novelraw Chapter 1578 - 1577 - Offer
Chapter 1578 - 1577 - Offer
It took Lind close to 50 years to fully recover after he helped the Master Tier kraken. The final few decades had been annoying because he was so close to his peak but bits of foreign energy lingered.
He had a new appreciation for his glaring weaknesses and a large dose of humility. His early success had led him back to the assumption his harmony gave him an edge most others did not have but that was all it was, an edge.
If the playing field was level, against other Apprentice Tiers, even Haro affirmed he would be a terrifying opponent. The variance in advancement, Mysteries, and other factors began to exaggerate as a Divine Realm advanced.
Immortals were a bit more rigid in power structure. Just being a Sovereign Tier made one extremely powerful but enough Radiant or even Crystal Tiers could kill them given the right conditions.
That did not apply at all in the Divine Realm.
It was closer to a Soul Realm facing off against a Sky Realm. Both mortals, true, but a Soul Realm was not even an ant to a Sky Realm.
Still, being mortal left plenty of sneaky or ambush tactics that could win the day if used properly. Even that advantage was negated in the Divine Realm.
Lind had killed the first round by ambush but also by their ignorance of his ability. They had no idea he was even there until it was too late to do a damn thing.
Finally, his Art could hurt them but again, only if they were caught off guard. Likely, the old woman was sharing all she could remember of what she saw and detected. The Unbending Fate Faction would absolutely begin a jade slip on him and spread it around for others to learn from and be wary around him.
His distinctive features could be hidden, but Haro had warned him that may not be enough. A Divine Aura was unique and nearly impossible to hide. There were, of course, artificers and some formation masters that had goods that could aid him but compatibility was the issue.
Lind pondered all that and more as he recovered before finally being able to stretch his legs. He glanced at the red stone but could not perceive more than before.
Even with his full Life and Death Layers, his Talents seemed to have hit a wall or were simply blocked entirely. He suspected the latter more than the former.
He explored the island to see how it was doing after such a vicious battle but it was recovering nicely. It seemed his Art lingered and spread among the plants. The animals were not so fortunate.
Their population was severely depleted overall but he nurtured a few that were injured back to better health.
He now had a question that begged an answer but he was unsure how to broach the subject.
He moved to the nearest beach. He doubted it mattered which one but he chose the one he had initially awakened on. The white stretch was smooth and unblemished by recent events.
He sat down and began to meditate. He dared not call out as he was far inferior and it was up to the kraken this time to initiate if it desired to speak at all.
Injury was his specialty thus he had spoken out before, but now manners dictated he could not try again.
Months passed before a shadow fell over his head near dawn. He looked up not to a tentacle but a man!
His eyes had square irises and his robes were a dirty white that shifted yet looked refined. The more stunning part was the man was calmly standing on the Void Ocean! He has no hair as his skin was nearly translucent, but nothing was revealed aside from shimmering scales.
Lind bowed deeply with respect and waited.
"It–has–been some time since I walked the land. My injuries have healed well. Your Art is beneficial but limited at your current foundation." Lind smiled as he bowed once more.
"Senior, I know why they are coming." The man's aura flared but Lind calmly waited until it slowly retracted. "I have no idea what they gain, nor do I care, but I think you should know my bottom line."
The 2 stared at each other as the tension built but Lind only smiled.
"People are not things." They were simple words but the rumble of thunder made it clear he was serious. The kraken stared at him before his shoulders began to shake and then loud laughter rocked the Void Ocean.
"A little dragon, of all beings, believes that?!" Lind pouted. He then exerted his True Lord aura. The kraken paused before calming down.
"Can my Art help?" Lind's question actually gave the kraken pause. He began to pace but it was disturbing to see as the waves did not seem to affect his pace or orientation!
The kraken's face was so dead serious that his previous laughter seemed like a lie!
"It is dangerous. You do not know all that there is." Lind did not feel like he was being rejected but warned. He considered all he had uncovered and examined in his time on the island between condensing Mysteries or his battles.
The oddities just kept stacking up.
Nothing on the island, even after the centuries he had spent on it, was above the Crystal Tier of the Immortal Realm. Even his nurturing had produced no result there. Qi was imbalanced outside the mountain cavern but inside it was more than decent.
The commonly accepted story Haro knew was the Wild Sea was a massive stretch of the Void Ocean without any landmass, yet not only was the island there but certain groups risked coming out to steal the red stone from it.
That meant either the island had always existed or there were more out there unmapped. Yet, the odd mountain always felt unnatural to Lind's senses.
It was definitely stone to the touch but the feeling it gave him was anything but stone. It was too narrow for a volcanic formation plus it was too perfectly put to use for the red stone.
Finally, there was the beach itself. Haro had confirmed that while the Void Ocean did hold all of creation inside it, debris did exist that would make a sandy beach like he had known on any of his old worlds.
Yet, the beach he was currently standing on was pure white with no impurity anywhere to be found. He had been so bored at one point, he had checked for quite awhile!
Everything pointed to the island being relatively new with strange restrictions on it but it was not an artifact. There was no sign of any artifice anywhere until he or the invaders brought it out of their storage treasures.
The kraken in front of him took the shape of a male humanoid. He could tell from the scent as well as a few other mannerisms it no doubt picked up when it spent time on land long ago.
Assuming no racial quirks that simply let them switch around, only 1 conclusion fits all the facts.
"I am not on an island, am I?" The male kraken nearly set foot on the beach. Nearly. It was clearly another restriction. No leviathan nor kraken had taken any interest in the island, even when the Master Tier was weakened.
The only reason that would be was because another Master Tier was nearby that would kill anyone that violated the current state of affairs.
"I already swore to protect this place, senior. I do not break my word. Further, I only wish to get to the mainland once my tenure here is over, as we agreed." He was running into a wall in his progress.
Advancing his Mysteries did improve his foundation but he could do little else on the island and the imbalance would come back to bite him. The invaders had helped immensely not only with combat but recovering education afterward.
His professions, however, were entirely stagnated. Weaving could be improved as far as engraving went, but he needed compatible resources to imbue it onto and the island had none.
Grade 8 was as high as most of the resources as he had recovered from the wreckage, thus he really needed to find a place to begin to work on the rest of his cultivation.
Lind even produced examples of his work for the kraken to examine. It looked over the Law Grade items but was shocked at the quality of the pseudo-Dao Grade ones.
"You made these as an Immortal?" Lind nodded. The beast seemed knowledgeable but the elixir drew a lot of his attention. "What else?" Lind did not have much left after using a lot to aid his recovery here or there but he had a good range still.
He also brought out more Forged items but weaving only had a few plates left until he recalled one of his original works. He still had one in his ring.
A small craft appeared and he was shocked that it began to drink in the energy of the world to float happily right next to them. It was the best he had made to date but it should have started to shatter due to the density and quality of the energy around them!
He examined it in earnest and did see strain. If he so much as tried to make it fly higher, it would come apart at the seams.
The kraken was fascinated with the ship and pulled it towards him. He opened the hatch and saw the interior was very cramped but functional.
"This is not an artifact?" Lind nodded and explained how he had created vessels that could fly without the need of a cultivator. All they needed was a pilot and a proper power source the artifacts inside could convert. More complex functions would need a cultivator, but to fly, it needed none.
The kraken seemed to be considering something before his face cleared.
"You are correct, you are not on an island. I have a new proposal. You will come with us and take on a mission. If you accept, not only will you return to the land, but you will also have a guide." Lind was tempted but doubted he could get more out of it.
"I reserve acceptance unless you want to say more here." The kraken shook his head.
"If you reject, we will still take you, but never return here unless invited again." Haro suddenly stirred.
[Master, I think I know what it might be. It would be helpful to accept but I will not say more here.]
The kraken's aura became heavy but then pulled back. He heard every word!
Lind sighed before nodding and offering his hand. The kraken paused but then took it in his own. The hand was powerful and felt like the skin was always moving. It was fascinating!
Lind had a new agreement and a firm idea of what was going on.
The red stone was a baby and the island was its mother!