Hundreds of meters back in the Stormy Wind Tunnel. Virtually near the beginning of the first layer.
Many students were scattered about the various mountain valley peaks, training their movement skills or practicing controlling Wind Energy.
The students that were stuck here were more focused than the ones far ahead. Their cultivation wasn't too high. Nor were they highly proficient in Wind energy. These factors elevated the difficulty of cultivating here.
But challenge goes hand-in-hand with experiencing new growth.
Even as it is dangerous and difficult, Crimson Sea Academy students have their fierce determination to better themselves, changing into stronger people.
And each of them had their own varying reasons for such intent determination.
At one specific mountain valley peak, one lone girl stood focused against the Wind. This girl looked particularly enchanting as a serious expression plastered her face.
She wasn't proficient in Wind energy at all. And yet, her determination to stay was very high.
This girl was Lei Li. Ever since Cain and Kali blasted ahead of her, she was curious to see just how long they could last.
By now, around two hours have passed.
To be able to stay this long in the Stormy Wind Tunnel on their very first try is honestly stunning.
Lei Li specifically knows that averagely talented Wind attributed cultivators who are in the Profound Soul realm can barely reach over an hour before needing to leave here.
Lei Li herself was struggling to continue. The Wind pressure was at the absolute lightest, but it was still heavily suppressing her.
Although the pressure wasn't to a point where it would cause any severe damage to her. It was still one of her greatest challenges to stay for so long.
But at this point, Lei Li had no intentions of backing down now. '
Just how far is the disparity between me and Heaven-Defying Talents? Though, I hope they're ok. Hopefully, no unfortunate accident happen to them.'
Even with all that fantastic talent, Cain and Kali's cultivation is merely in the Nascent Formation realm. They're not even in the late ranks of this realm.
Surely, they can't bypass all rules and logic, right?
As Lei Li rummaged on these thoughts, she suddenly interrupted herself. Her eyebrows shot up in gradual shock. She nearly stumbled over as her concentration lapsed a bit.
Within her Spirit Sense, she detected two rapidly approaching presences heading straight towards her!
Their speed was fast, far too fast!
Considering the environment they're in, this was a huge anomaly.
Slight panic began to fill Lei Li's mind. Could a peak Profound Soul Senior be coming at her? Or worse, an Innate Lord master?!
These thoughts scrambled Lei Li's mind until she was able to correctly perceive these two presences cultivation.
And it was then her shock significantly increased. 'It really is those two?! They're even faster than when they first took off here!'
Indeed, the one's soaring at her was Cain and Kali!
Hours passed, and it seemed the sibling duo made some sort of significant progress.
Lei Li recalled all types of legendary geniuses' tales, comparing their feats to them. The more she thought it over, the more a slow chill crept up her spine.
Never in her lifetime has she heard about even the most talented of geniuses quickly adapting to the immensely difficult situation of the Elemental training rooms!
Is this really the ability of supposed Heaven-Defying Talents?
Before Lei Li could think any further, her eyes caught two rapidly approaching figures.
These two figures tore right through the heavy Wind pressure, leaving behind confusing afterimages in their wake.
Lei Li couldn't trace immense speed like this at all.
Then, in just a few seconds of appearing, Cain and Kali made it within several meters of Lei Li.
"Ah! You….!" Lei Li took surprised steps back. She rapidly shook her head in slight disbelief.
She took a moment to orientate herself before saying, "Just how are you going so fast? And why do you feel even strong than before?!"
Lei Li's eyes brazenly looked over Cain and Kali from top to bottom. Not only did their aura strengthen, but she also felt another strange change within them.
Lei Li couldn't accurately put her finger on it. But it seems like Cain and Kali also experienced changes in the mind?
It was nearly impossible to tell from Cain's expression. His face was usually calm and collected, emitting a presence that he could handle any situation.
Although now, his face seemed a bit sharper than before.
No, the main reason why Lei Li assumed a mentality change happened was because of Kali's expression.
Her face still remained in complete indifference. And her eyes still held the aura of superiority as if she was above everything.
The only striking difference felt now was that Kali didn't seem overly disgusted by her presence.
Even as Lei Li didn't call it before, she could very well tell that Kali used to emit a presence that felt like she was disgusted by all but Cain.
Calling out this would be foolish on her part. She heard about how Kali utterly destroyed someone a level above her. Her prowess was too terrifying to provoke.
And this wasn't even mentioning Cain, who supposedly destroyed his opponent in a far more dominating fashion.
To have arrogance like Kali, Lei Li didn't blame her. She saw many similar attitudes like this. The most she expected was to be friends with Cain since he seemed far friendlier to get along with.
However, now, it is like Kali was tolerating her presence at a far more manageable level.
It wasn't to the point where she would dare try to strike up a conversation. But she could at least feel more at ease around Kali's presence.
"Oh, this?"
As Lei Li made a critical analysis of the sibling duo, Cain suddenly spoke up. He could vaguely tell what she was thinking about. Her intent stare gave it all away.
But Cain chose not to bring it up. Instead, he simply shrugged his shoulder and faintly smiled. "I suppose we have some proficiency with Wind energy here. Cultivating here just let our physical strength grow and our speed increase."
"I-I see…." Lei Li could only dumbly nod her head.
As Cain's causal tone and words swirled in her mind, she subconsciously gathered her Nascent Qi to remain stable against the heavy Wind pressure.
Energy flowed into her, but Lei Li couldn't keep her mind straight.
They're in the same generation and have a similar level of cultivation. Lei Li herself is only at the sixth level of the Nascent Formation. An unseen generational genius from her family roots!
But the disparity between her and the sibling duo was genuinely eye-opening for Lei Li.
A few beats later and Lei forcefully calmed herself. She then asked, "So what is your plan now? Do you intend to keep training in the other rooms?"
"Just what are the other elemental rooms like? Are they as interesting as this one?"
Cain recalled the brief sweep he did while he was in the training hall. The Lava Hell room seemed self-explanatory. But the others he couldn't quite tell.
"Ah, well, all Elemental Room has various side effects besides strengthening one's affinity. The Lava Hell can increase one's Fire resistance greatly. Misty Waterfall can hone one's concentration beyond all other rooms. Lightning Ravine can craft one's reaction time and combat speed. And Earth Formation can help one's proficiency with their Martial Skills. Out of these rooms, the difficulty is about relatively the same. Though, it depends on just how much a student is proficient with that certain Elemental energy." Lei Li explained.
Cain crossed his arms, thinking over their options. His highest interest lies within the Lightning Ravine. Being the controller of Draconic Lighting, he wonders if Mortal Lightning could actually affect him.
The Draconic Lightning manual did mention that his Lightning energy resistance will significantly increase as he advanced in this manual.
Perhaps with this Elemental room, he can somehow use the Lightning energy to even further strengthen the tiny Lightning Spark within his Qi Sea.
As Cain was taking several moments to reply, Kali suddenly tapped his shoulder. Her casual gaze crossed with Cain's pondering expression, and Kali said to him,
"Why not just call it for today? We have our skills to practice at home. And I would rather do it with privacy."
Cain thought over her suggestion. The options he has to practice with are Spirit Energy, combining Spirit and Qi energy, and his Draconic Lightning skills.
All abilities that require an extensive amount of time and focus to train with. And what will greatly increase his prowess other than cultivating Astral Energy.
'Since we're taking on a mission soon, I suppose we should hone these abilities. At our rate, we won't be able to make any advancement unless we have an abundance of resources. And it'll be bad to use our other Crystal Beads….alright, I got it.'
Cain nodded towards Kali. He then turned back over to Lei Li, telling her, "As my sister said, we'll be heading in for tonight. We have our own abilities that we would prefer to cultivate alone."
"Ah….I see…." Lei Li was struck with a slight sense of disappointment. She tried to keep her tone even, but just a little bit slipped out of her.
Hanging out with Cain and Kali was certainly intriguing. She felt an innate attraction for wanting to know Cain better.
But since they want to leave, there's nothing she could do about it.
Before her expression even slightly faltered, Lei Li turned around and said, "Well, come on then. Like I said before, we can stay and leave at any time we want."
Cain and Kali wordlessly nodded as they followed behind Lei Li.
After a couple of minutes of silently walking, the trio arrived right near the exit of the Stormy Wind Tunnel.
Here the Wind pressure barely existed. Lei Li could finally disperse her Nascent Qi, allowing her body to relax.
As she did so, she suddenly turned over to Cain. Slight anxiety slowly crept into her mind, but she quickly pushed it down.
In a pleasant tone with an equally lovely smile, she said, "Before we go our separate ways, I would like to ask if you want to hang out again tomorrow? You two are really high talented but also are enjoyable to talk with."
Kali curled her brows as her eyes swept over Lei Li. She only did it for a very brief moment before withdrawing her gaze, not offering any opinion at all, subtly letting Cain make a choice.
Though her attitude did change, her opinions of Mortals within her generation remained the same. Indifferent and not really worth her time.
"Sure, I see no problem with that." Cain politely nodded.
Then, a thought streaked into his mind, and he asked, "We would really like it if you were to show us the Mission pavilion tomorrow. That's one of our greatest interests here."
Lei Li smiled, leaking out a sweet little giggle. "Hehe~. For sure, I can do that. Similar high talents greatly value doing missions.. This is one of the most exciting things our Academy has to offer."