Tracking Firegulls

The only time the firegulls left their tropical homes was during the mating season, otherwise they would stay put all year round.

It was said that the firegulls laid their eggs in the hottest places, some laying them directly inside volcanoes. Firegulls also had a strange ritual where they would throw their deceased members into volcanos, akin to a funeral.

It's also said that the firegulls have special plumage on their heads that will flare up whenever they get irritated or angry. Some firegull kings can even shoot small flames out from this plumage, causing serious burn damage.

The firegulls have a relatively small population, their very unique requirements making it hard for them to reproduce en masse unlike the watergulls.

'Betrayed and broken, a volcano waiting for eruption. Destruction to rebirth, onto sandy shores, and deep into tropical jungles. This seems to indirectly be talking about a firegulls life cycle?'

'Maybe that's where the answer lies?' Minos thought as he rubbed his sore forehead. Either way, night had already come, so he could only find out the answer tomorrow.

…

The next day came by in a flash, and Minos jumped out of his bed with vigor. His goal for today was already set, so he wasted no time in getting to work.

The firegulls weren't especially hard to find, and after walking outside for a bit, Minos already spotted one flying across the sky.

Keeping his eye on it, Minos quickly exited Tropical Tree City and headed back into the dense jungles. The cry of the firegull was like a beacon in the dark, reestablishing Minos's sense of direction.

As Minos got closer to the volcano where the firegulls put their nests, he could also occasionally hear the sound of brawling.

Despite the eruption having ended days ago, the search for treasures was still fierce, with people constantly fighting and dying. Minos stayed to the side as much as possible to avoid getting dragged into things.

While avoiding other cultivators, Minos soon found a small firegull nest. The nest was perched up high on a crack in the mountainous volcano, a female firegull was feeding her newborn chicks as they chirped loudly in delight.

Pulling out a talisman from his spatial ring, Minos tossed it with full force. Before the adult firegull could react, the talisman smacked right into it, leaving a dark red mark on its feathers.

Minos looked down at the second talisman he had in his hand, which suddenly had a small red-dot appear on it. The red-dot was tied to the red mark on the firegull, and it would move as the firegull moved.

This was a simple tracking talisman Minos had learned from the book Rendo had given him, and now he finally had a chance to test it out.

Fortunately it seems he made it with no problems, and it acted as intended. Minos watched as the red-dot on the talisman shifted as the firegull took off into the sky.

One firegull wasn't quite enough, and Minos soon tagged a dozen more firegulls. Feeling satisfied, he exited the jungles and re-entered Tropical Tree City.

Based on his prediction, the treasure would be located in the place the firegulls went to mate, and luckily enough, their mating season began soon after the volcano erupted, which meant it could be any day now.

Since he already had them tagged, all he had to do now was wait. With nothing to do for the next few days, he headed back to Othella's home, deciding to look into the other things left behind by Yaflow just in case this idea led nowhere.

With a knock at the door, the old butler welcomed Minos. Othella was seated at the front, sipping her tea as she read a novel.

Minos took a seat on the large sofa across from her. The large pile of books and treasures from the previous day were still sitting in the same spot, untouched.

Othella seemed to finally notice Minos at this point, putting down her book, she looked up and began speaking.

"Back again? Did you ever figure out what that riddle meant?" She asked curiously.

"Maybe, I'll only know for sure after a few days. In the case my leads are wrong however, it's good to think about things from a different direction." Minos replied as he picked up something from the pile as he inspected it slowly.

"In the case you do manage to find the treasure, how will you help us?" Othella finally asked the critical question.

"It depends on what you need." Minos responded.

"We need money, and more than that, power…"

"Money is a simple matter, but power is harder to say. I think I'll be able to help you better if you directly tell me what your problems are."

Othella froze for a moment after hearing what Minos said. It was clear she didn't want to make her family's problems public, but ultimately she had no one else to rely on.

"It's the Yulk family… They're trying to run my family down into the dirt, all because my little brother hurt the young master of their family."

"So petty?"

"Those large families are the most petty, they've destroyed people for less. Not to mention my Devim family has been on a downward spiral for decades now, so destroying us takes nothing more than some light nudging…"

"How powerful is the Yulk family?" Minos asked.

"I'm not completely sure, but I once saw their patriarch kill a raging bull with a single punch."

"Raging bull? Do you remember how exactly the bull looked?" Minos said as he pulled out his bestiary.

"Umm, if I recall correctly, it had deep red fur, with three horns on its head and whenever it exhaled it was like steam was directly shooting out of its nostrils."

Minos looked through the large book as he listened to Othella's description. It didn't take long for him to land on a creature called the 'Fire-Bellied Tri-Horn Bull.'

It was quite a lengthy name, but most people just referred to it as the Tri-Horn Bull, and it was quite fierce.

An adult Tri-Horned Bull had strength at the around the Fourth Life Lock layer, and some Tri-Horned Bull Kings were even as strong as late stage Mortal Renewal cultivators.

"Do you remember how tall it was?" Minos asked further.

"From what I can remember, it stood about a head taller than the patriarch of the Yulk Family, so maybe 200cm?"

"That's at least some good news." Tri-Horned Bull kings were much larger than regular adults, and could stand at around 250cm.

To kill a normal adult Tri-Horned bull without any special techniques would require a cultivation of at least the Sixth Life Lock, however it was very likely the Yulk family had some special techniques, which would lower that requirement.

Minos estimated the patriarch's strength from between the Fifth and Sixth Life Lock, however he couldn't know definitively just based on a few predictions.

But as long as he wasn't in the late stage of the Mortal Renewal Realm, Minos should be able to deal with him.

"I can discuss things with the Yulk family patriarch if you like. As long as he knows someone strong is protecting you, he shouldn't cross the line." Minos suggested.

"That may help temporarily, but what happens when you leave? Our family would become pigs on the chopping block again." Othella said, clearly having thought things through.

"You should know that real strength takes time to nurture, and while I could give you a path to power, you may not have the time to realize it." Minos said, pouring water on her head.

She couldn't help but wilt back slightly in her chair as she realized this. Indeed, even if she was given the path to power, did she have the time to reach her potential? And in the case the Yulk family finds things out, they'll just be destroyed even faster.

"Does your family have any techniques?" Minos suddenly asked.

"We have one, but it can only break through to the Second Life Lock, not enough to help against the Yulk family." Othella said.

"Do any of you train with it?"

"I've tried in the past, but my talent in this regard seems quite poor, and after more then a decade of training, I've only just barely broken through the Second Life Lock."

"My little brother on the other hand is quite a genius, unfortunately the talent seems to have gotten to his head, and he's always been incredibly arrogant. If only he could restrain himself, we would have never had this problem in the first place…"

Othella's eyes went slightly red as she thought about her family's hopeless future. Her little brother had his eyes above his head, and she didn't have the strength to discipline him.

He'd been getting worse and worse over the years, and as long as he continued this behavior, then they really stood no chance.

"Where is your brother?" Minos asked.

"He should be at school, but knowing his character, he's probably skipping classes again." Othella said dimly.

"When did this behavior start, or was he always like this?"

"No, he used to be quite sweet and well-behaved when he was young, but ever since our parents died, he began acti…" Before Othella could finish her sentence, the mansion's door flung open.

Her little brother seemed to have heard everything she said, his face red in anger. He began screaming out.

"How could you tell a stranger about our family's problems, and even talk bad about me!" He shouted.

The boy was young, only 10 or so years old. His face was boiling in rage as he pointed his finger straight at his sister's face.