Sea Cultivation: Giant Ships and Heavy Artillery Knock on the Door to All Races

Chapter 297 Economic Growth Points, New Trends in the Archipelago

After a prolonged tug-of-war, the two sides finally reached a balance.

In the early stages, the Fish-Dragon Islands provided Misty Rain Island with comprehensive support in terms of manpower, resources, and spirit stones, enabling Misty Rain Island to successfully settle in Golden Sheep Immortal City and establish a firm foothold.

After gaining control of Golden Sheep Immortal City, Misty Rain Island hired the Fish-Dragon Lin family to assist in managing the city for a hundred years, in exchange for the Lin family receiving a share of the city's and its surrounding area's profits according to a set ratio.
As for a hundred years from now, this phase of cooperation will have been completed by then, and further negotiations will need to be conducted based on the specific circumstances at that time.

Even the second phase of investment in Misty Rain Island doesn't necessarily have to wait a hundred years to begin; the second phase of cooperation can be launched at any time when the time is right.
However, this requires Misty Rain Island itself to continuously grow stronger, and it needs newly promoted Golden Core cultivators as its core support. Otherwise, the external assistance from the Lin family will ultimately be limited, and its upper limit will not be high.
Therefore, the extent to which the Lin family can ultimately gain control of Yunshang Secret Island depends to a certain extent on the island itself.

"Happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!"

The City of a Thousand Stars welcomes cultivators from other places to come and join them. The remnants of Misty Rain Island have a clear background and can withstand investigation, which fully meets the requirements. All that is needed now is to go through the procedures and occupy the Golden Sheep Immortal City.

They will definitely face some competitors along the way, and the Lin family will need to step in to help them deal with that. It shouldn't be a big problem.

After the remnants of Misty Rain Island settle in Golden Sheep Immortal City, they will definitely be squeezed and devoured by other Golden Core forces from Cloud Garment Secret Island. At that time, they will also need the help of the Fish and Dragon Islands to help them overcome the difficulties. This is the real challenge, and it will require the Lin family to continue to invest capital.

After Master Wuxia left, Lin Haichao commented on him:

"She's a decisive and efficient woman, a real talent. It's a pity she wasn't born into the Lin family."

After a brief encounter, Lin Haichao had a very good impression of this former second-in-command of Misty Rain Island. It seemed that he had been hiding his talents and had been overshadowed by the island lord's prominence. Only now was he revealing his true colors.

"It's not that you can't be born into my Lin family."

Lin Rongrong suddenly said something completely unexpected.

"Oh?...That's unlikely, not very realistic."

Lin Haichao was taken aback at first, but after thinking about it, he dismissed the unrealistic idea. This man was appointed at a time of collapse and in a time of crisis, how could he possibly let someone eat his family's blood?

While the people of Misty Rain Island were preparing to move into Golden Sheep Immortal City, the Lin family began to exert their influence within the Fish-Dragon Islands:

In previous years, the economy grew rapidly, but in recent years it has become more stable. However, overnight, the Yulong Islands, whose economic vitality had been gradually slowing down, suddenly gained new vitality. Many industries received a large number of orders and began to operate at full capacity.

For example, the shipbuilding industry in the archipelago,
In previous years, the shipbuilding industry was booming. At the beginning of the beast tide, there was a desire to build a massive number of second-tier spirit ships, which could be used both within the archipelago and exported to cultivators in the outer seas at high prices.
In recent years, as the assembly of spirit ships within the archipelago has reached saturation, orders from overseas have gradually decreased, and the vitality of the archipelago's shipbuilding industry has begun to decline, gradually becoming mediocre. Although the scale has been barely maintained, profit margins have continued to decrease, and development has been slow.

But now, they have received a large number of new orders for spirit ships, which will stimulate the activity of countless upstream and downstream industries.

Not only the shipbuilding industry, but also many other war-related industries have been affected to varying degrees. The island's economy is booming, and the island residents who make a living in these industries are full of energy.

The Ichthyosaur Islands, the Yue family
"The winds have shifted! The Lin family is about to make a big move!"

Their Yue family used to be unremarkable, but in recent decades they have closely followed the Lin family's policy changes and made several successful bets. Now, the family has seven Foundation Establishment cultivators and enjoys great prestige.

Therefore, they closely monitor the wind direction within the archipelago. Although the Lin family has not yet released accurate information, they have already caught a glimpse of the wind direction, just as ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring.

"Cloud Garment Secret Island? Isn't that... too risky?"

The Yue family's Foundation Establishment cultivators learned some information from an elder of the Lin family that the Lin family might interfere in the interests of Yunshang Secret Island. This frightened them quite a bit, as Yunshang Secret Island still had to be respected.

"adventure?
Dear elders, times have changed!

The Cloud Garment Island of today is weak and has long been a shadow of its former self, no longer the Cloud Garment Island of its heyday. Similarly, the Fish and Dragon Islands, after decades of diligent development, are also no longer the Fish and Dragon Islands of the past.

The Lin family takes a big bite, and my in-laws must follow suit! This will raise the bar for my in-laws's future!

The younger generation of the Yue family members who had established their foundations were clearly more adventurous.

"Oh? Then tell me, how exactly will our Yue family bite us?"

"Two paths! Separate the family and move to Yunshang Secret Island, or add a second-tier demon-hunting ship to increase the risk level for my in-laws."

"This way of eating? You're not joking, are you? Tell me your thoughts and reasons!" "Although our Yue family has always been close to the Lin family, we already have seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, and in the future, we may even have late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. This is a good thing for us, but it will definitely arouse the Lin family's suspicion and vigilance, which is not conducive to bilateral unity."

The first option is for one branch of the family to naturally split up and develop on Yunshang Secret Island. This way, after cutting off our own territory, we won't stand out so much in the Fish-Dragon Islands. We can streamline our operations and just hold out until the Lin family advances further, perhaps then they will allow my Yue family to produce a Golden Core cultivator.

The downside of this step is that once the family splits up, even if the members who split off still bear the surname Yue, they will no longer be of one mind with us. We must prepare in advance to lose them permanently.

The second path is to proactively increase the risk level of my in-laws' clan, forcing more clansmen into the most dangerous profession of demon hunting. The sea is merciless, and with constant casualties, this can both accelerate the growth and self-purification of my in-laws' clan and also wear down too many clansmen.

These words may sound harsh and unpleasant, but they are the truth. I hope my ancestors and elders won't blame me for being heartless!
"Taking this path could easily lead to shipwreck and loss of life, but it can put the Lin family at ease. If everything goes smoothly, we can reach the Core Formation stage ahead of schedule. At that point, we'll need to confront the Lin family, demonstrate our loyalty, and secure their support for our advancement to the Golden Core stage."

“Excellent! You are very good. With you here, how can my Yue family not prosper? However, dividing the family is not advisable; it is a major taboo! We will take the second path, but instead of waiting until the Core Formation stage to show our loyalty, we will show our loyalty in advance.”

"Isn't it too early? It's safer to develop covertly!"

“Our Yue family is nothing special. There are many families more conspicuous than ours. The Lin family can tolerate the Zhang family and the remnants of Misty Rain Island, so why can’t they tolerate my Yue family, who have been loyal for generations?”

"this…"

“The Lin family is ambitious, but the road ahead is destined to be difficult and fraught with danger. They will face many obstacles on their own. At this time, they need some allies. As long as we seize the opportunity, we can get on board. Although we can't be at the forefront, as long as we don't fall behind, that's fine.”

"Thank you for your teachings, Grandfather!"

"Let's go to Fish Dragon Immortal City to order a ship. Order a high-spec medium-sized demon-hunting ship. Supporting us isn't just talk; it requires real action."

"Yes!"

A second-tier spirit island somewhere in the archipelago,

"Old Li, have you heard? I heard that developing your business on Yunshang Secret Island is a good option right now? Apparently, it's under reconstruction and everything is waiting to be rebuilt. It's a blue ocean market for any industry!"

The number of mortals on Yunshang Secret Island is very large, and the number of cultivators is many times that of the Fish-Dragon Islands, but many of these have been lost during the ten years of the beast tide, and now it is truly a place where everything needs to be rebuilt.

"Cloud Garment Secret Island? We're living a good life in the Fish-Dragon Islands, why would we go to Cloud Garment Secret Island? Is there something wrong with your question?"

"Hehe~ Old Li, you have a stable job, it's easy for you to talk, but what about your younger brother? He'll be an adult soon, right?"
You're not even fifty years old yet, and the business your father passed down to you will be passed on to your son, but what about your brother? Aren't you going to take care of him?"

"Shut up! My family's affairs are none of your business!"

"Heh heh~ You're so stubborn! Treat me to dinner another day~"

After the two parted, Old Li began to carefully consider the question his old friend had raised earlier that day: where his younger brother would go after he came of age.

As the environment of the Fish-Dragon Islands improves, the number of cultivators in his family has also increased. However, his business is currently the only one in the family that is relatively respectable, and it will definitely be passed down to his son in the future.
But what about his younger brother, who is about to come of age?

I promised my father at his bedside that I would take good care of my younger brother, but some of the more respectable and stable jobs in the archipelago have high requirements for cultivators. It's not just about cultivation level, but also about background, knowledge, and overall abilities.

Having only received the most basic education, the younger brother certainly wouldn't be able to get those respectable jobs. He would most likely end up working at the docks, or joining a small monster-hunting group to hunt monsters at sea, doing some lowly jobs that he could foresee his entire life.

"Cloud Garment Island? Everything is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt?"

Originally planning to go home, Lao Li suddenly changed his mind and decided to go to the city center to inquire about the situation. If Yunshang Secret Island really had a good way out, his younger brother, who had received a general education, might really be able to go there.

You have to understand that his younger brother's generation had much better upbringing than his generation. When he was young, no one taught him; he could only rely on his father for guidance, and the rest was up to him to learn through trial and error in society.

But things are different now. The Lin family has established academies in all the second-tier markets within the archipelago. Children of market residents can directly enroll and receive universal education, while children of non-market residents can also audit classes by paying a relatively small amount of spirit stones.
Although the Enlightenment Academy only provides basic, general education, its content is very broad, which can broaden the horizons of those receiving enlightenment.
These people are not considered top talents locally, but if they go to a remote place like Yunshang Secret Island, they can completely outmaneuver the local villagers and find a suitable way out.

Indeed, in the eyes of many residents of the Yulong Islands, Yunshang Secret Island has long been labeled as a poor and remote place.

Unfortunately, due to the continuous decline of Yunshang Secret Island, many people have fled to the Yulong Islands to settle down over the years.
The local residents learned about Yunshang Secret Island from the perspective of these refugee cultivators. They discovered that Yunshang Secret Island, which used to be so powerful, was nothing special. It didn't even have the ability to protect its people during the beast tide. It was just a remote area!

Clearly, it wasn't just Old Li. Overnight, under the deliberate impetus of an unknown force, many families with multiple children in the archipelago were making plans in advance, pondering where their younger siblings/children should go, and inquiring about whether the livelihood on Yunshang Secret Island was reliable.

(End of this chapter)