As Xu Kai subconsciously relaxed, his ambitions melting in the comfort of his mother, her expression swiftly became sad.
She smiled bitterly and caressed his face before giving up. "Little Kai, I have something important to tell you."
Xu Kai looked into her eyes.
"But first, I need to show you something," she said, going down the cliff and into the sea.
Without a minute's delay, Xu Kai followed her. Before he hit the water, a large amount of water covered him, and in the next moment, he transformed into a Skylark Shark.
Even in his beast form, the dark depths of the sea made it difficult for him to see, but the water stirred as a colossus rose from the depths.
Its head alone was three times his size!
"You look cute," his mother said, projecting her voice into his head.
Cute? This was the first time someone called a menacing Skylark cute! It didn't matter what captivating looks the Skylark Sharks were known for; their brutality became their trademark.
Xu Kai veered to the right, hoping to see the end of his mother's flood dragon body, but she was simply too long!
Her serpentine body surrounded him, yet the darkness seemed to conceal a significant portion of her body.
Azure patterns beautified her white oval scales. She had a small, flowing mane, sapphire eyes that looked like a pair of actual jewels, and long whiskers.
In addition, the flood dragon had golden and blue-striped armor on some critical parts of its body.
Xu Kai was astonished just looking at the war beast, which must have fought countless battles against ferocious beasts that ruled over large parts of the sea.
Was this still his mother?
"You've got armor?" He transformed into his human form, pushed water away from his mouth and gasped.
"It's called armament. You'll understand as you grow." He heard his mother's voice in his head.
Xu Kai's temples creased. He began to understand that his mother had dodged some questions. She could have continued to question how he became a Primordial One, but she refrained, despite her fear of him joining their ranks.
She clearly omitted a lot about her origins.
Xu Kai felt a pang in his heart. A strong thought came into his mind, and despite his attempts to push it away, it remained.
'Something is wrong.' He clenched his fists so hard that his body trembled.
"Little Kai, follow me. You need to see something," said Xu Lingyue as she swam away.
Xu Kai stared at her, contemplating his next course of action. His walls of defense that crumbled when he first saw her rose up, stronger and studier than ever.
'I can't question her now.'
Transforming into the Skylark Shark, he followed after her long body. Some time later, Xu Lingyue coiled around a dome-shaped rock with an opening at the top.
She transformed into her human form and beckoned for Xu Kai to come over. Although cautious, Xu Kai swam over and looked into the large hole.
Inside, he saw a little Koi swimming around a tiny plant that had just sprouted its first leaf!
The Koi had golden skin with patches of different colors, most particularly green. It looked harmless but on closer inspection, Xu Kai discovered this was merely a fish. At least to him.
"You wanted to show me a goldfish?" He cocked his head toward his mother.
Xu Lingyue's shoulders trembled, and she laughed at her son's ignorance. Xu Kai was flustered when he saw her laugh.
He looked at the Koi again. It resembles a goldfish with patches. It's longer than a normal goldfish, but this one might be a one-of-a-kind.'
"Little Kai, it's not a gold fish but an Emperor Koi. Its noble lineage is several folds thicker than the Skylark Shark's. If you can absorb the Beast Soul and nurture it, you'll eventually rule the sea around the island." Xu Lingyue approached Xu Kai, holding his cheeks with loving eyes.
"The demons believe there will be no Primordial One, so train now."
Xu Kai shuddered. His fears came true. "No more Primordial One? What about you? You're alive, mother."
As she wept, Xu Lingyue wrapped her arms around him and pressed him against her body. "I'm simply a soul remnant, stored in the Soul Palace to reveal potential beasts to the next Primordial One. You'll meet others and even my past self if you appear in places we have once been. Stay strong, my little boy, mother is always with you."
Her last words seemed faint, like she spoke from kilometers away! When Xu Kai opened his eyes, he found himself inside a large, rectangular hall.
The smooth floor reflected the ceiling and ten white pillars that stood in a straight line in the middle of the hall, each representing an element.
"Back to being an orphan," he said bitterly. Wiping the tears off his face, Xu Kai went for the door. Somehow, he knew he couldn't enter this room until he left this island. This was due to the fact that no other Primordial One had ever set foot on the island.
Outside the chamber, a thought appeared. 'If the ferocious beast I saw was its past self, how powerful would it be after nine years?'
He didn't know why, but a sudden chill swept over him as he thought of the beast's current realm.
Pausing before the soul column, he gazed at the adult Skylark. True to its prefix, the shark was so streamlined and perfectly structured to be gracefully agile. Yet it still didn't forsake its powerful strength.
Xu Kai's current strength is double his initial stage. However, 200 kg of power wasn't as impressive as Shui Long Yan's 300 kg of power back when he was still in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.
But looking back at the round platform, Xu Kai smirked. Once the soul column is up there, his passive strength will shoot up to 400 kg!