Chapter 368: Plan for the Future

Nevertheless, Joo Joowon was still determined to obtain the Spirit Awakening Hall.

There were two reasons for this.

The first was the Verdant Covenant faction to which Kang Taewoo belonged. The beings they sought to redeem were not limited to those who did not believe in nature. They also included plants and animals driven by their instincts.

However, even if they did their best to collect Spirit Awakening Stones, they still could not gather very many. After all, these natural treasures were nonrenewable resources.

Under these circumstances, various things known as Spirit Awakening Techniques, Spirit Awakening Liquids, and similar products had been developed.

Joo Joowon hoped that, through Kang Taewoo, he would be able to purchase "Fake Spirit Awakening Stones" from Verdant Covenant.

Although these stones had a limited lifespan and usually became useless after a relatively short period, their effects were also inferior to those of genuine Spirit Awakening Stones. Even so, they at least offered him another possible solution.

The second reason was the method he had obtained from the Astral Palace.

The fact that ordinary animals had not immediately turned into zombies was already enough to show that they possessed a certain degree of fortune. This gave Joo Joowon an opportunity to put his abilities to use.

As long as he could alter the fate of these animals, there was no reason ordinary animals could not become transcendent beings within a short period.

This was a unique shortcut to transcendence exclusive to the Fate Path.

Many people in the Astral Palace would intervene in the lives of their younger relatives who were mediocre, lacked other talents, and were unsuited to the Fate Path. They would alter these younger relatives’ destinies to make them more compatible with their own natal stars.

The higher a person’s compatibility with their natal star, the more suitable they were for cultivating the Fate Path.

However, this artificial method inevitably left too many traces of deliberate manipulation. Once these younger relatives embarked on the Fate Path, their progress was destined to stagnate at a certain point. It would be extremely difficult for them to break free from the fate their elders had already shaped for them.

Nevertheless, for many people, becoming a powerful figure had never been a realistic possibility in the first place. Being able to achieve such a result was already quite good.

After all, if an elder deliberately shaped someone’s fate, it was bound to be a favorable path in that elder’s eyes. Perhaps the person would enjoy a smooth and trouble-free life. Perhaps they would live peacefully and happily. Alternatively, they might be blessed with many children and grandchildren and enjoy great wealth and prosperity. What was there to dislike about any of that?

Joo Joowon was not yet capable of changing a person’s fate. However, if he was only dealing with ordinary animals, there might still be a chance.

At that point, he would only need to replace the Spirit Awakening Stones with Fate Stones. The Astral Palace sold this material, and although it was expensive, the price was not high enough to make Joo Joowon give up on the idea.

Changing fate was not solely dependent on one’s cultivation level. It also depended on one’s understanding of destiny. Sometimes, making only a slight adjustment to the fluctuations of a person’s fortune could lead to a dramatically different outcome.

The only flaw in this method was that it required a high-level architect to modify the blueprint, turning the Spirit Awakening Hall into a building capable of operating in conjunction with Fate Stones.

Regardless of which method he chose, either option would practically drain Joo Joowon’s entire savings at this stage. Once the building was completed, he would be left almost completely penniless.

However, Joo Joowon considered it well worth the cost.

He had no intention of allowing outsiders into his territory. This meant that a shortage of manpower was inevitably going to be a long-term problem he would have to face. Therefore, figuring out how to fill this gap was something he absolutely needed to consider.

Rather than regret not having enough manpower when a critical moment arrived, he would be better off emptying his savings and preparing everything in advance.

This was already the most cost-effective method he had managed to find so far.

Although animals that had only recently developed intelligence would retain their past memories, they were actually not much different from blank sheets of paper. It would be easy for him to shape them however he wanted.

Of course, they would certainly have no combat strength at the beginning. It would be equivalent to raising a whole group of young children who ate without contributing anything.

However, their loyalty and other aspects could all be guaranteed. With Byeol, Hwi, and the others taking the lead and teaching them, his territory would basically have everything it needed to take shape.

Joo Joowon did not know whether animal races in other worlds were cunning or not, but he knew that the animals in his own world would certainly be simple-minded when they had only just developed intelligence.

Even Byeol, who ranked among the most intelligent cats, was, strictly speaking, only equivalent to a child of eleven or twelve years old.

Hmm... And not a particularly well-educated child, either. One who knew almost nothing and had a very poor foundation in learning.

Once the current crisis had been resolved, Joo Joowon would definitely have to make a trip into the city and bring back some textbooks to teach Byeol.

At the very least, he would have to make sure Byeol learned the multiplication table. Otherwise, if he asked Byeol to manage the other residents in the future, it might not even be able to calculate how many residents there were in the territory.

However, despite having considered so many things, Joo Joowon had not really placed his hopes on Kang Taewoo.

After all, the NPCs who were genuinely useful would certainly remain within their own factions. They would not be made available for other people to recruit.