novelraw Chapter 172 The Trade Fair Hosted by the Ancient Martial Arts Association
Chapter 172 The Trade Fair Hosted by the Ancient Martial Arts Association
Tong Yuheng thought to himself: This action group is probably difficult to manage. Each family has its own agenda, and the participating members are more focused on their own family's development and lack loyalty to the people and the country. I'm afraid no one will submit to anyone else.
That is indeed the case, which is why Grandpa Li and his colleagues hoped to train loyal ancient martial arts warriors, and these warriors were placed under the jurisdiction of the military.
However, no family would share their cultivation techniques to train others. The techniques they possessed were slow to progress without guidance, and if practiced incorrectly, they could even ruin a perfectly healthy person. Therefore, they dared not try them casually.
She agreed to train a group of ancient martial arts warriors, thus placing herself in opposition to all the ancient martial arts families. They did not want a power capable of completely suppressing them to suddenly appear!
No wonder she still insisted on conducting this training under the guise of the Tong family's apprenticeship, even though it was kept entirely secret! Furthermore, these individuals would only be using the Tong family's name to enter the Ancient Martial Arts Association as martial artists. Using the Tong family's rules to manage and regulate their overt behavior was perfectly reasonable.
As for the future, if the apprentices taken in by the Tong family enter the regular army or government departments due to work needs, and why most of them have served in the military, that can only be said to be purely personal behavior.
Young people are full of passion, so isn't it their duty to serve in the military and protect their country? This is none of the Tong family's business. As long as these disciples don't violate the martial arts rules set by the Tong family, they won't interfere with what these people do.
According to Qiu Lancheng, many ancient martial arts families also form alliances with powerful and influential families in society, providing mutual support and assistance.
In essence, it is the families in society who need their martial power for support, while the ancient martial arts families need a lot of money and resources to improve their martial power, which the families in society need to provide.
He thought Dong Wuyou had taken a liking to the Zheng family and wanted to cooperate with them, which was why he had Zheng Yunqing sell those pills. In fact, Tong Yuheng didn't think that much about it. She didn't understand these rules and just wanted to make some money.
Currently, the most powerful ancient martial arts families include the Yang family of Longxi, the Cao family of Sichuan and Chongqing, the Cheng family of southern Jiangxi, and the Song family of Luohe. They all have a figure at the level of a Martial Saint, and their families are numerous and prosperous.
The other families differ greatly in strength and there are no further distinctions in rank. The ancient martial arts world does not hold large-scale competitions or rankings. The general rule is that martial arts are respected and everyone fights for themselves.
If there is a dispute over interests between a family or its allied affiliated families, a challenge can be proposed, and the Ancient Martial Arts Association will primarily mediate.
In short, if you can agree on the division of interests, shake hands and make peace; if you can't reach an agreement, fight it out within a certain area. This way of solving problems is simple and direct.
Tong Yuheng did not comment on this. She secretly resolved to improve her and her family's martial arts skills to a level that would make them invincible, and then make a stunning appearance here!
Qiu Lancheng led Tong Yuheng to the trading hall of the Ancient Martial Arts Association. By then, it was almost dark.
The trade fair was held in a stadium-like venue, brightly lit, and quite crowded. Not just anyone could get in; you needed an invitation or someone with an invitation to show you in.
These people were dressed in all sorts of different outfits; some wore long gowns, some wore Tang suits, and others wore Zhongshan suits and fashionable trench coats, like they had wandered onto a movie set. It felt like a time warp!
Long tables were set up around the venue. People who wanted to exchange items would stand behind the tables and place their belongings on them.
Few people sell counterfeit goods here, because it would offend someone they can't afford to offend, and being hunted down isn't worth it. If someone is unsure whether their item is genuine, they can clarify before exchanging it and draw up a written agreement, or they can pay for authentication; the small hut over there serves as the authentication room.
"Oh, thank you for bringing me here. If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'll just wander around and wait for you at the entrance when I'm done." Dong Wuyou (Tong Yuheng) wanted to wander around a bit and then contact Qiu Lancheng again.
Tong Yuheng parted ways with them and wandered around alone. Seeing some fresh medicinal herb seedlings, she bought them and carefully put them into her large backpack. In reality, she had already planted these seedlings in her spatial dimension.
As she wandered around, she felt a slight vibration in her space, and she felt that there might be a treasure she wanted here!
Tong Yuheng looked at the items on the table in front of him: a somewhat damaged jade pendant, a dark bronze censer about the size of a palm, a half-foot-tall sandalwood goddess statue, and an unremarkable, somewhat deformed, thick silver hairpin inlaid with gemstones.
All of these items look very old-fashioned, but in reality, they are of little use to people who practice ancient martial arts.
When she got the stall owner's permission to gently pick up these items to examine them, the space vibrated with each item she picked up!
What else is there to say? Let's buy them all!
"Hello, senior, how much are these things?" Tong Yuheng asked the stall owner, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties. She was certain that his martial arts skills were superior to hers, as she could sense the faint pressure emanating from his aura.
"Ten ginseng roots that are over fifty years old, or three that are over one hundred years old will do. Little girl, I doubt you have any. Go play somewhere else, don't keep me from doing business."
The man, guessing she couldn't produce what she wanted, impatiently shooed her away.
"I really don't have any ginseng. Didn't someone in my family need to recuperate? Maybe I can help." Tong Yuheng didn't want to give up; it was rare to encounter something that could make the space react.
Many families already know that the Tong family has health-enhancing pills and are even preparing to sell them through Grandpa Li. She will appear as Dong Wuyou and later explain to the Qiu family that their families share a common lineage, so it's perfectly reasonable for her to sell the same pills, since they can't find the Dong family anywhere.
"What good medicine do you have? Don't lie to me!" The man looked at her sharply.
He brought out something his ancestors had obtained through exploration years ago; it wouldn't be easily taken away. Well, although this thing had been in their family for hundreds of years, it was utterly useless.
"Why would I lie to you? If you're looking to improve your health, I do have pills that are better than ginseng. These things you have are antiques, but they're not anything special. They're not the property of any empress, and they're not worth much money."
"Take a look at this pill. If you think it's useful, we can exchange it. If you think it's useless and don't want to exchange it, that's fine too. You won't lose anything." Tong Yuheng took out a health-strengthening pill and gave it to him, letting him decide for himself.
This pill is quite effective in improving the physical fitness of martial arts practitioners, and it is very useful for ordinary people, but its effect is nowhere near that of pills like the Cleansing Meridian Pill or the Dragon Tiger Pill.
The man took the rather plain-looking health-enhancing pill; it was ugly, but it smelled very good. He sniffed it, then threw it into his mouth and closed his eyes to rest.
Tong Yuheng could sense that he was a martial artist with great strength. After taking the Body Strengthening Pill, he began to circulate his internal energy. About ten minutes later, he opened his eyes.