Wang Meng cracked his fingers, his expression serious. "County Magistrate Lord Zhou is a Bone Forging Realm - Peak expert. They say he has ties to the Prefecture Zhou Family behind him. He rarely interferes in specific affairs, focusing wholeheartedly on cultivation as he awaits a breakthrough past his bottleneck."
"The one who truly controls the County yamen's martial forces is County Lieutenant Lord Gao. He's also in the Bone Forging Realm. He's fairly upright, but he still has to balance the interests of all sides."
"Under him are the Patrol Inspection Division, Taxation Division, Criminal Affairs Office, and others. Among them, the Patrol Camp, Bandit Capture Division, Pinghai Division, and other martial departments are mostly staffed by graduates of the martial examinations. They count as the County yamen's directly subordinate forces."
"Besides the government, there are several of the biggest local powers." Sun Yun took over. Her thoughts were more meticulous, and her sources of information were more extensive. "The foremost among them is the 'Sihai Shipping Company.'"
"Our Third Senior Disciple Brother serves as its head of security. The shipping company's business is enormous. It not only monopolizes more than seventy percent of this county's freight and coastal passenger transport, but its tentacles also extend into several neighboring counties. It even cooperates with major trading houses in the prefectural capital."
"The company master, Old Master Hai, is a Bone Forging Realm - Great Accomplishment expert. He has extremely close ties with the Prefecture Navy and the Grain Transport Yamen. I hear Second Master Hai is even more outstanding, but he's lived in the prefectural capital for years, so I don't know how things stand now."
"Besides its enormous fleet, the shipping company also controls the 'East Port Shipyard' and the many porters and shipwright organizations that depend on it for survival. Its influence is tremendous. Even County Lieutenant Lord Gao has to give it some leeway."
"After that comes the 'Zhangji Fish Market.'" Wang Meng gnawed on a crab leg and added indistinctly, "Don't let the name fool you. It actually controls nearly eighty percent of the county's seafood purchasing, processing, and sales channels. The largest fish markets and dried-goods shops in the city are all run by it."
"Behind it is the local Zhang Family. The family head, Zhang Kui, is at the peak of the Tendon Changing Realm. He's overbearing, and they say he's attempting to break through into the Bone Forging Realm. Who knows whether he succeeded?"
"On top of that, the fish market keeps a large number of thugs responsible for escorting goods and collecting debts. It's also deeply entangled with the fishing tyrants of the various fishing villages and the gangs at the bottom. It specifically suppresses the other small fish markets, controls fish prices, and exploits the fishermen. Its methods are ruthless and its heart black."
"Hmph, those gangs..." Sun Yun snorted coldly, a trace of disgust appearing on her pretty face. "There's one called the Black Tide Gang. It's a vicious hound raised by the Zhangji Fish Market, specifically helping the Zhang Family deal with things that can't see the light of day."
"Its leader, 'Muddy Water Flood Dragon' Li Hui, is only at the Skin Grinding Realm - Great Accomplishment. His title sounds impressive, though. Relying on the Zhang Family's power, he bullies merchants, dominates the markets, and acts extremely arrogantly."
She seemed to recall something, and her tone grew colder. "He even dared to speak rudely to a close young lady friend of mine. If I run into him again, I'll give him a thorough beating!"
Chen Yuan's gaze shifted slightly. The Black Tide Gang... Scarred Liu... the Zhangji Fish Market... This thread gradually became clear in his mind.
"Then there's the 'Hundred Refinements Iron Shop.'" Wang Meng continued, "That iron shop is no simple establishment either. Most of the weapons, farm tools, and ship fittings made and repaired in the county seat and surrounding villages come from them. They can even forge low-grade magic artifact blanks. For example, the standard sabers from our martial school and the lining of Arrow Bone Fish scale armor mostly come from their hands."
"The owner, Master Liu Tie, is also a veteran Bone Forging Realm expert, but he's obsessed with smithing and doesn't pay much attention to worldly affairs. The iron shop's daily business is handled by his son, Steward Liu, who's in the Tendon Changing Realm. The iron shop has close ties with the government, martial schools, and shipping companies. After all, no one can do without weapons and armor, so its status is extraordinary."
"Similar to the iron shop is the 'Lingxi Pharmacy,'" Sun Yun added. "You can tell from the name alone. In the entire county seat, the few masters at Lingxi Pharmacy are basically the only ones capable of refining pills steadily. Getting them to make a move costs a fortune, and you still have to rely on personal connections and luck."
Wang Meng nodded, then concluded, "Finally, there are places of martial inheritance like our Blackwater Martial Arts School, as well as the 'Town Mountain Martial Arts School' and the 'Cloud Sea Martial Arts School.'"
At this point, he looked toward Chen Yuan, his tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning. "Junior Disciple Brother, do you know that although the foundation of a martial school is naturally to cultivate disciples and produce talent, at the end of the day, practicing martial arts is an extremely money-burning trade?"
Chen Yuan nodded. "I've heard a little." Medicinal baths, meat, weapons, and even instruction from one's master—which of these didn't require money?
Sun Yun took over in a steady tone. "Without substantial financial backing, where would the secret medicinal-bath formulas and ferocious-beast flesh to nourish the disciples come from? Where would they find the confidence to sustain the cultivation expenses of Bone Forging Realm experts? Every martial school has its own industries and ways of making money."
She paused briefly. Seeing that Chen Yuan was listening attentively, she explained in greater detail. "The Martial Hall Master is a Bone Forging Realm expert and the true high-end martial force in this county seat, someone whose word carries absolute weight. The foundation of our Blackwater Martial Arts School lies in the city's west district, where we've jointly operated the 'Myriad Treasures Shipyard' for more than twenty years."
Wang Meng cut in with pride, as though basking in reflected glory. "That's a genuine industry. Its scale can now even edge out the Sihai Shipping Company's East Port Shipyard."
"It can not only repair and build small and medium-sized fishing boats, but occasionally it even receives orders for magic ships. That's when it truly gets to show its craftsmanship—and make serious money!"
"Besides using or selling the good boats built by the shipyard, we also rent them to some old fishermen of known background and good reputation, or to the families of veteran disciples from poor households in the martial school. The rent is somewhat cheaper than the market rate, which counts as a favor the school grants its disciples. That one source of income alone is extremely stable."
Hearing "Myriad Treasures Shipyard" and "magic ships," Chen Yuan couldn't help but pause. He remembered his own "Wave Rider Shuttle." No wonder Dockmaster Zhao had been so enthusiastic at the time and given him so many discounts. There had been another layer to the relationship after all.
"Furthermore," Wang Meng said as he closed one half of the window, lowering his voice slightly with a hint of secrecy, "the martial school has long-term cooperation with several well-reputed medium-sized fish markets in the city, such as 'Hengyuan Trading Company' and 'Old Lin's Fish Market.'"
"They provide the high-quality seafood, and we purchase it first at fair prices. Some of the seafood supplies the martial school cafeteria to supplement the disciples' qi and blood. Another portion, with especially excellent quality, is used for medicinal baths or for the special needs of the Martial Hall Master and the Personal Disciples."
He paused, leaning forward slightly as he lowered his voice even further, until it was almost nothing more than a breath. "Besides that, I hear... only hear, mind you... that the Martial Hall Master also has some incense-burning ties with a faction outside the city called the 'Blood Shark Society.'"
"They say the Blood Shark Society is no kind soul. It mainly makes its living in the deep sea far from shore. Its ways are wild and its methods hard. From time to time, it can get its hands on some... 'seafood' of unknown origin but astonishing value."
"I hear the martial school secretly takes some of it off their hands, then turns around and makes a huge profit. Of course, these are all baseless rumors, mere shadows caught on the wind. They can't be taken seriously, and you absolutely mustn't repeat them outside."
Chen Yuan listened carefully, and faint ripples stirred in his heart.
So the Blackwater Martial Arts School wasn't merely a quiet place for passing down martial arts and teaching skills. It had itself been managing such a tangled and complicated network of industries.
The Myriad Treasures Shipyard was its visible pillar, its cooperative fish markets were its stable channels, while its possible secret connection with the Blood Shark Society carried a faint air of danger.
Together, these formed the martial school's deep foundation and its rolling wealth.
No wonder the treatment given to Personal Disciples was so generous. All of it required an ocean of resources to sustain.
Before you continue