As they often proclaim, they sever the sinews of their limbs and destroy their dantian, and in most cases, even take their heads.
It’s a natural course of action, since the martial arts they learned would still be in their heads even if their dantian was destroyed.
However, my case was a bit different.
I, too, had learned martial arts for free at the Nine Dragons Fortress, so I couldn’t transfer to other factions like the Martial Emperor Fortress or the Ten Demon Alliance.
But transfers between factions within the fortress were allowed.
After all, what I learned were the basic martial arts of the Nine Dragons Fortress, not the secret techniques of the eight halls of the Inner Fortress.
And yet, a guy like that placed second in the Nine Dragons Tournament.
To the eight halls of the Inner Fortress, recruiting me must seem like securing a future supreme master.
The problem was…
‘I can’t trust anyone who offers a lot of money. They’ll just work me to the bone.’
Sects, like corporations, need to get a return on their investment.
For the record, once you learn the martial arts of the Nine Dragons Fortress and become a warrior, there is no retirement. It’s not that you ‘don’t’ quit, it’s that you ‘can’t’ quit.
You must live your entire life in the fortress, carrying out its orders. That is the price for learning its martial arts.
That’s why I planned to save up enough money, escape the Nine Dragons Fortress, purchase a manor deep in the mountains, and live in seclusion.
“What will you do?”
Bukgung Baek asked again as I was lost in thought, and I answered firmly.
“I’m not going. How could I leave you, Hall Master? I will bury my bones in the Outer Hall.”
Of course, that was a lie.
It was true I’d stay in the Outer Hall until I reached my goal, but why would I bury my bones here?
‘Once I save five thousand silver, I’m out of here.’
However, Bukgung Baek, unaware of my thoughts, smiled with satisfaction.
My resolute answer must have pleased him.
“I see.”
He stood up and handed me something.
“Take this.”
It was a small, black wooden box.
Even with it closed, a clear, fragrant scent wafted out, suggesting it was no ordinary item.
“…What is this?”
“It’s a spiritual medicine passed down in my family. You can only take it once, so consume it when you’re in peak condition. You can call for me then, if you wish.”
“Hall Master, your gra— *cough, cough*. I will cherish this grace for three lifetimes, in your honor.”
I got choked up trying to overdo it.
As he was leaving through the door, Bukgung Baek turned back to me and said,
“I’ll be checking on it later, so don’t you dare sell it.”
In many ways, Bukgung Baek knew me all too well.
* * *
Just as Bukgung Baek had predicted, visitors came in a steady stream.
The first to arrive was Oh Dae-san, the Raging Tiger Spear of the Silver Dragon Hall.
I had once escorted the son of a southern barbarian chieftain to the Nine Dragons Fortress with him.
As befitting a high-ranking member of an escort agency that was more corporation than martial arts sect, he tried to recruit me with a smooth tongue.
“I knew Squad Leader Jin was a master, so I had a bit of fun. Hehehe, no matter how great the Gray Dragon Saber is, he can’t compare to our Squad Leader Jin, who thrashed even the elders of the Southern Heaven Palace.”
“How much did you win?”
“…W-well.”
“You bet on the White Dragon Sword in the final round, didn't you?”
“That’s not what’s important right now. You’ll be shocked when you hear the offer I’ve brought for you, Squad Leader Jin.”
“What is it?”
“I spoke specially with my Hall Master and have arranged to recruit you as an escort leader. What do you say? Doesn’t your heart flutter at the thought of traveling the world and witnessing its wonders?”
He was telling me to sleep on the dirt with the sky as my blanket.
“No.”
He didn’t even bring a transfer fee, and he’s talking nonsense.
I firmly rejected Oh Dae-san’s offer.
What was this, some kind of ‘Walking Across the Central Plains’ show?
The second to visit was from the Gray Dragon Hall. The Vice Hall Master himself, boasting brawny arms, came to see me.
“Working in a mine is a bit…”
“Hah! Why would you refuse? It’s a way of training that kills two birds with one stone, building both internal and external arts while earning money!”
It’s full of guys like you.
“I’m a fist artist, though…”
“How can you be so dense? That’s all the more reason you should train in the mines!”
“…”
Stunned into silence by his absurd logic, he slammed the table and bellowed.
“The back! You can train your back! Have you ever heard of the Demon Back?!”
He then stripped off his shirt, showing off his back muscles.
Incredibly, the muscles on the Gray Dragon Vice Hall Master’s back genuinely resembled the face of a demon.
‘You can achieve that through effort?’
Maybe Baki Hanma should have come to this martial world instead of me.
I was slightly impressed, but…
“…I’m sorry, but I have no intention of leaving the Outer Hall.”
I refused firmly.
Besides, lean muscle is the trend these days, isn’t it?
The third to visit was Jeok Il, the Red Dragon Sword of the Red Dragon Hall.
“Have you thought about it?”
“About what…?”
“About Hwa-ran.”
“Ah…”
He started the conversation with an unbelievable proposal.
“The moment you transfer to the Red Dragon Hall, I will speak to my grandfather and arrange a match between you and Hwa-ran.”
“…Has this been discussed with her?”
“Hwa-ran is a member of the Red Dragon Hall. She will understand my intentions.”
“Go discuss it with her first. No, don’t come back even if you do. I have no intention of leaving the Outer Hall.”
“Are you saying you don’t like our Hwa-ran?”
He glared down at me, his eyes flashing, but I didn’t back down.
Whether he discussed it with her or not, Jeok Hwa-ran, whose heart was smaller than an egg, wasn’t my type to begin with.
Furthermore, if by some one-in-a-thousand—no, one-in-ten-thousand—chance I married into that family, I would have to spend the rest of my life with those murderous demons.
And taking a concubine in that situation?
It was highly likely my precious jewels would be severed within three days.
Therefore, I declared confidently.
“No, that’s not it…”
After dealing with Jeok Il, a familiar face appeared.
“Long time no see.”
It was Geum Jong-dae, a peer from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
For the record, when I kidnapped the Golden Flower Pavilion Master at Jeok Hwa-ran’s request, I had unintentionally exposed this guy’s S&M tendencies.
Although the rumor didn’t spread, he must have had a hard time keeping it quiet.
“I haven’t seen you around for a while. What have you been up to?”
I did my best to maintain a blank expression.
The memory of that time was so vivid that just seeing Geum Pil-dae’s—no, Geum Jong-dae's—face made the moans he’d let out while being whipped play back in my head.
‘Ah… ungh… ahn… ah… heu…’
“I’ve been focusing on my martial arts training, so I’ve stayed in…? Is something funny? Why are you smiling like that?”
“I’m just happy to see you after so long.”
For the record, he and I weren’t particularly close.
I had only hovered around him back when I was starving, hoping to pick up a stray silver coin.
Perhaps for that reason, Geum Jong-dae got straight to the point.
“I won’t beat around the bush. A monthly salary of 50 silver. The same treatment as the Head Manager.”
“…”
An incredible offer.
As my jaw dropped, Geum Jong-dae continued with a confident smile.
“The work isn’t difficult either. You just have to stay by my side and be my strength.”
“Be your strength?”
“Yes. Normally, you’ll act as my personal guard, and when the time comes for the succession competition, you’ll help me take over the family…”
“Stop. Get out of here right now.”
As if I’d let him drag me into his family feud.
There was no chance this guy would take over the Gold Dragon Hall.
How could a man who was played by a pretty-faced courtesan and got involved in what was essentially human trafficking ascend to the position of Gold Dragon Hall Master?
If it weren’t for his father’s backing, he would have rotted in an underground prison for the rest of his life.
Besides, while Geum Pil-dae wasn’t a once-in-a-generation genius, he was in many ways more capable than this guy.
In other words, sticking with this guy for the money was a good way to get my head chopped off.
After sending Geum Jong-dae away, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There were no other halls left to visit.
The Green Dragon Hall was so reclusive it didn’t have a scouting system, the Black Dragon Hall was a Daoist sect that only Daoists could enter, and the Blue Dragon Hall was famous for its vast pool of talent.
That only left the White Dragon Hall…
Since their Hall Master was utterly humiliated because of me, there was no way they would come.
If they did make an offer, it wouldn’t be with the intention of working together, but to find a chance to kill me.
Having rejected all the recruitment offers, I focused on my recovery. Two weeks later, I was finally able to move around.
From this point on, the speed of my recovery depended on my actions.
If I lay around complaining of pain, I would recover at the average rate of a healthy martial artist.
‘But if I train, I could recover even faster.’
Given the nature of the War King Arts, pouring my energy into training would drastically shorten my recovery period.
So, I went out into the courtyard and began practicing the movements of the War King Arts.
“Are you crazy?! I just stitched you up, what do you think you’re doing!”
Only to be scolded by Cheong So-so.