Hwang Jong-i arrived at the foot of Mount Hua and surveyed the chaotic scene. ‘So many goods,’ he thought, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘Mount Hua’s rise has truly changed everything.’
“Alright, alright! Load them up!”
“Don’t you dare drop anything! These are precious goods!”
“We’re paying you well, so the goods must not be damaged! Understand?”
“Don’t worry!”
Piles of luggage, wrapped in rough cloth and tied with thick rope, were stacked like mountains at the entrance to Mount Hua. The air was thick with the scent of spices and dried herbs, hinting at the valuable goods within. Sturdy men, each carrying a large bundle, began to climb the mountain with determined faces.
“Will we be able to carry all this up by today?”
“Looks like we’re short on manpower.”
“Ugh. We promised to have it all delivered by today.”
The merchants, becoming less polite, tapped their feet anxiously.
“Is everything going smoothly?”
“Young Master!”
As Hwang Jong-i approached and asked, they hurriedly lowered their heads.
Hwang Jong-i, after receiving their light bows, looked at the piled luggage and asked,
“How is it going?”
“The goods are all prepared. However, transporting them to the summit is proving difficult.”
“We hired many laborers, but not many can carry loads all the way to the top of Mount Hua. It requires strength and stamina…”
“Hmm.”
As Hwang Jong-i stroked his chin, gazing at the piles, one of the merchants cautiously asked,
“Until now, after we brought the goods here, the people of Mount Hua would come down and carry them up. What happened this time…?”
“Tsk.”
But before he could finish, Hwang Jong-i narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. The merchant flinched and shrank back.
“That was Mount Hua doing us a favor. What merchant guild asks the receiver to come and collect the goods after they’ve only been moved halfway?”
“…Th-that’s…”
“Even if that’s how it’s been until now, we can’t expect it to continue. The people of Mount Hua don’t have as much time as they used to. Aren’t they important figures?”
“Y-yes, of course. Absolutely.”
Mount Hua had changed a lot. When they first started trading, it was very different. Now, it was almost like a completely new group.
The merchants could only say such things because they had seen the disciples of Mount Hua carrying goods until now. If today had been their first transaction, they would have been overwhelmed with gratitude the moment the disciples of Mount Hua came down to carry the goods.
‘Mount Hua’s prestige is rising endlessly.’
The merchants, newly aware, looked up at Mount Hua with fresh eyes.
Who would have imagined that a sect that seemed on the verge of collapse would become so powerful in just a few years?
“I see now just how brilliant the guild leader’s ability to see the future was.”
“Indeed.”
Hwang Jong-i nodded, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
‘Was it his father’s skill, or was it the young leader of Mount Hua, the one they called the ‘Divine Dragon’, who was truly special?’
While others focused on the growth of Mount Hua, Hwang Jong-i saw something else. Who would have imagined that the young Taoist he had met years ago would shake the world so much?
‘My father’s real ability is his eye for talent.’
Hwang Jong-i had only thought of Chung Myung as unique, not necessarily special.
Because his father recognized Chung Myung’s specialness and didn’t hesitate to invest heavily in the collapsing Mount Hua, the Eunha Merchant Guild was now getting enormous profits.
The money they would receive in exchange for supplying the goods piled up here was enormous, but even that was small compared to the money they received from participating in the trade led by Mount Hua.
“Listen well.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“From now on, we should avoid taking up the time of the Mount Hua disciples as much as possible. We must always be careful not to get used to their help. It is not a merchant’s duty to demand what we cannot demand elsewhere under the guise of friendship.”
“I-I will keep that in mind, Young Master.”
“Manager Yoo.”
“Yes!”
“Hire more laborers.”
“Yes? But we’ve already gathered all the available laborers in the area.”
“Send the laborers who aren’t carrying loads up to the mountainside. They can take over the loads there, can’t they?”
“Ah…! That would work.”
“Don’t just think of dividing it into two. Find suitable spots along the way and create gathering points. We’ll be transporting goods to Mount Hua frequently in the future, so come up with a sustainable method.”
“As you command, Young Master!”
Hwang Jong-i nodded and continued his instructions.
“Be especially careful not to damage the goods. We’ll likely need to supply goods steadily during this conference, so ensure there are no disruptions.”
“Yes!”
“Get to work.”
Watching the manager rush away, Hwang Jong-i chuckled softly.
‘The rapid rise of Mount Hua.’
It was an utterly delightful and joyous thing.
In the past, the Eunha Merchant Guild had subtly helped Mount Hua in various ways. But now, the Eunha Merchant Guild was the one receiving help from Mount Hua.
A merchant’s top priority was ultimately profit, so there was no reason to feel uncomfortable about this fact. However…
‘Soon, other merchant families will be scrambling to get in good with Mount Hua.’ A flicker of ambition sparked in his eyes. ‘We must stay ahead,’ he thought.
Sure enough.
He heard that the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua had handed over the Yunnan tea rights in Beijing to the Geumseon Merchant Guild.
Compared to the transactions the Eunha Merchant Guild was involved in, it was still small, but if such events continued, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be pushed back at some point.
Friendship and business were separate matters. The Eunha Merchant Guild also needed to continuously prove its value to remain Mount Hua’s primary trading partner.
“This opening ceremony will be that opportunity.”
Not only Mount Hua but also numerous sects that could be called prestigious in the Jianghu would gather. There was no better place to showcase the power of the Eunha Merchant Guild.
‘And Mount Hua, through this event, will prove again its position in the world.’
Not based on the order established by others, the Nine Great Sects, but on a new order called the Cheonwu Alliance.
Hwang Jong-i muttered quietly, turning his gaze eastward. A strong wind, carrying the scent of pine and the promise of change, was blowing towards Mount Hua. A wind unlike any he had felt before, carrying the sect’s influence across the Jianghu.
Hwang Jong-i was not the only one noticing these changes. Across the Jianghu, whispers about Mount Hua were growing louder.
The Jianghu was quiet.
It was always bustling with large and small incidents, but in recent years… no, for at least the past ten years, nothing significant enough to interest people had occurred.
But recently, one name had begun to stir the quiet Jianghu.
“‘Did you hear? Mount Hua defeated Jongnam?’
“‘I heard Mount Hua achieved the best results at the World’s Greatest Later Generation Martial Arts Competition.”
“‘That Mount Hua cut down the Maninbang’s martial force? Is that even possible?’
“‘I heard Mount Hua defeated the Green Forest’s Daebyeolchae! That Daebyeolchae!'”
“‘M-Mount Hua won against Wudang in a martial arts contest! Even though Wudang sent their first-generation disciples and Mount Hua sent their second-generation disciples! And that Divine Dragon of Mount Hua defeated a Wudang elder!'”
Mount Hua, Mount Hua, Mount Hua.
Everywhere you went, the name of Mount Hua came up, and everywhere you went, stories about Mount Hua’s achievements began to circulate.
“‘Mount Hua… greatest sect?’ someone muttered nearby.”
“‘Possible? Against the Nine Sects?’ another voice scoffed.”
The eyes of the world were focused entirely on Mount Hua.
Some were excited by the name of the newly rising powerhouse, some felt a strange emotion as the forgotten name was heard again, and some were displeased by the emergence of a new name that was shaking the balance of the Jianghu.
But regardless of what emotions people in the world held, no one could deny that the sect currently attracting the most attention was Mount Hua.
Mount Hua was not the strongest sect in the world, but it was certainly the most watched.
And…
News came that drove the wedge even deeper into that attention.
“‘Mount Hua sent invitations to the sects of the world!'”
“‘Mount Hua is joining hands with the Tang Family, the Beast Palace, and the Bukhae Ice Palace to create a new alliance called the Cheonwu Alliance!'”
“‘The opening ceremony will be held at Mount Hua in Shanxi!'”
Those who heard these words for the first time simply laughed them off.
But as the same words were heard two, three times, and even those who had seen the invitations with their own eyes began to appear, they could no longer simply laugh it off.
“‘A new alliance! What is this all about? Isn’t the Murim Alliance no longer active?'”
“‘It’s not the Murim Alliance, it’s the Cheonwu Alliance! It’s not a gathering of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families, but Mount Hua and the Tang Family joining hands and allying with sects from beyond the Central Plains!'”
“‘H-has something like this ever happened before?'”
“‘No! Of course not! In the first place, we’ve never allied with sects from beyond the Central Plains, and wasn’t that Mount Hua originally one of the Nine Great Sects?'”
“‘Th-that’s right.”
“‘It’s never happened before for the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families to form separate alliances!'”
“‘Th-then what’s going to happen?'”
“‘How should I know!'”
People couldn’t even grasp how to react to this situation.
Who could have imagined that the Sichuan Tang Family, the ruler of Sichuan, the Beast Palace, the ruler of Yunnan, and the Bukhae Ice Palace, which could be called the king of Bukhae, would ally with the Mount Hua Sect, which could be said to be the most famous sect in the world right now?
No one could easily predict what kind of effects this event would bring to the Jianghu.
“‘Then are they becoming enemies with the Nine Sects?'”
“‘Hey, you! Just because they’re forming an alliance doesn’t mean they’re becoming enemies! It just means their affiliations are different.”
“‘B-but if they’re not going to do that, there’s no need to create an alliance. Something seems strange.”
“‘It’s true that those sects are strong when they gather, but can they really compare to the Nine Great Sects? And as far as I know, Mount Hua sent invitations to the Nine Great Sects as well. Would they have invited them if they were going to be enemies?'”
“‘That’s also true…'”
But most people felt it.
That this was not a simple matter.
‘Will the Nine Sects stand still?’
‘Will the Tang Family be leaving the Five Great Families?’
‘If two of the Four Outer Palaces are participating, what will happen to the remaining two? The Potala Palace is too far away and doesn’t interfere in the Jianghu, so that’s one thing, but what about the Namhae Solar Palace?’
The recent Jianghu was like a calm lake.
But that Mount Hua kept throwing stones into the calm lake. Telling the ripples to grow bigger and surge like waves.
“‘W-when is the opening ceremony?'”
“‘I heard it’s at the end of this month.'”
“‘The end of this month? That’s so soon?'”
“‘That’s right.'”
“‘T-this is not the time for this!'”
“‘Where are you going?'”
“‘I have to go to Shanxi!'”
“‘Huh? To Shanxi?'”
“‘It’s the opening ceremony, surely they won’t chase away people who come to watch? It might be a historic moment, I have to go and see it with my own two eyes!'”
“‘To that extent?'”
“‘Don’t stop me! I’m going!'”
Mount Hua’s greatly increased reputation was now set in stone by the invitations.
Some were already figuring out the situation with their abacuses due to the rapidly changing circumstances, while others were not, but everyone recognized one thing for sure.
The balance of the Jianghu was slowly shaking.
The fact that the order of the Jianghu, which had been maintained since the devastating war with the Demonic Sect, was beginning to be shaken.
Words have momentum. The news that had been spreading gently suddenly flared up like wildfire, and soon became a storm that swept through the Central Plains.
No one could easily predict how far the typhoon caused by Mount Hua would drag this Jianghu.