Chapter 1080: No Choice But To Intervene
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Uh, Mr. Rich Boss, the Black Dog sent us an update. According to the two dragons, the merging of the dragon souls will be completed in roughly 230 years.”
Sir System had sent a message to him during Fang Ning’s visit to Morality City.
Fang Ning was not surprised at all when he opened the Heavenly Book in his mind and saw the message.
‘It’s still early. See, don’t we have over two hundred years more? There’s no rush.’ He sent a reply to the message.
“Say, aren’t they afraid that we may go and mess things up for them?”
“Will you go and mess things up?”
“There’s no excuse to do that, so how can I?” Sir System said regretfully.
“Well, that’s how it is. They’re very smart, and they’ve already figured out our baseline,” Fang Ning said with resignation. “In fact, this may be a trap, so if you go there, you might’ve already fallen into their trap.”
“Ah, you’re right. I didn’t even think of that,” Sir System said in sudden realization.
“Whenever something seems strange, there must be a reason for it. As long as we remain composed and don’t panic over it, the strange thing will go away on its own,” Fang Ning said confidently.
“Okay, let’s ignore them then.”
Fang Ning then put this matter to the back of his mind. After finishing his inspection at Morality City, he did not return but went to Lunaette instead. It was where the Whitestone people’s base camp was.
The Dragon Carp was the first to come out and welcome him, followed by the Fire Lizard. One belonged to the water-type Dragon species while the other belonged to the fire-type Dragon species, and yet they were still hanging out together.
The power of its presence indicated that it was already an Ocean-level powerhouse.
Meanwhile, the Fire Lizard’s power had also been restored to Ocean-level.
Fang Ning was very shocked by this but felt that it was normal at the same time. After all, it had the foundation for this, and with the guidance of this Fire Lizard senior, it would make sense for the Dragon Carp to improve so fast.
“Master, at present, the Whitestone people have a total population of 330 billion people. They’re scattered over more than one hundred planets, where they’re currently rushing to build more infrastructural facilities.” Seeing as the Dragon Carp was able to recite the numbers off the top of its head, it had clearly been working very hard.
“More than three hundred billion already?” Fang Ning gawked. Humankind had taken a few million years to reach seven billion people, and they were already going on about how Earth had approached its maximum carrying capacity.
When the Whitestone people had first descended, there had been only two hundred of them. It had been only seventeen to eighteen years since then, and their numbers had already increased to three hundred billion people?
“Yes. It’s because of the insufficient infrastructural facilities. Otherwise, with just a word from you, they can instantly raise their numbers up to three trillion or even thirty trillion people…” continued the Dragon Carp.
“Give me a moment. I’m feeling slightly dizzy.” The fire dragon scratched its head. “Now I see why the Upper Realm is running out of vitality. With all these people absorbing vitality, it can hardly support them for long even with its immensity.”
“Uh, Master, now that the world has just undergone vitality recovery, this should be fine. That is, as long as we’re ahead of everyone else,” the Dragon Carp said with uncertainty while swaying its tail in midair.
“There must be others thinking the same thing as well, so the whole process will repeat itself. I can’t let this happen. I have to gather all the clans and get them to sign a treaty that can limit everyone’s vitality usage.” Fang Ning said urgently.
“Uh, Master, in my humble opinion, we should do this later. After all, we’re just starting to develop our power. We can’t let our hands be tied now.” the Dragon Carp suggested carefully.
When Fang Ning heard this, he thought it made sense too, so he changed his mind immediately. “Alright then. Note this idea down first, and we’ll come back to it later.”
The Fire Lizard gaped when it saw this scene.
It sent a telepathic message secretly: “Brother Carp, has your master always been so unreliable? With the way he changes his mind so easily, he doesn’t really seem like a good leader.”
“Quiet. Master is being modest enough to accept criticisms and opinions even from his subordinates. How can you liken that to being fickle-minded? You should have such thoughts anymore in the future.” the Dragon Carp quickly replied.
“Ah, I keep feeling like there’s a problem with this ship. In my opinion, it’s going to sink sooner or later,” the Fire Lizard sighed. “Other masters who are capable of becoming gods and deities are usually people of great talent and bold vision. They mean what they say unlike a mortal, who keeps changing their minds and is always indecisive and unpredictable.”
“Master is already a god…” the Dragon Carp said in disdain.
“Ugh, fate is so unfair,” the Fire Lizard grumbled.
Then, the Dragon Carp carried on with its status report. “As of now, concerning the overall cultivation progress of the Whitestone people, 0.1 percent of them have achieved Pond-level, so our production of magical energy is no longer an issue. See, that crystal that can store up to ten billion magical energy points is already a third full.”
As it was speaking, the Dragon Carp pointed proudly at a giant purple crystal some distance away. It had been heavily layered with formations.
“Good. Your contributions all these years were significant. Well done.” Fang Ning was very satisfied with the progress when he lifted his gaze and assessed it.
This was the benefit of keeping everyone united in their development aspirations. With a stable environment, the right strategies, as well as resources and investments, they would be able to make astounding advances. It was just like how China had managed to rise above its economically and culturally backward state within ten years. It had been able to transition from an agricultural country to an industrial one. The indicators on their economic growth had increased a few thousand-fold or even tens-of-thousand-fold.
Sir System still had to be stingy over tens of millions of magical energy points before, but after this, it could easily get an allowance of a few hundred billion points on a regular basis.
Fang Ning pondered for a moment. He then asked, “Do you have any data on the other clans?”
The Dragon Carp replied, “Yes. The population of humankind currently has thirty billion people, of which two percent is Pond-level powerhouses. This number may be higher than the Whitestone people, but they have many internal factions, and their collection process is not as smooth. This is because humans are not as obedient as the Whitestone people who would readily pay whatever the amount asked of them. Of course, I won’t take advantage of this and exploit them.”
“Nonetheless, humans have a strong sense of competition. While their population size may be smaller, we must not underestimate their potential.”
“At the moment, the devils are also developing very rapidly. They have expanded their influence to over a thousand planets, which is a lot more than us. I’m afraid their numbers have already exceeded tens of trillions with an abundance of Pond-level creatures among them.” The Dragon Carp became distressed.
“Hmm, I suppose I’ll have to go and check this out personally. The devils are increasing at too fast a rate. They have to be kept under control.” Fang Ning said grimly.
“Aren’t you depriving others of their lawful rights while allowing yourself to do whatever you want?” The Fire Lizard could not help speaking up.
“Hmm?” The fire dragon turned its gaze over to the lizard.
“Oh, I was talking about those devils. We shouldn’t allow them to reproduce at an uncontrollable rate so that they won’t become a bigger threat to us in the future. Last time, the Upper Realm had fallen into chaos as well because of the presence of too many devils,” the Fire Lizard said, quickly remedying the situation.
“Indeed. Initially, I thought they were quite obedient, so I didn’t place many restrictions on them. Now, it seems like their population is growing too fast. Since the treaty for limiting vitality usage can’t be used just yet, a treaty for keeping population has to be signed instead.” Fang Ning was resolute.
“Master, you’re very wise,” the Fire Lizard hurriedly said.
The Dragon Carp rolled its eyes with detest. ‘This guy is indeed an old fox. It’s able to adapt to the situation way faster than me.’
After completing his inspection here, Fang Ning decided to hurry back.
The bigger his fortune was, the more things there were to worry about. How he missed his gaming days…
Soon, Fang Ning returned to the Dragon’s Cave.
“Hey, I thought I’ve released you from your pigsty. Why have you come back so soon?” Sir System asked.
“We have a big problem,” Fang Ning was just starting to speak when he felt that something was off. “You’ve been publicly slandering me these past two days. Why haven’t you been silenced by the System Maxim?”
“Telling the truth won’t be considered slandering. You’re lazier than a pig,” Sir System gloated. “This has been affirmed by the Maxim.”
“Get out. I have something to tell you.” Then, Fang Ning proceeded to recount the situation with the devils. “The Universe is too big. There are probably many clans from the Upper Realm that have descended and are growing their numbers in places we don’t know yet. We must conduct a thorough inspection.”
“How much effort would that take? If I had the energy for that, I might as well use it for cultivation,” Sir System rejected at once.
“No, this can’t go on. A wise man once said that it is by understanding ourselves and our enemies that we can become invincible. If we don’t study these opponents, how can we come out victorious in the coming battles?” Fang Ning tried to sound convincing.
The unknown was the scariest part.
After leaving the devils alone for more than ten years, their numbers had actually exceeded tens of trillions. How outrageous that was!
Despite the vastness of the Upper Realm, the Whitestone Clan was able to find a stable environment to reproduce and increase their population to a few hundred billion within a short period of ten years.
Fang Ning used to think that the universe of this world was extremely vast, but in the face of such vigorous reproductive abilities, he was starting to panic as well.
Therefore, he had no choice but to intervene.
