Xu Kai made sure no one was following him as he was sprinting towards his abode. For a long time, he has kept this part of the shore a secret from everyone, including his fellow beggars. He was the youngest among them.
'A week and six days already. Ugh! Can't time move a bit slower! If I'm not wrong, this should be year 1015 of the Primordial Fall calendar, so in a month, the sea will be turbulent.'
Tak—! Tak—!
The soles of his feet hit the ground. Even without focus, he stepped and jumped over shrubs in the forest as he made his way towards his treehouse.
Xu Kai recalled that the sea is usually turbulent at this time, and the waves grow to frightening heights. It was a forbidden time to fish because everyone said this was the work of a mighty, ferocious sea beast that ruled over the sea!
From the first day he heard it, Xu Kai refused to believe such absurd claims, but he wouldn't go hunting for the dolphin during that period.
His life still mattered.
As he got closer to the water, he flexed his arms and jumped into the sea, instantly transforming into a Skylark Shark when he was deep enough.
The beast burst through the water, waving his tail left and right at a rapid pace, greatly increasing his speed.
Some moments later, Xu Kai was already kilometers away from the island yet he kept moving, desperate to find his target.
He had never seen a silver-horned dolphin before, but because the scroll's advancement resources appeared to be based on the beast, he discovered that if in their natural habitat, their resources would be close by.
He kept swimming and resting until the sun went down. Filled with indignation, Xu Kai bared his shark teeth and was about to return when his right eye caught sight of a silhouette far away.
It was so far away that he could only see its silhouette, but the long, pointy thing protruding out of its head caused his eyes to narrow.
Xu Kai quickly veered to the right and swam after the beast. The faster he swam, the further the beast seemed. After a short while, Xu Kai realized it had sensed him!
Knowing this, he burst into full speed. There was no chance for a sneaky attack anymore.
He chased the beast as it swam to the surface, closing the gap aggressively. Finally, Xu Kai saw the dark silver skin and glittering horn.
The moment he was about to chomp down on its tail fin, the dolphin burst out of the water and landed back in it, but only a few meters away.
'I've spent three days searching so you won't escape!' Xu Kai kept chasing the painfully smart beast. Suddenly, when he least expected it, it made a U-turn and thrust the horn toward his neck.
Seeing the abrupt attack, Xu Kai knew he couldn't avoid a critical hit, which would mean death. He swiftly transformed into his human form, and the horn grazed his abdomen.
Looking at the beast from above, he realized it wasn't in the intermediate stage. It was barely nine feet long, and the horn was a little shorter.
Before Xu Kai could curse his luck, a bigger silver-horned dolphin appeared. It came to save the smaller one.
Without delay, Xu Kai transformed into his beast soul, and a cerulean gleam flashed through his eyes.
His patterns began to emit a soft ethereal light, indicating that he had detected a resource that could nourish him.
'I had no idea the patterns had this function,' Xu Kai thought.
As the two beasts collided, huge waves rose.
Unbeknownst to Xu Kai, a ship two times the size of the island's regular ships came in his direction.
The ship had a curved top and no sails due to the use of wooden mechanisms produced by alchemists, not potion makers.
There was a triangular deck before the door leading to the lower living parts of the ship, and on it stood a few men garbed in red and black robes.
"What do you think will be Shui Mei Er's reaction when she sees this mythical beast?" A tall, slim man with long black hair, a small goatee, and sharp eyes inquired of his subordinates about the beast in a bag.
"She'll marry you right away! That will be her reaction!"
"Brother Hao is right! Even on the mainland, the women of those large families will pursue this beast!"
"Of course!"
"Shui Mei Er is yours, big brother."
Hearing that praise, the man known as Cheng Yu chuckled. "Good, really good!"
Two guards came out of the door, grabbed the sack, and took it inside.
"It took me six months to make it to the mainland, and after another six months, I can smell Emerald Island. I can't wait to tell them how grand the mainland is." Cheng Yu muttered to himself. He held the bulwark and looked at the calm sea.
Looking at the sea with the starry skies above him, Cheng Yu felt nostalgic about his time on the mainland. He planned to woo Shui Mei with the beast he miraculously found sleeping in his boat.
To Cheng Yu, that beast was a heavenly gift.
"Brother Cheng, what's that?!" An alarmed voice made him rush to the left part of the ship.
His eyes narrowed as he saw a unique Skylark that had patterns that emitted light. The young Skylark fought fiercely against two silver-horned dolphins, causing the water to be restless.
"Brother Cheng, if we can catch this Skylark then it can make us wealthy! Alchemists will surely be interested, and we'll auction it to them for the highest bidder."
Having heard that, Cheng Yu turned his head. "Turn the boat! Call the others and bring my spear."
As the man and the others rushed about, Cheng Yu's eyes gleamed. "I guess the heavens are truly favoring me."