"Where is he? Where is the demon?" the chief asked, even though he knew no one here would know the answer to his questions. They waited for a while, but neither the snake nor their Inikaka returned at all.
After a few minutes, the chief started sending the injured people back to the village. Due to being both body and Qi cultivators, these people would need at most a month of rest to be fully back to their regular self.
An hour after that, the chief sent the elderly back.
An hour after that, the chief sent anyone willing back.
At the end of the day, there were only 4 people that remained on the beach, with Hyesi being one of them.
Even then, Ning never returned. Reluctantly, the group went back to the village. Over the next couple of days, they lived in fear of the demon returning, however, no such thing happened.
By the end of the week, they were almost certain the demon was gone.
By the end of the month, they were absolutely certain the demon was gone. "I will see you guys after victory" was what he had said last, but he never saw them again.
In the absence of their Inikaka, they kept doing what he had taught them to do. Their body cultivation technique was perfected, so they practiced that every morning.
Their Qi cultivation was well enough too, and they practiced that most of the night.
Their Inikaka had taught them to read and write, so they continued doing that. The whole village was now proficient in reading and writing their own language. They started creating stories of what their Inikaka did, carving the words into giant rocks for future generations to read.
Drinking water was no longer a problem now. Thanks to their Inikaka, they could turn seawater into drinking water anytime they want. Hyesi had passed along the technique to all of them. Thanks to that, they didn't have to rely on coconut water anymore, and the villagers got to taste a ripe coconut for the first time in forever.
As for food, the villagers expanded the farm on the other island, growing multiple crops thanks to the different types of grains and seeds their Inikaka had left behind. They now had rice, wheat, barley, and several vegetables and fruit to grow on their own.
He had also left behind multitudes of knowledge about different ways to cook food all translated in their language. He had also left behind a lot of metal pots and pans as well as other tools, all of which the villagers found important.
However, perhaps the most important thing he had left behind was a single piece of paper. The paper had rough lines drawn onto it using coals. Ning had drawn it himself one day and casually handed it to Hyesi to use one day or keep for future generations.
It was a map of the nearby vicinity of the island. There were over 20 islands north of their island that were larger than theirs. Ning never mentioned whether they were inhabited or not, but just the fact that the islands were there grew their world by a lot.
Years went by and the village prospered. The population grew a lot by now as the threat of monsters no longer kept them in check. Also, the fact that they were qi cultivators now, the elderly had a lot more lifespan than the ancestors before them.
Some of the villagers transferred to the other islands up north and settled there, growing the population once more.
Hyesi grew up and married a girl from the village who was a few years younger than him. Thanks to his cultivation speed, he had come to be the de facto leader of the village, and soon inherited the position of the chief.
He also had kids, a son, and a daughter. He let his wife name their daughter but insisted that his son be named Ning. He would let them later know about this Inikaka of theirs that helped them so much.
And it would all start from the story of when he cowardly went out to fight the demon Fufuliki with the previous chief and a fish appeared on the beach.
He would never forget the words he heard that day and even more so just how much he had underestimated them when he had heard them. The words that he agreed to without thinking much. The words that he still heard in his dreams from time to time. The words…
"Hey boy, Do you want me to help you become stronger?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Nothing. That was what was on Ning's mind when he got up from his long sleep. No pain, no thoughts, nothing. He was a little disoriented and took some time to remember what had happened. Information flooded into his mind as he remembered the fight with the snake.
'It died, right? Yeah, it did,' he said as he remembered more.
'Where am I?' he thought as he looked around. It was dark and he could see nothing right now. 'What happened to my Night Vision?' he wondered.
He then realized, he felt cold. Really cold. Almost as if he was back on the glacier where he started his new life at.
However, he could feel the intense pressure on his skin so he guessed that he was somewhere deep in the ocean.
'Umm… system, where am I?' he asked.
<The ocean>
'I kno— whatever. Can I teleport to some land? What is the closest distance?' He asked.
<96 Kilometers>
'Oh, that's quite close. Alright, teleport,' he said. However, nothing happened. Ning waited for a few seconds but did not feel anything change.
'What's wrong system?' he asked.
<You do not have enough energy>
'I don't? Status,' he said.
[Status
Name: Ning Ruogong
Energy: 4257
Separated Energy-
Heat Energy: 12
Sound Energy: 4,245
Qi Energy: 0
Skills: Simultaneous Thinking, Intermediate Map, Omniscient Klavis Language, Candle Fire, Yin to Heat conversion technique, Night Vision I, Interdimensional Storage (Stopped Time; 112 KG), Air Cutter, Telekinesis, Yin to Sound conversion technique, Water Filtration, Earthly Jade Cultivation Method, Sun God's Morning Cleansing Technique, Qi Cultivation Analysis, Body Cultivation Analysis]
'Oh, I guess I should start with gathering energy then.'