Way of Evolution

The dark lair was almost completely dark, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

If Li Qi had used his original eyes, he definitely wouldn't be able to see anything and would only be able to locate things by sound.

It seems that the merfolk did the same, using both their eyes and their voices, because Li Qi noticed that Lei Fang's hearing was excellent, even better than Li Qi's.

Perhaps this is racial talent?

Of course, now that he has the pupil worms, Li Qi can see these nests clearly.

These nests might be connected to the professions of the merfolk and that 'renter'.

As Li Qi was thinking this, he saw a large group of merfolk swimming towards him.

He counted the number; there were over twenty, and under Lei Fang's guidance, they quickly came to Li Qi's side.

"Sir, this is my home, and these are all my family members. These are my brothers, sisters, and cousins, and these two are my parents!" Lei Fang seemed to want to introduce her family, so she swam around in front of the many merfolk.

To be honest, Li Qi had a hard time distinguishing between male and female merfolk.

They all looked like charming young girls, regardless of gender, with smooth and slender bodies. Because they did not need to breastfeed, they had no secondary sexual characteristics, and their lower bodies were all fish tails, so no primary sexual characteristics could be seen.

Moreover, they are not a muscular race, and they don't need those in the water, so both men and women have the same build, and even their long hair is the same.

It's really... hard to recognize.

Especially when introducing his parents, Li Qi couldn't tell which one was his father and which one was his mother.

Moreover, the merfolk seem to have a very strong reproductive ability... This family only has one parent, yet they have more than twenty children. They are really prolific.

But why are there no elderly people?

Is it because merfolk have long lifespans that they haven't reached the point of 'old age' yet?

It's very likely. Li Qi had read about this in a book. Merfolk have a very long lifespan, around a thousand years. Although that's not considered immortality, it's still much longer than that of Human Race.

It is said that their oil, when refined into lamp oil, can keep candles burning for a thousand years.

Li Qi never used it, but it's highly likely to be true; there really were people who used merfolk to make oil.

"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I was just curious and came to see the merfolk's dwelling. I apologize for any inconvenience caused," Li Qi said immediately, cupping his hands in greeting.

But the merfolk hurriedly shook their heads and waved their hands, saying all at once that they didn't need it. Some were in a panic, and a few even tried to swim back, but were caught by their brothers and sisters.

Lei Fang quickly stepped forward. "Please forgive us, sir. We just didn't expect anyone to come to our home. After all... it's really quite humble. We hope you will forgive us and not blame us."

"Really? Is this considered shabby? In other words... your financial situation isn't actually that good?" Li Qi couldn't tell whether the merman's home was shabby or luxurious, so he asked.

Lei Fang seemed surprised by Li Qi's quick thinking and paused for a moment.

However, she quickly realized what she meant and replied, "It's not very good. We Pearl Cultivator... aren't doing very well. The rent is heavy, and the taxes in East Isle are also quite high."

"Oh... so that's why you went to the outskirts of East Isle to sell pearls? Are all those people like you the same as you?" Li Qi asked.

"Pretty much, they're all the same. East Isle has a good location, lots of people come and go, everyone's there," Lei Fang nodded in reply.

Li Qi nodded thoughtfully, "I see... So, have you finished your work?"

"I'm done, I'm done. Where do you want to go next, sir?" Lei Fang replied immediately.

Seeing this, the other merfolk also wanted to take their leave. They had come to pay their respects to the noble person, but they didn't seem to have as much courage as Lei Fang, so they stammered as if they didn't dare to speak.

Although their race is mermaids, their temperament is no different from that of the old farmers of Baiyue.

Perhaps... their social status is actually that of old farmers among the mermaids? And tenant farmers at that, because they still have to pay rent.

Li Qi watched these people leave without exchanging much words with them, because Li Qi knew that if he spoke, it might bring them more unnecessary burdens.

After Lei Fang's family had all left, Li Qi looked at Lei Fang floating beside him and said, "Let's go. Take me to see the merfolk's territory. There must be more than just your family here, right?"

"... What's so interesting about these places, sir...? East Isle has many shops, and many things from the depths of the East Sea are transported from there and sold in the East Sea. There are many good things there, ah... I'm sorry." Lei Fang realized halfway through her sentence that she shouldn't have made the decision, so she slapped herself and immediately changed her mind. "I'll take you to see the surrounding area now. Shall we start from the pearl fields over here?"

"Don't be so reserved, let's talk as we walk," Li Qi said, shaking his head.

The hierarchy in the East China Sea seems to be very strict.

Is something like Lei Fang textiles considered quite daring?

While sketching out the situation in the East China Sea in his mind, Li Qi and Lei Fang left the nest and headed to a pearl plantation not far away.

He swam around, seemingly casually asking, "By the way, how do you collect rent?"

"Rent? The rent we've been collecting these past few years is 70%, which is a bit heavier than in previous years. It's said that there's been a war, but it doesn't really feel like a war. It's more like the higher-ups found an excuse to raise the rent..." Lei Fang said from the side, and couldn't help but complain as she spoke.

However, she immediately realized she shouldn't have said those things, so she stopped talking in time.

"Seventy percent... regardless of the harvest, seventy percent in all cases?" Li Qi asked again.

"No, there is a fixed amount of land rent to pay first, and then another 70% after the harvest. They say this is to prevent us from being lazy and not planting the land after we rent it," Lei Fang said.

"Such a heavy rent, aren't you going to protest?" Li Qi asked.

"Protest? Hmm... is there any need? After all, the land does belong to his family, and the pearl mussels we grow are all rented from them. If we didn't have pearl mussels cultivated by the Mother Clam, we couldn't do this, so it's actually quite normal, right?" After changing her tune, Lei Fang began to defend the landlord again.

"Are pearl oysters all nurtured by the Mother Clam?" Li Qi asked in astonishment.

"Otherwise what? I heard that my grandfather's generation all cultivated their own oysters, but that's not possible now. The oysters we cultivate are no good; the pearl production rate is low, production is slow, and the quality of the pearls produced is also poor. So everyone uses oysters from Mother Clam now. Although the rent is much higher, overall, the income is still much higher than before," Lei Fang explained.

Li Qi nodded.

Production followed the model of landlords and tenant farmers, and then they monopolized the seeds...

The strange thing is, what exactly is a 'Mother Clam'?

Now it seems that, literally speaking, all these pearl oysters are offspring of the Mother Clam. But is this something the Mother Clam would want to see? You have to know that the environment in which pearl oysters are farmed is completely different from their natural environment. To extract pearls, you have to pry open the pearl oyster, which will directly lead to the death of the pearl oyster.

If not...

Could that Mother Clam be some kind of biological production factory?

This method reminded Li Qi of Human Path.

Adding to this, not long ago, Li Qi saw the people of Reason Way registering visitors, indicating that entering the city required recording one's aura...

Is this an erosion of Human Path?

Not necessarily, let's observe further.

With that in mind, Li Qi began to observe the living area of the merfolk.

As Li Qi observed this lower area, he gradually began to understand this giant mechanism based on Lei Fang's explanation.

It turns out that East Isle is also divided into upper and lower urban areas.

"The upper level is where you are going, sir. The lower level is where our native people live. This is the residence of the merfolk in the lower level," Lei Fang said.

The "upper and lower" in this context refers to the literal meaning of the words. The upper level is the well-known East Isle, which mainly serves as a resting place for tourists, merchants, and people from other parts of the East China Sea.

This was also Li Qi's initial understanding of East Isle's role: to serve as a safe haven and foothold for those in the East China Sea who were not good at swimming, so that they wouldn't have to solve everything at sea. It would also make it easier to manage these people, allowing them to gather and disperse at a few fixed locations, exchange goods and resources, and bring things from the outside world to the East China Sea. This could create many variables in the East China Sea region, preventing it from becoming a stagnant pool.

However, even a massive structure like East Isle needs maintenance.

Even a massive machine must rely on every tiny part to function; it cannot be created out of thin air. Li Qi understood this principle when he comprehended the concept of limits.

The most difficult things in the world must be tackled by starting with the easiest.

Great things in the world must be accomplished by attending to details.

Therefore, the sage never strives to be great, and thus achieves greatness.

The lower level of East Isle is where the maintainers and producers of these tiny parts are located.

Lei Fang continued, "Most of our pearls are sent to the Baking Furnace. Nobles will buy all our pearls, so we only need to focus on planting and don't have to worry about sales. This is better than before."

"A distinguished person? Baking Furnace?" Li Qi noticed the two words.

He did know about the Conch Folk; they were also a race from the East Sea.

"The esteemed person is the one who rented our land. They are also merfolk, but their cultivation is much, much higher. We just don't know their exact rank. Perhaps someone of your stature, sir, can find out..."

Li Qi nodded slightly. No wonder...

When I visited the Lei Fang family before, their trembling and fearful appearance made me think they were afraid of something, but it turned out to be because of the title 'noble person' they had been given.

In other words, I was treated as a 'benefactor' back then... no... looking at how Lei Fang treats me now, she also treats me as a 'benefactor'.

In other words, the term "benefactor" is not limited to any particular race; it is not only merfolk who are considered "benefactors."

At that moment, we heard Lei Fang continue speaking.

"As for the Baking Furnace, it belongs to the Conch Folk. Pearls are sent to the Baking Furnace. The Conch Folk are skilled at crafting Law Treasure, so they have always maintained the Baking Furnace. Pearls are their energy source. The nobles have instructed us to cultivate pearls and then purchase our pearls to sell to the Conch Folk," Lei Fang said.

"It seems that neither the Conch Folk the merfolk engage in any productive activities. So what do you eat?" Li Qi asked curiously.

"There is a shepherd, sir. Didn't you see a shepherd before?" Lei Fang said.

Li Qi recalled that he had indeed seen sea herdsmen raising fish before.

"So that's how it is. Each ethnic group occupies a part of East Isle's territory and social functions? That's a bit like the Baiyue. By the way, did the nobles say why this is the case?" Li Qi said while pondering.

Lei Fang didn't know what Baiyue was, but... judging from the tone of this nobleman, it probably wasn't a good place. But she immediately answered the question, "Well, the noblemen seem to have mentioned it, saying it's called something like... an ecological niche?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi's eyes suddenly widened.

His previous contemplation was immediately awakened by this single word!

Ecological niche!

Yes, that's it!

I see, I see!

So that's how it is!

Li Qi immediately understood why there was such harsh exploitation, such a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and such a hierarchical social structure.

Is this the "Way of Evolution"Way of Evolution of the true dragons?

Completely free competition.

A completely unrestrained law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

Unbridled expansion, arbitrary occupation of ecological niches, and extreme freedom without any constraints or regulations are also the ultimate forms of unfreedom!

Survival of the fittest. Only by finding a suitable place for oneself and surviving in the fierce competition can one be qualified to establish oneself in the East China Sea.

You don't have to be strong, because the food chain allows for the existence of the weak, but you must bear the responsibility of being 'food'.

You may be very strong, but even someone as strong as the Dragon King died without a burial place, and no one helped him avenge himself. His corpse fell like a whale, becoming food for countless weak people, simply because he lost in the 'competition of the strong'.

Unrestricted, deadly competition!

Every step requires giving it your all; it's either death or a struggle to adapt to this arena, whether as food and sustenance or as a apex predator.

Is this the Way of Evolution?

So... is the one standing at the pinnacle of the Way of Evolution the True Dragon?

Xia Li Qi understood.

This explains why all things in the East Sea aim for the True Dragon, and why the True Dragon is so powerful and possesses such terrifying talent.

If Li Qi's conjecture is correct, then... the true dragon is a perfect being, the ultimate product of the Way of Evolution.

It has no weaknesses and adapts to all conditions.

No wonder that 'Dragon Lord' was able to simultaneously adapt to divine positions and Human Path official positions, and even refine the East Sea without suffering any backlash. This is the power of a perfect being at work.

Is the foundation of a perfect being sufficient for him to adapt to the conflicts of various Dao Path?

Li Qi suddenly realized that the Way of Evolution might be of great help to him.

With this adaptability, coupled with the Daoist 'ultimate path', can the problem of internal Dao Path conflicts be completely resolved?

Li Qi took a deep breath.

Just then, the mermaid Lei Fang, who was standing nearby, saw Li Qi's stunned expression and asked, "Sir? Sir? Someone is coming towards us."