Standing atop the floating body of a dead monster. Spear through his side, blood trickling down his leg. Anxious cultivators all around him, ready for violence.
Everything would turn on this moment. So Kai gave them all his best grin.
"Threw on instinct, huh?" He gripped the spear and pulled it out of his side without a grunt of pain, then held it up non-aggressively. "I don't blame you. I could really use a bath after that."
The tension broke and cultivators lowered their qi all around them. A few smiled at him, one swatted the young man who had thrown the spear, and some just pulled out magical artifacts to begin working on the body of the Great Cetae. Apparently he'd made the right choice based on what Zae Zin Nim had told him about Cloudspire's cultures.
Just in case there was still some aggression, Kai didn't make any sudden movements. His side hurt just a little now that he wasn't high on adrenaline, but a spear through his side was no longer a serious injury. Behemoth's Heart was strong enough to resist the qi shockwaves, so now the hole was closing up quickly. Meanwhile he took a look at the spear in his hand and discovered that the bright blue color appeared to be because it had been carved, or perhaps grown, from coral. How strange.
Once he was free, Kai dropped into the water to clean off all the blood and gore. When he popped out again, he saw that the cultivators had flown some sort of ship closer to the corpse: a large disc of stone. It was covered in markers that he didn't know and weren't translated by the Alltongue Fruit, so it was either an ancient language or some sort of symbolism.
The other young man he'd noticed during the battle was standing atop the stone, apparently flying it with his qi alone, and gestured for him to approach. Kai leapt from the water, this time avoiding the shockwaves from Thunderbird's Wings and instead gracefully arcing to land on the disc. He shed water everywhere, but it sluiced off the sides as if the vessel was built for such things.
"Thank you for your assistance," the man said with a deep bow. Not exactly the way Zae Zin Nim bowed, but close enough. Kai mimicked his posture and bowed back.
"I'm honored to assist in your hunt." Hopefully that was inoffensive enough.
"It is the season for hunting the Great Cetae, but we underestimated how ancient and canny this beast was, so it got the better of us."
"Ah, I understand now. I knew there must have been a surprise, or the Bloodcoral sect would never have needed assistance from a barbarian cultivator like myself."
"Yes, that's rather strange." The young man stroked his chin as he regarded Kai thoughtfully. "The others assumed you were from one of the smaller tribes, but I know that isn't local chakra. You must be from Rosemount? We don't get many foreigners on the western coast."
Kai nodded and used his spiritual sight on the young man, just to keep things even. He was an Earth Soul to the other cultivators' Nascent Foundation, so he must be someone important in the sect. Potentially extremely important, depending on how large they were, since only the strongest sects had a Sky Soul cultivator. Best to stay on his good side.
"Why don't you introduce yourself, foreigner? Why are you here?"
The questions were starting to get a bit arrogant. Kai knew he was supposed to be polite, but he also couldn't let others walk all over him. Zae Zin Nim hadn't explained exactly what to do in a situation like this, but he'd been dealing with her prickly nature long enough that he might be able to guess. Something that asserted himself without making anyone lose face...
"I'll gladly give you my name," Kai said, "if you do me the same honor. I've only just arrived on your continent and I've yet to meet anyone."
"Not at all. In fact, it would be a credit to your reputation... if you intend to travel in our direction, that is."
That was definitely a question and a challenge in one statement. Kai resisted the urge to look back toward the others and instead simply shook his head. "As you noted, I am a foreigner here. What I seek is to improve my primitive cultivation, but if you are offering an exchange..."
"We could indeed." Cor Li Xan abruptly grinned at him. "We'd welcome you, truthfully. The Bloodcoral sect is spread thin along the coast and could use new allies. If you're willing to fight for us, we can pay you in advancement resources. It's impressive you've come so far on your own, but if you want to be a cultivator, you need proper qi, not that Rosemount sludge."
Kai wondered if he should pretend to be offended for Rosemount, then decided he didn't care. "I know enough of Cloudspire to know your reputation, but not your current situation. What sort of fighters do you need?"
"Come this way." Cor Li Xan made a broad gesture and the stone disc began to speed toward the coast. "You've seen the dangers here. The west coast is by far the most dangerous on Cloudspire, with monsters emerging from the deep oceans. Our strength as a sect is built on this challenge."
"But you said you're spread thin, keeping the monsters away from the continent?"
"Ordinarily it would be no trouble, but we must also compete against other sects in the Western Wilds, as well as savage tribes, mercenaries, and armies from afar. The Western Wilds are the most prestigious region of Cloudspire, so exceptional strength is required to compete."
"I see." Kai nodded as if he was thinking it over. "I do not know your ways, but if you would exchange qi for a strong arm, then I would be happy to fight for the Bloodcoral sect."
"Excellent!" Cor Li Xan didn't touch him, but his grin was practically a clap on the shoulders by Cloudspire standards. "For a start, your aerial technique is impressive, but no cultivator should need to travel around so violently. Let's give you a proper means of transportation."
Cor Li Xan reached into a bag that proved to be a spatial item, because he pulled a long sword from it, a foot wide and almost as tall as him. It seemed to be a flying sword, which Kai accepted respectfully. He briefly wondered if this was a scam, if giving him a relatively cheap sword was a way to brush off any payment for helping them with the Great Cetae. Yet Cor Li Xan didn't seem to be trying anything on him and reached into his spatial sack again.
"You saved the lives of many weaker cultivators," Cor Li Xan said, "so let me give you these qi pills they would have earned. If you can fight for us, this will be only the start. I also have some medicinal pills for you, and let me find you some Bloodcoral robes. Then again, we may not have any in your size..."
Kai accepted the box, which reminded him of the one he'd found in Zae Zin Nim's things so long ago. It was a small wooden case with two compartments, each of which had a few pills rolling around in it. Some were the "medicinal pills", which didn't impress him much, but the qi pills were rather potent. He could definitely cultivate with those and get closer to the peak of the Body Refinement stage.
"Ah, this will do for now." Cor Li Xan pulled out a red and blue cloak that matched those of all the other cultivators - not full robes, but an outer layer that would make Kai match. He wanted to grab it, but hesitated, his attention stretching out over the ocean.
He could no longer feel Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena, and they hadn't pursued, which meant they must have veered to land at a different point. This was exactly what they had planned, and he would still meet up with them later, but he found himself missing them. There'd been so little time to say goodbye and now his wives were off on their own journey.
And he'd started his. Kai turned back and grasped the Bloodcoral cloak.