Looking at the rope, Kai quickly grabbed it and started climbing out. Since he didn't have to climb up the rocks, the process was much faster. Just a few moments later he was already at the top.
- Eh, what pleasant air! It's different from the one in the Astral City. - Said Kai breathing in full and looking up at the sky.
He didn't know exactly at what time of day he would go out. But now it was just dawn, and the whole sky was very beautifully lit up. And the rays of the sun were starting to scatter across the wasteland.
It had been a very long time since Kai had been in the outside world. As a creature born under the sky, to only see the ceiling of the cave all the time was a little depressing. And finally seeing all this beauty again, he was overwhelmed with joy.
- My first mission to Border Beast City was very productive. Hahaha! - Kai laughed out loud.
Looking around, he praised his old group for their camouflage. There was no sign of people around at all.
When mining energy stones, they definitely needed to make a break, build a fire, and cook food. A temporary camp was definitely regularly set up here.
Human activity always leaves traces. But here, it seemed to be just an ordinary, lifeless wasteland.
- Looks like the guys have someone who's very good at covering their tracks. Now I'm even more convinced there is an alliance. All right, let's move out. - Kai said excitedly and turned towards the route he had come here with Lord Fabian and the others.
As soon as he determined the direction of his path, he immediately ran. It seemed like he just flew like an arrow! His speed was unbelievable.
During the time he spent in the Astral City, he had indeed strengthened all of his sides a great deal, and even gained new advantages. He was now also a dual tinker, the level of which had yet to be determined.
Moving with incredible speed, Kai used the Shadow Seal, disappearing and reappearing a hundred metres ahead instantly. His energy density was much greater now, and his control over it was incredible. He could use the Shadow Seal incredibly fast, about once every ten seconds.
Because of his control of energy and a better understanding of its principles, he was restoring energy on the fly at a tremendous speed. In Astral Grad, using the Eyes of Essence, he was constantly observing the energy and testing different hypotheses, constantly improving his understanding.
Looking around, Kai felt like he could see everything for a kilometre around him. He could even sense where the ferocious beasts were.
''Spiritual Sea, this is just something! I didn't realise that my senses had intensified to such an extent! I'm not sure if the masters in the Cloud Sphere can accomplish a similar thing!" - Kai was both elated and shocked at the same time. The Spiritual Sea had opened new boundaries for him.
Kai ran lightning fast, bypassing all the beasts at the expense of his instincts. He wasn't doing this because of fear, but because he hadn't seen a worthy opponent yet. Most likely, all of the beasts he had seen so far, he could destroy in seconds. He wasn't happy with that.
A day later, Kai had already run a huge part of the route, using the Shadow Seal constantly. This way of travelling, others would think it was crazy. Even if someone had the same speed, they wouldn't run headlong across the Endless Wasteland. There were so many hidden dangers and beasts here. But at the expense of the Spiritual Sea, Kai wasn't in any danger at all.
As he continued running, Kai suddenly stopped.
- Hehehe. And you're coming up! - Smiling evilly, Kai said.
He sensed that a beast that looked like a three metre tall gorilla lurked in the gorge a hundred metres away from him. And from the feeling of the energy density inside, Kai realised that it seemed to have only recently reached a strength equivalent to the beginning of the Cloud Sphere. A formidable opponent that Kai wanted to fight. He wondered how much stronger he had become.
- Come out, I know you're hiding in there! - Kai shouted with a smile.
Though he was speaking, to a ferocious beast that couldn't clearly understand what he was being told. But the stronger the beast, the stronger its intelligence. This gorilla could definitely realise that it had been discovered and there was no point in hiding.
It quickly jumped out of the gorge and stared at Kai with fierce red eyes.
The large gorilla had red short hair and her hands had very sharp claws. Kai also noticed that its knuckles were covered with what looked like bone plates. It seemed that hitting the ground with her fist would leave a crater underneath.
After looking at Kai for a moment, she lunged at him incredibly fast. For such a huge body, her speed was impressive. Raising her fist, she struck towards him.
"It seems I underestimated the extent of my progress." - Kai said to himself and quickly dodged.
All of the gorilla's punches seemed very slow and obvious to Kai. Time after time he dodged and didn't attack. He wanted to see how much his strength had grown.
In Asura's Hell, he couldn't see the cultivation of the creatures he was fighting. Entering there, all that happened was a ceaseless slaughter that constantly increased the strength of the opponents. Asura's Inferno, was bound to push Kai to the limit every single time. Right now, he wanted to find out what level in the real world, his combat power could be compared to.
Seeing such insolence, the gorilla roared, and its hands began to burn with fire and its eyes glowed. It attacked Kai even more fiercely.
- Do you want to compete with me? - Kai smiled wickedly, and his hands burst into black fire with purple sparks.
When the Astral Sacrifice Fire appeared, the gorilla felt horrified! As soon as it wanted to turn around, the flames on its hands and eyes flared up even more, instantly changing colour!
The black flames seemed to have lightning consumed the ape's own flames and entered straight into its soul.
- Raaaaaaaar! - The gorilla roared incredibly loudly. As soon as it opened its mouth, fire began to burst out of it just like that. It looked like it was burning from the inside out.
The monkey's entire body began to blaze, and it was turning into ash before his eyes. Every moment was taking away a part of her body.
Watching this, Kai was very satisfied.
"My Astral Sacrifice Fire is truly terrifying! Just as I thought, it's not only strong in alchemy... Its combat power is incredible!" - Although Kai was mentally prepared for this outcome, he was still pleasantly dumbfounded.
"After obtaining the Spiritual Sea, I can see much more than before. Not only the body, but also this gorilla's consciousness is being burned away. The Astral Alchemy Emperor said that this fire devours souls, becoming stronger..." - Thinking about this, Kai watched the beast finish burning.
After a few moments, the body was gone. Only a large ball of blood hung in the air, which seemed to have the small silhouette of a gorilla in it.
- What is this?! Is this the life essence of this beast? This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing! - Shocked, Kai shouted out loud.
Kai stood there, and watched in amazement. He had wondered before how the Astral Fire of Sacrifice consumed souls. But this was something he had never expected.
- Truly, we are all limited by our imagination and understanding of the world! - Kai exclaimed.
When Kai said that, he saw that balloon start to burn and the silhouette of the gorilla inside screamed and panicked. But the ball didn't burn, it was as if it was being absorbed into the surrounding flames, causing them to burn stronger. As it absorbed, new purple sparks began to appear in the flames.
- Fascinating! It seems that the absorbed blood transforms into a black body of fire, and the soul shatters into purple sparks! - Said Kai watching the flames finish consuming the gorilla and disappear into thin air.
- Hehehe. Thank you Astral Alchemy Emperor! - After saying that, Kai stood there for a bit longer. Then, he turned around, and ran towards Border Beast City.
After this battle, he realised that if he put his all into it, he could probably kill even a high-level Cloud Sphere master!