Before the result of this martial arts tournament, there’s a premise that must be addressed.
It’s how small and medium sects grow.
For them, the most important thing is their disciples. The number of disciples capable of learning martial arts is the very essence of their strength.
Talent is everything.
The more apprentice disciples willing to pay for training, the richer the sect’s finances become.
With disciples, there are people to mediate fights in the marketplace and to send to merchants requesting protection.
And through training, first-rate experts sometimes emerge from among them.
Securing newcomers is the top priority for these small and medium sects.
The driving force that makes newcomers knock on the sect’s door is fame.
At first, if a sect wins in martial arts or showcases dazzling skills, people will knock on their door. However, as martial arts matches became common in Sacheon City, the people’s expectations soared. Unless it was an intensely compelling match, the number of sect members didn’t increase.
Even when larger sects subtly supported the martial arts showcased, the response from people was tepid.
Sacheon had fallen into a state of stasis.
Without any justifiable reason, it wasn’t possible to attack other sects, nor were there any opportunities to expand their influence.
But, as they say, when things get desperate, one can find a way out.
Someone proposed a solution.
I vaguely heard it was from a certain sect, but I can’t quite recall.
* *
“It was Yeongji Sect.”
“Hmm? You’re not going to spill the beans?”
“Please continue.”
* *
At that time, the pride of the People of Sacheon was immense. They accomplished something no one else could: completely cleaning up the Outcast Faction! The most pristine region in the Central Plains! The safest area chosen by heroes to protect the populace!
The strongest of the Nine Provinces, the indomitable Sacheon Martial World!
That’s roughly how inflated their regional pride was.
Then, Yeongji Sect hosted a big event.
They planned to invite a famous expert from Hubei for martial arts matches.
When talking about the heart of the Martial World, one could only think of Hubei or Henan. The legendary Shaolin and Wudang, representing the Northern Dipper of Mount Tai, each located in Hubei and Henan, while clans like Namgung and Moyong also settled in those areas.
Sacheon Martial World vs. Hubei Martial World—this title sparked an intense interest among the People of Sacheon.
The representative from Hubei Martial World was Pyo Chang-gi, a rather notable outcast.
A Yeongji expert, considered slightly beneath Pyo Chang-gi, managed to outlast him after a fierce contest, and the Yeongji coins, which had been stuck to the ground of Sacheon Martial World, instantly soared into the heavens.
Sacheon Martial World succeeded! Yeongji Sect, the pride of Sacheon Martial World!
Yeongji Sect became the undisputed ruler of Sacheon!
“Mom, I want to become a disciple of Yeongji Sect when I grow up!”
Regardless of age or gender, a multitude of disciples poured in, knocking on the door of Yeongji Sect. Other sects, envious of Yeongji’s success, tried to benchmark them.
But that wasn’t an easy task.
Benchmarking wasn’t simple. The first hurdle was inviting a suitably impressive expert. Those experts had their own prestige in their regions.
In Sacheon, Sacheon Martial World was unrivaled, but from a broader perspective, Sacheon was merely a mediocre place. If they were to challenge a Sacheon expert in martial arts, winning would merely break even, but losing would incur significant losses, so no one was eager to challenge.
Those who failed to arrange matches were the fortunate ones.
Some sects had the audacity to challenge higher-level external experts, proclaiming, “Sacheon Martial World can do it!” while others invited a crowd only to suffer defeat.
Sects that lost in martial arts competitions were instantly labeled as a disgrace to Sacheon Martial World and quickly fell apart.
Yeah.
At that moment, someone from the small and medium sects must have realized.
They couldn’t handle the risks of defeat.
That could lead to additional branches of thought.
How could Yeongji Sect boldly convene such a massive event back then? Was it simply because they had nothing to lose? Or was there something they believed firmly in?
Pyo Chang-gi is an outcast and… if they paid him enough, couldn’t he have been hired to rig the match?
If they reached that point in thought, someone might have also considered:
“Couldn’t we take down Yeongji Sect in one go?”
Whether Pyo Chang-gi really received a request to rig the match or not remains unknown.
However, what matters is that Pyo Chang-gi officially stated, “I received a match-fixing request from Yeongji Sect,” and then vanished from the Martial World.
Did they truly rig the match, or did they just claim they did? In the end, the fact that someone was bribed to speak out never changed.
The People of Sacheon fell into shock, and Yeongji Sect adamantly denied any wrongdoing, but other sects in Sacheon seized the opportunity to consecutively challenge Yeongji to martial arts matches.
Being a sect that had been crushed to the ground, Yeongji Sect lacked the strength to withstand this barrage. The People of Sacheon watched the scene unfold, growing more convinced that the rumors of match-fixing were true and became enraged. In their minds, Yeongji Sect was the pride of Sacheon Martial World and undefeated.
Though Yeongji Sect being beaten and the rumors about Pyo Chang-gi were unrelated, that no longer mattered to the People of Sacheon.
Yeongji Sect had to remain the pride of Sacheon Martial World and invincible. But that was no longer the case.
The Yeongji match-fixing incident ignited uncontrollably.
Yeongji Sect, having dominated Sacheon, was shattered in an instant, and Jongnam Sect—previously thriving as their supporter—was also devastated.
Rumors circulated that Jongnam Sect had provided backing to plan the match-fixing incident, leading the sect leader to personally apologize to the crowds and announce the dissolution of Jongnam Sect.
This sheds light on how frenzied the anger of the People of Sacheon was.
Witnessing the downfall of Jongnam Sect, the Hwangbo Clan and the remaining Daoist sects must have felt something as well.
They began to hide their connections to the small and medium sects. Being openly tied to them could lead to being implicated in case any incident arose.
With the actions of the Hwangbo Clan and Daoist sects, the internal climate of Sacheon plunged further into chaos. The downfall of Yeongji Sect turned the internal power dynamics of Sacheon into complete disarray. Yet all those powerful factions capable of reorganizing Sacheon submerged beneath the surface.
In this chaotic time, individuals with demonic ideas began to emerge.
* *
“Don’t you think something is off?”
“What now?”
The story was being interrupted, and I wasn’t pleased with how the Black Cat kept asking questions without answering any.
“Couldn’t there be some hidden to create this turmoil in Sacheon? A conspiracy to ruin Sacheon Martial World?”
“That might be possible. But I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?”
“Because no one gained anything.”
* *
Along with Yeongji Sect’s match-fixing incident, something else was shattered just as badly.
That was the perception of outcasts.
This could be regarded as the fundamental reason the People of Sacheon despised Sacheon Outcasts. Just as they had fervently supported Yeongji Sect, the People of Sacheon also violently hated Pyo Chang-gi. The most significant part of the hatred directed toward Pyo Chang-gi stemmed from the belief that he rigged the matches for money; hence, a heavy disdain toward outcasts, who were seen as greedy, emerged.
Outcasts who would sell even their parents and siblings for a price.
That was how the People of Sacheon viewed outcasts at that time.
Someone decided to capitalize on that perception.
How on earth could the small and medium factions in Sacheon think up such demonic schemes over and over?
In truth, the martial artists living in Sacheon back then weren’t humans, but rather demons, weren’t they?
Anyway, the internal structure of Sacheon at that time was being shaped into roughly three powers.
Jajang Sect!
Zhambong Sect!
Tangsu Sect!
Names that weren’t at all shameful, representing Sichuan cuisine, and among them, Tangsu Sect was the strongest. Jajang and Zhambong Sect couldn’t match up, but they were at least assembling forces enough to contest.
Then, a martial arts challenge flew into Tangsu Sect.
An outcast from Yunnan delivered an invitation for martial arts to the leader of Tangsu Sect!
Sacheon turned upside down once more.
Gu Ak-geom Dok Yeong-chan!
An outcast who truly does everything for money! It wasn’t just a rumor; he was a villain who committed heinous acts without a second thought!
The People of Sacheon boiled with rage.
How dare such human trash outcast challenge our Tangsu Sect!?
However, some People of Sacheon laughed at this situation.
“Oh, those Tangsu guys are trying to extend their wings of deceit to seize the hegemony of Sacheon again.”
Tangsu Sect’s trickery. No, it was a genuine challenge from outcasts who lacked a clue about their place.
Within the People of Sacheon, sides were drawn, and thus the conflict between Dok Yeong-chan and Tangsu Sect’s leader drew attention.
By this point in the story, you might have guessed what happened.
Tangsu Sect’s leader lost.
