Chapter 446: Gathering and Trading
Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations
It was only then did Fang Xingjian thought of this problem.
It was because, all along, he had been training under the Empire's official system, and thus he had subconsciously forgotten about the differences between the Empire and the other factions.
As the greatest faction, the Empire had always maintained a special balance with the non-governmental factions.
It was because the Empire's power was sufficient to wipe out any faction. However, the moment they started doing so, all the other factions would join forces to go up against the Empire. When that happened, the entire world would be in chaos, and the people's lives would be plunged into great misery.
There were also several large countries to the north of the Empire, and on top of all that, the Church. Therefore, the balance between the Empire and the non-governmental factions had been intentionally maintained all this while.
However, the superficial balance could not stop the fights that took place in the background.
Martial arts practitioners violated regulations through force. Factions generally held great power and had numerous experts. It was impossible to hope that they would limit themselves to conducting their businesses without any tricks.
Countless factions’ dealings involving killings, brawls, smugglings, gamblings, and sex related trades.
Although the Empire would not wipe out the factions, they had to apprehend the experts who committed crimes.
Over countless years, although the Empire had not openly fought the many factions, other than a portion of those who had been gradually assimilated into the government, the majority of the factions would not submit to the influence of the sovereignty. They even competed with the Empire for students, resources, and talents.
If Fang Xingjian were to use his identity as a Conferred Knight to suppress the Eternal Night Society and the other major sects, then it would become a case whereby the Empire was suppressing the other sects. The nature of the incident would immediately become very serious, and it could even end up with the other party choosing death over bowing down to him.
Especially so since Fang Xingjian's invention of the Rebirth Sword Technique had also caused them to lose students.
Fang Xingjian nodded, "I understand. Then, during the period in which we're participating in the gathering, I'll be an Elder of the Ice Palace. I'll assist the Ice Palace in defeating all the other factions in the Great Western Region."
As he spoke, Fang Xingjian's body stretched longer and swelled up. He was stimulating his vital energy and blood, controlling his cells, changing his appearance. In the blink of an eye, he had become a man over two meters in height, with a rough appearance.
He opened his mouth, releasing a buzzing sound. It was as if countless steel pillars were knocking against each other. "During this time, you can just call me the Vicious Knight."
The Great Priestess instantly felt an upsurge of emotions. As a level 22 second transition expert, she had never participated in a martial arts gathering of such a scale. Previously, it was the Cult Master who had led the people from the Radiant Cult to attend these gatherings.
This time around, if not for Fang Xingjian's interception, making her the new leader of the Valley Alliance, she would probably be forever suppressed by the Radiant Cult, let alone have any thoughts of leading a team to participate in the gathering.
At the beginning, she was still worried that her abilities were not a match for the Radiant Cult's Cult Master, and that the Valley Alliance would end up making a fool of themselves during the gathering.
However, to think that Fang Xingjian was planning to defeat everyone in the capacity of a member of their Ice Palace... How could she not feel excited? She was full of anticipation to see Fang Xingjian defeating everyone, and to have the Ice Palace's reputation spread far and wide.
After a short moment, Fang Xingjian left. The Great Priestess continued to be beam, full of smiles. Next to her, the Saint could not help but say, "Master, this doesn't seem good. We'll be offending too many people.
"And although Fang Xingjian is very powerful, the Eternal Night Society, Illumination Society, and the Black Wings have all had long-standing reputations in the Great Western Region, with countless experts in their sects. Who knows how many experts they may have who could be even more powerful than Fang Xingjian?"
The Great Priestess shook her head and said, "You're not a second transition and are not aware of Fang Xingjian's abilities. The power he used to bash up that monster in the Radiant Cult would make him a top notch expert among those in the second transition, even if he might not necessarily be the very best.
"And don't you understand? Even if he isn't able to defeat the many experts, he would still be able to rank amongst the top 20, or even top 10. To our Ice Palace, this is an excellent opportunity to build our reputation.
"We'll be able to increase the number of partners working with us, and take in many more disciples."
The Saint still sighed to herself, feeling that her Master was being too positive. How strong were the backgrounds of the three great sects? They had several tens of second transition experts, and it was said that they each had five or six level 29 experts. How could they be defeated so easily?
'Sigh, although Master has become the leader of the Valley Alliance, her character is still as before. She doesn't have the judgement which would allow her to establish a firm standing in the Great Western Region.
'This Fang Xingjian is too arrogant as well. Although his talent and abilities are truly amazing, he'll find himself in great trouble if he were to continue with his current actions.'
Fang Xingjian transformed into the Vicious Knight and followed the team from the Ice Palace along the way. Two hours later, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. It was the Dark Shadow Mountain where the gathering was held this time around.
Before they had gotten close, wild Knights dressed in black had come up to welcome them. They were the people from the Eternal Night Society who were in charge of receiving the guests.
The people from the Valley Alliance were each assigned a location on the Dark Shadow Mountain. The Great Priestess explained, "The gathering will officially start only tomorrow. The Eternal Night Society's Night Monarch will be the one talking tomorrow. Then, it will be followed by interactions and cooperations that will continue for two and a half days. Everyone will be split into small-scale salon groups.
"There will also be heavenly and earthly treasures, ferocious beasts, as well as many other types of resources all put up on sale. From the fourth day onward, it will be a martial arts exchange, and all the factions will take turns to send their representatives to accept challenges. Based on the results of each faction, the distribution of territory and various businesses for the next year will then be decided.
"In this area, the Illumination Society, Eternal Night Society, and the Black Wings have always been the strongest."
Fang Xingjian nodded, "Alright. Tomorrow we'll go check out what kind of experts the three major sects have.
"Oh, right." Fang Xingjian requested, "Help me look for someone..."
...
At noon the next day, the gathering had officially started.
On the peak of the Dark Shadow Mountain, on the platform, several thousands of people were gathered.
A fair and chubby old man who was wearing white robes and was encompassed by a layer of light radiance behind him, walked up the stage all grins. He looked just like the buddha from heaven.
The Great Priestess said, "He should be the leader of the Illumination Society. It's said that he's a level 29 expert, but he hasn't fought for the past seven to eight years. No one knows what level he is at now."
The Illumination Society's leader started talking on the stage, saying the usual words of courtesy about how they should work together, have peaceful exchanges, and things like that. However, Fang Xingjian could tell that there was a faint hint of pressure in his tone.
Tyrant, in the form of a bangle on his hand, said, "It seems that they have also received some news as well. They might also be planning something big in the martial arts exchange three days later."
Fang Xingjian did not say a word. He merely closed his eyes and made good use of every minute and every second to condense his specialty seeds.
Once the old man had finished talking, the exchanges officially begun. The Great Priestess led her disciples toward the many salons, letting the Ice Palace's Saint accompany Fang Xingjian while he purchased heavenly and earthly treasures.
Upon stepping into the temporary market set up on the Dark Shadow Mountain, the cries of the many vendors could be heard. This place was bustling with activities.
Almost every sect would have a stall set up here, putting up miscellaneous items for sale, some of them valuable, others seemingly ordinary.