The Shattered Balance
Hahou Jang smiled bitterly and shook his head. "There is no need to lose our temper over something like this. Let us leave this matter to the Cultivator Alliance."
"That sounds reasonable."
The two Golden Core cultivators reached an agreement, bringing a temporary end to the water tide crisis that had shaken the Southern Waters.
A massive uproar swept through the region the humans called the Southern Waters. Even then, "uproar" was a mild term used only by the ruling class of the Human Territory; to the local humans on the ground, it was nothing short of a living hell.
The water tide, which had struck without warning, was an absolute catastrophe. Although it had ended with unprecedented speed, its brevity only left the survivors more disoriented.
Yet, the water tide did not bring only suffering. While it was an undeniable tragedy for those swept away and killed, it proved to be a blessing for those who survived. The countless carcasses of water beasts and the valuable materials harvested from them were essentially ownerless spirit stones waiting to be claimed. Although the sects and great families, led by the Cultivator Alliance, swept in to collect the lion's share, anyone who ventured out in a boat could still easily salvage demon beast corpses.
Bold and proactive individuals returned overnight with boats laden with dozens of demon beast carcasses. Soon, every survivor, driven by greed, took to the water with fire in their eyes. It was as if they were picking up spirit stones dropped on the street, and no one could deter them.
Within less than ten days after the water tide subsided, the price of demon beast materials in the Southern Waters plummeted. This was a recurring phenomenon with every water tide.
Merchants, catching the scent of profit, soon arrived in the Southern Waters with their cargo ships. Although local merchants had already departed with vessels packed to the brim with demon beast materials, the newcomers from afar did not leave empty-handed. The piles of demon beast materials were still immense, and more were being accumulated in real-time.
Around that time, several ships set sail from Jaseong Island, located some distance away from the disaster zone.
"Patriarch, are you certain about this?"
Han Cheongyu glanced at his subordinate, whose face was etched with deep concern.
"Are you worried?"
"To be honest... yes. I agree that many local factions suffered heavy losses from this water tide, leaving quite a few vacancies. But as you know, that area borders the territory of the Black Dragon. Rumor has it that this water tide was also caused by the Black Dragon's influence. If we make a wrong move..."
"I understand your concern," Han Cheongyu said, soothing his anxious subordinates with words he didn't even believe himself. "But wealth is found in danger. Since we have decided to rise, I want us to stand tall and proud. Besides, the Cultivator Alliance is not foolish. Unless they intend to lose the entire Southern Waters, they will surely take action."
In truth, such a risky venture completely contradicted his usual cautious nature. He had no choice but to fabricate these empty assurances to pacify them. He didn't know how effective his words would be, but once they arrived and established themselves, his subordinates' anxieties would naturally fade. After all, the opportunity there was real, and it was also true that there was no immediate danger. Once they tasted the sweet fruits of their labor, their current worries and complaints would vanish without a trace.
Jekyeong received a report that Han Cheongyu had left Jaseong Island and successfully established a foothold in the Southern Waters. The Han family would make a living by hunting monsters and processing demon beast materials, while also smuggling spiritual weapons refined on Yeongi Island into the Human Territory.
"Lord Dragon, the number of water beasts has decreased significantly," Hyeongu reported with concern.
"It does not matter," Jekyeong replied calmly.
Though the turtle demon was highly intelligent, he spent most of his time cooped up in the Black Cult Palace, and even when he did venture out, he only traveled back and forth to the Human Territory, leaving him with a narrow perspective. Jekyeong believed that worrying about water beasts going extinct was about as realistic as worrying about Lake Yangseo drying up.
Humans were said to be numerous, but that was only because their survival rate from birth to adulthood was high. When it came to birth rates alone, humans could hardly compete with the Yao race, especially demon beasts. Demon beasts gave birth to multiple offspring at once and had short gestation cycles. It was just that most of their young were eaten by natural predators or died of other causes before reaching maturity, preventing their population from growing in proportion to their birth rates.
If that was true for land-dwelling demon beasts, it was even more so for water beasts. Most water beasts were oviparous, laying dozens of eggs at a time. With just a bit of luck, a single pair of water beasts could produce dozens or even hundreds of offspring in a single year.
This was the source of Jekyeong's confidence. While Hyeongu felt anxious looking at the currently barren waters, Jekyeong knew that countless water beast eggs lay hidden in the deep, invisible crevices of the lake. In no time, these empty waters would be teeming with water beasts once again.
"If you are truly worried, it would be better to select a few useful species and manage them," Jekyeong suggested.
"By useful species, you mean..."
"Those that reproduce in large numbers and grow quickly."
"Ah, I understand. I will look into it immediately and compile a list for you."
Breeding specific water beast species was not difficult. All they had to do was clear out potential predators and leak a bit of spiritual energy into their habitat. The innate resilience of demon beasts allowed them to adapt easily even to harsh environments, so just that much care would be enough to boost their numbers significantly.
And if even that is not enough, I can always bring more from other regions.
In any case, the demon territories were overflowing with all kinds of water beasts, so importing a few would go completely unnoticed. Most importantly, since no one else cared about the population of low-level water beasts, Jekyeong had no worries about lacking fodder for the next water tide.
"How are the ones below?" Jekyeong asked.
By "the ones below," he naturally meant the Great Yo-beasts he had recently taken under his wing. He was asking because he feared they might have lost their heads after tasting blood during the recent water tide.
"They are fine. A few tried to run wild, but the Yaksha brothers suppressed them all."
"Oh? I expected those brothers to be the ones running wildest."
"I thought the same, Lord Dragon. However, those brothers truly seem to have changed. Even after tasting blood, they remained highly rational and faithfully executed your orders."
Is that so?
Jekyeong fell silent. Because of the defiant attitude Ha Yuseong had shown when they reunited, Jekyeong had assumed that the mad dog hadn't changed much, merely suppressing his temper out of respect for Jekyeong's majesty and the debt of his life. But hearing Hyeongu's report, he wondered if the Yaksha's wretched personality had actually softened a bit after his long hardships.
"Well, if so, that is a good thing."
Trust was not built overnight. Whether the Yaksha had truly changed was something only time would tell.
"Work has already begun on Yeongi Island," Hyeongu said.
"Are they obedient?"
"Yes. In fact, they seemed quite pleased."
Hyeongu did not explain why they were pleased, but Jekyeong could guess. They likely believed they wouldn't have to follow in the footsteps of their 'predecessors'—that as long as they worked as Spirit Blacksmiths, they wouldn't have to sacrifice their lifespans. It was a beautiful misunderstanding, though it happened to be true.
However, it wasn't for the reason they thought. It was simply because Jekyeong's physical body had become too powerful after forming his core and entering the Yao King realm. The clumsy forging of Qi Condensation Spirit Blacksmiths could no longer provide him with any benefit.
Jekyeong estimated that only a Spirit Blacksmith who had reached the Foundation Establishment realm could provide any meaningful stimulation to his body. However, Foundation Establishment Spirit Blacksmiths were not assets he could simply obtain at will, so he had no choice but to give up on that front for the time being.
Come to think of it...
Regretting that he could no longer utilize human Spirit Blacksmiths as before, Jekyeong's thoughts drifted in a different direction.
Could I perhaps try practicing Body Cultivation?
The forging he had previously received from the Spirit Blacksmiths shared some similarities with human Body Cultivation. His previous human transformations had relied on the Transformation Secret Art, making Body Cultivation meaningless back then. The human body created by the Transformation Secret Art was like an exquisite shell; even if he painstakingly trained that body, it would be no different from replacing a wooden mask with an iron one.
But now, having undergone the Transformation Tribulation and achieved a perfect human form, his Flood Dragon body and his human body were like two sides of the same coin. In this state, Body Cultivation held real meaning. Not only when he was in his human form, but even when he reverted to his true Yao form, he would still benefit to some extent from the physical tempering.
However, it was extremely rare for a Yao King who had passed the Transformation Tribulation to practice Body Cultivation, simply because it was highly inefficient. Body Cultivation required time, effort, and above all, an immense amount of resources. Since the physical bodies of the Yao race were already incomparably stronger than those of humans, the gains from Body Cultivation were negligible compared to the effort invested. For this reason, almost no Yao King bothered with it.
Only a tiny minority of Yao Kings, whose species were naturally physically weak, turned to Body Cultivation to overcome their innate limitations. Naturally, Jekyeong did not fall into this category. He was confident that in terms of physical durability alone, he ranked near the top among Yao Kings. In other words, even if he practiced Body Cultivation, he was unlikely to see dramatic results.
But Jekyeong operated on the principle that even the smallest gain was better than nothing. Unless circumstances prevented it, why should he refuse an opportunity to increase his strength, however slightly?
Besides, the future was unpredictable. Who knew if a time would come when he would have to hide his true identity and act within human society? If such a day arrived, Body Cultivation would prove to be a massive asset.
I should look around for some Body Cultivation techniques.
Although Body Cultivation was resource-intensive, as long as his future business ventures went as smoothly as expected, he would never run out of resources to halt his training.
The aftermath of the water tide unfolded exactly as anticipated. To fill the vacuum in the Southern Waters, the high-ranking figures of Lake Yangseo's Human Territory, including the Cultivator Alliance, actively encouraged migration to the region. Drawn by these incentives, people began to fill the vacant spots one by one.
Consequently, in less than a year, almost all the vacancies in the Southern Waters disappeared, and those who had been slow to act were forced to engage in tense power struggles over the few remaining positions.
The Han family, having established themselves early on, found themselves in a bothersome situation due to several factions trying to pick fights with them later. Fortunately, their problems were resolved quickly. This was primarily because their competitors, without exception, suffered unfortunate accidents and collapsed on their own.
Hunting boats going out for demon beasts would mysteriously vanish, or the leadership of a family or sect would suddenly die in their sleep... Naturally, anyone with even a shred of wits guessed that these were no mere accidents, but sometimes, one had to pretend not to see what was right in front of them.
Combining the advantage of being early with a few underhanded methods, the Han family steadily grew their influence in their new home. In tandem with this, preparations for business were also accelerated in the massive, newly formed Black Dragon Water Territory.
"Are you certain?"
At Myeong-ha's question, another 'Myeong-ha' who looked exactly like him curled his lips.
"If you cannot even trust yourself, why did you go through the trouble of assigning the task to me?"
"Ah, it is just a habit. Of course you know that. After all, you are me."
"Indeed."
The two Myeong-has nodded simultaneously, as if on cue.
"By the way, things have turned out rather awkwardly."
"You mean interestingly."
"It amounts to the same thing. Though, of course, you already know that."
"Indeed."
The reason the Myeongseomun Sect and the Geumyang Sect had remained quiet until now was partly because they lacked the confidence to calm the turbulent waters of Lake Yangseo, but more so because they wanted to buy time. Their goal was to nurture another Golden Core cultivator to cope more stably with future changes. Both Golden Core sects had invested equal effort, but now, one had succeeded while the other had failed. This meant that the balance of power between the two previously equal Golden Core sects had been shattered.
"The title of the 'Two Great Golden Core Sects' has become a laughingstock now."
"In truth, whether there are one or two does not really matter. They are merely minor players, after all. They cannot exert any real influence on the grand scheme of things."
"But those who have nothing are always the ones most eager to compare themselves to others."
"Will the Geumyang Sect move first? Or will the Myeongseomun Sect make the first move?"
"That, I truly do not know."
While the Geumyang Sect, feeling a sense of crisis, seemed likely to act first, the Myeongseomun Sect was no fool either and would surely anticipate Geumyang's agitation. Viewed that way, it was still impossible to tell which side would seize the initiative first.
"The Human Territory is truly eventful. Is this also the guidance of the Heavenly Dao?"
"Perhaps."
The two Myeong-has continued to discuss the political situation of Lake Yangseo and the movements of various factions. Eventually, the topic shifted to the recent water tide.
"That Black Dragon's intentions are blatant. He seems completely blinded by spirit stones."
"I wonder. It might not be that simple."
"What other reason could there be?"
"He has gathered several Great Yo-beasts under him. I heard he even recruited a Yaksha who was once famous in the old Court of Demons."
"Do you think he is aiming to become the master of the demon territory? He did not strike me as someone with that kind of ambition."