At last they had reached the Sapphire Wind Oasis. Finally. Teleportation should have made everything easier, yet it only made Zae Zin Nim more impatient. Elven rituals and other distractions were only a small addition compared to a long trip, but when they could be at their destination in seconds, such diversions were intolerable. People getting in their way were just infuriating.

Most of the distance had been crossed in an instant - the Sapphire Wind Oasis lay in the far north of the Elven Wilds. Instead of a pure desert, this region was a scrubland with a variety of plants, most notably cacti with lotuses floating above them. Best of all, she could feel the qi in the air, overwhelming even the chakra for once.

Now only one final line of elves stood in their way, blocking their path to the oasis. It was actually a large region with multiple lakes and she hadn't pinpointed the pool of qi yet. The elves in their path couldn't even speak trade languages, or pretended not to, and so only Kai had been able to negotiate.

Finally one of their leaders emerged - another Earth Glamour stage elf. He looked over them with a barely restrained sneer.

"We have heard from Sandflower and the cultivator will be allowed inside as thanks for their service to elfkind." His gaze fell on the other two. "But your companions have no right to enter our innermost sanctums. We have preserved these oases for generations and will not have them contaminated by human filth."

"You're refusing my companions?" Zae Zin Nim started to take a step forward, but Kai touched her shoulder and held her back.

"There's no point fighting them over it. We're not going to suffer out here, and you need that qi."

She stared at him, wondering at his mind. Sometimes he seemed to have no ego at all, but this was more than that. If the elves had demanded that he kneel and beg, he probably would have done it for her sake. Better not to make him humiliate himself, because he was right about how much she needed this.

"Then I will go cultivate with them." Zae Zin Nim bowed to her companions before she went to join the elves. "I will see you tonight."

"We don't want your kind tramping through our borders every day," the elf snapped.

"Then I will cultivate until I can hold no more."

As she separated from the others Zae Zin Nim remained tense, wondering if there would be some abrupt betrayal. Even though she didn't particularly like Ceryyn, she would have preferred to have a familiar elf there instead of these hostile warriors. But no attack occurred, even when she was escorted into the community surrounding the oasis.

This faction of elves - called the Cryswind - didn't seem to maintain glamours of pure beauty, instead radiating auras of superiority. She had to admit that they were graceful, even moderately trained elves in their markets and tents moving as elegantly as advanced cultivators. Many also used qi and chakra together without the slightest apparent difficulty, which was reflected in their strength.

Even though she knew it was the glamours, Zae Zin Nim couldn't escape the tension knotting in her stomach. Part of the problem was that their sneering superiority was so familiar, just like the attitudes of many in the Brightwind sect. Except in some ways the elves had stronger claims to supremacy, if even their peasants were this strong and graceful. The problem with arrogance was the lurking fear that someone else might be capable of treating you the same way.

She focused on cultivation and fought back with her own pride. Maybe she wasn't superior to these elves right now, especially with her torn and scarred body. But she would be.

"This way, cultivator." The leader directed her away from the lakes and tents to a cluster of bright blue trees. As soon as she felt the qi contained within, she knew that she'd arrived.

When she stepped between the entrance trees, the sounds of the oasis community seemed to fall away. There was a clearing in the center of the blue forest, a canopy of branches stretching above enough that the only sunlight to enter was rendered blue. The entire space, from the carefully kept grass to the pool at the center, was a cerulean dream.

"You may cultivate all the qi that you can," the elf told her sternly. "But do not drink the water or pollute this space. We will arrange accommodations just outside for when you reach your limits."

"Thank you," Zae Zin Nim said. She had planned to stay silent to match their hostility, but real gratitude was welling up in her. This was what she needed.

Thankfully, their xenophobia meant that they left her almost immediately. Zae Zin Nim folded her legs at the side of the pond and let the peace of the oasis settle into her before she began. The qi was so rich here, the richest she'd experienced ever since she left Cloudspire.

For so long, her advancement had been held back by its absence, but now she could finally catch up. Zae Zin Nim took a deep breath and began to cultivate.

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Of course the elves were arrogant and insulting, but Kai was used to everyone looking down on him by now. Compared to Ceryyn and the other Sandflower elves, the Cryswind faction seemed far more xenophobic. If they were all dicks like this, he didn't want to spend time with them anyway.

Roughing it in the Wilds outside would be no problem, especially since this region was more hospitable than the nearly waterless desert further south. Thanks to his new spatial ring, it was easy to pull out their magical tent and other supplies, so he wouldn't even be very inconvenienced. All the details should be taken care of soon and then he could begin searching for ways to train. Assuming that some new problem wouldn't show up, anyway.

"So we're forbidden from the oasis." Omilaena's upper body emerged from the tent and she pulled the flaps around her as if cold. "And I'm so lonely... however are we going to pass the time?"

Kai seriously considered pulling something out of the spatial ring to throw at her. He hadn't considered that Omilaena's teasing might be one of the problems, but it was true that they only had one tent. After everything they'd been through, he didn't think she'd poison him in his sleep, but he didn't feel comfortable with her in a small space like that.

"Don't you have your own training to do?" Kai asked. "If I understand your power at all, you still haven't integrated that new metal, and you just got all those new poisons."

"Is training all you can think about?" Omilaena pretended to pout before she gave a brief grin. "But you're right, I have a lot of work to do. Not quite as intensive as cultivation, but it takes time to advance. What about you?"

"I was thinking I might cultivate too, but since they won't let me in... honestly, I was thinking I should examine the whole region and see if there isn't anything I can hunt."

"The elves might not like that, but we are here as guests. So long as you don't violate any major laws, they can't do much to you without degrading themselves."

"I guess I'll scout the area, then."

Kai jogged out into the wilds and marveled at how fast even a casual pace took him over the land. He'd spent so much time flying in Krysal that he hadn't realized just how much stronger his body was now. Of course, he was still slow and clumsy compared to the demons or elves. Maybe this was a good time to begin working on a mobility technique.

Before he could investigate the whole region, much less find any monsters, he was intercepted by the elf leader who had confronted him before. Kai had listened in on the elvish conversation earlier and knew the man's name was Heruul Cryswind. Just in case this meeting turned into a conflict, he examined the man's soul.

<

Name: Heruul Cryswind

Total Power: 848

Soul Cultivation: Earth Glamour (392)

Elven Cultivation: Body Refinement (100)

Physique Level: E-9 (107)

Soul Level: 7 (249)

>

Somehow he had two forms of cultivation, both the usual elven glamours and another at the Body Refinement stage. Examining more carefully, Kai was fairly sure that the glamour was some sort of pure chakra cultivation, while the second was pure qi. That was fascinating and he wanted to ask more, but based on the elf's expression, this wasn't the time.

"We cannot forbid you from our lands," Heruul said, "but we do not want you prowling around."

"I meant no offense." Since smiling hadn't worked earlier, Kai tried formality. "I want to be useful while I'm here, so-"

"There is nothing we need from you. Stay in your camp, if you must stay at all."

Kai sighed and pressed on. "I'm a monster hunter by profession. Surely there are inconvenient monsters that you wouldn't mind letting someone else exterminate."

"We need nothing from outsiders. Our hunters sharpen their knives on hunts, from the lowliest monsters to the noble unicorn hunts." Heruul arched a finely-groomed eyebrow at him. "If you truly believe yourself worthy to be a hunter, then you must pass our tests. Come this way."

Most likely this wasn't actually an honest invitation, but it was a better angle than Kai had seen so far. He followed Heruul east, away from the main oasis to a pond of brackish water. This one seemed to have numerous thin trees growing out of it, but the strange part was that a huge swath of them had been chopped to stumps of the same height.

There were more young elves there, some relaxing around the sides of the pond while others sparred atop the tree trunks. So it was some sort of stability exercise? They made it look easy, but he saw how the thin trunks bent under their weight.

"Clear the area!" Heruul only had to gesture once and all the elves vacated the pond. He leapt forward gracefully and alighted on a single foot atop one bending trunk. "This human wants to hunt with us. Why don't we let him undertake our test for new hunters?"

Kai had expected laughter, but the elves appeared surprisingly somber. They were all watching him expectantly, so he took a breath and stepped out to the nearest trunk.

It wavered under his weight even more than he expected and he nearly lost his balance. Kai pitched to one side and barely caught himself on another trunk. There were a few titters from the audience, quickly silenced. Some of them actually seemed a little surprised that he hadn't fallen directly into the pond. He'd do his best to exceed their expectations.

Now that he was above it, the water smelled worse than he expected. Kai tried to ignore that and focused on Heruul Cryswind.

"Do you have the grace and poise to spar here?" the elf asked. "We shall see. Attack me."

After giving a polite bow, Kai took a step from one trunk to another. It was different from moving on normal ground, but he was getting the hang of it. When Heruul danced forward and swept at his legs, Kai was able to dodge without disgracing himself. His back foot missed the next trunk and he barely managed to redirect it to the side of another, then engaged his core and pulled himself upright.

Heruul frowned in surprise and advanced more aggressively. Kai moved first, before his opponent could control the rhythm, and actually forced him back.

Then Heruul moved in a stunningly fast maneuver, flipping over Kai and grabbing his shoulders in the process. Before he could even react, Kai found himself thrown off the trunks. As he spluttered out of the filthy water he heard the laughter: rolling waves of mockery, as if they had all been waiting for this moment and now relished his humiliation. Heruul balanced on one foot, smug in his superiority.

Kai pulled himself back up in a single vaulting motion and grinned. "Again."