The Price of Blood and Ambition
Water beasts raided Yeongi Island. The water beasts stationed on the island fought back bravely—or rather, ferociously—but they could not fully protect it. The spirit artisans of Yeongi Island had fled deep into the interior early on to escape the threat, yet dozens were still killed or injured.
Arriving late, Hyeongu unleashed the power of a Great Yao, slaughtering dozens of the invading water beasts in an instant to resolve the crisis. Afterward, he entered the island's interior to take a headcount of the spirit artisans.
"Damn it all!" He roared in fury upon seeing the headcount reduced by dozens. To vent his anger, he slaughtered dozens more of his own water beasts. Before the wrath of a Great Yao, both humans and demons trembled in terror, barely daring to breathe.
No one on Yeongi Island suspected that this display was merely an act. They all knew the harsh truth: to humans, others were either family or strangers, but to the beast race, anyone other than oneself was an enemy.
Cannibalism was second nature to the beast race. Even when acting as allies, they would readily turn on one another and covet each other's flesh at the slightest provocation. Even the water beasts guarding Yeongi Island, despite their orders to protect the place, frequently shed each other's blood in petty squabbles.
"These beasts all came from the outer waters!" The captives had no choice but to believe the turtle Great Yao's words. But not all of them were fooled.
That turtle has become a Great Yao, Choe Ubo lamented inwardly, staring at the turtle whose size had doubled since they last met. Of course, he did not dare utter a sound aloud, only sighing deeply within his chest.
"What do you make of this?" That night, after the commotion had settled, Choe Ubo and his disciple, So Cheonghwa, quietly discussed the day's events.
"That turtle Great Yao was lying. Today's incident was his doing," So Cheonghwa said, his expression grim. Choe Ubo's face darkened in turn.
"They truly view us as mere livestock. Seeing how they slaughtered so many of their own just because of a minor disturbance, they don't seem to value us at all. Cheonghwa, you do not have much time left." So Cheonghwa nodded heavily.
While Choe Ubo and So Cheonghwa brooded over their grim future, Jekyeong was receiving a visit from Makgye.
"Fellow Daoist Jekyeong, I hear the rabble from Yojeong came by and caused quite a stir?" Jekyeong glared at Makgye for a brief moment before closing his eyes with a sigh. "The ears of Gyeongwang Palace are remarkably sharp."
He was the master of the Heukgyo Water Territory. Yet, all sorts of pests slipped in and out of his domain as they pleased, without so much as asking for permission or giving notice, carrying news of everything that transpired within his borders back to the outside world. That alone was infuriating enough, but what angered him even more was his inability to stop these rats despite knowing they were crawling all over his territory.
Jekyeong had half-resigned himself to it. The waters of Yangseo Lake had no walls or boundaries; rooting out every single rat was an impossible task, even for a Yao King.
"That madman Ha Yuseong wasn't an easy opponent, was he?" "He was a handful," Jekyeong replied. Makgye wore a knowing, meaningful smile.
"That fellow has been notorious for a long time. Whenever he has nothing to do, he goes around picking fights with others. Shedding blood is a daily occurrence for him, and sometimes the fights escalate so severely that one side ends up dead. Of course, the one who dies is always his opponent. As these incidents piled up, even the Whale King came to view him as a nuisance. However, because the bastard is exceptionally strong and executes his orders well, His Majesty never personally laid a hand on him."
Hearing Makgye's words, Jekyeong felt a sense of validation. He had judged correctly; that bastard Ha Yuseong was indeed a rabid dog.
"The only reason he has managed to keep his head on his shoulders until now is thanks to the Whale King's benevolence. His Majesty took into consideration that the bastard's wretched temperament is due to his bloodline."
"His bloodline?" "That Ha fellow inherited the Yaksha bloodline. That lineage is like a poison; he must constantly vent his rising madness through battle. If he doesn't, the insanity builds up to the crown of his head and..."
Jekyeong clicked his tongue. To have to fight constantly just to keep from going mad... what an exhausting bloodline.
"So, did you come all this way just to rub salt in my wounds, Fellow Daoist?" "How could you say something so hurtful?"
If anyone had a right to feel hurt, it was Jekyeong. This mutant seahorse had shown up out of nowhere and spent the last few hours subtly grating on his nerves. If the fellow weren't a high-ranking official of Gyeongwang Palace, Jekyeong might have struck him down already.
No, I shouldn't be like this. Had being bitten by a mad dog ruined his own temper? Jekyeong took a deep breath, regaining his composure. He narrowed his eyes, attempting to read his opponent's true intentions—which, in truth, meant he simply stared intensely into the seahorse's eyes.
"I speak the truth. I swear, I have absolutely no intention of provoking you, Fellow Daoist Jekyeong." "..."
Which meant this seahorse simply had a big mouth. When Jekyeong remained silent, Makgye coughed awkwardly to clear his throat before finally getting to the point.
"Fellow Daoist, as you have experienced firsthand, those bastards from Yojeong are truly impossible to deal with. Think about it. That fellow Mu-ara served Gyeongwang Palace for a long time. Do you think he didn't know what kind of monster Ha Yuseong is?"
Makgye clicked his tongue. "Mu-ara went to great lengths to recruit him. Naturally, he knew exactly what Ha Yuseong was capable of. Yet, he deliberately sent such a creature to you. Whether he explicitly ordered Ha Yuseong to teach you a lesson or not, he certainly knew that blood would spill the moment you crossed paths with that mad dog."
Makgye wasn't making things up. Jekyeong instinctively knew his words were entirely true. Remembering the mad dog's face made his blood boil anew, and a deep resentment welled up inside him toward the Simjeon Demon King, whom he had never even met.
Sometimes, presenting plain, unvarnished facts without lies or exaggeration is the most effective way to sway someone's heart. If driving a wedge between others were an art form, this would be its pinnacle. Makgye was unwittingly demonstrating the highest level of manipulation.
However, Jekyeong had long since recognized that his color was neither black nor white, but gray. Thus, even as his blood boiled, he did not lose his footing. He refused to be swayed by Makgye's words, merely offering polite agreement while joining in on badmouthing Yojeong and the Simjeon Demon King.
"The Simjeon Demon King—no, that man Mu-ara—cannot compare to the Whale King in any aspect. Not only in strength, but his very character is rotten to the core."
Though he was merely playing along with Makgye, Jekyeong wasn't lying. This assessment of the Simjeon Demon King, Mu-ara, was his genuine opinion. Mu-ara possessed a decent intellect and knew how to bide his time. Borrowing the strength of the Heumwon clan couldn't even be considered a flaw. After all, external power was still power. Being able to utilize someone else's strength was a talent in its own right.
Betraying the Jansu Whale King to ascend to the Yao King realm, establishing Yojeong, and using the war as a stage to make a name for himself—judging by those actions alone, Mu-ara was a titan worthy of the title Simjeon Demon King. Yet, his subsequent moves had been thoroughly disappointing. To put it simply, he was neither here nor there. He did not actively oppose the human race, nor did he bow his head to go with the flow.
Of course, Mu-ara was merely a figurehead put forward by the Heumwon clan, but that was no excuse. If he chose to put on airs using borrowed power, he had to bear the loss of face that came with it. Failing to properly control that borrowed power was nothing but proof of his own incompetence.
"You are entirely correct, Fellow Daoist. How could a wretch like Mu-ara ever be compared to the Whale King?" Makgye gleefully tore Mu-ara to shreds with his words. Yet, he never crossed the line, clearly remembering the cautious attitude Jekyeong had maintained even in front of the Jansu Whale King. His intention was obvious: to foster as much hostility toward Yojeong and the Simjeon Demon King as possible. In that regard, he succeeded. However, his success was ultimately meaningless. Accumulating ill will was one thing, but Jekyeong had absolutely no intention of actively opposing Yojeong or the Simjeon Demon King.
"Well, I shall take my leave now. Take care." "You as well, Fellow Daoist." Makgye's visit had been unexpected, and though Jekyeong had been irritated at first, it had ended on a pleasant note. Venting his pent-up frustration through gossip seemed to clear his mind.
Hyeongu returned shortly after Makgye's departure. Jekyeong nodded as he received the report on the events at Yeongi Island. "How did it look to you?" "I believe it was a success, Master." Hyeongu did not give a definitive answer, but that was precisely why Jekyeong trusted him. The results of this operation were not something that could be easily verified on the surface; if Hyeongu had spoken with absolute certainty, it would have been more suspicious.
"You did well." After praising Hyeongu with a few words, Jekyeong returned to his cultivation. He blamed himself for this recent misfortune. If he had been stronger, he wouldn't have been bitten by that mad dog; instead, he could have thoroughly thrashed the arrogant bastard who didn't know his place.
Yes. In the end, it is because I am lacking. It was like throwing oil on a non-existent spark, but Jekyeong used it to motivate himself. Regardless, his clash with Ha Yuseong had shattered his confidence—or rather, his arrogance. Having reached the late-stage Great Yao realm, he had secretly believed he could at least escape safely even if he faced a Yao King. Yet, the reality was that he had been utterly humiliated, unable to handle a single mad dog.
The world was vast, and the strong were legion. He might be able to declare himself supreme in this small pond, but who knew what kind of monsters lurked in other ponds, or outside them altogether? He had to guard against the flattery of others calling him "Dragon Lord" or "Black Flood Dragon." No matter what they babbled, the truth remained unchanged. Perhaps in the future, but for now, he did not deserve to be associated with the name of a dragon.
Still, that mad dog wasn't an absolute disaster. Jekyeong examined his scales, checking both the damaged and undamaged ones. The spiritual energy infused into them by grinding down dozens of spirit artisans was now barely perceptible. He estimated it would disappear completely in a month or two. Before his clash with Ha Yuseong, he had barely digested seventy percent of that spiritual energy; now, that figure had risen to over ninety percent. It felt a bit like a hollow victory, but there was a silver lining to that painful beating.
I need to undergo another forging session and replenish my essence blood. Breaking through to the late-stage Great Yao realm by refining the Flood Dragon Blood Ascension Pill was a great achievement, but that breakthrough had come at the cost of his blood. It wasn't a metaphor; it was literal blood. A single drop of essence blood might seem insignificant to some, but its loss had undoubtedly affected him. Jekyeong still felt a lingering emptiness. This void would persist unless he spent a vast amount of time condensing new essence blood or found an external source to replenish it.
Jekyeong had no intention of wasting precious time when he knew both the problem and its solution. While pressing Myeong-ha, he also inquired with Choi Ju-tang to see if he could procure essence blood. Since the war was drawing to a close, the human cultivators would surely be liquidating the spoils they had gathered. He figured that with enough luck and spirit stones, he could obtain not only various demon beast materials but also rare essence blood, which was normally hard to come by.
His assumption proved correct. Choi Ju-tang informed him that the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance had a few drops of Great Yao essence blood listed among their upcoming auction items. Jekyeong requested that he secure as much of it as possible, promising to pay handsomely in spirit stones. Choi Ju-tang smiled and promised to do his best.
Jekyeong briefly considered simply finding out which auction was hosting the essence blood and going himself, but ultimately decided against it. In the past, he had held the status of an honored guest of the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance, but now, far from being a guest, they were bitter enemies bound by a blood feud. Although Jekyeong was confident in his Transformation Art, he did not want to take unnecessary risks in such turbulent times. Faced with the choice of risking danger to save spirit stones or spending them to ensure his safety, Jekyeong chose the latter.
The resulting expense was substantial. It wasn't quite eye-popping, but it was certainly jaw-dropping. Even though he knew essence blood was inherently expensive, the price still made him sigh. It seemed Choi Ju-tang was taking a hefty cut for himself this time. Nevertheless, Jekyeong paid the sum without a word of complaint. He had known from the start that Choi Ju-tang would overcharge him, so while the price stung a bit, it was within tolerable limits.
Still, I can't keep doing this every time. He truly needed to establish a foothold within the Human Territory.