Now that he had a target, Kai made much faster progress. There wasn't much in this wilderness that could stop him outside of other people, since the greatest challenge seemed to be actually tracking the sacred beasts. A few like the golden bull were obvious, but others were quick and subtle. Over the next week he saw another Savage Creed user, but she didn't let him get close.

As he traveled far to the northeast he began to worry that he'd missed the meeting point, especially since a full moon was coming up in days. Then he finally spotted a circle of stones, each standing five times his height, and realized this had to be the place. Massive symbols had been drawn roughly on the sides, as if by an ancient claw. If the Savage Creed members were going to meet anywhere, he wasn't surprised that it was a place like this.

Since the moon wasn't quite full yet, Kai camped nearby and returned to his usual training. Since he hadn't been pushed to his limits recently, it was easy to slip into an obsessive routine that maximized every single minute of the day. Physique training with breaks spent cultivating, chakra absorption balanced by working on the Thunderbird essence. It wasn't quite perfect, he felt like he was missing something, but at least he was making progress.

Then the others started to appear. Just two others at first, keeping their distance, but he noticed their Savage Heart abilities even at range. Since they hadn't really started to gather and made no moves toward him, Kai continued his routine and waited.

It was a powerful bunch, especially assuming they hid a significant portion of their power within special transformations. Only about 30% women, though, which was more unbalanced than usual. Even the demons had more women. Kai wasn't sure if he was actually making a meaningful observation or if it had just been way too long since he'd been with anyone.

Many of the older and stronger members had Power around 400 or 500, which was probably even higher when they showed their transformations. But a surprising number were younger, with only 200 or so Power and low Soul Levels. Kai was completely confident he was stronger than them, even using only his human abilities. Many of them seemed to be trainees, wearing necklaces that held between one and three fangs - the older members didn't seem to wear theirs.

Eventually, the day before the full moon, two of them approached him. A man even more muscular than Kai with shaggy black hair and a woman whose stitched leathers revealed the most cut abs Kai had ever seen on a woman.

"This is no place for outsiders," the woman told him sternly. "Leave."

"I'm here to stop being an outsider." Kai had strung the two fangs he'd earned on a cord and held it aloft. "I want to learn the Savage Heart."

"But not follow the Savage Creed?" The man snarled at him, his face actually distorting with an animal jaw momentarily. "We have no room for your kind."

"You want me to lie to you? I didn't think this was a creed for conformists. I'm here for power, and if you won't cooperate, I'll try to take it."

That made the woman chuckle. "You have to know you're outmatched, but I admire your spunk. My name is Tyorcut. I teach many of the younger hunters. You've started to prove yourself, but you have further to go."

"He isn't cut out for it." The man scowled at his partner and then reluctantly introduced himself. "I'm Krugbash, head of this circle. You can show yourself tonight and howl at the moon."

"I'm Kai," he said. "Those names are new to me."

"We choose our own when we choose our new lives. No more chatter. Tonight you'll prove yourself or you won't."

Kai had to wonder if he'd literally meant howling at the moon or whether it was some local metaphor. The Alltongue Fruit handled translation perfectly, but it couldn't remove all ambiguity. As the two of them left to go join others in the circle of stones, Kai examined their souls.

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<

Name: Krugbash

Total Power: 428

Savage Heart: 19 (192)

Physique: D-0 (200)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

>

<

Name: Tyorcut

Total Power: 522

Savage Heart: 16 (165)

Fierce Yoni: Amber Rank (98)

Physique: D-2 (210)

Soul Level: 7 (49)

>

He was surprised to see that Tyorcut had 522 power while Krugbash only had 428, since he'd said he was some sort of leader. Assuming their savage forms added around 200, they were both formidable, but he supposed it was possible that as a Savage Heart specialist his form would add even more. Yet his Soul Level was lower... Kai decided there was no sense trying to figure out all the details when in theory they could be training him soon.

After the sun set the moon shone far brighter than the previous night, so intensely that the standing stones cast ghostly shadows. Some of the Savage Creed followers gathered together, but the strongest leapt to the top of the stones - ten of them, perhaps ten leaders. They seemed to be communing in some way and Kai wasn't sure if he was interrupting some sort of ritual, but he still walked out into the circle.

"We have a guest who seeks to join the Savage Creed!" Krugbash shouted over the others, who settled down and looked toward Kai. "You believe you have what it takes to kindle a Savage Heart?"

"I do," Kai said. Instead of looking at the leader, he turned slowly, meeting the gaze of all the men and women who stared at him. "I've traveled across two continents to meet you." That was stretching the truth, but he was getting the sense that the Savage Creed was vulnerable to flattery.

"Then show us your spirit! Draw on the beast inside you and howl at the moon!"

Kai hesitated, wondering if they were mocking him. In a way it would be a relief if this savage barbarian routine was just a pretense and they'd all relax after the initial ruse. Yet the leaders raised their heads and begin to howl, some of them even shifting their heads into wolf-like forms. They were definitely using their chakra in a way he hadn't felt before and he had no idea how to copy it.

Still, he could only do his best. Kai threw back his head and howled.

In that moment he felt something tremble inside his spirit, his chakra reacting in a new way. Usually chakra was imbued in physical materials, but now he felt as if he was absorbing something from the moonlight itself. When it ended he was trembling in anticipation... and yet a part of him knew what he was going to hear.

"Nice try." Krugbash sneered down at him from atop his pillar. "You aren't chosen of the moon, you don't have the ferocity, and you're infected by the weakness of civilization. Run back home, boy."

Years ago Kai would have been crushed, but by now he was an old hand at being denied by fate. He raised the two fangs he'd earned for them all to see. "I don't care. I see you have younger members no stronger than me, still in training. If you believe I don't have what it takes, prove it. Throw the same challenges at me and see if I fail."

His rebuttal seemed to earn a few nods from those watching, though there was some resentment from the younger Savage Creed followers. Kai lowered his fist but not his gaze, willing Krugbash to deny him. The other man sneered, but he did answer.

"You have no idea what you're facing. To obtain a true Savage Heart, you need to climb the Death Bluff without chakra, hunt the twelve great beasts, survive a mortal blow, perfect the savage roar, and kindle your heart. We'll send you back home whimpering."

"Survive a mortal blow?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a cheap trick to me. If I survive, it obviously wasn't a mortal blow. Is that the sort of cheap trick you play here?"

That got a few laughs from those around the stones. Krugbash growled and leapt down to stand opposite him. He obviously wanted to loom, but Kai was too tall and didn't back up.

"Do not mock us!" Krugbash raised a fist. "The challenge means to endure a blow from a true Savage Heart, without defense. If you don't have the courage to-"

"Then do it. Right now."

Kai had just been intending to rile the other man up, but Krugbash actually struck immediately. As his fist flew forward, it twisted into the jaws of a snake, which were going straight for his throat. It looked like he was really going for a killing blow, not something that any of the young trainees around them could have survived. But even the lashing snake seemed to be moving a bit slowly to Kai and he decided to take the blow.

The fangs punched deep into his flesh and it seemed like Krugbash tried to tear out his throat. Kai jerked away from the final movement, avoiding the tearing motion. His throat was in bad shape and there was blood spurting from his neck where the artery had been cut.

Kai reached up and put his hand over the spurts of blood. He stood there, willing Behemoth's Heart to focus on recovery, without ever breaking the other man's gaze. Krugbash looked a bit shocked, and based on the murmuring the blow had been too brutal. Some of them started to move toward him curiously, so he needed to act.

His throat was still too damaged to speak easily, but his artery had healed over. Kai removed his hand, covered in his own blood, and extended it to Krugbash. The Savage Heart leader stared for several heartbeats, then snarled and hurled a fang at him.

To buy time, Kai carefully strung the fang with the other two and then raised all three over his head.

"I don't care what you say about my spirit," he told them. "I'll be back next month."