Depthless Hunger-Chapters 433-436

Chapter 433: Attacking From All Sides

When they left the sect headquarters, Kai still wasn't entirely sure what the plan was. He knew they'd come out with quite a few new benefits: new command medallions that would let them back in easily, various sect robes, and a communication seed to plant for the dryads.

And hypothetically an agreement with the dryad matriarch.

Whatever the plan was, Nymidria felt that she needed to play it by ear. In theory, they would work together on both sides to figure out the Verdant River sect's defenses and then find a path through, either by force or by subterfuge. All of that sounded easier said than done, yet the others seemed pleased.

"So do we trust her?" Kai eventually asked as they flew back. "I can't read your reactions here."

"I think she told us the truth, for whatever that's worth." Omilaena shrugged. "Honestly, in most cases I trust people who have clear aligned goals over people who have fond feelings for me. You can trust motives more than vibes."

"She understands the reality of Cloudspire," Zae Zin Nim said. "Sometimes peasants will die in conflicts, accidentally or otherwise, but there is nothing that can be done if you are facing greater powers. Nymidria is powerful, but cannot possibly face the combined forces of the Masterful Crown clan."

"We can't either, at least until we put some more work in. If we develop strong counters to their presence abilities, I bet we could slaughter a lot of them, and as we get stronger, the gap between us and their armies goes from an advantage to insurmountable."

"That's jumping forward a lot," Kai said. "I don't like what they've done with the work camps, but do we gain anything by fighting them? Seems like they would just be replaced by someone else, even if we overthrew them."

"You're learning." Zae Zin Nim regarded him thoughtfully, then nodded. "I still think our highest goal should be to steal their immortality methods, and the Loam if possible. If we do that, we destroy the reason they're going to such lengths."

"There's still something a bit odd about that, in my opinion," Omilaena said, and they discussed the details of the work camps and Loam from there.

The wall of rain marked their return to the dryad community, but now that they had been acknowledged there was no need for any subterfuge. Instead they could enter via the dryad entrance, which proved to be a wall of roots that rumbled into a new position to form a gate for them. When they entered, there were immediately all kinds of dryads around them and Kai realized that for the community, the import of the meeting was very different.

"Do not fear, your matriarch is safe." Zae Zin Nim jumped from the flying sword to address the crowd. "She is still entangled with the Verdant River sect, but she has given us a 'communication seed' for you. Where would be the best place to plant it?"

After some furious argument, apparently relating to internal politics, the dryads took them to a large clearing near where Lifrinyne had planted her tree. Zae Zin Nim handed over the silvery seed, which began to grow the instant it was placed in the soil. It soon transformed into a silvery flower that lay flat and emanated chakra in a column.

That chakra coalesced into the illusory image of Nymidria, in full form as both humanoid and tree. Her image looked around and smiled, then the dryads around them immediately broke into sighs, thankfulness, and a babble of questions. When Nymidria raised a hand, they all quieted.

"Thanks to these humans, I can speak to you again." She shook her head and boughs slowly. "I still must engage with the Verdant River sect, but from now on, I will extend my branches to shield you. If there is any further trouble, you need only contact me here. This connection is completely secure, and if I am occupied, the flower will simply be closed."

"Lady Nymidria!" Lifrinyne's humanoid body pushed through the crowd and bowed deeply. "There's so much I need to tell you..."

"Yes, I have heard what happened. But I would hear the story in your own words, and in particular the details of what power they are trying to force from our community..."

Lifrinyne began to explain her time in the work camp, and the male dryad captive came to tell his story, so Kai retreated with the others. Seeing the community's happiness, Kai felt like he'd done something good, but would it matter in the end? You didn't build a better world just by chasing people's happiness. The problem was that this situation was so entangled, he wasn't sure about his level of involvement.

It seemed that, amid the questions and reports, Nymidria ordered the dryads to give Kai and his allies the highest degree of hospitality. They were granted rooms in one of the dry corners of the community that had elaborate human beds with a natural canopy. Aside from some loose leaves on the floor, the chambers were clean and pleasant, so Kai could imagine spending more time there. They even had a private grove with qi emanating from it, some sort of arboreal equivalent of an Immortal's Cave.

Though Zae Zin Nim wanted to try cultivating there immediately, they didn't have much time to settle into their rooms before they were called back. Most of the dryads had dispersed now, leaving only Nymidria, some guards, and the male dryad.

"Lady Nymidria thinks the enemy has a weakness," he said, "but I'm not sure I understand all the details. It didn't seem important to me when I was being used in the work camps."

"This is more intuition than fact," Nymidria told them, "but I think the Verdant River sect seems oddly desperate. They're trying to project strength, but in fact they're covering for weakness. This isn't so uncommon... many sects with a dying patriarch or some other fatal flaw will show great belligerence to scare off their enemies."

"We've seen that before," Kai said, thinking of the Manticore tribe. "But what does that meant for the Verdant River sect? Their position should be strong, and they're in favor with the Masterful Crown clan."

"So it might seem in public, but what if it's the reverse? The clan might have sent their young master as a punishment, or to fix something they consider broken. I will need to investigate this further, but it could well be the leverage we need to get inside the sealed area."

"Where does that leave us?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"Until we take action, we want to continue peeling away their defenses and scattering their forces." Nymidria's gaze shifted to Kai, and even though her illusory form was smaller, her eyes were still piercing. "My dryads told me about your false monster attacks to disrupt the enemy. This is our strongest initial weapon - more aggressive than I might have chosen, but I can tell you from the inside that you've thrown them into disarray. I think you should continue."

Kai nodded. "That's not a problem, but if I engage them directly too many times, they might start to suspect I'm not just a monster."

"Don't worry, I can gather information about their forces from within and tell you their weaknesses. They should be beside themselves... but I think we can do even more. One of you is a local cultivator, yes?"

"Indeed." Zae Zin Nim gave a polite bow to the illusion. "How can I help? If I fight them directly, I will be identified."

"Not necessarily. I can give you the characteristic technique of a smaller sect, one that the Masterful Crown clan nearly exterminated in the past in order to consolidate their power. You seem highly competent with qi techniques, so I am sure you can manage it. If you make an appearance using that technique, it will make entirely different factions begin to sweat."

"Very well." Zae Zin Nim nodded slightly, but Kai could tell from the intensity of her gaze that she was eager. She'd already been working on resistances, so hopefully getting access to more techniques would be what she needed.

"All of this will combine to make Yul Wei Ren increasingly desperate, but we need a finisher." Nymidria looked away from them to Omilaena and actually smiled, different from her motherly look with the dryads or her polite expressions earlier. "You're the one that interests me most... you were able to pierce my shroud, and you have a very interesting spiritual component to your soul."

"I've experimented with a few things," Omilaena said casually, but Kai could tell she was pleased.

"The two of us should collaborate. I think we may be able to develop a spiritual disease, not so different from a poison, that we can use to infect the trees." Nymidria's smile became more predatory. "The barriers block anyone from entering the secure area, but they don't stop the smallest currents of nature. If the trees near the Loam of the Gods begin to die, they will treat it as an emergency, take down barriers to bring in experts. At that point, we'll have scattered their forces, leaving them vulnerable to a strike."

"Sounds like a workable, and more importantly interesting, plan."

"Of course, I don't know exactly how leadership will respond, so we'll need to be flexible. For now we prepare, strike at their flanks, and lie in wait. At some point they'll muster their resources to react to these problems, and that's when they'll open up a true weakness."

It sounded like a valid plan and there was nothing more to say then. After they left Nymidria, the group retired to their new chambers, but there wasn't much to discuss. Zae Zin Nim seemed to think that the dryads had justified their alliance, while Omilaena was clearly eager to work with another specialist on a technique that would make her more lethal.

For his part, Kai was back to playing the monster role. He headed out of the community, restraining his hunger until he was out of sight, mostly obscured by the pouring rain. It went from pattering against his skin to breaking against it as dark armor closed over his body, and he found himself automatically shifting down to all fours.

He still wished that there were more monsters on Cloudspire, but he was fine with hunting cultivators.

Chapter 434: Delving into Spiritual Sight

Technically Omilaena was engaged with developing their final trump card, but honestly she was barely using a fraction of her mind for that. Access to a major sect's resources didn't come every day, so she was mostly working on her own projects.

Making the agreement with the dryad matriarch had gotten her a special command medallion that granted her more access, and surprisingly a sort of chakra illusion she hadn't seen before. So long as Omilaena wore the necklace of silver leaves, she would look like a demure little Cloudfire woman. Her official identity was a new outer sect member who was a soil specialist and thus needed to help the dryads.

That got her into the sect headquarters, and most importantly, she could access the archives. Omilaena was enjoying absorbing all the information, because it was proving more useful than expected. She had learned some interesting cultivation tricks back in the Pureflower sect, but they were so dedicated to purity and feminine arts that it had been somewhat redundant with she already knew.

These archives, however, contained scrolls from a great many sects under the Masterful Crown clan. The Purple River scrolls had interesting thoughts on Cloudspire poisons, the theoretical counterpart to the practical experience she'd already earned. Lots of arboreal techniques from the Verdant River sect, physical manuals from the Deepriver sect, and flashy qi techniques from the Heavenly River sect. The only thing absent was information on presence techniques or the deepest secrets of the Masterful Crown clan.

How long had it been, a week? Omilaena reluctantly spent a while figuring out the next step in applying her poisonous essence to a disease, then left the archives to return to the garden. At first she had been concerned about the illusion, but none of the cultivators gave her a second glance.

"Took you a while," Nymidria said when she returned to the garden. "Having trouble?"

"This is complex work," Omilaena told her. "Your use of chakra is distinctly different from how it's done on Rosemount, so-"

"There's no need to lie to me. I know you're going on tangents." Nymidria smiled lazily. "And I don't blame you. Given access to a resource like this, what cultivator wouldn't take advantage? Since the young masters will take a long time to notice any of our distractions, we're not in a particular hurry."

"Ah. If there's no need to pretend..." Omilaena sat down in a chair and propped her legs up on the nearest tree. "I think I can do what you need, and it won't be particularly difficult. The real issue is making the disease transfer from tree to tree, even over the barrier wall."

"I can handle that. Believe me, I've been working on it for a while."

"In that case, the only potential problem is if our disease isn't strong enough to harm the sacred trees. I could tell the trees inside the barrier are qi-rich, practically medicinal herbs on their own, so surely the trees growing from the Loam of the Gods are even stronger. Not just any disease could touch them."

"Actually, I'm not sure that's true." Nymidria lounged against one of her branches and watched her idly. "The Verdant River sect has actually been extremely defensive in the past when it comes to arboreal diseases, suggesting that they have reason to be afraid. Maybe the Loam can make them grow fast and concentrated, but not necessarily immune to threats."

"Mm, maybe. You'd be the one to know."

They were silent for a time, Nymidria cultivating in her strange tree-like way while Omilaena considered all her different projects. If she didn't have to fake working on the disease all the time, she could actually dedicate more time to figuring out some other details. The Deepriver Physique texts weren't particularly shocking, but she might be able to figure out a little more for Zin Nim. Or, if the plan was to exploit her present resources...

"That spiritual sight of yours is impressive." Omilaena took her feet off the tree and sat back up. "We're used to people being terrible with shrouds here, and I don't think you learned that on Deadwaste. So where does that come from?"

"It's my own creation, but I was inspired by some techniques from the Dark Crown sect." Nymidria didn't seem upset by the tangent and looked over at her with interest. "Did you know that spiritual sight, as we use it, is actually unnatural?"

"Not to get too philosophical, but unnatural in what sense? People who become strong enough all develop some spiritual senses, even if they don't train them. Hell, some sacred beasts have something like spiritual sight."

"Ah, but that's the unnatural part. Yes, anyone with real power begins to sense the strength of others, but that isn't the same as a refined spiritual sight. You've no doubt seen how some cultivators mostly just see someone's cultivation stage, with only a vague sense for the rest of their power. Many cultivators can't even see Soul Level at all."

That last detail was actually fascinating, and Omilaena sat forward and began focusing fully on the conversation. She'd known that Nymidria was curious, otherwise she never would have left Deadwaste for another continent. But it was good to find that there was a scientific, systematic mind inside that tree... given some of their conversations, Omilaena had begun to hope.

"This natural sight is different from the more precise version," Nymidria continued. "You could think of it as learning an entirely different way to see. People who are born in particularly energy-dense areas, or fed a lot of power from birth, can actually have more difficulty developing spiritual sight. It's like they've already learned the broad instinctual methods and can't re-teach themselves how to use their eyes."

"I guess that accords with what some groups on Rosemount do," Omilaena said. She began tapping her fingernails against her thigh, barely aware that she was doing it. "So you've managed to exploit this fact to... sharpen your spiritual sight, somehow?"

"Now you're making me wish that I'd written things up properly. I could show you to the scrolls I mentioned earlier, the ones that inspired me. It'd be interesting to get your opinion, actually."

"I'd like that."

A day later, Omilaena had read an enormous number of scrolls and grasped the new techniques. It was as if power was light, incredibly easy to see but sometimes washing out details. Lazy warriors just roughly judged how bright the light was, while most methods of spiritual sight could resolve that light into the symbols that their mind then interpreted as different components of power.

The revelation, which she had to thank Nymidria for, was that you could go even further. Filter out more of the brightness and refine your vision. For seeing through shrouds, it was just a bit like squinting, ignoring the light to peer beyond. Beyond that, however...

Omilaena quickly realized that she wasn't going to grasp that technique in a few days. It was one of those annoying abilities that was less about intellectual knowledge than building up spiritual muscles through repetition. Later on she'd force herself to go through with it, but for the time being she was working on a new pair of goggles. Not to see more, but to see deeper.

When she finally pulled them on over her eyes, for a while she was almost blind and the world was rendered as murky blobs. All she could make out was Nymidria, who was fortunately her primary test subject. As she examined her, Omilaena saw not her obvious strength, but the soul underneath...

<

Name: Nymidria

Physique: Arboreal Mortal (500 year lifespan)

Soul: Mortal

Supremacy: None

Talent Capacity: Unawakened

Elemental Capacity: Iron Bark

Essence Capacity: Dryad

Cultivation Capacity: Path of Cloudspire

>

The result was so much like Omilaena's theories that for a moment she was afraid she was deluding herself, only seeing what she wanted to see. Using her spiritual sight like this, the symbols in reality were even vaguer and less formed, so there was some interpretation involved. But over time, she managed to convince herself that she really was seeing what she thought.

Just like the alien source had said, there were seven different aspects of the soul, from the mysterious "Supremacy" to the obvious capacities for power. Nymidria had fully awakened her Essence and Cultivation capacities, whereas she wasn't using her Talent capacity at all and the Iron Bark filled up her Elemental capacity.

That suggested that she had developed the Iron Bark enhancement by continually refining some substance, either something related to bark or her own nature. That was clever, yet Omilaena felt like it wasn't really optimal. She had seen many cultivators who had enhancements that didn't fill up their Cultivation capacity, so there were multiple ways of doing this...

"If you keep staring like that, I'm going to get self-conscious." Nymidria regarded her with a wry smile. "Looks like you finally figured it out, though you had to make a magical item to do it."

"Just a tool." Omilaena took the goggles off dismissively. "That Iron Bark of yours is impressive. How did you do it?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"We can talk about that in great detail later, if you really want, but I'm more interested in talking about your Azure Core."

"Ah, so you had an ulterior motive for all of this."

"Of course." Nymidria gestured at the sect around them. "I came here to attain greater power, and for a time I thought cultivation would be my path upward. But when I realized they would never give me enough qi to reach Sky Soul, I searched further. I've had great success with finding new paths for the physical body... but the soul remains beyond me."

"Seems like we both want an exchange." Omilaena laced her fingers together over her knee. "I should be direct with you and say that I developed my Azure Core relatively recently, based on new theory that doesn't perfectly match yours. But this can likely be a fruitful relationship."

"Good to hear. What does your new sight tell you about yourself? Any new insight there?"

That was a good question. Omilaena put her goggles back on and tried to look at herself, only to see nothing but her familiar soul.

<

Name: Omilaena

Total Power: 1326

Heart of Poison: Level 85 (340)

*Prana Jewels: Level +5 (20)

Lethal Artisan: Spinel Rank (295)

Ice Refinement (102)

Path of Venomsteel: Step 9 (135)

Physique: D-9 (245)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

Azure Core (+125)

>

No, that was her old habits taking precedence. Omilaena tried to push past that, through the raw light of her power, to the shadowy symbols underneath. The goggles weren't quite enough, and she needed to lean on the new techniques she'd been learning, but eventually she made herself out.

<

Name: Omilaena

Physique: Enhanced Mortal (200 year lifespan)

Soul: Enhanced Mortal (250 year lifespan)

Supremacy: None

Talent Capacity: Path of Venomsteel

Elemental Capacity: Heart of Poison

Essence Capacity: Lethal Artisan

Cultivation Capacity: Ice Refinement

(Azure Core)

(Prana Jewel Bond)

>

Her capacities were exactly what she had expected, and just as she'd hoped, she was perfectly balanced with all four in use. There were several fascinating new pieces to the puzzle, such as the longevity numbers she saw listed. Apparently her Physique and Soul were both still mortal, but she was on track to live for a couple centuries.

Curiously, her soul was listed with a higher number than her body... what did that even mean? Nymidria had a high physical lifespan but a normal soul lifespan, so it couldn't mean a person died as soon as either number was up. For now, Omilaena just interpreted it as how much the parts of their nature had been strengthened beyond normal mortals.

Fuck, she really needed to use this technique on more people, especially immortals. It would be fun to use on Zin Nim, and Kai... actually, sight like this could be a concern for Kai. It didn't seem like Nymidria had been able to see through to his monstrous soul or she would have made a bigger deal about it, but it was possible that someone else in the future might. They were very fortunate that he'd spent so much effort covering that side of himself with other powers.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Nymidria was still watching her, with an odd smile on her face. "The cultivators think this is all foreign superstition, so you're the first person to actually delve into this with me."

"It's definitely interesting," Omilaena said, "but I'm not sure it's completely right. I think this is a true angle on the soul, but it can't see everything. The real soul is even more complex, with other facets that aren't fully captured by the seven aspects. For example, these jewels I'm wearing are a magical artifact and they have a bond with my soul."

"Well then... sounds like we could have an interesting conversation."

"Yes, yes I think we can..."

Chapter 435: The Poverty of Young Masters

Kai sliced through the forests, not leaving a single footprint, leaves sliding off his armor. He'd become far more effective in the forests, not so much because his strength had increased as because he was adapting to the setting. It had only been partially conscious, shifting his claws to better run over the roots or retracting horns, just a piecemeal adaptation to the environment.

All of the outposts were heavily defended now, which was a victory in itself because it meant a lot of cultivators no longer defending the sect headquarters and walled garden. He regretted that he couldn't strike at any more work camps, but with the recent chaos and threats of monsters, shipments of corpses seemed to have slowed to a halt anyway.

Striking any given position wasn't particularly difficult, so he made a challenge of it by focusing on pure precision and technique. He could easily defeat the average Earth Soul, and he could beat most using only equal Power, so how far could he push it? Punching up despite being able to slap down the enemy.

Overall, his combat efficacy was increasing, between small improvements to his Savage Heart transformation and advances in fundamental technique. There was a hard limit, though, and he felt it in terms of his Physique. His armor was harder than it had been when he started, but it wouldn't do much against someone with 500 more Power than him. Given the choice between these improvements in his own skill and a way to break through to C rank Physique, he would have chosen the latter.

It had been a little over a week since he'd started raiding the Verdant River outposts and he thought he'd done about all he could. Best to return to the dryad community and see what the others had accomplished before he attacked too many others. But on the way back, Kai was surprised to notice a large procession entering the forests.

Since this one was loaded with cultivators, he drew fully on Mutefang's Stealth as he crept closer. There were scouts looking around, but they didn't have a chance of seeing him as he lurked within the woods using only monstrous power, so he was able to close in on the center.

At the core of the procession was a flying barge, somewhat modeled after the barges he'd seen peasants using in the river, but made from pure jade. The top was so large and filled with so many tables and couches it was practically a flying house. All of the guards hovered on flying swords around the vehicle, leaving it solely for the occupants themselves.

Kai stopped as he realized that he was looking at some of their main targets.

Yul Wei Ren was a young man, sitting on the largest couch and surrounded by admirers. He wore robes of pure gold and a grand hat that arched high above his head before dangling a number of chains, each of which ended in a gemstone with a different symbol. Kai recognized a few, so presumed they represented all the sects controlled by his clan. The man himself was thin with pasty white skin and a smug smile.

When Kai examined his soul, he knew what to expect and was still surprised.

<

Name: Yul Wei Ren

Total Power: 141

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 2% (10)

Physique: F-0 (30)

Immortal Body (+100)

Soul Level: 1 (1)

>

The overwhelming majority of the young master's strength came from the immortal elixirs he'd gotten from his family, and his F-0 Physique was likely due to special pills that could instantly take him there. In other words, the young man was stronger than the majority of veteran hunters despite having done no training at all.

Would a veteran Goralian with less Power have been able to beat him? That was a trickier question, Kai thought. The hunter would use their power far better, but what should have been grievous injuries to Yul Wei Ren would be reduced to minor cuts, and even an untrained person with 100 Power could hurt someone if they got a good grip on them. Maybe a ranged fighter could, but not necessarily a melee hunter, especially one who was unprepared for the difference in strength.

Before Kai could consider the idea further, a great chorus of cheers came from the barge. Everyone seemed to be toasting Yul Wei Ren, who waved away their praise with obvious pleasure before rising to his feet.

"Everyone, everyone, please! The monster hunt has barely begun, and we have so far to go. Let us make our families proud, yes?"

"Well said, young master!" several of the others chorused.

"Now, I have a little incentive." Yul Wei Ren gave them all a wink and the audience leaned closer to him. "Just a little competition between the Great Rivers. The sect that kills the largest number of beasts while on our excursion will receive 100,000 golden taels from my personal fortune."

"Amazing!"

"Young master is so generous!"

"My father couldn't spend a tenth as much!"

"And for the person who kills the dark monster that has been bothering out outposts..." Yul Wei Ren drew out the silence, making them wait, then finished grandly: "A single magical item from the Grand Crown's collection!"

"Incredible!"

"The Grand Crown vaults are without limit!"

"Truly, young master's generosity has no equal!"

The group began to celebrate, laughing and drinking with one another as the barge floated on, directly past the monster they were all hunting.

Kai watched them from hiding for a while, then shook his head and began to keep pace. They certainly didn't seem to be getting anywhere very quickly, but he guessed that this was just the first leg of the trip, designed primarily for pleasure. Given that he had his target within sight, he suddenly considered that it might be best to forget the plan and just attack now.

First, however, he scrutinized the crowd on the barge. The majority were simple servants with no cultivation bases whatsoever, and the guards were largely at Body Refinement. As for the young nobles, they ranged from Qi Condensation to Nascent Foundation, but only a few looked like actually decent cultivators.

He estimated that the nobles were more than 75% men, yet there were more women because most of the servants were female, plus most of the male nobles had women at their sides - sect members or paid prostitutes, judging by their faked enthusiasm. The noblewomen were easy to pick out because they wore robes that covered them fully and hairstyles as elaborate as the other noble heirs, unlike the paid women who showed more skin and kept their hair loose.

No, not quite: there was one young woman dressed like them who was actually an Earth Soul. None of the nobles were pawing at her and her eyes looked too alert for a servant. That was at least one hidden guard who would strike if anyone tried to attack the nobles.

A few of the noble heirs actually looked familiar, and Kai recognized Kan Jin Kung from their clash outside Floodisle City.

<

Name: Kan Jin Kung

Total Power: 823

Cultivation: Earth Soul 95% (477)

Physique: E-0 (80)

Immortal Body (+150)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

Flowing Crown (+100)

>

It didn't seem like he'd grown much stronger, and since Kai was confident that Banchlain's Aura could defeat his presence ability, a rematch would be effortless. Yet he wasn't about to leap into battle just yet, because Kai realized that some of the others were actually formidable.

One young master wore rich mauve robes and was only referred to by the others as the Poison Prince, so Kai guessed that he was an important heir to the Purple River sect. He was one of the only Sky Souls in the group, though he had less strength when it came to immortality and his presence ability:

<

Name: Poison Prince

Total Power: 963

Cultivation: Sky Soul (800)

Physique: F-4 (38)

Immortal Body (+50)

Soul Level: 5 (25)

Poison Crown (+50)

>

He had a woman in his lap, but he wasn't paying any attention to her, and when he wasn't toasting or joking with the others, he looked irritated. Kai wondered if he was only present to curry favor and earn more immortality elixir, because from what Zae Zin Nim had shared with him, playing politics in sects could be as important as cultivation.

"Grandpa Wanwan!"

Yul Wei Ren started the call and the others joined him, laughing and shouting. Kai was puzzled for a moment before abruptly a streak of light shot from the sky and froze in place in front of the barge in a human form that continued to hover in the air.

It was an old man, with wizened skin but a straight back, wearing dark blue robes. Despite his age, he had a full head of white hair and a long white beard. Though not particularly tall, the breadth of his chest was visible even underneath the robes - the man was immensely strong. He looked like a mountain in the air, only his robes and beard fluttering around an immovable core.

Kai absolutely had to check the man's soul, but he did so extremely carefully.

<

Name: Grandpa Wan?

Total Power: 1531

Cultivation: Sky Soul (950)

Heavenly Cultivation (+100)

Physique: C-0 (300)

Deepriver Meridians (+100)

Soul Level: 9 (81)

>

The old man was a formidable Sky Soul, near the theoretical limit, and he was supported by a strong Soul Level and something called Deepriver Meridians. Most astonishingly, his Physique was actually in the C rank, the first Kai had seen on Cloudspire. Overall, the man had a nobility to him that far outmatched the young cultivators on the barge below.

"Grandpa Wanwan, how long until we find some monsters?" Yul Wei Ren waved at him with the wine cup in his hand, then belched. "Weren't you supposed to lead us to them?"

"The monsters are no doubt fleeing from young master's presence." The old man spoke stiffly, with more cold servility than any of the fawning servants. There was an implicit condemnation of the barge's noisy revelry, but it was wasted on Yul Wei Ren.

"This will get boring if there's nothing to hunt! Find us something!"

"Very well, young master."

Immediately Kai froze in place, realizing that a real expert was about to scan the area. He felt the spiritual sight sweep over him, but he had instinctively moved low to the ground in a predatory crouch and Mutefang's Stealth seemed to protect him. After a brief time, the elderly man pointed to the southeast.

"There is a formidable beast worthy of a hunt several leagues in that direction."

"Several leagues?" Yul Wei Ren threw his wine cup in disgust, shattering it. "Not good enough, Grandpa Wanwan! Find us something more fun... what about those monkeys? With the red horns, and they squeal when you tear them out? Find us some of those!"

"Very well, young master." The old man - whatever his true name was, "Wanwan" was a diminutive nickname he clearly suffered - dissolved into light and streaked away over the forest, scouting it rapidly.

"Incredible, young master!" one of the hangers-on cooed.

"Even the patriarch of the Deepriver sect is at your command!"

The others continued in the same vein, but Kai was most interested in the fact that the old man was actually a sect patriarch. At 1500 Power he was definitely a higher tier Sky Soul... and yet he was obeying these young idiots like a servant.

All of the servants and young nobles were marveling at the power of the Masterful Crown clan, but Kai was filled with a sense of disgust. Not simply at their behavior, but at the utter empty-mindedness that believed inherited wealth or cheap power had actual value. Because through all the faked emotions on display in the barge, the envy and admiration he saw were very real.

For several minutes as he stalked the barge, Kai considered just attacking the group, killing off the heirs of multiple sects in the region and wiping the slate clean. He wasn't sure if he could defeat the entire group, given the number of Earth Souls on top of the Sky Souls, and the old man could no doubt fly back quickly. But if he started off by using Manticore's Quill, he could definitely kill a lot of them.

Aside from that angry fantasy, he seriously considered just assassinating Yul Wei Ren with a single quill from a distance. The problem was that it wouldn't solve their problem: the young master didn't have any power himself, and if he was replaced it might be with someone more competent.

That was the problem with all of them: why should Kai believe that the second or third sons of these families would be any better, if they produced first sons like this? Surely there were more reasonable people in their sects who might lead things better, because to think otherwise defied reason, but he didn't know who they were and a few assassinations wouldn't bring those people into power. He'd make himself feel better getting his claws bloody, but nothing would change.

And so Kai fell back, letting the barge fly off on its fruitless expeditions. Most there might have felt envy, but he felt none whatsoever. After watching a while longer, Kai turned and loped away.

He didn't have any answers, but he did have targets.

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Chapter 436: A Quiet, Rainy Courtyard

Even though Zae Zin Nim had been skeptical about the dryad village at first, especially how there was dirt everywhere, she had become accustomed to it. The walkways were all hard-packed, not filthy, and the rooms were well-maintained. With the many trees absorbing all the moisture, the sound of the rain within the shady rooms was surprisingly calming.

More importantly, the room they had given her for cultivation was highly appropriate. The qi was concentrated enough to actually be worth gathering into her dantian, so she was inching toward Sky Soul again.

It would not be attained soon, likely not in time for the battle, but for once that was not a cause for despair. Zae Zin Nim had not been forsaking her Coldfire Corona, not this time. Not only had she continued her mana exercises, she had used it frequently for her Coldfire Palm, so her level had been steadily rising. It had practically flown up to Level 20 and was still rising after that at a not unreasonable pace. Her Pure Yin Shroud had been growing as well, which really took the edge off the long cultivation plateau.

<

Name: Zae Zin Nim

Total Power: 1460

Cultivation: Earth Soul 56% (521)

*Heavenly Sash: Cultivation +10% (52)

Coldfire Corona: 27 (381)

Pure Yin Shroud: Spinel Rank (235)

Blackblood Physique Level: E-9 (107)

Blackblood Shadow (+100)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

>

With a total of 1460 Power, she wasn't equal to the strongest Sky Souls, and would definitely be inferior to her father one-on-one, but she was formidable. If only she could resolve her Blackblood Physique, she would be even more competitive, and when one day she reached Sky Soul, she would be one of the strongest cultivators on all Cloudspire.

The difficulty was reaching that point without encountering lethal opponents or undergoing some sort of terrible deviation. These days she felt largely comfortable with the former, but the latter was always a specter haunting her...

Aside from her own advancement, she had been dutiful in preparing for the overall plan. She had studied the techniques given her and also explored some of the local sect politics. The Masterful Crown clan was obviously the dominant power, and the four Great Rivers were their most prestigious branches, but there were countless smaller sects and organizations.

Fewer than there had been a generation ago, however. When she consulted with the oldest dryads or the records, she discovered that many sects had been annihilated over time, and not all were replaced. It was very easy to believe that a surviving member of one of these might have endured, and playing one of those would be her role when the time came.

In order to prepare for it, Zae Zin Nim had mastered a technique called the Rushing Wave Palm. It wasn't actually very impressive, in her opinion, but the qi flow and pose for it was very elaborate, so few would believe she had just learned it for the sake of a ruse.

So far there had been no opportunity to use it, as she was still waiting on the signal from others. Kai was out hunting, Omilaena was training with the dryad matriarch, and the others generally left her alone. She missed them, but since she had so much time, she would cultivate as much as she could. Then she could have more time for her spouses when they did return.

As if summoned by her thoughts, she felt Kai's presence appear in the dryad village and nearly leapt up to go greet him. Would have done so, if she hadn't been at a critical point in her cultivation. She could hear him shaking off the water in one of the transition areas, then walking into their private rooms.

When she caught sight of him, she could tell that something was wrong just by how he walked. There were no injuries on his body, and no pain in his eyes, yet she could see the frustration in his movements. Not carnal frustration, either, something deeper that he wanted to release with brutal violence. As soon as he saw that she was in the middle of cultivation, however, his expression softened. He walked over to her, kissed the top of her head, then disappeared into their rooms.

It took real discipline not to rush her remaining cultivation, but the instant she was done, Zae Zin Nim hopped up to go to him. She found that he lay in one of the hammocks set up in a side room, staring out into the rainy courtyard. With the thick cloud cover and no lights in that room, he was cast in bluish shadows and looked peaceful despite his earlier frustration.

"Is everything alright?" she asked as she walked up beside the hammock.

"I ran into our targets," Kai said quietly. "Yul Wei Ren and other young heirs of the sects. They seem... very full of themselves."

"Yes, such young masters can be frustrating."

"What's annoying is that they... no, there's no point complaining about it. Come over here, Zin Nim. I could use your company."

She was happy to oblige, but trying to get into the hammock proved unwieldy. It would have made her feel clumsy, not at all like the accomplished cultivator she was, but soon Kai helped by scooping her up in one arm. Once she was balanced, she straddled his chest and lay against him. His arm automatically moved to hold her back and she would have been happy to fall asleep like that.

Instead she remained awake, comfortable against her husband's chest as they rocked gently in the hammock. No bright lights shone on them, the air was pleasantly cool compared to his warmth, and the sound of rain soothed her. She could feel Kai relaxing underneath her, his spirit restored by this intimacy.

When she had been younger she had been taught so many lessons about how to handle a man, mostly to do with massaging his ego, managing his needs, and calming his anger. She had always hated those feminine arts and gravitated toward lethal skills, but now... she felt extremely feminine, caring for her husband wordlessly. Later on they would shift to a different sort of intimacy, but there was no demand and no rush, and it would be no obligation.

"I'm so lucky to have you," Kai said quietly.

"I was just thinking I was the lucky one." Zae Zin Nim felt a new warmth and pressed against him. "But we aren't just lucky, we chose one another. This is how it should be."

"In an ideal world, anyway. But my other thoughts are a bit less romantic... you won't be offended?"

"Not at all." She found a new position and patted his chest. "Just talking with you is nice. What were you thinking about?"

"So there are four 'Great River' sects that are most prestigious. All their names have the same format, except one... the Deepriver sect. Does that mean anything, or is it just random?"

"Usually, the combined names are older sects with more ancient traditions. That is not true in every case, and there are some old sects that cling to stiffer names as a matter of respect. But it is accurate here: the Deepriver sect was once a powerful self-sufficient sect, before the Masterful Crown clan became dominant. They were eventually forced to become a branch of the clan, but the legacy remains."

"Yeah, that makes sense." He went on to tell her about his encounter, and though it wasn't the most romantic conversation, she enjoyed just listening to him, plus it was important to find out just which sect heirs were present and what resources they'd brought.

He usually had a strange perspective on things, though, viewing so many systems she took for granted in a different way. Even though many things about Deadwaste still seemed absurd to her, she could admit that perhaps there were some things to learn from them. The value of Classes, for example, or how Kai treated her. So what he said next was downright dismaying.

"I thought Jin Kung was being ridiculous at the restaurant, but he was actually making a pretty safe assumption." Kai rubbed his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding her. "Normally when you see a man with two women like that, you can assume what's going on. I must have looked just like all those men, just-"

"No!" Zae Zin Nim put a hand over his mouth. "I've met so many young masters like that and there's no comparison. They want a woman who will love them for no reason, gaze at them fondly, laugh at their jokes, and have no life of their own. If Kan Jin Kung couldn't tell that we were truly enjoying your company it was because he can't tell when they spend time with him."

"Easy, Zin Nim, I wasn't trying to-"

"Listen, Kai, this is important to me." She pushed herself up off his chest to look him directly in the eyes. "When you speak all kinds of ideals, even if I think they're unreasonable, I know you really believe them. But when he accused you, he was just using ideals as a pretext. Even if he thought he was defending us, he never cared about us as people. He wasn't angry because he thought you controlled us, he was jealous because he didn't own us."

"I appreciate you defending me, but you don't need to go that far." Kai gently touched the side of her face and gave her an odd smile. "I just... realized I didn't truly believe Cloudspire was like this. It's easy to assume that the way you learned things is the only way things can be."

"That is true. But we are also guilty of the same thing, here."

"And it just took me a while to figure that out."

"I just want..." Zae Zin Nim reached up to touch his hand against her face. "I wanted to be clear. I haven't always been good to you - I struck you when we first met, distrusting your intentions. So I want you to know how much I trust you now."

"Thank you, Zin Nim. I understand you don't say that easily."

"And I... know that sometimes I must seem strange to you. But I don't disgust you, right? I can tell what utter contempt you have for them, and I don't want to think you could ever..."

His eyes widened as he understood what she was trying to say, then Kai crushed her to his chest. "Never. We've had some things to figure out, and we'll probably have more in the future, but I've always respected you. Now that I've seen more of Cloudspire, I'm all the more amazed you turned out the way you did."

"Good." Zae Zin Nim wriggled into a more comfortable position, at last at ease. One of the first lessons she had been taught was to never be needy, never express any emotions like that, but here she could speak even her silly worries.

The atmosphere of the empty courtyard was still lovely, but the conversation had replaced her contemplativeness with a restless energy. While staying in his embrace, she wriggled lower so that she was straddling his hips instead. There, she got a clear sign that he definitely wasn't disgusted by her, in a less moral sense this time. It was so strange to actually be glad that a man was reacting to her, and so freeing.

"You don't own me," Zae Zin Nim told him softly, "but you do have me. Want me to help you forget all about those fools?"

Kai chuckled, and his hands slid down her back to rest on her hips, and for a time all was right in the world.