Free Web NovelChapter 231: Consolidation (Part 1)
"I had an epiphany," Rey stated, voice carrying manufactured conviction that concealed his true nature.
"A sudden understanding about how the world actually works."
He met the eyes of each young beggar in turn, his gaze carrying intensity that commanded attention despite his obvious physical distress.
"Gather around," Rey ordered with authority that transcended his apparent age and circumstances.
"I have some things to say."
The young beggars complied hesitantly, forming a loose circle around him with expressions suggesting they weren’t quite sure what was happening but recognized something significant had shifted.
Rey surveyed them with a silent calculation that assessed not just their physical condition but their potential utility as resources for achieving his mission objectives.
Dozen children and teenagers—malnourished, desperate, possessing no cultivation foundation but demonstrating they could be organized into effective force under competent leadership.
"I want to ask you all something," Rey stated, allowing his voice to carry the weight of a genuine question rather than rhetorical performance.
"Are you satisfied with this?"
He gestured toward their surroundings—the filthy alley, their ragged clothing, the reality of survival through begging and theft while constantly vulnerable to exploitation by anyone slightly stronger.
"Are you content to remain beggars for the rest of your lives? Scrounging for scraps, hiding from stronger predators, living day to day with no future beyond simple survival?"
The silence that greeted his question carried an answer more eloquent than words.
Several younger children shook their heads with vehemence that suggested they’d been dreaming of escape but lacked means or direction.
The older teenagers showed more complex expressions—desire mixed with resignation, as though they’d long since accepted that circumstances had trapped them in positions they couldn’t transcend.
Rey allowed that silence to stretch, letting his question resonate in consciousness that had been dulled by desperate routine.
Then he delivered the statement that would transform them from passive victims into active instruments of his objectives.
"Then we should join a sect."
The declaration hung in the air between Rey and the assembled young beggars.
"Join a sect...?"
The sharp-eyed girl was first to break the stunned silence.
"That’s impossible," she stated with voice mixing desire and harsh pragmatism. "Sects don’t accept street beggars. They recruit from merchant families and minor noble houses—children with resources, backing, basic education. We have nothing."
Rey met her gaze with an expression that acknowledged her objection while refusing to accept its finality. freёwebnovel.com
"You’re correct that sects don’t typically accept beggars," he confirmed. "But they do accept applicants who demonstrate minimum qualification standards. Physical potential. Mental aptitude. And most importantly—enough resources to cover initial enrollment fees and basic equipment."
He gestured toward the pouch he’d taken from the defeated leader—meager collection of copper coins that represented weeks of extortion from vulnerable children.
"We lack resources currently. But resources can be acquired through coordinated effort and strategic planning."
One of the older teenagers, a boy maybe fourteen with cautious intelligence in his eyes, stepped forward with a question that showed genuine curiosity rather than simple skepticism.
"Even if we somehow gathered enrollment fees, sects conduct entrance examinations. Combat trials, cultivation aptitude tests, educational assessments. How would street children with no training pass requirements designed for applicants who’ve been prepared since early childhood?"
Rey’s lips curled into a slight smile that depicted darkness the young beggars couldn’t fully interpret.
"Leave the entrance examination to me," he stated with confidence that transcended his apparent circumstances. "I’ll handle demonstrating sufficient qualifications for group enrollment. Your role is supporting the resource acquisition that makes application possible."
The sharp-eyed girl studied Rey with attention suggesting she was reassessing her initial evaluation of this strange boy who’d just defeated five older teenagers despite obvious physical weakness.
"You’re different," she stated carefully. "The way you fight, the way you speak, the confidence in your voice when discussing sect enrollment—you’re not a normal street beggar, are you?"
Rey considered how much truth to reveal, calculating the balance between maintaining cover and establishing authority necessary for leading these children toward his objectives.
"I simply had an epiphany," he repeated, using the explanation he’d already provided. "This has given me a much needed clarity about my past, my potential, and what I need to accomplish. The details don’t matter. What matters is that I can get us into a sect if we work together strategically."
He met each young beggar’s gaze in turn, his eyes carrying intensity that demanded attention.
"But achieving that goal requires resources we currently lack. Which means we need to acquire them through the only method available to us in our current circumstances."
The older teenager who’d questioned the plan earlier showed dawning comprehension mixed with apprehension.
"You want us to take over other territories," he stated slowly. "Expand our control like the groups that have been extorting us. Become the predators instead of prey."
"Exactly," Rey confirmed without hesitation or moral equivocation.
The assembled children shifted uncomfortably—recognition that what Rey proposed represented a fundamental transformation of their identity from victims to perpetrators of the same exploitation they’d suffered under.
The sharp-eyed girl voiced the ethical concern several others were clearly processing.
"If we do that, we become just like them. Just like the bullies who’ve been taking our earnings and beating us when we resist."
Rey’s expression hardened with pragmatism that transcended conventional morality.
"The difference," he stated coldly, "is that we’re doing this temporarily to achieve a specific objective that leads to genuine escape from street life. They were doing it perpetually to maintain a dominance hierarchy that served no purpose beyond satisfying their own cruelty." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
He gestured toward the alley entrance where their former tormentors had retreated.
"Those older beggars weren’t gathering resources for sect enrollment. They were accumulating petty power that would never elevate them beyond marginally more comfortable street existence. We’re different because we have an actual goal and timeline for transcending these circumstances entirely."
The rationalization was sophisticated enough to address immediate moral concerns while avoiding deeper philosophical questions about whether ends justified means.
One of the younger children, a boy maybe nine years old, raised a tentative hand with a question depicting an innocent directness.
"If we’re taking money from other beggar groups, aren’t we hurting children just like us?"
Rey met the child’s gaze with an expression that didn’t flinch from uncomfortable truth.
"Yes," he confirmed simply. "We will be causing temporary hardship to others in similar circumstances. That’s the cost of our advancement. The world doesn’t offer comfortable paths for those starting from our position."
He paused, allowing that reality to settle before continuing with calculated appeal to their self-interest.
"But consider the alternative. We remain passive victims, scrounging for survival while stronger predators take what little we manage to acquire. We live and die in these alleys, our potential wasted because we lacked courage to seize opportunities when they appeared."
His voice hardened with manufactured passion that concealed his true calculating nature.
"Or we can act decisively, acquire resources through available means, and transform ourselves into something greater than desperate street children waiting to be exploited. The choice is yours."
The silence that followed was deafening.
It was filled with the serious consideration of a genuine decision rather than mere rhetorical pause.
Uneasy and hesitant stares kept being passed around as loud gulps echoed among the children.
Finally, the sharp-eyed girl spoke with a voice suggesting she’d processed both practical and ethical implications.
"How long would this take? How much money do we need to gather for sect enrollment?"
Rey had already calculated the numbers based on intelligence the Church briefing materials had provided about cultivation world economics.
"Crimson Peak Monastery charges ten silver taels per applicant for entrance examination participation. Successful applicants pay additional twenty silver taels for the first year as outer disciples. We also need funds for travel, decent clothing to avoid immediate dismissal as vagrants, and basic supplies."
He performed quick mental arithmetic that his enhanced consciousness made effortless despite this body’s youth.
"Assuming a group of twelve, we need approximately four hundred silver taels total. Current beggar territory extortion generates maybe ten to fifteen silver taels monthly across all groups in this district. If we consolidate control and optimize collection methods, we could potentially acquire necessary funds within two months."
The older teenager who’d questioned the plan earlier showed reluctant respect for the detailed analysis.
"You’ve thought this through carefully. But consolidating territory control means fighting multiple groups simultaneously. We just barely defeated one group of five older teenagers. How do we handle coordinated resistance from multiple territories?"
Rey’s smile widened with an expression that showed a darkness these children couldn’t fully comprehend.
"We don’t fight them all simultaneously. We use strategy, coordination, and tactical surprise to defeat them sequentially while they’re still operating independently. By the time they recognize the threat and attempt a unified response, we’ll already control sufficient territory to defend our position until we have enough resources to leave entirely."
He began outlining a specific tactical approach with precision that suggested military planning rather than street gang consolidation.
