Cave

The cloak of darkness covered the skies on a dense night in the forest. Alm and Bruno spent their days in the safest and closest part of the clan, training Ruri and themselves.

Despite the intensive training, they didn't waste time. With the absorption technique, they managed to collect Qi from plants and the cores of some weak beasts. Thanks to that, they were on the verge of advancing to the fourth level, and the cultivation pace was twice as fast as staying peacefully in their room.

That night, they advanced slowly in the opposite direction of the area where they used to roam. They were venturing deeper into the forest, multiplying the danger on a large scale. However, neither Alm nor Bruno were willing to retreat, continuing to advance with a fearful Ruri by their side.

"Are you sure?" Bruno asked, fully focused on moving unnoticed.

"Yes, I can feel a strong presence of earth Qi a few meters away. It must be related to the cultivators," Alm assured, using his senses connected to the earth.

Their mastery over the laws of the earth grew naturally every day. After several tests, they concluded that, at a high cost of Qi, they could sense whatever was in contact with the earth, stone, and their derivatives, both above and below the ground, to a quite good distance.

The Behemoth's bloodline was at an unimaginable level, considering they only had a single drop in their veins. The area and capacity were infinite, but they didn't have the cultivation or Qi to fully enjoy it.

At this moment, Alm, who knew the direction the cultivators went, was feeling the earth in an extremely specific area. He could only have a vague sense from there, and even so, they had already burned two-thirds of the Qi in their meridians.

"The danger would keep increasing if we went deeper. If they had gone further, we would have to turn back. However, it seems like destiny is guiding us," Alm commented, excited.

After a tense and silent hour, they could hear a violent crash that shook several trees.

'It's just ahead,' Bruno thought, grabbing Ruri's hand. She quickly understood the signal, and her entire Qi was activated. A soft cloak formed by the power of the soul covered both of them, and they advanced even more cautiously.

Another, even more violent crash occurred, but this time, the night seemed to light up for a few seconds. Up high, a pillar of flames mixed with lightning could be seen.

They approached and began to sneak very close to the ground until the fierce battle could be clearly seen ahead. Bruno and Alm watched attentively while Ruri looked on with eyes of admiration. It was a multicolored fight with flashy techniques between two humans and a gigantic divine beast.

"Is that a bird or a dinosaur?" Bruno asked strangely.

"It doesn't matter. One of the humans is at the ninth level of the Qi Gathering Realm. As for this beast... It seems to be disguising its true power," Alm replied without hesitation. "Although the beast seems to be at the eighth level of the Qi Gathering Realm, it has a powerful thunder bloodline."

Bruno felt the beast more clearly and nodded. "These idiots. I thought people from their sect had a deeper understanding. They're going to die without knowing what happened."

Bruno then saw Alm focusing on the girl beside him and speaking to her mentally. 'Watch closely. This divine beast has a very pure thunder core. Thunder laws are known for their explosive and destructive power,' Alm then chuckled lightly.

'This beast has extremely high intelligence. If it used all its strength, it would quickly kill these humans. However, they would have a chance to escape if this beast showed its true power. That said, it's taking advantage of being technically one level below and is using its powerful body to block and defend, making the idiots use up their Qi.'

Alm explained didactically to Ruri. 'It's just playing with his opponents to show weakness to enemies. At the right moment, it'll pull the opponents into a deadly match. When he shows his true fangs, these two people... none will escape alive from this place.' 

Bruno could only listen in admiration, noting the change and patience of Alm towards her. 'They're human, but fate is cruel to those who don't study properly. Don't feel sorry for them.'

Ruri squeezed his hand and spoke mentally. 'No, I hope none of them survive. They came from the same place as that bad man.'

A faint bloodthirst fluctuation was felt by them after those words. Alm could barely contain his satisfied laughter. Bruno, on the other hand, was incredulous.

Intense and noisy minutes passed, and with a powerful movement, a flaming sword illuminated the area. They then saw the humans more clearly in the distance.

The man holding the fiery sword was of medium stature, with nothing particularly attention-grabbing. But the other one was gigantic and muscular, standing over two meters tall. Alm and Bruno looked at him with a certain envy. That man had the same height and width as them but possessed a robust body of pure muscle and power.

The flaming sword of the other man slashed over the divine beast. A new crash followed, but this time, the beast was thrown several meters away. However, Bruno and Alm noticed that it shouldn't have been thrown in that direction, nor should it have gone that far.

'It's making an effort to pretend... Huh? A cave?' Bruno noticed a hidden entrance in the midst of the darkness when the sword illuminated everything around.

'Yes, the idiots didn't see that the beast was fighting while trying to hide its cave. It doesn't want to let these two cultivators get close to its cave at all.' Alm responded and used the remaining Qi they had to sense the cave. 'And it's in there inside the cave... the strong earth Qi that I felt before.'

A bright look appeared in the eyes of Alm and Bruno. However, the two men ahead were standing, looking in the direction where the beast was thrown as if they were discussing something. In the next minute, a glow emanated from the spatial rings on the men's fingers, and their bodies were covered by two complete sets of silver armor.

'They're going to attack with everything they have now. The fight won't last much longer,' Bruno thought as the men leaped, running toward the distant beast.

'This is the chance!' Alm thought, moving Denil's body. They stood up and took large strides forward, now without the worry of being discovered, as the men were completely focused on killing and wouldn't notice a distant presence. Even their enormous body wouldn't change it now. The two went around the left side of the mountain indirectly and headed towards the entrance of the cave.