As he listened to Lonely Buddha's words, Kai said with feigned sadness:
- Yeah... I didn't think my Brother would profit from me... - Shaking his head, Kai replied.
- It won't work. Let's get back to talking about the Fatuma High Arena. - Interrupting Kai's game, Shuo said.
- You're boring. Can't even make fun of you. Hehe. - With a smile, Kai said.
- You said your weird 'hehehe' again. - Said Shuo in response.
- Although I've eradicated that habit in the past two weeks. But that doesn't mean I'll give up my way of speaking completely. After all, it's a part of me. Besides, I'm not the one to worry, I'm not the one who doesn't have any friends here. - Smiling wryly, Kai replied.
- О? How many friends do you have? - Shuo asked calmly.
- Erm... In the Shadow Sect, it's just you. - Kai replied with a slight grin.
- I have a similar situation. But I don't have the silly habit of saying 'hehehe'. It turns out that I'm in a better position. - Shuo said with a stone face.
- At least I'm joking with my emotions. You know Shuo... You're very lucky to have a Brother like me! I'm probably the only one who understands your jokes. - Kai replied with a smile.
- No argument there. And now back to the Fatuma High Arena. - Ignoring Kai's jokes, Shuo returned to the original topic of conversation, -What rank are you at now? - Lone Buddha asked.
Kai acted quite free and casual all the time, and even more so with his friends. Sometimes, it was hard to focus on one topic of conversation with him. His jokes and questions constantly took the dialogue away.
But as it turned out, with Lonely Buddha such an issue did not work. He smoothly and calmly returned to the original discussion. Especially now he wanted to tell Kai some useful information.
- Rank? Hmm... - Kai put his hand to his chest and injected some energy, - It's 333 now... But I had a 347 Rank... - Kai didn't understand.
- The Patriarch Formation is monitoring everything. Our duels probably caused you to rise in the hierarchy. - Shuo replied calmly.
- Patriarch Formation? Is it that general system of arrays, artefacts, and other things that keeps track of everything in the Shadow Sect's territory? - Thinking back, Kai asked.
- Yes. Usually, everyone just calls it the system. But I prefer to voice its real name.'' - Explained Shuo.
'So it's called the Patriarch Formation? Makes sense...' - Instantly, Kai thought.
About a month ago, Elder Ovian had told him about it. But he too had just said the word 'system'. He had also told him that the main contributors to it were the Patriarchs of the Shadow Sect. Everything was falling into place now. It seemed that the name suited her well.
- Let's get down to business. Given what I've seen so far. You should be able to break through between 250 and 200 ranks. After that, your training progress will decide everything. - Shuo said frankly.
Hearing this, Kai didn't argue. During their time together, he had already realised what kind of person Lone Buddha was. Especially in their sparring sessions, Cai was really giving his best, using the Astral Sacrificial Fire, the Eyes of Essence, and his own energy. He also relied on his regeneration, going into very risky attacks.
There was only one ability he hadn't used... But so far, it was quite unstable. Kai wasn't quite sure how to use it properly. He decided that he would only use it at a critical moment.
- Advancing to the Top 100 will be hard... - With a thoughtful face, Kai said.
- You're right. To be honest, you don't have a chance unless you're in the Sphere of Attraction. There are no Cloud Sphere masters in the Top 100.'' - Shuo added.
- Brother Shuo, how long did it take you to go from the Cloud Sphere to the Attraction Sphere? - Kai suddenly asked.
- About four years. But I had my lucky chances. Without them, it might have taken longer. - Honestly answered the Lonely Buddha.
- I see... - Rubbing his chin, Kai said.
At this moment, he was calculating how much time had passed since he had entered the Cloud Sphere.
'After entering the Cloud Sphere, I sat for about two more months in the Tomb of Time, where I finally established myself at this stage. With all the nuances, the road to the Shadow Sect took another month and a half... About a month to the Alchemy Array, two weeks in the Library, two weeks with Shuo...' - Kai worked out rough numbers, 'It's been about half a year already... Fuck...' - Cussed out in his head Kai.
Although the two months in the Time Tomb had only been spent on cultivation, and had solidified his new stage well. But the next three and a half months, he hardly spent any time on it. There was no strong progress in strength.
Even more so, Cai noticed that after absorbing the Torture Kings, the cultivation mechanism had changed slightly. He could still enter Assura Hell and even practice in the domains of the Kings. That said, the Kings themselves were no longer there... He couldn't slowly absorb them and progress quickly like before.
During the two months in the Tomb of Time, Kai had analysed all these changes. Also, having reached the new stage of the Invisible King Torture Technique, a new area had finally opened up in the scroll... It said that he needed real opponents. And after spending two weeks with Shuo, Kai realised that this was the purest truth.
When they sparred, and Kai was constantly giving his best. He could feel that his cultivation was slowly beginning to increase.
Thus the Fatuma Supreme Arena was perfect for Kai! Except it wasn't perfect...
There was another important nuance.... One had to absorb other creatures and develop one's bloodline!
It turned out that without this, it was impossible to advance in the Invisible King Torture Technique. After reading this, Kai was finally convinced that his technique was related to Kessia. And most likely, that ancient Sect or power where Kessia came from was heavily focused on that 'bloodline' as well as 'momentum'.
Kai strongly disliked the concept of destiny. But grasping some patterns, things did seem strange... But every time he thought about it, he remembered Kessia's words....
'Kai, let this be my first piece of advice to you. The universe is chaos. And in the chaos, strange patterns can emerge... that may seem to have some mysterious meaning. But in the end, at its core, everything is just chaos. We too, you might say, are just chaos. So don't think too much of yourself.'
As those words surfaced in his mind, he realised that she was probably right. Considering Kessia's strength and age, she definitely has more worldly wisdom....
'Alright... Fatum's Supreme Arena will help me shut down my need for battles. But killing and consuming other people's blood... I definitely won't be able to do it there...' - Kai thought to himself, 'Fuck it. I think there should definitely be a good option... Maybe there are some hunting grounds with strong beasts?' - Suddenly Kai was thinking.
- Did you go into a trance? - Stone-faced Shuo asked, interrupting Kai's thoughts.
- Very funny. Let's go practice. - Smiling Kai replied and started to get up.
He decided that it was pointless to ask about it now. For starters, it would be a good idea to finish training with Shuo and go to the Fatuma Supreme Arena.
'When I get all this sorted out, then I'll find out about the hunting grounds...' - Thought Kai as he entered the arena.
He realised that he had a lot of things to do for the next month at least. Firstly, he would need to analyse his cultivation progress from the battles in the Fatum Supreme Arena. One would need to figure out if he could progress quickly there and what roughly his rank was.
Kai decided that he would try to climb as high as possible. When he realises that he is not yet a rival to all of his potential opponents... Only then will he deal with the issue of developing his bloodline. In Kai's opinion, this is the most effective strategy.
The plan going forward is simple to the point of banality. Trying his best to break through to the Top 100 Rankings! Although it was on the verge of being impossible, Kai realised that with his trump cards, he could try. Especially if he could improve his bloodline.....
- Did you enter the trance again? - Shuo asked calmly.
- Screw you! Let's fight better! Hehe. - Kai laughed and instantly attacked!