A Spark on Three Frogs Island
'Can that brat really pull this off?' His eyes had been striking, but that was all. He was merely a half-grown child who had only recently embarked on the path of cultivation. Yet, despite that, there was a strange, inexplicable sense of anticipation.
"Cheongyu. Have you lost your mind?"
"We can't keep living like this forever."
Han Cheongyu met the eyes of his friends, who were looking at him as if he were a madman, one by one.
"And what if it doesn't go the way you say? We'll all die! Every single one of us!"
Looking at the youth who seemed ready to bolt from his seat at any moment, Han Cheongyu let out a cold laugh.
"Die? Do you honestly think we're alive right now?"
"What?"
"Wake up! We're no different from fish trapped in a net. We're just prey that the bastards of the Heok-gyo-bang can slaughter whenever they please! Didn't you see what happened this time? How many people were slaughtered just because they were framed for something they didn't even do?"
Han Cheongyu's words were rough, but they struck a chord in everyone's hearts. He had laid bare the very truths they had desperately tried to ignore out of sheer terror.
"Listen to me, all of you. I'm not just saying this. We don't have a choice anyway. We've already been marked by them! Sooner or later, we're all going to die! Or we'll end up living a life worse than death, just like our parents and the village elders! Is that what you all want?"
Though the youths gathered here were young, they were not foolish. The harsh realities they had witnessed and endured had forced them to grow up quickly. They could tell that Han Cheongyu wasn't just spouting empty words to coax them into a foolish scheme.
"...Do you have a plan?"
"When they come to collect the tribute, we strike them. We make as much noise as possible to drag the rest of the villagers into it. No matter how ruthless the Heok-gyo-bang is, they'll have no choice but to retreat for the time being."
"And after that? They'll just return with even greater numbers..."
"Exactly. When they go back and sail their ships to crush us, that's when..."
Everyone swallowed hard. Yet, their eyes no longer trembled with the same anxiety as before. Meeting their gazes, which now shone with a quiet, shared resolve, Han Cheongyu answered.
"Someone who despises the Heok-gyo-bang will turn those bastards into fish food."
"Cheongyu! Are you absolutely sure about this?! The fate of the entire village now rests on your single word!"
Han Cheongyu remained unfazed by the furious, trembling voice of the white-haired village chief. He silently glared at the dozen or so ships approaching from the distance.
"It's too late, Chief. Set your mind at ease. If I am wrong, we will simply die fighting. If I am right, we will win our freedom. Either way, we will no longer have to suffer under those bastards."
"You brat...!"
The chief was not truly blaming Han Cheongyu. He simply lacked the resolve. He was consumed by fear, unable to see what lay ahead—just as Han Cheongyu once had been.
"Aigoo! What are we to do? The lineage of Sam-wa-do will end in my generation!"
Just as the chief began to wail in earnest, the villagers of Sam-wa-do, who had gathered at the docks, saw it.
'He is here!'
The placid lake water suddenly surged, and a sudden wave swallowed the ships of the Heok-gyo-bang. Only Han Cheongyu, with his keen eyesight, could clearly discern the ferocious creatures teeming within the cresting wave.
'...Huh?'
A rebellion had broken out on Sam-wa-do. Upon receiving the news, the Heok-gyo-bang immediately dispatched a subjugation force. Unexpectedly, the subjugation failed miserably. Only a handful of survivors managed to escape, bringing back reports of a Water Tide. The Heok-gyo-bang was thrown into utter chaos. A Water Tide? It was an unprecedented calamity that no one in the gang, including the leader Gong Byeok-un, had ever experienced. In the entire history of Yang-seo-ho, a Water Tide had never occurred; to them, it was nothing more than a legend of the cultivation world.
Gong Byeok-un, the leader of the Heok-gyo-bang, frowned the moment he heard the report.
"A Water Tide?"
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had lived for over three hundred years, he was highly experienced and well-informed. He knew exactly what a Water Tide entailed.
"A Water Tide? Utter nonsense."
He shook his head, dismissing his subordinates' reports. A Water Tide was a calamity capable of threatening not just a city, but an entire region. Such disasters never occurred without cause, nor did they happen just anywhere. Although Yang-seo-ho was a reasonably large lake, it was not vast enough to spawn a true Water Tide. Expecting a Water Tide here was like expecting a tsunami in a teacup.
'Still, even if it isn't a Water Tide, something unusual is definitely happening.'
Initially, he had dismissed the matter as trivial. An island that had been showing signs of unrest had finally rebelled, and he had sent forces to suppress it. It was a common occurrence, nothing to lose sleep over. He had assumed it would be resolved smoothly this time as well, but the Water Beasts had unexpectedly run amok.
'It isn't a Water Tide. Then what is it?'
Most Demon Beasts possessed low intelligence, and Water Beasts were particularly dim-witted. Their behavioral patterns were usually no different from ordinary wild animals. Yet, such creatures had acted in unison? There had to be an extraordinary reason behind it.
'Either someone is controlling them, or they were drawn to something.'
If it were the former, a Great Demon might be involved. The Beast Race excelled at commanding those of lower bloodlines, so if a Great Demon was pulling the strings, it would explain the situation. However, Gong Byeok-un quickly dismissed that possibility.
'This is not how a Great Demon operates.'
Having lived for over three centuries as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Gong Byeok-un had encountered several Great Demons and had even fought them. He knew their nature well. Every Great Demon he had ever met was ferociously violent. Testing the waters with subtle, probing actions was simply not their style. At the very least, Gong Byeok-un could not imagine a Great Demon acting with such cunning.
It was a classic case of believing that only what he had personally witnessed was the truth, but Gong Byeok-un did not think his reasoning was flawed in the slightest. After all, he had always been right—or rather, he had been right for a very long time. For at least seventy years, he had not made a single miscalculation.
'In that case... has something appeared?'
Gong Byeok-un's eyes gleamed with conviction as his thoughts crystallized. He suspected that some kind of spiritual treasure had appeared near Sam-wa-do. Perhaps the aura of this treasure had attracted the nearby Water Beasts, and his subordinates had simply been unlucky enough to get caught in the frenzy. Yes, that had to be it.
Come to think of it, such occurrences were not entirely unheard of. Though he had never witnessed it firsthand, he had heard rumors of similar incidents happening in Yang-seo-ho from time to time—bloody conflicts erupting over a suddenly manifested spiritual treasure.
'How troublesome.'
Gong Byeok-un, now eighty to ninety percent certain of a spiritual treasure's emergence, scowled. In his younger days, he would have leaped up and set off for Sam-wa-do immediately. But now... he only felt a profound sense of annoyance.
While the birth of a spiritual treasure was a marvel of heaven and earth, even nature's wonders had their limits. Or perhaps it was a matter of probability. Simply put, a treasure born in a land that lacked even a basic spiritual territory, let alone a Spiritual Vein, could not possibly be anything extraordinary.
Of course, a spiritual treasure was still a treasure, so it would possess some value, but it was not enough to pique his interest. This was not because his cultivation was so high that he could look down on such items, but because his pursuit of the Dao had long since withered away. Unless it was a treasure that could instantly elevate him to the Core Formation realm or drastically extend his lifespan, Gong Byeok-un had no interest in it.
A cultivation treasure? Even if he somehow obtained it and managed to reach the Late Foundation Establishment stage, his lifespan would only increase by ten, perhaps twenty years at most. He wouldn't refuse it if it were handed to him on a silver platter, but if he had to brave storms and risk his life for it, he would rather pass.
'I've grown old. Truly old.'
Gong Byeok-un smiled bitterly as he confronted his own desires, which had grown far too weak for a cultivator. But this was reality. He was simply too old. His Vital Energy had declined, and his spiritual nature was drying up. He felt as though his physical condition was worse than when he had first entered the Foundation Establishment realm long ago. For someone like him, the path forward lay not in uncertain adventures, but in maintaining the status quo.
"Sigh."
As Gong Byeok-un let out a long sigh, his brow furrowed. Soon, the doors of the great hall burst open, and a man in his mid-thirties rushed in, his face flushed with excitement.
"Father! Have you heard?! A Water Tide has broken out!"
"Do not behave so frivolously! Maintain your dignity and decorum as the Young Sect Leader!"
Startled by Gong Byeok-un's thunderous scolding, the man quickly lowered his head. Yet, his lips twitched as if he still had much to say.
"Have I not told you time and again? Whenever you hear news for the first time, doubt it first."
Gong Byeok-un directed a sharp glare at the man, but the emotion behind his gaze was not anger or annoyance, but rather a deep, aching pity.
"Take this moment, for instance. Looking at you now, if you were the leader of this gang, you would have abandoned Heukgyodo and fled the moment you heard rumors of a Water Tide, wouldn't you?"
Hearing this, the man abruptly lifted his head.
"Does that mean... what happened this time wasn't actually a Water Tide?"
"If it were a true Water Tide, we would already be resting inside the bellies of the Beast Race by now."
The man's expression instantly brightened. Gong Byeok-un watched this rapid shift with disapproval, gave him a few stern pieces of advice, and sent him away.
"Phew."
Left alone, Gong Byeok-un's complexion grew visibly pale. This was his daily reality. Every time he witnessed his son's shortcomings firsthand, his chest tightened with frustration and anxiety. Lately, he even felt a heavy weight pressing down on his chest—a symptom that had developed ever since his son failed his second attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.
'Useless bastard!'
Gong Byeok-un seethed as he thought of his departed son. Objectively speaking, the boy was incompetent. His talent as a cultivator was mediocre at best, and his character as a leader was utterly lacking. Rationally, handing over the leadership of the Heok-gyo-bang to him would undoubtedly lead the gang to ruin.
But what choice did he have? That foolish boy was his only son. If a father did not pass down the enterprise he had built to his own flesh and blood, then to whom? Gong Byeok-un had no other alternative.
Fortunately, this was the cultivation world—a realm where strength spoke louder than anything else. As long as one's cultivation was high enough, any other shortcomings could be overlooked. Thus, he had spared no effort to make his son a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had acquired superior cultivation methods, poured countless resources into boosting his cultivation, and had even procured Foundation Establishment Pills for him to consume. And not just one, but two!
'Just one last time. Let's try just one more time.'
This would be the final attempt. If he failed again... then even if it emptied the Heok-gyo-bang's treasury, he would have to procure an Island Protecting Grand Array.
'At least that useless brat is blessed with many children.'
If his son was a lost cause, he would have to pin his hopes on finding a talented grandchild. He would protect the island and the Heok-gyo-bang's businesses while waiting for the next generation to mature. To do that, he, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had to hold on for as long as possible. Without the protection of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the Heok-gyo-bang would never be able to defend their lucrative Fleshy-Scaled Fish trade.
'How incredibly difficult.'
A sigh laced with lamentation escaped his tightly closed lips.
Jekyeong was utterly baffled by the Heok-gyo-bang's lukewarm—bordering on completely indifferent—reaction. Far from flying into a rage and rushing out to retaliate, they had actually pulled their forces far away from Sam-wa-do.