970-982

Chapter 970: Divine Stones

Even though they saw Cosec City in the distance, they still took almost an hour to arrive at its entrance. That's just how far the walls were. Obviously, the large stream of people entering and exiting the city was enormous as they passed by many caravans, travelers, residents, and other similar types. However, Rean's group hadn't seen a single flying cultivator all throughout. The only exceptions were other cultivators who tamed flying demon beasts, but those were quite rare when compared to the number of people.

"Almost no one flying in a city of this size..." Kentucky could not help but mutter out.

Roan glanced at him before saying, "Even though it isn't a secret, you better stay quiet from now on. Only use Divine Sense to talk with us. The same goes for Celis."

Rean agreed with Roan, reminding them, "Indeed. It's just as Cynthia said. Although it's probably nothing spectacular, it isn't something we should go around showing others either."

Kentucky and Celis nodded and closed their mouths. 

Cynthia, on the other hand, talked about the city, telling them, "You probably noticed that we don't have many tamed demon beasts. I don't know how it is back in your home, but beast taming is quite a rare occupation. That's why you see so little flying demon beasts with cultivators on their backs."

Hearing that, Rean asked something else. "What about those at the Transition Realm? Is there any cultivator in the city that can fly on their own?"

Cynthia nodded, responding, "Yes. The City Lord is a Transition Realm cultivator. Other than him, I think only the three top sects of Cosec City each have one ancestor that's also in the Transition Realm."

That number seemed small. However, Rean and Roan knew how huge that already was. 'This is only ONE CITY! However, it already has four Transition Realm cultivators!'

Even Roan was impressed by that. 'As expected of the Realm of Gods. No wonder Sister Orb said it's much easier to cultivate here. For a single city to already have four Transition Realm cultivators is really a huge thing.'

Celis also added, 'Don't forget that Cosec is only considered a small city. That Huvol City Cynthia talked about might have over ten of them.'

'Well, those are people we won't get involved with anytime soon. If possible, I don't want to get involved with them at all.' Kentucky wanted to stay as far as possible from those guys.

Eventually, they arrived at the city gate...or at least one of them. Ream could see in the distance that the city had at least one gate every two kilometers or so. 

Cynthia didn't do anything, though. Instead, it was the merchants who hired her and the guards who came out to do the check-in with the city guards.

"How many people?"

The chief merchant came forward to deal with it, answering the guard's question as he said, "We have a total of 3245 people and demon beasts in total. The highest cultivation is Soul Transformation Realm and Stage Six."

The city guard was surprised to hear that. "Your group has tamed Stage Six Demon Beasts? That's quite the wealthy caravan..."

The chief merchant laughed in response but didn't say anything else.

"Alright, the fee is one Divine Stone for every 1000 members." The guard was surprised, but that was more or less it. He had seen such things before. It's just that it wasn't that common. Sure enough, beast taming was quite rare once one didn't consider low-level demon beasts like the ones pulling the carriages.

The merchant quickly paid the fee, and the caravan soon passed through. Rean was quite curious about the price, though. "Isn't four Divine Stones too cheap?"

However, those words made Cynthia look at Rean with a weird expression. "Ch-cheap? Could it be that your home had a lot of them?"

Rean quickly noticed the issue. It was obvious that Divine Stones were much, much more expensive than Spiritual Stones back in the Realm of Mortals. "Errr...not really. It's just that this city is so much bigger than the cities back at our home that I thought you guys were a lot wealthier than us."

Cynthia sighed in relief after hearing that. "I see...well, that makes sense when I think about the small cities you told me about. However, you're mistaken. Divine Stones are just as expensive here. For example, I've only received ten Divine Stones for protecting over this caravan, and I already think I'm being well paid already."

Cynthia's protection mission took over two months to be completed, and she was a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator. That showed how hard it was to acquire Divine Stones. "The guards you saw protecting the caravan probably aren't even getting Divine Stones. Instead, they're receiving gold. The only exceptions are probably the Nascent Soul Realm ones, who agreed to work for two Divine Stones." 

Rean was the one responsible for the group's finances, so he immediately took the chance to ask more questions as they moved to the city center. "I see...in that case, it's definitely possible to buy Divine Stones with gold, right? Otherwise, I don't see why cultivators would work as guards. At least, it was possible back at our home."

Cynthia nodded, saying, "Correct. We also can pay for Divine Stones in gold. One Low-grade Divine Stone costs 1000 gold coins. Just so you know, the lowest level guards, the ones at the Core Formation Realm, probably received around 100 gold coins for their job this travel."

Rean nodded as he had already expected something around that level. "That means they would need to work almost two years to obtain a single Divine Stone. Sure enough, Divine Stones are as rare here as they were for us back in our home." Of course, Rean was lying about that 'home' thing.

Cynthia nodded. "Yes. Nevertheless, the four of you are already in the Soul Transformation Realm and the Stage Six level. It's already a lot easier for you to make Divine Stones than others."

Rean smiled in response, saying with gratitude, "It was thanks to Senior Cynthia for letting us use the Divine Stream Lake."

"Hahaha!" Cynthia laughed in response. "It's fine, it's fine! You're already doing a lot by joining my sect. Let me know if you need anything."

Chapter 971: Acting Accordingly

Their group moved to a teleport formation not too far from the gate they entered. After queueing for a few minutes, the entire caravan began to teleport in small parts until all of them disappeared. A single teleport later, the caravan soon appeared in the center of the over 200-kilometer long Cosec City. 

As they arrived at the center, Rean looked around, being left speechless as he commented through Divine Sense with Roan, Kentucky, and Celis, 'Impressive. Even in the capitals of empires, you wouldn't see stores that big. Some of them probably have several hundred floors. Even with Earth's technology, it would be a challenge to build anything like those.'

'Probably that's because they're also kept stable through formations,' Roan could not help but mention. 'Otherwise, I can't see how there are so many of them. It has to have a certain degree of ease for this place to be like this.'

[That's exactly the case.] Sister Orb's voice echoed in their minds as she explained. [I can feel many formations working below the structures, and the impressive thing is that they aren't that high level.]

'They aren't?' Rean couldn't help but ask. 'You mean they're Earth-level formations?'

[Oh! I forgot to tell you about this.]

Rean could already feel like it was something important the useless AI forgot. At least, it would be for him.

[Here in the Realm of Gods, Formations, Blacksmithing, Talismans, Alchemy, and so on...anyways, to make things short, all side-occupations have a different categorization. Instead of Earth and Heaven-level, they call it the Bronze and Silver level.]

'As I thought, you really know how to forget important things.'

[Ahem...] Sister Orb ignored Rean's words as she continued. [Naturally, Silver is the equivalent to Heaven-level. Then, you have Golden-level, which wasn't something available for the cultivators and demon beasts back in the Realm of Mortals. The World Beast Formation you activated back then was a step even higher. That was definitely something built by a person from the Realm of Gods.]

'A step even higher? Do you mean above Golden-level?'

[Yes. Each level has substages. For example, Bronze Low, Middle, High, and Peak-level. The same goes for the Silver and Golden levels. Rean, Roan, you two are at the Silver Middle-Level for Formations, Blacksmithing, and Alchemy. After you reach the peak of the Golden-level, your next step would be the Divine level. Last but not least, there's the God level. Well, there's no point in thinking about the Divine or God levels at the moment. You still have a long way to go before you even enter the Golden level.]

Rean and Roan nodded after hearing that. They took decades to reach their current positions, and it's only natural that it would take them even longer to reach higher.

Nevertheless, Rean and Roan's curiosity were piqued. 'Let's visit the Formations, Blacksmith, and Alchemy organizations of the Lukimira Sect later.'

Cynthia didn't know what they were talking about as she called their attention. "Alright, we've arrived at the Merchant Guild of Cosec City. The other guards and I are heading inside to receive our payments for this protection job. Do you want to come inside as well?"

Rean immediately nodded. After all, he had to care about money. "Sure, let's take a look."

However, just as they were about to enter, the guard in front of the guild stopped their group as he told them, "The demon beasts have to be put in the waiting area. They can't enter." Well, that was to be expected as Celis and especially Kentucky was quite big. Not to mention that those guards didn't know they had sentience. "Also, please keep someone with them as demon beasts of Stage Five or above must be accompanied by their masters. That's to prevent them from going out of control."

Kentucky's mouth twitched after hearing that. 'I don't have a master, idiot.' or so he wanted to say. Sadly, he knew he shouldn't talk in the middle of the city to avoid trouble. 

Roan then separated from Rean there, telling him, "Go ahead and check out the things you need. I'll keep an eye on them."

Rean nodded and quickly followed Cynthia inside the Merchant Guild. Around an hour later, Rean came out with Cynthia, carrying a new badge in his hand. "I got to join the Merchant Guild. Later, if we decide to open a shop or something in the city, we'll need it."

Roan understood what Rean was aiming to do, so he asked through their Soul Connection, 'You're going to sell your weapons, right? Do you intend to use that Elemental Gathering ability on them?'

Rean shook his head as he replied, 'No. I've talked with the guard in the caravan for them to let me test their weapons. However, none of them had the Elemental Gathering property. I also inquired if they had something capable of gathering elements, but they told me only weapons with inscriptions had that ability.'

'Inscriptions? That's the side-branch of the formations, isn't it? I believe you've already used some on the White and Dark Stars.' Roan still remembered the time Rean forged the Dark Star with his help.

Rean nodded in response, saying, 'Yes, it's pretty much similar. It's just that they use Divine Energy instead of Spiritual Energy. I'll have to make a few modifications to our White and Dark Stars later. Anyways, my technique is a lot more advanced than theirs when it comes to Elemental Gathering. That's because the metals I forge don't need inscriptions to gather them. Simply put, my weapons can save a lot of space for inscriptions, which is definitely something huge. Of course, I'll have to pay a visit to the Blacksmith Hall in Lukimira Sect later to see if they really don't know anything as we didn't have any blacksmiths in our caravan.'

Roan understood what Rean meant. 'I remember when you explained it to me before. Inscriptions are basically formations but much smaller. Weapons are just so big, so the inscriptions to gather elements already take up a lot of space. Not to mention that the weapons themselves have a limit of how many inscriptions they can hold without breaking. If the blacksmiths here find out about your method, we might get in trouble.'

Rean smiled in response after hearing that. 'It's good that you understand. Oh well, we'll act accordingly to the situation.'

Chapter 972: To Lukimira Sect

Cynthia was the only member of the Lukimira Sect to join that caravan, so she left everyone behind after receiving her payment of ten Divine Stones from the Merchant Guild. Of course, Rean, Roan, Kentucky, and Celis followed her as she said, "Alright, I'm going to head to the Lukimira Sect now. Do you want to do anything else in the city before we leave?"

The twins' group shook their heads as Rean replied, "We can learn more about the city later. We're rather interested in the side occupation halls of your sect."

"Our side occupations?" Cynthia was confused to hear that.

Rean then explained, "I noticed that the weapons and formations here are a little different from ours. That's probably because of how far apart we are. I want to check if there's anything I can learn. The same goes for Roan in alchemy."

Roan glanced at Rean before saying, "You could have started the conversation by telling her that you're a Formation Master and a Blacksmith. She didn't know about that, after all." Roan then looked at Cynthia and told her, "As for me, I'm an alchemist. Rean and I are both in the Silver Middle-level in our side occupations."

Sure enough, Cynthia didn't know about that. "So that's why. It makes me wonder if there is anything you can't do..." However, she refused to continue thinking about it as she got used to the weirdness of the twins' group. "Very well, let's go to Lukimira then."

Cynthia then guided the group to one of the nearby teleport formations, which sent them to one of the south gates. There, they also found more teleport formations that were a little bigger than usual. Cynthia then went to one of them where Rean and Roan could see a few young cultivators using matching clothes protecting it. It was obvious that that teleport formation wasn't open to the public.

"Oh, it's Elder Cynthia!" A girl quickly came out of the group to receive her, greeting Cynthia. "Welcome back, Elder Cynthia."

Cynthia smiled as she patted the girl's head, saying in response. "I'm back, Linfa." Cynthia then looked at the rest of the people and asked, "How have things been during the months I was out?"

Another cultivator, this time a man, quickly came down to report. "Elder Cynthia, everything is still pretty much the same. The other elders already came back from their missions, so the sect is doing fine thanks to the Divine Stones they brought back."

Cynthia nodded, satisfied. Right after, she called Rean's group forward and introduced the cultivators to them. "These are members of our Lukimira Sect. They are on teleport formation guarding duty, as you can see." Cynthia also introduced Rean's group to the others, telling them, "The twins will be our sect's new Guest Elders. As for the demon beasts, they are their friends."

"Guest elders?" The disciples looked at Rean and Roan, slightly surprised and confused. "They aren't much different from us in age, though?"

Cynthia laughed in response, saying, "Hahaha! Indeed! I believe Galo back there is probably a little older as well. However, don't misjudge them by their appearance. These twins are already in the Soul Transformation Realm."

"What?!" The disciples were taken aback. Obviously, they tried to use their Divine Senses to check the twins' cultivation, but none of them could see through it. "Why would they come to such a small sect like ours? Ah!" The guy who said that immediately apologized. "Sorry, Elder Cynthia."

Cynthia simply waved her hand, not minding it too much. "It's fine, don't worry. Simply put, a lot of things happened, so they owe me a favor. They will act as guest elders of our sect for a while, so be polite with them." Obviously, that was the excuse Rean's group and Cynthia came up with for this.

Rean then began to shake everyone's hands, talking to everyone with a smile as he said, "Nice to meet you all. You don't really need to treat us as elders. Just pretend that we're some new disciples and act accordingly. By the way, I'm a Formation Master and a Blacksmith at Silver Middle-level. If you need anything later, let me know."

Roan, on the other hand... "I'm Roan, an alchemist, same level." And...that was about it for the ice block.

Kentucky also wanted to introduce himself but decided to not do it in the city at least. There were a lot of people around other than themselves, after all.

"Alright, that's enough for now," Cynthia said. "This teleport formation can send us directly to the sect, so we can use it. The sect is very close to the city as well, just a few hundred kilometers south, so there is no need for Divine Stones to activate it. Let's go."

Cynthia and the twins finally stepped on the formation before one of the disciples activated it. With a flash of silver light, they eventually disappeared.

The vision of the group blurred for a moment before they were met with a giant cliff right in front of them. It extended as far as they could see to both sides. The top of it wasn't the same, though. They could see its end. Nevertheless, Rean and Roan were sure that the top was at least 50 or more kilometers high.

As for the sect, it wasn't hard to notice many tunnels blocked by gates all around. "The sect is inside the cliff?"

"Surprised?" Cynthia asked with a smile. "However, we aren't trying to act cool. It's just that it was a lot cheaper to simply use our cultivation to excavate our own sect inside than trying to build a proper one."

Cynthia then approached the gate ahead, where the disciples guarding it opened the way. "Welcome back, Elder Cynthia." They didn't ask who Rean's group was, but the curiosity was obvious in their eyes.

"Don't worry. We'll introduce you to all the disciples here at once later." Cynthia couldn't possibly stop for the twins to introduce themselves to every single disciple, after all. "By the way. Although it's cheaper, this isn't a bad place. The earth making up this cliff is very resistant. Not to mention that there's a natural Divine Vein below. The quality of the vein isn't anything impressive, but it's already a lot for a sect of our size." 

Rean's group nodded in response. They already could feel a slightly higher concentration of Divine Energy in this place.

Eventually, they passed by the entrance and could see how the sect looked from inside.

Chapter 973: Can We Join?

As the twins' group entered the sect, they could not help but notice that the insides were well-lit. Nevertheless, the walls, the ceiling, and the floor looked a bit rough around the edges. However, that's what one would normally expect from an underground facility.

'Their sect here is as big as our Dalamu Sect back in Sunkan,' Rean could not help but comment through Divine Sense.

Roan agreed with him, saying, 'Yes, but it also explains why they say they're just a small sect. After all, a sect of Dalamu's size shouldn't count for anything in the Realm of Gods.'

'I don't mind,' Kentucky said as he looked at all the female disciples along the way. Sure enough, Kentucky's appearance caught their eyes, and some wanted to come close to pet him as if Kentucky was a magnet. They just didn't do that because Cynthia was there while accompanying the group.

Celis, on the other hand, shook his head as he told them, 'I hate underground places. It makes me remember my time in the Soul Rulers headquarters.'

Rean then asked Cynthia along the way. "How many elders and disciples do you have in the sect?"

Cynthia pondered over it for a bit before saying, "I believe something around five to six thousand."

Rean nodded in response before using his Divine Sense to continue talking to Roan, Kentucky, and Celis. 'No wonder the number of disciples seems quite sparse. This place seems to be more or less around Dalamu's size, but it doesn't have even half of the number Dalamu Sect had in Sunkan.'

Celis also added, 'That's not all. We're talking about the Realm of Gods. Just a few hundred kilometers ahead, and you have a city with over two hundred million people. For this sect to have only five to six thousand proves how small they are in comparison to other sects.'

In any case, Rean's group wasn't dissatisfied. A small sect was a lot easier to manage, and considering the financial struggle, keeping a lower number was the right way to go.

Suddenly, a Nascent Soul Realm elder approached Cynthia, greeting her, "Lady Cynthia, it's good to have you back."

Cynthia smiled in response as she passed a bag to that elder. Well, 'elder' was basically the guy's title. As a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he was quite young. "Hey there, Carl. Take these Divine Stones to the sect's Management Office for me, will you? There are twenty Divine Stones in there."

Carl nodded as he replied, "Sure thing. Me and most of the elders have also returned after taking a few missions, so we should have a good amount of Divine Stones for now. By the way, the Sect Master is waiting for you inside." Carl looked at Rean's group for a moment but didn't pay much attention. Since Cynthia was the one guiding them, it shouldn't be a problem.

"I hope we gathered at least a thousand or so Divine Stones when putting all elders and disciples' missions together," Cynthia could not help but say as she entered one of the residences. It had several rooms inside, but Cynthia headed straight to the meeting hall. There, the twins were finally able to see the so-called Sect Master of Lukimira. 

'Not a human,' their group thought as soon as their eyes met the woman sitting in the middle of the room. There were also quite a few more cultivators from different races, humans included, who sat on chairs around the room.

"Welcome back, Cynthia." The woman, who seemed older than Cynthia, looked at her with a smile. "I can see that you've reached the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm, congratulations." The other elders in the room also congratulated Cynthia and seemed genuinely happy about that.

Cynthia nodded in response, saying, "I was lucky. The caravan I protected on the way back just so happened to bump into a Divine Stream Lake. Naturally, I couldn't let the opportunity pass up."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard that. However, they knew that the Divine Stream Lake was definitely gone by now, so they sighed soon after.

"Truly lucky..."

"The last time I saw one was over twenty years ago."

"That soon? The last time I saw one was when I was a kid..."

"You at least saw one. Look at me! I've never seen a Divine Stream Lake in my life."

The Sect Master then raised her hand, silencing everyone else as she told them, "Alright, everyone. That's enough." The Sect Master then looked at Rean's group, obviously curious about them. She was especially surprised that the demon bird and tree were at Stage Six but seemed well tamed as they were not showing any signs of restlessness. "So, who are these friends?" 

Cynthia nodded before introducing Rean's group to everyone else. "These are a few friends I made during my time in the Divine Stream Lake. The white-haired one is Rean, and the black-haired one is Roan. They are twins."

The Sect Master then introduced herself in response to the two. "I'm Kayla Xiantian, the Sect Master of the Lukimira Sect."

"Are you forgetting about us?" Kentucky asked soon after with an annoyed expression. Cynthia did say that he didn't need to pretend to not be able to talk here, after all.

Celis sighed in response. "Couldn't you at least wait for Cynthia to explain things first?"

Sure enough, all the elders and the Sect Master looked at those two with wide eyes. Well, Cynthia already expected as much since she had the same reaction. "Hahaha! It's impressive, isn't it? Let me explain..."

Cynthia then used her Divine Sense to give everyone in the room a quick explanation.

Eventually, Kayla and the other elders understood. "I see...so they came from some other part of the Realm of Gods." Kayla then looked at the twins' group before saying,' Cynthia wasn't lying. No one here has ever seen a place where demon beasts or trees gain sentience before the Transition Realm. There's no doubt that your Turin Region is really far away. Otherwise, we would have at least heard something about it. That teleport formation you were forced into definitely was of a very high level."

Rean nodded in response, saying, "I know. I'm a Formation Master at Silver Middle-level, and I couldn't identify the formation's level at all." Rean then changed the topic as he continued, "By the way, we would like to know if we can join your sect."

Chapter 974: Thank You

One of the elders, a man named Wuxan, couldn't help but ask in response, "Cynthia told us why you wanted to join us, but is that really okay? As you've probably noticed, we even had to send most of our elders out to do missions to help with the financial situation. We really don't have much to offer." Wuxan was one of the few Soul Transformation Realm members of the sect.

After that, another elder, a younger woman called Tura, added, "Elder Wuxan is right. I believe you two don't understand how much you would be losing to stay with us. Take the Praler, Vintchi, and Ostrao Sect, for example. They have quite a few disciples around the same age as you who are also at the Soul Transformation Realm. To be an elder, they have to reach the Saint Realm first. But here in Lukimira, such a level is enough for you to be one of the top elders or the Sect Leader herself. We have a lot more Nascent Soul Realm elders that were promoted from the disciples than we have Soul Transformation Realm elders."

No one minded Tura's words. After all, that was the truth.

Tura continued, "Considering your age and cultivation, you can definitely join one of the top three sects as disciples and acquire a high rank there very fast. Trust me when I say that you have a lot more to gain there as disciples than you have here as elders." It wasn't as if Tura didn't want experts at the level of Rean's group to join the sect. It's just that she was afraid they would leave the sect soon after once they found out more about the other sects. Many of their disciples definitely would if they had the talent or money for it.

Rean's group wanted to say that compared to the sects of the Realm of Mortals, this sect was already tons powerful enough. Let alone becoming the top sect of a city. They had more than enough power to reign over an entire country back there. Of course, they couldn't mention such a thing.

Rean then asked something else, "Elder Tura seems quite young as well. Why are you here?"

Tura was taken aback for a moment. "Me? Young?" She then laughed out loud. "Hahaha! Well, compared to Senior Cynthia, I'm really young. However, that's because my cultivation makes me look like this. Believe it or not, I'm already 213 years old. To be at this age and still be in the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm is probably slightly better than average."

Cynthia sighed in response, saying, "You didn't need to say it like that, brat." However, she was too old to mind such things. "Oh well, I am indeed very old as I'm close to my 400s."

Wuxan, who was quite old himself, narrowed his eyes in response. "Who are you trying to deceive, old woman? We joined this sect almost at the same time. You're over 400 for sure, just like me."

"Shut up, Wuxan! No one asked your opinion!"

Kayla couldn't help but laugh in response. "Hahaha! You two are always like that. Well, I've watched you two grow, so that makes me feel older than anyone else as I'm already in my 500s."

Little did they know that their ages and cultivation were impressively high while being impressively young if they were in the Realm of Mortals. A Soul Transformation Realm cultivator's lifespan was 1000 years, while it was 1600 years for those at the Saint Realm. Wuxan and Cynthia were in the Late and Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, respectively, before reaching even half of their lifespan. Tura was doing even better, being almost 800 years ahead. Let alone the Sect Master, who was in the Middle Stage of the Saint Realm and still had over 1000 years of lifespan. In the eyes of Rean's group, they were heaven-defying geniuses, at least when considering the standard of the Realm of Mortals they were previously in.

It was then that Kentucky asked something else. "Oh, right! I noticed it when walking through the city. The same thing happens here in the sect. Why are there so many Nascent Soul Realm cultivators but so few cultivators at Soul Transformation Realm and above?"

That was true. Kentucky saw a lot more Soul Transformation Realm cultivators proportional to the population in the Realm of Gods. It definitely trashed the average proportional numbers in the Realm of Mortals. However, there were so many people at the Nascent Soul Realm that it was weird that the number of Soul Transformation Realm cultivators was just that.

However, Roan was the first one to explain that. "That's normal, dumb bird. To enter the Soul Transformation Realm, a cultivator has to find its true path. It's totally different from you, demon beasts, who just need more energy."

Rean smiled as he said, "We lived in an area where there were many demon beasts, but not so many cultivators. That's why Kentucky is puzzled. Don't mind him."

Roan then warned through Divine Sense. 'Don't ask things that could raise suspicion. Sister Orb said that it was easier to find one's path than it was in the Realm of Mortals. And that's true. That's why we have a lot more Soul Transformation Realm cultivators proportional to the number of cultivators back in the Realm of Mortals. However, that doesn't mean that finding one's path is easy.'

Rean agreed with Roan, saying, 'The ice block is right. Divine Energy makes it much easier to cultivate until the Nascent Soul Realm. Still, if you had really paid attention back in the city, you would see that most of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators you saw were at the Peak Stage. They were all young, middle-aged, or old. That's your answer. In the end, finding one's path here is easier than back on the planets. Nevertheless, it's still a very hard thing to do.' 

Kentucky rubbed the back of his head with his wings in embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry. I was just curious. I should have put a little more thought into it."

Kayla didn't mind as Roan's words were true. "It's fine. That's also why our sect has so much more Nascent Soul Realm elders than those at Soul Transformation. Look at the elders in this room, including Cynthia. They are already thirteen of the twenty Soul Transformation Realm elders of the entire sect."

Another elder, someone called Jusis, then added, "Of course, if you join a top sect of the city, then you'll definitely see many, many more people at Soul Transformation concentrated there."

Those words brought the conversation back to the initial issue, so Tura asked once more. "Do you see what you're losing out on by choosing us? You have talent, being at the Soul Transformation Realm while still in your late thirties. I don't want our sect to accept you just for you to leave our sect a few days later once you find a better choice."

Kayla agreed with Tura. "Indeed. You should think twice before selecting us. Of course, if you still prefer to become part of our sect and possibly our financial struggles, you are obviously welcome. Hahaha!"

All the elders in the room laughed out loud as well. They weren't hoping for much anyway.

Rean nodded in response, saying, "Indeed, we should have thought things through." Everyone sighed after hearing that, thinking that Rean and the others decided to leave after hearing their words. However, Rean smiled as he continued... "Now I'm even more sure I want to join this sect. Thank you for accepting us."

Chapter 975: We See Others Differently

The elders went silent, surprised they still opted to stay with them. Sometime later, Tura couldn't help but look at Wuxan to ask, "Could it be that foreigners are idiots?"

Rean's mouth twitched in response. Somehow, that Elder Tura reminded him of Sister Orb and Malaka, which were even worse. "Ahem...but if it's your sect that doesn't want us here, then we don't mind leaving either."

Suddenly, Kayla disappeared from her seat before...

*Pah!*

The sound of a slap on the back of one's head was heard. 

*Ouch!*

Tura looked at the Sect Master with a wronged expression. Sadly, Kayla completely ignored her. "Don't mind this idiot here. Our sect is definitely more than happy to receive such impressive new disciples."

"Disciples?" Rean and Roan were confused as they looked at Cynthia. "Shouldn't we be guest elders?"

Cynthia was just as confused, so she asked Kayla, "Sect Master, we already have elders at the Nascent Soul Realm. Wouldn't it be weird to let these twins join the sect as disciples? After all, our strongest disciples are just in the Nascent Soul Realm as well."

Kayla shook her head as she told Cynthia, "No can do. They are way too young to be elders. Haven't you noticed yet? The elders at the Nascent Soul Realm are all above a hundred years old already. They have a lot of experience to not be abusive of their positions. That's why we allowed Nascent Soul Realm elders."

Tura found it weird, muttering, "I thought we made them elders because we were shorthanded."

*Pah!*

*Ouch!*

"Shut up! If you speak again, don't blame me for sending you to the sect's gold mine," Kayla told her with a dark expression.

With that, Tura closed her mouth and didn't say a single word anymore. The other elders all sighed in response, but none seemed to be surprised with how Tura and Kayla acted. It was obvious that it was a common event.

As for Rean's group, Rean wasn't the only one thinking that Tura looked a lot like Malaka or Sister Orb. The rest of them had the same impression in their minds. 'This Sect Master truly has a hard time. Respect, respect...'

"Ahem..." Kayla then returned to her seat once more before continuing, "That's what I wanted to say. We definitely want to receive you four, but it has to be as disciples. Of course, we'll give you an access level almost equivalent to an elder. If you want to use the sect's formations, ask for something in the side occupation halls or the other areas, and you will be free to do so. As long as you provide the materials and don't go overboard, you can do as you wish."

Well, for Rean and Roan, that was more than enough. They would be able to use the sect's connections to investigate more about the Realm of Gods. That was pretty good for them already. "Err...sure, that's fine with us. If you don't mind having disciples with high cultivation, then we'll join that way."

Rean then looked at Kentucky and Celis after that before asking, "What about our friends here? They're obviously not the same as the other demon beasts. First of all, they don't really have any masters, nor would they accept one to start with since they have sentience." 

As soon as Rean asked that, an elder's eyes lit up. His name was Kurt, the elder responsible for the Beast Taming Hall. The Beast Taming Hall didn't have any demon beasts at Stage Five, but they still got to tame a few to help with the sect's heavy tasks. "Oh, do you mind if I take your friends to help?"

Kentucky and Celis looked at Kurt with a confused expression. "Help with what?"

"You two are demon beasts...well, one's a demon tree but is still categorized under the demon beast name. Anyway, your presence in the Beast Taming Hall will make it a lot easier to control and tame the new demon beasts. After all, your auras will intimidate the others. I'm willing to pay three Divine Stones per month if you accept." Kurt seemed pretty adamant to have them both as three Divine Stones just to stay in the Beast Taming Hall was a lot.

Kentucky and Celis looked at the twins, but Rean and Roan simply shrugged their shoulders, with Rean telling them, "What are you looking at us for? That's your decision, not ours. You don't even need to stay in the same sect as us if you don't want to."

Celis then looked at Kurt before asking, "I want to take root in this sect, and my roots are quite big. Will that be a problem?"

Kurt immediately shook his head as he replied, "We are an underground sect, so there is simply no lack of earth for your roots to expand. As long as they don't reach any restricted area or cause any trouble, you can expand them as much as you want. Of course, I'll show you where the restricted areas are for you to prevent touching them."

Celis nodded, soon responding, "That's fine by me, then. I'm the type that simply takes root and cultivates. You won't see me moving unless extremely necessary."

Since Celis would stay there with Kentucky's nest, Kentucky obviously accepted as well. "The same goes for me. Celis has the best branches for a nest, so we always stay together."

"Great!" Kurt was ecstatic. "I was planning to try to tame a Stage Five Demon Beast, but it would be too hard to keep it under control. As long as you two are close, it will increase my chances by a lot."

It was then that Kurt remembered something. "Err...sorry, I forgot to ask. Does it bother you two that we're taming demon beasts here?"

Kentucky and Celis looked at each other before shaking their heads. Celis then took the opportunity to explain, saying, "You seem to have the wrong idea about us. Sure, you put us all under the same name, demon beasts, but we are, in fact, different races. If it's not a member of our own race, we simply see the other demon beasts from other races the same way we see humans, Lakures, Turals, Qingones, and so on. We simply don't care."

"Well, that makes sense." Kurt couldn't be blamed. After all, he had never talked with sentient demon beasts before. "Then, I'm counting on your help."

Chapter 976: Exactly!

With that decided, a disciple came into the hall to bring the twins to their personal areas. Because the sect was deep into a cliff, it had more than enough space for everyone to have their own rooms. The only caveat was that they had to build their own residences. It might be something time-consuming for a low-level disciple, but for the twins, it was very easy to do. 

Kentucky and Celis, on the other hand, were brought to the Beast Taming Hall. Not surprisingly, the Taming Hall was not inside the cliff but outside. After all, demon beasts needed different environments to live in, especially those who weren't sentient. Nevertheless, most of the demon beasts' dwellings were still built on the cliff's walls. 

As one could imagine, Celis decided to stay as far as possible from the caves of the sect before returning to his tree form. Celis changed his appearance to prevent others from finding out his race, just like what he did back in the Freedom Sect while it was still in the Demon Beast Continent. Kentucky didn't mind as he simply flew up to his nest and began to take a nap. Little did the sect know, but the concentration of Divine Energy in the sect would start going up very soon.

Back in the Meeting Hall, Cynthia stayed behind with Wuxan and Jusis. They seemed to have something to talk about with the Sect Master as one of them asked, "Kayla, what are you planning?"

Kayla looked at those three with a smile, responding with, "Planning? What are you talking about?"

Wuxan narrowed his eyes in response as he replied, "Kayla, we've known each other for a long time already. First of all, the fact that all Nascent Soul Elders are over one hundred years old is just a coincidence. No rule states that one had to be at a certain age to become an elder, much less a guest elder."

Jusis agreed with Wuxan, saying, "Exactly. For you to ask them to stay as disciples, there must be a reason for it."

Layla laughed in response. "Hahaha! Indeed, there was a reason for that." Kayla then took a jade slip out of her pocket and threw it towards those three. "Take a look inside."

Cynthia, Wuxan, and Jusis looked at each other before they sent their Divine Senses into the jade slip. "This..." Finally, they looked back at Kayla as one of them said, "A local power assembly? How long has it been since the last one happened? Wait, could it be..."

Kayla immediately nodded as she told them, "Yes, the centennial power distribution has arrived. I've already received information that the Royal Family's representative is in Cosec City, preparing the assembly."

Divine Energy was responsible for giving birth to many natural treasures. One of them just so happened to be Divine Veins. Those Divine Veins were able to generate more Divine Energy, perfect for sects and other organizations that relied on it. The Lukimira Sect just so happened to be built close to one of those. As for why they had one, that's because they won it five hundred years ago during the centennial power distribution!

There was a way to create Divine Veins, but the method was extremely expensive. Even the top three sects of Cosec City together wouldn't be able to afford the process. However, the Royal Family was different. They kept producing Divine Veins of several qualities all the time. They often sold them or used them in trades with other countries. Of course, that wasn't all. Once every one hundred years, the Royal Family would give part of the produced veins for the various sects and other organizations of its kingdom. That was one of their ways to help improve the overall power of their people as a whole.

However, there was no such thing as free lunch in this world. There were just way too many forces that desired the Divine Veins, but not even close to enough for everyone. That's where the local power assembly came into play. The Royal Family would send a certain number of veins to each city of its kingdom. After that, the assembly would be used to decide who would get those veins.

One might think, what will happen if a weak power got its hands on a Divine Vein? Couldn't a bigger power force it out of their hands? That's where the Royal Family's power came into play. Any Divine Vein could only be used by the power that won it during the assembly. The city lords would be responsible for verifying that this rule was followed. It was so strict that even the powers who won those veins couldn't sell it even if they wanted to. They could only use it.

No one tried to play any tricks when the distribution was made either. If one was caught by the Royal Family trying to take advantage of someone who got a vein, extermination would already be a light sentence. That's how the Lukimira Sect kept its own vein for hundreds of years without anyone trying to contest it.

Well, to be honest, the Lukimira's Sect Divine Vein was a very low-quality one, so not many people out there had much interest in it to start with. The fact they got it could already be considered a miracle itself. Asking to have won a high-quality vein would have been nothing more than a dream to them.

However, there was a problem. Those veins...had a lifespan of 500 years! Once that time was up, the veins would start to wither and lose their effect in at most ten years. Rean's group was curious about why the sect was having financial problems to the point of even sending their elders out for missions. That was the reason! The sect was trying to gather enough Divine Stones to buy another low-quality Divine Vein for multiple years already. Sadly, they were far, far away from having enough. After all, Divine Stones were necessary to run the sect as well.

Cynthia looked at Kayla and sighed, telling her, "No wonder you insisted on keeping them as disciples. After all, only true members of the power participating in the assembly can try to obtain Divine Veins. If you accepted them as guest elders, they wouldn't be allowed to participate in our sect's name."

Kayla nodded with a smile in response. "Exactly!"

Chapter 977: Is That So?

Nevertheless, Wuxan was confused about one part, asking, "I understand why you would want them to help with that. However, is there really a need for such a thing? Even if they didn't join, you still had the rest of us. First of all, they're only in the Initial Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. Cynthia and I are in the Peak and Late Stages. We have a lot more chances of winning something."

Cynthia and Jusis nodded in agreement. They also thought that there wasn't much point in having Rean and Roan participating in the assembly as their cultivation was too low. In fact, the only one who could possibly try something was Kayla, who was in the Saint Realm.

However, Kayla only laughed out loud after hearing Wuxan's question. "Hahaha! Indeed, that would be the case in normal circumstances. However, you seem to have forgotten that the themes of the assembly change every hundred years as well. I just so happen to have gotten my hands on this year's distribution rules." Kayla then took another jade slip and passed it to the elders.

Cynthia and the others immediately noticed that it was different from the ones used by the Royal Family. Obviously, it wasn't the Royal Family's representative who gave Kayla that. Following that, they examined the contents of that jade slip. "I see...to think that this year has an age limit on the participants."

Kayla nodded in response, telling them, "Yes. However, it isn't that unexpected. After all, it has been seven hundred years since the last age restriction. I knew that they would use this kind of approach in this distribution or probably in the next two at most. It just so happened that the theme was used now."

Cynthia couldn't help but say after hearing that, "But doesn't that mean that all of us will be barred from participating? All the elders will only be able to watch."

Kayla nodded, saying, "I felt quite depressed because of that as well. The age limit this year is fifty years old. If you don't count Rean and Roan, our strongest disciple under the age of fifty is Wamil, who has just entered the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Compared to the geniuses of the other powers, we truly deserve the title of one of the weakest sects in Cosec City."

Cynthia, Jusis, and Wuxan nodded their heads. It would be extremely hard for Wamil to achieve anything with his cultivation. It wasn't that it was low. In fact, it was pretty above average, and the sect had good hopes for him in the future. However, compared to the others, he was still severely lacking.

Kayla then added, "Of course, I will send the maximum number of participants allowed in the competition, ten. Fortunately, the other seven are all at the Initial Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Maybe we'll become super lucky the same way we were five hundred years ago and get a vein again." Obviously, the other two would be Rean and Roan.

"Do you know what kind of competition will be used in this year's distribution?" Cynthia asked with interest.

However, Kayla shook her head as she said, "No. I was already lucky to get information about the age restriction. I doubt even the top three sects and the organization branches for the side occupations know what the contents will be. We will need to wait until the day arrives."

Wuxan narrowed his eyes after hearing that. "It could very well be a battle, or it could be related to side occupations."

Cynthia shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "Well, Rean is a Silver Middle-level Formation Master and Blacksmith, while Roan is a Silver Middle-level Alchemist. That's already quite high for their age."

"By the way, when will the assembly start?" Jusis asked after that, curious.

Kayla smiled in response, saying, "Two weeks. In two weeks, we need to convince the twins to help our sect in the assembly."

Immediately, everyone looked at Cynthia as she continued, "With that being said, we leave it in your hands."

Cynthia bitterly smiled in response. It was already a very good thing that they accepted to enter the sect. Now, she had to ask for more favors. How hard would that be? 'Well, I can only give it a try and see if there is a way to convince them.'

In the Alchemist Hall...

"Is that so? Alright, we will participate under the sect's name," Roan said as he studied the alchemy books.

Cynthia froze for a moment, seeing how easily Roan accepted her request. "Err...aren't you going to ask for some payment or anything like that? After all, the Sect Master insisted on having you become disciples exactly for that."

Roan shook his head as he explained, "There's no need. I'm curious about the level of the geniuses of this part of the Realm of Gods. This assembly and its rules just so happen to fit my necessities." Roan then coldly smiled as he radiated a hint of killing intent. "Besides, it's good to have some replacements for the bandits that we didn't find." 

Cynthia felt a chill on her back when she heard that. For some reason, she felt like a lamb in front of a tiger. However, she quickly calmed down right after. "Great! I don't want you to work for the sect without any reward, though. Let's do it like this. If you're able to gain another low-level vein for the sect, we will pay you three hundred Divine Stones."

Don't look down on that value. For the Lukimira Sect, that was already a huge amount. They would never give up so many stones for any other reason other than the vein. "I know three hundred isn't even close to the value of the vein, but our sect can't really pay much more than that."

Roan shook his head, saying, "Don't worry. I'm doing it for the opportunity, not for the Divine Stones." Roan also wanted to say that Rean could definitely make that amount once he started selling his forged equipment. However, it was better to not mention that for the time being.

Cynthia then turned around after that, telling Roan, "I'll go tell Rean as well."

Roan nodded in response, not stopping her. Of course, he already contacted Rean through the Soul Connection to tell him about the news. It's just that Cynthia didn't know about the twins' ability, so they had to pretend to not be able to communicate from far away.

Obviously, Rean agreed. "Sure thing. I'm looking forward to it."

Chapter 978: All Ears

After asking Rean and Roan, Cynthia returned to Kayla to tell the news, which obviously made Kayla ecstatic. Wuxan and Jusis were naturally ecstatic as well. "Great! We might really have a shot at the low-level veins with those two."

Cynthia nodded before mentioning, "However, I agreed that if they got one of the veins, we would pay three hundred Divine Stones."

Kayla, Wuxan, and Jusis felt a slight twinge in their hearts when they heard that number. However, they also understood the requirements. "Fine! If they really get one of those veins, then three hundred Divine Stones is a very low price to pay."

Rean and Roan, obviously, discussed the assembly through their Soul Connection after Cynthia left. 'Roan, what do you think about it? Should we go all out?'

Roan pondered over it for a bit before nodding. 'Yes. You heard what they said before, right? Our cultivation and age only put us between the above-average geniuses. With that being said, it wouldn't make any difference if we show a little bit more than what they expected.'

Sister Orb couldn't help but ask after hearing that, [However, why did they say you're in your late thirties? The two of you are already 48 years old.] Sure enough, Rean and Roan spent a lot more time than just thirty years after they reincarnated.

Rean was the one to explain that to Sister Orb, though. 'Sister Orb, you are still using the counting method from Sunkan Planet. I asked about it during our travel in the caravan. From the looks of it, one year here is larger than our Sunkan Planet's year. I calculated the right amount, and it seems like Roan and I are 37 years old in this place.'

[I see...then again, the year in Sunkan Planet is also bigger than the year on Earth, so I guess that makes sense.]

Rean couldn't help but laugh in response. 'Hahaha! If we were still on Earth, Roan and I would be two old men at fifty-something years old. Of course, cultivation increases our lifespan, so we would still look very young despite our age.'

Roan also added, 'That also means we have to calculate the right amount of lifespan we gain with each cultivation realm. For example, a Saint Realm's lifespan in Sunkan was somewhat around 1600 years. Here in the Realm of Gods, it would translate into 1232 years instead. Simply put, it's around 77% of the values from Sunkan Planet.'

Rean nodded as he said, 'Indeed. Soul Transformation Realm cultivators had something close to 1000 years there, which means we have around 770 years of lifespan. Well, we have more than enough time to cultivate anyway. That doesn't change our view of the Sect Master and the elders that much either.'

'Anyways,' Roan continued. 'We can expect a lot of Soul Transformation Realms in this assembly. The only doubt is whether our advantage in absolute strength stays the same.'

[It shouldn't have changed much. Although you can store a lot less Divine Energy than Spiritual Energy, it doesn't change the fact that your dantians can hold around three times more than others. The only difference here is whether the fusion of Divine Energy and Soul Power is as strong as the fusion with Spiritual Energy. Of course, even if there is a difference, it wouldn't be anything big.]

'By the way.' Rean called their attention as he asked, 'Are we going for our Elements Exchange, or will we fight with our own strength?'

Roan pondered over it for a bit before saying, 'Let's start fighting with our own strength first. If you see that you can't deal with an opponent with just that, then use the Elements Exchange.'

Rean nodded, saying, 'Alright. That'll probably happen anyway, as I believe we will definitely find some Saint Realm experts below the age of fifty. In the end, this eleven-year discrepancy is a disadvantage for us.'

'Stop complaining,' Roan could not help but say. 'We can already jump an entire cultivation realm in strength when we go all out, let alone when we exchange elements. If nothing changes, we won't be at much of a disadvantage. That's a good opportunity if anything.'

Rean shrugged his shoulders when he remembered something. 'Oh, right. Send your White Star to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. I'll take it out here in the Blacksmith Hall. I'm learning about the forging methods of the sect so I can modify them.'

Roan nodded as his White Star disappeared from his spatial ring and entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. However, Rean didn't take it out straight away. First, he would use some of his Heaven-level materials to try things out. After all, Divine Energy was new for Rean. 'I'll be done with it before the assembly starts in two weeks.'

Roan didn't mind. 'As long as it's back in time, that's fine.' He then returned to reading the alchemy books. He was able to see many different requirements, herbs, and things like that in there.

However, Sister Orb couldn't help but ask, [When are you going to use your Destiny Points? You got 30000 points from reactivating the World Beast Formation. Also, you got another 11326 from the Destiny Changes caused by the Communication System and other things. Considering you have 4402 points remaining since your last purchase, you now have a grand total of 45728 Destiny Points ready for use.]

Those words made Rean consider buying something for a bit. 'Sister Orb, you said before that if we're too far away, the system won't count the changes in destiny that happened because of us. Obviously, we won't get any more Destiny Points from the Zasfin Planet. The system simply couldn't detect something that far.' Rean then asked his real question. 'Does it apply for the Realm of Gods as well?'

Roan had to admit he was curious about that as well. 'Indeed. The Realm of Gods is a single piece of land, right? Perhaps that restriction doesn't apply here?'

[Sorry to disappoint you two, but distance is still distance. However, thanks to the Realm of Gods' shape, I can at least tell you how far the system can detect Destiny Changes caused by you two.]

Naturally, Rean and Roan were all ears.

Chapter 979: Setting Plans

Sister Orb then explained, [Well, to be honest, you can increase the size of its range through the Soul Gem System's reward list. Give it a quick look. It should be showing there now.]

'We can't look into it right now, you know? We need to touch you to get access to the list,' Rean said in response. The twins were in their own halls at the moment, so they obviously couldn't simply disappear from there.

[Oh, that's right. Let me send the list into your minds for now, then. However, you will still need to come to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm to buy what you want.]

Soon after, the full list of items of the Soul Gem System appeared in the twins' minds. Of course, they ignored everything that they didn't want to know at the moment and focused on the new item.

[Destiny Perception Range Upgrade Level 1 - 50000 Destiny Points.] (500000 Kilometers at Level 0.)

Rean immediately understood why this upgrade hadn't appeared before. '500000 kilometers, having the two of us as the center. No wonder it didn't appear before. Such a distance was enough to cover the two entire planets, so it made no sense to be there for us to buy. Let alone the fact that it cost 50000 Destiny Points for a single upgrade. It was simply an impossible value when we started using the system.'

Sister Orb confirmed Rean's words. [Exaclty. However, things are different now that you two are in the Realm of Gods. For example, that Huvol City is definitely something around ten thousand kilometers away. You can take that as a comparison since Ukilas Valley spans about three weeks, and it took three weeks for us to pass through.]

'Sister Orb's right,' Roan agreed with Sister Orb. 'That was just the distance between one city and another. Kamos Kingdom alone is probably bigger than one round trip around Sunkan Planet. The 500000-kilometer limit the system has at the moment might be way too little.'

Rean shrugged his shoulders in response, saying, 'Still, we need 50000 Destiny Points to upgrade it. As much as I want to increase the range wherein we can earn Destiny Points, I don't think it's worth buying this upgrade. Not to mention we're still short 4272 points. 50000 Destiny Points takes too long to acquire. Who knows when we'll get a quest that gives a lot of Destiny Points and if we can even complete it.'

[Well, let me tell you this beforehand. Changes made to the Realm of Gods are worth a lot more than in the Realm of Mortals. So expect to get a lot more Destiny Points for smaller changes.] Sister Orb said in response. [However, Rean is right about one thing. 50000 Destiny Points is still a huge amount. You should think twice whether you would want to purchase the Destiny Perception Range Upgrade or not.]

There wasn't much to think, though. Rean and Roan knew that it simply wasn't the right time for that. 'The two of us just arrived in the Realm of Gods. Let alone making Destiny Changes at the level of a kingdom. We can't even make enough of an impact at the level of a city. We will leave the Destiny Perception Range Upgrade for some other time in the future.'

[Alright. In that case, head to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm later. Keeping those points unused won't give you many advantages. Unless, of course, you're planning to keep it stored for the Nascent Soul Revival ability.]

Nascent Soul Revival was still very useful. After all, a Nascent Soul continued to exist and evolve as cultivation increased. It was an ultimate weapon that could break the limits of the twins' power. For those who don't remember, the twins had the option of sacrificing their Nascent Souls for a temporary yet substantial boost in strength.

However, Rean and Roan immediately shook their heads after hearing that. 'Relying on it won't be good for the moment. It's better to keep it for the time when 20000 Destiny Points aren't so hard to obtain. We'll pass by the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm later to use the upgrades.'

It was then that Sister Orb asked, [By the way, what will you do with all this Divine Energy stored in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm core? I can't keep it holding there forever, or the core might become damaged.]

Rean and Roan pondered over it a bit before asking, 'Would using it for cultivation be too much of a waste?'

[Of course not! In the end, you can always rely on the advantage of your cultivation. If you enter the Dimensional Realm with Celis and Kentucky to cultivate together, this amount of Divine Energy might be enough to propel you four to the Middle Stage.]

Rean had to admit it was a tempting option. 'That seems like a good idea. After all, Divine Energy doesn't affect one's foundation even if we cultivate too fast.'

Roan nodded but also saw a problem. 'The issue would be to explain how the hell we went straight to the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm or Middle Stage Six in Kentucky and Celis' cases. That's just way too fast.'

[Can't you simply say that you used the rest of the Divine Stream Lake's energy to cultivate to the limit of the Initial Stage and only now got a breakthrough?] Asked Sister Orb.

However, Rean and Roan shook their heads. 'It still doesn't explain how we broke through together.'

It was then that Rean had an idea. 'Wait, we don't need to break through straight away. All we need to do is relieve the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm's core of all that energy. Let's cultivate to the peak of the Initial Stage and then stop there. Even if some Divine Energy remains in the core, it wouldn't be that much. We can have the breakthrough later.'

Roan had to admit it was a good idea. 'Very well, let's tell Celis and Kentucky later and find an excuse to go to some more private place. Then, we can enter the Dimensional Realm and cultivate.'

Rean smiled in response as he told Roan, 'We can also use that chance to buy the abilities.'

And just like that, their plans were set.

Chapter 980: Why should we care?

Later that night, Kentucky couldn't help but say, "It's so boring! Isn't there anything I can do? I mean, other than just helping alleviate the energy in the core."

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "If there is, then I don't know what it is. Well, just help us alleviate the extra Divine Energy, will you?"

Celis didn't mind as all he wanted to do was to cultivate. "Let's stop wasting time and start already."

The twins' group then left the Lukimira Sect since they couldn't simply disappear there. They just told them that they would be back later that night. Rean and Roan weren't slaves or anything like that, so the sect couldn't stop them from going either, nor did they want to. After all, they didn't want to get on the bad side of the twins before they at least helped them with the issue regarding the Divine Vein.

After getting that sorted, Celis, Kentucky, Rean, and Roan entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, instantly feeling the enormous concentration of Divine Energy there. "Indeed, the core is probably not ready for all of this. Perhaps we should think about upgrading the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm later."

"We can talk about that another time," Roan said. "Let's start."

Everyone nodded as they quickly began to absorb the Divine Energy present there. As they did that, Rean couldn't help but think, 'Just how many Divine Stones worth of Divine Energy do we have in this place?'

Time passed quickly as everyone's cultivation increased nonstop. However, it was, as Rean mentioned. They eventually reached the limit of the Initial Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, and there was still some extra Divine Energy to spare.

Celis, of course, wanted to use it straight away as he asked, "Can't we really make a breakthrough? With the rest of the energy, we should be able to break the bottleneck."

Roan shook his head as he said, "Give it some time first. After all, we've already saved..." It was then that Roan remembered something. "Oh, that's right. Sister Orb, how much faster are we cultivating compared to the Realm of Mortals?" Roan could get an average guess, but he knew Sister Orb would have a more approximate answer.

[Oh, I haven't told you that yet either. I checked your absorption rate and the energy in your dantians when you were cultivating normally outside. If you don't consider Celis's ability to gather Divine Energy in a single point, your cultivation speed is around 4 times faster here than in the Realm of Mortals. Of course, things like the Divine Stream Lake's Divine Energy can't be counted on either.]

Rean couldn't help but comment, "That's still a huge increase. Divine Energy is truly capable of saving us many, many years of cultivation."

Celis nodded in response. "Indeed. My cultivation is limited to the same level as you two and Kentucky. Nevertheless, I can tell how much faster I'm cultivating as well. Even if I cultivate alone and drag your cultivation with me, I would still be slightly faster than if we cultivated together down there."

Roan then pondered over something for a bit before asking, "Sister Orb, how many years would it take for us to go from the Middle to the Late Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm?"

Sister Orb understood what Roan meant. [If you were in the Realm of Mortals, such a thing would take you around eight to nine years. Here, it will only take two years and some months. Of course, because you never know when you'll all be cultivating together or not, this time can deviate somehow. Also, if Celis finishes spreading his roots and gathers all the Divine Energy in the surroundings to a single spot, you'll be able to cultivate even faster.]

Rean then looked at the World Swallowing Cedar after that, asking, "Celis, is your performance at gathering Divine Energy the same as it was with Spiritual Energy?" One must remember that Celis gathered enough Spiritual Energy in the Freedom Sect for it to be equivalent to Rank Three or Four Spirit Stones.

Celis couldn't help but laugh out loud in response. "Hahaha! As if!" He then explained, "Divine Energy is definitely much better, but it is also much stronger and puts a lot more restrictions on us. You saw it yourself, right? How strong you were in the Initial Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm compared to the Realm of Mortals?"

Obviously, Roan tested it already. "In the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, we were somewhat comparable to Core Formation Realm cultivators in the Realm of Mortals. Now that we're in the Soul Transformation Realm, I believe it's somewhat similar to Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators at the same stage."

Celis nodded after hearing that, telling them, "Well, it's basically the same for my combat strength AND my ability to gather energy. The 'me' at the moment is somewhat similar to a Core and Soul Fusion Realm World Swallowing Cedar. Do you think I can gather a lot of Divine Energy with this mediocre performance? I believe I'm only able to gather enough energy to be equivalent to the lowest grade of Divine Stones." 

"Lowest grade?" Kentucky asked with a puzzled expression.

Celis nodded as he replied, "Obviously! So far, we've only heard everyone talking about Divine Stones. However, you don't really think that there's only a single grade of it, right?"

Rean agreed with Celis. "It's just that we have been dealing with poor sects, groups, and people. For them, other ranks of Divine Stones are probably a hard-to-reach dream since even the most common ones are that hard to acquire. However, I'm sure there are higher ranks of Divine Stones as well."

Rean then looked at Celis after that, telling him, "In any case, I still think that your gathering power is great, Celis. The lowest grade of Divine Stones is still better than the normal Divine Energy in the air."

Celis nodded in response. "But of course! This amount of Divine Energy should decrease our cultivation time by at least 10 to 20%."

It was then that Celis remembered. "Wait, You still haven't convinced me why we can't break through!"

Roan nodded, saying, "Because it would be too suspicious if the four of us broke through together once again."

"Just that?" Celis obviously didn't care about it. "Let me ask you. Why should we care even if they find it suspicious?"

Chapter 981: What Next?

That question took even Roan aback. Sure, they had been hiding things from others to prevent troubles from arising. However, this was the Realm of Gods, and they've already convinced Cynthia and the others that their part of the Realm of Gods was very different from here. In the end, they were just plain old oddities.

Celis continued, "You're afraid of the cultivators here becoming envious of our cultivation speed. You're afraid that they might try something against us because they want to be able to do the same, right? However, I say your concern is unfounded. After all, we may be cultivating faster... but we're just too weak! In the end, that's all about it. We won't really catch the eyes of those who really matter, like the Transition Realm cultivators. As for the Lukimira Sect, they need us. With that being said, the stronger we are, the better it is for them."

Roan pondered over Celis's words and had to admit they made sense. 

Kentucky also agreed with Celis, saying, "Celis said everything in my mind. We're just too weak for concern. In fact, it's exactly because we're too weak that we should use this chance to break through straight away. Let's not waste the rest of the Divine Energy left in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm's core."

Rean sighed in the end after hearing the reasoning of the two. "Roan, I believe Celis has a point. Besides, it's not like you to run away from problems."

Eventually, Roan accepted. "Very well, let's go for the final push and breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. That'll also help us with the next part of the plan."

"Next part of the plan?" Kentucky asked with a puzzled expression.

Roan nodded before explaining, "Celis's ability to gather Divine Energy from the region around into a single spot. We need to gain one of the Divine Veins so that the sect and everyone else will think this is a side-effect of the Divine Vein itself. That will be the perfect cover."

Rean couldn't help but ask after that, "Then, what about the time we leave the sect with Celis? Wouldn't it show that Celis was the one actually responsible for it?"

Roan shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "When that time comes, we will be leaving the sect, so who cares? Besides, this is the Realm of Gods. Who said that Celis is the only one capable of doing such a thing? He isn't the only World Swallowing Cedar, after all. Not to mention that there are probably other races of demon trees that can do something similar."

Celis nodded as he urged them to continue cultivating. "That's true. Alright! Let's stop wasting time and breakthrough."

The four of them immediately began to absorb the rest of the Divine Energy in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, aiming to breakthrough.

*Boom, boom, boom, boom...*

As always, a burst of Divine Energy came out of their bodies not too long after. With that, their cultivation began to rise, quickly reaching the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. The breakthroughs were very easy and fast. In any case, now that the twins had already found their path, the rest only depended on the Dark and Light Cultivation manuals. One must remember that they were perfect, so bottlenecks didn't really exist for the twins.

As for Celis and Kentucky, Celis had his experience as a previous Stage Nine Demon Tree, so he could simply charge through the ranks as long as he had energy. Kentucky was a Minokawa, a Divine Demon Beast, so his bloodline alone made it easy for him.

Their group then absorbed the rest of the Divine Stream Lake's energy, sucking the Dimensional Realm's core dry of all the energy it absorbed. "Phew...I've never thought we would break through almost an entire realm of cultivation in such little time," Rean could not help but say.

"It makes one wonder if we can find more of those Divine Stream Lakes. They surely would give us a boost." Celis also had his piece of wondering hope.

Roan shook his head in response as he told them, "If there was a way to find them, the people of Yukirrom Region would have figured it out a long time ago. In short, let's forget about it." Roan then looked at Rean, telling him, "Come here. Let's buy some upgrades."

Rean immediately nodded as they touched the Soul Gem Orb and accessed the reward list.

[Soul Power and Spiritual Energy Fusion - 20000 Destiny Points] (Bought)

[Nascent Soul Revival - 20000 Destiny Points] (New)

[Soul Gem Dimensional Realm Pass - 10000 Destiny Points]

[Dragon Bones - 5000 Destiny Points] (Bought)

[Energy Absorption Upgrade Level 5 - 50000 Destiny Points] (It will go to 25% when they buy it, they have 20% at level 4)

[Soul Gem Dimensional Realm Upgrade Level 4 - 50000 Destiny Points] (New) (They don't know what it does)

[Yin Yang Bathhouse - Reward from Destiny Strugglers Title]

[World Essence Formation - Reward from Grade 2 Efficiency Title]

[Breaking Bounds (Zero Uses) - Reward from Breakers of Bounds Title]

[Soul Connection Range Upgrade level 4 – 20000 Destiny Points] (10000km) (New)

[Soul Gem Blacksmith Workshop Upgrade Level 4 - 10000 Destiny Points] (New)

[Soul Gem Alchemy Workshop Upgrade Level 4- 10000 Destiny Points] (New)

[Soul Gem Electrical Formations Repository Upgrade Level 3 - 3000 Destiny Points] (New)

[Destiny Perception Range Upgrade Level 1 - 50000 Destiny Points.] (New, will upgrade to one million kilometers.)

[Destiny Points: 45728]

Rean immediately had an idea, telling Roan, "Let me buy the next level of the Electrical Formations Repository. It's only 3000 points and is the only side-occupation at level two at the moment." 

Roan didn't mind. After all, Rean's upgrades usually turned out as an increase in profits. "Sure, go for it."

[Soul Gem Electrical Formations Repository Upgrade Level 3 - 3000 Destiny Points]

[Confirm Purchase?]

"Yes!"

[Destiny Points: 45728]

[Initializing Upgrade...]

Immediately, the Soul Gem Electrical Formations Repository was enveloped by a silver barrier, just like always. As the twins waited, they began to think about the next upgrade.

"So, what should we go for next?" 

Chapter 982: Integrated Runes

"Talking about upgrades, how about the World Essence? Are you not going to use it?" Roan asked Rean.

Rean shook his head straight away as he told him, "It takes a long time for it to accumulate because of the size of our Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. If I use the amount we have right now, I can barely create a few pieces of equipment. However, I've never used it before, so I need to have more than enough to run some trials as I will probably get defective products at the beginning. Last but not least, we just entered the Soul Transformation Realm, so we both need to increase our side occupations to Silver High-level."

Roan nodded as he understood what Rean wanted to do. "You want to become a Golden-level blacksmith first, am I right?"

Rean smiled in response, saying, "It's good that you understand."

Sister Orb couldn't help but ask, [But to enter the Golden-level, you'll need to enter the Elemental Transformation Realm first. That'll take quite some time, you know?]

It was then that Rean shook his head as he replied, "Wrong! The methods available here in the Realm of Gods are a lot more advanced than the ones in the Realm of Mortals. When I combine them with my knowledge as a metallurgist and the Soul Gem Blacksmith Workshop's perks, Saint Realm will be enough to reach that level." Rean seemed very confident. "My plan is to be a Silver Peak-level blacksmith and Formation Master by the time I reach the Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm!"

[Is that so? I'm looking forward to it, then!]

Roan then changed the topic, saying, "Alright, let's go back to the system rewards."

Rean couldn't help but sigh, though. "Unfortunately, there isn't much for us to buy. The Energy Absorption Upgrade costs 50000 points. The same goes for the Dimensional Realm and Destiny Perception Range Upgrades. Other than the side occupation workshops and repositories, we only have the Soul Connection Range Upgrade that's worth 20000 Destiny Points."

Roan pondered in silence for a bit before saying, "I don't feel the necessity to upgrade the side occupation facilities at the moment. Because of all the materials available in the Realm of Gods regarding alchemy, I already have my work cut out for me for quite some time."

Rean agreed with Roan, saying, "I did the upgrade for the Electrical Formations Repository because it was very cheap at this moment. I also don't think I'll need another upgrade anytime soon."

In the end, they only had two options. "The first option is to buy the Soul Connection Range Upgrade, which will increase the distance we're separated by to 10000 kilometers. The second option is to keep the 42728 points we have at the moment and wait until we reach 50000. At that time, we can buy one of the expensive upgrades available."

However, Rean and Roan had already decided what they wanted. "Let's go for the Soul Connection Range Upgrade. In a place like the Realm of Gods, 3000 kilometers seem extremely small."

Rean couldn't help but add, "Haha! We didn't really want to save for Nascent Soul Revival, but we'll end up having enough points if we need to use it."

With that, the twins sent their request into the Soul Gem Orb.

[Soul Connection Range Upgrade level 4 – 20000 Destiny Points] (10000km)

[Confirm Purchase?]

"Yes!"

[Destiny Points: 42728]

[Initiating Upgrade...]

The twins then noticed how the light and dark threads, which left their souls and entered the Soul Gem Orb, began to change. Those threads didn't really exist in the real world, but they had always been there for the twins. In the end, it didn't look like those threads changed at all. However, the twins could tell that they were definitely much better now.

[Upgrade of Soul Connection Range concluded.]

"Now we can still use the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm features up to 10000 kilometers away from each other. There's a possibility that this might not even be enough to reach Huvol City..." Rean couldn't help but point out. 

[It's fine. Just try to not move that far away from each other for the time being. Next time you upgrade the range of your Soul Connection again, it'll be a lot easier to deal with.]

Those words immediately piqued the twins' curiosity as they looked at the next upgrade. 

[Soul Connection Range Upgrade Level 5 – 50000 Destiny Points] (100000km) (New)

"100000 kilometers, huh? That's quite impressive." Rean had to admit it was a very large distance.

However, Roan narrowed his eyes, muttering, "Another upgrade that costs 50000 Destiny Points. Things are really getting expensive."

Suddenly, the Soul Gem System's voice echoed in their minds.

[Upgrade of Circuitry Formations Repository concluded.]

Rean's eyes lit up as he saw the silver barrier covering the place disappearing. "Oh! Let me take a look."

He went inside and accessed the orb terminal as always. Immediately, Rean saw the new section of knowledge available in the repository.

[Introduction to Integrated Circuitry Runes.]

"Integrated Circuitry Runes?" Rean had to admit that he was a bit confused by the name. Naturally, he couldn't hold back and began to read it, making everyone else wait outside for several minutes. And that was only for him to read a very simplified explanation of the contents that were now available in the repository.

Eventually, Rean came out of the Circuitry Formations Repository as his eyes glistened. "This is great! The new runes I have access to will really make the Circuitry Formations go under a big transformation!"

Roan wasn't very interested, but he asked anyway. After all, he was sure Rean would talk about it even if he didn't, so why bother waiting? "Why?"

"It's called Integrated Circuitry Runes. Simply put, you can now craft Circuitry Runes inside Common Runes. So far, I had to make space for both runes and connect them somehow, mostly through Electricity or Spiritual Energy. But now, such a thing will be mostly resolved with the integration. It's genius!"

Celis, who watched Rean work on those runes many times, more or less understood what Rean was happy about, saying, "That means your already small devices can be reduced even more. Or, to be more specific, you can add many more runes and formations into the same space than you could before."

Rean nodded with a smile, saying, "Exactly!" He then looked at Roan and said, "Naturally, that also includes weapon inscriptions! Hehe! Just you wait for the time I get to forge our Golden-level White and Dark Stars."