After the day of the competition, Xu Kai secluded himself. Even when he and Qing Xian ate at Fatty Tian's shop, people were talking and pointing at him.
Most of them were saying he was possessed by an evil water spirit, which was why he suddenly grew stronger.
So instead of gaining respect, all he received was fear and loathing from people whose perspectives were twisted by the lineage families!
Due to this, he gathered enough for him and Qing Xian to survive in seclusion.
Every morning until night, he would train intensely on the boulder. Like this, fifteen days passed away yet he kept up this regime.
Hu~ Hu~
The heavy breath of a young man fell into the ears of the little girl who sat on the ground, making flowers miraculously sprout from the yellow, sandy soil.
She turned her head and watched Xu Kai. His torso was bare and his streamlined body, forged from extensive training and lifting stone rollers at night, was before her innocent eyes.
His fist tore through the air with increasing momentum, despite the fact that he had been training since the dark hours of the morning.
While Mo Qingxian envied her big brother's strength, Xu Kai went through pain.
His muscles were trembling, his joints were aching, sweat was dripping endlessly, his throat was dry and his heart felt heavy. He was at his limit.
After executing one last 'Raging Kick' he jumped down. His feet sank into the wet ground.
In that moment, a huge wave blew to the shore and it was about to slam down on him but Xu Kai swiftly turned.
Swoosh—! Swoosh—!
Like a pillar, his left leg supported his entire body while his right leg launched out kicks at an astonishing speed.
The huge wave scattered and became a sprinkle of water droplets. Turning, Xu Kai saw Mo Qingxian controlling the water droplets to irrigate her flowers.
A charming smile graced her lovely, innocent face.
Her control was much higher than Shui Mei Er's by several folds! It was a jaw-dropping sight to see a twelve-year-old, a brat who isn't at the right age for training, using her talent with better control than a fifteen-year-old.
'Qing Xian is definitely a mage king. Maybe she belonged to a big family on the mainland.'
Xu Kai smiled.
Picking up the wood he had prepared, Xu Kai went beside the stone and began the project he had had in mind for a while now.
He wanted to build a small house atop the sea because his connection to Spirit Qi was stronger here.
With vines and bamboo sticks, he began to work on the construction. It would be a simple abode that had two doorframes. The space inside would be smaller than the treehouse.
Since it would be his meditation house, there was no need for much space.
Xu Kai was so focused on building the abode that he didn't notice when the sky had grown dark and Mo Qingxian had gone into the treehouse to sleep.
The sound of his wooden hammer hitting the bamboo kept slithering into her ears until she eventually slept.
With the moon high up above the clouds, a small silhouette kept working by the shores of the sea.
After a long while, Xu Kai dragged his exhausted body into the sea to bathe. He plunged into the depths and swam away from the shore.
'Since that day, I haven't seen those Lunar Bat Rays. They look like guardian beasts, though. And their powers are odd. It's like they can easily teleport and yet it would seem they still moved at the same pace.'
While he pondered the mysterious abilities of the Lunar Bat Rays, he arrived at the location where he saw them last time.
There were three tall pillars formed from rocks stacked upon each other. Compared to the rocks, Xu Kai was miniscule.
The pillars were like a stone formation and in the midst of it, Lunar Bat Rays danced about.
These ones were smaller than the last ones. Still, his Skylark avatar wasn't big enough, nor was it strong enough to fight them.
The moon-like patterns on their bodies gleamed softly and their black leathery wings had a soft blue hue.
These creatures were simply mystical.
Xu Kai held back his excitement and waited until the Lunar Bat Rays were about to leave before swimming toward them.
He swung his arms and feet with all his might, pushing himself forward with great momentum that eventually gave him the chance to grab a Lunar Bat Ray's tail before they teleported.
His vision blurred.
In the next moment, Xu Kai found himself in an underwater paradise. Countless sea creatures swam about in harmony. Above them were Lunar Bat Rays of varying sizes and below, a vast white herb field.
With blazing eyes, Xu Kai uprooted two white herbs. Each had five petals, making it a total of ten petals! And one could last an hour!
He wasn't satisfied so he went for a third but a large shadow dimmed his surroundings, causing him to look upward.
It was a monstrously large Lunar Bat Ray. It's tail spikes were taller than three adults stacked on each other!
The wingspan was beyond his imagination, and it looked at him. Xu Kai saw something in those eyes.
Anger and contempt!
Seeing a beast with such complex emotions frightened him greatly. This was another sea overlord!
No wonder he felt he had encroached on dangerous territory previously.
Xu Kai regretted that he didn't pay heed to the warning and let greed control him.
'Maybe I shouldn't have uprooted it.' He looked at the herbs.
Just as the Lunar Bat Ray was about to attack, it vanished, along with the underwater paradise and the peaceful sea creatures.
Xu Kai also found himself close to the water surface. It was dawn!
He attached the herbs to the robe used to bind his skirt and glowing water gathered around him. In the next moment, a mighty Skylark continued the journey to the shores.
Although Xu Kai almost met death, he was excited about his gains. Once he gave Mo Qingxian these herbs, she could make them grow, and that way, there would be no need to go back to the underwater paradise.
Who knows if that overlord was waiting for him?
Upon reaching the shores, he saw a deep trail and traced it to a boat that had been dragged from the sea.
'Qing Xian!' Xu Kai's expression changed.