"Behold, Fellow Daoists, the fruit of our labors!" Ocean Song gestured to the little branch sticking out of the ground.
Well, technically there were no fruits yet, but the future looked promising!
"How did you manage to convince Hera to give you a branch of her sacred apple tree? Do you know the stories of what she does to people who even steal an apple?" Medusa asked incredulously.
After Hera left, Ocean Song, of course, excitedly ran around and told everyone what happened.
But seeing it in person, it was still hard for them to believe.
"Well, they never asked politely before." Ocean Song pointed out.
He already posed heroically four times today, so he felt like it would be pushing it to do it again so soon.
"And we won't be turned into apples, harvested, and made into pies?" Daedalus asked.
"That was…oddly specific." Ocean Song noted.
"Yes, yes, it was." Daedalus responded with a completely serious face.
"...holy shit, we dodged a bullet." Ocean Song whispered. "Anyways, Fellow Daoists. We now have a Golden Apple Tree!"
"Branch." Tyson pointed out.
"Branch." Ocean Song nodded. "And technically, our Apples will be Silver. The Queen of Gods didn't want others to have Gold Apples."
Mel snorted at that.
"But nonetheless, we now have our own Silver Apples! Our sect's fame will spread far and wide!"
Everyone politely clapped.
"And let's not forget that we're at war with the Amazon Sect." He continued.
"And it's still the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life." Medusa commented.
Ocean Song felt like it was time to unveil the next important Sect matter. "Now, since we're at war, I will now be opening the Sect Points system for those who make war contributions! Depending on your merits, you will gain Sect Points to spend on…things."
Truthfully, he didn't really have much for them to spend points on.
But he knew they would certainly be important in the future!
"...do you expect us to turn over Amazon warehouses?" Daedalus asked incredulously.
"Fellow Daoist Daedalus, let me ask you a question in return. What happened to the crates of righteously pilfered goods that were brought back?"
Daedalus's eyes lowered slightly, and he did some mental calculations. "Five boxes of the newest smartphone." He muttered. "Just those alone sold for nearly a hundred grand."
Medusa was also silent as he said that.
Mostly because that was substantially more than she made at her old business.
Slowly, it seemed like Medusa and Daedalus got on the same wavelength as Ocean Song as they came to certain realizations.
"The Sect will only take 40% of the profits from…righteously acquired goods." Ocean Song said in a low voice.
And suddenly, both Medusa and Daedalus were much more okay with being at war with a billion-dollar company that held a near monopoly in the country.
Ocean Song knew how to stir the hearts of his companions.
Mostly because they were all very poor.
And as proper cultivators, if you're poor, you go rob someone of their wealth and call it righteous.
Mel didn't know if she should be impressed or worried with how quickly the seemingly more rational members of this little band of misfits were willing to go mug Amazon employees and steal their stuff.
She briefly wondered if her father was taking notes somewhere.
Or, Norns forbid, Odin.
"Now, let us move onto other matters." Ocean Song clapped his hands. "Daoist Daedalus, your priority is to begin construction of the Sect Protecting Divine Array of Four Directions."
"I'm not calling it that."
"That's not a concern; I will still be telling everyone that's the name." Ocean Song replied smoothly. "Daoist Medusa, you also have a job. As our Poison Mistress, I entrust you with the duty to create a powerful aphrodisiac."
"...why?"
"Don't question your sect master."
"I feel uncomfortable about following this order."
"Your protest is noted and ignored. Moving on." Ocean Song knew that she wasn't at the level of cultivation enough to understand how important having a powerful aphrodisiac as a weapon was. "Tyson."
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Ocean Song was pleased with the progress his junior brother was making in his cultivation.
One must cultivate not only their essence but also their heart and mind as well.
"You will begin your lessons with the Great Forge God of Heaven." He had already explained the reward to everyone, and no one had any faults to pick with it. "I expect you to show the profoundness of the sect while away."
"How do I do that?"
Ocean Song shrugged. "Just do your best!" He gave his little brother a thumbs up. "Also, I have this here." He held up a piece of paper. "This is a secret training regime I designed for you and Nessie. I have theorized that you possess a unique talent in Beast Taming, so you will be responsible for training with Nessie."
"Okay, Senior Brother! I like playing with Nessie." Tyson smiled brightly.
"Bawhooo!" Nessie agreed, snatching the paper from Ocean Song's hand with its mouth.
Ocean Song knew when this secret training was complete, Tyson and Nessie would be unstoppable.
Truly the Great Void Divine Beast would be a force to be reckoned with.
Yes, everything was coming together nicely.
"All of you have been cultivating diligently and making good progress! As your Sect Master, I'm very proud of you. However, before you attempt to break into Foundation Establishment, I advise you to wait for my return."
"Wait, you're going somewhere again?" Medusa asked. "How long this time?"
"Yes." Ocean Song nodded. "I have reached a bottleneck in my own cultivation that requires venturing out into the world. It will be a long and arduous journey, possibly filled with lots of danger."
"And what will you really be doing?" Medusa crossed her arms.
"I want to find out why my mom abandoned me." Ocean Song said plainly.
"...oh." Medusa spoke softly.
None of them really had much to argue about.
"Oh right, I forgot to mention, our sect has a name now." Ocean Song blurted out.
"No." Medusa deadpanned.
"I also veto the name." Daedalus added.
"Bawhoooo." Nessie nodded with them.
"I feel attacked right now." Ocean Song pursed his lips. "It's a good name. And you haven't even heard it yet!"
"If it's something stupid, I'm leaving out of embarrassment." Mel spoke up, raising her hand.
"I second that." Medusa agreed.
"Just say it so we can reject it already." Daedalus huffed.
Ocean Song clasped his hands behind his back. "We are officially the Sword Heart Sect."
"....."
"...."
There were several moments of silence as they all processed it.
"...you know, that's significantly less bad than I thought it would be." Mel said dryly.
"Honestly, it's not that bad." Medusa agreed.
"It could be far, far worse." Daedalus chimed in.
Ocean Song pouted.
They just didn't understand the intricate and magnificent naming sense that he possessed as a proper cultivator!
One day they would understand.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song flew across the skies.
He wasn't flying at his fastest speed.
He was contemplative.
The truth was, he hadn't given his father a heads-up before deciding to come visit. Now, one may think that rude or even inappropriate, considering certain ancient laws or certain customs.
But to Ocean Song, he ignored all that.
Mainly because he feared his father would reject his request to come visit.
Therefore, he decided to just not ask!
It was a flawless plan.
Of course, he wasn't going unprepared.
Tyson had prepared a gift for their vaunted stepmother to win her affections.
Daedalus helped a bit because Tyson was still new to crafting. According to Daedalus, Tyson still needs work on more detailed and smaller pieces, but he's very good at bigger things, like weapons.
Other than that, he had more thoughts weighing on him.
Thoughts of his mother were creeping up more and more lately.
A Heart Demon was no small matter.
His cultivation would not progress unless he untied this knot in his heart. A cultivator's heart must be unwavering and inviolable. If there was a needle lodged inside, then that meant that his cultivation would be flawed in the future.
What would he say once he finally found her? Did he even want to truly find her? He had no strong emotional connection, not even remembering her face. But there was still a tiny part of him that wanted some type of answer, even if it was a bad one.
Rarely was Ocean Song this perplexed about something.
Usually, he would just wave his sword around and solve most problems.
He blindly flew out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and found himself lost. He actually didn't know where Atlantis was, not even a vague direction.
He was about to just dive into the sea until he heard an enchanting melody nearby.
There was a small island not far away, mostly rocks, with very little actual life lived on it. But he noticed a few people lying about, singing happily.
Mermaids.
Ocean Song actually hadn't met a mermaid before, despite being a son of the sea.
He slowly flew downwards so they could see his approach and he wouldn't startle them. If anything, their song picked up in both volume and intensity.
Ocean Song found it lovely, and he felt like they were welcoming him!
He touched down on a nearby rock, smiling politely. Three mermaids were there, their damp scales glistening in the sunlight.
Before he could open his mouth and introduce himself, they all stopped singing.
"Jump into the water and drown." One of them opened her mouth.
"No, wait, that's boring. Have him smash his head on the rocks."
"Wait, let's see if he can eat one of the rocks."
They all began to giggle.
Ocean Song was confused. "Pardon?"
As soon as he spoke, they all stiffened.
"...are you not enchanted?" The younger-looking of the trio, a redhead, asked.
The second, the largest of the three, a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, spoke next. "Um…this is awkward."
"Super awkward." The last of them agreed, a mermaid with blonde hair.
Ocean Song then remembered the myths regarding mermaids and how they tended to enchant sailors and have them jump overboard and drown themselves.
"Perhaps this is a bad time to mention my father is Poseidon?" Ocean Song asked.
Realization seemed to dawn on the trio, and to his surprise, they all relaxed.
"Oh, thank the currents, I thought you were a regular surface dweller." The youngest of the three let out a sigh of relief as her tail slapped the rock she was on.
"I was about to make a swim for it."
"Honestly, I was going to try seduction."
The other two stared at the one who said that.
"What? He's pretty cute."
Ocean Song cleared his throat. "Ladies. May I ask for directions to Atlantis?"
The blonde turned her body over so she was lying on her stomach as she propped up her head with her hands. "Wouldn't a son of Poseidon know where Atlantis is?"
"Strange."
"Weird."
"It's my first time visiting." Ocean Song confessed as he reached out and willed some water to swirl up over his hand and manipulated it to prove his bloodline.
"Hmm, well, it's not really a secret." The blonde said, raising her hand up. "It's that way a bit; you can't really miss it if you go deep enough. Though if you can't swim that deep, don't even bother trying."
Ocean Song nodded; he was about to say his thanks and take off, but then he had an idea.
"There wouldn't happen to be any notorious monsters nearby, would there? Perhaps something that causes some problems for my father or Atlantis in general?" He questioned.
"A monster?" The three echoed at the same time.
They all looked thoughtful.
"There are a lot of monsters down below."
"Aren't we considered monsters by surface dwellers?"
"Nah, we have boobs, so we get a pass."
Ocean Song noted that they seemed very aware.
The brown-haired one perked up. "Isn't that big bastard nearby?"
"Ooooh, the scary one." The redhead whispered.
The blonde one covered her mouth. "He likes to eat demigods and other monsters with divine blood. I heard it makes him stronger or bigger. Or is it both?"
Ocean Song perked up. "And where would this…monster be located?"
"Um….I think he sleeps….that way?" The redhead pointed. "It's been awhile, but I think that's right. He sleeps really deep in a big pit. Hard to miss if you go looking."
Without hesitation, Ocean Song dove into the water and shot off.
As a cultivator, it was important to slay monsters that threatened the common folk! And since he was a son of Poseidon, that meant sea life too!
He dove straight down to the Ocean Song.
A crab gave him a little pincer click as a greeting.
Various fish gently swam around him as if he were a natural part of the surroundings.
It was calming and quite peaceful. Ocean Song realized that he really doesn't spend enough time in the sea. It may even help his cultivation if he did it while down here!
He continued onwards, hoping that he had good directions, because his Divine Sense swept out and it was…just normal ocean.
It was beautiful, and he very much enjoyed the sights of the corals and various luminescent lights that appeared every now and then, but he was trying to focus.
He only semi got distracted by a very scary-looking fish with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
He thought that maybe being a son of Poseidon might lower his fear of certain things on an unconscious level.
But nope, it was still nightmare fuel.
He was just thankful that his divine parent wasn't some type of spider god.
That would have been difficult to deal with.
During his idle muse, his Divine Sense did hit something; he spied a large sunken cavern in the distance. Like something had carved out a huge chunk of the sea floor around various undersea mountains.
He approached it happily but was still having trouble finding anything.
Though that quickly turned to concern when he realized he was finding nothing around him. In that, there was very little sea life in this area at all, like everything was gone.
While he couldn't speak, he could project his thoughts outwards, basically accomplishing the same thing.
"Is there a great monster here? This divine son of Poseidon comes to challenge you to a fight!"
There was no movement, then the ground rumbled.
Ocean Song came to a realization.
Those weren't undersea mountains because they started to tremble and move.
Below him, the sand shifted and swelled, moving and scattering, until he saw something particularly concerning.
There was a massive eye staring at him.
The eye itself was perhaps the size of a large building.
And that's when the Tentacles began to emerge from the ground.
Lots of Tentacles.
A great many more tentacles than any one creature should possess.
And Ocean Song realized that, as a Jade Beauty, he was in front of his arch enemy.
[Line Break]
Poseidon enjoyed a peaceful evening under the sea.
Olympus was quiet, things had settled, and no catastrophic apocalypse occurred. He considered it possibly the best end that could have happened when Zeus initially accused him of stealing his symbol.
Oddly, it seemed like the brothers were a bit closer than they were before.
Poseidon leaned on the balcony that connected to his royal bedroom. At the highest point of Atlantis, from the palace that overlooked the magnificent underwater city.
Around the city there was a barrier, grand and imposing. It glowed with a faint luminescent light that provided a subtle glow to the entire city beyond the various smaller sources of light that littered it.
Like a subtle moonlight that held overhead in perpetuity.
It also served the purpose of not only defense and light but also preventing the undersea currents from disrupting the currents inside the city.
It would make things difficult whenever one of the various water deities or higher-tier water creatures causes a commotion and the cascading tides sweep through the city.
Poseidon cared for his city, mostly for his own pride. And it would be bad upon him if his subjects suffered needlessly in small things like that.
It was rare for him to enjoy such a quiet and peaceful evening alone like this without any worries weighing him down.
And he would have continued to do so if he didn't see something utterly massive approaching from far away.
"Father, your son has come to visit, and I bring offerings!" A voice—though not actually a voice—boomed across the whole city.
Poseidon recognized it, but it made him do a double take because he didn't expect this son to come barging in.
He was about to respond in confusion until he noticed a shadow loom overhead.
A tentacle, one big enough to crush a good portion of the city below, slapped across the barrier of the city.
The blood from the severed end leaked downwards due to the heaviness of the monster's unnatural blood.
Fun fact: the barrier doesn't stop liquids from passing through; otherwise, the water inside would become stagnant.
Just as quickly as the first arrived, a second smacked the barrier.
And then the head of an extraordinarily large octopus monster hit the barrier right above him.
Its wide eye frozen in place even in death as it slowly slid down the barrier.
"Hang on, Father, I have more; it's just too big to bring all at once!"
Poseidon let out a very long sigh.
[Line Break]
A/N
Ocean Song finally comes to visit Poseidon in Atlantis.
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