The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 236: Storm of the Tang Clan Volume 3 - 4

“The Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction?!?”

There’s no genre more radical in heroine preferences than martial arts fiction.

Even the most traditional wuxia from over fifty years ago subverted the norm with master-disciple romances like “one in the same: lord, teacher, and father”—a heroine who is simultaneously your lord, teacher, and father figure.

From childhood friends with arranged marriages, to younger martial sisters, teachers, and even 120-year-old eternally youthful cougar grandmasters...

Since ancient times, wuxia heroines have defied all social norms as long as they were charming enough to be considered the one true main wife.

“You can’t possibly push two people as main wives!”

“The Blue-Red Flower duo is fine! Didn’t you see them agree to it? They even said they’d hold the wedding together!”

“How shameless, trying to push both as the main wife!”

Then again, if martial sisters can share that bond, maybe they can both be main wives.

Just the other day, people were debating whether a courtesan could ever be the main wife. Now, here they are, forming a whole faction claiming two heroines can share that role.

A delightful sight.

“The Blue-Red Flowers are the very goddesses our Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction has been waiting for!”

“What I found lacking in Gu Suk-jeong and Du Eung-hyang individually, the Blue-Red Flower pair made up for perfectly.”

We knew a new main wife faction might emerge after the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan and the Courtesan of Hubei groups, but who would’ve guessed it would rise on day one of Daseogak lifting the discussion ban?

Looks like while discussion was banned, people were gathering in secret, forming their own groups.

“Aren’t the Blue-Red Flowers less attractive compared to the other heroines?”

“You don’t know what you’re saying! The Blue-Red Flowers are two yet one, and one yet two! Maybe each of them falls slightly short alone, but together? Their combined compatibility and teamwork surpasses both previous heroines!”

Trying to balance two heroines in one volume must’ve shifted focus from their individual charm to the allure of their sisterhood—and now readers are rallying around that in real life.

“If you’re going to back someone as main wife, pick one! Forming alliances is just cowardly!”

“Compatibility isn’t cowardice—it’s a strategy for overcoming powerful enemies.”

“Grrrrrrh!”

“The Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction is open to new and veteran Daseogak members alike.”

On the first day that Storm of the Tang Clan Volume 3 could be discussed, the Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction was on an aggressive recruitment spree.

“I find the cold and stern swordswoman Im Mi-ryeong far more attractive than the aloof beauty of the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan.”

“Im Mi-ryeong hasn’t fallen for anyone else! That makes her a rare, untainted flower. How is she inferior to the Sichuan beauty?”

“You’re talking about Yun-hyeon? That wasn’t romantic. It was admiration, not love. In fact, think of it this way—watching that admiration for Yun-hyeon slowly get replaced by affection for Tang Jeong... wasn’t that arc absolutely riveting?”

“N-Now that you mention it, it was actually quite moving...”

“What did you just say?”

The moment a member of the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan faction wavered, a Blue-Red Flower member pounced.

“How long are you going to cling to Sichuan’s long-past glory? Come to the Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction—Im Mi-ryeong’s stoic devotion and her noble restraint far outshine the aloofness of the Sichuan beauty!”

“If I join now, what number member will I be?”

“You traitor!”

And on the Courtesan of Hubei side...

“You would betray Du Eung-hyang?!”

“Betray? Never! My heart still holds her dear!”

“Then why are you joining the Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction?”

“Simply because my love for Im Min has now surpassed that for Du Eung-hyang.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Are you new to Daseogak? How did you like Volume 3?”

“It was fantastic. Tang Jeong was incredible, and Lady Im Min was just... adorable.”

“She’s affectionate, competitive when it comes to love, and fiercely loyal to her sister. You belong with us—come join the Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction!”

This was nearly full-on religious proselytizing.

The Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction, as a rising power, was either stealing away newcomers or persuading veteran members one by one.

Naturally, this infuriated the established groups.

“Traitors!”

Among them stood the pink-haired, blue-eyed beauty—Im Ha-yeon.

“Let’s get back to the sales floor.”

“Aren’t we going to stop them?”

“They’re not throwing punches or grabbing collars. They’re just having lively debates.”

We’re already three volumes deep. The Daseogak fan club members know how to follow the rules unless things truly escalate.

Even if the new fans start getting heated, no one’s crazy enough to cause trouble with Im Ha-yeon and the Sichuan Tang Clan’s guards around.

“But they’re stealing away all the talent!”

Im Ha-yeon stomped her feet in frustration.

“You can’t control personal taste. Everyone here loves Storm of the Tang Clan. If things get out of hand, I’ll step in. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° For now, take this.”

I handed her a small wrapped bundle.

“What’s this—tea leaves?”

Im Ha-yeon unwrapped it, puzzled.

“You said you knew how to brew quality tea, so I brought some high-grade black tea. Unless you’re not confident?”

Even my supplier asked why I was picking up such an expensive blend.

“Who do you think I am? Just wait.”

With a proud grin, she strode over to the tea station and began brewing the black tea with graceful, fluid movements.

Wearing that figure-hugging black qipao, her back turned while steeping tea—honestly, it was a mesmerizing sight.

Moments later, she placed the freshly brewed tea in front of me with practiced elegance.

“Oh?”

“It’s good, right?”

It was good. Maybe it was the expensive leaves, maybe her skill.

I nodded in surprise, and she smirked in satisfaction.

“Make a few more, would you?”

“But why black tea all of a sudden?”

“Because black tea... is red.”

“What?”

Leaving a bewildered Im Ha-yeon behind, I plated some snacks and walked into the battlefield with the calm of a war merchant.

“Everyone in the Unified Blue-Red Flower Faction, thank you for your hard work.”

I approached the faction with my best business smile.

“Manager Kang? Are we being too loud?”

“Not at all. I brought some complimentary refreshments to support your efforts.”

“Refreshments? This is delicious. Is this a new menu item?”

I nodded, eyes on the faction leaders.

Frankly, I didn’t care which heroine they favored. As long as they loved my novel, they were precious fans.

If I were just a writer, I might’ve left it at that.

But as the bookstore manager of Daseogak, I couldn’t let this moment slip.

I pointed to the crimson tea and blue-tinted pastries.

“Yes. Made with premium ingredients by a skilled artisan. We call it the Blue-Red Set.”

Main wife votes are best held as cash elections.

“The Blue-Red Set?”

“To let Master Ho-pil know just how many people love the Blue-Red Flowers, we need to offer them the same fair shot as the other heroine factions. A dedicated vote set, just like theirs.”

“So if we buy this set, Master Ho-pil will know who we support?”

“Exactly. And since the Blue-Red Flowers are two people, each set will count as two votes. A special double event to energize your late start.”

“Give me a Blue-Red Set!”

“This black tea is amazing!”

“We can’t fall behind—two Suk-jeong Tea Sets, please!”

“We’ll take three Hyang-ah Coffee Sets over here!”

Demand creates supply, and supply creates revenue.

Daseogak’s newest main wife vote set drove the bookstore’s sales even higher.

-----------

The Daseo Society wasn’t just fighting over who the main wife should be.

Now that a new volume had been published, discussions about Volume 3 were even more heated than the ongoing “Main Wife War.”

Among the hottest topics was a major revelation revealed in Volume 3.

“So the Pervert was actually a demonic cultist?”

The Pervert’s true identity—turns out the man using martial arts similar to the Tang family’s was actually from the Demonic Cult.

“I’d already suspected it.”

A Tang clan martial artist set down his tea and spoke to the Daseo Society members gathered around.

“You suspected it, sir?”

“He had immense martial prowess but an abnormal obsession with sex. Isn’t that odd?”

“I thought he was just some lunatic, but now that you say it, it does sound strange.”

“It’s one of the signs of demonic arts. People usually think that once someone practices demonic martial arts, they go mad and turn violent or lose their reason and become murderers—but there are other side effects.”

“What kind of side effects?”

“You lose the ability to control your desires. Some people go insane because of it, some slowly spiral into madness. Eventually, their entire mindset becomes warped around those desires.”

“In simple terms, you go crazy in a very specific, deranged way.”

“Haha. Exactly. Even if someone’s obsessed with sex, they’d usually back off if they were being hunted down. But the Pervert? Once he locked onto a target, he wouldn’t let go. That’s a textbook symptom of someone who’s trained in demonic arts.”

“So he was driven mad by sexual desire because he practiced demonic arts.”

“There was another piece of evidence pointing to him being a cultist.”

“What kind of evidence, sir?”

The Tang martial artist cleared his throat awkwardly as everyone’s eyes turned to him.

“Ahem. One of the Demonic Cult’s common tactics for stirring up chaos in the martial world is to imitate the martial arts of orthodox sects or leave behind similar traces.”

“I’ve heard that too. Since using demonic arts makes them easy to track, they imitate orthodox sects so that righteous sects fight amongst themselves instead.”

“Exactly. And the fact that the Pervert only unleashed his demonic energy when Tangjeong cornered him—that’s exactly what a cultist would do. Hide their true power until the last moment.”

“So that’s why he used martial arts similar to the Tang family’s! Master Ho-pil really thought of everything—even the inner workings of the martial world!”

“Truly an incredible writer.”

That part was just something I added after the Sichuan Tang family told me to reframe the Pervert as a cultist.

The real reason I got dragged to the Tang family was because I dug up the truth behind the Pervert incident from twenty years ago.

Originally, the Pervert was actually a poison human created by the Tang family. Instead of exposing that, I just altered the truth—recasting him as a demonic cultist with similar symptoms.

I mean, the bastard who created him was working with the Demonic Cult anyway. Not exactly innocent, is he?

“I was blown away that you resolved such a touchy matter with such a decisive scene.”

Tangpa came up to me while I was quietly eavesdropping in a corner, his face filled with admiration.

“I got what I wanted. I’ve got no intention of damaging the Tang family.”

I replied with the expressionless face of a bastard son who’d fulfilled his purpose.

“The Clan Head will be pleased.”

“He can be pleased or not. I don’t care. Just make sure the Demonic Cult stuff is handled cleanly so there are no misunderstandings.”

“We’re already on it. These days, even our subordinates have joined the Daseo Society and are actively participating.”

You’re going that far, huh.

Well, it works out for me. The longer Tang family folks hang around in Daseogak, the more both Storm of the Tang Clan sales and Daseogak’s second floor revenue skyrocket.

At this rate, I might be out of debt sooner than expected.

“What are you doing, slacking off?”

Im Ha-yeon strode over with a busy look. Tangpa glanced at her and narrowed his eyes with a sly smile.

“Ah! Right, the cheongsam—I'll keep that a secret.”

He said this as he walked away to resume guard duty, leaving Im Ha-yeon standing there with a puzzled face.

I was about to say “It’s fine,” but the words caught in my throat.

Now that I think about it... there's no need for that to reach the Tang family, is there?

-------- 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“The Main Wife Set—it’s too expensive.”

With Daseogak’s sales skyrocketing daily and new Daseo Society members flooding in, complaints were bound to start surfacing.

“No one’s forcing you to drink it.”

“This is why we should screen new Daseo members more carefully.”

“Clicking tongues. Why are these damn rabble-rousers multiplying so fast?”

“Better call in Daseogak’s new troublemaker broom.”

The Daseo Society veterans clicked their tongues like they’d heard this one too many times and scolded the newbie.

“No, hear me out. How long are we supposed to keep ordering these sets?”

“Until the main wife is decided, obviously.”

“At this rate, with no idea how many volumes are left until the end, this is going to be an endless war.”

I, for one, would love it if Daseogak’s profits climbed forever.

“Then don’t order any. I’ll keep ordering.”

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t order them at all, as a new member. I just think there’s no need to let things spiral out of control.”

“You’re not the only one who’s thought that. But if we stop, the other factions will just pull ahead. So how could we stop?”

“How about one set per person, per day? Even if everyone drinks theirs, we keep it at that. If everyone agrees, I’ll personally buy a Main Wife Set for every member here.”

Looks like this new Daseo member has pretty deep pockets.

“Hmmm. One set per person, huh...”

“As long as the other factions agree, I don’t see a problem.”

Fair point.

Storm of the Tang Clan is going to keep publishing, and the number of heroines will keep growing.

Who will become the main wife? It’s a full-on cash-powered election.

Rather than fighting an endless battle that only fattens Daseogak’s coffers, it might be smarter to form alliances and limit things to one per person.

If the marketing feels too aggressive, maybe the Daseo Society members will band together and self-regulate.

“I’ll take that as agreement and go ahead with the order, Manager Kang!”

But here’s the thing—

You really think I, the manager, am just gonna let that slide?

“Of course. Just let me post this notice first.”

I wrote up a big announcement where everyone could see it, then turned back around.

“What kind of announcement is this... huh?!”

“What the hell?!”

“No way!”

The Daseo Society members stared at the sign in horror.

I know I’ve got a reputation for being a ruthless marketer.

Even if people say I care about my employees and support poor writers, that reputation always follows me.

So what’s the solution?

[Storm of the Tang Clan – Side Stories. Sichuan’s Top Beauty Arc, Hubei’s Top Courtesan Arc, Cheonghong Blossom Arc. Coming soon.]

“I specially requested these from Writer Ho-pil.”

If the final goal is too far away, just add checkpoints along the way. Manager Kang Yun-ho asked the author himself.

“...The amount of content in the side stories will be based on popularity?”

I get to decide how much screen time my favorite heroine gets.

What now? Bet you can’t resist.

I grinned triumphantly as I asked the stunned Daseo Society members:

“How many Main Wife Sets will you be ordering today?”