39. The Wasteland (3)

"You will receive your reward once we are back at the academy," Reymond said, landing gracefully next to the pit. "Why didn't you use any movement or combat techniques?"

"Because I never had any. In fact, I prefer my current style," Clifford replied bluntly as he climbed out of the sand pit.

"Combat techniques are very important. You won't understand unless you fight an expert."

"I understand very well," Clifford said, retrieving a couple of corpses from his spatial ring. "However, I prefer forging my own path and techniques. Until then, I won't use anything that is not exclusively mine."

"My goodness," Reymond exclaimed in astonishment as he watched Clifford shift into a serpent. "Where did you get all of these corpses? I thought you had one or two." Pausing for a moment, Reymond watched as Clifford swallowed the corpses one by one before asking, "How many people know about your true nature?"

"I never counted," Clifford responded with a shrug. "Probably less than a hundred. I usually leave nobody alive, and I don't care enough to hide my true nature." Thinking deeply for a moment, Clifford continued, "I'll always keep it known as long as it keeps the annoying flies away from me."

"I see," Reymond said, realizing that Clifford trusted him deeply to show his true nature. Deep inside, he believed Clifford was naive; otherwise, he wouldn't allow him to see it. "Never allow anyone to see it from now on, not even Credo or anyone you trust."

"Whatever, I'll think about it," Clifford replied, ignoring Reymond's advice as he continued his feast. He didn't care much, believing he could survive anything unless his head was separated from his body.

"At least don't openly eat humans or those with intelligence," Reymond sighed. "Don't put yourself in a rabbit hole by making yourself a public enemy. The majority won't stand by and watch their brethren get eaten when they can do something about it."

"Sure thing," Clifford said, reverting to his human form and releasing a burp before speaking. "Where do we go next?" Seemingly ready to leave, Clifford asked.

"Same direction until we find an elemental storm. Probably a couple more hundred miles."

"Let's speed up then." Responding, Clifford gradually transformed into his wyvern form before speaking, "I don't like wasting time."

"Come out, Shadow." Following Reymond's call, dark smoke started seeping out of his body as his staff slowly disintegrated into purple particles. Shortly, the smoke and particles swirled around each other, becoming one and forming a colossal horse. Watching Clifford take on his wyvern form, Reymond understood that Clifford planned to fly. Thus, he summoned his will into the world, "This is my will, Shadow."

Shadow's height reached four meters, with four legs in the front and two in the back. Two light blue eyes and black horns extended from its head, giving it a majestic look. Jumping high, Reymond settled on Shadow's back before speaking, "Let's go."

Receiving Reymond's order, Shadow started moving, gradually increasing its pace until it reached a decent speed. Watching Reymond move, Clifford flapped his wings, ascending into the sky and flying behind. Realizing how fast Shadow was and how their distance was increasing, Clifford increased his strength output to catch up.

Seeing the wyvern close in, Shadow sped up as if it were racing. Witnessing the horse's reaction, Clifford understood it was intelligent to some degree. Using Qi, Clifford increased his speed once more. Shortly, he passed the horse, causing it to speed up again. Two hours passed as both raced toward the next region while Reymond didn't bother much, leaving them to do whatever they wanted.

Another hour passed with both parties going full speed, and Reymond noticed a change in the atmosphere. He spoke quietly, causing both to slow down.

"Pipe down, we are close." Following his words, both responded obediently. After continuing for another hour at a far lower speed, Reymond spoke, announcing their arrival, "We are here." Finishing his words, they came to a halt, witnessing the sight in front of them.

A raging tornado of five elements welcomed them. Lightning struck the icy ground from high above, while wind, fire, and dust swirled around each other, forming the tornado's body. These elements were in their Qi form, so as long as one could handle the pain, they would be able to absorb them into their dantian.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Looking at Clifford, Reymond asked for confirmation once more, although he already knew Clifford could easily handle it.

"Yes!" Hearing Clifford's answer, they slowly approached the storm while Reymond told Clifford how to achieve what he wanted.

"Sit at the center and absorb the atmospheric Qi as you usually do while cultivating. Then the elemental Qi will follow and enter your dantian. Don't overdo it, and don't absorb more than y—" Witnessing a figure sitting in the center of the tornado, Reymond stopped talking.

"RANDALL!" Seeing the familiar figure, Clifford burst forward in a fit of rage, hellbent on ending his enemy's life. "I WILL KILL YOU!" Shouting like a madman, Clifford jumped into the tornado, then punched Randall, sending him flying out before charging at him once again with no plans of giving him any chance.

"Who the fuck are you?" Pissed and grumbling in anger, Randall responded, confused by what had just happened. Following his words, he spat a mouthful of blood due to suffering an internal injury caused by Clifford while he was cultivating, unaware that his inability to recognize Clifford in his current form had further angered him.