Once the farming was done, he held hands with everyone and teleported back to the village.
It was still daytime, so he decided to hand the new technique off to Hyesi.
"Take this and learn it. It will help you create salt-free water on your own," Ning said as he gave the book to Hyesi.
Hyesi took the book with a dumbfounded face and asked, "Are you really planning on leaving us so soon, Inikaka?" he asked.
Ning simply smiled a little, "I can't stay here forever. I originally didn't leave because I didn't know where exactly I was on the map. The world is large and too many things looked similar. But now, I know where I am, and I know where to go."
"Once I defeat the demon with the help of you guys, I will leave this island and venture to the rest of the planet," Ning said.
Hyesi fell into thought as well. Ning had taught the villagers how small their lives on this island was and they had shown interest in going out too. But he didn't want to take care of them given how dangerous the outer world was, so he had refused.
Ning saw Hyesi's depressed look and rubbed his hair. "You can leave later after you reach higher realms too," he said.
Hyesi's face turned to a bitter-sweet smile as he said, "I don't think that is possible. Given how talented I am, I will need to stay back to protect my people from the other threats that are lurking in this world."
Ning chuckled, "You're quite mature, aren't you?" he said.
He left Hyesi to read the book and went to prepare for his upcoming battle against the demon. That meant, he had to break through as fast as possible.
He spent the next couple of days and nights doing nothing but cultivating. He took out a bit of time in his schedule to cultivate his body and his mind, but other than that, the majority of the time was spent cultivating his Qi.
After 2-3 days, he felt himself barely gathering anymore Qi. Almost like his body was full of it and he couldn't accept it anymore. There was something blocking his progress.
"Is this what they call a bottleneck?" he wondered.
He tried cultivating for another day, but there was no progress. Finally, on the 5th day, there was progress. With a massive OOMPH that rang throughout his body, he managed to break past the barrier and reached the 2nd Realm of Qi Condensation.
"Finally, I did it," he thought. He looked at his own body and was happy that he wouldn't have to clean himself once again since no filth left his body this time.
He focused on himself and saw that he was truly on the 2nd realm of Qi condensation. He stood up and walked outside of his house to check how much better he had gotten. He practiced a few movements and the claw technique and realized he had gotten stronger.
"It is time."
Early in the morning, Ning finished his body cultivation and walked to the village. The villagers were getting ready for their own things when they saw Ning walk into the village. Staying in the sun for so long, his skin was pretty tanned as well.
While it wasn't as dark as their's, his was pretty dark as well.
When they saw him walk in, they got ready for another new lesson. But they did not expect what came out of his mouth next.
"I am going to defeat the Demon Fufuliki today," he said, shocking the villagers and leaving them speechless.
They looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds, and then…
"WOOOHOOOO" everyone started cheering.
"Oi Old man, go bring the spears," Hasini screamed.
"You come with me as well," the old man said.
"Are we doing this today, Inikaka?" the chief asked. He had become stronger as well and was ready to fight. In fact, he was so eager that his hands shook from excitement. The anger and hatred in his eyes towards the demon serpent was unmistakable.
"No, you absolutely aren't going." Belini was trying to keep her son from joining the fight.
"But it's okay mother. I am strong now; I fought the monster before too. Besides, Inikaka will be there. I'm sure he has ways to protect the lot of us," Belini hesitated for a little more, but after the consistent urging from her son, she accepted.
Once everyone was ready, half of them holding spears in hand, they left.
The chief led the people this time, with Ning a step behind. He was the heart behind this operation, but he couldn't be the brains of it. He had no knowledge in leading groups of people in a fight, and being the weakest of them all in terms of body and Qi, he decided to not be the vanguard of the battle.
They reached the beach and looked out for the demon to show up.
"Go make some noise," The chief ordered a few men and women who jumped into the water and started splashing around. At first, it didn't seem like anything was coming but soon they saw a disturbance in the water, and before anyone could say anything, the demon serpent arrived.
"Ready," The chief shouted.
Everyone with their spears pointed it at the monster, and those with none got into a fighting stance with their fingers in the shape of claws. With such strong techniques and cultivation, Ning didn't think it was possible for them to lose.
Nearly a hundred 2nd Realm Qi Condensation Cultivators with extreme body strength versus a 4th Realm Qi Condensation monster, the monster should lose no matter what. But it wasn't taking much damage last time, so Ning decided to look at its info one more time.
Due to the training for over 2 months, his mental strength was far more formidable than the last time. His cultivation was in the higher realm, so that brought some levity as well.
As such, He looked at the monster and started focusing on it.
