Chapter 80 - New Grounds (2)

Kai's carriage rode deep into the canyon which started to split into different pathways. Kai only chose the paths large enough to allow the carriage to pass through. According to the information that he had received, the beasts were all located around the center of the Canyon.

This area was synonymous with being a high-level hunting ground since all the beasts that appeared were [Grade-2]. There was even a rumor that the deepest part of the Canyon was home to an incredibly powerful and deadly [Grade-3] beast, however very few were brave enough to explore that deep so it was still unconfirmed.

Most [Grade-3] beasts could only be hunted by the best Hunter teams or internal cultivators. This was why the goods made from such materials were so astronomically expensive.

As Kai thought of this, the group rode into a natural enclosure surrounded by large canyon walls. Inside was a massive, goat-like creature, covered in a thick grey hide that looked almost like stone. The creature was twice the size of a [Fungus-Ape] with two massive curved horns displayed proudly on its head.

Kai ordered for the carriage to stop before the beast knew they were there. He then used [Qi-Detection] on it.

[Stone-Ram] [426 Qi] [Grade 2]

"This seems to be the place", Kai said quietly as he led his team off the carriage.

"I'll recap what I explained earlier. These guys are much slower than the [Fungus Ape], but they can do a whole lot more damage so don't get hit. I'll go in first and test out the waters. Make sure to watch closely and get used to the way it moves."

When Kai had finished speaking, he Qi-enhanced his whole body using Wind-Qi and ran towards the beast. The [Stone-Ram] noticed Kai's approaching figure and turned to look at him menacingly while letting out loud snarling sounds. Its skin started to glow softly and a hard-looking layer of rock encased its body.

Kai noticed this but didn't slow down as he jumped up into the sky. Now that Kai had access to Wind-Qi, his agility had improved by leaps and bounds. He could now jump almost twice as high with minimal effort.

The beast instantly lost sight of Kai when he leaped into the air. It looked up in confusion and hadn't noticed that Kai had already landed behind it. angered by losing its target so quickly, the beast lowered its horns and began a series of vicious random attacks.

Kai effortlessly avoided the attacks by making a series of side-steps. This only worked enraged the beast even more as it roared loudly while the intensity of its attacks increased. This went on for a long time as Kai made no attempts to retaliate. He would simply dodge each attack at the last possible moment.

"OK, I think that should be enough. Have you three memorized its attack patterns and cool-down time?", Kai yelled while dodging another attack from the [Stone-Ram].

"What is a cool-down?", Ryu quietly asked Old Lao. He had never heard this phrase before so he was at a loss for words. Kai had a tendency of using odd words that the three disciples did not understand.

"I believe Master wants to know if we've gotten used to the beast's movement and speed...", Old Lao said, however, the uncertainty in his tone was evident.

"You guys should pay attention. The creature's speed has been steadily increasing. Look at its eyes, it seems to have gone completely mad...We might need to move...", Mina said this as she pointed towards the eyes of the creature.

Old Lao and Ryu shifted their attention back to the battle and saw that it was true, However, what alarmed them most was that the beast now charging in their direction!.

Kai had been testing the beast's skills to see if it had any hidden skills, however, other than its large size and tough hide, the [Stone-Ram] wasn't anything that Kai had to worry about. The only issue was that beast had gone insane and was making a mad charge towards his disciples.

Kai super-enhanced his legs with Wind-Qi and took off in Ram's direction. Kai's speed was now beyond human, so within a few moments, he was already in front of the creature. Kai covered his right arm with scales from [Primordial-Dragon's Scale Armament] then super-enhanced his entire arm with Wind-Qi, giving his arm a visible green glow.

The [Stone-Ram] had completely lost all rationality and was running horns first into Kai while foaming at the mouth. Kai waited for the right moment before he threw his fist at the beast's head while making sure to activate his stone-poise skill, making him immovable. The result was that the full impact of the collision was taken by the [Stone-Ram]. When Kai's fist connected, his Wind-Qi completely ripped the beast's hide to shreds.

Its skull cracked and was actually shattered upon impact due to the force from the beast's momentum. The rest of the body wanted to keep moving forward however Kai's Wind-Qi fist violently forced it back. The beast was messily split into pieces and flew away in a mist of blood and guts, completely shocking everyone within the vicinity.

This was currently the strongest offensive attack that Kai could muster. He was curious as to how much damage he could do considering the beast's tough hide.

"..." Kai looked at the beast's remains and was at a loss for words. The hide looked quite hard so he had taken it seriously and decided to use his strongest offensive attack, but he never expected the creature to explode like that.

"Master, that was incredible!", Mina said as she ran up to Kai. He was completely covered in the beast's guts and brain matter, however, Mina did not mind that and she came straight up to his face.

"What technique was that? can you teach it to me?", Mina said with twinkles in her eyes.

"Ah...well, all in due time. For now, I want you guys to collect whatever useful materials are left from this one. The next one you will have to fight on your own"

Kai had every intention of teaching them the [Tempest Dragon's Law], but only when he had a much better internal manual for himself. This was also why Kai was in such a hurry to get money so that he could buy high-grade materials to make new Manuals with.

The more manuals he could make, the more combinations that he could try out. Kai had a feeling that with enough resources, he could create the most powerful internal manual that this world has ever seen.

As he thought about this, Kai went back to the carriage and used a specialty talisman that would clean both himself and his clothing. Kai knew that his fighting style was quite brutal so he had taken precautions to make sure that he wouldn't have to walk around looking like a murderous lunatic covered in blood.

Mina ran up to Kai and continued pestering him about wanting to learn the skill, while Ryu and Old Lao stared blankly at the bloody remains.

"...We...we should go look for something useful in there...right", Ryu said incredulously.

"Indeed...something useful...." Old Lao said sarcastically as the two went off digging in the pool of blood.