Depthless Hunger

Miraculously, their journey to Cloudspire wasn't sunk by a tsunami, attacked by a kraken, or struck down by the gods. Instead they made excellent time, using the final month of travel to train and prepare for their landing. It had only taken three, despite the longer trip around the side of the continent.

At the moment, Kai was doing a hand-stand on the deck, trying to reinforce his body with qi alone. The exercise was a simple one, but Omilaena was piloting them at maximum speed, so the jostling of the boat tested his balance and core stability. It was mostly a way to focus and polish his Physique a little further, which was why Zae Zin Nim sat beside him.

"What about the Jackal Clan?" she asked.

"Big group, filled with cultivators spread across the Western Wilds and Northern Expanse." Kai lowered himself into a push-up as he tried to remember all the details she'd thrown at him. "Uh... they serve as mercenaries, or at least one of their branch clans does. Fighting them is fine, but they shouldn't be killed without cause. Am I forgetting anything?"

"No, that's about all I know."

"All you know?" Kai pivoted around to look at her, upside-down.

"Do you think I memorized every detail of every sect on the continent? I can only teach you common knowledge." Zae Zin Nim folded her arms within her sleeves and shook her head. "The most important part is that you can't go charging in, acting like this is Goralia, or you'll get into trouble. I'm just trying to teach you enough of the culture that you'll be fine if you have to go on your own."

"That's fair, I just hope I can remember it all. But actually..." Kai sprang up to balance on the railing of the ship instead. "What I'm wondering is... what's in the middle of these four big regions? You didn't treat them like a wasteland or a war zone, so what happens where they meet?"

"It's nothing like your Frontier, I'm afraid. The central part is smaller, called the Heavenly Mountains and Lakes."

"Don't you start too!" Zae Zin Nim flushed and looked toward Omilaena at the prow. "It is a neutral region: the qi there is powerful but wild, not suitable for habitation, so there are only a few sects native to there. Cultivators from all corners of Cloudspire go into it for materials at times, and yes, they battle at times. But that is very far away from us, so it will not be relevant."

"Fair." Kai switched to balancing on one arm as he considered his questions. "What about the other borders between the regions? They can't all have convenient wild zones, can they?"

"Ah, no... definitely not. A vast river separates the Eastern Plains from the Southern Rivers, which makes warfare more difficult, but it still happens. The border with the Northern Expanse has actually shifted over time..."

Zae Zin Nim continued to tell him about the conflict between regions, losing herself and speaking about all kinds of sects and other organizations he didn't know. After being out of her element on Deadwaste and Rosemount, she was finally returning home, and she clearly knew the continent's politics well given her role in her sect. He was glad to just listen to her, but had to be careful to remember as much as possible so he didn't cause trouble.

They didn't run out of questions, but he eventually worked his qi as hard as he could for one session. As he flipped back to his feet, Kai was generally happy with his progress. His position in the Body Refinement stage wasn't particularly impressive, yet it showed years of work, and his methods of adding qi to his physical movements couldn't be learned in a month or two. He would seem like a brute cultivator without refined qi techniques, but a cultivator instead of an interloper from Deadwaste.

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Maybe while they were on Cloudspire, he could finally break through to Nascent Foundation - he had been around 90% complete for so long. His main goal was to support Zae Zin Nim, but he had a great new opportunity for personal advancement as well. Once he broke through, maybe he could use his qi for more than just power.

"Hey, what's that?" Omilaena called from the front. Kai's body tensed as he made his way to look, wondering if their easy days were about to end violently.

When he focused his power, he was able to see something just at the limits of his vision. He could make out some sort of large oceanic beast, but the people fighting around it were just a haze of symbols he couldn't properly read. They were definitely fighting the monster, and it was impossible to tell who was winning from so far away.

That wasn't so unusual: the western coast of Cloudspire wasn't in view yet, but they were close enough they occasionally saw birds or other ships at a distance. This felt different. Omilaena wouldn't have called them for no reason, and Zae Zin Nim rushed to the side to examine the battle.

"Oh my!" She took a step back, shaking her head slightly.

"Did things go wrong already?" Kai asked.

"No, no... we actually have a great stroke of fortune for once." Zae Zin Nim turned to him and reached up to touch his shoulder. "Kai, you need to go. You remember what I told you about the Bloodcoral sect?"

"I think I do. That's them?"

"They're fighting a monster known as a Great Cetae. I don't remember the details, but it's a very dangerous hunt they only do at certain times of year. But they seem to be having trouble... if you go and help them, you could earn their favor. And they're just the sort of barbarians you might blend in with. We aren't likely to get another chance like this."

Kai grimaced at the abrupt change, but he was ready to go and his hunger surged within him. "I won't offend them by interfering?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Just don't claim the hunt for your own. If you save their lives, that will paper over any issues."

"Then I'm off." But before he left, he bent down to kiss Zae Zin Nim, lightly at first and then more intensely as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He wished they had longer, but this would have to be enough until they met again.

As he moved up to the front of the ship, Kai kissed Omilaena as well. She didn't let it linger nearly as long, instead pulling back and slapping his butt. "Alright, go get into trouble," she said with a smirk. "Just not too much."

He felt like he should say something more, but despite having been married for a year, Kai wasn't smooth with everything. Still, he knew his wives loved him and he wouldn't make or ruin the relationship with one little moment. Instead of worrying about it, Kai smiled at them one last time as he leapt over the side and dove into the water.

It didn't even feel cold this time, not with the adrenaline pumping through him. Kai kept Sahagin's Soul set at all times while on the ocean, so he sliced through the water toward the battle. The first thing to resolve in his vision was the Great Cetae, which struck him as similar to a whale except for the six wing-like flippers along the side... and the vast maw of teeth.

As he got closer, he saw a person impaled on some of the teeth. Definitely dead, and too ragged to tell whether they had been male or female. There were other bodies near the corpse, swimming through the water or sending out qi attacks from the air, and they all reminded him surprisingly much of Zae Zin Nim. All had dark hair and robes, though these were tied at the waist with blue ropes.

Not long now... Kai used his last few moments to check on the souls of the cultivators, finding an average one.

Name: ???

Total Power: 249

Cultivation: Nascent Foundation 2% (207)

Physique Level: F-6 (38)

Soul Level: 2 (4)

>

The man had reached the Nascent Foundation stage, yet it granted him less base power than the Brightwind sect cultivators Kai had seen. Zae Zin Nim had told him that would be the case, since many sects had arts that didn't let them reach the peak of a given stage. All told, the man had roughly 250 power, which was not negligible, even if it was far beneath Kai now.

There was no more time to analyze them or figure out the monster, because Kai was almost on them. Before he could arrive, the battle took a turn for the worse.

The Great Cetae let out a roar that echoed through the water and attempted to plunge down to escape the qi bolts needling its skin. It got underwater, pulling several desperate cultivators along with it. Others sent out long chains of qi that struck the monster, trying to bind it in place or pull it up. Yet its strength managed to pull against all of them, dragging them almost into the waves.

Then Kai arrived, hitting the monster's side in a bloody streak.

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