Foreboding Storm - Chapter 130

Before his eyes was the corpse of a Magical Kilin the size of an entire courtyard. Obsidian black with razor-sharp claws, powerful hindlegs, and jewel-like black scales, the Magical Kilin’s stomach was cut from its belly to its chest.

Its insides spilled on the ground, maggots, worms, and slimy insects feasting and festering on it. Its head lay slanted on the ground, brain matter mixed with blood leaking from a giant crack in the center. With its neck in a sickening position, the beast was as dead as one could get.

“That’s where the rotten scent was coming from.”

Crown Prince Lail furrowed his brows and crinkled his nose in disgust as the foul stench intensified. Placing a hand in his sleeves, he withdrew a black handkerchief and bent towards the unconscious woman.

He slightly hesitated upon seeing her covered face. But with a gust of wind, the rotten odor drifted over in a fiercer wave, shattering his inhibition. He lifted her head and tied the black cloth over her white veil, securing the knot before placing her back down.

From an acquaintance in the Ocean of Blood, he learned that females were very sensitive to strong odors and rotten stenches. Even if they were wandering in a beautiful dream or had fainted, a putrid odor was all one needed to bring them back to their senses.

Laila got hurt while saving him. Crown Prince Lail didn’t want her rest to be disturbed because of the Magical Kilin’s rotting stench. Therefore, he took out the only handkerchief he carried with him and generously offered it to her when she already had a veil covering her nose.

As for him, he stood with his nose scrunched and forehead wrinkled, thoughtfully staring at the dead magical Kilin.

“The cut on its belly and crack on the head are not caused by ordinary weapons. A Great Magician must have entered this place before, but who and why?”

Even though the Magical Kilins descended from a race of extinct beasts with hard scales and a great potential for growth, they weren’t enticing to the Great Magicians that had lived for hundreds of years and experienced more trials.

Moreover, the sticky blood was still warm and wet, showing it hadn’t been long since the incident took place.

As such, Crown Prince Lail felt apprehensive and suspicious as he looked around the desolate region.

“I should go and retrieve a bone from the Kilin. This will complete my task for the academy.” Scanning the place one last time, Crown Prince Lail glanced at Laila and proceeded towards the motionless corpse.

With a flick of his hand, his magical weapon appeared and he flung it towards the limbs of the Magical Kilin. As if knife through butter, the beast’s skin fell off and his bone came into view. A fountain of black blood sprayed into the air and he held it off by a magical barrier he created on thought.

The ease and prowess with which he accomplished the task, shocked even him.

“This is amazing! Because of my multiple breakthroughs and ascension into the Elemental Flushing Stage, just physically alone, I am already three times stronger than I was before.” He flexed his wrists, hands, legs, and neck, testing the strength of every muscle and tissue as he rolled his shoulders.

“If I could face a magical beast on my own before, I can now face a horde of magical beasts on my own, as well.” He confidently clasped his hands behind his back and raised his head towards the flying bones.

“Stop!” He commanded them without using any spell. Now that he was in the Third Stage of the Elemental Energy Cultivation, Crown Prince Lail desired to control his skills without the aid of magic spells. He wanted to wield his magic ability without chanting spells or scribbling ancient words.

Only then, could he be deemed a true Elemental Energy Cultivator.

The bones paused in the air before him, not moving an inch as they waited for further instruction. Crown Prince Lail’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the success of his first attempt. From this little experiment, he discovered what he wanted to know.

Once an individual reached a certain stage in the Elemental Energy Cultivation, they could wield their elemental ability at will. He was like a baby bird that had discovered its ability to fly, soaring with hope and aspirations for the future.

Sweeping his sleeve, he grabbed the two bones and hid them inside.

“With the task of collecting the Magical Kilin’s heirloom complete, I can return back to the academy and await for the arrival of the Seven Academies Competition.”

Time in the dimensional space passed two times faster than the realm. Anyone that spent more than six months in its depths would be a year later in the realm. And since he still needed to attend the academy competition, he had to leave the Forbidden Zone within 3 months.

But at the moment, Crown Prince Lail had no idea how long they had spent in the Underworld Palace. As such, leaving at the earliest time possible was the only way to ensure he returned on time.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Right at this moment, a figure flashed past his sight, a piercing sound following in its wake. Nimble and fast, the black figure sprinted from one side of the field to the other, its area of play remaining within the range of the large corpse.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Like a lost pup that had lost its parents, the shadow continued its aimless dash around the area before Crown Prince Lail could make any move. He watched in stunned silence as the figure, as if tired, finally paused before the corpse of the Magical Kilin and looked him straight in the eye.

Boom!

As if smacked with a giant hammer, Crown Prince Lail shook and staggered back, his eyes glazed with a black light as he incoherently murmured.

Invisible to the naked eye, a black light shrouded his figure as it fiercely wrestled with a black lightning. The two black masses, as if fighting for dominance, wrapped around each other in a fierce struggle, causing sparks to fly and smoke to rise.

A few heartbeats later, the black lightening suppressed the black light, and Crown Prince Lail’s eyes regained clarity.

Blinking his eyes, he looked at the black figure in shock.

It was the baby Magical Kilin that had just formed a spiritual bond with him.

The black beast sprinted from its spot and leaped onto his body, before scrambling to his shoulder. Finding a comfortable spot, it curled into itself and fell into a deep slumber.

The brief, spiritual struggle earlier had exhausted it, draining the little bit of energy it had conserved to preserve its life. Now that it had found a worthy master to follow, it let down its ground and peacefully slept to recover its lost strength.

Seeing the beast do as it pleased, black lines appeared on the dissatisfied Crown Prince’s forehead. Forming a spiritual bond with a Magical Kilin was never on his agenda. If he returned to the Mistland Academy with such an attention-grabbing creature, how was he going to cultivate in peace?

Forget about cultivating, he would be lucky if he could sleep in peace.

Sighing dejectedly, he returned to where Laila contentedly slept and sat beside her. Closing his eyes, he began his first mediation since he stepped into the first level of the Elemental Flushing Stage.

What he wasn’t aware of was the fact that a certain Mistland Academy senior threw away his responsibility and conscious to get his hands on this baby Kilin he easily obtained.

By the time Princess Qamari woke up, Crown Prince Lail’s First Level elemental energy had stabilized and he was in the midst of controlling his elemental skill without using spells.

Sensing the movement from his side, Crown Prince Lail concluded his training and turned to the woman.

“You’re awake? How do you feel?” He concernedly asked.

Her breakthrough was a matter he assumed on his own from the strong fluctuation of elemental energy coming from her body. Whether she had successfully broken through without any side effects was another matter.

Princess Qamari held her spinning head. Ever since she entered the Forbidden Zone, she had been having a lot of spinning heads and aching body.

“Must be the place…”

There was nothing else she could blame. The wretched place was beyond cursed as the moment they set foot, they had encountered hurdles after life-threatening hurdles. The fact that they were still alive was a miracle in itself.

“What was that?”

“Ah…nothing. We should leave this place. The magical beasts are too many for us to handle on our own.” It was only now she sensed the presence of the other. Being out of touch with reality wasn’t one of her fortes. Ashamed and embarrassed at her own folly, she hurriedly got to her feet and straightened her robe.

Crown Prince Lail felt relieved on seeing her energetic and in good health, without any signs of pain to be found on her face. He raised to his feet as well and clasped his hands behind his back.

“If you are okay, we search for a way to leave from this cave.”

“I’m fine. Let’s leave from here.”

Not waiting for his response, Princess Qamari turned and walked away, not once glancing in the direction of the dead Kilin corpse to complete her mission Magical Kilin.

The two’s figures, one white and the other black, looked and gave off a harmonious vibe like they were made for each other, as they complemented one another without conscious thought.