I Don't Agree to the Terms

Beneath the sea's surface, the uprising land squeezed many islands, turning the original islands into unique hills or plateau topographies.

Fortunately, the Island Alliance had already been forewarned. Although the member nations certainly considered opposition, they didn't know whom to oppose.

Oppose the Island Alliance? That would be a joke; how could such a major event be resolved by anyone?

Of course, aside from the emergence of the land named the Red Earth Continent, the development of the Great Sailing Route also rattled the bones of the Royal Family of the member nations, especially when they realized their island's power was fading. Perhaps within their generation, the island's power would completely vanish.

Therefore, to ensure their safety, members of the Royal Family began to widely practice the Spirit Martial Path.

Luckily, ever since the Red Earth Continent and the Great Sailing Route had appeared, the original paranoid aftereffects of the Spirit Martial Path had vanished. However, there were corresponding side effects: everyone could clearly feel that their cultivation speed had decreased, nearly ten times slower than before.

This left many rapidly advancing Spirit Martial Artists somewhat at a loss.

But like it or not, they had to adapt.

Besides, it seemed that randomly around the world, some strange fruits could be born. They tasted awful but consuming one granted a power, naturally at random.

Regrettably, once one ate the fruit and gained a transcendent ability, they would, like the earth folk, be abhorred by the ocean. The difference was only slight, as they wouldn't suffer side effects just by being upon the sea—only when in contact with seawater would their strength drain and abilities nullify.

Thus, opinions varied within the realms of pirates and the Navy.

"So, who wants this Demon Fruit?" Wang Qi calmly presented a twisted fruit, a Demon Fruit that Gu Shanhai had sent him, claiming it was meticulously cultivated. Despite its appearance, it wasn't looking too appealing.

"Cough, this thing has too many side effects; I think I'll stick to the Spirit Martial Path." Yu Ju glanced at it; the thing was definitely dark cuisine, not something he'd dare to eat.

"I don't want it either. I'm always at sea. If I eat it and fall into the water, I might die." Tang Quan also refused, believing that gaining a power at the expense of a newfound weakness was simply not worth it.

Fang Jin didn't speak, but he too shook his head in refusal.

"Alright, it's a pity, then. I'll just store it for now, and we can distribute it later depending on the situation." Wang Qi himself didn't want it either.

This fruit was dubbed by Gu Shanhai as the Human Human Fruit·Mythical Species·Heart Demon Form, a secondarily developed Demon Fruit, enabling one to turn into a Heart Demon. It was said that there was another form above it, known as the Demon Divine Form, which one had to develop themselves.

But since no one was willing to eat it, that was that.

"Speaking of which, why does Teacher always think of making such eerie things?" Yu Ju complained. In his eyes, the Demon Fruit was nothing but a product that feared not the chaos of the world, much like the Spirit Martial Path, and more importantly, this Demon Fruit clearly came with an irreversible side effect.

Wang Qi had his speculations—he suspected that the origin of these Demon Fruits was extracted from the island's power within the Royal Family, or else how could it be such a coincidence that they appeared as the island's power faded, and just so happened to possess the corresponding weaknesses of the Royal Family and earth folk.

"Teacher has his plans." Wang Qi didn't share his speculations; there was much that Yu Ju, Tang Quan, and others didn't know.

If they wanted information, it was simple—they could just go ask Gu Shanhai themselves. There was no ban on contact, others couldn't get close, but as disciples, they surely faced no danger in going; it was just that these people simply chose not to.

"Let's put that aside. Recently we've attempted to cultivate crops on the Red Earth Continent, and the results were not ideal." Yu Ju didn't dwell on it any further and moved on to another issue.

These matters were their daily mainstream, not dwelling on what Gu Shanhai was doing.

With that, Yu Ju passed an inspection report to Wang Qi.

Wang Qi browsed through it, his brows furrowing.

The Red Earth Continent might be vast, but its soil salinity was far too high, mostly saline-alkali land, making it completely unsuitable for food cultivation. It could be called a monstrous waste, well, not that wasteful, as it could still be used for other purposes. With this addition of the Red Earth Continent, land scarcity was no longer a present issue.

"To restore the Red Earth Continent to a cultivable level, the required costs are far too high. We may not be able to bear it." Yu Ju spoke up immediately; this was by no means an easy task.

To transform it into arable land, they would at least have to drain and wash the salt, lowering the soil salinity before they could even plant salt-tolerant plants to enrich the soil and eventually grow crops.

In more detail, they'd have to carry out processes of drainage, irrigation to desalinate, sedimentation for soil improvement, rice cultivation, further soil enrichment, land leveling, and chemical amelioration.

This entire set of procedures, with costs in time, materials, and labor would be a significant expenditure. They were not talking about just restoring an acre or two of land, but a massive agricultural zone.

"The cost is high, but we must do it. Only if we control the food, can the Island Alliance become more stable," Wang Qi stated calmly.

This expenditure was indeed substantial. But if they chose not to undertake it, wouldn't that be akin to surrendering their lifeline?