On his way to the Western Twin Lake, Jaekyung encountered a Great Spirit Beast. And the moment the Great Spirit Beast saw Jaekyung’s face, it gasped in terror and shouted. 'A... a flood dragon?!'
Having melted his Tongue Bone, Jaekyung naturally understood those words, and he also felt the imposing presence of the approaching beast rapidly deflate. 'A flood dragon?' While remaining vigilant, Jaekyung tried to recall his shallow knowledge of flood dragons.
From what he knew, a flood dragon was a powerful creature that, for one reason or another, had failed to become a true dragon, yet was still worthy of the name.
If real dragons heard this thought, they would probably breathe fire and ask what kind of nonsense that was, arguing that by that logic, a chicken was a dinosaur, but that was truly all Jaekyung knew. And as far as he knew, the existence known as a flood dragon was a magnificent and powerful being, well-deserving of the name dragon.
The flood dragons that appeared in the stories told by the seniors of the Twilight Gathering were certainly all powerful beings. Yet this Great Spirit Beast looked at him and called him a flood dragon. Of course, Jaekyung knew very well that he was not a flood dragon, but seeing the other's over-the-top reaction, he began to get confused himself.
'What is a flood dragon, anyway?' Jaekyung noticed that the Great Spirit Beast's gaze was mostly fixed on his horns.
'The horns?'
Come to think of it, when describing a flood dragon's appearance, didn't they usually mention a snake's body with horns and awkwardly grown limbs? If so, Jaekyung himself, though lacking limbs, could be seen as meeting some of the external features of a flood dragon. Besides, even without limbs, wasn't his body excessively large for a snake?
'It's an understandable mistake.' He had to admit it. At the very least, his appearance was quite consistent with that of a flood dragon, and it was not unreasonable for the other to be mistaken.
Still, for a creature of the Great Spirit Beast level to shrivel up like a deflated balloon. It was utterly pathetic. Even if he were a real flood dragon, their realms were the same Great Spirit stage, yet it cowered so pitifully.
But such inner thoughts were best kept to himself, and since the other had willingly misunderstood and been intimidated, there was no need to correct the misunderstanding. With the psychological upper hand, Jaekyung asked the Great Spirit Beast a few things. First, he asked where this place was and got the answer: Western Twin Lake.
Then, he asked for various pieces of information about the lake. The Great Spirit Beast answered everything kindly and sincerely. It was so excessive that it was almost suspicious.
Later, as the Great Spirit Beast retreated as if fleeing for its life, Cheong-o, who had been holding its breath inside Jaekyung’s mouth throughout the conversation, asked with puzzlement.
"Why was that thing so scared?"
Even to Cheong-o's eyes, it seemed strange for a so-called Great Spirit Beast to be so terrified.
"I think it mistook me for a flood dragon."
"Jaekyung, are you a flood dragon?"
"Well. I don't know."
Cheong-o's eyes widened. Its expression seemed to ask, 'If you don't know, who does?' so Jaekyung added another word.
"But that thing has probably only heard about flood dragons from somewhere; it's certainly never seen one in person."
"How do you know that?"
"Just a feeling."
"Huh?"
Cheong-o's head shook from side to side again, but Jaekyung pretended not to notice. In that short time, various thoughts rose and fell in his mind. And time passed, leading to now.
Having successfully settled in the Western Twin Lake, Jaekyung leisurely looked around the area, centered on the island that was his temporary home. He did not hide his aura with the Aura Concealment Art, so aquatic spirit beasts that sensed his presence along the way fled in haste. Jaekyung caught up with one whose aura was the most distinct.
It was a turtle, its body small for the aura it possessed. The creature, which had been frantically paddling its limbs to escape, was terrified when Jaekyung suddenly appeared before it and hid its body in its shell.
"Do you truly believe I can't do anything about that shell?"
When Jaekyung asked in disbelief, the turtle flinched once, then carefully poked its head out after a moment. It brought its webbed feet together as if clasping hands and spoke politely.
"My... my... Lord Dragon, for what reason would you seek out a lowly turtle such as myself...?"
The moment the words "Lord Dragon" were spoken, the corner of Jaekyung's mouth twitched. It seemed this one, too, was under some great misunderstanding. Jaekyung didn't bother to correct its misconception.
Whether this turtle was mistaken or not, he just needed to get his business done.
"I've looked all around this area, and I only see aquatic spirit beasts, no Great Spirit Beasts. What's going on?"
"Pardon?"
The turtle blinked a few times before speaking cautiously.
"Well... wouldn't the Great Spirit Beast elders be in the spiritual lands?"
"But don't the spiritual lands have masters? Surely this Western Twin Lake doesn't have enough spiritual lands to accommodate all the Great Spirit Beasts?"
Jaekyung knew that wasn't the case. He had heard from the Great Spirit Beast he met earlier that there were several spirit veins in this Western Twin Lake. These spirit veins were several times richer in spiritual energy than spiritual lands, and to maintain such abundant spiritual energy, they had to draw it from the surroundings.
In other words, it was difficult for spiritual lands to exist near a spirit vein. This was true whether it was a naturally formed spirit vein or an artificial one created by humans. Once a spirit vein was formed, the spiritual energy in its vicinity would be all but dried up.
Jaekyung thought the Great Spirit Beast might have told him a few lies, but he didn't think it would lie about something so basic.
"Ah. Of course, that's not the case. Most of the spiritual lands in the Western Twin Lake are small. However, among the spiritual lands located far from the spirit veins, there are a few that are quite spacious. One of them is not far from here."
"Then all the Great Spirit Beasts must be gathered there."
"Wouldn't that be the case? I am not certain."
This turtle, for a spirit beast, was easy to talk to and seemed quite intelligent. The way it constantly read the situation and chose its words seemed no less sharp than a human's. 'Come to think of it, this one's aura is quite strong for a spirit beast, but it doesn't actually seem powerful.'
Whether human or demon, the size and strength of a cultivator's aura are mostly proportional. But the word 'mostly' means there are exceptions. Cheong-o was a prime example, and this turtle seemed to be the same.
Of course, this little one might be hiding a trump card...
"Do you know the Western Twin Lake well?"
"Uh... I was born and raised here, so I know a fair amount."
"Excellent."
He hadn't found a Great Spirit Beast, but meeting a turtle that was articulate and seemed to know a lot was actually for the better. Jaekyung began to seriously ask the turtle about various things.
The first question was about the major powers of the Western Twin Lake, and the answer to this was almost the same as what the Great Spirit Beast he had met before had said. The only difference was that the turtle's answer sounded a bit more objective.
"When speaking of the great powers of the Western Twin Lake, three can be named. One is our demon race, the second is the human race, and the third is the Horned Insect Tribe."
Jaekyung knew about the Horned Insect Tribe. The Horned Insect Tribe could be literally described as horned insects, but their forms and habits were so diverse that it felt awkward to group them as a single race.
If they hadn't all been born from a single Insect Mother, it wouldn't have been strange for them to be classified as different species. They formed swarms centered around a single Insect Mother, and even the smallest swarm numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Considering that most of the Horned Insect Tribe were cultivators, it meant that hundreds of thousands of cultivators, skilled in combat at that, existed as a single family. Considering that even among the numerous human cultivators, only a fraction were skilled in combat, one could see how powerful a force a Horned Insect Tribe swarm was.
On top of that, with everyone being one family and the existence of the Insect Mother as a focal point, their unity was stronger than any other race in the cultivation world.
"Rumor has it that the Insect Mother's cultivation level has reached the late Core Formation stage."
When describing the third realm of the Immortal Path, the Core Formation stage, humans usually called it Golden Core, and the demon races called it the Demon King realm, but the cultivation of other races outside these two hegemonic races was usually referred to plainly as the Core Formation stage.
Perhaps the human cultivators, who loved to categorize and name everything, found it too troublesome to distinguish the realms of other races as well.
"Late Core Formation stage..."
Jaekyung felt his breath catch. The beings who had wielded such might on the battlefield between the Upper Demon Forest and the Flame Lotus Sect were, in the end, only Foundation Establishment cultivators and demon races of the Great Spirit stage. But Core Formation?
And late stage at that? Didn't that mean she was beyond Core Formation and on the verge of the Nascent Soul realm? Jaekyung couldn't even begin to imagine the strength of such an existence.
"Because of such a being, the general consensus is that among the three great powers of the Western Twin Lake, the Horned Insect Tribe is considered the strongest in terms of skill. Both humans and demons do not carelessly enter the Horned Insect Tribe's territory and try to avoid creating problems even more. However, since the Horned Insect Tribe does not carelessly leave their territory, as long as one does not enter their domain, you can consider it safe from any trouble with them."
"You said the Horned Insect Tribe is the strongest in skill. Who's next?"
"Um..."
The turtle scratched its face with the tip of its webbed foot, looking troubled.
"This is purely my own thought, but I believe it would be the human race."
Fearing that Jaekyung might get angry, the turtle quickly added an explanation.
"Of course, the cultivation of the Shattered Waters Whale King, the greatest master of our Western Twin Lake demon race, is as vast and deep as the lake itself, but he is alone, while the human race has two Golden Core sects. Although they are said to be at each other's throats all the time, when a problem with another race arises, they unite firmly as if nothing ever happened... The reality is that it's not easy for our demon race to face them all, even with our skills."
"I see."
The turtle kept glancing at him as it explained, but Jaekyung was unconcerned. He was of the demon race, but he had no sense of belonging or affinity for them. Even if the turtle were to badmouth the demon race in front of him right now, Jaekyung wouldn't have cared at all.
"So in terms of skill, the Horned Insect Tribe is the strongest, followed by the human race, and finally the demon race. What about the other races?"
"They are not even worth mentioning. All they do is live with a small spiritual land of their own. If the Shattered Waters Whale King put his mind to it, he could eliminate those wretches one by one each day."
The Shattered Waters Whale King the turtle mentioned was the strongest and the leader of the Western Twin Lake demon races, and his skill was said to be at the middle Demon King realm.
Of course, a mere aquatic spirit beast like the turtle couldn't possibly know accurate information about such a heavyweight, so this information should be taken as a rough estimate.
"Next..."
The turtle knew a great deal. Perhaps it knew more than an average Great Spirit Beast. It laid out everything from the geography of the Western Twin Lake to the large and small powers within and without, and even the various rumors circulating these days.
It was as if it believed its chances of survival increased with every piece of information it divulged. When he heard the story about an island nation created by some human fugitives, Jaekyung cut off the turtle's endless speech.
"That's enough. I think I've heard all I need to."
He wanted useful information, not to listen to trivial stories at the level of gossip. The turtle, its speech cut off, rubbed its webbed feet together and darted its eyes around nervously.
"Um... Lord Dragon. If you have no more questions, may I take my leave?"
"Yes. You've done well."
The turtle's information was so helpful that the word 'useful' was an understatement. It was like a blind man suddenly regaining his sight. Jaekyung now felt that this place called the Western Twin Lake was no longer so unfamiliar.
He didn't consider the possibility that the turtle had lied. The fear this creature showed was genuine, and his senses had not detected even a hint of falsehood in the turtle's long story.
Moreover, the parts of this one's story that overlapped with what he had heard from the Great Spirit Beast earlier, such as the three great powers, were almost identical.
The only difference was that the Great Spirit Beast had said the Shattered Waters Whale King's skill was the best in the Western Twin Lake, while the turtle suggested that the skill of the Horned Insect Tribe's Insect Mother was likely higher... but that was a matter of opinion.
"If a lowly aquatic spirit beast like myself could be of even a little help to the Lord Dragon, I am simply overjoyed. Th-then, Lord Dragon, I will take my leave."
The turtle departed politely, keeping its webbed feet clasped until the very end. Before turning away, Jaekyung felt the turtle's gaze sneak a peek at his horns, but he pretended not to notice. 'These horns are certainly useful.'
To be precise, the identity of a flood dragon was useful, but it was undoubtedly these two horns that had caused such a misunderstanding. 'But aren't a dragon's horns supposed to look like deer antlers?'
His horns, no matter how one looked at them, were closer to an ox's horns than a deer's. 'Maybe the dragon horns in this world look different.' Both the previous Great Spirit Beast and the turtle just now had willingly misunderstood and treated him kindly, which was nothing but a delight for Jaekyung.
Even if that kindness stemmed from a minor misunderstanding, it was not his concern. After all, he had never once called himself a flood dragon. 'I didn't lie.'
And wasn't that enough? The return of the Full Wing Day. Jaekyung closed his eyes in his new nest.
After going through the familiar process and arriving at the Garden of Remembrance as a spirit, Jaekyung was slightly surprised to see that three senior cultivators had already arrived, unlike before. 'Is something going on?' The senior cultivators naturally noticed Jaekyung's arrival.
They were in a heated discussion but turned their gazes toward Jaekyung.
"What?!"
Woo Do-baek was the first to be surprised, followed by gasps from Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang. They realized they could no longer see through Jaekyung's spirit as clearly as before, and they also knew what that meant.
"You, have you reached the Great Spirit stage? How so quickly?"
Yeo Jang-gyeong asked, as if he couldn't believe it. To which Jaekyung replied humbly.
"I had a fortunate encounter."
More precisely, a fortunate encounter had come to him. A fortunate encounter named Sagye-wan. If it weren't for the demonic power dwelling in that one's two heads, Jaekyung would still be pondering how to ascend to the Great Spirit stage.
"Amazing. Truly amazing. I've never seen a cultivator progress so quickly. Could it be that you are a Heavenly Prodigy?"
Woo Do-baek asked, half in amazement, half in jest. But the answer came not from Jaekyung, but from Choi Ju-tang who was listening.
"A Heavenly Prodigy? You mean those who are said to be born with the favor of heaven and are fated to shake the world? I thought all that was just nonsense spouted by gossips."
"Well, one can't necessarily see it that way. You should know that stories in the cultivation world don't just appear out of thin air."
The conversation about Jaekyung's astonishing progress continued for a long time. Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang, who were still stuck in the early Foundation Establishment stage, suggested that they now call each other 'Dao Friend,' but Jaekyung politely refused.
"I may have been fortunate enough to have a lucky encounter now, but how could I stand on the same level as the seniors who have helped me from the beginning? I will continue to treat you as seniors, so please continue to treat me as your junior."
At Jaekyung's humility, Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang laughed heartily, shaking off the feelings of envy they had briefly felt. After a few rounds of praising each other in a warm atmosphere, Yeo Jang-gyeong, feeling good, looked at Jaekyung and said.
"By the way, Jaekyung, have you heard the news?"
"The news, you say?"
"It seems you haven't. The Grand Sacred Gathering is about to be held!"
Yeo Jang-gyeong's voice was filled with fervor. Woo Do-baek and Choi Ju-tang didn't say anything, but their excitement was palpable.