90: Chapter 90: The Nine Sects Gather

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the carved windows, casting dappled shadows upon you. You sat on a rosewood chair, dressed in a black brocade robe, your waist cinched with a silver-white sash. Your long, black hair was loosely pinned up with a single jade hairpin, with a few stray strands falling against your cheeks.

Your twenty-year-old face, enhanced by [Peerless Elegance], had completely shed the immaturity of a young girl, replaced by a chilling, frost-like coldness that made it impossible for anyone to look away.

But at this moment, this face that had captivated countless people was written with two words: exhaustion.

You put down the document in your hand and rubbed your temples.

The tax allocation, personnel appointments, military armament distribution, and commercial route management for the seventeen prefectures and eighty-three counties of Dongzhou... every single matter required your review and final decision. Wei Feisen? Relying on him to handle government affairs would be like expecting a sow to climb a tree.

You slumped backward, the back of your head resting against the chair, your entire body sprawling out like a pancake, your alluring curves fully exposed. A barely audible murmur escaped your lips.

"I don't want to do this anymore... Let me go back..."

No one heard.

The great hall was empty, with only the occasional chirping of birds coming from outside the window.

You closed your eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, straightened your body, and picked up the next document.

Want to slack off? No. You hadn't unearthed anything from Daliang Mountain yet, and you were still far from the Cultivation World. You had no right to rest.

Just as you opened the third document, a rush of hurried footsteps came from outside the great hall.

"Vice Gang Leader Lin!"

A young man wearing a purple Gang uniform rushed into the hall, his face flushed red and breathing like an ox, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright. He knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with excitement.

"It's done! The firearm is finally done!"

The document in your hand paused.

Two years. From the initial blueprint design, material selection, repeated testing, and starting over after every explosion... exactly two years.

You looked up and put down the document: "How is its power?"

The young man presented a sealed letter with red wax with both hands.

You tore open the envelope, which contained the handwritten test records of the workshop supervisor. The handwriting was sloppy, clearly sent by someone immediately after it was written.

"The one hundred and seventeenth test fire was a success. The effective range is forty zhang. The lead bullet pierced three layers of cowhide armor and penetrated about two inches into the flesh."

"Against Acquired Martial Artists: One shot is fatal."

"Against Innate Martial Artists: True Qi protection can block one to two shots. Three shots hitting the same area can break the defense. An ordinary person holding a firearm can pose a fatal threat to an Innate Martial Artist."

"Against Grandmasters and above: The Protective Aura is tough and cannot be penetrated by a single shot. It requires concentrated fire to deplete. Currently, short-barreled firearms have limited deterrence against Grandmaster-level Martial Artists."

After reading, you folded the letter and tucked it into your sleeve.

The corners of your lips curled up slightly.

"That is enough."

Grandmasters were a rarity throughout the Great Qing. The backbone that truly supported the major forces had always been Acquired and Innate Martial Artists. And now, an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts could kill an Innate expert just by holding a firearm.

What did this mean?

It meant that the era where martial arts experts monopolized violence could be ended.

"Pass the order." You stood up, your voice returning to its usual calm and certainty, "The workshop will produce at full capacity. The first batch of five hundred will be prioritized for the personal guards battalion. If there isn't enough iron, divert it from the Dragon Trading House. If there isn't enough silver, take it from my private treasury."

"Understood!"

The young man dashed away.

You stood in the center of the great hall, looking through the window toward the distant Daliang Mountain.

Firearms were only the first step.

What you needed was an iron army capable of sweeping across the world. Only when your fist was big enough that no one could ignore you, could the things inside that Immortal Cave safely fall into your hands.

The next three years were the most crazily expansive years for the Black Tiger Gang.

The equipment of firearms expanded from the personal guards battalion to the entire army. Cavalry were equipped with short-barreled guns, infantry with long-barreled guns, and each battalion set up a dedicated team of marksmen.

The profits of the Dragon Trading House snowballed. Soap, refined salt, and strong liquor—these three things caused white silver to flow into the Black Tiger Gang's treasury day and night without stopping.

More importantly, there was talent. Under the banner you proposed of "Regardless of background, appoint only the capable," a large number of Loose Cultivators and Disciples from humble families who had been suppressed by the old Sect system flocked to you. The number of Great Grandmaster-level experts in the Gang expanded from the initial two—you and Wei Feisen—to twelve.

Coupled with the Black-robed Puppet that stood above the Earthly Immortals, the Black Tiger Gang's paper strength was already enough to make any single Sect feel suffocated.

However, your grand actions could not ultimately be hidden from the eyes of the world.

The Black Tiger Gang's frenzied military expansion and creation of new weapons caused the remaining eight Sects and the Great Qing imperial family to feel unprecedented fear.

Your stance was not at all how a Jianghu Gang should behave; it was completely the behavior of someone preparing to swallow the world and replace the dynasty.

Furthermore, for the past two years, you had never stopped searching Daliang Mountain.

But Daliang Mountain was too big. You could not achieve a complete blockade, and those Disciples from the Spirit Seeking Hall scattered throughout the mountain range were inevitably noticed by the secret agents of various Sects.

News began to spread in the shadows.

"What exactly is the Black Tiger Gang digging for in Daliang Mountain?"

"I heard it's an ancient Secret Realm, hiding the Opportunity to break through to become an Earthly Immortal! Or even breaking through the Earthly Immortal realm to reach the legendary Void Realm!"

"No wonder they have an Earthly Immortal sitting in their seat of power; it turns out that the Secret Realm has already been opened by them!"

The rumors became increasingly outrageous, but everyone reached a consensus on one point: there was a massive secret in Daliang Mountain, and the Black Tiger Gang was hogging it all for themselves.

Undercurrents surged for three years, and finally, in the late autumn of the fifth year.

A joint manifesto stamped with nine great seals spread throughout the entire Great Qing.

"Manifesto for the Obedience to Heaven and Suppression of Rebels!"

"Wei Feisen, leader of the Black Tiger Gang, is of lowly birth and harbors sinister intentions. His Gang destroyed the Qingqi Sect first, then privately manufactured lethal weapons later. They have stockpiled one hundred thousand troops, swallowed two prefectures, and poisoned the lives of the people. Their wolfish ambitions are clearly revealed. Furthermore, they have privately explored the Forbidden Ground of Daliang Mountain, intending to monopolize the martial fortunes of the world. Such conduct is loathed by both men and gods!"

"Now, led by the Martial Dao Sect, joined by the Righteous Path Alliance of the Nine Prefectures, and with the Great Qing imperial family dispatching one hundred thousand of the Imperial Guard, we unite our forces to suppress the rebels. We limit the Black Tiger Gang to ten days to surrender the firearm workshops, the findings from the exploration of Daliang Mountain, and all prohibited weapons. Otherwise, we will flatten the main headquarters and exterminate the entire Sect!"

Once this manifesto was issued, the entire Great Qing immediately exploded into an uproar.

"The Black Tiger Gang is truly finished this time! Nine Sects plus the imperial family—this lineup is enough to destroy a country!"

"When a tree stands taller than the forest, the wind will surely destroy it. The Black Tiger Gang has been too arrogant these past few years, fighting this one today and destroying that one tomorrow. Now that the whole world has united to deal with them, it's not unjust."

"Exactly. If the Black Tiger Gang is allowed to monopolize firearms, will there be any way for us Martial Artists to survive in the future?"

"But... what about that Black-robed man from the Black Tiger Gang? Last time, he even injured the Patriarch of the Martial Dao Sect."

"Tsk! I heard that was a sneak attack! The Patriarch of the Martial Dao Sect has been in seclusion for three years to heal his wounds. This time it's a direct confrontation; that monster from the Black Tiger Gang might not necessarily get the upper hand!"