Dongryong's sword pierced sharply toward a vital point.

Geumpyo desperately twisted his body while executing the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps.

RIIIIP!

His clothes were cut by a hair's breadth, but he didn't think he had dodged it.

Because he saw Dongryong subtly twist his hand at the very end.

"Ha-ah!"

He drew upon the Taiyi True Scripture and unleashed the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

SHING!

Dozens of phantom swords and real swords dominated all eight directions, descending upon Dongryong.

Normally, he should have seen his younger brother engulfed in the storm of blades, bleeding and lacerated, but a surge of azure Sword Qi pierced straight through the storm of blades.

CRASH!

Through the Twin Heaven Sword Art shattered by the Sword Qi, Dongryong charged in, seemingly folding space itself.

He deflected the Sword Qi Geumpyo desperately unleashed with the heavy saber in his left hand, closing the distance by the shortest possible route.

Geumpyo grimaced.

'That damn Heavenly Slaughter Star!'

[The talent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, which completely suppresses killing intent, is not something an ordinary human can rival.]

A phrase he had seen in a book kept in the Manseogo came to mind.

Even so, an older brother's desire to not lose to his younger brother often denies even the truth.

"Haaaaah!"

Pushed to its absolute limit, the Taiyi True Scripture caused his martial robes to swell as if they would burst, and Ten Thousand Swords formed in the air, aiming for Dongryong's death points.

SHING!

The two Ten Thousand Swords created nearly a hundred phantom swords, and the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps conjured a dozen illusions to confound his vision.

Amidst the sharply honed blades, it would be impossible to distinguish phantom from real.

Pushed to the extreme, the Heavenly Slaughter Star wouldn't have the reason left to distinguish the true body.

However.

SLASH!

The talent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star wasn't at such a level.

Instinctive bloodlust.

Efficiency for the next kill.

The fierce obsession and desire for murder crushed all ordinary things.

Like someone seeking water in endless thirst, like someone desperate to breathe while drowning underwater.

The desire to kill overcame all of that.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

Far from distinguishing between phantom and real, Dongryong took them head-on and shot in through the shortest route, his heavy saber stopping abruptly just before severing Geumpyo's neck.

"... Hah, hah, hah."

The coldness of the blade crept up his thin neck.

"... Hehe, I won, Hyung!"

Returning to his usual foolish self, Dongryong smiled brightly, rejoicing in his victory.

'Idiot, did he forget that he's been winning consistently lately, not just this time?'

"Yeah, you did great!"

When Geumpyo patted Dongryong's head, the boy dug deeper into his eldest brother's embrace as if pleased.

Geumpyo felt briefly jealous of his opponent's immense talent but soon smiled.

Because that opponent was someone he absolutely could not bring himself to hate.

Just then.

"You were all here."

"Eunho hyung!"

At the appearance of Eunho, whom they had barely seen lately since he became an officer of the delegation, Dongryong eagerly ran over and hugged him.

Then, he whipped his head around, looking for someone.

"What about Eldest Senior Brother?"

"He went to the Mantong Bureau, saying he had something to collect."

"The Mantong Bureau?"

Eunho had realized about half a year into his academy life that ordinary academy students generally had no business at the Mantong Bureau.

Around that same time, he also learned just how prestigious the Mantong Bureau was, and that most academy students wanted to join it after graduating.

In that sense, while he was occasionally amazed by how incredible his Eldest Senior Brother must be to frequently visit the Mantong Bureau, so many extraordinary things had happened lately that he just accepted it as normal.

Otherwise, he didn't think he could stay sane witnessing the things his Eldest Senior Brother routinely(?) experienced.

Brushing off his severed robe hem, Geumpyo asked as if accustomed to it.

"What's it about this time?"

"I don't know. When has Eldest Senior Brother ever explained every little thing to us?"

Eunho grumbled, feeling a bit disappointed.

On the other hand, he understood his Eldest Senior Brother's feelings.

Their Eldest Senior Brother always carried the burden alone.

For their sake, and for the future disciples of the Taiyi Sect, he unhesitatingly walked a precarious tightrope over a dangerous line.

Even while facing the risk of falling into a bottomless quagmire with a single misstep, he never once took his stress out on them, his Junior Brothers.

'It must be because we're still unreliable.'

He didn't even get angry because he held no expectations.

"Huu..."

He had a long way to go.

Before worrying about the path he and the Taiyi Sect needed to take, he still had a terribly long way to go just to catch up to his Eldest Senior Brother.

Eunho, who had been lost in sentimentality for a moment, suddenly held out a missive as if remembering something.

"What's this?"

"The end-of-term evaluation results. They were at the dorms, so I brought them."

There had been many incidents in between, but all three brothers had diligently prepared for the written exams nonetheless.

Receiving his results sheet, Dongryong's face brightened.

"Wow! Hyungs, I got two Gap (甲) evaluations!"

"Let me see... These are all exams related to actual combat. I told you to study tactics and strategy too. Otherwise, you'll be at a disadvantage when we get assigned later."

"Ehhh, but written exams are hard..."

Eunho shouted in anger.

"What's so hard about it! You just have to memorize exactly what the instructors pointed out! Honestly, guys who get a Mu (戊) evaluation might as well have rocks in their heads. They told us everything, so how could anyone get a Mu (戊)... Those idiots are better off just going home. If rock-heads like that take command, their entire unit will be wiped out."

Dongryong, who had been triumphant just moments ago about beating Geumpyo, slumped his shoulders.

"... Got it. I'll work harder."

"Keep it in mind! Only turtle-heads get Mu (戊) evaluations."

Eunho frowned harder and added.

"I'll tell Father to strike any guy in our Lee family who gets a Mu (戊) evaluation from the family register."

"... Ehhh, understood."

Eventually, Eunho turned his head to Geumpyo, who had been silent for a while.

"Geumpyo hyung. Say something to him too."

"H-Huh?"

"Say a word to Dongryong."

At Eunho's urging, Geumpyo stared blankly at the results sheet in his hand before raising his head.

"Ah, me? Am I really in a position to say such things to Mr. Dongryong, Mr. Eunho?"

"..."

With an ominous premonition, Eunho marched over and snatched the results sheet away.

And on that results sheet...

"... Crazy!"

... The character Mu (戊) was written down no less than three times.

A certain Geumpyo, watching Lee Eunho, didn't say another word after that.

* * *

"What did we decide to do about the remaining supplies!"

"For now, we plan to transfer next year's rationed supplies to the Sichuan Branch in advance..."

"Those bastards are going to process that as leftover residue and apply for new ones again. Close the records in advance so they can't do that!"

"Um, the wounded..."

"I said reject the transport for the wounded!"

"But the wounded want to return to the Alliance for treatment..."

"If they want to return, tell them to walk back on their own two feet! Do you even know how much escort agency carriages cost?!"

"Vice Manager, we're being flooded with complaints from the warriors currently on the move..."

I knew the Mantong Bureau was always busy, but today's atmosphere was quite different.

Could you say it was like a war zone?

Then again, considering that a command center gets even busier after a war than during it, this atmosphere was to be expected.

'And the Chief Strategist intends to use this atmosphere.'

Wow, he truly was a man of incredible schemes.

If I hadn't lived my life twice, I would have had my nose cut off with my eyes wide open.

'Deliberately calling the other party in during your busiest time.'

I had heard this was a tactic most commonly used by high-value debtors.

Didn't they say creditors, feeling sorry upon seeing how busy the other party was, would get swept up in the atmosphere and fail to collect the money they were owed properly?

A moment later, Zhuge Somyeong stormed in, huffing and puffing.

"Those idiotic fools, you just can't reason with them."

"You've arrived?"

As the person called the Vice Manager approached Zhuge Somyeong, he threw the report in his hand onto the ground.

"Rewrite this! Make it persuasive enough that the Council of Elders bastards will shut their mouths and nod along!"

"I-I'm sorry."

The moment my gaze was about to meet Zhuge Somyeong's as he looked around, his anger seemingly unquelled.

"And why is the air in here so stuffy! Air the place out!"

That old man. Did he just pretend not to see me?

"Y-Yes, sir!"

At Zhuge Somyeong's strict command, the Mantong Bureau members started moving in a panic, as if lightning had struck.

Zhuge Somyeong then acted as if he was about to do something else before pretending to have just noticed me, frowning.

"What are you doing here... Ah, was it today?"

That sly, snake-like man.

But I was no slouch in worldly dealings and psychological warfare either.

I politely bowed my head.

"Should I come back later if you're busy?"

"No matter. It will only get busier from here on out, so it's better to finish this quickly today."

Zhuge Somyeong roughly closed his door and sat down.

After rapidly skimming the report in one hand, stamping it, and shoving it to the side, Zhuge Somyeong spoke.

"I'm busy, so let's cut to the chase and finish this simply."

"Yes, I have no intention of disturbing you either."

"What do you want?"

Zhuge Somyeong spoke while reading the documents, not even meeting my gaze.

Up to this point, it was exactly as Hwang Giyoung, a former loan shark from the Minor Orthodox Unit, had said.

He told me that if they showed such deliberately dismissive behavior, the creditor would be overwhelmed by their momentum and find it hard to bring up the topic of money.

It really did make it difficult for me to readily voice the items I had come up with.

"What I want is..."

"Keep it simple. Don't add unnecessary details."

"Ah, yes."

Fortunately, Hwang Giyoung had a knack for debt collection, and I had heard about his past countless times over drinks.

The first step in dealing with such troublesome debtors was to make the debtor accurately realize how much money they owed.

And the best way to make them aware of the debt amount was...

"Please allow the Daecheon Merchant Group to handle the supplies for the Murim Alliance branches in Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, and Jiangxi Province. Additionally, I would like to have the Azure Dragon Sword from the Golden Jade Vault."

...to charge them more than the amount you actually needed to receive.

He abruptly stopped.

"..."

Zhuge Somyeong, who hadn't looked at me once since I entered, stared at me blankly.

"Are you crazy by any chance?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you even know what you just asked for?"

I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Didn't you tell me to state what I wanted?"

"Hah! Why not just ask for the position of Murim Alliance Leader while you're at it."

"Can you give it to me?"

"What utter nonsense!"

"I also appropriately considered the compensation for the work I've done."

"Compensation for the work you've done?"

When demanded an amount greater than what they had borrowed, debtors would willingly sit down at the negotiating table.

Because if things went wrong, they'd end up paying back money they never even used.

"What you did was excellent work. But it is not to the extent that you can swallow up three provinces all at once."

Just like Zhuge Somyeong now, shoving his reports aside and glaring at me.

"Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

He pondered for a moment before speaking.

"I heard the Daecheon Merchant Group expanded its influence around Mount Cheonmok? I will let them handle the supplies for the Hangzhou Branch."

"That's not receiving compensation. Even if you leave us alone, we can expand to the Hangzhou Branch on our own."

"Doing work for the Murim Alliance is a given as an Alliance member."

"Strictly speaking, I'm not an Alliance member. I just went to the Underworld Alliance in exchange for working at the Mantong Bureau."

"Even so, you must know that the Golden Jade Vault is out of the question, right?"

The other party would endlessly deny the settlement invoice I presented.

"Why is it out of the question? Honestly, didn't you, the Chief Strategist, also know that the task given to this delegation was an impossible one?"

"Yes. It was an impossible task, and it ultimately failed. The alliance with the Underworld Alliance was not formed."

"You mustn't forget that the Underworld Alliance gave us an artifact as a token of friendship."

"That was an item they couldn't handle recklessly in the first place. They just used this opportunity to pass off a white elephant."

"But since that white elephant has fallen into your hands, Chief Strategist, hasn't it become something more valuable than its weight in gold?"

However, once a high line is drawn, the negotiator becomes anchored to that high line.

And at that moment, you must pierce straight through the other party's intentions.

"Honestly speaking, aren't you planning to use that white elephant to maneuver the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans?"

"..."

Zhuge Somyeong looked at me with a complicated gaze.

A look that asked, 'How the hell did you know that?'

"It's obvious just from the fact that you haven't mentioned that the item has returned to the Murim Alliance yet."

"Are you threatening me?"

You must corner the opponent where you want them, but without hurting their feelings.

I shook my head politely.

"Of course not. I merely desire appropriate compensation for the merits I've established."

"That is something you should naturally do as a warrior of Jianghu."

Going a step further, logically imprint upon them the damage they might have suffered.

"That would be true for an ordinary matter, but a major event like this is different, isn't it?"

"Different?"

"Yes. If an ordinary warrior had been dispatched to the Underworld Alliance, they would have either died there or barely escaped to report the incident to the Murim Alliance. War between the Underworld Alliance and the Murim Alliance would have been inevitable after that, and a war breaking out while we haven't properly dealt with the Blood Cult would have certainly dealt a severe and critical blow to the Murim Alliance."

Once the high line is drawn, maintain your defense as much as possible.

Until the thought that 'perhaps that large sum is justified' is etched into the other party's mind.

"If that had happened, countless Murim Alliance warriors would have died, and ultimately, the Murim Alliance would have crumbled and vanished without a trace."

"What nonsense! Do you think this is the first or second time such a thing has happened in the Murim Alliance's five hundred years of history?"

"Of course, that's just an example—just an example. Anyway, if I, who have established such a great merit, do not receive proper compensation..."

If you add justification on top of this, the situation completely tilts in your favor.

"Would other Alliance members be willing to grind their bones and crush their bodies for the Murim Alliance?"

Zhuge Somyeong hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Your itinerary this time won't be revealed to the public anyway."

"Of course I know that. Still, if you don't pay the proper compensation, all Alliance members will end up chasing only their own self-interests."

"..."

And when it seems that the impression that 'that high line isn't such an unreasonable amount' has been etched into the other party's head...

"..."

You must no longer press the other party, but instead wait leisurely.

Until the other party speaks first.

"... I will give you the Wyvern Robe from the Silver Jade Vault, along with the distribution rights for the branches in Zhejiang Province."

He's almost entirely fallen for it.

I hid the corners of my mouth that were trying to sneakily curl up.

The Wyvern Robe was an excellent artifact useful for both offense and defense.

However, even if I got it right now, I had no use for it.

But I couldn't just reveal that straightforwardly. I had to use it as a tool to gain the upper hand over the other party somehow.

I took a step back, making Zhuge Somyeong feel as if he had 'been conceded to'.

"As I mentioned earlier, our Daecheon Merchant Group, which is currently cooperating with Wangga Manor, will expand into Zhejiang Province on our own anyway. Give us the distribution rights for Jiangsu Province in addition to that. In exchange, I'll take an item from the Murim Vault instead."

"The Murim Vault?"

"Yes. I'll take the Vajra Shield among the items there."

Warriors who haven't experienced war don't know the utility of a shield.

They even consider carrying a shield around to be disgraceful.

That must be why an incredible artifact like the Vajra Shield was shoved into the Murim Vault, which was one tier below the Silver Jade Vault.

At my suddenly lowered demands, wrinkles formed on Zhuge Somyeong's forehead.

"A shield, you say?"

"Yes."

Since I had been blathering about the Golden Jade Vault at first, it was natural for him to be suspicious.

"Where are you going to use a shield?"

It was close to a useless item now, but during wartime, the warrior who possessed this Vajra Shield survived the longest.

I purposely spoke as if it was no big deal.

"Isn't it a solid chunk of black iron? If I melt it down to make swords, wouldn't it yield quite a few?"

"..."

I could feel Zhuge Somyeong racking his brain as he stared at me intently.

He was likely endlessly weighing his own profit against mine inside that small head of his.

If he thought he was profiting, he would accept it, and if he thought he was taking a loss, he would certainly refuse by citing another reason.

Shall I drive another wedge in here?

"If you don't like that, then I want the Azure Dragon Sword from the 'Golden Jade Vault' as I first mentioned."

It was said that playing devil's advocate to help the other party make up their mind was also an excellent negotiation technique for a creditor.

"..."

Sure enough, just as Hwang Giyoung had said, the debtor who believed he had gained a profit nodded his head.

"Very well. I accept."

"Thank you very much, esteemed sucker."

Ah, I was so excited that without realizing it...

"Esteemed sucker? What does that mean?"

"Ah! I was told it's a term used to refer to an excellent person who is generous and has a firm resolve."

"Is that so?"

Zhuge Somyeong nodded, seemingly pleased with the title.

Well, there was no way he would know a word used by back-alley loan sharks.

That shaved ten years off my life. Phew.