- So, I didn't like this fish, which one should I catch today? - Kai was talking to himself.
He was standing on the bank of a small but deep river that flowed through underwater caves. At this moment, he was watching the animals inside. There seemed to be many different species within.
- There was a reason why the Tomb of Time cost a lot of money... In addition to the amazing effect of the flow of time, there was also a variety of food... - Kai reasoned aloud, nodding his head approvingly.
It had been over a month since the first fight with the Fury King, but Kai still hadn't been able to absorb him. He had made numerous attempts, but so far without success.
Since that moment though, his control over the Spiritual Sea and Astral Sacrifice Fire had increased by leaps and bounds. It would be more accurate to say that simply understanding these aspects had become much deeper.
With the help of the Fury King's strange domain, Kai saw previously unobvious variations in their use. Now, Kai was learning to use his fire as if with his second hands. Sometimes he even practised alchemy, but not for the purpose of creating pills, but trying to improve his understanding of fire.
Also, Kai's area of perception of the Spiritual Sea had become much wider and more sensitive. Now, going to Asura's Hell, Kai would instantly spread his perception around. But what he did with fire was different....
Kai realised that it was not worth releasing the Astral Sacrifice Fire to its full potential. It was much more effective to limit its range, but make it denser. In this way, he was becoming more sensitive. When the Fury King rushed to attack or threw his blades, Kai was quicker to catch their trajectory and had time to dodge.
Lately, Kai and Fury King's battles had stretched out many times. It was more like a battle of reflexes. Whenever Kai sensed the Fury King's aura, he would instantly bounce back and throw back his blade, or the blades that were left behind after the King's attacks.
Thus, their skirmishes turned into an exchange of ranged attacks. It was only recently that Kai had moved to another level. Now, he could sense the Fury King's aura more clearly and constantly. When he caught it, Kai would rush into a direct attack while dodging the blades that were flying at him.
Kai became very good at navigating the Fury King's domain even without his senses of perception. He only relied on the Spiritual Sea and the Astral Fire of Sacrifice. But still, keeping up with the Fury King was very difficult.
Analysing his fights, Kai realised that he was lacking quite a bit. He needed to hone his skills even more thoroughly. Even so, the progress was obvious.
Also, Kai's energy was constantly becoming greater. Since now, he was paying proper attention to accumulating it.
- Alright, I'll try this one. - Said Kai, and waved his hand.
He finally decided what he was going to have for lunch. After catching a few fish, he walked towards the fire.
.......
When Kai had eaten, he sat in the lotus pose and began to greedily absorb the energy.
At this point, Kai's Energy Vortex looked a little different from a month ago.
It was smaller now, but the revolutions of the energy around the centre were getting faster and faster, and it was more dense.
It was amazing that it had shrunk by almost twenty per cent, but it was also more powerful. The longer Cai cultivated, the more obvious the change became.
"So what should I come to? Do I need to condense it further?" - Kai thought as he watched the process.
In Kai's eyes, everything was far more detailed than the other masters. With the Eyes of Essence, he was noticing the smallest of changes....
Kai didn't know what changes were to take place in his Energy Centre. And how his vortex would change when he moved into the Cloud Sphere. His cultivation techniques didn't mention anything about this.
All techniques were based on practice and their individual methods and concepts. The change in the body at different spheres was more of a theoretical part. And if Kai was interested in it, he could find all the information in a normal library or archive.
But in all the time in Border Beast City, Kai had so many higher-order questions that he had forgotten about the most rudimentary one.
"Damn... How come? I ignored the basic knowledge, and now I'm facing problems..." - Thought to himself Kai.
Kai realised that to develop well, one must understand the whole picture. One should not ignore simple but fundamental things. Sometimes mindlessly chasing ahead was only to one's detriment.
''I think with my extreme development methods, I can find the answer myself. Just need to cultivate further. But then it will be necessary to catch up... But it probably won't be in the Border Beast City anymore..." - Pondered Kai.
If he cultivated diligently, he would still break through to the Cloud Sphere naturally. But beyond that, things might not be so easy.....
Kai decided that he would do everything he could to find out about the Shadow Sect. And then he would catch up with the theory he had missed. After all, a huge sect that specialises in cultivating and nurturing martial artists should have plenty of information like this.
Thinking about it, Kai had no doubt that if he knew where to go, it wouldn't be too difficult to join the Shadow Sect. He decided that even if he didn't stand out from the Shadow Sect's disciples, he could definitely become an ordinary disciple.
Kai had made a promise to Master Mo. And if need be, he was willing to start even from the most mediocre levels. Even if he were to be a mere assistant disciple, he wouldn't be squeamish about such a status.
"I owe it to myself to break through to the Cloud Sphere faster and absorb all the Kings! Then I'll definitely be sure of my success!" - Kai thought and started absorbing energy even harder.
Although he constantly had a pile of questions and plans that needed immediate implementation. But he never forgot about Master Mo. In this cruel world, this old man was like his own grandfather.
When Kai thought back to the first time he met him, he wondered where he would be if it hadn't happened. Perhaps he would have just been killed by wild animals in the forest. All the basic skills and even his amazing Invisible King Torture Technique, he had learnt from Master Mo.
Thinking about the old man's state of health, Kai's heart pinched. Although Kai was a very reserved and stingy person, but that didn't apply to Master Mo.
Kai realised that although his level of Alchemy right now was terrifying... But it was unlikely that his pills were of value to Master Mo. The more Kai progressed in the martial arts, the more he realised how extraordinary a person his old man was.
Now, Kai began to feel his race against time more and more clearly. Old Man Mo's years of life were coming to an end, and Kai wanted to change that.
If he could progress and develop quickly in the Shadow Sect, perhaps he would be able to work something out.
"Alright, we need to keep at it..." - Kai told himself as he watched the energy absorption process.
It had already been more than two months of the six months planned in the Tomb of Time. But so far, Kai had only absorbed two Kings.
It was necessary to speed up!
After sitting in cultivation for another hour or so, Kai suddenly stopped.
"Alright, let's get started on the Fury King! Now let's change tactics again! I have enough perception to realise where he is. I'll throw myself into direct attacks, taking all the damage. We need to start dealing damage to him!" - Kai exclaimed in his head and started using the Invisible Kings Torture Technique.
He decided that he had finally studied the Fury King enough and had learnt how to use his perception better. He just needed to polish it up even more. And doing it in the previous, neat manner would no longer work....
We must go on the attack!