The Reincarnated Hunter Sweeps Up All Fortunes - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4
4
‘This feels quite good.’
Im Gang’s mood brightened the moment he received the advance payment.
The advance was one hundred cash—enough for at least a month of food. With it, he could even afford noodles topped with sauce or meat garnish instead of the plain variety.
Once he collected the balance, together with rent it would stretch to roughly three months of meals.
If the war dragged on long enough, there’d be bonus payments too.
Red Stream Faction and Black Sword Gang, may you fight on and on~.
“After all, the world runs on love and peace.”
“There he goes with those weird phrases again.”
“Last time I asked, he said it was Western speech. Something about marrying a Western woman later?”
“A Western woman would have eyes, wouldn’t she?”
“It’s not Western speech, it’s Western tongue. The Western Regions and the West are different places, I’m telling you.”
“Both start with the character for west—how different can they be?”
“The Western Regions are connected by land, the West is across the sea… never mind. What would you understand anyway?”
Im Gang laughed and bickered with the vagrant swordsmen. None of them seemed particularly tense.
Vagrant swordsmen were creatures who might depart after a single day anyway.
To speak grandly, it meant living for a day.
If you survived, it was naturally fortune; if you died, it couldn’t be helped.
Of course.
Im Gang thought differently. He always had, even before awakening his Awakened One ability.
In his previous life he’d strutted about living the honey-sucking life, but it hadn’t always been that way.
Treasure Hunter.
Literally, a hunter of treasure.
As insects swarm to flowers, countless hunters swarmed to treasure.
While some were decent hunters who sought only the treasure itself.
Quite a few were villain-class hunters who preyed only on treasure-bearing hunters.
Im Gang had survived dozens of near-death experiences, and emerged alive.
‘Now I’m completely broke, but… I do miss those old(?) days.’
In exchange, he’d gained the Chi Accumulation Ring and Great Power Fist Technique from his awakened former life’s abilities, and the Great Power Fist Technique and Moving Spirit Technique chained together, multiplying their power.
He couldn’t be certain of the exact increase without a comparison, but as long as he didn’t let his guard down, there should be no rivals among third-rate swordsmen.
‘Barring anomalies.’
Sometimes a third-rate vagrant swordsman would brutally cut down even second-rate ones. That one he called Master—or that master-bastard—was one such anomaly.
In any case, the war between Black Sword Gang and Red Stream Faction should pose no problems.
But the laughter and chatter didn’t last.
Vagrant swordsmen with idle energy grew restless, beginning to lurk about the perimeter.
‘Come on, read the room.’
Im Gang clicked his tongue softly.
The war between Red Stream Faction and Black Sword Gang had already begun in all but name.
Weren’t Evil Sects supposed to just fight to the death right away?
‘Nope.’
Faction-to-faction wars didn’t end overnight.
You had to requisition troops—vagrant swordsmen—secure supplies, complete reconnaissance of enemy positions, before actual combat could commence.
Mass-hiring vagrant swordsmen was precisely the beginning of that process.
And.
Preparation itself took a day or two at most.
It might even be finished already.
They weren’t moving yet simply because they had to watch for the eyes of other factions.
Win gloriously only to have some outsider slip in and take the spoils? That would twist anyone’s insides.
Black Sword Gang was likely holding back for the same reason.
“Could I just step outside for a moment…?”
“Get lost.”
“Aw.”
One vagrant swordsman tried his luck boldly and was rebuffed. The Red Stream Faction warrior who’d refused him radiated a bone-chilling killing intent. Seeing that, Im Gang’s suspicion crystallized into certainty.
War preparations were already complete.
Time passed, and the moon rose.
Im Gang gazed up at a sky utterly clear of clouds and reflected.
‘……They won’t fight tonight.’
He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Crossing his legs in meditation, as he exhaled the Great Power Fist Technique activated automatically as a Passive Skill.
You don’t need to know any of those incantations.
Just breathe, that’s all!
This was the real advantage of a Passive Skill.
* * *
Im Gang laughed and chattered, but whenever boredom crept in, he’d slip into Qi Breathing Cultivation.
‘This is completely broken.’
Ding!
[Your Inner Power has increased to 5 years and 17 days.]
The rate at which his Inner Power grew was absurd.
So this was what a supreme cultivation manual felt like?
In just two days, four hours of Qi Breathing Cultivation had netted him sixteen days’ worth of Inner Power.
‘Three hundred sixty-five days equals one year of Inner Power, and sixty years equals one sixty-year cycle…’
Four days of Inner Power per hour meant that just two hours a day for forty-five days would give him a full year’s worth—so seven and a half years of cultivation would complete one full cycle.
Since he’d already gained five years from the Chi Accumulation Ring, he really only needed seven more.
Ding!
[Your Inner Power has increased to 5 years and 18 days.]
Cultivating in a crowded place was extremely dangerous.
Even a third-rate Vagrant Swordsman like Im Gang knew this basic martial world principle—if someone jostled you during cultivation, your meridians could twist or you could suffer Deviation into Demonism.
‘But if seven years makes me a supreme master… how am I supposed to resist doing this?’
Crunch.
The moment Im Gang sensed a presence, his eyes snapped open.
This was the second advantage of a Passive Skill.
You could stop cultivation mid-session with absolutely no ill effects.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m bored. What were you doing with your eyes closed?”
“Ah. That was what we call Qi Breathing Cultivation.”
“…?”
This repeated again and again, accumulating.
Until one moment.
On the second day of Qi Breathing Cultivation (disguised as a Passive Skill), he awoke to Qi Sensing—or rather, the skill registered itself!
Ding!
[Qi Sensing skill has activated.]
Once he activated the Qi Sensing skill, he could detect the ‘presence’ of people within a ten-meter radius centered on him.
When he focused his mind further, he could even sense their movements.
Though not with perfect clarity.
‘…I can only sense large movements.’
Things like stretching with arms spread wide, standing up from a seated position, or walking somewhere.
He could expand the range up to twenty meters at maximum.
‘But the wider the range, the fainter the detection. The farther away, the harder to discern what someone’s doing. …Still, that’s pretty sweet.’
As Im Gang was quietly musing, a Vagrant Swordsman approached him.
He turned off his Qi Sensing skill and asked what the matter was.
“Ah. The faction leader of the Red Stream Faction ordered everyone to gather at the courtyard—which serves as both training ground and assembly point. The captain told me to pass the word to the sub-captain.”
“I see. Excellent kill-time.”
“Kill-time? What’s that?”
“Something comfortable, good, and delicious.”
“Oh. That sounds nice.”
Im Gang brushed the dirt from his trousers and stood, following the Vagrant Swordsman.
The gathering place was less than a minute’s walk away.
But the atmosphere was tense.
The martial artists of the Red Stream Faction had already assembled and bristled with killing intent, while the Vagrant Swordsmen who’d arrived early were busy reading their moods.
It was obvious they were gearing up for a clash with the Black Sword Gang.
Once all the Vagrant Swordsmen had gathered, the captain raised his chin high and stroked his scraggly whiskers before speaking.
“Those vermin of the Black Sword Gang have finally shown their claws. Unlike those fools who run petty Money Lending Businesses, we of the Red Stream Faction pride ourselves on honest and exemplary operations…”
The captain’s tongue was quite long indeed.
Growing tired of the meaningless chatter, Im Gang closed his ears and let his mind wander.
There were various methods of Qi Breathing Cultivation.
They fell into two broad categories.
Static Cultivation and Dynamic Cultivation.
To put it simply, Static Cultivation was gathering Inner Power while remaining motionless, while Dynamic Cultivation was gathering it while moving.
The cross-legged Qi Breathing he’d been doing earlier was Static Cultivation.
The reason this thought suddenly occurred to me was simple.
‘Could I cultivate Qi while standing still?’
……That absurd question, nothing more.
The overseer had rattled on about something, but I hadn’t bothered listening.
Honestly, every Evil Sect is the same as the next.
The only difference is which ones are more vicious and which are less so.
In a moment like this, accumulating even a shred of Inner Power was the difference between survival and light injury.
And so Im Gang set about practicing “Qi Breathing Cultivation while standing with eyes open”.
Not long after.
Ding!
[Your Inner Power has increased to 5 years, 19 days.]
‘What the—?!’
I began to wonder if in my past life, or perhaps the life before that, I had been a bee.
The headmaster’s hour-long assembly address, which had always felt like torture, now tasted sweet.
My teeth should have rotted from sheer joy!
* * *
The Black Sword Gang was a rare breed of benevolent money lending business, even by Hangzhou standards.
While other lenders charged interest equivalent to sixty percent of the principal per month, they asked for only thirty percent.
That was a remarkable thirty percent reduction in interest.
They were, without question, a virtuous money lending enterprise.
Only.
“……It was as though money was being cloned.”
Compound interest lurked as an enormous hidden trap.
In truth, compound interest wasn’t even the problem.
Because the interest was low, many people borrowed money for short periods, and large concerns like merchant houses and escort services borrowed as well.
If someone borrowed and didn’t repay, that was trouble—but those who paid quickly could secure loans at far cheaper rates than from other lenders.
The real problem arose elsewhere.
“……You’re saying other money lenders are shutting down their operations?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Apparently they lent money to the Provincial Inspector’s son, who refused to pay. He came and tore the place apart.”
“……What kind of madman does that? You’re supposed to check your target’s background before you kill or spare him. ……Wait. Don’t they know the Official-Martial Non-Interference doctrine?”
For that reason.
The Black Sword Gang decided to shift their business.
To the Protection Racket Business—the next most lucrative trade after money lending.
“Which territory is the softest target?”
“The Red Stream Faction in the northern district, sir.”
“Go negotiate with them.”
At first, there was no thought of war.
The Provincial Inspector’s power hung like a sword over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
The plan was to negotiate as peacefully as possible, pool resources, work together.
“Go suck on a candy dog’s—”
“Please, let’s discuss mutual prosperity.”
“Piss off.”
“If you keep rejecting proposals like this, I have no choice but to become a thug myself!”
Not until negotiations had failed five times did the Black Sword Gang’s leader obtain intelligence that the Provincial Inspector would make his move soon.
Now there was no time for diplomacy.
Hiring notices went out through every Information Broker in Hangzhou.
And then came the day of reckoning.
When the Black Sword Gang’s leader gestured, the vagrant swordsmen and gang members he’d hired vaulted over the wall.
* * *
Im Gang was in excellent spirits.
Ding!
[Your Inner Power has increased to 5 years, 23 days.]
Building on “Qi Breathing Cultivation while standing with eyes open,” whatever I did, I continued to accumulate Inner Power—more and more of it.
All of this was for the Chaotic Battle, never doubt it.
‘The Flying Blade ought to be sufficient at this level.’
By the time I had even finished running battle simulations against the Black Sword Gang.
The Black Sword Gang launched their assault.

“The Black Sword Gang! The Black Sword Gang is attacking!”
The sun had barely dipped below the horizon when the alarm came—less than half a watch later.
Im Gang seized the Flying Blade hidden at his chest and bolted toward the sound of the cry.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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