Depthless Hunger

In the two days after the duel, Kai eagerly explored the Pits of Strength and discovered the possibilities. He'd been concerned at first that there might be retaliation, but since he hadn't killed or maimed the champions, his victory seemed to be respected. Most cultivators gave him a wide berth, so the biggest obstacle was actually getting people to talk to him.

He trotted out toward the central area he hadn't yet explored, barely glancing at the pits to either side because they weren't worth it. The one to his right, for example, was filled with concentrated qi and only guarded by a pair of Body Refinement cultivators... the qi in it wasn't worth the time it would take to beat them. The lesser pits might be useful for weaker cultivators, not those with direct access to a significant faction like the Bloodcoral sect.

Once he got to the more powerful pits there were Thundering Scorpion guards nearby, but they were all lower stage cultivators than him - when they glared, he just stared back at them and they'd look away. Since he'd won access for the Bloodcoral sect there should be nothing stopping him from exploring anyway, so he didn't think it could cause a problem.

An intense source of mana caught his attention and he ran across the empty space to investigate the next pit. Narrower and deeper than most, with an intense source of mana burning at the bottom. It was good enough to have been a Class awakening pool for any city in Goralia, actually quite a powerful one. Such gathered sources of mana just developed naturally here.

The only people nearby were a pair of cultivators floating on a hovering sword near the mana pool. A man had his upper robes off to bare his shoulder, while a woman dipped a needle into the mana and pressed it into his skin. Kai realized that he was seeing one of the mana tattoos being created and observed eagerly.

Instantly the couple reacted, the woman smothering the mana on the needle and the man pulling up his robe as if embarrassed. Kai had gotten a good look at the work, though, and saw blurry symbols that seemed to be forming into "Heavenly Sands Tattoo" in the man's soul.

"You have no business here!" The man flew their sword up to the surface level, scowling fiercely, while the woman shifted to a sturdy needle that could be used as a weapon. That just reminded him of his wives - the needle was like Omilaena's, and the scowl was a bit like Zae Zin Nim.

"I'm not here to challenge for your pit," Kai said with a polite bow. "In fact, if you're willing to give me some information about those tattoos, I'd be happy to help you challenge for another pit."

"Cultivation tattoos are great secrets of sects and tribes," the woman insisted. "We will never give them up, even on pain of death."