Chapter 423: Fear, Quills, and Immortality

At first they headed south as cautiously as possible, but when retaliation didn't come within a few days, Kai began to relax. Technically he might see beams of light in the sky at any moment, he'd just shifted to trying to be prepared for them instead of anticipating their arrival. The presence techniques were frustratingly strong levers, so he wanted to find a way to destroy their gimmick before the next time.

The first question, which would fundamentally change the direction his training went, was what to do with the Banchlain essence. He had the option of merging it with Void Gaze, and considered it because space in his soul was tight, but in the end he discarded that path.

Void Gaze wasn't really a "presence technique" - it was an offensive ability that had worked to counter the attack on him. While he could add an element of terror to it, Void Gaze already froze and harmed people, so fear seemed redundant. What he needed to do was fully utilize the aura-like power of the Banchlain and combine it with similar powers to create a true presence technique equal to any cultivator's.

Unfortunately, monsters as powerful as the Banchlain weren't easy to find even on Rosemount, and monsters were scarce in general on Cloudspire. Fortunately, he didn't need abilities to be complex mergers for them to work: the Banchlain alone would be just fine.

Training something that powerful on the ship would cause panic among the former slaves, at minimum, so Kai flew out into the swamp. He focused on extending his aura while he scouted and almost immediately got results.

At first all the animals in the swamp let out cries and struggled to move away from him. He was astonished as just how many animals could fit into such a small area as they poured out of trees, bushes, and holes in the ground. It created a commotion that must be visible for a long way, so he used Thunderbird's Wings to get far from the ship and caused his disruptions in more locations, just in case anyone was trying to follow their trail.

Once he felt fully comfortable with the monstrous essence, he began to refine it within him, turning it into something compatible with himself. Since it was a spiritual technique, the Savage Heart didn't activate at all and his body didn't change, but he could feel something rippling within his soul as he finally concentrated the ability:

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Banchlain's Aura - VI (zeta)

>

When he reactivated the essence, now as a focused ability, it expanded from him like a wall. He saw several monkey-like creatures fall from the nearby trees and lay still on the ground. When he went to investigate, he discovered that their hearts had stopped.

His next priority became precise control over the aura, because he didn't want to kill random bystanders. After several days, he was fairly sure that the technique would never become a pinpoint attack - it was an aura, after all - but he could direct it in a general direction. First covering about 180 degree radius, then down to a 90 degree swath. By the time he did that, the rank had increased from Zeta to Eta.

That was hopefully enough for it to function as a technique, and later on he could merge it with other aura-type essence. The precision problem actually distracted him, so he returned to the ship to contemplate it for a while. Might as well do some cultivation, since he'd been neglecting that since his breakthrough.

He entered their private cabin and discovered that Zae Zin Nim was already there, sitting cross-legged on the bed and cultivating on her own. Usually she had a resting scowl when she did so, but now she looked pleased, even before he entered.

"Didn't expect you to be happy," Kai said as he sat down beside her. "We have hangers-on again, and you didn't like Krysal."

"They are unnecessary, but we are also getting rid of them as we travel," she answered.

"Uh, do you mean...?"

"Nothing like that. Some of the slaves are from surrounding villages or sects, so if they want to leave, Omilaena uses a poison that makes their memories fuzzy and we drop them off. Are you going to object?"

"No, I'm just wondering why you're so happy."

"That is because of our fight with Kan Jin Kung." Zae Zin Nim opened one eye and saw him staring at her, so she went on to explain. "Yes, he surprised us with his technique. But he struck me as fundamentally only a slightly above average cultivator using powerful weapons. We are definitely superior, so with preparation we can take those away and use them ourselves."

"You mean the crown technique?" Kai settled in to cultivate himself, wondering whether or not the technique would be redundant for him.

"Yes, but this 'Immortal Body' method is more valuable. I have been speaking to Cragrila, and it seems that this is accomplished via a series of elixirs. Immortality is very difficult to obtain without support, but this is a method we could potentially seize from them and use ourselves. Imagine each of us, not only immortal but with an immense addition to our strength."

"It'd be a good boost, sure."

"Not just a boost." Zae Zin Nim stopped cultivating and looked at him somberly. "If we become immortal, and each of us gains another significant advancement, we will be within range of the strongest Sky Souls on Cloudspire. So a war with the Heavenly River sect could potentially be a stepping stone to facing my father and the Brightwind sect."

As she spoke, her serious expression softened until she was smiling by the end. Kai couldn't help but be caught up in her enthusiasm and reached over to pat her knee. "So you're not so worried about attracting attention anymore?"

"We must still be cautious." Her expression immediately became serious again. "If we were to defeat one of the major sects beneath the Masterful Crown clan, it would shock the entire Southern Rivers region. If that happens, no matter how well-hidden our power may be, we would become famous figures and attract attention. This would not be like endless tribal warfare in the Western Wilds."

Kai sighed as he thought about how many things were ahead of them yet. "It would be nice if it worked that way, but for now I'll focus on making sure that the Heavenly River sect can't ambush us with a presence technique again."

"As will I. A presence technique of our own is a benefit no matter our plans."

The conversation was strangely motivating, and after he had finished his cultivation, Kai left the cabin with new motivation. He doubted he could make breakthroughs on Banchlain's Aura without new monstrous essence or a direct test against other presence techniques, so it was time to continue developing his monstrous abilities.

For all the trouble he'd gone to in order to acquire Manticore's Quill, he hadn't had much opportunity to use it since. Kai began using it to hunt in the swamps and immediately discovered that the problem wouldn't be power: when he released a quill from his body, it frequently punched all the way through his target. It was harder to gauge the poison's intensity, though even larger animals seemed to die quickly - he'd have to ask Omilaena for a poison evaluation later.

Meanwhile, the whole strategic point of the ability was precision, so Kai focused on that. To his surprise, the technique proved far more flexible than his previous, and he wasn't sure if it was because of the monstrous essence or because his knowledge had changed.

While he tried to shoot spines as quickly and precisely as possible, he discovered that they could take several different forms. If he used primarily qi, a spiritual quill shot from his body with blinding speed, but dissipated some time after connecting. When he used chakra, he immediately felt the resonance with the Savage Heart and his body began to shift, actually growing physical spines that launched from him - slower, but strong and durable. Using mana produced a result that wasn't quite either, as if he summoned a semi-physical spike from his soul and hurled it directly.

Could he use all three, or did he need to specialize and optimize one to the maximum possible strength? That was a question for later, he decided, as he wanted to focus on efficacy. Shooting quills felt deeply strange until he figured out that it was similar to shooting a fruit seed out of his mouth: increasing pressure, then a sudden release as the projectile launched. After some practice, he could hit any target he wanted anywhere around his body to within a few inches.

By the time he was done, Manticore's Quill had increased to Delta... and now he had a problem of the available space in his soul. Kai examined it, wishing that he could pass 1000 Power and earn another slot according to Omilaena's theory.

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Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 781

Monstrous Hunger - XIV (xi)

Cultivation: Nascent Foundation 5% (251)

Savage Heart: 16 (169)

Manticore Tattoo (43%)

Physique Level: D-9 (245)

Beggar King's Robes: +2 (10)

Soul Level: 9 (81)

Behemoth's Heart - IX (iota)

Thunderbird's Wings - VII (eta)

Direboar's Strength - XIV (xi)

Baleful Breath - VI (zeta)

Tyrant's Claw - XII (kappa)

Void Gaze - VII (eta)

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Isulfr's Bite - VIII (theta)

Sahagin's Soul - X (kappa)

Mutefang's Stealth - X (kappa)

Manticore's Quill - IV (delta)

Banchlain's Aura - VI (zeta)

Lizarkyl's Tail - VI (zeta)

Direurchin's Spikes - V (epsilon)

Wallcrawler's Feet - III (gamma)

Abominalgum - I (alpha)

Rose Piranha - III (gamma)

Cloud Piranha - III (gamma)

Bloodtrap - III (gamma)

Slime's Immortality - I (alpha)

Silver Demon - I (alpha)

Direcrab's Claw - III (gamma)

Voidmaw's Bite - I (alpha)

Great Cetae - II (beta)

Spine Aura Urchin - I (alpha)

>

Removing Void Gaze was clearly nonviable, given their opponents, and passive skills like Behemoth's Heart or Thunderbird's Wings were essential. But, once he thought about it, he decided that Direboar's Strength might not be so essential anymore. He didn't use it often in fights against cultivators and it had been stagnating anyway, compared to his other skills.

So, in the end he made some strategic choices and ended up with a balance he was happy with:

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Behemoth's Heart - IX (iota)

Thunderbird's Wings - VII (eta)

Void Gaze - VII (eta)

Banchlain's Aura - VI (zeta)

Baleful Breath - VI (zeta)

Manticore's Quill - IV (delta)

>

Would it be enough? It depended on how much the cultivators retaliated, but in that moment, the idea just made him hungry.