At first Kai had been overjoyed about his new technique, but as they traveled further northwest, discontent set in. Did his total number of monstrous abilities have a hard limit? If so, that would seriously reduce his flexibility.
He wanted to keep his biting technique because it had proved so effective, even if it was short range. All his experiments with trying to merge it with the others had immediately felt wrong, as if he would burn away his power for no benefit or create a useless skill. It might not be possible to merge all his techniques into a single destructive skill, and in any case he needed more than two techniques to be an elite warrior.
Merging together the passive abilities was more likely, but he struggled with finding the right combination. Combining Aquagorgon's Health and Gomodo's Stamina into a single regenerative technique seemed to make perfect sense, yet it just didn't feel right. His attempts had either accomplished nothing or immediately given him the sense of wasting essence. Clearly there was still more to learn before he gained full control of his monstrous abilities.
"What's gotten into you?" Zae Zin Nim glanced over at him as they walked. "You mastered your powers enough to develop an improved technique, you should be happy."
"It has to do with my long term potential..." Kai explained his thoughts to her and she quickly nodded. She, at least, would never criticize him for seeking power.
"I think you're concerned over nothing. It's all about balance... let's fight."
"What?"
Instead of answering, Zae Zin Nim struck him in the chest with her palm, sending him skidding backward through the craggy wasteland.
Something deep within Kai wanted to snarl, but he held it back as they sparred. He used his new Tyrant's Claw eagerly, its expanded range forcing Zae Zin Nim to utilize all her new speed. Even if he managed to hit her, after reforging her body with her cultivation, she was substantially more durable, so he didn't need to hold back his claws.
The overall outcome was known: with over 350 Power, Zae Zin Nim was substantially stronger than him. That fact alone boggled his mind while he should have been focusing on their fight. He was stronger than basically everyone he knew, including every single person in Monskon City. There were definitely more powerful people in the world, but here and now, they could only test their power on each other.
Without warning, Zae Zin Nim stopped fighting and simply perched atop a nearby boulder. Kai lowered his fists, doubting that she would use a dirty trick but unsure where this was going. After cocking her head in his direction, she nodded to herself and spoke.
"Judging power isn't a precise science, when you can't use spiritual sight, but you feel to me as if you have almost twice the Power I can see in your human soul."
"You're saying it just doubles my power?" Kai looked inward and frowned.
"No, not at all. I believe that you have two sources of power that exist in a steady balance. You have the strength of a human warrior with your Power, then also a monster who would be evenly matched with that warrior." Zae Zin Nim shook her head, sending her hair shimmering from side to side. "Normally, one would expect this to lead to instability and you would either deviate or kill yourself. In your case, I believe that you're subconsciously keeping yourself balanced."
"I don't see why you had to... wait. Are you saying that my monstrous abilities are limited by my human soul?"
"Exactly. I remember your strength at Rayakan, and you felt like a weaker monster then. I believe that as your soul expands, you will also open up more space for monstrous abilities."
Kai grinned as he realized that her theory felt right. It didn't make sense that there should be some random hard limit to his monstrous abilities after all, but the limits of a soul were a well-known phenomenon. No doubt he would need to be careful not to fall out of balance. She hadn't mentioned it, but he worried that if he tipped too far to the human side, his monstrous abilities might weaken or grow unstable or otherwise cause trouble.
And of course, if he tipped too far toward the monstrous side...
That didn't stop it from being a relief. He might not have a power that he could intuitively chase to grow stronger and stronger, but the power was still his. If he applied his intelligence and everything he'd learned about souls, he could continue advancing. Given what he had accomplished just to that point, he had numerous plans he could pursue.
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Zae Zin Nim hopped off her boulder to land beside him and started to open her mouth. She realized that she had to crane her neck to look up at him, scowled, and then kicked a smaller rock closer for her to stand on. As she stared at him at eye level, Kai kept his face completely serious and refused to smile.
She'd just proved she could kick his ass, after all.
"For the most part," she said, "I believe that Power is an accurate measure. Strategy and intelligence can go far, but they cannot overcome a substantial gap. However, there are exceptions, and I believe your strength may be one."
"Because people will get a false picture of my strength?" Kai asked.
"They will, but any experienced cultivator will also be familiar with shrouds and other methods of hiding one's power. With you, however, they will receive false impressions that will make it very difficult to predict your capabilities. Normally I believe that surprise techniques are petty tricks that should be better put toward raw power. You may be the exception."
"Is Power really a perfect measure, though? I'm not denying someone with 100 has a huge advantage over someone with 50, but couldn't they create a situation that plays to their strengths?"
Zae Zin Nim opened her mouth with an irritable expression, then her eyebrows relaxed slightly. "It is possible that you are right. Cultivators generally use their qi to enhance themselves overall, so their capabilities are evenly balanced in all respects. But there are body cultivation paths, and I have seen that other skills may be less balanced. In those situations, leverage would be important."
"You don't seem so dismissive of people from Deadwaste anymore." Kai grinned to make it clear he wasn't mocking her. "Changed your mind?"
"Your continent still has pathetic amounts of power, but... that isn't your fault." Zae Zin Nim shook her head slowly. "I think you need to master the basics of your power, but after that, perhaps we can go to Cloudspire. Given a proper environment, I think you could cultivate very quickly."
The idea that she would invite him back to her native continent should have been encouraging, for all that she'd spoken of trouble at home. Yet Kai instead found himself thinking grimmer thoughts. "Is that your goal? You want to return to Cloudspire and... what? Take revenge on the people who blocked you?"
"I would like to do that, yes. However, I am not yet prepared, and you certainly are not. You... would come with me and help, if I asked?"
"Of course I would." Kai wanted to put a hand on her shoulder like she was a fellow hunter, but he didn't fully understand her boundaries, so he just smiled. "I want to return in time to fight the next incursion, but that's years away. You fought my battles, so I'll fight yours."
He thought that Zae Zin Nim might have smiled just slightly, but before he could be sure she turned away and began to walk purposefully. That shielded her face with her newly long hair, and by the time he caught up her expression was neutral. Realizing that he might scare her off, Kai decided to take a safer tack.
"Exactly how much power do you need?" he asked. "Wasn't reaching Nascent Foundation your main goal?"
"My body has been refined, but not perfected." Zae Zin Nim reached up to touch one of the long black scars on her face, then her finger flinched away. "The black blood has strengthened me, but in the end it and all other impurities must be purged. When that happens, I may not be equal to my father, but I will be a cultivator who no one would dare disrespect."
"You've talked about how powerful higher stage cultivators are... after everything we've seen together, surely you wouldn't hide the details? Just how powerful are we talking?"
"I suppose there is no point keeping secrets. Beyond Nascent Foundation is the Earth Soul stage, which is entirely another realm above mine and I will not be able to attain for some time. And beyond that is the very peak of cultivation: the Sky Soul stage."
"Those are fancy-sounding names, but what does that actually mean?"
Zae Zin Nim rolled her eyes as she responded. "Be as irreverent as you want, a single Sky Soul cultivator could annihilate everyone here. I have never seen one without a shroud, but it is said that their cultivation alone grants them 1000 Power. It is said that is the highest strength an immortal can obtain."
"You don't sound so confident anymore."
"It is true there are some monsters in this world that even the greatest of cultivators cannot overcome. And..."
"The people we saw fighting over the pit?" Kai asked gently. Zae Zin Nim nodded curtly but then looked away.
"I cannot explain them, but yes, clearly they had attained a power I cannot dream of. I have never seen a Sky Soul cultivator fight, but I cannot make myself believe they were simply that stage. Clearly there is something that even the great sects on Cloudspire do not know."
"So 1000 Power is the benchmark we can actually see, huh? I'll admit that seems impossible right now, but we'll keep making progress."
"It doesn't feel so impossible anymore." Zae Zin Nim spoke very softly, not meeting his gaze. "So far you have shown no signs of being unable to cultivate, except the meager qi here and fate being against you. If you did reach Sky Soul, and had a monstrous soul to match... I don't think anyone in my father's sect could stand against you."
Given how much she hated her father, that should have been a good thing, yet Kai heard a strange unhappiness in her words. As desperately as he wanted to fully understand her family situation, he knew that pressing would get them nowhere. Perhaps she didn't truly trust him, or perhaps she had some other reason to dislike that conclusion.
Before Kai could think of a new direction to take the conversation, he saw something flickering through the sky toward them. Fast - impossibly fast. The streak of green mana would have outstripped any flying ship, splitting the sky as if the heavens themselves pointed at them.
They barely had time to prepare themselves before the streak hit the earth ahead of them and then, without warning, they were facing another opponent. Kai realized that their discussion of power had neglected another force: they were facing a Frontier elite with more power than both of them combined.