Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

After Liu Xinyue left, they returned to the main topic.

Qiao Rui took the initiative to ask: "Is this all the income? Haven't you invested in any commercial industries?" He even invested in an inn. He has been inherited in Huashan for many years, close to the rich Guanzhong Plain and guarding the majestic city of Chang'an. Didn't he buy some real estate or shops to run?

Feng Wuya smiled bitterly and said, "We used to have quite a few businesses, but in recent years, the sect has been short of money and those shops have long been sold. As a dignified Huashan, we can't let our disciples live in poverty."

"How could this be?" Qiao Rui was surprised. He knew that Huashan was not as good as before, but how could a foundation of hundreds of years be ruined so quickly? In fact, the history of Huashan Sect is older than that of Wudang Sect, and its heritage is richer. How could it be so decadent?

"It's all because of Shushan's secret conspiracy!" Leng Wanqiu said hatefully with her eyes cold and murderous.

"It's also my fault that Huashan Sect is short-sighted and blinded by greed!" Feng Wuya sighed and explained, "More than a hundred years ago, there was a mine on Huashan Mountain that could produce a substance called Yuanyang Crystal. This substance was added to the forging of weapons to make them tougher and sharper. With this substance, my Huashan Sect almost dominated the entire weapon market in the martial arts world. At that time, the weapons produced by Huashan Sect's blacksmith shop were famous all over the world, and everyone rushed to buy them!"

Thinking of the grand occasion back then, Feng Wuya's face flashed with pride, and then he said rather dejectedly: "Later, the late Emperor Gengshi rose to power and supported Shushan to fight against the southwestern martial arts world. Shushan asked Huashan Sect to purchase a large number of swords. Our sect was too busy to handle it, so Shushan Sect provided manpower, effort and money to help forge them. Seeing that Shushan Sect was so generous, the seniors of Huashan Sect at that time were naturally happy to see it happen, and later they worked with Shushan Sect to open blacksmith shops all over the world."

"Later, my Huashan Sect predecessors thought they could rest easy as they controlled the precious raw materials. They gradually withdrew from the blacksmith shop and stopped working hard to forge weapons. They just took the generous dividends and focused on mining. This eventually led to an irreversible situation."

"As the elders of that generation passed away one after another, and no one in the new generation of disciples knew how to forge weapons, Shushan finally showed its fangs and kicked Huashan out of the blacksmith shop. It no longer gave Huashan a share of the blacksmith shop's operating dividends and only treated Huashan as a supplier of auxiliary materials. The price of Yuanyang Crystal was also suppressed again and again. There was nothing they could do. Shushan had blacksmith shops all over the world. Even without Yuanyang Crystal, they could still forge weapons, but the quality would be lower, and they could still sell well. But Huashan couldn't do that. Without blacksmith shops to buy Yuanyang Crystal, Huashan would lose a major source of income and suffer heavy losses."

"So, Huashan Sect supplies Yuanyang Crystal at a very low price in exchange for its survival..."

Feng Wuya spoke lightly of this humiliating history. Although his face was calm, his right hand was tightly gripping the teacup, his knuckles were white, and veins on the back of his hand were bulging.

"boom!"

With a crisp sound, Feng Wuya was so excited that he crushed the teacup.

Only then did he react, shook his hands and smiled awkwardly.

Leng Wanqiu glanced at her husband and quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe him.

"Later, the Beggars' Sect got involved. They found a kind of Chaoyin Stone in Taihu Lake. This stone had been washed by the water at the bottom of the lake for many years. It could be directly added to forging weapons without refining. The effect seemed to be no worse than Yuanyang Crystal. Because it did not need to be refined, the cost was extremely low. They sold it to Shushan at a lower price, which finally became the last straw that broke the camel's back for Huashan. As a result, the Huashan Yuanyang Crystal Mine was abandoned and no one cared about it anymore."

"The Huashan Sect was so angry that several masters went to the Shushan Beggars' Sect to argue. They didn't expect that they would deliberately provoke the Huashan masters with words, causing them to become furious and attack. As a result, they had already planned it. As soon as the Huashan masters took action, they attacked them in groups, so that none of my masters came back!"

Even after many years, talking about this past event is still very sad. With deep hatred suppressed in his heart, Feng Wuya sighed deeply, "Most of Huashan's masters have died, and the income has been hit hard. The resources for training disciples have been reduced again and again. We can't train outstanding disciples, and the strength of the sect has plummeted. With weak strength, the income is even lower. Under such a vicious cycle, our Huashan Sect is on the verge of collapse. If it weren't for Shaolin's secret funding, how could we resist Shushan's aggressive ambition to annex it."

"However, relying on the help of others is not as safe as strengthening yourself."

"That's true!" Qiao Rui nodded in agreement. He didn't expect that behind the decline of Huashan, there was such a tortuous century-long feud.

Shushan and Beggars' Sect, haha, two of the four great sects in the world, are really despicable. Qiao Rui sneered in his heart and hated these two sects to the extreme.

Seeing Feng Wuya's worried look and Leng Wanqiu's earnest eyes, Qiao Rui racked his brains to think about how he could help them with his identity. Thinking of his other identity, he suddenly had an idea and said, "Why not continue to refine Yuanyang Crystal and sell it to Qingtianwei?"

Feng Wuya frowned upon hearing this, "Getting involved with the government is a taboo in the martial arts world and will definitely be criticized by others."

"This..." Qiao Rui couldn't understand why he was criticized?

"You are not a lackey of the Sky Guards, nor do you use the government to oppress others. You are just doing business. What does it have to do with others?" Qiao Rui advised patiently, "You can't just sit there and wait for death!"

Feng Wuya was silent, but Leng Wanqiu was somewhat interested. She asked, "Can you get in touch with the Sky Guards?"

"Hmm!" Qiao Rui smiled. "Godmother, have you forgotten that the Purple Gold Sky Guard Fifth Qingcheng once testified for me on Mount Shu? With this relationship, it shouldn't be difficult to introduce you to him. As for business, if we can reach an agreement, we can do it. If we can't, there's no loss, right?"

"Okay!" Leng Wanqiu's eyes lit up and she said with a smile, "Young people are really smart. Let's do this. Go and help us make the contact."

"Junior sister..." Feng Wuya was still weighing the pros and cons. Seeing that Leng Wanqiu made a decision so quickly, he wanted to speak out to stop her.

"Listen to me this time. Our family is barely making ends meet, and you're still weighing the pros and cons. Is the Huashan foundation more important, or is your reputation as the leader of Fengda more important? You make your choice!" Leng Wanqiu made the decision in one word. She was quick and decisive, and she was truly as good as a man. No wonder she and Liu Xinyue hit it off at first sight and he adopted her as his adopted daughter. It turns out that they have similar personalities.

"Okay, I'll do as you say!" Feng Wuya nodded helplessly to his wife, and then told Qiao Rui: "Arrange it as soon as you get down from Huashan, and remember not to tell anyone!"

"Okay!" Qiao Rui was overjoyed and agreed to do as he was told. He would do his best to make this happen. Firstly, it would help Huashan out of trouble, secondly, it would strike a blow at the Beggar Gang in Shushan, and thirdly, the Sky Guards would surely be happy to see it happen. Why not do it if he could achieve the best of all three?

Just when she was feeling happy, Liu Xinyue suddenly ran in hurriedly. Her brows were furrowed and her expression was complicated, with a hint of anxiety but also a bit of disappointment.

"Qiao Rui, look at this portrait, is it her?"

Qiao Rui didn't understand what was going on, but when he took the portrait and looked at it, he was stunned for a long time before he asked tremblingly, "Where did you get the portrait from?"

"Ling Yun asked someone to deliver it." Liu Xinyue said, "There is also a letter, which I haven't had time to read yet."