The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 120 : Martial Alliance Meeting (2)

The places that supported Zhongnan were Wudang, Hengshan, and Maoshan.

The Maoshan Sect was originally a Daoist sect that had grown independently, not a descendant that had originated from Quanzhen. Therefore, it was possible to persuade them by promising benefits, regardless of the grudges of their origins.

Of course, it was possible because Jang So-gil had ultimately allowed Zhongnan to obtain cooperation from Maoshan.

"Then I will declare it here. The Zhongnan Sect shall hand over the secret of the Dark Fragrance Float to the Huashan Sect. This is the decision of the Martial Alliance."

The places that had sided with Huashan were Shaolin, the Beggars' Sect, Kunlun, the Namgung Clan, the Sima Clan, and the inspector.

At the words of the Martial Alliance Leader, the elder of the Zhongnan Sect let his shoulders droop, and Song Baek, delighted, raised both his hands high.

Then Song Baek, suddenly looking back at Jang So-gil, whispered lowly.

"Hey, but if it was going to be like this, wasn't it unnecessary to bribe the Kunlun Sect?"

Jang So-gil had spent a thousand of his own silver taels. Although the Dark Fragrance Float was worth more than that, if it was like this, wasn't it money that didn't need to be spent? It was not something that Jang So-gil, who hated wasting money as much as a venomous snake, would do.

As he asked with a puzzled heart, Jang So-gil twisted the corner of his mouth.

"For just a thousand silver taels, I've made a connection with Kunlun, so it's rather a gain. It was a very cheap price."

"...What?"

"Look. Even if Kunlun didn't vote, no, even if they had voted for the other side, would they not know that this was a fight that this side would have won?"

Jang So-gil glanced at the elder of the Kunlun Sect. Seeing the voting results, his expression was clearly flustered.

"Zhongnan has three, Huashan has six. They must have realized now that I didn't negotiate with Kunlun because I thought I would lose to Zhongnan. Since they must have also realized that I am a person who can show this much influence in a short period of time, they won't be able to act strongly against me in the future. And originally, when you give and receive money, a bond is formed. It's a sense of camaraderie of being on the same side. Don't you know the affection that blossoms in the coming and going of silver taels?"

In this way, he slowly expanded his connections and expanded his influence. This was what it meant to do politics.

Jang So-gil smiled slyly.

"And you also feel sorry for me for spending a thousand taels so readily, don't you?"

"Ugh..."

"For a thousand taels, I've gained a reliable backer in Huashan and Kunlun. This is a real bargain."

As expected of the Golden Ear. He had a talent for gathering money, but his way of spending it was also cool.

Song Baek, who was looking with an admiring expression, came to his senses with a start.

"No, but if you tell me that, doesn't it lose its meaning?"

"That's right. If I tell you, it's a loss."

"Then why?"

"Why do you ask..."

Jang So-gil looked Song Baek up and down and then let out a sigh.

"I'm teaching you so you don't get scammed somewhere. You're a fellow with a decent appearance, but you're naive, so you're the type to get stabbed in the back here and there."

"W-what did you say?"

"When you get a high position in Huashan later, you should be grateful and repay the favor, saying, 'Ah, thanks to Brother So, I came to this position without being scammed!' Repay it ten times, a hundred times."

Song Baek fully acknowledged Jang So-gil's ability.

But he had to point out this one thing.

"Hey. I'm the older brother."

"In terms of social experience, I'm the older brother."

"Age is more important."

"Aigoo, do you really want to be the older brother that much? Then be it, be it. Anyway, you're so petty..."

"..."

He was a really hateful fellow.

But everything had happened just as that hateful fellow had boasted. It was a result like magic. Because it had succeeded so easily, what the elders of Huashan and other people had been worried about felt futile.

They said the Martial Alliance meeting was a den of demons where the interests of countless people were intertwined, but in reality, wasn't it nothing special?

'He must be thinking that.'

Jang So-gil, who had read the thought from Song Baek's expression, could not hold back a sneer inwardly.

He intercepted all the information exchanged by the Zhongnan Sect, read the opponent's means in advance, and controlled them to move in the desired direction by reducing their options one by one.

As Song Baek thought, all this was not that difficult. Because those who moved for the benefit of the group were easy to make conservative judgments, and the actions of those who weighed gains and losses were obvious and ordinary.

Most of those who were called strategists could probably do a similar thing. That was why what was important in this matter was not the content of the work.

'What's important is the fact that I've reached a position where I can do such a thing.'

The position of an inspector who could access the core information of the Martial Alliance. The favor of the Martial Alliance Leader, which made it difficult to touch Jang So-gil easily.

He was a friend of the hundred thousand beggars, he could be called a business partner with the Sima Clan, and he had a complicated relationship with the Namgung Clan as a prospective business partner and a potential enemy.

In just one year, Jang So-gil had established himself at the core of the power of the Martial Alliance. It was possible because most of the Nine Sects One Alliance and the Five Great Noble Families that constituted the Martial Alliance only cared about their own sects and their own noble families.

The smarter and brighter they were in calculating gains and losses, the less they thought about properly managing the Martial Alliance, and they only thought about carving out the well-risen flesh to feed their own family and throwing away the remaining bones.

It was their foolishness that had created a situation where the Alliance Leader and Sima Hui had no choice but to value Jang So-gil.

'If only the financial problems were solved, the Martial Alliance would still be the Martial Alliance...'

The center of the martial world was the Martial Alliance. The position of an inspector of such a Martial Alliance was by no means a low position.

Although it was a position that no one wanted to take because the Martial Alliance had been driven to the brink of financial bankruptcy, on the premise that the Martial Alliance was strong, it was a position that was no exaggeration to call a 'vassal king' of the martial world.

A quick-witted person would have already understood. With this matter, Jang So-gil had shown the power that the position of an inspector could have.

He had the power to overturn the results of a Martial Alliance meeting by himself. It was a mighty power that no one had ever had, and had never even thought of having.

'Their mouths must be watering. They must be coveting it. They must be going crazy wanting to have it.'

From now on, many people would approach Jang So-gil.

Those who saw the power of the inspector and tried to do business with him. Those who feared that power and became hostile. Or those who wanted to have that power for themselves.

He had to put everything on the scale, judge the benefits, and walk a tightrope.

'If I fail, it's the end there. That's what it means to live at the center of power.'

With this, the preparations were almost done.

The past year was a year of restoring the Martial Alliance to health.

This year would be used as a year to consolidate power within the Martial Alliance.

And the next year.

'Finally, Sichuan...'

The time for revenge was coming.

Forcibly pulling down the corners of his mouth, which were rising on their own, Jang So-gil sharply sharpened the sword in his heart.

* * *

Huashan, victory.

A single carrier pigeon sent by the Star of Fame, Song Baek, placed a letter on the old man's hand. The old man, whose hair had turned white, was dressed in a white Daoist robe, making him pure white from head to toe.

He was the sect leader of the Huashan Sect. The best swordsman of his time.

He was the 'Lamp of Enlightenment', who was called the Sword Saint of Huashan.

The Lamp of Enlightenment, looking at the carrier pigeon that was flapping its wings and soaring into the sky, frowned as if he were in trouble. At that uncomfortable sign, the head of the finance pavilion who managed the assets of the Huashan Sect, the 'Dark Rock', asked in a low voice.

"Did things not go well?"

"It seems things went well. They say we have won a victory."

"Ooh, then the Dark Fragrance Float is finally returning to the arms of Huashan."

"That's right. Finally."

The Dark Fragrance Float was a lightness skill of illusion that killed one's presence and disturbed the enemy. If learned together with the supreme skill of the Huashan Sect, the 'Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art', its function would be doubled.

With this, the Huashan Sect could become even stronger than before, so it was a very good thing.

"But why do you look so unhappy?"

"We won too easily."

The meeting of the Martial Alliance was not an ordinary meeting. The Nine Sects One Alliance and the Five Great Noble Families. It was a den of demons that became a mess with the deep schemes devised by countless people, including martial artists, merchants, and officials, whose interests were intertwined.

'A mind of doubt creates a ghost in the dark'. The demon world where ghosts who could not trust each other ran wild was a complex political arena that could not be simply defined in one word, and it was a monster itself whose future no one could predict.

"There's no way the meeting of the Martial Alliance could be settled so easily. It's normal for them to delay the decision and check each other, and in the end, they usually try to wrap it up by throwing out a stopgap measure."

But this time, it was different.

It became the agenda for the very next meeting, and the result came out in one go.

"It was you, Hyeonam, who suggested that we use the slender connection that Myeongseong has with the inspector, right?"

"That's right."

"Did you predict this result and say that?"

The pure white appearance of the Sword Saint of Huashan, the Lamp of Enlightenment, had a nobility like that of a crane.

Such a person was frowning deeply, and he was staring at Hyeonam Jin-in with the purple eyes characteristic of a Zixia Divine Art practitioner, which was said to be the symbol of the sect leader of the Huashan Sect.

Hyeonam Jin-in felt as if he were being pierced by the gaze of the Lamp of Enlightenment. His body tensed up on its own. He barely managed to reply in a slightly higher voice.

"Absolutely not. I only suggested it with the feeling of clutching at a straw."

"Hmm, that's a relief."

"What?"

"I said it's a relief. I've lived with Hyeonam for the past fifty years, and I was wondering if I had been underestimating Hyeonam's talent all this time."

"The head of the finance pavilion is a position that is within the top three in the Huashan Sect. I think it is a position that is more than I deserve with my talent..."

Yeondeung slightly shook his head.

"If you had predicted this result and sent Myeongseong, you should be the sect leader, not the head of the finance pavilion."

"S-sect leader! What are you saying..."

"I'm just saying. Don't mind it too much. Rather, pay attention to the person called the inspector."

"The inspector, you say. He seems to be a more capable person than the rumors."

"Is that all? Try to show a little more wit."

"I think we should get close to him."

Now it's worth listening to. The Lamp of Enlightenment relaxed his expression and turned his back on Hyeonam Jin-in.

When he stretched out his hand, a bird flew in and sat on the Lamp of Enlightenment's finger. Hyeonam, looking at his back as he played with the bird, said.

"A young man in his twenties has already penetrated the core of the Martial Alliance and is in a position to sway the will of the alliance. No matter how much I think about it, it gives me the creeps. This person is not an ordinary person."

"Continue."

"He has a close relationship with the military advisor of the Sima Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families, almost like sworn brothers. He is in a situation where a marriage proposal is being discussed with the next head of the Namgung Clan. Besides, he is continuing the direct lineage of Diancang, which was one of the Nine Sects One Alliance but is now exterminated. If he wants, he could rebuild the Diancang Sect with the Sun-Shooting Sword Art and the Plucking String Body Step at the forefront."

"The rebuilding of the Diancang Sect."

"In my opinion, I think his next move will be the rebuilding of the Diancang Sect."

"There is a possibility."

Although they could remain in the current state of having eight sects and one alliance, for the past hundreds of years, the Martial Alliance had always taken the form of the Nine Sects One Alliance whenever it was created. To change that form without a just reason was a violation of tradition.

Following the footsteps of the predecessors was just a formality, but it was also a necessary thing to have legitimacy and orthodoxy.

"But it is not realistic to serve as both the sect leader of the Diancang Sect and the inspector of the Martial Alliance. In a case like this, it would be a form of making his own subordinate or disciple the sect leader."

"He is now a young man in his twenties. It has only been a little over a year since he threw himself into the martial world, so there is no way he has a disciple."

"He himself is a person who learned martial arts in a rush in a year. He has a subordinate named the Fire Dragon, Yang Gwan, so wouldn't it be possible to hand over the secret manual to him and make him the sect leader?"

"That is also one way."

"If that happens, he will be able to control the sect leader of the rebuilt Diancang Sect, and the power of the inspector himself is also great at present. He has the support of two of the Five Great Noble Families, has a close relationship with the Beggars' Sect, and is receiving the favor of the Alliance Leader all at once. What does this mean?"

Hyeonam Jin-in paused for a moment and then slowly continued.

"Doesn't it mean that this fellow, the inspector, is the number two person in the Martial Alliance, which has never existed before?"

(End of Chapter)