Black Shark Island had changed. It was unnoticeable from the outside, but those who had set foot here for months could feel the change.
"I think it's gotten hotter."
The workers, gathered together after finishing their tasks, spoke in low tones.
"Yes. It's definitely gotten hotter."
At first, they thought it was just their imagination, but if everyone felt the same way, it couldn't be a delusion.
"I'm sweating."
They were cultivators. Though their realms were insignificant, a cultivator was still a cultivator, not easily tired and barely affected by the natural environment. But now, they were sweating even while sitting still and resting, and it was even getting worse.
"It must mean the Dragon Lord's cultivation has deepened."
They knew the reason for this strange phenomenon. It was because 'Elder Cheong-o', who often perplexed them, had told them. That talkative crow spirit beast had said this heat was caused by the Dragon Lord's cultivation.
They were half in doubt at first, but when they saw that the heat truly lasted only for a certain period each day, they knew it was true. 'Just what realm of cultivation must one reach for something like this to be possible.'
They knew the Dragon Lord had annihilated the Black Shark Gang, and they knew he was strong enough to cover Black Shark Island in ash. But knowing something in your head and experiencing it firsthand are completely different. They didn't know how strong a Foundation Establishment cultivator was, or how dangerous a Great Spirit Beast was.
But now, experiencing it indirectly like this, they could vaguely grasp it. The being they called the Dragon Lord was clearly beyond their comprehension. He was just cultivating, yet the effect was so distinct, and it appeared across the entire island.
What kind of cultivation was the Dragon Lord undertaking? This topic had become a point of discussion among them for a while now.
"The Dragon Lord is a flood dragon. The blood of a dragon flows through him, so it must be something mystical..."
"Isn't he just sleeping? From what I heard..."
Even though they had left the Black Flood Dragon water territory a few times and dipped their toes in the Western Twin Lake cultivation world, they were still frogs in a well. Their cultivation was a matter of course, but their knowledge was also shabby compared to the cultivators of the outside world. A Great Spirit Beast?
A flood dragon?
Cultivation?
It was all a story from another world. They themselves knew it. Their discussion was nothing more than meaningless chatter.
The significance of this discussion wasn't some grand inquiry, but simply to soothe their loneliness by making small talk. Their people back home thought they were trapped on Black Shark Island, suffering from hard labor, but in truth, they were enjoying an abundant life here.
Except for when they were tending to the spirit rice, all their time was free, and their meals were plentiful. And above all, thanks to the dense spiritual energy of Black Shark Island, they could cultivate rapidly. If their people back home knew of these benefits, their eyes would turn red with envy.
"I feel like I'll be able to reach the middle stage of the Qi Refining Stage soon."
"I feel I'm not far off either. The spiritual energy here is truly amazing."
As the conversation turned to cultivation, they secretly glanced at Han Cheong-yu. Han Cheong-yu was the youngest among them, but his cultivation was the highest. They were envious of Han Cheong-yu, who was younger than them but in a higher realm, but at the same time, they acknowledged him.
Because Han Cheong-yu not only had talent, but he also possessed a tenacity that none of them could match. Even when they were exhausted and resting, Han Cheong-yu did not stop cultivating. He even cut down on his sleeping time to cultivate.
Previously, spurred on by such a Han Cheong-yu, they had tried to follow his ways, but they all gave up before long. After that, they acknowledged Han Cheong-yu.
Han Cheong-yu was the youngest among them, but his Dao Heart was firmer than anyone else's. "Cheong-yu, is there anything to be careful of when breaking through to the middle Qi Refining Stage?"
"Anything to be careful of?"
Han Cheong-yu had been quiet all along, not joining the conversation. He didn't enjoy talking, and to be honest, he didn't want to waste time in such a meaningless gathering. He thought it was better to cultivate even a little more in this time.
But that was just his heart's desire; he couldn't actually act as he pleased. He knew the importance of this small society and, if possible, did not want to be ostracized from this group.
"If there's a point of caution, it's that you must not be deluded."
"Deluded?"
"Yes. The moment you break through a realm, you're filled with a confidence that makes you feel like you can do anything, but you mustn't get drunk on that feeling. Rather, you should calmly settle your mind and stabilize the newly broken-through realm. That way, you won't run into trouble."
Han Cheong-yu was not a good speaker. But he put his utmost sincerity into generously sharing his experience, and his effort was returned with the group's gentle gazes.
"I see. Thank you."
"If it weren't for Cheong-yu, there would have been several guys who would've gotten badly hurt after breaking through with such difficulty."
"That's right. Including you."
"What!"
Laughter filled the air for a while. A short time later, The gathering broke up, and they each headed to their own homes. Though 'home' was just a crudely built hut, it was enough to shield them from the sun and lay their bodies down.
Han Cheong-yu's home was one such house. However, he did not go inside but came out and sat down. He had wasted a not-insignificant amount of time today, so he planned to cultivate that much more.
But before he could seriously begin his cultivation, the sound of powerful wingbeats broke his concentration. Han Cheong-yu, who had just closed his eyes, let out a soft sigh and rose to his feet.
"Elder Cheong-o." "Mhm. Hello, Cheong-yu."
A crow spirit beast, almost as large as his house, landed in front of him.
"Cheong-yu, about to cultivate?"
"Ah, yes."
Han Cheong-yu nonchalantly avoided the gaze that was staring blankly at him. It wasn't the first or second time this elder had barged in so unceremoniously, but he just couldn't get used to the imposing pressure of a spirit beast nearing the Great Spirit Beast stage.
"Then go on and cultivate. Don't mind me. I'll be still. I'll be quiet."
"Yes. In that case..."
Han Cheong-yu tried his best to calm his uncomfortable heart and began to cultivate. It was not an easy task to overcome the feeling of being watched and concentrate on cultivation, but since this wasn't the first or second time, he had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
Only the beginning was difficult; once he entered a state of concentration, he could quickly lose track of time and immerse himself in cultivation.
"Hoo."
When his mind became hazy from continued cultivation, Han Cheong-yu let out a turbid breath and opened his eyes. Then he saw Cheong-o, still staring blankly at him.
"Finished?"
"Ah... yes."
"Mhm. You're doing well."
Doing well?
What does he mean by doing well? Is he talking about cultivation? Is there such a thing as doing well or not in cultivation?
His mind in a jumble, Han Cheong-yu gave an awkward smile. This Elder Cheong-o was truly extraordinary. At first, he thought he was a subordinate of the Dragon Lord, but after listening to his ramblings, he realized his identity was not that simple.
He would often babble on about what this person named 'Jaekyung' did, and only later did he find out that 'Jaekyung' was the Dragon Lord's name. He couldn't describe how shocked he was when he first learned that fact. 'This Elder Cheong-o is definitely no ordinary demon race member.'
Casually calling the Dragon Lord by name, freely roaming the island, he was extraordinary in many ways. Then again, how could a demon race member who associated with a flood dragon be ordinary?
"Elder Cheong-o, what do you mean by doing well?"
"Huh? Doing well is doing well. Diligently, sincerely."
After a couple of scolding remarks, as if asking how he couldn't know that, a few questions followed. What he thought about when he cultivated, why he cultivated, and so on. It wasn't the first time he had received these questions.
He had already been asked the same questions several times, so naturally, his answers were no different than before.
"Hmm. I see."
But despite the same questions and answers being repeated several times, the other party nodded as if intrigued. As if it were the first time they had had such a conversation.
"I'm leaving now. Keep up the hard work. Jaekyung praised you."
"The Dragon Lord... praised me?"
"Mhm. He said you're a hard-working fellow, that you'd be useful."
"Oh..."
The corners of Han Cheong-yu's mouth curled up without him realizing. 'The Dragon Lord is keeping an eye on me.' He didn't hear a single word of what followed.
"Hoo-wook."
After chewing and eating another pile of spirit stones, Jaekyung let out a long breath, feeling the surge in his spirit and flesh. Swallowing countless spirit stones like candy, he had finally grasped the way spiritual energy affects molting. For this, he had consumed at least several dozen spirit stones.
And medium-grade spirit stones at that. The cost was great, but it wasn't a loss. In the end, all the spirit stones he swallowed became nourishment for his molting, so consuming spirit stones could be considered another part of his cultivation.
'But molting doesn't help with raising my realm.' This was the part Jaekyung was contemplating. From what he observed, the spiritual energy absorbed into his spirit and flesh certainly promoted molting.
However, molting only helped with the growth of his physical body and was unrelated to a direct increase in his realm. The rise of one's realm depended on the accumulation of demonic power, not on how big or strong one's body was. 'The realm comes first.
Therefore, I can't neglect the accumulation of demonic power.' Now that he understood how spiritual energy stimulated molting, Jaekyung could accelerate the process through the cultivation of his technique if he set his mind to it. It was simple.
He just had to guide the absorbed spiritual energy to permeate his spirit and flesh appropriately, instead of refining it into demonic power. But then he wouldn't be able to accumulate demonic power, which was not what Jaekyung wanted.
Perhaps if he hit a bottleneck later and couldn't increase his demonic power any further, but otherwise, he had to focus on raising his realm. 'Still, it's not bad. It means I can increase my combat power as long as I have spirit stones.'
At this point, Jaekyung couldn't help but doubt his own origins. The more spirit stones he ate, the stronger his body became? This was not an ability an ordinary spirit beast could possess.
Moreover, he was originally just a mere beast, so how did he come to have such an ability? 'Did something change in my bloodline?' Thinking back, from the moment he transformed from an ordinary snake into a spirit beast, his bloodline must have continuously undergone changes, no, evolution.
What characteristics appeared and disappeared in that process, no one, not even Jaekyung himself, knew.
'Interesting.'
Jaekyung took another large bite of a spirit stone. The pile of spirit stones, which had once been as large as a mountain, was now more than half gone. 'I'm short on spirit stones.'
His spirit stone earnings were objectively quite good. Not to mention the spiritual fruits from Mook-soo, the spirit stones earned from the Meat-Scaled Fish business were also substantial. As the school of fish grew, the sales volume had also increased quite a bit.
But despite that, Jaekyung was thirsty for spirit stones. The spirit stones consumed for spirit wine were not a big problem. The real problem was that he had developed a taste for spirit stones.
Crunch!
The number of spirit stones he had swallowed in the past few days alone was worth several dozen low-grade spirit stones. Even the wealthiest of cultivators would find such consumption hard to bear. He knew in his head that he should exercise self-control, but he couldn't help it.
If he could become stronger by eating spirit stones, who would refuse?
"Grk!"
Jaekyung had a premonition that another molting was not far off. If he kept devouring spirit stones like this, he would probably be able to shed his skin within five days.
'They're here.'
Savoring the pleasant feeling of spiritual energy seeping into his spirit and flesh, Jaekyung sensed an energy approaching Black Shark Island and slowly raised his body.
"... Haha. Dao Friend Jaekyung. It has been a long time."
Gwak Jeong-shin's eyes widened unknowingly as he saw Jaekyung, who had come out to greet him. Although more than half of his body was submerged in water, Gwak Jeong-shin could tell at a glance that Jaekyung had grown noticeably larger than the last time he saw him. At a glance, he seemed to have grown by half.
"Dao Friend Gwak. It has been a long time."
Jaekyung, who returned the greeting, read Gwak Jeong-shin's mind and spoke first.
"I have had some achievements in my cultivation recently."
"Ah, I see. Congratulations."
Gwak Jeong-shin didn't understand why the achievements of cultivation manifested as physical growth, but since the person himself said so, he had no choice but to accept it. In a harmonious atmosphere, the conversation went on for a while. From catching up with each other to various major events that had occurred in Western Twin Lake.
Although it was said to be a conversation, it was mostly Gwak Jeong-shin informing and Jaekyung listening. Jaekyung also occasionally sent out his workers to gather information, but the information his workers could access was of the lowest quality rumors, so he listened intently to every word Gwak Jeong-shin said.
"Serene Pool Kingdom has fallen. It seems several Great Spirit Beasts attacked at once. I heard there are almost no survivors."
Serene Pool Kingdom was a small island nation located near the border of the human territories of Western Twin Lake. Its history spanned over two hundred years, but it had fallen at once due to an attack by the demon races.
"Fortunately, it seems the Whale King Palace was not involved."
As he said that, Gwak Jeong-shin watched Jaekyung's expression.
"There are many demon races in Western Twin Lake, and the Whale King Palace cannot control all of them."
It was an obvious statement, but its meaning changed greatly depending on whose mouth it came from. Gwak Jeong-shin knew that Jaekyung was a Guest Elder of the Whale King Palace, so through Jaekyung's words, he could add a degree of credibility to the information he already knew.
"The atmosphere has been somewhat unusual lately. There's the matter of Serene Pool Kingdom this time, and the rampages of the demon races have increased significantly in recent days. The Golden Sun Sect sent an envoy to the Whale King Palace to request control over the demon races in the border areas, but the Whale King Palace's response seems to have been lukewarm."
"Could a war break out?"
When Jaekyung asked seriously, Gwak Jeong-shin sighed and shook his head.
"I don't know. I think probably not, but one never knows. In any case, you must be especially careful for the time being. It is because all sorts of rabble tend to run rampant during such chaotic times."
Gwak Jeong-shin's words were not a warning, but a prophecy. Not even a few days after he left, a group of human cultivators appeared in the north of the Black Flood Dragon water territory. They were the very 'rabble' Gwak Jeong-shin had spoken of.
"Krrrrr."
Jaekyung, who had just finished molting, shook his body irritably and stood up. In his wide-open eyes, a ferocious killing intent surged.