The Ambition of a Rolling Stone
After organizing his thoughts, Ju-hyeong wrote down all the speculations he had come up with. This was to deliver them to the Dragon Lord through Hyeon-gu in a fortnight.
"How did the transaction with the Sanha Sect go?"
"It has been successfully concluded. They were a bit troublesome, trying to haggle down the price until the very end, but..."
"Being petty isn't necessarily a bad thing. It means they are serious about the trade. At least we can worry a little less about being stabbed in the back."
"But Sect Leader, is there any reason to keep doing business with the likes of the Sanha Sect? Haven't we officially opened trade relations with entities like the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance now?"
Since the Hyeondo Sect had officially raised its banner, their business was flourishing day by day. Consequently, transactions that used to be considered major deals had now dwindled to the level of petty pocket change, naturally breeding a sense of disdain toward their old clients.
"Whether covered in dust or filth, spirit stones are all the same spirit stones. Besides, we cannot afford to rely solely on a single major stream, can we?"
Since Ju-hyeong was in a good mood, he answered his subordinate's foolish remark with leniency. Of course, Sangpyeong had also spoken up boldly only because he had read the Sect Leader's favorable mood.
"I see. This foolish one has troubled you with useless words, Sect Leader."
"It's no trouble. You're the only one under me who actually knows how to use his head, so if anything comes to mind, feel free to speak without reservation."
It was a touching sentiment, but if Sangpyeong had been foolish enough to take those words literally, he wouldn't have been able to stand in this position today.
The news of Sangcheong Sang-in asserting his presence in the Human Territory soon reached Jekyeong's ears as well. He organized his thoughts by synthesizing the information and personal opinions sent competitively by Han Cheongyu and Ju-hyeong.
Ju-hyeong's words made sense. It was certain that Sangcheong Sang-in had an ulterior motive.
However, as to what that motive was...
'To establish the prestige of the Cultivator Alliance?'
While Ju-hyeong analyzed it that way, Jekyeong's thoughts differed. His reasoning was based on the information sent by Han Cheongyu.
According to that information, a group of outsiders had recently settled in Daedo. They had interacted multiple times with the Im family cultivators, who were also newly establishing themselves in Daedo. Their interactions were so familiar and intimate, as if they had known each other for a long time, and they did not seem to treat each other as strangers.
The number of these outsiders was steadily increasing, to the point where some in Daedo were beginning to notice the anomaly.
'This Im fellow... Is he planning to use the authority of the Cultivator Alliance to establish the Im Clan in Yangseo Lake?'
With a subtle expression, Jekyeong closed his eyes. In the next instant, his consciousness had already arrived at Bul-mang-won.
To the human cultivators of Bul-mang-won, Jekyeong was known as one of the few "reasonable Demon Kings." The human cultivators who knew him—that is, his human seniors—did not hesitate to interact with him, and most of them were willing to show goodwill first.
However, Jekyeong politely declined most of their goodwill with pleasant words. He knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Of course, while he declined their favors, he did not decline building connections. The number of Golden Core cultivators whose names he knew and with whom he exchanged greetings now easily exceeded ten.
Among them were those who belonged to the Cultivator Alliance, and not a few who, even if not members, had access to various news regarding the Alliance.
Seongsu Jinin was one of those people.
'Sangcheong Sang-in. Even if he isn't in perfect condition, if he is someone who can clash with the Insect Mother, his cultivation must be at least at the Mid Golden Core stage. A person like that wouldn't be nameless within the Cultivator Alliance.'
Jekyeong intended to mobilize his network to investigate the background of this man called Sangcheong Sang-in. However, this matter had to be handled through someone trustworthy. Otherwise, the fact that he was digging up information on an Alliance figure would be exposed, and perhaps even his identity as a Bulmang cultivator might be revealed.
Although the existence of Bul-mang-won and Bulmang cultivators was one of the secrets of the cultivation world, those who were meant to know still knew about it. In this day and age, being a Bulmang cultivator did not mean one would be immediately captured and reduced to a laboratory rat, but Bulmang cultivators still did not want their identities exposed to the outside world.
Jekyeong was no exception. He wanted to hide his identity as much as possible for as long as he could. Although he had spent a considerable amount of time in Bul-mang-won and had developed a basic level of trust in these "compatriots," he still did not want to take any risks. No matter how small that risk might be.
'As expected, Senior Seongsu would be the most suitable.'
He had briefly considered Jang Hu-am, but Seongsu Jinin seemed more appropriate. After all, he had already indebted himself to Seongsu Jinin several times, so incurring one more debt wouldn't make much of a difference. It was the so-called logic of fearing the creation of a new debt but not fearing the increase of an existing one.
"Senior."
Finding Seongsu Jinin was not difficult. This human senior seemed to have a lot of free time lately, spending a great deal of time in Bul-mang-won.
"Oh? What brings you here?"
However, when the senior looked at him and asked that question, Jekyeong realized something. This sly, veteran senior wasn't idle; he had been waiting for him.
'Could it be that he foresaw this ever since he dropped hints about the Cultivator Alliance the other day?'
If his guess was correct, this was akin to serving the food first and then waiting for the recipient to ask for the utensils. In other words, he was bestowing a double favor, half-forcing it upon him.
"I have a matter for which I must ask your assistance, Senior."
But whatever his underlying intentions, Seongsu Jinin possessed both the ability and the willingness to help him. That was enough; what else mattered?
"Assistance? Is it about the Cultivator Alliance again?"
"Yes. The one who was dispatched from the Cultivator Alliance this time is a man called Sangcheong Sang-in. Do you happen to know him, Senior?"
"Sangcheong Sang-in... Was his name Im Taebok? I cannot say I know him personally, but I have heard of the name."
A Core Formation stage cultivator is an existence that can reign as a top-tier powerhouse in any cultivation region. In Yangseo Lake alone, those who had dominated the Human Territory for a long time were the Geumyang Sect and the Myeongseomun Sect—two Golden Core sects, or more precisely, the Golden Core cultivators residing within them.
But how vast was the Changram Realm? Cultivation regions like Yangseo Lake were too numerous to count, and there were many regions far larger than it. One could see this just by looking at Muryangae, which was somewhat familiar to Jekyeong.
Hadn't So-byeok-ik-wang, just one of the Demon Kings of Muryangae, swept through the entirety of Yangseo Lake on his own?
Yet, So-byeok-ik-wang was merely one of the many Demon Kings of Muryangae. Although he was an exceptional existence even among those Demon Kings, he could not be called the ruler of Muryangae. This was because Yao Emperors reigned over Muryangae.
Existences that truly stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, equivalent to the human Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
As long as such existences, like clouds floating in the high heavens, existed, acting like a "great expert" while standing at the peak of a tiny hill was merely laughable.
The limit of a cultivation region that an average Core Formation cultivator could manipulate was mostly around the level of Yangseo Lake. In "blessed lands" of higher grades, Late Core Formation or even Nascent Soul cultivators would establish themselves, so those at the Early or Mid Core Formation stages usually couldn't even clear their throats properly.
"From what I know, Im Taebok is quite a peculiar fellow. In his youth, he threw himself into the immortal path like any other cultivator, but after reaching a certain age, he began to devote his efforts to nurturing his descendants. At that time, his cultivation was at the Mid Golden Core stage, but he had no particularly outstanding traits, so I heard he was barely known among the Golden Core cultivators of the Cultivator Alliance."
To make a name for oneself as a cultivator, first is cultivation, and second is talent. However, Im Taebok's cultivation was at the Mid Golden Core stage—not bad, but an ambiguous level to be called outstanding. If one's cultivation was mediocre, one had to possess some eye-catching talent to gain fame, but Im Taebok lacked even that. He had no refined cultivation arts, and his combat abilities were ordinary.
In the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was a high-and-mighty Golden Core cultivator, but to cultivators of the same rank, he was merely an unremarkable fellow Daoist.
The first and last time Im Taebok made his name known was when he, who seemed to have put his personal cultivation on hold to focus on raising his descendants, suddenly broke through his bottleneck one day and leaped to the Late Golden Core stage.
It was truly rare for a cultivator who had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time to suddenly break through. However, "rare" simply meant it happened occasionally. Those who heard the news of Im Taebok's breakthrough congratulated him with envy and surprise, remembering his name.
As for what secret opportunity Im Taebok had encountered... almost no one thought deeply about that part. After all, any cultivator who had managed to form a core was bound to have one or two opportunities, big or small. Showing greed for someone else's opportunity—especially one that was highly likely to have already been exhausted—would only invite meaningless conflict.
Furthermore, those who were quick-witted and well-informed could roughly guess what Im Taebok's opportunity had been. This was because they had confirmed that the aura of Im Taebok, who had risen to the Late Golden Core stage, was somewhat weaker compared to other Late Golden Core cultivators.
This indicated that his breakthrough was either unstable or achieved by forcibly using some method that consumed his foundation. In other words, although Im Taebok had reached the Late Golden Core stage, his future path was essentially blocked.
Regardless, thanks to these few peculiar points, Im Taebok made a name for himself. It was also at that point that he took the grand Daoist name of Sangcheong Sang-in.
"I heard that originally, the Cultivator Alliance planned to send one or two Early or Mid Golden Core cultivators to stabilize the situation in the Human Territory. However, Im Taebok strongly stepped forward and expressed his desire. Since the Alliance had no reason to refuse, they appointed him to Yangseo Lake."
"I see."
After listening to the story about Im Taebok, Jekyeong fell into thought.
A human cultivator who could not look forward to his future path, and whose status as a Late Golden Core was too awkward to put forward. He had devoted himself to raising his descendants from early on, and had gone out of his way to volunteer for a small cultivation region like Yangseo Lake.
"Is he trying to use Yangseo Lake as a foundation to establish his clan?"
"Considering Im Taebok's character and past deeds... that is likely the case."
For a Late Golden Core cultivator—especially one who even had a child at the Early Golden Core stage—to move to Yangseo Lake was like a fish that used to swim in a great river moving to a small pond. It meant choosing stability over abandoning greater opportunities.
One could say he lacked ambition, but one could also say he had a realistic grasp of his situation. Im Taebok's competitiveness as a Late Golden Core cultivator was lacking. If he judged that his child's aptitude was not very high, wouldn't he want to establish a stable, albeit small, family business to hand down to him?
Thinking up to this point, Jekyeong was at least seventy to eighty percent certain.
'How amusing.'
A stone he thought would just roll on by was actually trying to take over someone else's spot.
"Thank you for your assistance, Senior. This lacking junior does not know how to repay you."
"Haha. Just do not forget that sentiment."
Seongsu Jinin did not hide his willingness to collect this debt someday. Moreover, judging by the way he spoke, it seemed he had already thought of how he would collect it.
Jekyeong's curiosity was piqued, but he did not bother to ask. Asking now was meaningless; when the time came, he would naturally find out. He trusted that Seongsu Jinin would not make an unreasonable demand, and he did not worry about being unable to handle the debt. If the demand was truly too excessive, he could always find a way to make excuses and decline when the time came.
Lately, Im Jeseong had been realizing anew how laughable human hearts could be.
After his father went to the Jusong Sea Region and clashed with the Insect Mother, the attitude of the Yangseo Lake cultivators toward the Im family had changed drastically. Those who had previously bowed their heads now acted as if they would bury their heads in the dirt, and most of those who had been stubborn and resistant had become compliant.
Im Jeseong did not mock them. He, too, was a Golden Core cultivator and knew very well how the laws of the cultivation world operated.
"We cannot be entirely optimistic. Fear may elicit obedience, but it also heightens vigilance."
Im Jeseong cast his gaze toward the man sipping tea in front of him.
"Then what are your thoughts?"
"Since the wind is blowing, we must hoist the sail. Let those who are desperate to catch the Senior's eye rush forward on their own. If it goes well, great; if not, no loss."
A faint smile appeared on Im Jeseong's lips.
"The rabble do not matter. What is important is the Myeongseomun Sect."
"Why do you not mention the Geumyang Sect?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Senior Im. A stepping stone is still a stone. To pave the road, must we not clear it away?"
Pausing for a moment, Im Jeseong looked at the man with a strange gaze.
"Do not say such things elsewhere."
"I shall do so. However, Senior, if we are to deal with the big fish, it would not be a bad idea to make preparations in advance."
"Preparations, you say."
Having one's inner thoughts exposed was not a very pleasant thing. However, as a Golden Core cultivator, Im Jeseong prided himself on not being so lacking as to vent his anger on a much younger junior. Furthermore, the opponent was a rather commendable junior who was eager to prove his loyalty.
Commendable as he was, no ill feelings arose.
"Very well, Gyeha. Since you speak of it, surely you have something in mind?"
"Of course."
The man called Gyeha spoke up as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"Whether it is the Geumyang Sect or the Myeongseomun Sect, they all know they cannot defy the majesty of the Cultivator Alliance. They are merely squabbling over their shares. However, in the end, what they look at is not the Im family, but the Cultivator Alliance. We must break their spirit before they catch wind of our true intentions."
"Sounds good in theory. But how?"