Gu Yan listened in stunned silence.
Huh?
No way.
A civilian martial artist organization?
Isn’t this just a legalized personal force in disguise?
Uh... no, surely it can’t be that simple.
Sure enough, the next moment—
Wang Gang explained, “Although it’s a civilian martial artist organization, it’s still fundamentally under the control of our Martial Artist Headquarters.”
“Otherwise, the secular world would descend into chaos, wouldn’t it?”
“If someone were to develop a massive martial artist army in the secular world, the danger would be no less than that of the Night King.”
Gu Yan nodded subtly, agreeing, “Exactly. I despise people like that too.”
“A harmonious world depends on everyone. Those with ulterior motives should be rooted out, one by one!”
Wang Gang smiled approvingly. “It’s good that you think this way.”
“But realistically, once martial arts become universal, uncontrollable situations are bound to arise.”
“For instance, if someone with ill intentions gains power, they might commit acts that harm society.”
“To regulate the sudden surge of martial artists... we’ve even established a new department called the ‘Sword Holding Department.’”
“Its members are known as... Sword Holders.”
“They specialize in handling martial artist incidents.”
“We estimate that by February, the Sword Holding Department’s offices will be fully constructed nationwide.”
Gu Yan nodded again—it all sounded quite official.
Previously, martial artist incidents were handled by pulling a few martial artists from other departments to double up.
But now, with universal martial arts, manpower has increased, allowing for the creation of specialized departments, big and small.
Hmm, sounds even more complicated.
Gu Yan smiled at Wang Gang. “I understand. We’ll follow the department’s arrangements.”
“We’ll cooperate fully.”
“Whether it’s funding or manpower, the Gu Family will handle everything.”
Gu Tianming remained silent on the side—after all, anything solvable with money was no issue.
Seeing Gu Yan’s comprehension, Wang Gang shook his head with a bitter smile. “Ah, Xiao Yan, you... sigh...”
“We have our difficulties too. Universal martial arts is an enormous undertaking.”
“A civilian martial artist organization is another massive project—it requires sufficient incentives to attract martial artists to join.”
“Only through unified management can we ensure maximum social stability.”
“But unfortunately...”
“We’ve already invested too much funding and manpower elsewhere.”
“This decision was truly a last resort.”
“Still, rest assured—the initial construction costs will be covered by our headquarters. But the subsequent maintenance, management, and martial artists’ salaries...”
Wang Gang forced a smile. “...will have to come from you. My apologies, but this is the best deal I could secure.”
“Truthfully, if you refuse, the Martial Artist Headquarters might just support another martial artist family...”
“Civilian martial artist organizations are the inevitable trend. If you try to establish one later, it’ll be...”
Gu Yan nodded. He understood.
Once universal martial arts fully rolls out,
the resources available to ordinary businesses and martial artist enterprises will be vastly different.
Right now, the Gu Family’s early establishment under the Martial Artist Headquarters grants them a legitimate status.
If they delay, the process would only become far more troublesome.
Besides,
Gu Yan genuinely needed this official affiliation. So he smiled and said, “Uncle Wang, you’re being too formal.”
“We’re all working toward the same goal—world peace.”
“In other words, we’re comrades fighting for the same cause.”
“Let’s not speak such distant words in the future.”
Wang Gang was deeply moved.
Who would’ve thought?
A young man these days could have such ideals.
Did Gu Tianming raise him this well?
“Good.”
Wang Gang nodded.
Gu Tianming didn’t interject, quietly observing Gu Yan’s performance.
He had already made up his mind about something.
“Gangzi, stay for a meal?”
“Can’t. I still have to discuss the civilian martial artist organization with the next family.”
“You call that a ‘discussion’ with other families?”
“None of your business.”
“Heh, let me walk you out. Xiao Yan, wait here for me.”
“Oho, the former head of the Gu Family seeing me off—what an honor.”
“Hey, you...!”
The two walked out, arms slung over each other’s shoulders.
Click—
The door closed.
Old Gao stepped in, positioning himself slightly behind Gu Yan.
The room fell into silence.
Gu Yan’s smile faded, his eyes glinting with an unreadable emotion.
Universal martial arts.
Civilian martial artist organizations.
The Sword Holding Department... Sword Holders.
A rough plan was already forming in Gu Yan’s mind.
Heh, I’m really looking forward to what comes next...
After a long while,
Gu Tianming returned.
He also brought several thick stacks of documents.
Laying them out before Gu Yan, he said, “Sign these.”
[Gu Corporation Share Transfer Agreement]
[Gu Family Head Succession Contract]
“?”
Wait, the Gu Family head succession contract? Seriously?
Gu Yan slowly formed a question mark in his mind, silently staring at Gu Tianming.
The latter knew this was far too abrupt, but there was no helping it.
He had held the position for far too long and simply didn’t want to do it anymore.
It was exhausting—especially now, with universal martial arts and all.
Did he really have the energy for this? Wouldn’t it be better to travel the world with his wife, Su Su?
So,
Gu Tianming summoned his paternal authority and said solemnly, “Xiao Yan.”
“You’re grown now, almost married. It’s time to shoulder some responsibilities.”
“You handled the conversation with Uncle Wang just fine, didn’t you?”
“Sign it. From now on, you’re the head of the Gu Family.”
“The entire Gu Corporation will be yours for a long, long time.”
Gu Yan looked at his father, who was clearly talking nonsense.
Shaking his head, he signed the succession contracts one by one.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sign—it was just that...
This...
One moment, it’s the annual meeting; the next, he’s the family head.
Too sudden. No time to prepare.
If he’d taken over earlier, his plans would’ve been twice as easy.
Gu Tianming collected the signed documents, nodding in satisfaction. “Good. I’ll handle the rest of the formalities.”
“Xiao Yan, if you’ve got nothing else, go check out your new office.”
Just then—
Ring-ring!
Gu Tianming’s phone buzzed.
Su Murong’s voice came through: “Tianming, the new year’s almost here. Tell Xiao Yan to bring Qingqiu and Ling’er over.”
“Ah, right, right. Oh, and Xiao Yan’s the family head now.”
“Really?!”
After a bit more chatter, the call ended.
Gu Tianming turned to Gu Yan, whose expression had shifted slightly. “You heard that, right? This year, bring Qingqiu over for our New Year’s Eve gathering.”
“Don’t forget!”
With that, Gu Tianming left.
Only Gu Yan remained, sighing and shaking his head.
Old man.
He sat on the sofa, scanning the 200-square-meter office.
After a long silence, he turned to Old Gao. “Old Gao, you’re my secretary now. Get someone to renovate this office.”
“Hmm... use the company’s funds.”
The old secretary hesitated for a moment, then replied, "..."
"Very well, young master."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
