The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 64 : Sweeping the Net (2)

The Dali Ye Clan had harbored the dream of rebuilding the Dali Kingdom and had been accumulating power for a long time. That power was financial strength, and they had been able to gather a lot of money through the sale of silver ore, tea, and rice.

The remnants of the Yuan Dynasty had also harbored the dream of rebuilding their nation and had been accumulating power for a long time. Their power was people. The descendants of the horse-riding people who had gathered under the name of the great Mongol, the Khan, and had commanded the whole world, had voluntarily headed to their deaths under the banner of rebuilding the Yuan Dynasty.

They changed their names, changed their appearances, and changed their identities. Thus, some went to escort agencies, some to the military, and some to government offices.

The people placed in key positions were the power of the remnants of the Yuan.

But such powers had no value in front of real power.

"The Alliance Leader has already decided your future."

Was there no need to hide his presence? The warriors of the Jiaolong Unit, directly under the Martial Alliance Leader, ran in a line, their blue robes fluttering.

Those hundreds of warriors were different from other martial artists. Each one's level was not that of a first-rate master, but they were fighting dogs who had polished their skills in group battles, not one-on-one fair fights. The purpose of the Jiaolong Unit's creation was the annihilation of the Demonic Cult, but even after destroying the Demonic Cult, its size did not shrink, and it grew even larger, feeding on countless silver taels.

There would be no stronger military group than them under the bright sky of the Ming Dynasty.

They shouted in a sharp voice.

"The sinner, Duan Sijin of the Dali Ye Clan."

"For the crime of attempting to assassinate an important figure of the Martial Alliance and violating the principles of the martial world."

"The verdict is the annihilation of the clan."

"The sinner, Yelu Ze of the remnants of the Southern Yuan."

"For the crime of insulting the imperial family and treason."

"The verdict is the extermination of the clan."

"Hereby, we execute the judgment in the name of the Martial Alliance Leader."

Like falling leaves in the autumn wind, the heads of the Dali Ye Clan warriors fell. Someone's scream was covered by someone else's scream.

One wave, two waves, three waves. The warriors of the Martial Alliance rushed in like a tidal wave. The adversaries dared not even properly raise their weapons.

Overwhelming momentum. There was no chance of victory.

Then should they run away?

Should they survive like a defeated dog, even if it meant crawling through the mud, and plan for the future?

They couldn't even do that.

"Because I am here."

The man called the 'Thousand Hands Young Master' Zhuge Xuan, along with the 'Thousand Li Young Master' Sima Hui, was one of the two brains of the Martial Alliance.

He waved his crane-wing fan with a sneer on his handsome face.

"The Sichuan Tang Clan is still having a headache because they missed one orphan, which became a source of future trouble. No matter how much they boast about their 'Heavenly Net', the reality is that it's nothing special. If it were me, I wouldn't have left a single survivor."

For viciousness, the Heavenly Net of the Sichuan Tang Clan was famous, but the number one siege formation in the world was the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation of the Zhuge Clan. Of the eight gates in the eight directions, only one was the 'Life Gate' and the rest were 'Death Gates', but that one Life Gate changed from moment to moment, making it impossible to break through.

If it were possible to break through, it would be one person, Sima Hui.

But Sima Hui was not here.

The overwhelming military power of the Martial Alliance. Added to this was the best siege formation of the Zhuge Clan.

If they still failed after this, it would be better to commit suicide for the honor of the clan.

"Make sure to capture Duan Sijin and Yelu Ze alive. They are gifts to be presented to the Alliance Leader."

"As you command!"

The outcome was decided before the sun set.

A clan with history and tradition had disappeared.

Cleanly, without leaving a single blade of grass, not even a trace of ambition. It vanished as if nothing had ever been there.

It was the fall of the second great power in Yunnan after the Diancang Sect.

* * *

A considerable amount of time had passed since the annihilation of the Dali Ye Clan.

After handling the affairs in Yunnan and returning to Luoyang, a month had disappeared.

The fact that time passed quickly meant that the work had been handled smoothly and peacefully.

Once the Dali Ye Clan and the remnants of the Yuan were dealt with, the work proceeded without a hitch. There was no intervention from Sichuan, and the Beggars' Sect had firmly established its roots in Yunnan. The remaining assets of the Diancang Sect were distributed fairly without a single bit of corruption, and the Martial Alliance was able to accumulate considerable wealth through auctions.

Thus, Yunnan had regained peace.

As soon as Jang So-gil arrived in Luoyang and unpacked his luggage, he was summoned by Gumen Long and headed to the Alliance Leader's office again.

Today's summons was for rewarding meritorious deeds.

"You've done very well."

Gumen Long immediately broke into a broad smile.

Jang So-gil had perfectly handled the aftermath of Yunnan that had been entrusted to him.

Was that all? He had mobilized the Beggars’ Sect to stabilize public order in Yunnan, and had even finished organizing the distribution network to facilitate future commerce.

Even just doing this much was better than expected, but as a finishing touch, he had even dealt with the Dali Ye Clan and the remnants of the Yuan.

Among them, Gumen Long was most pleased with the disposal of the Dali Ye Clan and the remnants of the Yuan.

The annihilation of the Dali Ye Clan and the extermination of the remnants of the Yuan were the result of a highly political judgment. The Martial Alliance needed to prove its loyalty to the imperial family.

The reason the proposition that the government and the martial world are inviolable holds true is because the Martial Alliance, which is in charge of the martial world's self-purification, is functioning properly. If they failed to handle the matter properly here, the imperial family would intervene, and once they intervened, they would try to suppress the martial world from then on.

Jang So-gil, considering even that point, had advised a method that would block the intervention of the imperial family from the source, even though he knew it would be convenient if the imperial family intervened.

'This is the decisive difference between this fellow and other martial artists.'

This political handling was a talent like a jewel that could never be found in other martial artists. If he had sent someone else, such a result would not have been achieved.

'The guys called martial artists try to solve everything with force. Even though there are things in the world that shouldn't be done that way, they only know force.'

What if he had sent another martial artist instead of Jang So-gil?

They would have failed in the distribution of rewards during the aftermath, or the internal affairs would have become a mess due to embezzlement and corruption, or an armed uprising or a civil war would have broken out in Yunnan, or the Southern Yuan would have declared the rebuilding of the Yuan Dynasty, and so the imperial family would have been enraged and dispatched an army.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine even a little bit of a good result.

"Sending you was the right answer."

"Well, that's right."

Gumen Long's eyebrow twitched.

Normally, when a superior praised like this, the subordinate would show modesty, and when the superior insisted again, they would finally accept the praise and then praise the superior's foresight and support.

But to just cut to the chase and accept the praise and end it?

"This fellow doesn't even show modesty anymore."

"What can I do if it's true that I'm great?"

"...But do you have to say you're great yourself?"

"A person has to distinguish when to show modesty and when not to. If you're too humble, that's also annoying in its own way. Isn't that right?"

"You clever bastard. You're saying it's a waste of time to gild your face, so just hurry up and give me my reward."

Why are you being like this when we both know the game? Jang So-gil grinned. Then Gumen Long stroked his beard.

"What should I do with this arrogant and insolent fellow? If he wasn't so skilled, I would have given him a good scolding. He's acting up, trusting only in his own skills."

"It's because I haven't recovered from my travel fatigue yet. I just came up from Yunnan, hahaha."

"Tsk, right. It's not good to hold on to someone who has just returned from a trip. I'll finish it quickly as you wish. First, I have to give you what I have to give."

Gumen Long took out a manual.

It was the manual for the promised Sun-Shooting Sword Art and Plucking String Body Step of the Diancang Sect.

"This is..."

Jang So-gil's eyes wavered slightly.

The Sun-Shooting Sword Art, one of the Ten Great Sword Arts of the World, and the Plucking String Body Step, a peerless lightness skill that was said to multiply its power several times when learned together with the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, were more valuable than a thousand gold.

Even Sima Hui had guaranteed that if the current Jang So-gil were to learn it, it would be the most optimal martial art.

The foundation of Jang So-gil's martial arts was the Soul-Stealing Ice Art, and the Ice Art was a martial art closer to a qi art than a sword art. Therefore, it was not difficult to deploy the Sun-Shooting Sword Art using the principles of the Ice Art as they were. The extreme speed of the sword art was added to the nature of the Ice Art, which was hard to block, making it hard to dodge and hard to block.

As for the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms, it was a footwork of speed and illusion. Its principle was to roam the vast sky and deceive the enemy with speed and splendor. And the Plucking String Body Step was a footwork of extreme speed that aimed for the enemy's momentary opening and flew like an arrow to attack the enemy. If these two were used together, their power would be doubled.

Sima Hui had dared to say that in terms of the combination of martial arts and the perfection of its principles, it was in the top ten in the world. Since it was a combination of one of the Five Great Lightness Skills of the World, one of the Ten Great Sword Arts of the World, and the unique martial art of one of the Three Heavens of the Foreign Martial World, it would be stranger if it was bad.

Gumen Long stroked his chin and said.

"The perfection of the martial arts can't be low. It's like putting all the good things together. But just because the martial arts are good doesn't mean the user will necessarily become strong. Do you know how many masters have died without being able to utilize the good martial arts they learned? There are as many people as stars who can't even deploy half of what they have. You'll have to train tirelessly so that you don't hear that you're all show and no substance."

"I know."

"It will be on a different level from the half-assed training you've done so far."

"A different level?"

"Think about the way you've learned martial arts. You've accumulated one sixty-year cycle of internal energy by eating the best elixirs, changed your qi to be suitable for the Ice Art with the divine weapon, the White Azure Divine Sword, and learned a lightness skill using the Thunderclap Meridian Opening Art. That is not the way of a normal martial artist."

Jang So-gil frowned.

"The person who performed the Thunderclap Meridian Opening Art on me is talking about normal and what not."

"Ahem... ahem. In terms of common sense, you damn bastard!"

"Then how is it on a different level?"

"There are no shortcuts for the Plucking String Body Step and the Sun-Shooting Sword Art."

Gumen Long sat down on the chair, putting on an air of importance. It was a slightly excessive movement, but as expected of the Martial Alliance Leader, there was no awkwardness in the large and exaggerated movement. Thinking that he would be a great actor, Jang So-gil listened to his words.

"You have run the path of martial arts on a shortcut so far. You didn't just run. While others were crawling on the ground, taking painful steps, you were riding a horse. So you became strong easily and reached a high level easily. For an ordinary person to reach your current level without any help, they would have to devote their entire lives, and even a talented person would have taken at least fifty years."

"Hmm, have I come that far? I don't really feel it yet."

"But not only the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, but the path of martial arts has no shortcuts from there. You have to endure the pain of carving a rock for tireless effort, a thread-like inspiration, and a moment of awakening. There is only one path, effort."

"Effort..."

"Sword arts are often called 'thirty years of practice'."

"Thirty years of practice?"

"Ten years to wield the sword like a limb, ten years to understand the sword, and ten years to separate the sword from the body. The sum is thirty years, so it's called thirty years of practice."

"I don't know what it means to separate it after learning and understanding it, but it must mean it's very difficult, right?"

"It's so difficult that it can't be judged with just one word, 'difficult'. Even I took a full ten years to separate the sword."

If the number one in the world said it was difficult, it must be really difficult. Since talking about martial arts to a merchant didn't really resonate with him, So simply understood and nodded his head. Clicking his tongue at that insincere attitude, Gumen Long asked back.

"Seeing that you don't even change your expression, you must have an alternative."

"You're sharp. That's right."

"The alternative isn't the Thunderclap Meridian Opening Art, is it?"

"I'm fine with that for now. I don't want to live lying down for several months."

"Then what is the alternative you've prepared?"

Although Jang So-gil was a merchant, he was deep in thought and had a broad perspective, so he also had the qualities of a strategist. He also had some knowledge of administration and politics. Such a person does not just learn martial arts blindly. They set a policy and execute the work.

In addition, Jang So-gil had an outstanding advisor named Sima Hui. Jang So-gil, while consulting with Sima Hui, who was a peak master and had a similar way of thinking as himself, had thought of various ways to reduce the time needed for training, and had already chosen one of them.

"Military Advisor Sima said so."

As Jang So-gil leisurely opened his mouth, Gumen Long listened with an interested expression.

(End of Chapter)