Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Third-Rate Martial Family Becomes World's Best
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Separated from Yeo Gu-wi, I returned to my lodgings.
It was the manor housing the Baek Book Merchant Group's headquarters.
Adu, who had been sitting cross-legged in the garden near the main gate, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Yang-hui. What kept you out so late?"
I glanced at the sky. The sun hadn't even set—what did he mean, late?
"I was earning rice cake money, so cut me some slack."
"This little monk waited a long time. So give me rice cakes."
I handed over a bundle of sweets and rice cakes I'd bought on the way, and Adu's face lit up instantly.
"Thank you, benefactor. Thank you, benefactor. Amitabha."
"If I don't give any and you throw a fit yelling 'benefactor,' the other monks will think it's ridiculous."
After that little dig, I headed to Chu Yong-wol's quarters.
Though still a child not yet fifteen, she was already performing the role of deputy leader, so Chu Yong-wol had her own private office.
"Deputy Chu. I've arrived."
"Ah, Young Master Baek."
Buried in piles of documents, Chu Yong-wol lifted her head at the sound of my voice.
Her face was full of fatigue, but the worry and anxiety from before were gone.
That was because the Changwol Escort Bureau had become the Nanchang branch of the Heaven-Covering Escort Agency, lifting the pressure on the merchant group.
"Did your talk with Escort Leader Yeo—no, Leader Yeo—go well?"
"Yes. But midway through, the Lord of the White-Clothed Gate barged in."
I gave her a suitable summary of my conversation with the White-Clothed Gate Lord.
Chu Yong-wol, listening intently, nodded.
"He's not wrong. Having Everbliss Road surpass Radiance Road is no easy feat. Simply put, we'd have to overcome a century of history."
I knew that.
And I held the trump card to turn that grueling task into a breeze.
'Little Miss So's descendant, So Wol-hyang. With her, Radiance Road would be nothing.'
But Chu Yong-wol seemed to think otherwise.
Suddenly, she made an apologetic face.
"Young Master Baek. To spend such a fortune—five thousand gold taels, no less—for our merchant group... I'm truly touched."
From Chu Yong-wol's standpoint, her plea for help against pressure from the White-Clothed Gate and Changwol Escort Bureau had resulted in establishing Everbliss Road. It was natural for her to feel sorry and grateful.
"Don't make that face. No need to apologize—I didn't take a loss."
"I understand your confidence, but... generating profit might be quite tough."
To break even, they'd need to earn five thousand gold taels, so her thinking made sense.
But.
"Profit isn't just money. For the main family, shifting from defense to offense is gain enough."
"Ah! Right, it all started with pressuring the merchant group to rein in the Baek family."
I nodded and continued.
"They handed us the pretext, so we'll make Nanchang our family's domain for good. I ask for much assistance from the Baek Book Merchant Group."
"You got it! If things go according to plan, we'll reap the biggest rewards!"
Seeing Chu Yong-wol clench her fist, I couldn't help but smirk.
As expected of a true merchant—just thinking about profits gave her energy.
"Anyway. I'll visit the main house, stay about a month, then head straight to Hangzhou. Please arrange a carriage and boat passage to match the timing."
Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province lay northeast of Jiangxi, so stopping at the main house would double the journey.
But I had no choice if I wanted to inspect the Baek A Unit's training and release their Pursuit Blood Points.
'Well, completing Everbliss Road will take at least half a year anyway.'
Come to think of it, I needed to devise ways to speed up construction.
That half-year gap could become a fatal weakness.
'Factoring in timing too. Yeah, that's the way.'
Near Huangshan in southern Anhui Province, there was a faction called the Myriad Woods Gang.
Less a martial sect and more a guild of carpenters, yet every member cultivated internal energy, their craftsmanship unrivaled under heaven.
'They say all those temples on Huangshan, famed for their exquisite beauty, were built by the Myriad Woods Gang?'
As the name implied, rumor held they could craft ten thousand forms from mere wood.
If commissioned, they'd surely boost Everbliss Road's construction immensely.
'The issue is... having to go to Anhui.'
I'd smashed the Namgung clan's backsides hard at the Sword King Tomb.
I'd even shown my face to Namgung Cheon-hu, so they were no doubt gnashing their teeth.
...Nothing major would happen, right?
'Wonder what that bastard Namgung Cheon-hu is up to now.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ One key difference between third-rate to first-rate martial artists and peak masters was the dantian.
In the martial world, those who unified mind, energy, and body to shatter human limits were dubbed peak masters.
Thus, peak realm martial artists wielded abilities forbidden to ordinary folk.
For example, opening dantians beyond the lower one.
"Huff! Huff! Damn it. Damn... it...!"
Qi resided in the lower dantian, essence in the middle dantian, and spirit in the upper.
Together: essence, qi, spirit. The middle dantian's essence was innate qi—true origin true qi.
What martial artists called potential: the vital force allowing life to thrive.
"That demonic sword! If not for that damned demonic sword!"
Angry mutters leaked from his lips. Namgung Cheon-hu's face was gaunt, aged over a decade.
It had to be so.
A month and some weeks prior.
Trapped in the Sword King Tomb, Namgung Cheon-hu had grasped an unknown demonic sword, only for its demonic essence to dominate his mind and send him rampaging.
Up to that point, tolerable.
No, not really.
He'd suffered devastating losses that ground his teeth and boiled his blood.
Still, he could've written it off as unavoidable.
The problem: his rampage had also unleashed his potential.
Otherwise, he couldn't have slaughtered dozens of his own Cheoncheon Sword Brigade members.
'Recovering this damaged vital energy will require at least a year of recuperation.'
Recuperation here meant wasting a year without proper training.
Normally, depleting innate qi caused bodily harm—severe cases, premature death. Not trivial.
But possible thanks to his peak realm and superior arts.
Of course, it demanded relentless, teeth-grinding effort.
'I will repay them. Definitely.'
That damned sorceress who dared use a bearer of the Namgung name.
Plus those Tang and Baek pests who acted above their station.
He vowed to return this humiliation a hundredfold.
"Truly pathetic."
Namgung Cheon-hu's body went rigid.
"Ah, Father."
"Don't call me that now. I can't believe you're my son and the young clan leader."
The heavy Namgung aura filled the entire training ground.
Master of the Five Great Clans of the World: Soaring Heaven Namgung.
Clan head Namgung One Sword.
It was his arrival.
"...Clan Head."
"Do you have time to wallow clutching dirt? After losing subordinates, tarnishing the family honor, and damaging your true origin qi?"
"......"
Namgung Cheon-hu made no reply.
Not from lack of words.
Any retort would be dismissed by his father and clan head, Namgung One Sword, as excuses.
'...Father. Why so merciless only to me?'
Namgung One Sword's eyes, clicking his tongue, brimmed with disapproval.
Disappointment would've been preferable.
Eyes devoid of expectation wounded him deeper.
"Learn from your brother. Holding the young clan leader title yet showing nothing but shortcomings."
"......"
Namgung One Sword hadn't always been this way.
There was a time Namgung Cheon-hu basked in the family's expectations, father included.
Until the day his fourteen-year-old little brother first gripped a sword—everything changed.
"Remember, Cheon-hu. What you hold is an illusion that can vanish anytime."
'It won't vanish. You'll seize it and hand it to my brother.'
Unspeakable thoughts. He stared piercingly at Namgung One Sword's retreating back.
'Father. No, Clan Head. I will become master of the main family. By any means.'
Darkness clouded Namgung Cheon-hu's eyes.
A blackness transcending black dwelled within.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Baek Yang-hui could hold back no longer and shouted.
"Kid! Quit stuffing your face! There won't be dinner left!"
Adu grumbled, cheeks bulging.
"But carriage rides are boring."
"Boredom's in your head—why fill your gut?!"
"My mouth."
"......"
Shouldn't have brought this idiot along.
Not heading to Hangzhou for a fight—a hulking glutton was useless anyway.
'What possessed me to drag him as a companion?'
Ah. Right—this kid had whined about not wanting to part.
"That's why I said stay and play at the main house."
"The great monk said follow good people."
"You got separated last time. With someone you know, you won't wander off."
"But it's a long trip. Anyway, more rice cakes okay?"
"......"
A sigh slipped out.
"Jeez. Absurd enough dragging a monk to fetch a courtesan—now rations too?"
"Courtesan? Pretty lady?"
"......How do you know that? You're a monk."
"The great monk told me."
Someone called 'great monk' had to be at least a first-disciple—no, elder rank.
And he'd talked courtesans?
To Adu, of all people?
I pondered gravely.
...Is Shaolin in decline? No omens in my past life.
"Riding a carriage to meet a woman. You like girls, huh?"
"Wrong, kid. This is all for rice cake money too."
A crystal-clear truth, utterly sincere.
No one but Hangzhou's her could prosper Everbliss Road.
Conversely, just seating So Wol-hyang... Little Miss So on Everbliss Road.
'Could turn Everbliss Road into Jiangnan's pleasure hub, rivaling Suzhou and Hangzhou.'
Hundreds of years ago, a courtesan was born in Hangzhou.
Her beauty transcended the mortal realm: peerless under heaven.
World's best in poetry, books, painting, song, and dance: the eightfold beauty.
Posterity hailed her thus.
Foremost courtesan of antiquity and now: Su Xiaoxiao.
"Mounting the azure stallion, riding the jade-balcony carriage, I met you. Where shall our hearts entwine? Beneath Xiling's pines and cypresses, your answer lies."
Slightly twisting Su Xiaoxiao's verse, Baek Yang-hui recalled a past-life moment.
So Wol-hyang. Descendant of Su Xiaoxiao, forever striving to surpass her forebears—the day he'd bonded with her.
"This girl, even in death, will sing for young hero. So please... won't you spare a corner of memory for this girl?"
'Little Miss So. This life, sing while alive. For our Baek family, not just me. And for your own dream.'