Chapter 96: Under The Moonlight

"Anyways, now that annoyance is over." Kali looked over to Cain, question filling her eyes. "With our rewards, how should we spend the rest of our days? In my opinion, I think we should just take the full leap to the Profound Soul Realm. I mean, our foundations are more than solid enough, right?"

Achieving the Profound Soul Realm was said so causal by Kali. This wasn't some major milestone for her. But just another walk in the park, a feat that she can achieve with a simple flip of her palm.

If any cultivator around Crimson Sea Academy were to hear this, the damage to their psyche would be heavy.

Some would even directly cough up blood at such bold ridiculousness!

Achieving the Profound Soul Realm is commonly known to take years. Hell, some top-tier talents stay stranded in the Nascent Formation Realm for the rest of their lives, already dried up of all of their potentials.

However, the standard norm simply can't be applied to either Cain or Kali.

They didn't need years to cultivate, nor did they have the time to slowly cultivate.

Kali, more than ever, wanted to shoot right up to the Profound Soul Realm. With this level of prowess achieved, she was sure all of their plans could finally get rolling.

And once they reach the Profound Soul Realm, their cultivation won't stall. But only soar even faster!

By the time they leave Azure Lightning City, Kali had immensely high expectations for their cultivation.

However, her hopes were soon dashed.

"We could potentially get to the Profound Soul Realm….but, let's take it steps back." Cain shook his head.

And before Kali could protest, Cain continued to speak.

"The time needed to stabilize our foundation only increases with each level. Even if we devote all of our time to cultivating, our prowess will only remain stagnant. We need battles to perfect our foundation and further enhance our combat prowess. So when we do achieve future breakthroughs, our combat prowess will experience great leaps. For the next several days, we will gradually use our resources but not all at once. Mainly we will focus on strengthening our Draconic Arts in those Elemental Rooms. And also continue to cultivate Astral Energy."

"This….well, if you put it like that, I have no option but to accept, right?" Kali sighed in acceptance, her expression relenting.

Just a moment later, however, her eyes brightened.

"Say, speaking of Astral Energy, do you think these Mortals would have a method to form that Astral Core? Even with our Talent, I'm sure we'll eventually reach a limit."

Certainly, it wouldn't be a waste to start the Astral Path of cultivation at all. Kali could still vividly recall effortlessly slaughtering those Wolves because the Astral Energy seeped into her bones, enhancing her prowess.

"I doubt they would. From the way Lei Li talked, it seems like forming an Astral Core isn't some ordinary or merely decent feat. We can search around here, but if we don't find anything, we'll just use connections from the World Spirit Guild when we join there. For now, let's go home and refine our Spirit Energy and Martial Skill."

"Alright then."

Immediately after saying so, Cain and Kali split off from each other, going to houses, ready to start another long night of arduous cultivation.

….

At this time in the Ranking Open-field, the beautiful shimmering moon hung high into the skies.

The moonlight glow covered the entirety of the Ranking Open-field, creating a peaceful sight that can help soothe anyone's mind.

At a house not too far away from Cain's, two enchantingly beautiful young women were on the rooftop.

The first young woman casually laid down on the roof, basking in the moonlight glow. Her whole Aura amplified soothing ease that perfectly blended with the calming atmosphere of the night.

Her expression as well was beautifully peaceful. One wouldn't think this young woman had serious or deep thoughts on first glances.

The other young woman standing next to her was a classy type of maiden. She emitted the presence of pure nobility, elegant and the utmost refined.

This was the budding bearing of a future young heroic elite.

Her most striking feature was one luminous shiny ruby-colored eye, twinkling a magnificent radiance.

Just from this, it was evident to tell this young maiden has something particularly unique about her bloodline.

To have different colored eyes was an exceptional rarity that's impossible to happen unless under the right circumstances.

For a while now, neither young woman talked. They both were engrossed in their own sets of thoughts.

It wasn't until Amber slightly opened her lidded eyelids, her lips softly smiling, and said,

"Leia….you have heard about those two, right? Cain and Kali? What do you think about them?"

"Those two?"

Leia promptly furrowed her brows in thought. Then, after a quiet moment, she said, "There's no doubt about it; they're excellent seeds. In their entrance exams, they easily scored top ranks that broke hundreds of years of records. Plus, they can also fight above their level, possibly several if the rumors about their mission are true. Truthfully, I would like to meet with them one day."

"My~? This is the first you seem a bit more interested in? Though, I can't really blame you. People like them have an odd, mysterious quality about them." Amber spoke with a slight tease in her voice.

"It's….not really about that. Actually, I've heard of a more interesting rumor that got more of my interest." Leia sat down to get a better range with Amber. "You see, I'm hearing from the Elders and Teachers that within two days of those two staying here, their Natura Auras turned even denser! If this is actually true, then it would mean those two cultivation speeds are probably better than some of our Seniors. You know it is difficult to increase the density of your foundation, right?

"Hoh? That is quite the feat, then. I suppose I'll really need to take a closer look at them."

Amber seemed like she had made a split decision at that moment. Her expression briefly turned bemused for just a fleeting moment before morphing back into her usual lethargicness.

"You know….you say that I'm taking more of an interest but, what about you? Some days you can even forget about your own siblings' names if I don't remind you. Since when has anything about Martial Talents hooks your attention?"

Leia pursued her question, confusion plastered across her face. She's been with Amber for this long, yet she couldn't say she knew much about this lazy girl.

However, she does have a somewhat good grasp of her behavior.

And this sudden interest is way beyond strange. It even began to slightly tire her as other memories started to surface in her mind.

In response to her reasoning, Amber didn't even take her eyes off the shiny moon.

Her eyes closed peacefully as a soft smile curved up her lips. "I'm not even sure myself. It's just….for years, it wasn't until now that my interest has finally been piqued. And I'm sure you know what that means…."

"Yea….I do…." Leia's look of exasperation only increased at those words. "Really, I wonder if they'll get swept up by your momentum. You're harmless but at the same time….powerfully persuasive."

As she trailed off, Leia already noticed that Amber had gone dead silent. This signal told her everything, and she prepared to leave.

Although, as she prepared to go, a small wry smile formed on her face. These slow days will finally get interesting once again.

….

The next day soon came, and Cain was once again meditating in his training room.

This time, he wasn't perceiving his Martial Skill or cultivating his Qi Energy. For the first half of the night, he settled his cultivation until he approached near the peak of the sixth level.

But staying true to his words, Cain didn't decide to breakthrough in one go.

With the resources he has now, it would be more than easy. Though this would come at the cost of a slightly weaker foundation.

Even until now, Cain couldn't precisely tell everything that a firmer base foundation has. The only measurement he has for himself and others is how dense and controlled their Qi Aura was.

And after only just another short night of cultivation, his Aura slightly strengthened in its Density once again.

It was such a slight increase that it won't enhance his overall prowess at all. But it did affirm Cain's decision on prolonging his breakthroughs just slightly to, in turn, become even more monstrous than he already is.

For the rest of the night, Cain focused on perceiving Spirit Energy.

His Soul Core linked with his Spirit Core, bringing him to the Spiritual Dimension, allowing him to perceive just a tiny abundance of Qi Energy.

As he slowly absorbed and perceived green Spirit Energy, Cain immediately picked up on a critical difference.

The Spirit Energy process is at least five times slower than his Qi Energy cultivation!

Cain's perception ability is absolutely top-tier. And yet, he was still heavily limited on the amount of Spirit Energy he could bring out of the Spiritual Dimension.

When the morning sun came up, Cain sensed he had only taken a few small steps towards the next class of Spirit Energy.

Swinging his eyes open, Cain frowned. He was just a little bit worried over this significant lack of progress.

'That Old Nox Soul guy didn't mention Spirit Energy practice would be this slow. If it is like this….then other World Spirit Force Masters most likely use special World Spirit resources to advance. I don't perceive any deep Aura from Spirit Energy so the limitations of foundations don't exist here. Guess it'll be better to simply focus on cultivation for now.'

Before Cain could think of his next move, he sensed Kali at his door. Immediately after, he heard her loudly knocking on his door.

Since he's still full of energy, Cain wasn't disturbed at all. He stretched out his locked-up joints and prepared for another day of training.