“Dragon Lord! I have found them!”
Jaekyung, who had been coiled in the ruins of the Black Flood Dragon Hall, raised his head upon hearing the turtle’s strong voice. The turtle, having crawled over slowly, bowed its head to him and spoke.
“I have found the school of Meat-Scaled Fish you spoke of.”
“Where are they?”
“Not far. They were about a six-day journey from here. Ah… however, it was not easy to restrain some of them, as they kept losing their minds over them.”
Aquatic spirit beasts are foolish, but they are faithful to their instincts. This means they can recognize what is good and what is bad for them. Meat-Scaled Fish have the effect of increasing vital energy, so it was natural for the aquatic spirit beasts to go mad for them.
The Black Shark Gang also knew this, so they always drove away the aquatic spirit beasts in the nearby waters to prevent them from getting close to the Meat-Scaled Fish.
“I understand."
Jaekyung moved immediately. In order to securely establish a base on Black Shark Island and cultivate, Gwak Jeong-shin’s help was essential, and for that, the Meat-Scaled Fish trade had to be successfully established and maintained.
‘Meat-Scaled Fish.’
Jaekyung took the turtle in his mouth and moved toward the school of Meat-Scaled Fish. The turtle had said it was a six-day journey, but as he moved at full speed, he was able to arrive in less than a day.
“Be gone!”
Jaekyung bared his fangs at the aquatic spirit beasts loitering near the school of fish. Even after sensing his approach, those creatures only hesitated, not retreating completely; they were the ones who had truly set their eyes on the Meat-Scaled Fish. Jaekyung considered killing them all for a moment, but in the end, he decided against it.
Just as a population is a resource, these creatures were also resources in their own way. That was all. They were just a bit more difficult to make use of.
“Turtle.”
“Yes! Dragon Lord!”
“Among the ones we used this time, pick a few useful ones. Then, you will personally lead them and guard the school of fish here. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Of course!”
The turtle seemed moved just by being entrusted with an important task once more, but Jaekyung did not just give him work. He believed there was no such thing as unconditional loyalty in the world. Whether it was from humans or spirit beasts.
“It would be good for you to have a name as well. I cannot keep calling you turtle.”
“A name… you say?”
The turtle blinked its eyes, flustered. The creature grew quiet as if lost in thought, then soon raised its head with a face mixed with subtle expectation.
“I think it is a good idea, but I do not know what name would be good.”
Jaekyung immediately saw through the creature’s intentions. It was harder not to know, as its eyes were shining, with no thought of hiding it from the start.
“Hyeon-gu. How does that sound?”
“Hyeon-gu……”
The turtle repeated the name a few times, then revealed a look of delight.
“Thank you, Dragon Lord! It is a truly fine name! From now on, please call me Hyeon-gu.”
What Jaekyung had done was nothing special. All he did was simply give it a name. But the value of a gift is determined not by the giver, but by the receiver.
To Hyeon-gu, receiving a name bestowed by the Dragon Lord he looked up to was more valuable than dozens of human cultivator corpses.
“Leave it to me. I will guard the Meat-Scaled Fish thoroughly so that no riffraff would dare touch them!”
Having received a name, Hyeon-gu was overflowing with more motivation than ever before. He soon gathered the clever aquatic spirit beasts under his command and began to protect the school of Meat-Scaled Fish. * Capturing the Meat-Scaled Fish was not difficult.
All Hyeon-gu had to do was herd them towards the surface with a few other aquatic spirit beasts. Of course, just herding them was not the end of it. Once the fish are herded, one must cast a net, no?
“Cast!”
The role of the fishermen casting the nets was taken by the islanders of Three Frog Island. Jaekyung had hired some of the islanders through Han Cheong-yu to work as fishermen. When they first heard this proposal, they were afraid, but thanks to Han Cheong-yu's persuasion, they decided to accept this short-term employment.
Well, in truth, they had no other choice but to accept. What other choice was there but to obey the Great Spirit Beast who had destroyed the Black Shark Gang? In any case, the Meat-Scaled Fish harvest proceeded smoothly.
With a couple of casts of the net, they were able to catch more than enough to fill the amount Gwak Jeong-shin had requested.
“Hahaha! Excellent!”
After inspecting the goods, Gwak Jeong-shin laughed with satisfaction and paid the price. A whopping 30 medium-grade spirit stones. For a profit made in a single transaction, it was large, but not so large as to make one’s eyes widen.
Still, Jaekyung was satisfied. The Meat-Scaled Fish trade would continue steadily anyway, so he would be able to earn spirit stones consistently. Besides, he had no use for spirit stones right now.
‘The thing I must obtain first and foremost right now is a cultivation technique.’
To begin cultivating in earnest, he had to obtain a proper cultivation technique first. After all, he could not cling to the Heat Gathering Technique forever. The cultivation technique that would be responsible for his future Cultivation naturally had to be a proper one, and to get it, the only way for now was through the Prosperous Treasure Guild.
However…
‘No.’ The Prosperous Treasure Guild, Gwak Jeong-shin, would not do.
He could not obtain a cultivation technique from him, of all things. He had to make up an excuse even when obtaining a basic technique before; if he were to ask for a cultivation technique again this time, he would surely be unable to avoid suspicious glances. Jaekyung absolutely did not want to take such a risk.
‘Damn it. Should I have left the Black Shark Gang Leader alive, or killed him cleanly?’
Jaekyung had interrogated the Black Shark Gang members, wondering if the Gang Leader had any hidden wealth, and in the process, he happened to learn that the technique practiced by the Black Shark Gang Leader, Gong Byeok-un, was a fire attribute technique. The despair and regret he felt upon learning that fact were truly considerable.
‘I will never swallow someone recklessly again.’
The habit of biting and swallowing in one go when an opportunity arose was a habit formed from living as a beast and a spirit beast. This habit was a good one back then, but now… it could not be called bad, but it had become somewhat ambiguous.
‘Actually, it is not something to be this concerned about. The problem of the cultivation technique can be solved naturally when my Transformation Secret Art improves.’
If his Transformation Secret Art were to improve to a level where he could naturally blend in among the humans, he could go searching for cultivation techniques himself.
Even if he was too uneasy to go to the Great Capital, where there might be late-stage Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core cultivators, he could still visit the large and small market squares in other regions.
They said that in such places, sizable auctions were held at regular intervals, so things like cultivation techniques should be obtainable without much difficulty. If he was truly lucky, he might even be able to obtain a high-grade Foundation Establishment technique.
‘Right. Let’s not be hasty.’
He must know that time is precious, but he should not be chased by it. Just as a human cannot live like a mayfly, he, a demon race cultivator, could not live like the human cultivators who obsessed over a few hundred years.
As he organized his thoughts, his mindset changed, and as his mindset changed, the same things looked different. For example, the calm waves of the Western Twin Lake.
‘This is nice.’
A cool breeze brushed against his skin and rustled his hair. Jaekyung habitually brought the gourd to his lips, then put it down again. It was because the unpleasant feeling that had been slowly rearing its head was slightly washed away by the wind that just blew.
‘This is more effective than I thought.’
Cultivation is influenced by the mind, and the mind is influenced by the environment. When he was cultivating in the dark, damp cave, there were no factors that could influence his mind. So, after a little time passed, unpleasantness and anger would surge without exception, but now it was different.
The fine scenery, the cool wind, soothed his anger and calmed his mind. Come to think of it, this current scenery was his dream in his past life. To buy a small, scenic island, gaze at the endlessly stretching horizon, and drink a glass of sweet beverage with a few ice cubes.
He had thought that someday, when he earned a lot of money, he would definitely want to experience it, and now that dream had come true.
Hmm.
Although there was no long sunbed.
‘It would be nice to place something here.’
Jaekyung looked around and began to think about what would be good to place. A chair or a bed seemed nice, and it also seemed fine to build a small bathhouse or a hot spring.
‘I’ll have to think about it slowly.’
That day.
Jaekyung maintained his transformed state until dawn. The spirit wine was one thing, but the refreshing atmosphere of the waterside had played a large part. * The Black Shark Gang had fallen.
Black Shark Island had a new master, and that new master was a Black Flood Dragon. Such rumors spread word-of-mouth among the humans of the Western Twin Lake, but it did not cause any particular ripples.
Those with low cultivation and narrow experience were terrified by the Black Flood Dragon’s reputation, so there were no ripples to speak of, and those with high cultivation and broad experience immediately realized this rumor was nonsense, so they showed no reaction. A Black Flood Dragon?
A flood dragon was not a being that the ignorant and foolish could speak of so carelessly. They were one of the highest demon races, claiming to be descendants of dragons. Though few in number, each one possessed great power, and even the weakest among them were at the Demon King realm.
Would such beings make a nest in a small lake like this, and on a spiritual land that was not even a spirit vein at that? Therefore, the rumor about Black Shark Island could only be a ridiculous joke that did not even qualify as a lie.
Gwak Jeong-shin had naturally expected such a reaction, and so he spread the rumor about the flood dragon on Black Shark Island even more actively. This was to prevent, as much as possible, small fries who did not even know their place to die from snooping around Black Shark Island.
And thanks to this consideration from Gwak Jeong-shin, Jaekyung was able to adapt to his new home without any trouble.
“Jaekyung! The humans are coming!”
Jaekyung, who had been dozing in the ruins at the center of the island, opened his eyes at Cheong-o's call from afar.
‘They’re fast.’
Jaekyung was satisfied with their diligence and rose to his feet.
“We greet the Dragon Lord!”
The humans who had docked their boat at the port bowed their heads toward him. Except for Han Cheong-yu at the lead, they were all pale as sheets, like sick people.
“Mm. You’ve worked hard coming here.”
“N-no, not at all!”
It seemed as if they would faint on the spot if they said one more word.
“Begin.”
“Yes!”
They hurriedly gathered their tools and began to move. A short while later. On the site where a fairly large port once stood, a large stone structure began to be erected.
It looked like a palace, and also like a temple. Jaekyung had only asked them to build a house for him, so that magnificent style must have come from the minds of the Three Frog Island islanders.
‘Not bad.’
Jaekyung did not have any particular vanity, but that did not mean he disliked things that were splendid and grand. He had no need to worry about money, and even less need to be conscious of the eyes of others. He was simply being true to his true heart.
And in his eyes, the structure being built so quickly was quite fine.
‘Excellent.’
The art of construction, accomplished with only a few tools and techniques, without the help of machines, was astonishing even to his layman's eyes.
“Jaekyung.
Is that your new house?"
“Yes.”
“Then are you going to break that one too?”
“Huh?”
Jaekyung, who was about to retort asking what nonsense that was, suddenly recalled the once-cozy cave that had become full of holes due to an unfortunate accident and smacked his lips.
“That won’t happen.”
“Okay.” …
The taste in his mouth was bitter.