13 Path of Evolution

As Kai left the crystal hall, he saw Jai and the others waiting for him outside with a look of anxiousness on their face. As soon as they saw Kai, all their worries went away.

"Lord, are you already done? Did you succeed? Did you become a magic-user?"

Hearing them, Kai nodded his head.

Seeing Kai agree, they all smiled since they were happy for Kai. Though they were rivals and Kai's age was just 16, they all respected him.

In the world of beasts, the strong rules all and he was the strongest among them, even without magic. Now that he could use magic, Kai would become even stronger. They also treated him as their younger brother, so if he was happy, so would they.

"Right, guys! I accepted Daoma as my master, so from this day onwards, his right to speak about the forest's affairs is equal to mine. So remember to show respect whenever you appear before him from now on.

"Ah! Did you say you accepted Daoma as your master?"

"Yes, he is my teacher from now on."

As they were talking, Daoma came out of the ring and narrowed his eyes while looking at them.

"Do you have a problem with it? That I am his master?"

When they saw Daoma and the pressure he was giving off, they got scared.

"No, no, no, of course not. Lord, it is a pleasure to have a master like you." Seeing the reaction of the beasts, he felt satisfied as he watched them tremble in fear and then he looked at Kai.

"Kai, these friends of yours are in the half-Saint stage but can't progress." Said Daoma.

Hearing that Kai couldn't help but helplessly nod his head.

"Master, as you can see they are already at the last stage of their life also. I have spent 7 years with them and they are my family, I don't want to see them die like others. I want them to accompany me and see the outside world together" said Kai with a sad expression.

'It's been seven years. Since, the night I had gone through the transformation and got the tyrannical body, which I had just lost in the process of becoming a magic-user. Because of my tyrannical body, I was able to become the strongest person in the Forbidden Forest from the day, I set foot out of my cave after the transformation'

'During the seven years, I have witnessed the vast diversity within the beast community. Specifically, magic beasts above Rank 4 are highly intelligent not to mention Rank 6 magic beasts'

'Being a predator from the beginning. During the first year of my life in the Forbidden Forest, I had no idea about it. I treated all magic beasts the same and thought of them as mindless savage creatures. But as time passed, I met more and more intelligent beasts. I came to know about the way they live and how they respect the strong but also the wise. It's a known fact that they are previous lords of the Forbidden Forest. The lifespan of each beast is different. The elders of the beast community make sure that later generations follow the rules established by their ancestors.

Talking about the elders. The last elder beasts died 6 years ago, I have learned many things from him about the beasts community and natural harmony inside the Forbidden Forest.

I don't want them to die in the forbidden forest. I don't want to bury my friend with my own hands'

Thinking about it, Kai's body shook as he remembered the smiling face of the elder beasts. 

'I had promised that I would take care of the forbidden forest after he was gone. The pain of losing someone close to me, I don't want to witness it again'

Kai breathing quickened and a sad expression appeared on his face.

Seeing that, Jai and others felt worried. They are well aware that he is thinking about the past. They wanted to hug him but Daoma's presence stopped them from doing so.

"Master, like I said, is there no way to help them progress to the Saint stage?" He asked as he looked at Daoma for an answer.

"Kai, for these beasts to become Saint-level beings is a very complex process. First, there is the bloodline which determines the potential of their kind. As they only have a Peak rank bloodline, they can only reach this stage unless they find the blood of an Advanced rank of their kind, they will not progress. Saint stage beasts don't have magic stones anymore, and just like how humans have a magic pool in their body, it's a complete transformation of the cultivation system. Only if they have Ancient rank bloodline or above can they progress to higher ranks. Because only ancient beasts are born with a magic pool instead of the magic stone.

So, for low-level beasts under Ancient rank, it takes a lot of slow evolution stages to transform their bloodline, even with the help of an advanced bloodline." He said while he had a look of helplessness.

Kai looked at his friends. He truly wanted to help them, but he had no way to do so.

"Is there no way?" He started muttering.

When looking at Kai, Daoma hesitated. "Kai, there is a way. As you know, the whole wild region you are currently in doesn't have Ancient rank beasts or above, but there is a process to purify the blood. However, it is a very cruel process."

"What is this process?"

"A 'Blood sacrifice'. Sacrifice 10 million lives to the heavens to get a chance to break through the bloodline chains and enter the Saint stage, but the chance of that happening is still less than 5%"

Hearing that Jai and others stepped in, they are well aware of Kai's impulsive and unpredictable emotion-driven nature. Kai, most of the time is calm and thinks logically as well as has a good understanding and judging of other people's nature. But they are well aware that when things turn emotional, Kai starts to think illogically. They are not only Kai followers, but also his friends and sworn brothers and don't want their younger brother to do something which goes against his principles as well as the principles of the beast community.

Beasts are closer to nature and are aware of the delicate balance of it. These kinds of rituals are especially against their beliefs.

They kill to survive and fill their stomach but unnecessary killing is against their nature.

Seeing the reaction of Jai and others. Kai came back to his senses.

"Daoma, I can't do that. I can be cruel to myself. But just to fulfill my selfish desire to sacrifice the precious lives of others. It will be against my belief as well as turning my back against what I have learned during my time in time in the Forbidden Forest"

Hearing that they were relieved.

Daoma looked at Kai with the thought that Kai was still naive. In the outside world, just for small reasons, many lives are lost every day. If he wanted to survive, he should have the resolve to kill, but he also didn't want him to become a bloody killer.

"Kai, leave it for now. Just study and become stronger. After you become strong and leave this world barrier covering the wild region, we will go outside to look for advanced bloodlines of these races"

Hearing Kai and Daoma, Jai and the others felt pleased. "Kai, let it be. We have been in this state for many years. For us to wait some more years, it's not a big deal.

Kai nodded. "I promise you I will help you get to the Saint stage. You guys just wait," said Kai with a thin smile.

'This is a deep-rooted selfish desire of my and I will find a way to complete it'

As he was promising Jai and the others, the ring started to shake.

"Master, if you want to help them advance to the Saint stage, I have a way to do so."

Hearing that, both Kai and Daoma were surprised.

"Is there a way, other than this one, to make them advance?"

"Master, if someone else was to do it, there would have been no way, but you have origin blood and with my help, it can be done. However, you have to pay the price. If you are ready to do so, it can be done."

"Say what's the price that I have to pay, I am ready to do so." Said Kai excitedly.

"Master, first listen to me. For this to work, you have to offer one-third of your blood and 1 trillion magic energy to me, but if you do so, you will temporarily be weak for a month or two, and you won't be able to use magic for a month or so. For complete recovery to your peak form, it will take at least a year."

"It's all right. I am ready to do so as I had already promised," said Kai in a hurry. He was so excited. If he can complete his wish for such a small cost, Kai didn't mind.

After that, he told Jai and the others about it. First, they were against it and didn't want Kai to harm himself by doing this. But he didn't listen to them and in response tried to convince them. With a helpless smile, they were all thankful for Kai. Being aware of Kai's nature they knew that at this point he is not going to listen, and his sense of logic has already been taken over by his emotions.

Finally, they decided to conduct it after completing their preparation which took about a week. Even Behemoon was informed about it and so the day finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Kai stood on the stage and he looked at all the high-rank beasts of the forest, but Jai and the others were not present as they were in their places.

Kai took a deep breath and wore the ring on this middle finger as all the beasts looked at him on the stage.

"Master, shall we begin?" Hearing that Kai nodded.

All the blood in his body started to surge and moved towards his middle finger while he imagined the faces of Jai and the others.

Six rays of light came out from the ring and scattered in different directions, falling on the bodies of Jai and the others. Then, they felt a special connection between them and Kai.

As Kai felt the connection, the color surrounding the body of Jai and the others turned red.

"See you guys later!" Shouted Kai emotionally in his mind.

He is going to separate from them for a year, but that doesn't matter, because his selfish desire that they will accompany him to the edge of the world will be completed.

As all the magic power in Kai's body exploded and was drained by the ring, his face turned pale and he fell unconscious.

The beasts around him were worried. It was that time a scarlet beast appeared and put Kai's body on her back carrying him to his cave. Other beasts also followed behind. They are well aware that the six lords of the forests are not going to appear for the next year and they have asked them to take care of Kai.

Of course, they didn't reject it and replied that it would be their honor to serve him.

Most of the time they don't get to come close to their supreme lord due to the presence of other lords. How can they leave this chance?

One must know that no beast in the Forbidden Forest dares to challenge Kai. Specifically due to his unpredictable nature and decisiveness of killing anybody who treats him or those close to him. Many beasts have died due to their foolish actions of provoking him and getting on his nerves.

Thinking so they slowly carried him back to his cave.

Fear, respect, dominance, power, and absolute authority with the unpredictable nature of boundless compassion and cruel slaughtering.

This was the image that Kai had created in the heart of every magic beast in the core region of the Forbidden Forest in seven years.