Chapter 5

If he answered, “Yes, that’s right, I was that stupid and pathetic,” it was obvious that a sword wielded by one of the men standing behind Seol Woon-hwi would sever Cheong Myeong’s neck on the spot.

Especially that man of slight build. The lethal glint in his eyes was… far from ordinary.

He was likely a branch member by the name of “Han Mu-rin,” if memory served…

“Branch Master Cheong.”

At the voice that suddenly cut through the air, he snapped back to his senses.

“…Y-Yes…”

“How could I not understand what’s on your mind?”

“…”

“I understand completely. That insurance contract in your hands was undoubtedly drawn up under coercion. Though those three bastards bore the ultimate price for it, strictly speaking, I too cannot be entirely free from that blame, can I?”

“…However…”

“This happened because I was soft back then, so it is only proper that I take responsibility for it. That said, I cannot simply hand over my head, so I intend to take responsibility in my own way. Would you care to listen?”

It was utterly bewildering. Cheong Myeong had expected a harsh reprimand, but instead, the man was offering something akin to an apology.

Is he really… out of his mind?

Swallowing hard, Cheong Myeong spoke up.

“I will… listen attentively.”

“A good posture. It’s simple. From now on, I intend to entrust more than seven tenths of Snow Pressure’s total cargo transport to your group.”

Though brief, Cheong Myeong was not the master of a merchant group for nothing. He was quick with numbers, which was precisely why he held his position. He immediately grasped just how immense this proposition was.

“…Branch Manager… Even though we are a large merchant group here in Snow Pressure, we cannot possibly handle over seven tenths of all transport in the region on our own.”

“Why do you think you can’t?”

Cheong Myeong blinked in shock.

“My, you’re quick with calculations, but your ambition seems a bit too small.”

“…CO-Could it be…?”

“To take charge of Snow Pressure, you must naturally possess a size worthy of it. Hire people and absorb the surrounding smaller merchant outfits.”

Cheong Myeong was left dazed. Looking at him, Seol Woon-hwi continued.

“Usually, those without power make one of three choices. The first is to strike head-on and perish valiantly. The second is to bow and scrape, no matter what filthy work they witness. The third is to align themselves with a stronger side.”

Seol Woon-hwi’s expression was grave, and hearing those words, Cheong Myeong’s face turned equally serious.

“At least for now—whether you believe it or not—the strongest side in Snow Pressure is me. Whether a stronger party appears later and you jump ship to them is your choice, but for now, stick to me. I will give you a suitable opportunity.”

“…Why… would you give us such a massive opportunity?”

“Whether running a merchant group of your current size is right for you, or whether you can handle a larger one… frankly speaking, I do not know. But this is my way of taking responsibility.”

Staring quietly at Cheong Myeong, Seol Woon-hwi spoke softly.

“Earlier, I said those without power make three choices. Do you remember?”

“Yes… I remember.”

“Then what choices do those with power make?”

“…That is…”

“Use them continuously, cast them aside once they’ve been bled dry, test their qualifications by offering better opportunities… There are truly many choices.”

“…”

“I will make my choices my way, so you make yours your way.”

He stood up from his seat.

“Do you need time to prepare?”

“…Yes. Please give me about two days.”

“Two days, is it…? Very well. And your group will also handle all future shipments starting immediately.”

“T-Thank you!”

“Also, before starting transport, bring a proper insurance contract to the branch. I will tolerate a reasonable margin for profit, but if you attempt any absurd tricks like Ya Woon-sang, I will withdraw all the proposals made today, and the Blue Cloud Merchant Group will have to pull out of Snow Pressure from that very day. Naturally, a considerable amount of blood will have to be spilled on your way out.”

“…D-Do not worry…!”

Nodding, Seol Woon-hwi turned around.

He had lightly taken care of the immediate affairs at hand. Now, he intended to raise his martial realm.

Stepping outside, Seol Woon-hwi spotted Cheon Pung wiping sweat from his forehead with a bright smile.

“Did you find it?”

“Yes! I found it!”

Taking the ledger handed over by Cheon Pung, Seol Woon-hwi scanned it rapidly. His eyes moved incessantly, scrutinizing every single detail as if refusing to miss a single mark.

Then, he stopped at a certain section.

Pfft.

A dry laugh escaped his lips.

“They really pulled every trick in the book.”

At those words, several of the branch members flinched. Feigning ignorance of their reactions, Seol Woon-hwi resumed reading through the ledger.

He stopped again, let out a smirk, and resumed reading once more—stopping a total of three times.

Pondering silently, he shut the ledger with a sharp snap and turned to Cheon Pung.

“How much was recovered from their quarters?”

“We found ten gold pieces and around five hundred silver pieces.”

There was a stark discrepancy compared to the amounts recorded in the ledger. It had been six whole years. Over those six years, a mere ten gold pieces and five hundred silver pieces? That made no sense.

Yet it was entirely understandable. Since they had systematically funneled the embezzled funds elsewhere, it was only natural for the vault to be empty.

“What about the items?”

“We found some spiritual pills, high-grade cultivation resources, and a few weapons. Everything has been brought back to the branch, so you may check them at your convenience.”

Recalling a few entries from the ledger, Seol Woon-hwi remarked casually:

“Among those spiritual pills, are there any Ice Heart Spirit-Clearing Pills (氷心淸靈丸), White Tiger Purity Pills (白虎純淨丹), Body-Tempering Pills (強體丸), or White Jade Soul-Nourishing Pills (白玉養神丹)?”

Thinking for a moment, Cheon Pung shook his head.

“Ah, there are no Body-Tempering Pills or White Jade Soul-Nourishing Pills, but there is one Ice Heart Spirit-Clearing Pill and two White Tiger Purity Pills.”

“And what about the high-grade cultivation resources?”

“Yes. We recovered Patterned Grass (紋樣草) and Myriad Transformation Spiritual Energy Fruit (萬化靈氣果).”

Naturally, spiritual pills are indispensable items for martial artists. They can be crafted or formed naturally; though generally expensive and rare, their effects are permanent. However, as mentioned, because they are difficult to obtain and costly, not all martial artists can consume spiritual pills.

That was why cultivation resources were developed. The glaring difference between them and spiritual pills lies in price. Cultivation resources are cheaper than spiritual pills, and though their effects are temporary, they carry virtually no side effects.

Thus, most martial artists seek out and consume cultivation resources. Some have them custom-brewed by herbalists, while others visit reclusive physicians to procure medicine.

Generally, standard cultivation resources are only effective for martial artists in the 4th Stage of Qi Refining, but high-grade cultivation resources are different. They provide immense benefits to powerhouses in the Gathering of the Five Qi preparing to enter the 4th Realm of Heaven and Earth, as well as those already in the 4th Realm of Heaven and Earth.

“A fellow merely at the level of Sunshine Two Manifestations managed to procure top-grade cultivation resources, did he…? What did you say the realm of Ice-Snow Sword Trace was?”

“Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.”

“And the Sect Leader of the Main Spirit Sword Sect to which Ice-Snow Sword Trace belongs?”

“Gathering of the Five Qi.”

“I heard he entered closed-door cultivation—is that correct?”

“Yes.”

The picture was coming together roughly.

“Cheon Pung.”

“Yes, Branch Manager.”

“Deliver the spiritual pills and high-grade cultivation resources I mentioned to my quarters, and call Chief Steward Seong to begin sorting through the remaining items.”

“Yes, I shall do so.”

Seol Woon-hwi’s gaze swept across the branch members.

It was a truly peculiar scene. Under his gaze, several branch members turned their eyes away as if feeling guilty, while others wore expressions as if they had made up their minds about something.

Anyone could see it was abnormal.

Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.

“Everyone, return to your posts.”

“Are you not returning, Branch Manager?”

“I have a place to stop by.”

“…”

“Dismissed.”

“Understood!”

Turning around, Woon-hwi began to stroll away leisurely.

The world of martial artists is cold and ruthless. The strong rule over the weak—in the martial world, the words of the strong are law, and their actions are order.

In dividing such powerhouses, there is a criterion so obvious that hardly anyone would object to it. That is the realm of cultivation.

The fundamental starting stage, the Three Physical Realms (身三境); the Four Qi Refining Stages (練氣四境) where one skillfully manipulates energy; the Four Heaven-Earth Realms (天地四境) where one opens the upper Dantian to manipulate the energy of nature; and the Five Martial God Realms (武神五境) where one controls the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Generally, the powerhouses who command respect across the Martial World belong, without exception, to the Five Martial God Realms.

Reaching even the first stage, Unity of Heaven and Man (天人合一), is enough to be treated as a formidable powerhouse, while ascending to the higher realms—Boundless Manifestation (無極顯神), Dao Transformation True Authority (道化權眞), and Supreme Void Formlessness (太虛無相)—earns reverence wherever one goes.

And above those lies the final stage of the Five Martial God Realms, Primordial Sovereign (混元獨尊), a realm that vies for supreme dominance under Heaven. From the present moment through my death, and across the tens of thousands of years in Central Plains history, a mere hundred or so individuals have ever reached it.

Of course, two hundred or so is merely the number I know of.

There is a legendary realm known as the Three Innate Realms (先天三境), but even I do not know much about it. I have never reached it, nor have I ever seen anyone who has.

However, I have provoked them before. Because their behavior was so utterly pathetic, I set fire to the Peach Garden, smashed the Bloodstone that the Blood Cult tried to offer them, and annihilated the Thunder-Lightning Demon Cult that wiped their behinds.

To be frank, I did want to see them at least once. But no matter what method I used, they never showed themselves. It wasn’t that they chose not to move directly; they couldn’t move.

That is the extent of all I know. It was always only the bastards who received their orders that acted. At any rate, I lived like a madman, and I will likely live like a madman in this life as well.

Not harboring regrets is true only from my perspective; to others, my actions would be full of incomprehensible behavior.

There is no reason to justify myself to them. Just like right now.

A man was visible in front of me. Around the man’s waist hung a single tied knot.

It was the symbol representing a One-Knot Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect.

Newly initiated disciples have no knots, so they are called White-Robed Beggars. Upon advancing a level, they are given a single knot, becoming a One-Knot Beggar. Advancing again adds another knot, making them a Two-Knot Beggar. From Three-Knot Beggars onward, they serve as branch heads of small sub-branches; Four-Knot Beggars head branches in larger regions; Five-Knot Beggars and above serve as department heads or guardians at headquarters managing multiple sub-branches; Six-Knot Beggars manage multiple headquarters; Seven-Knot Beggars serve as elders at the main Beggars’ Sect headquarters; Eight-Knot Beggars represent the heir to the Sect Leader; and Nine-Knot Beggars signify the Sect Leader himself.

Indeed. It was the Beggars’ Sect.

Those beggars, who could be called an intelligence organization, roamed every corner of the land, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain was no exception.

Gazing at me with sparkling eyes, the One-Knot Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect asked:

“What brings you here?”

“Is the Branch Head inside?”

“The Branch Head? Well now… I doubt he’s in.”

“He’s not in?”

“Yeah, probably not.”

“Do you know who I am?”

Scanning me with a peculiar gaze, the One-Knot Beggar smiled faintly.