Volcanic Age

The Gold Will Merchants had roughly three hundred warriors under its command. The group of warriors comprised of both wanderers and various martial artists of the Righteous Faction, ranging from those of small and medium-sized sects to even those recognized as a part of the Martial Alliance.

Li Yicai had divided those warriors into three sections when establishing the Gold Will Merchants' forces—the First Corps, Second Corps, and Third Corps.

The Third Corps was essentially composed of wanderers who had been hired using money without any special conditions or loyalties. They had been brought in a short while ago at Zhou Xuchuan's request.

The Second Corps consisted of warriors trustworthy enough to be assigned to the various branches of the Gold Will Merchants. They were provided with better positions and techniques than the Third Corps, and their salaries were quite good as well.

As for the First Corps, they were the elite. Led by the Ten Gale Swordsmen, they were divided into ten divisions that served as Li Yicai's direct subordinates. Even if some of the members of the First Corps had weaker cultivations than the Second Corps, they, like the Ten Gale Swordsmen, were highly trustworthy. These individuals desperately needed money, not for selfish or evil desires, but for the sake of someone precious to them, for their families.

"They all have their own unavoidable circumstances, and he's using that to keep them loyal. Moreover, it's not by coercion. Even if he were threatening them, the end would justify the means. But… seeing as he's not, it's really incredible how he's handling this."

Zhou Xuchuan was once again impressed by Li Yicai’s ability.

“Head Merchant. I’ll take command of the Second Corps for the time being.”

The Third Corps hadn't built enough trust yet. They were liable to run away or betray the Gold Will Merchants if offered more money from other forces.

There was the possibility that some of them might be spies sent by other merchant organizations hostile to the Gold Will Merchants.

So, Zhou Xuchuan decided to consolidate and strengthen the Second Corps, whose members were relatively trustworthy and had decent cultivations.

The Second Corps was initially bewildered when they heard the Head Merchant’s order.

Even if the brat before them was from the Nine Sects and One Gang, they just couldn't believe that a kid not even in his thirties would be the one to train them.

It was hard for them to accept, even though it was the Head Merchant's orders. Many of them objected to it.

"Head Merchant, isn't this a little too much?"

"We've all heard of Mount Hua's reputation, but isn't this youngling a little too young?"

"He's only a disciple from the Nine Sects and One Gang. Just because he's practiced incredible techniques doesn't make him a master. No matter how you look at him, he's obviously some inexperienced novice. Just what could he know about teaching us?"

The warriors of the Second Corps seemed slightly insulted.

Maybe things would be different if the boy in front of them was one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, but none of them had ever even heard of the name Zhou Xuchuan. His age alone was an issue, but to think he didn't even have a reputation!

"All of you shut the fuck up. The Martial God is standing before you."

Even among flattery… this was enough to make people dumbfounded. Zhou Xuchuan himself even clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Head Merchant, you should take care of other things. I'll handle this."

“I apologize, Great Hero. Because of this lowly person, you...”

“I get it!" Zhou Xuchuan interrupted.

Immediately, the man who seemed to be making things worse stepped back as Zhou Xuchuan addressed the one hundred men in front of him.

"It's always better to demonstrate once than to explain a hundred times."

"Huh?"

"So, all of you, come at me."

“What shit is he spouting…”

“I’ll go first!” Zhou Xuchuan shouted.

The Jinan branch of Gold Will Merchants was incredibly large. It wasn't an ordinary merchant house; it was large enough to have the word 大 in front of it.[1]

Seeing that there was even a training ground large enough for a hundred people to freely move around, one could tell just how wealthy the Gold Will Merchants actually was.

Zhou Xuchuan suddenly rushed at the hundred warriors of the Second Corps standing in front of him. He was careful not to inflict fatal injuries.

"Agk!!"

Although he used his sword, Zhou Xuchuan made sure not to attack with his blade. He mainly struck them with the flat of the blade, just hard enough to make them pass out. At first, the warriors were disconcerted by the chaos but quickly counterattacked after realizing that Zhou Xuchuan had initiated the fight himself.

Then, what followed was one-sided violence.

"AGH!!!"

"UGH!!!!"

The warriors of the Second Corps were stronger than the wanderers scattered throughout the gangho. However, they were only slightly better.

The strongest among them were, at best, First Class, while most of them were barely Second, or even Third Class warriors. Even though there were a hundred of them, fighting them was nothing more than an after-meal exercise for a Harmony Realm master who possessed an almost infinite amount of qi.

At first, the warriors thought that Zhou Xuchuan was crazy and had wanted to beat him up.

However, their thoughts quickly changed.

They went all out to subdue him, desperate to avoid being hit and stay conscious. In the end, they all ended up on the ground, unable to put up a fight.

"Ugh…"

"My back, my back!"

"My arm is broken…"

In less than half an hour, all of the warriors were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Even the physician who had been waiting to the side in advance was utterly flabbergasted. He froze until he suddenly remembered his job and hurriedly moved to help.

Zhou Xuchuan looked at the warriors receiving treatment.

"From now on, we're going to be sparring like we're in a real battle like this every day. Don't worry; the organization will handle everything if your sword gets chipped or broken. The same goes for medicine as well. So, you can fight as hard as you can without holding back, okay?"

"You damnable brat!"

A relatively unscathed First Class warrior rushed at him, furious.

"Yes, yes, exactly. With this much energy."

Zhou Xuchuan took a step to the left and dodged lightly, kicking the warrior’s back as he passed by.

"Agk!!"

The warrior fell forward and crashed into the ground.

The warriors receiving treatment were terrified when they saw this. Their faces finally showed fear.

From this point on, Zhou Xuchuan became the instructor for the Second Corps.

Some of the warriors had the idea that he might teach them some techniques that Mount Hua gave to their lay disciples.

However, those wishes were in vain. There was no way he had that kind of authority.

"Even though you call me instructor, I'm not going to teach you any techniques. Your foundations are lacking. I'll be fixing that for you."

The infamously harsh training methods of the Mount Hua Sect were priceless in times like these. Zhou Xuchuan proceeded to train the Second Corps, while reminiscing about the past.

He made the warriors wake up at dawn, cultivate their respective qi cultivation methods through mediation before making them run without using their cultivation bases.

Around lunchtime, he made them all assume a stance and swing their swords as a group. As they did so, he'd find any with improper stances or lacking energy and forcibly correct them.

He was quite oppressive, and he even used violence, which made many warriors dissatisfied.

"You damn punk!"

"Put that energy into your training."

Of course, every time someone complained, he would force them to submit with violence. While there were probably better ways to handle it, he didn't care enough to consider them. They were all his employees, and he didn't have time to pay attention to each and every one. So, he just focused on training them through a reasonable amount of torture.

There was no need for him to think about any other methods, and it was good because he didn't have to worry about anything, either.

“You’re amazing, Great Hero!”

Li Yicai was happy to see the Second Corps’ growing strength. In the murim, strength was like money.

There would be many benefits as his forces grew stronger. Thinking about those benefits, he couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Xuchuan just let Li Yicai's flattery go in one ear and out the other as he continued the conversation.

“In the meantime, please filter out the talents from the Third Corps who you recommend should enter the Second or the First Corps.”

"Understood. What should I do with the ones who aren't suitable?"

"Just give them a reasonable severance. I'll leave the amount to you, considering you're better at dealing with people."

“Do you need anything else?”

"I'm planning on adding another two hundred people to the forces here. Please find children who fit the criteria I had mentioned earlier."

First, they must be children who are nine to ten years old and have no particular physical issues. It doesn't matter if they're malnourished or hungry. As long as all of their limbs are intact and they have both eyes, that's fine. They shouldn't have any incurable diseases, either.

“Look for those with extremely poor families as well. It's best if they're orphans."

"Understood. Are you thinking of training a separate guard squad?"

Children from poor families or abandoned orphans had nowhere to go and spent each day worrying about the next.

That despair and hunger were more painful than one could imagine.

If one were to help them escape that pain, most of them would swear lifelong loyalty to whoever saved them.

Moreover, if one were to not only take care of their food, clothing, and shelter but also give them a way to make a living or even teach them martial arts, it would be like they were gilding the flowers given to them.[2]

"With this many people, I think it might be better to open a sect and manage them separately. It would be more efficient to build a new estate with training grounds and other sections… what do you think?"

"I think that makes the most sense, too. Please feel free to do whatever you like."

Zhou Xuchuan smiled as if he was already expecting Li Yicai's answer.

“If so, then would sir Great Hero consider…?” Li Yicai asked, looking around furtively.

"It's no use trying to tie me up with the Gold Will Merchants sneakily."

Even though the new organization would be a sect, it would strictly manage the warriors belonging to the merchant organization. If one really looked closely, one would find that the newly established sect would just be a subordinate sect of the Gold Will Merchant.

Becoming the sect leader would mean that Zhou Xuchuan would end up forming an inseparable relationship with the Gold Will Merchants.

It wouldn't be a problem if he were a lay disciple of Mount Hua, but it was impossible considering his status as a direct disciple of the sect.

"Oh dear, sir, Great Hero! I'm truly sorry! This foolish merchant is an idiot and thus made such a lowly mistake! I've long wished for a sect leader like the Great Hero for such a long time that I…!"

“How thick-skinned are you? It's to the point that I might not even doubt it if someone told me you were wearing a mask."

Li Yicai wasn't the type of person to get confused by such things or make such mistakes. Even though he might act like an idiot on the outside, it was difficult to find someone more intelligent than him in the entire Central Plains.

His apology was just an excuse for his greedy remarks.

“Please leave the position of the sect leader vacant. I’ll bring someone suitable to take the position later."

Zhou Xuchuan got up from his seat.

"What would you like to name it?"

"If it's a sect under your command, don't you think you'd be the owner, Head Merchant? Name it whatever you want."

“Hmm, let’s think about it.”

Li Yicai stroked his plump chin.

Hehe, I know exactly what name you're going to name it.

Zhou Xuchuan had to stifle a laugh.

This wasn't the first time that a sect had appeared under the Gold Will Merchants.

Or, to be precise, it was something that was supposed to happen in the future.

In Zhou Xuchuan's previous life, Li Yicai had formed his own force to protect his property. It wasn't just a guard or a hired group, he had brought in children and trained them as personal guards.

Zhou Xuchuan was only instructing him this early so they could proceed more quickly.

With the mind set on gold, take up the sword.

The Golden Will Sword Sect!

As the Merchant King said, money was power.

Following his own creed, he had used money to establish his own force.

Initially, the Merchant King had just hired warriors. Then, he gathered trustworthy people and placed them in key positions within his established sect.

Finally, he established the foundational techniques and qi cultivation methods of his sect—although "bought" would be a more accurate term.

It truly was a sect made of money.

However, he received contempt from both the Righteous and Evil Factions for using money to bind the souls of warriors and even buying techniques to increase his power.

Although the sect's reputation wasn't good, thanks to his methods, the Golden Will Sword Sect eventually grew to a level comparable to the Nine Sects and One Gang, or, at the very least, the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance.

"...Hmm, oh! Sword Sect! Let's go with the Golden Will Sword Sect!"

1. 大 means big in Korean/Chinese/Japanese. ☜

2. Basically, "icing on a cake." ☜

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