novelraw Chapter 444 - 443 - Acceptance
Chapter 444 - 443 - Acceptance
Lind dreamt of the future. It would not be wrong to say that ever. After the war, many things besieged the Sect Master. Even so, he never stopped trying to shape the world to his vision.
In the Wild Heart isle, only Lady Gua truly accepted his proposal carried via his wives, but after the war things changed. He gained the Singing Mountains. As the winds played over them, they truly seemed to sing.
It sounded forlorn and painful but Lind liked it. He liked to see how the Qi interacted with the world at any given time. The Singing Mountains were not simply wind blowing through narrow gaps but air Qi interacting with earth Qi.
The open plains held many other types of beasts but the tall grasses made it almost as dark at ground level as the trees in the Mengcong. There was no grand ceremony or anything formal, but it was as if all the neighboring beasts accepted that Lind now ruled such a vast territory.
He sometimes was frustrated by aether beast bluntness but he completely appreciated the lack of red tape. It had issues, but in that instance, it was very welcome.
His body was weak for a month after the war. The strange spirit in his ring had clearly known his exact tolerance as everything was pushed to the breaking point but not beyond. Still, his foundation was strangely more solid than ever before so his progress was explosive enough to reach tier 4 without a hitch.
He was even almost to the peak of it!
The difference between tier 3 and 4 of the Sky Realm was difficult for him to grasp. The first 3 tiers of the Sky Realm were fearsome power to World Realms but felt like the qualitative leap they should be. Yet, the 4th tier felt like a whole major realm jump!
His Sky Core was now demarcated by the 2 weaving rings so he could see his Qi expanding but he now suspected it was also refining the elements as well. It would explain why many Sky Realms struggled to progress if they only increased their Qi but did not comprehend it well.
That lack of comprehension would forever block them.
In a way, 6 elementals had an easier time at the Sky Realm. To get as far as they had, all of the elements and their harmonies had to be deeply comprehended. Instead of lagging, Lind was now catching up to his wives!
They still had a massive head start but the gap was closing!
Still, his understanding from Ethry was she had issues rising in the 6th tier and his cultivation was compounded by his weaving ring. He had to study many things to advance but the feeling of making such a huge step felt wonderful.
"Lord Frey, welcome to our home." A young Fire Hawk spoke up to his left as they descended to the western slopes of the mountains. The singing was very entrancing but he focused on the caves.
He was curious why the Light Ravens and Fire Hawks could live so fruitfully in mountains that had no sign of the elements they favored. Theoretically the Light Ravens could live anywhere so long as light was plentiful, but Qi was better.
The moment Lind stepped inside, he felt the change in the air. Fire Qi was everywhere! The deeper they went, the brighter it got!
Volcanoes, the Singing Mountains were volcanoes! The profound level of Qi easily reached the peak of the Sky Tier if not beyond by a bit, but Lind noticed the many formations and arrays carved into the interior stone.
The power of the volcanoes was being channeled to various chambers and areas. He also suspected something similar in the eastern reaches of the mountain range but he would check it out later.
"You are not bothered, Lord Frey?" Lind was about to ask what the young hawk meant when he realized a change in his body. He was standing next to a heat source that even for him should be scorching but he felt nothing!
He was actually quite comfortable. He had been around the Scorched Gorge for 5 years and felt the oppressive heat often in similar places but now he felt nothing. A simple increase in his cultivation was not enough explanation.
Lind carefully moved closer but while his robes became scorched despite the weavings and inscriptions on them, his skin did not even sweat! He transformed his left hand as it had no storage ring on it and carefully held it over the flowing lava.
Still nothing!
He carefully dipped a bit and instead of scorching pain or burning, he simply felt the soothing feeling of the viscous lava flow over his scales. There was no smoke or hissing at all. It was as if the lava welcomed him home!
A crazy thought entered his mind and he quickly extracted his hand but used fire Qi and earth Qi to take a globe of lava with it. He let it barely cool before placing it in his bare human hand.
Nothing! He actually felt sad it was so cold!
"I am not human anymore." Lind had suspected for a while that his transformation seemed to become easier and easier but now he had confirmation. He looked human and maybe even still considered himself one, but his body was leaving humanity behind.
He was the reverse of aether beasts. The farther along he went in cultivation, the closer he came to being a true dragon in body and soul. He was not sure how he felt about it. He wanted more control over his own body!
"Lord Frey?" The Fire Hawk looked down at him in confusion but Lind shook his head and simply waved it off.
"This is quite impressive. I can see a few places for some improvements to help efficiency but that is all. Your ancestors were amazing." Lind meant every word. He knew enough to see some places in need of repair but the work was exquisite.
The power of nature was enhanced to make a good home for the Fire Hawks. The young hawk flared out his chest in pride as he hid his moist eyes from Lind. A good lord had come over them at last!
Lind smirked and then examined the rest of the system. He noticed a few nests full of bright red eggs bathed in circles of lava. His instincts told him they would hatch soon but he completely suppressed any desire to eat them!
He may be becoming a dragon but he would define the etiquette!
After half the day was done Lind emerged back into daylight refreshed. He did not mind the sudden drop off in temperature but at least he felt it. It was not indifference to change, he simply felt like he belonged anywhere he went.
A sudden memory of Ethry announcing she was master of all places came back to him and he wondered if it was not simply the words of a child but the true feelings of all dragons. Sweat finally broke out that he would be meeting many more dragons in the future and likely they were the same as her!
A whole clan of Ethrys made him pray for the future.
A small bird was waiting for him under the watchful gaze of an older Fire Hawk. The elder was only tier 7 but his prowess in battle was well known. The small Light Raven looked arrogant until Lind fixed a gaze on it.
"Well?" He had 2 reasons to come to the mountains. He wanted to see the Fire Hawks home and help them out if needed, but it was also to settle the one race behind the whole war.
The remaining shrikes had submitted but were being annoying about his rules while the rest of the zheng followed Mother of Blood to submit to him.
He was stunned that the vicious zheng could be so docile. Strength made beasts do weird things!
The only race left was the Light Ravens.
"We have decided to stay." Unlike the Fire Hawks that Lind just understood due to being a dragon soul, the Light Ravens had an incredible ability to talk clearly in the Sky Realm.
Lind waited and then exerted his soul on the bird which made it flinch. It was a tier 8 but a mere tier 4 made it move! The indignation was clear.
"You know the terms of staying, so speak." Lind's cold tone made the Fire Hawks feel vindicated. They had disliked the tactics and ways of Lira very much but they could not defeat her.
Han had been able to manage them but his waning life had weighed heavily on them all.
The Light Raven finally sighed and took to the air. Lind followed with both Fire Hawks in tow. They reached the eastern slopes but unlike the hawks, the ravens did not make tunnels.
They made massive nests in natural overhangs or other areas that protected them from the elements but at the heart of it, Lind saw a distortion with his Eyes. All the surviving ravens were at that distortion.
Why?
"If you can lift the restriction, we will swear the Oaths." The same Light Raven spoke again and Lind looked at the distortion before he realized what he was looking at. The Fire Hawks had a containment and dispersal setup to moderate the Fire Qi, but it was just for Fire Qi.
Anyone was free to come and go as they wished.
In front of him was a true seal. The profound Qi on it was clear to all. A Star Tier had laid it down. Lind frowned as it had clearly been modified.
"She took it all for herself?" The Light Ravens looked away at his question but Lind did not need an answer. All of the war was for Lira to advance. She refused to work for her own cultivation and used entire races to gain what she needed.
A much more human line of thought but the seal was just petty.
Lind examined it but knew breaking it was out of the question. Still, he knew better ways. Light and darkness Qi flowed around him as formation arrays appeared in massive numbers.
The birds were in shock as all their attempts had been useless, yet a lowly tier 4 got a reaction! The flow of Qi suddenly shifted and the distortion became transparent! Light Qi exploded forth in joy for the Light Ravens.
Lind narrowed his eyes at all the eggs inside as many birds rushed forward to hug and reclaim their young. Rage filled Lind but Lira was already dead. She paid the price.
"Speak the Oaths and take care of your young. I will modify the protection so that it never happens again." His words were like a wave. It was the moment of choice for their race. Rather than speak right away, they seemed to look at each other deeply.
"We disagree. We will take our children and leave. When we meet again, we will be enemies." As one, the Light Ravens took to the skies. Lind felt at a loss but then realized it was not how humans would behave at all.
Benefits did not matter to the beasts but they had pride and strength. They simply looked at the world through a different lens.
"I am still human after all, it seems." Lind accepted the choice and realized he was in a gray area of existence. He turned to the Fire Hawks. "Barring objections, you are welcome to the eastern slopes as well. Enjoy."
The Fire Hawks beamed as light Qi was very good for them too! They would become much stronger faster! The Wild Heart Isle settled but a storm was coming. A storm that would change the world.