Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 101: Black Brotherhood

Since the empire was very large and demonic attacks were on the rise, the Black Brotherhood allowed other righteous Qi factions to join them as outer factions of the Black Brotherhood.

There were two ways to get accepted as an outer faction: first, if a group of Qi warriors performed very well against some demonic attacks, they were granted the title of outer faction members of the Black Brotherhood; second, using wealth and navigating through the bureaucracy of the empire, one could buy their way to the title of an outer faction of the Black Brotherhood.

There were many advantages to gaining the title of an outer faction of the Black Brotherhood, but the biggest advantage was that once the title was received, the members could roam through any kingdom of the empire without giving any explanation to anyone.

Wuyi planned to roam through the whole empire if needed until he found what he was looking for, which was the cultivation method that perfectly suited him.

The nobles did not take Xuebi's request seriously at first, but when the first noble house was robbed by the demonic ten, and Xuebi showed that his vanguard had around fifty Qi warriors and promised to protect every noble and trader in the area, they began to take the request of the Traders Vanguard seriously about being an outer faction of the Black Brotherhood.

The traders and nobles met together, discussed, and then sent their representative, Merchant Zhu, who had also become the leader of traders and merchants in the region due to the special treatment he received from the Traders Vanguard. Not a single one of his processions had been robbed in the last three years, and he had made many friends all over the region and even outside it.

It took Merchant Zhu six months to receive the title of Black Brotherhood outer faction for the Traders Vanguard group. When Merchant Zhu returned, he also brought the medallion of the Black Brotherhood. With the medallion, the outer factions could go to the nearest branch of the Brotherhood anywhere in the empire and check out the missions that the Black Brotherhood had posted for outer factions.

When Wuyi checked, all of the missions were about going to the border and battling demonics. Wuyi was not interested in any of the missions except one; the mission was from the Tianqin kingdom. It was a request sent by Lady Xueyan, the Pavilion Mistress of the Lotus Blossom Pavilion, who controlled the Yushan stronghold in the northeast of the Tianqin kingdom.

The Lotus Blossom Pavilion was actually part of the Lotus Blossom Sect, which had a very deep history in the kingdom. This mission intrigued Wuyi as the Lotus Blossom Pavilion was ready to pay in cultivation resources, but they demanded a minimum of fifty Qi warriors of initiate level.

Not many outer factions of the Black Brotherhood had such manpower, and those who did were too busy with tasks that paid better than to pay attention to such a vague mission request, which asked them to clear the forest near their fort where demonics and dangerous beasts resided.

Wuyi had the number of warriors that the mission required. At present, Wuyi had around 3 Qi masters, 20 Qi adepts, and more than 100 Qi initiates. These hundred were the foundation of his organization here, and he was unmovable in the region at present. The number grew exponentially because Wuyi had now stopped helping each member personally.

In the last two years, Wuyi would send his warriors to find good seeds from nearby towns and villages; he wanted to train the next batch of Qi warriors. He was able to filter around a hundred promising seeds.

A few members among his followers, like Yunming, Meiying, and Baijan, had already reached the Qi master level. Wuyi would make them train the Qi adepts; while he only helped the Qi masters in stabilizing their cultivation.

He made his Qi adepts train the new seeds and turn them into initiates. Because of this, initiates were dependent on adepts, adepts were dependent on his Qi masters, and his Qi masters were dependent on him. Wuyi was very satisfied with the new cultivation pyramid scheme of his.

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After accepting the mission, they had to use grand teleportation to arrive at the Tianqin kingdom. Afterward, they traveled for months until they reached the extreme northeast of the kingdom. When they finally arrived near the Yushan Fortress, passing through Xiang Town, what welcomed them was a gruesome sight of death in one of the big farm estates near the fortress.

"By the Heavens!" Jia, who was still Wuyi's attendant, exclaimed from the opposite side of the stone wall. The wall, as tall as a man's chest, had been erected over generations by farmers removing rocks from their fields. Adjacent to it stood a two-story stone residence with additional structures, indicative of a prosperous estate.

Jia was in the courtyard, peering through the splintered main entrance of the house. "They're all gone, Young Master," he repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief.

From atop his horse, Wuyi could see over the wall where his men were turning over the lifeless bodies, stripping them of any valuables. The Black Brotherhood might be an esteemed organization of the empire, but his greedy followers still had this habit of ensuring no valuables were wasted.

Their new patron, upon finding out about the corpses being robbed shamelessly just before their arrival, might disapprove of such actions, but Wuyi believed it would offer her a clearer understanding of the people she was hiring. It was always best for a prospective employer to fully comprehend the nature of the contracted employees they were hiring from the outset.

Jia leapt over the stone barrier that separated the enclosed garden from the road and accepted a cloth from Dong,one of the new seeds that had been trained by his adepts. Just because Wuyi was traveling for a mission did not mean he would give up the young master's lifestyle. He was traveling with fanfare, just like a noble would.