Chapter 359: Eight Exalts (2)
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Wuhan was an exceedingly prosperous region. Because of its geopolitical position, it had become the provincial capital of Hubei Province in the first place, so saying it developed because it was the provincial capital was incorrect.
Being the confluence point where the Han River merged into the Yangtze River, it occupied a pivotal position for water transport, and in terms of overland routes, it acted as a hub situated between Jiangnan and Jiangbei.
Furthermore, militarily, it was the core of the defense line south of the Yangtze River, so it would be stranger if the city of Wuhan failed to develop.
“We purchased a plot of land to use as a new warehouse, but construction hasn’t started yet. If it’s just for temporary use, I can lend it to you as much as you like.”
And a merchant association president who had seized such a region would possess immense wealth, so he could not help but have this much magnanimity.
“Still, I will pay a little. We are not without money either.”
“Ahem. Put that away. Rebuilding the Wudang Sect must already be difficult enough.”
“It is truly fine, though……”
I smiled awkwardly. It was only natural for Song Hwan-yeong, the president of the East Lake Merchant Association, to be this favorable toward me.
Because in the past, I had played the role of the foremost contributor in elevating the East Lake Merchant Association to the number one merchant association in Wuhan.
However, humans were a breed that quickly forgot favors even if they could not forget grudges, so I had not expected much, but Song Hwan-yeong seemed somewhat different.
“Unless you consider this old Song an ungrateful insect who knows no favors, you must accept it. Indeed.”
Song Hwan-yeong had not forgotten the favor I did him. If upholding grudges and favors was chivalry, then merchants possessed chivalry as well.
“Thank you. There will come a day when our New Justice Association will repay this favor in the future.”
“Oh, it is fine. It is fine. Is your current situation one where you can repay anything?”
Song Hwan-yeong waved his hand dismissively. Did he say that because he didn’t know I was the person capable of commanding the most money in this entire Central Plains right now? Well, the public impression of me and the New Justice Association right now was that of pitiful sheep who had lost their main base after being targeted by the imperial palace.
“First, take a look at the site. It is nearby.”
Song Hwan-yeong took me to the site. When we finally arrived at the site, I was surprised to see that such a plot of land existed in Wuhan, which had developed as much as it could.
“Incredible. To think there was such a vast place in Wuhan.”
“Haha. I bought up the surrounding buildings and cleared them out a bit. Do not misunderstand. I provided generous compensation to everyone.”
“Of course. You are not someone who would do otherwise, President.”
It was visible through the Heavenly Eye as well. Just as he said, Song Hwan-yeong was upright in his conduct right now.
In truth, when a person rose to that position, they naturally came to know all kinds of shortcuts, so walking only the righteous path was extraordinary. Was that not why it was said that the gentleman walks the grand road?
“I do not know why such a wide site is necessary, but use it well and return it. You can do whatever you like, but when returning it, you only need to level the ground.”
“Of course. Would I return it after turning it into a wasteland?”
“Haha. It was a joke. A joke.”
Song Hwan-yeong laughed heartily and returned to the merchant association building.
I looked around the land once more. It was truly vast. If people were standing, it could accommodate at least ten thousand to fifteen thousand people.
This was plenty. No matter how many people gathered from the entire Central Plains, they would not exceed ten thousand. That was what I thought.
Knowing the estimate of martial artists across the entire Central Plains was around a hundred thousand, would even a tenth of them come?
I had considered arranging a place on the outskirts of Wuhan if the site proved insufficient, but I thought it would be fine without separate arrangements given this size.
……It did not take much time to realize that this was an immensely complacent judgment.
* * *
“……The Association Master is quite popular.”
“Mm.”
“I believe you said that since you arranged a decent space, it would be plenty to accommodate everyone.”
“Mmm.”
“Rather than merely humming, how about offering a bit of a countermeasure?”
Zhuge Yan rebuked me, but it could not be helped. There were truly an obscene number of people who had come looking for me.
It was a space large enough to hold about fifteen majigi of rice paddies, yet I could not fathom how it could be bursting at the seams with people like this.
“Even if the Martial Alliance still existed and the Martial Alliance Leader issued a summons, this many would not gather.”
“You know it too. This is merely an accident.”
“Just because an accident happened doesn’t mean we can leave it without taking measures, right?”
“I know. Me too.”
“What shall we do?”
“We stay still, of course.”
“Pardon?”
Zhuge Yan looked at me with a dumbfounded gaze. I shrugged my shoulders.
It was true that far more people had come than I expected. But my plan would not change. If anything, it fit the plan even better.
“Rubbing shoulders and sweating together moderately—that sort of thing is nice.”
“How is that nice? It’s unpleasant.”
“That is precisely what makes it good.”
Zhuge Yan’s gaze turned even more flabbergasted.
I was currently on a hill overlooking the open ground. Even though the distance between the open ground and the hill was considerable, the voices of the people were so loud that they reached all the way to the hill.
“Muk Hui-yeong, the New Justice Association Master, come out! I, the eldest of the Three Heroes of the Yangtze, have arrived!”
“Where does a mere river pirate dare to casually call upon the New Justice Association Master!”
Right now, the open ground in Wuhan was truly a scene of utter pandemonium.
Because the purposes of those who had set foot here were not singular.
Some had come to verify in person because they could not believe the fact that I had brought down one of the Eight Exalts, some had come to revere me for toppling one of the Eight Exalts at this age, and some had simply come to watch because it seemed many martial artists would gather.
“Just wait patiently. It will sort itself out on its own.”
I said. Zhuge Yan seemed anxious seeing the atmosphere in the open ground growing increasingly rough, but I ignored it.
Shouts seeking the New Justice Association Master were still ringing high, but I had no intention of going out. Because gathering them in one space and inducing irritation was my strategy.
“When the hell is the damn New Justice Association Master coming out?”
“Is the New Justice Association Master your friend?!”
“I am older than the New Justice Association Master!”
“In the martial world, the one with stronger martial arts is the older brother!”
Childish exchanges were running rampant. It was about time for someone who could clean things up to make an appearance.
“Shut up, all of you!”
Sure enough, a roar using the Six Directions Voice erupted so magnificently that it could be heard all the way to the hill where I stood.
As expected, I knew that person would be the least able to endure it.
“Where do you think you substandard things are making such a ruckus?!”
When a disheveled giant wearing sleeveless clothing shouted, everyone shut their mouths. Being a head taller than an ordinary person, everyone could see him immediately.
“Even if I were the New Justice Association Master, I wouldn’t come out to such a noisy marketplace! If you think you aren’t up to par, get the hell out of here on your own!”
“With what qualification does Senior speak in such a manner?!”
Someone spoke in a voice tinged with rebellion. It seemed he had mustered a bit of courage being amidst the massive crowd, but I offered my condolences in advance.
Because the sleeveless giant was none other than Fighting Exalt Jang Gwang-yeong, famous for his foul temper.
“Oho.”
Jang Gwang-yeong advanced, parting through the people as if clearing weeds. In a place so densely packed that taking a single step would normally be difficult, Jang Gwang-yeong walked comfortably as if strolling through his own home.
“Hey, brat. Were you speaking to this seat just now?”
“……Uh, mm.”
“Do you know why the New Justice Association Master isn’t coming out right now?”
Jang Gwang-yeong asked. The man only broke into a cold sweat and failed to speak properly. With one of the Eight Exalts openly radiating fighting intent before him, it was impossible to speak properly.
“It is precisely because of bastards like you! Because there is only riffraff, he finds it troublesome to deal with you!”
When Jang Gwang-yeong roared, the man fell backward and landed on his buttocks. At that sight, Jang Gwang-yeong clicked his tongue in disdain.
“The one who will spar with the New Justice Association Master here is me! If you wish to fight the New Justice Association Master, face me first!”
At Jang Gwang-yeong’s bold threat, everyone began to buzz.
Even if I had defeated Wave Exalt, the weight of my person could not yet equal that of an existing member of the Eight Exalts.
Because one who had reigned as one of the Eight Exalts for a long time was bound to be different from a suspected rising expert.
Ultimately, it meant that while they might challenge me, facing the Fighting Exalt was burdensome for many people.
“Haha. I sympathize with the Fighting Exalt’s tone. However, to demand they fight you first to face the New Justice Association Master—is that not akin to volunteering as a bodyguard? Should the dignity of the Eight Exalts degrade so much?”
“Hmph! Stop muttering from behind and step out! Let us see if you can say such things before my face!”
“Why could I not?”
The man who spoke in a benevolent voice vanished with a whoosh and soon stood before Jang Gwang-yeong. Even looking from afar, the man wearing a bamboo hat seemed to possess extraordinary internal power.
“I can tell who you are just from your aura.”
“Haha. Does it show that much?”
“By the way, is it acceptable for the highest military power of a sect to be wandering around in affairs like this?”
“Because I trust my fellow brothers, I am able to step out like this, are they not?”
The man who took off his bamboo hat had a shaved head. And when he raised his hand to remove the bamboo hat, his sleeve rose, revealing prayer beads.
“I greet my fellow comrades of the jianghu. I am called Gakwon of Shaolin.”
His identity was Gakwon, the greatest master of Shaolin and the Fist Exalt.
“It’s the Fist Exalt!”
“Even Shaolin’s Fist Exalt has come?”
With another of the Eight Exalts appearing, it was only natural for the crowd to become tumultuous.
Honestly, I was surprised as well. The Fist Exalt was the supreme expert excluding the Shaolin Abbot. In terms of Wudang, he held a position equivalent to Master.
“Have you been eating meat lately? Why does your skin seem to grow glossier as you age?”
“Haha. Patron Jang remains unchanged as ever.”
Gakwon formed a benevolent smile. He could smile like that knowing that, in his own way, Jang Gwang-yeong was glad to see him.
Even if they belonged to different factions, fellow members of the Eight Exalts had clashed frequently in passing. Thus, it was not particularly unusual for orthodox and unorthodox masters to share personal friendships.
“I am curious with what face the Fist Exalt has come!”
Just then, someone shouted. In the resonance of that voice, an extraordinary aura could also be felt.
Many people had already cleared the area under the Fighting Exalt’s threat, allowing a path to open naturally. Approaching the Fighting Exalt and the Fist Exalt were two men.
They were also wearing bamboo hats, but somehow, I seemed to recognize who they were just from the faces revealed beneath the hats.
And the same was true for the Fighting Exalt and the Fist Exalt, who were viewing them from much closer.
“This place is getting even better. The head of a noble clan and the sect leader of a great sect have come as well. Shaolin was the modest one!”
Noticing that Jang Gwang-yeong had already recognized them, the two men also removed their bamboo hats. And they, too, possessed identities capable of creating massive reverberations in the surroundings.
“It’s the Blue Moon Sword Exalt!”
“Isn’t the one beside him the Azure Sky Sword Exalt?”
Astonishingly, Blue Moon Sword Exalt Tae-seong, Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect, and Azure Sky Sword Exalt Namgung Jin-hyeon, Clan Head of the Namgung Clan, had arrived simultaneously.
Their visit was even more astonishing because I had received no prior notice. Because they belonged to the New Justice Association, they usually informed me before coming.
“It was you, Patrons. It is good to see you. It has been a long time.”
“We are not particularly glad to see you.”
“Why is that?”
“Have you not become the running dogs of the imperial palace that threatens the New Justice Association?”
Gakwon’s expression hardened. Yet neither Namgung Jin-hyeon nor Tae-seong had spoken falsely.
Shaolin Temple currently belonged to the Palace of Heavenly Worship. The Palace of Heavenly Worship was the undisputed enemy of the New Justice Association. Thus, they were asking with what face he had come to see me.
“Although our paths are divided right now, are not all within the four seas brothers in the jianghu originally?”
“The ones who betrayed the martial world are your side.”
“Each must have their own circumstances.”
Gakwon spoke with his palms pressed together. Namgung Jin-hyeon and Tae-seong frowned, finding that thoroughly displeasing.
“It is true that each has their own circumstances. I, too, do not particularly like the current Private Martial Union.”
Someone quietly stepped forward. The man entirely covering his face and body with a black cloak and a black hat appeared diminutive. At least to me, it was our first meeting.
However, the other members of the Eight Exalts recognized him the moment they saw him.
“Even that assassin bastard has come.”
Jang Gwang-yeong clicked his tongue. Even while speaking like that, it was palpable that Jang Gwang-yeong was tense.
Among assassins, the only person capable of making Jang Gwang-yeong tense right now was one man.
The king of assassins and the hidden sword of the Private Martial Union. The Dark Exalt.
Then had all the remaining members of the Eight Exalts arrived? Wave Exalt was killed by me, Poison Exalt had also died when the Sichuan Tang Clan was consumed by rebellion, and the Great Desert Heavenly Exalt would be in the Great Desert, meaning all the members of the Eight Exalts present in the Central Plains had arrived.
This situation, which had abruptly turned into a gathering of the Eight Exalts, was something even I had not conceived.
“It seems it is time for you to go, Association Master.”
Zhuge Yan spoke. I could not refute those words either.