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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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The martial world of Sacheon was twisted.
To understand the before and after of this twist in the Sacheon martial world, one had to go back to ancient Sacheon.
Sacheon was a rapidly developing region and had now advanced to competing for the wealthiest region in the Nine Provinces.
Still, it wasn’t always like that from the beginning.
Various factors may have driven Sacheon’s development.
Among those factors, there was only one related to the martial world: The Tang Clan.
Metallurgy for creating hidden weapons, and naturally developed herbology for creating poisons.
The Tang Clan steadily released this knowledge to the civilians.
The Tang Clan wasn’t the sole driver of Sacheon’s development, but everyone acknowledged the Tang Clan’s contribution.
Even the Yellow Kingdom partially accepted this and gave the Tang Clan the status of a local clan in Sacheon.
Taking advantage of this development in Sacheon, some grew along with it.
They were none other than the evil factions.
Taking advantage of the chaos caused by rapid development, the evil factions ran rampant.
Seeing the prospering Sacheon, even the evil factions from Yunnan extended their reach into Sacheon.
Wait a minute!
When you hear Sacheon Tang Clan, what comes to mind?
Have you ever heard the saying, “Repay kindness twice and grudges tenfold”?
That was the family motto of the Tang Clan.
Would such a Tang Clan have left the evil factions that infested Sacheon, which they could call their territory, alone?
Of course, they tried to exterminate them.
However, even the world-renowned Tang Clan lacked the power to eliminate the evil factions that had rapidly expanded their influence by absorbing the chaos in Sacheon.
Therefore, the Tang Clan requested support from the righteous faction forces settling in Sacheon.
The Hwangbo Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, and the renowned Nine Great Sects: the Ami Sect, the Cheongseong Sect, the Jeomchang Sect, and even the Jongnam Sect.
They took the lead in eradicating the evil factions causing chaos in Sacheon.
After various battles, the evil faction forces in Sacheon were eliminated.
No matter how good the momentum of the evil factions had become, they were lacking in dealing with the martial arts of sects with hundreds of years of history.
The Tang Clan went all out to uproot the evil faction forces in Sacheon.
Befitting the Tang Clan, who repaid grudges tenfold, they exterminated all the evil factions.
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“Where did you learn all this knowledge from?”
“Years of experience in this field.”
Black Cat gave the impression that she was very curious about the source of this information, but I ignored it and continued speaking.
I don’t think Black Cat would be unaware of this history of Sacheon.
However, it’s a rule to solidly build the foundation for essential matters.
If I arbitrarily judged that ‘Black Cat would know this much’ and proceeded with the matter, what if there was a part that Black Cat didn’t know?
If I asked her later, “Hey, didn’t you know this?” I feel it would lead to issues.
Since the goal is to become the best outcast in Sacheon, we won’t be together for just a day or two, but it will be a long-term battle.
Therefore, we need to match our rhythm, starting with the basics.
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Now, back to the history lesson on Sacheon. Bear with me, folks, history might be boring, but you cannot understand the present without knowing the past.
What was the real reason that the current twisted Hwangcheon’s Sacheon martial world became like this?
Was it the Tang Clan who had pulled out all the seeds of the evil factions?
Or was it the fault of the sect leaders at the time who failed to maintain the stance of a Taoist?
Well, at this point, the cause doesn’t really matter.
The Tang Clan already had a territory befitting their power, and having more territory was burdensome even for the Tang Clan.
So, after uprooting the evil factions, they handed over the remaining territories to the Hwangbo Clan and the Taoist sects, who could be called their allied forces.
They had shown the taste of money to the Taoist sects quietly cultivating the Dao in the mountains.
There is a saying that a late breeze is fearsome.
After releasing the gold of wealthy Sacheon to the Taoist sects who had lived a life of poverty, how could their eyes not turn and their stomachs not become full?
It was like putting meat in a monk’s mouth.
The Hwangbo Clan, who already knew the taste of meat well, and the Ami Sect, Cheongseong Sect, Jongnam Sect, and Jeomchang Sect, who had newly acquired a taste for meat, jumped into the power structure of Sacheon.
However, no matter how much they wanted to eat meat, they had the face of a Taoist sect, so it was burdensome to directly roll up their sleeves and jump into the game.
Pondering how they could expand their power without losing face, the Taoist sects noticed numerous small and medium-sized sects.
In the mind of a certain Taoist at that time, this word must have flashed like lightning.
Subcontracting!
What if they lent their power to small and medium-sized sects and received some profits as offerings?
It was not something anyone could criticize if Taoist sects received offerings from worldly people.
Wasn’t it the authentic way of Taoists to help worldly people when they had difficulties?
If the target was a righteous faction that had not yet established a strong force but upheld the banner of righteousness and chivalry while training in martial arts, it would be all the more a force they should willingly help.
The small and medium-sized sects could establish connections with large sects, secure backers, and use their power to expand their influence, which was beneficial.
All this while the large sects could earn profits without losing face.
It was indeed an excellent strategy for mutual benefit!
That’s right.
It was such a good strategy that everyone employed it.
Even though the Hwangbo Clan and the four Taoist sects had their eyes turned by the taste of meat, they were prestigious, righteous factions.
At least they didn’t covet the Tang Clan’s territory, and the Tang Clan didn’t covet the territories of other sects.
From the perspective of the Tang Clan, the top dogs in Sacheon, it would have been understandable to be angry at the power struggle between the sects even if they didn’t covet their territory.
Still, those five sects were the ones who had willingly helped the Tang Clan when they were in a difficult situation.
Following the Tang Clan’s family motto of repaying kindness twice, the Tang Clan turned a blind eye to the conflict between the five sects.
With the Tang Clan’s tacit consent, the Hwangbo Clan and the four sects competed to win over the small and medium-sized sects in Sacheon.
The best battleground was Sacheon City, which could be called the center of Sacheon’s development.
Sacheon City, prospering daily, was not part of the Tang Clan’s territory either.
Sacheon City was a big prey that would make even the Tang Clan drool, but unlike the other large sects, the Tang Clan held the title of [Local Clan] bestowed by the Yellow Kingdom.
Sacheon City was a territory directly governed by the governor dispatched by the Yellow Kingdom.
What has been the trigger button for high-ranking officials since ancient times?
Treason + Assassination.
If a local clan deployed private soldiers in the governor’s territory, it would be considered a challenge to the central government, but deploying Tang Clan warriors carrying hidden weapons and poisons in Sacheon City to establish power?
That was beyond absurd.
Unlike the Tang Clan, who couldn’t reach out, the Hwangbo Clan and the four Taoist sects, who had no connection with the Yellow Kingdom, unrestrictedly won over the small and medium-sized sects within Sacheon City.
The small and medium-sized sects that were won over were filled with excitement.
At that time, the popularity of the Tang Clan, the four Taoist sects, and the Hwangbo Clan in Sacheon was at its peak.
The Tang Clan and the Taoist sects had created a clean area without evil factions!
And the Hwangbo Clan, as well!
The masses had no choice but to send enthusiastic cheers to them.
The small and medium-sized sects, burning with ambition to expand their power, took the lead in the power struggle.
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“How do you think it turned out? Don’t you know?”
“…Who knows.”
Black Cat sipped her tea with a straight face and played dumb.
Since it was already revealed that she was using the Black Shadow Qi Technique, she took off her mask and drank tea without hesitation.
Even after removing the mask, she used the Black Shadow Qi Technique around her face, so even the teacup that went into the black hat was obscured by darkness.
The outcasts, pretending not to watch Black Cat, were twisting their heads this way and trying to see inside the black hat, and it caught my eye at a glance.
They’re trying hard.
As I was clicking my tongue like that, I spotted two hunchbacks who were twisting their waists and craning their necks to peek inside the black hat.
…It was Yeo Jin-sang and Jeong Sam.
Wow, I’m so embarrassed to call them my acquaintances.
As I was rubbing my burning ears, Black Cat asked back.
“What do you think happened, Senior Ho?”
“Why are you asking me? Don’t you know the answer?”
“Who did Senior Ho hear this story from?”
“No, I asked you the question first. And who would tell me such a story? It’s piecing together stories I’ve heard here and there over 7 years. This isn’t a story just anyone can tell, so listen carefully.”
“Alright. I’m listening carefully. So will you continue the story?”
Sigh, damn it.
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The sects that had secured a reliable backer wanted to recklessly advance and conquer.
Sacheon City.
What is needed for a hero to be born?
There needs to be a villain for a hero to have a stage to be active.
In Sacheon, which had become a clean zone itself with even small evils thoroughly uprooted due to the Tang Clan’s persistence, there were no more worthy opponents to make known the names of the sects and heroes.
The small and medium-sized sects were bewildered but couldn’t sheathe the swords they had already drawn.
In the end, they pointed them at each other.
Of course, even though they pointed them at each other, it didn’t mean a bloody conflict broke out within Sacheon City.
Matches.
Fierce matches began between the small and medium-sized sects within Sacheon City.
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If the author himself recognizes he’s dropping a whole history textbook on the reader, maybe he should consider some alternative means of exposition before taking a hot, steamy exposition dump right on our chest.
Interesting