"Terms?"
"I will validate your authority as the deity of the Shou Clan, but you must swear to never take actions which will result in the destruction of the Shou Clan, unless it is absolutely necessary. Also, don't ever enter this place again, a shrine will be built for you, live there."
The Tilu had begun.
"I will give you my strength and act as a guardian, but I will only act if a truly strong opponent comes. Should that happen, collateral damage is not my fault. I also have an alliance with the deity of the Tai School of Blades to bring to the table."
"The Feng Clan of Fengzhuo will stand on our side once Sea Spring is conquered."
Between the alliance with the Tai School of Blades and the coming alliance with the Feng Clan, those terms had been slightly balanced though it still heavily leaned in Shou Xin's favor as a possible alliance to come is not as great as an already established one, empty words.
Vienna lost out a lot in the negotiation if these terms were set and so.
"I will no longer train them. And my shrine will be in the opposite corner of this place, and with a space just as large. Also, it is forbidden to enter unless explicitly told otherwise."
It felt as though more were hidden behind those words, but Shou Xin did not mind it.
"Then, by the laws of Tilu, it is agreed upon these terms."
"Agreed."
Vienna vanished instantly from the pagoda as per the contract, he would not enter this place.
"Why was he so adamant in ending the training?"
"We… may have annoyed the Grandmaster when we were training as he yelled alot about our forms."
"Damned old man," Shou Xin cursed, recalling his own early training, "Now, this room… burn it all."
"Master! It was very expensive we-!" Yui Luo was cut short by Shou Xin's silent, empty stare, "Right away."
Returning back down to the main floor, Shou Xin sat at the table as Liu Gang and Yui Luo stood before him as he drank his tea.
"What is our economic situation?"
"Currently, between our active contracts and the sprouting businesses we have, such as the bodyguarding business, we are in the green, however our growth is very fast as our name reaches more villages by the day and more people arrive to join, our current estimate will not be able to sustain such growth." Yui Luo replied evenly, "Our coffers currently have two hundred gold serpents to offer."
"Here," Shou Xin passed out from his storage ring a chest of golden serpents with nearly a thousand within, "If not for the fact that Vienna gambled the rest away, we would have more."
"Ah-, uhm! Yes, Master, we will immediately store this away." Yui Luo's eyes glistened as she stared at the stack of golden serpents before her, an amount of money she never thought she'd see in her whole life.
Liu Gang was not so impressed however, he cared little for money especially as he advanced in his cultivation it became less and less interesting to him.
"What is the military situation?"
"Master, we are currently fielding a regiment of one hundred disciples each of which have a cultivation of at least Low Class Practitioner. The rest of the clan all do mandatory practices however those are only two a week. Our standing force trains everyday. We are currently undergoing preparations to completely take over the underground of the town." Liu Gang's pupils shook slightly, "We will wash them away."
"The profit from the extermination should also be reasonably vast, estimating at least a few thousand golden serpents in value. Not to mention we will have taken over all the businesses in the underground creating many new income streams." Yui Luo's eyes were green.
Shou Xin glanced between the two and shook his head.
"We are missing a final minister." Shou Xin took a tip of his now cold tea, "A minister of politics, or in more simple terms, someone who can spy and collect information, then make proper judgments about how situations would change."
Liu Gang and Yui Luo seemed to be in thought, as one only thought of increasing military power and achievements, whilst the other could only see green.
"As it stands, if we should wipe out the bosses underground, then think, who would join them to even allow them to resurge, because it is likely not the people of Sea Spring Town, which means large numbers had come to join them within the time I was away," Shou Xin sighed as he saw question marks light their faces, "The other clan's of Sea Spring! They are trying to stage a coup d'etat and destroy us, the Gu disciples also said something to the effect of, 'You're not so great!' Now, why would he have such confidence to say that? And where did those few figures who came and grabbed him go? No one will give them lodgings above ground."
Glimmers of understanding began to sprout within their eyes, and Shou Xin finally stopped talking.
"So we need to crush them with our strength."
"No, we push them to financial ruin and sweep up the fallout."
Shou Xin felt a need to beat the two, but couldn't bring himself to do it. They'd been loyal when any sane person would have left the command of someone like him who had posed such harsh rules before.
"Give them a way out." Shou Xin said calmly, "They are acting like this because the merchants they normally dealt with are likely dead, and the nobles who they once spoke with often fled. Now, the business and contracts they had are gone and they are likely getting desperate now which is why they sent so many of their disciples here to work underground, setting aside pride, this is likely their last peaceful push."
"Peaceful?" Yui Luo seemed confused, "How is attacking us peaceful?"
"To hold power for so long, no matter if it's Sea Spring or any other state one needs a base level of strength, though here it's lower, it's not as though their leaders aren't at least Fourth Chain." Shou Xin said lightly, "They are throwing away all the expendables they'd been keeping as a last ditch effort at an expenditure which wouldn't hurt their real assets."
"They dare…!" Liu Gang's eyes burned, "I, Liu Gang, will crush everything for our lord and master!"
"Stop." Shou Xin raised a hand, "It's a good opportunity."
The two looked at him strangely, and he began to explain.
The lights in the first floor were on through the night, as they spoke over the plan.
---
By mid-day of the next day, rumours had spread through all of Sea Spring Town.
"The clan's are sacrificing their people to fight the Shou Clan."
"They're sacrificing their people?"
"Yeah. They sent only those beneath Chain realm, keeping their core behind, if not that sacrificing to weaken the Shou, then what?"
"Disgusting."
"Right?"
"They're treating human life like they're pawns!"
"The clans are a disgrace to Sea Spring."
The people of Sea Spring, who were already not fond of the clans outside of the Shou, were quick to pick up the narrative without caring about it's truth and spread it to every corner such that by the time the sun had risen high in the sky, no one did not know.
At the same time, all around town posters began to popup on walls and storefronts of the Shou Clan businesses.
"Do you seek strength? Work? An opportunity to come back onto the right path in life? We will ignore your past, and allow you a chance to join us! The Shou Clan of Sea Spring!"
Such a bright and sunny poster was placed everywhere.
---
"Master Shou, how have you been?" A chubby old man with a kind countenance, Guo Long, spoke as he sipped his tea.
"I've been well, Union leader Guo." Shou Xin smiled wryly as he touched his eye, "I've been better though."
"I was going to ask, but are you really blind?" Guo Long's eyes narrowed.
Shou Xin quietly controlled his Sanguine Sword Qi, allowing it to flow out and touch the surroundings, "This is my sight now."
It quickly retracted.
"I see," Guo Long seemed saddened by the fact he was truly blind, "It is unfortunate. Now, I assume you did not come here simply to chat, I'm sure it's something to do with these rumors and flyers cropping up?"
"Sharp as ever," Shou Xin nodded as he took a sip of tea, "As you know, the underground families are allying themselves with the countryside clans to try and overthrow us."
"Us?" Guo Long leaned back and chuckled, "Why would they be after myself?"
"Union leader Guo doesn't know?" Shou Xin took out a few ledgers, "These were found by my people quite a while ago, it seems your now long gone associates were having some pretty serious dealings with the clans and were in debt, those clan's when they take action will naturally wish to come to you to collect, don't you think?"
Guo Long frowned as he looked over the ledger, his face slowly turning serious as he looked up at Shou XIn.
"Why did you not show this to me earlier?"
"I left right after breaking through, and I couldn't have found it if I wanted to. Yui Luo is the one who brought it up myself." Shou Xin raised a hand and Yui Luo, who'd been standing back, stepped forward.
"Mentor, the ledgers were hidden in multiple separate documents. The nobles were thorough and I did not encounter it until a little while ago, however due to my short sightedness and negligence, I thought nothing of it." Yui Luo bowed her head, "I've made a mistake."
Guo Long frowned deeply.
"Putting aside the validity of that statement. It is true that these ledgers are certainly real. Are you proposing a more tightly knit alliance then?" Guo Long picked up his tea.
"We can handle the fighting. But, if you will, might you leak information out to brokers confirming the rumors?" Shou Xin smiled with his empty eyes open.
There were a few moments of silence, as Guo Long seemingly calculated various things in his mind, the tea quickly disappearing.
On the other side, Shou Xin quietly drank little bits of his tea in wait.
It was not until a half hour of silence later that Yui Luo who had begun to feel cold sweat run down her back, finally couldn't take it anymore and was about to speak, however.
"We, the Sea Spring Merchant Union, will agree to this. However, we do wish for a more tightly knit alliance. We will give priority to your Shou Clan for work. However, we would ask you to leave the topside business to us."
"No," Shou Xin calmly shook his head, "We will need business' in the public's eye incase of prying eyes, it's best not to lean completely on the underground, in exchange, I will allow you a great amount of authority equal to an Elder of the clan as a respected position."
Guo Long smiled wryly, "Master Shou has grown greatly from the desperate child that came here last, you have become more and more trouble."