A Hundred Meters of Black Scale
That change would likely be a negative one. Thus, Jekyeong decided to let this molting happen naturally. After all, there was no pressing urgency at the moment.
'Still... it's rather strange.' Jekyeong could sense the signs of his impending shedding. He didn't know exactly how far in advance he could normally detect it, but he figured it would be about a month. Yet, this premonition of molting had arrived completely out of the blue. By his current estimates, he would shed his skin in about five to six days.
'It must be related to what I digested. But what was it? The flesh and soul of a Foundation Establishment cultivator? A dharma treasure? Or perhaps the items inside the storage bag?' There were too many potential culprits, and it was entirely possible that none of them were the actual cause.
'Still, why not run a simple experiment?' While he couldn't easily get his hands on another dharma treasure or a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had a rather abundant supply of spirit stones.
"Hmm." Jekyeong opened his storage bag and pulled out several spirit stones. Unlike Cheongo's nest, which merely sparkled with an eye-straining glare, these stones emitted a refined, gentle glow. He scanned them with satisfaction before swallowing a single lowest-grade spirit stone.
Gulp!
"..."
He felt absolutely nothing. It wasn't just because the spirit stone was as minuscule as a speck of dust compared to his massive size.
"Mmm." Smacking his lips, Jekyeong turned his gaze toward the low-grade spirit stones. Unlike the lowest-grade stone he had swallowed so boldly, he hesitated slightly before placing a low-grade one in his mouth. But it was only a brief hesitation. He was now a wealthy mogul in the making, holding the Heukgyo water territory in one hand and a massive school of Fleshy-Scaled Fish in the other. His pockets were not so shallow that he had to fret over a loss of this scale.
Gulp!
Unlike when he had swallowed the lowest-grade stone, this time he calmly closed his eyes and waited, trying to perceive any subtle shift. Pouring all his focus into self-observation, he waited for a while until he felt a faint sensation. However, the feeling was so incredibly faint that even with his concentration pushed to its absolute peak, he couldn't tell if it was just his imagination or a genuine reaction.
After agonizing over it for a while, Jekyeong finally opened his eyes. Once again, he slowly turned his gaze.
"..."
This time, his hesitation lasted much longer. It was only natural. A mid-grade spirit stone. No matter how much heavier his purse had grown, a mid-grade spirit stone was still a significant expense. It would be fine if it yielded results, but if his hypothesis was wrong...
After a long moment of indecision, Jekyeong made up his mind. He refused to live this life pinched for money as well. Though his hesitation had been long, he swallowed it with grand bravado.
Gulp!
Expensive things were expensive for a reason. The quantity and quality of the spiritual energy contained within a mid-grade spirit stone were incomparable to those of a low-grade one. The spiritual energy erupted from his stomach like an explosion, saturating Jekyeong's entire body and reaching his very soul. And in that exact moment, Jekyeong felt it with absolute certainty.
'This is it.' His instincts screamed the truth. The time remaining until his shedding had shrunk. He had originally felt he had five to six days left, but now it seemed three days would suffice.
'Did eating a single mid-grade spirit stone shave off two days?' No, that wasn't quite right. He had to factor in the lowest-grade and low-grade stones he had consumed beforehand. 'This is incredibly inefficient.' His stomach burned with regret, as if he had swallowed hydrochloric acid instead of a spirit stone.
"Sigh." Still, he chose to look on the bright side. Whether it was a secret or a fundamental principle, he had learned something new about his molting process. Though it was useless knowledge for now, one day... if a day ever came when he sat upon mountains of spirit stones, he might be able to cultivate by the handful, devouring them like candy.
With his shedding drawing near, Jekyeong found himself struck by a sudden curiosity. What would happen if he underwent molting while in his human form? Would his human skin peel off? Would some even more drastic transformation occur? Or would absolutely nothing happen at all?
He was deeply curious, but of course, Jekyeong was not one to take unnecessary risks. He spent the next two days vigorously patrolling his water territory, and on the final day, he quietly returned to Heukgyodo to rest.
Crack! Snap!
This shedding was different from the ones before. There was no pain, nor any strange anomalies. If anything, it felt incredibly refreshing, like stripping off a suffocating suit of clothes.
"Hmm." After completing the molt, Jekyeong instinctively went to violently shake his body out of habit, but paused as a thought struck him. He carefully slithered out and examined the shed skin he had just left behind.
The shed skin of a massive Great Yo-beast, measuring nearly a hundred meters, carried a formidable sense of pressure just by its sheer scale. However, stripped of all vital energy, it was literally just an empty husk with absolutely no value. Just in case, he tapped it lightly with his tail, and the colossal skin crumbled away like a collapsing sandcastle.
'No luck there.' He had briefly hoped he might be able to sell the shed skin, but... as expected, things weren't that easy. The world didn't work so conveniently.
'In any case.' Shaking off his minor disappointment, Jekyeong closely examined the changes in his body post-shedding. This molting hadn't brought about any massive transformations. The most notable changes were his size—which had previously hovered just under a hundred meters and had now definitively surpassed the hundred-meter mark—and a clear increase in physical strength.
Additionally, his overall durability, including his scales, felt slightly enhanced. However, whether he had actually grown sturdier or was simply experiencing an illusion brought on by the post-shedding euphoria was impossible to tell without testing it directly.
'Not bad.' A body well over a hundred meters long. At this size, wouldn't he be considered a heavyweight even among Great Yo-beasts? That fellow Daehae he had met before seemed to specialize in physical combat, yet he was barely ten meters tall.
'No, wait. Compared to that monster from Sangyo Forest...' Was his name Yung-won? According to Sagaewan, that beast supposedly inherited the grandiose bloodline of the Ancient Demon Ape. Compared to that monstrosity, Jekyeong's current size couldn't really be considered massive.
'But my growth isn't finished yet, and with more sheddings to come, I might one day grow large enough to rival that giant gorilla.' Given his combat style, a massive body was practically synonymous with combat power. Besides, a larger size made it much easier to pose as a majestic Gyoryong.
Thud! Brimming with overflowing power, Jekyeong left Heukgyodo and set out once more to patrol his waters.
Hyeongu had finished gathering the clams. While they couldn't claim to have searched every single nook and cranny of the entire water territory, they had swept through most of it. The harvest was... mediocre. It wasn't a total waste of time, but it certainly didn't feel like a reward worthy of the effort expended. Nevertheless, Jekyeong was satisfied.
"Now, relocate the school."
"Leave it to me, my Lord." Relocating the school of Fleshy-Scaled Fish was a simple but highly labor-intensive task. Since it involved changing their natural habitat, the process had to be carried out gradually over a significant period of time.
Even so, Jekyeong insisted on keeping the Fleshy-Scaled Fish close to Heukgyodo. Having them within his sensory range was the safest option, and even if they weren't directly under his nose, he wanted them in a location where they wouldn't catch the eyes of unwanted intruders.
"Kraaaagh!" A bizarre monster that looked like a hybrid of a squid and a conch let out a low, vibrating shriek, venting its rage and agony. At that single roar, several low-level water beasts that hadn't managed to flee far enough rolled their eyes back, fainting or dying on the spot.
Yet, despite that menacing roar, Jekyeong did not stop chewing and swallowing the tentacle in his maw. If anything, he openly mocked his opponent with a cold sneer in his eyes. He had only torn off a fraction of one of its dozens of tentacles; the creature was making an absurdly dramatic fuss.
Boom! Though he had just mocked it for overreacting, he couldn't scoff at the creature's actual combat prowess. The shell concealing its main body didn't show so much as a scratch even when Jekyeong struck it with his full might, and the dozens of tentacles whipping around freely were quite a nuisance. While they couldn't pierce his scales to wound him, he still had to dodge when they lashed toward his eyes.
Whoosh! Taking advantage of the moment his opponent writhed in pain, Jekyeong backed away and drew upon his monster power. In an instant, Yokai Fire enveloped his entire body, and Jekyeong charged at the beast once more.
Demonic flames erupt from his scales, enveloping his massive form in a blazing shroud of pure monster power.
The tentacles lashed out from all directions, but cowed by the searing heat of the Yokai Fire, they hesitated and shrank back, unable to strike his body.
"I only stopped by out of curiosity! Is there truly any need to go this far?!" Realizing that things would end poorly if this continued, the creature shrieked in desperation.
"What a coincidence. I simply became curious about the taste of your flesh."
"You lunatic! Are you truly intent on fighting to the death?!"
A fight to the death? Of course Jekyeong had no such intention. He had merely decided to make an example out of a creature that looked easy to handle and presented a favorable matchup.
"Where do you think you're running?!" They continued to clash. The battle raged on until the opponent, having had six of its tentacles scorched to ash and three more bitten off, could no longer endure and fled in terror.
"Hmph!" Jekyeong glared at his fleeing foe before turning away. He could have pursued it if he wanted to. Though his strength was somewhat depleted, his body was entirely unharmed. If he truly dogged its heels to the bitter end, he could undoubtedly kill it.
But Jekyeong chose not to. There was no telling how far he would have to chase the beast to finish it off, and he might run into some other powerful entity during the pursuit. It was far better to stop at a reasonable point and let the fleeing coward spread rumors of his terrifying strength.
"I congratulate my Lord on his glorious victory!" While Jekyeong was catching his breath, Hyeongu approached from a distance, calling out in a high-pitched voice. The turtle demon's wrinkled eyes sparkled as if embedded with stars, and his stubby tail wagged frantically like a dog's. Watching Hyeongu express his absolute respect and awe with his entire body, Jekyeong let out a soft chuckle.
"Now that that wicked scoundrel has tasted your wrath, he will never dare set foot in my Lord's domain again!"
"I certainly hope so. More importantly, is the task complete?"
"Yes, my Lord! The Fleshy-Scaled Fish have all been successfully relocated to the area you designated."
"Good." It had been a long, grueling process. While Hyeongu was moving the school, Jekyeong had to constantly patrol the waters. Though his burden wasn't quite as heavy as Hyeongu's—who had personally transported the clams and guarded the fish—his own efforts had been considerable. But that hardship was finally over.
"Continue to guard the school well. For now, you are the only one I can truly trust with this task."