"Elder, word has arrived from the Misty Wave Kingdom. Elder Li has been making moves lately."
In a secluded courtyard at the Merchant Association's Branch Headquarters on Jade Lang Mountain, someone reported the intelligence gathered on Lai'er Island to Xi Yuanlin, the association elder in charge there.
"Oh? He entered secluded cultivation five years ago, and immediately upon emerging, he oversaw the purge of our association's influence on the island. Now he has even established Night Watchers to patrol after dark. Is he preparing to replace our association entirely with the Heaven-Piercing Tower and the Night Watchers, taking complete control of the Misty Wave Kingdom?"
This was not good news for the Merchant Association.
"The situation at sea has always been complicated. The association's inherent limitations prevent us from exercising tight control over local affairs.
"But as the struggle between immortals and demons grows increasingly severe, the loose, easygoing rule of the past has become obsolete. The Mystic Continent underwent a sweeping transformation and developed into a mortal imperial dynasty. The North Sea endured the Blood Shark Rebellion and the Talisman Currency crisis, culminating in the rise of the Incense Accumulation Sect as a major local power.
"And now even the Misty Wave Kingdom of the West Sea has come to this... it has always conflicted with our association's principles and positions."
A man standing nearby, who looked like an adviser, said, "Indeed, just as you say, Elder, every side is now pursuing tighter rule, whether consciously or not. This runs counter to our association's philosophy of world governance.
"What worries me now is whether the affairs of our establishment on Horsehead Island will implicate us here. Ghost Slaves, ghost concubines, and the like are commodities too. Business at our various branches and establishments will inevitably suffer to some degree..."