Transformation Diagram: Starting as a Skinny Dog

Yang Luochen said, smiling, "I understood this principle well from the first time I attended the conference years ago. Before one such conference, a troublemaker from an Escort Agency became fixated on a dispute between Medicine King Hall and his agency over the ownership of a forest. He claimed they had invested a lot in that forest, but Medicine King Hall had first taken it by force and then bought the land at a low price. Therefore, he demanded compensation from us. Do you think that's reasonable? Ordinary people would probably think it sounds quite reasonable, right…"

Chen Ku's eyes widened. Medicine King Hall had fought, taken the land, and now the other party was demanding compensation; it sounded perfectly reasonable.

"Hahaha, you see, this kid had just the reaction I expected." Seeing Chen Ku like this, Yang Luochen laughed heartily. "This is exactly why we hold the guild negotiation conferences. The purpose lies right here. The so-called guild negotiation conferences are designed to make the underhanded, bullying tactics of gangsters seem more refined, elegantly phrased as 'negotiations among various trades.' In reality, however, it's no different from a gang fight. It's the simple principle of 'Whoever has the bigger fist, and whoever's voice is louder, gets to be right.'"

Chen Ku had a sudden realization. "Is that so?" he asked.

"So, young man, why don't you guess how I dealt with that brat from the small Escort Agency?" Yang Luochen asked, puffing on his smoking pipe and smiling.

Chen Ku ventured a guess. "How did you handle it?"

"I simply left my seat, walked half a circle to him, and slapped him across the face, knocking that little rascal under the table." Yang Luochen said calmly, "Then I told him, 'Let's go outside and have a one-on-one duel. If you can slap me back, the forest will be returned to you.'"

Chen Ku was shocked. "Can it really be like that?" he exclaimed.

Yang Luochen said, "It's not about 'can it be like that?' It has *always* been like this. The law of the survival of the fittest applies everywhere; those with power in their hands eat better."

"I'm stronger than you, my influence is greater than yours, and yet you expect me to stoop down to share a pie with you? How could that be possible?"

Chen Ku couldn't help but ask, curious, "But isn't the conference hosted by the government? I heard that even the County Magistrate attends. Doesn't the government care?"

"Why would the government care? Does that small Escort Agency pay as much in taxes in a year as Medicine King Hall makes in small change?"

Yang Luochen said leisurely, "Since ancient times, the Yamen gates open to the south; if you have right but no money, don't bother coming in."

Chen Ku asked, "But doesn't bullying others with power mean you'll eventually be bullied by someone stronger?"

"Where in the world does bullying with power not happen? Who, upon reaching a high position with wealth and power, wouldn't encroach upon others' means of survival?"

Yang Luochen continued leisurely, "This world is harsh. There are those with the hearts of saints, but that can't change the instinct of human selfishness. When you're on your own, you might not bully others. But once you attain a high position, you no longer represent just your own interests. You represent countless hungry mouths behind you. Then, it's a choice: do you feed those around you and strengthen your own faction, or do you share the pie equally with others?"

Chen Ku, having lived two lifetimes, was not ignorant of these principles. He let out a breath and said, "This must be what they mean by, 'He who steals a hook is executed, and he who steals a state becomes a Marquis.'"

"A teachable youngster."

Yang Luochen said with a slight smile, "The struggles between guilds are just like the conquests among feudal lords—nothing new under the sun. The power struggles in Baojiao County are merely a microcosm of the conflicts in the wider world. Consider this: if two feudal lords both covet a piece of land blessed with natural treasures and talented people, the one with the bigger fist will naturally prevail. After seizing it, his subjects won't condemn him for bullying; instead, they'll hail him as a great sovereign, a master of 'Territory Expansion.'"

"So, 'might makes right' is an eternal truth. A fist strong enough can seize an empire and make one an Emperor; even a smaller fist can allow one to dominate a market and become a local tyrant."

"As for whether you'll be bullied by someone more powerful?"

Yang Luochen blew out a puff of smoke. "Isn't that why we practice Martial Arts? To gradually strengthen ourselves, to continually make our fists bigger, climbing step by step to the very top?"

"What if you can't climb that high?" Chen Ku couldn't help but ask.

A hint of helplessness appeared in Yang Luochen's eyes. "If you have confidence," he said, "venture into broader, grander realms. If not, then remain in a small place and be its foremost figure. It all depends on how large the world within your heart truly is."

Chen Ku fell into contemplation. This inevitably made him recall his past experiences picking herbs in the countryside.

Individual households, registered households, landlords… Layer upon layer of social hierarchy.

In both his past life and this one, he was convinced he was just an ordinary person—afraid of death, afraid of trouble. He certainly didn't have what it takes to change the world; such people lived too tiring a life. That being the case, his only option was to blend in, ensure he was never the one being bullied, enjoy the benefits available to him, and focus on his own family's well-being.

But Chen Ku still had one concern. "But Medicine King Hall isn't the sole dominant power in Baojiao County, is it? What if conflicts arise with powers of the same level as the Fish and Dragon Association or Firewood Iron Shop?"

"That's why young disciples are chosen as representatives to attend the conference."

Yang Luochen spoke slowly and leisurely, "Life follows a natural cycle: youth, prime, old age, and death. Even someone like myself, who has reached the Fifth Realm—the pinnacle of Martial Arts Cultivation in Baojiao County—and lived for over a hundred years, will eventually die. Have you ever heard it said that in prominent families, an elder living too long isn't necessarily a good thing? The old pass away, new life emerges—this is the symbol of a clan's Endless Life, as the saying goes, 'Every generation produces its own talents.'"

As he spoke, a cold wind swept through the small courtyard. He looked down at the muddy earth in the garden, beneath which tender shoots lay hidden, awaiting the end of winter to sprout with the coming of spring.

Finally, his gaze fell on Chen Ku.

At this moment, Shang Yunfang finally found an opening to join the conversation.

He coughed gently and said, "Young people are the future; the old must eventually step down from the stage. Therefore, showcasing which family's young talents are more promising is another way to demonstrate 'the size of one's fist.' Pushing you youngsters to the conference serves two purposes. Firstly, it allows you to gain experience early on.

Secondly, the Hall intends to present you to the other guilds at the conference as our 'new muscle.'

Your performance at the guild conference will then symbolize whether Medicine King Hall's 'fist' will remain large enough for the next four years, or even the next forty."

Chen Ku felt an unexpected pressure. He then asked, "Me? Hasn't that been decided yet?"

"With the two of us jointly nominating you, it's almost a certainty," Shang Yunfang said. "One of the disciples of the three Head Shopkeepers is bound to be replaced this time; it's customary. Among the three future Young Shopkeepers, one must be a local who has risen from the grassroots."

Hearing the two masters so confidently decide his future standing in just a few words, Chen Ku felt a surge of unease.

He couldn't help but say, "I'm afraid it may draw jealousy and targeting."

Today, Zhang Renying, the Second Shopkeeper's disciple, deliberately targeted me because he sensed I was a threat. At its core, it's simply a conflict of position and interest.

"What is there to fear?"

Yang Luochen said, "I have great confidence in you. Use your strength to crush them, and there will be no dissent."

Chen Ku coughed. "Alright, let this disciple consider it."

"Consider what?"

Yang Luochen gestured with his hands behind his back. "Before coming here, I already submitted your name to the three Shopkeepers. Today is the tenth; the conference is on the fifteenth. It's best if the representative is chosen today."

"Choose today?" Chen Ku was surprised.

Just as he uttered the words,

CLANG!

The bell within Medicine King Hall rang.