"So, what how exactly is this going to play out?" Shu He asked as he sat on the sand, the sound of crunching coming from the side of him as Shu Xue had obtained another fish and was happily gorging herself, the Crystal Coral Sect disciples gathered near them were wincing with each sound.
"You don't know?" Ren Hai gave a look of surprise "I thought you came here because of the beast tide".
"It was just on the way" Shu He shrugged "Like I said we only arrived a couple days ago, so we haven't got much information".
"Oh, right, this event is well known to the sects in the region so it's more of an unanimous agreement whenever one happens" Ren Hai explained.
"Does it happen often?"
"Not too often, maybe one a year if we're lucky… the cause of the beast tide is fairly random after all" Ren Hai pondered as he looked out to sea "The reason we're all gathered here is because the Everlasting Ocean Sect put out an announcement, each time a beast tide happens the sect will send some of their elders and core disciples to harvest materials from the gathering of beasts, but they will only target the most powerful ones so the weaker ones slip through and follow the tide".
Shu He's eyebrow rose "And the tide passes by this beach?".
"Exactly!" a smile grew on Ren Hai's face "Many beasts come to the shallows on the beach, there are some inner sect members positioned at the shallows that will drive them on to the beach itself for us here to fight and obtain materials from".
Shu He could see the sect members he mentioned far away with his territory, they were positioned precisely along the edge of the beach like a funnel. "I see… so they deal with the beast tide and grant the weaker sects a chance to gather materials."
'It will strengthen their position and make closer bonds with the weaker sects as well…' he thought, but decided to keep that to himself. "I guess the Endless Ocean Sect is quite well liked here?".
"Definitely! They work with us smaller sects all the time and give us chances to grow! They don't even try to keep us down!" A look of admiration sparkled in Ren Hai's eyes as he recounted some events.
Shu He glanced over at Na Xue who was chatting with Bai Lian and asked, "Does our sect do anything like that?" he hadn't heard of such a thing, but he hadn't been part of the sect for much more than two years at this point.
"Hm? Every so often we will hold an event that others can participate in, but it's not really common… I think the last time was nearly five years ago now?" she replied before shrugging.
'I guess different sects have different ways of handing their regions…' he thought to himself before turning back to Ren Hai "What happens when the beast tide arrives, is it a free for all?".
"No way, that would be too dangerous, you see how everyone has claimed their spot? You can fight and take the materials from whatever enters your territory".
"So that's why you were getting bullied away? So, they could take your spot?" Shu He frowned; in the end this was how this world worked.
"Kind of…" a downcast expression grew on the teens face "They were from the Violet Spine sect; they've already claimed a spot further up but if they took ours they would split their force and take two spots…".
"How greedy" Shu He's frown deepened "Will the other groups not get upset with them? Surely they're not that strong".
"If they were occupying more of the best spots maybe… but this spot is basically just for scraps, only the weakest of sects care about it…" A downcast atmosphere grew over the sect members as their eyes met the ground.
'Weakest, eh…' Shu He's eyes flashed as he scanned the sect disciples, there were 21 here including Ren Hai who was the highest level at Balance Attainment, there were three others at Meridian Awakening but the other 17 were only at Blood Enhancement, there were no Qi Ignition disciples, but that was to be expected since they weren't much stronger than normal humans.
To put it simply, the group was pretty weak.
The thick browed purple robed man from earlier was at Elemental Infusion, with multiple Balance Attainment and Meridian Awakening disciples in their smaller group, their force was clearly at least two tiers higher.
'Should I do something?' a cold look brewed in his eyes as he swept the groups ahead of them before he closed his eyes and gently shook his head. 'I shouldn't interfere, if I do something to earn the ire of others it'll just be taken out on the Crystal Coral Sect when I leave…'. He crossed his arms in thought, while he couldn't do anything directly, he might be able to mess with some others.
A small grin subtly crossed his face before fading.
"I see how it is, then we'll help you" he glanced to his companions, Na Xue returned a glance that said 'We?' while Bai Lian looked slightly disinterested, Shu He laughed lightly "Me and her, at least" he said, patting Shu Xue's head as she finished off a fish bone.
"This little girl?" Ren Hai said with doubt, Shu He wasn't surprised since Shu Xue resembled a girl of around ten years, but he couldn't help but grin "I wouldn't look down on her, she'll wipe the floor with you". Following Shu He, Shu Xue flashed a grin with a ferocious glint in her eyes, though in the end she looked too adorable to be fearsome causing the sect members to laugh.
But then a hint of doubt crossed Ren Hai "But… how will we split the materials?".
"You don't need to worry about that, I'll likely have no interest in lower ranked materials, and if I do I'll pay you for it" Shu He explained.
"That doesn't feel right… won't you easily deal with the beasts, doing most of the work?".
"I don't intend to do everything you know? Just helping when needed… and I guess this will be payment for the help you'll be giving me after… and maybe you can treat us to some of the local delicacies" Shu He said with a smile.
"Delicacies… food?" Ren Hai stared, dumfounded; A cultivator asking for food in return was something he didn't expect. He laughed "If that's what you want, then we'll be glad to show you around! There's plenty of tasty food where we come from!".
"Mm, good" The on to reply was Shu Xue, sending out a thumbs up as a hint of drool fell from the side of her mouth making Shu He sigh. "You never eat enough do you?".
…
A few hours passed after they decided on their organisation for the beast tide, Na Xue and Bai Lian left to the distance as they didn't feel like participating, so it was just Shu He and Shu Xue along with the Crystal Coral Sect disciples left, they disciples had taken a staggered arrow formation with Ren Hai at the front while Shu He and Shu Xue would support from the rear middle, it was simple but did the job.
Sunset was beginning to set in as the blue sky began dimming orange, silence had settled on the beach as the fires from camps had been extinguished and put away to clear the area, every camp was filled with cultivators brandishing their weapons and equipment, you could hear silent clanging of metal and heavy breathing infecting the area.
Shu He was stood near the rear, memories of the Green-Gate beast tide flashed back in his head, back then as they awaited the tide of horrors people were living with stifled fear as they covered their urge to cry out and scream, they needed to fight to survive, the atmosphere was completely different from now.
These people came here by choice, not to survive, but to thrive, they looked to the distance not with fear but with greed and anticipation. A sharp ring sounded out as the Endless Edge left its sheathe, its pure silver blade reflected the setting sun as his eyes glowed gold.
'The world of cultivators… the difference is stark'.
"It's here!" A yell came from the front as the water burst in the distance at multiple points, sea creatures of all forms and shapes began frantically clambering in to the shallows.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
A war cry sounded as the first row made contact, blood flew, and metal rang as the beast tide began.