Chapter 20: Plans for the Silver Horne
With crossed arms, a 155.51 cm tall, fourteen year-old youth, five centimeters shorter than his shortest peer, stood facing a soul column.
While he stood, his mind controlled the scroll. Various pieces of information kept appearing and disappearing until a painting of a large, 11-foot-long dolphin appeared.
It was well-detailed and included information about its body parts, particularly the horn. Evidently, one could forge it into a curved silver sword capable of destroying those made from metal ores.
The intermediate-stage Marrow Unleashing Realm beast had a streamlined shape, double fins on both sides, dark silver skin, and a bright silver horn.
Right next to it, someone wrote the horn's length.
Staring at the twenty-inch-long horn, Xu Kai's determination almost wavered. He knew that all a dolphin needed was one clean hit, and he was dead.
The skin of a young Skylark couldn't deflect it.
'Is there a weakness?' The moment Xu Kai inquired, a name appeared on the scroll.
*Fears: Adult Skylark Shark, Scarlet Asura Whale...
"Scarlet Asura Whale! I haven't met such a beast before, but I hope to never do. The beast bears the name of a ruthless killer. Xu Kai felt apprehensive about the Scarlet Asura Whale.
"The addition of "adult" means the dolphin doesn't fear the young ones." He said it with a downcast expression.
Turning, he walked toward the door, his demeanor growing stronger and stronger. Even though the battle ahead looked tough, he had to embrace it or die poor, unknown, and cowardly.
As his soul-body exited the palace, his eyes opened. The sea appeared before him.
The wind played with his short hair.
'I've completely absorbed the jade mushroom's residue. My cultivation speed will decrease greatly. I must first advance my beast soul. This way, only a select few can pose a threat to me in the sea.'
Eyes burning with determination, he entered the sea, scouting for his target. Several fish fled when they saw a Skylark in their territory. They had never seen a predator this big and luckily, this Skylark didn't look interested in small fish.
In this manner, Xu Kai dedicated two days of his life. At nightfall, he would return to his treehouse, cultivate until the next morning, and then enter the sea. He made sure to avoid dangerous zones.
On the third day, he rushed to Emerald Mountain Peak after missing two whole days of training. When he reached the top of the mountain, he saw Cheng Yi doing a weight lifting competition with Jin Tao.
Jin Tao lifted an 80-kg stone, veins protruding from his arms like a bunch of snakes. His arms resembled those of an adult, despite being only 15 years old.
Cheng Yi snickered, then walked to the 200-kg section and lifted one stone above his head. He remained firm, as if he weren't lifting a stone weighing 200 kg!
"Wow! Brother Yi is really strong!" Others gasped, filling him with pride. Suddenly, his eyes met Xu Kai's.
Right at that moment, Lan bellowed. "Xu Kai, where have you been?!"
His loud voice brought everyone's attention to Xu Kai.
"This filthy beggar is here again!"
"I thought he finally knew he didn't belong here."
"I've never seen anyone as shameless as this garbage. Didn't his parents tell him that those who didn't awaken their talent would have no future in martial arts?"
"Parents?" Cheng Yi cocked his head. "They died when they discovered the filth they produced."
Though the youths tried not to laugh, it was futile. Xu Kai looked at each and every one of their faces until he saw Shui Mei Er. Her brother wasn't present.
Unlike the others, she didn't laugh, but there was a certain glint in her eyes that seemed more dangerous than mockery.
"Insult him one more time and I'll intensify your training!" Lan bellowed, glaring at the youths.
Cheng Yi raised his hand.
"What?" Lan asked sharply.
"But we aren't insulting him; we're just stating what he is."
Others nodded to Cheng Yi's words.
"Is that so?" Lan scoffed. "Then you're a spoilt brat who can only stand here because of your family. I'm stating what you are so... does it hurt?" Lan spat.
Cheng Yi's expression turned ugly, and he clenched his teeth.
"Xu Kai, join the straight line." Lan gave the order, and Xu Kai stood beside Shui Mei Er, who was at the left end.
She merely glanced at him for a split second and looked away.
'Over forty percent of those who awakened have dropped out, and even more will do so after the training intensifies.' Xu Kai observed that only 14 individuals remained out of the 40 who had awakened.
Out of those 40, 25 participated in the competition for the jade tags, and now only 14 remain!
This wasn't shocking to Xu Kai, because the same thing happened in his previous life.
"Start practicing; I want to see the "Raging Tide Technique" basic stances!" Lan's booming voice fell on their ears.
He continued to strike the legs and hands of those who were performing the task incorrectly. Cheng Yi and Shui Mei Er were the only perfect ones.
All of them observed Lan repeatedly striking Xu Kai with the stick, yet he continued to perform the stances incorrectly. But Lan saw a slight improvement.
Unbeknownst to them, Xu Kai has completely mastered the stances and even the "Raging Tide Technique First Form."
"You should know when to give up." After hours of training, Shui Mei Er spoke to Xu Kai curtly.
He turned to her. "Humans should have given up and let demons devour us," he retorted. "After all, they're much stronger than us. I guess we forgot when to give up."
Xu Kai responded, turned, and descended the mountain while others chatted. Looking at his back, the image of the figure who jumped out of the window overlapped in Shui Mei Er's eyes.
The blue tattered skirt, on which she was more focused, was the same as the one the thief wore.
'It's him!' Her eyes widened.