บท 13: Out of Kuoh
It's been about a week since Issei figured out the specifics of Aika's hidden physique.
Ever since then, her cultivation has skyrocketed. Most of her success can be attributed to the new cultivation technique that she began practicing.
After that day, Issei scoured his memories for a cultivation technique that would best suit her Eyes of the Voyeur Physique (Aika vowed to change the name, but Issei was definitely going to keep calling it that. Nobody defies the Sect Master). Eventually, he settled on a technique called the Collapsing Starlight Scripture.
The Collapsing Starlight Scripture was another one of the new techniques that Issei had created during his moment of enlightenment.
It was an amalgamation of three Void-ranked cultivation techniques and one Heaven-ranked technique. Despite being the weakest of the four techniques, the Heaven-ranked technique actually acted as the centerpiece for the new technique.
The Heaven-ranked technique was called the Stellar Tarot Manuscript. It was a cultivation technique centered around a type of fortune-telling that utilized celestial bodies and constellations instead of tarot cards. As for the three Void-ranked techniques, they were all techniques that centered around the concepts of space, time, and death respectively.
Together, they formed the Collapsing Starlight Scripture, a cultivation technique that centered mostly on the perception and manipulation of abstract concepts, namely space, time, and death. At its very peak, the technique would turn its practitioner into a true master capable of freely manipulating abstract concepts. Due to the technique's emphasis on perception, only a cultivator with enhanced sensitivity (such as sight, hearing, taste, etc.) could truly master the technique to completion.
She took to the technique like a fish in water. In seven short days, she had already advanced to the peak of the 5th stage of the Qi Condensation realm. If she could maintain her current pace, then it would probably take no more than two months before she reached the peak of her current realm.
That was the sort of speed that even peerless prodigies of the Immortal World would envy.
Well, all of that was yesterday's news.
Right now, Issei was currently on a bullet train headed for Japan's southern coastlines. His final destination was a remote island by the name of Okitsushima.
When his parents had asked him why he suddenly wanted to take a trip to a random remote island, he simply told them that he had a hot date. Naturally, they did not believe him. That's why they were so shocked when Aika suddenly showed up on the day of the trip. If he hadn't rushed out of there so fast, then his parents would have definitely bombarded the poor girl in an avalanche of invasive questions.
Unfortunately, this was not actually a date. In fact, Aika wasn't even going with him. He had simply used her presence as a form of subterfuge in order to throw his parents off his back.
The real reason for this sudden day trip was for Issei's breakthrough. It simply could not be delayed any longer.
After exploring the entirety of Kuoh and even the surrounding woodlands, he ultimately decided against performing his breakthrough anywhere near the vicinity of the city. It was simply too risky. In general, drawing any form of attention over to Kuoh was not something he currently wanted to do.
Plus, he had recently noticed something concerning about his cultivation. The longer he postponed the breakthrough, the greater the impending sense of doom became. From past experience, Issei knew that this sense of doom was a form of premonition. The greater the feeling of danger, the stronger the tribulation.
If he delayed his breakthrough any longer, then he might just incur a tribulation so large, it would be impossible to survive.
That's also the reason why he decided against bringing Aika with him. While it would certainly be a good experience for her to see a tribulation breakthrough, the inherent risk of being anywhere close to him during the event was simply too great for him to ignore.
The last thing he wanted was for Aika to be struck by a stray bolt of tribulation lightning.
Performing the breakthrough somewhere else (somewhere outside of his prefecture) was the only viable solution. This way, he did not have to worry about his tribulation injuring any of his loved ones. In addition, if the breakthrough does attract unwanted attention, then Issei can simply run away. This way, he won't have to worry about bringing danger to Kuoh and by extension, his family.
All he truly needed to worry about was making sure no sneaky assholes followed him back to Kuoh.
*****
The bullet train took him all the way to Kyoto. From there, he simply ran in the general direction of the coastline. Thanks to his cultivation, Issei was noticeably faster than most of the cars on the highway. It took him about an hour to reach the coast. Now, all he needed to do was wait for the ferry to come and pick him up.
Swimming all the way to the island wasn't really an option, considering the fact that he had no way of knowing where it was. He did not want to test his smartphone's GPS while out in the middle of the ocean.
"So, why this island in particular?" Ddraig asked him as the duo waited by a bench that overlooked the vast ocean.
It was currently seven in the morning. They had left Kuoh at around five. It was uncharacteristically early for Issei, but even he knew the importance of advancing his current realm. Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made and, in this case, Issei sacrificed his sleep.
The ferry was expected to arrive in thirty minutes, and it would take another two and a half hours in order to get to the island. From there, they had about seven hours before the last ferry left at 5 PM. It was a fairly tight schedule, but they'd make it work. Hopefully.
"Aika picked it out." He replied.
As it turns out, her physique worked pretty well even through the medium of a computer screen.
She was able to pick out Okitsushima as the ideal place for his breakthrough. After reviewing the details of the island, he couldn't help but agree. It was fairly secluded, with a dwindling population consisting mostly of the elderly. What's more, there was a fairly large open area a couple of miles away from the island's only village. All in all, it was perfect.
"That girl, huh? I'm surprised you didn't bring her with you. You two are practically glued to the hip." The old dragon commented.
Issei shrugged his shoulders. "I thought about it, but it would be too dangerous. Besides, school's just around the corner and unlike me, she actually has classes. I have to start getting used to not being around her."
He let out an exaggerated sigh. Issei felt that he had made great progress with his relationship with Aika, but it had not been enough to officially seal the deal. With school coming up, he knew he'd have even less time to work his 'charms'.
Ddraig rolled his eyes from inside the Boosted Gear. "I'm sure you'll get over it."
"But what if I don't, Ddraig? You know, people can die from heartache and I have a very sensitive heart. Aren't you the least bit worried that your partner and long-time companion could possibly, probably die from heartache?"
Ddraig did not even deign to comment. Instead, he simply shook his head and let out a sigh. Oh god, what did he do to deserve a host like this?
"Maybe I should try and find another disciple?" Issei murmured to himself.
"Slow down there, partner," Ddraig stated. "Try and get your affairs in order before you start recruiting even more people."
"I have my affairs in order." He retorted back.
"Really?" The skepticism in the old dragon's voice was as clear as day. "From my perspective, it seems like you're barely hanging on by a thread. You still don't have a sect base set up, you still don't have a personal weapon, you still haven't properly investigated the supernatural forces of Kuoh, and you haven't even started body cultivation yet. Honestly, your current strength is still dangerously low, even for Earth."
"Okay, first of all, the supernatural thing is supposed to be a joint effort between the both of us. Don't pin all the blame on me! Second, I can't start body cultivation until I acquire actual resources. Lastly, isn't that why we came out here today? So that I can breakthrough and increase my cultivation?"
"I see you just skipped over two of my points."
Issei simply rolled his eyes. "You know what I think? I think you're just grumpy that you're still stuck in the Boosted Gear."
"That's a completely false and baseless accusation, and you should really advance to Nascent Soul already so I can finally start my own cultivation!"
As expected, Ddraig really was frustrated with still being confined to the Boosted Gear. He really couldn't blame him. In the Immortal World, Ddraig had tasted freedom for the first time in centuries. Now that they were back on Earth, he was once more shackled. Anybody would be pissed in his situation.
Just as he was about to say something, he noticed an object approaching from the corner of his eye.
Their conversation came to an end as the sight of an old, sputtering ferry slowly emerged from the horizon.
****
Okitsushima was just exactly as he had expected.
It was a quaint little place where nature perfectly cohabitated with man.
The harbor was a ten-minute walk away from the rest of the village. As for the village itself, it was nestled inside a small valley. A forest surrounded the settlement on nearly all sides, making the village feel even more isolated than it already was.
The village streets were near empty. In the time that he had been here, Issei had only encountered two people. One of them was a local fisherman who had helped him disembark from the ferry, while the other was a store owner.
The place was dying. The village was a victim of modernization. Most of the younger generation had moved to the mainland, leaving behind a village full of elderly.
It was somewhat depressing. Unfortunately, there was nothing that he could really do about the situation.
Now that he was actually on the island, the sense of urgency to breakthrough decreased. After all, Issei had roughly seven hours before the last ferry left for the day.
The process of breaking through during a tribulation could either be long and arduous or quick and short. It really depended on the severity of the tribulation and the realm that the cultivator wanted to break into. For Issei, who only had to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm, he expected his tribulation to last no more than an hour, probably even less.
After some deliberation, Issei decided to wait until the last minute to break through.
In truth, breaking through early was not a wise decision.
The ferry only came twice a day: once during the mornings at 7:30 AM, and once during the evenings at 5 PM. If Issei breaks through early and the resulting tribulation ends up attracting the attention of other supernatural forces, then that would leave him stuck here for hours on end. And the longer he remained near his tribulation site, the more likely it would be for other parties to find him.
In short, he had some time to kill.
Issei decided to spend that time touring the island. After asking a few of the locals (mainly the store owner), he discovered that Okitsushima really only had one place that qualified as a tourist destination.
The Shrine of the Water God.
It was located on the eastern end of the island.
Much of the place was half-submerged in water. There was even a Tori gate sticking out from the ocean. Apparently, rising sea levels had caused the island to shrink, eventually taking part of the shrine with it.
He did not really think there was anything unique to the shrine. In his opinion, the ruined shrine in Kuoh was a lot more eye-catching.
Someone else apparently disagreed with him though.
"Partner, can you get closer to that box over there?"
Issei looked around and noticed what Ddraig was talking about. It was an offertory box carved out of black wood. Issei approached the box and noticed a symbol engraved onto its surface. It depicted a swirling wave.
"Do you remember who they were worshipping at this shrine?" the old dragon asked.
"Yeah, I think it was Ōwatatsumi, the water god. Why?"
"I was right then. This is one of Ryujin's temples."
"Ryujin?" The name seemed familiar, it was probably something from Shinto mythology. Unfortunately, Issei wasn't very well-versed in mythology, which now that he thought about it, was a huge oversight, considering the fact that most of those myths are actually real.
"Ryujin's a water dragon with close ties to the Shinto faction. While in human form, he went by the name Ōwatatsumi."
Issei widened his eyes in surprise. "Did you know him?"
"In passing," he replied vaguely. "He was pretty strong for an Elder Dragon."
"Elder Dragon?" he tilted his head to the side. That was a new term.
"I never really told you about the Dragon faction, have I? Well, there exists a hierarchy among the dragons. The hierarchy divides the faction into three ranks: the Heavenly Dragons, the Elder Dragons, and the No-Named Dragons…"
Ddraig then went on to explain the intricacies of what many supernatural forces consider to be the strongest faction within the world.
The Dragon faction was not a unified force. The hierarchy that they employed was one of status and power, not of control. This meant that lower-ranked dragons won't just listen to a higher-ranked dragon purely because they were of a higher rank.
For beings who craved freedom and independence, a unified faction ran contradictory to their very nature.
Standing at the top of the faction were the heavenly dragons. There were only two heavenly dragons in the world: Ddraig the Red Dragon of Domination, and Albion the White Dragon of Supremacy. They were both considered the two strongest Dragons on Earth.
Next were the Elder Dragons. This rank consisted of dragons who have made a name for themselves in one way or another. Typically, nearly all famous dragons from popular myth and legend fell into this category. At a minimum, their strength rivaled that of ultimate-class devils. The strongest could even fight on par with higher dieties.
Within the rank of Elder Dragons, there were two special cliques: the Dragon Kings and the Evil Dragons.
The title of King did not denote personal strength or power. It was more of a governmental position.
The six Dragon Kings acted as brand ambassadors for the Dragon Faction. They were the ones who interacted the most with outside factions. While the Dragon Kings held significant influence over the other dragons, they were not really considered particularly strong amongst the Elder Dragons.
The same sort of logic applied to the Evil Dragons. While Evil Dragons were generally stronger than their Dragon King counterparts, they were not particularly strong when compared to the rest of the Elder Dragons.
Evil Dragons were dragons who were notorious for their malice and misdeeds. In fact, so reviled were they that they could even be counted as their own faction separate from the Dragons.
Last were the No-Name Dragons.
These dragons varied in strength, but as a whole, they tended to be weaker than Elder Dragons. The No-Name Dragons were dragons that remained unknown to the general public. Still, their obscurity was not a reason to underestimate them. After all, they were still dragons. They were in no way weak. In fact, some No-Name Dragons may even be stronger than Elder Dragons.
"I see…" Issei nodded his head after hearing Ddraig's explanation. "Then, since you're a Heavenly Dragon, does that mean you're basically one of the strongest dragons out there?"
To his surprise, Ddraig told him no. "I am not the strongest dragon out there. I am merely one of the strongest dragons on Earth. There exist dragons far stronger than me. These dragons live in the Dimensional Gap, a space between dimensions."
"Oh yeah, you've talked about them once before. Great Red and Ophis, right?"
"Yes," was all Ddraig said.
Issei knew he wasn't going to get anything more from the old dragon. Instead, he decided to change topics. "And what about the one that lived here?"
"Ryujin. He was an Elder Dragon. From what I can recall, he tended to hang around the Shinto faction, to the point where many thought him a Shinto God instead of a Dragon. Apparently, they gave him an Underwater Palace or something. I don't really know the specifics." Ddraig shrugged from inside the Boosted Gear. "Ryujin was famous for leaving shrines of himself around. This might be one of those shrines."
Hearing his explanation, an idea suddenly popped into Issei's mind. "Hey, do you think Ryujin left any riches behind?"
"... It is a possibility," Ddraig conceded. "The legend of dragons hoarding vast treasures is not completely unfounded, and Ryujin was certainly one of the more… lavish dragons within the faction. He won't keep his treasures above ground though. If he does possess any, then he most likely kept them in an underwater cave close to his temple."
Issei's smile grew wider. "Then, I guess it's time to go for a swim."
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