The sky was quiet now. No more fireworks. No cheers. No crazed moon goblins screaming into mics. Just the sound of wind sliding over the Star bite's silver sails and the occasional creak of rune-wood beneath my feet. We were still three thousand feet above the clouds, gliding westward toward the Meeting of the Thousand Clans. Below us, the Beast Vein Continent sprawled in sleeping chaos—forests of teeth, rivers of light, and mountains etched with claw marks from wars past. Most of the crew had gone to rest.
Some trained.
Others watched the stars.
But I had my own business. I stood in my quarters, Felicity dwelling silently once again in my blood stream, sleeping in preparation for our arrival and to be at full strength. Marla was quietly hovering cross-legged in the far end of the cabin, comprehending aspects of the wicked path. I observed her for a moment with my Spiritual Vorpal eye Headband. Her seething animus coiled in ropes as thick as the crimson typhoons anchor chain, she had to be close to weaving her animus into vestigium qi. My cabin walls were covered in maps and bestiary diagrams.
While Marla was busy cultivating her path, I was focused on another matter. Reading through the scrolls and martial tomes that I had plundered from the Tomb of the Thousand Lords. There were still many more powerful techniques to be learned from the collection, and I had selected one out in particular in preparation for the Meeting.
And this martial tome was ''Continuous Meteor Fists.'' Another tome that had caught my attention was a work titled
''The Secrets of Beast Tongue''
A mysterious tome containing the long lost ''Beast Tongue'' technique, said to be able to assert the speakers intent over any beast of the field, granted he was at a high enough cultivation level.
...Or so the book claimed. I flipped open the first Page and read. "Vor; I, We formal, bonded." "Nar; You, Thee, combat address." "Gha; It, That, dismissive or degraded form." "Zhun; Us, Our clan." "Therak; Rise, Emerge, Awaken." "Kata; Fight, Clash, Express violently." "Fim; End, Close, Die, well." "Fang; Strike, Bite, Attack decisively." "Tarnak; Protect, Defend, Endure." "Sarnak; Burn, Cleanse, Lightfire." "Zhol; Break, Sever, Unmake." "Jorak; Sing, Resonate, Intone with power." "Vurrah; Leap, Lunge, Dive."
MODIFIERS & ADJECTIVES
Beast Tongue Meaning: "Vin; With, Like, In the way of." "Tuk; Sacred, Ancestral, Forbidden." "Nauk; From, Beneath, out of." "Durak; Memory, Dream, Echo." "Ruhn; Flame, Will, Fire, soul." "Kora; Sharp, Clean, Focused." "Threl; Cold, Stone, Phase-shifted." "Murn; Shadow, Hidden, Unseen.' "Ta; Of, Possessive."
SYMBOLIC OBJECTS NAMES CONCEPTS.
Beast Tongue and Meaning: "Turok; Rhythm, Verse, Flow of battle." "VEL; Period, Silence, Sacred End." "Falkuun; Throne, Seat, Legacy center." "Zetrah; Crown, Halo, Divine form." "Gharn; Wound, Scar, Proof of survival." "Orrak; Bond, Fusion, Contract." "Tahr; Blade, Word, Expression of Self." "Xun'dral; Star, Above, Unreachable place."
"I closed the book and sat it down. After Cultivating with the Mind Pearl, which I still took out and sharpened with Daily, Picking up this Language would be no sweat at all. And I would be very keen to see if it really did have an effect over beasts. But there was still a more pressing matter to attend to. I reached over and pulled out the Omni Power Unit. The Omni Power Unit.
A smooth stone slab etched with sigils and glyph work, on each side of the stone slab were palm conduits. Its core pulsed faintly, but it was hungry. Until now, it had only fed on lesser forms of qi. Primitive stuff. But now…I sat cross-legged, exhaled, and reached inward. My golden qi flared—quiet, radiant, absolute. It rose from my core like a star reborn, twisting through my veins, wrapping around every fragment of will and thought. With a gesture, I placed my palm against the Omni Unit.
A golden flow of Animus spiraled into the slab and conduits like liquid geometry. The slab trembled. Lights flickered across its surface—one... two... four... eight...
The count climbed. I watched as the Thread Count Meter began calculating.
> 16,092 Threads…
> 32,510 Threads…
The number climbed rapidly, faster than it ever had before. My gold qi was dense—deeper than fire, colder than wind, refined in Sovereign chaos.
> 64,444 Threads…
> 82,112 Threads…
I narrowed my eyes.
OMNI POWER METER – THREAD COUNT ACCESS: PRIMARY ANIMUS STREAM
Animus Thread Count: 487,472
Thread Stability: 94%
Elemental affinity: Fire+Lightening+Water+Wind+Blood+Holy
''Calculating'''Calculating'''Calculating'''Calculating'''
The glyph light on the Stone Slab flashed erratically
Elemental affinity: Storm Blood Radiance
Symbiotic Apex Node Detected: Silver Blooded Phageal, Name Felicity
Qi Efficiency Per Cycle: 93.7%
Vital Organ Fortification:
Heart: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Lungs: ★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Liver: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Stomach: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Spine: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Beast Crystal Sync Rate: 92%
Lightning Essence Conductivity: 7.0
Spiritual Projection Range: ~8,000 miles Vorpal Path Unlocked.
Combat Reflex Multiplier: x4.2 base human form.
I smirked. "Yeah… I've changed a little." But the truth was heavier than a smile. I could feel it in my bones: the golden qi wasn't just power. It was inheritance material. It was primordial. I didn't know yet what lay at the end of the path… only that I'd outgrown simple levels. I was already turning toward the corner of the room where the Continuous Meteor fists Scroll waited.
"One more breakthrough before we land. No distractions. No shortcuts. Just the grind. Just the storm inside." The wind howled outside the porthole. Golden qi shimmered along my arms. And I began to train.