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Chapter 1403: Halt!

Falangia was taken aback to hear that. When the event where her daughter was assaulted happened, she wasn't at home, trying to earn some income for their livelihood. On top of that, her daughter also didn't want to talk about it, be it because of fear or trauma. Naturally, she thought she would never be able to find the culprit. "Can you really do that?"

Rean nodded, saying, "A good thing about having Light Element Affinity is to be able to differentiate life forces of people's bodies. The remnants of the guy's... fluids... still has some traces of it." Although disgusting, Rean did focus on that to analyze the life force inside.

A moment later, Rean memorized that life force. As long as it was someone who lived in this city, he would definitely find him. Surprisingly, Rean didn't need to go out of the house and travel around the city, checking each person. The culprit just so happened to be much closer than he thought. "Oh-ho... now then, isn't that a coincidence."

Falangia couldn't help but ask, "Do you know who did it?"

Rean nodded in response, saying, "The same guy who just asked to have your daughter a moment ago."

"Him?!" Obviously, Falangia remembered the guy who attacked her when she refused to deliver her daughter to him. "I've never seen him around this area before."

"Mommy, are you okay?" Rafatia noticed Falangia's anger, asking that question.

However, Rana quickly pulled her by the hand and said, "Hey, Rafatia, let's go play in your room. I believe your mother won't mind, right?"

Falangia knew what was happening and immediately nodded with a smile. "Of course not! Go ahead, baby. Mommy has a few things to resolve, so you go and play with Rana for now, okay?"

Rafatia could only nod and follow the fake Rana to her room.

Rean was already walking outside the house, where he encountered the gathered people. Gaius' group had been unmoving all this while, so it obviously caught a lot of attention. Of course, some of them tried to get close to them. Unfortunately, there was also some kind of invisible barrier that didn't allow them to get close.

Rean leisurely walked in their direction, followed by Falangia. The invisible barrier obviously didn't stop them, as it was Rean who was keeping it up. Seeing Rean's approach obviously cast some dread on the people who were being held by him. One didn't need to be a genius to know that it was Rean, the one responsible for it.

Their leader, a female cultivator named Hisha, noticed that she could finally talk again, instantly pleading, "Si-Sir... I don't know how we offended you. However, I will do my best to compensate for it." She understood how bad the situation was. Even Gaius, the boss of their group, couldn't immobilize her that easily. The white-haired man in front of her was definitely much, much stronger than Gaius. Perhaps he was part of the new City Lord's group.

Rean shook his head and said, "From you, all I want to know is where I can find that Gaius guy."

Hisha didn't dare to waste time as she replied, "You can find Big Boss Gaius in the Lavela District. He lives in the mansion in the center. He rarely comes out, leaving all his business to his subordinates to take care of."

*Swish!*

As soon as Hisha finished her words, a flash of white light passed by her neck, cutting her head off. She wasn't the only one, though. The entire group had their heads sent flying, with a single exception. A man named Gustin. He just so happened to be the one who wanted to take Rafatia for himself. 

After seeing how all his allies died in an instant, fear couldn't even descript a tenth of the dread he felt at the moment. "Si-Sir... did I offend you in some way? I'm sure we can reach some agreement."

Falangia, who was on Rean's side, looked at the guy with a murderous expression and asked, "Is it really him?"

Rean then raised his hand, and that small ball of light that had a bit of the guy's sperm inside appeared once again. Rean already confirmed through the life force that it was him, but he wanted to make sure. With that, he drew a few seals on the air with his Divine Soul Power, which interacted with the man's balls and the ball of light.

*Burst!*

*Arrrgh!*

Suddenly, Gustin's ball exploded, as the sperm inside immediately joined the sperm inside of the sphere of Light Element. "There's no doubt. I'm not sure if he was the first or the only person to rape your daughter, but I'm absolutely sure he was the last one." 

Rean then looked at Gustin, who could barely endure the pain and said, "Now then, how about you tell me what's so funny in assaulting a kid? No. You know what? I don't need to know that. Instead, I'll let you know how fearsome such an experience can be by giving you an even more dreadful one."

Gustin's expression turned even worse after hearing that. How did they know it was him? What technique was that? "Si-Sir... you're mistaken! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

Rean snorted in response as he asked, "Do you know what DNA is?"

The man showed a blank expression after hearing that. How the hell would he know? It was the first time he heard about that.

Rean then explained, "There's no such thing as identical people in existence. Well, except for twins. Do you have a twin brother? I doubt so. Anyway, each living being's DNA is different from the other. That's why I know it was you. I found your DNA." Well, the fact was that Rean found the guy's life force signature. However, Rean had long since linked the difference in the feeling of life forces to DNA. He believed that just like DNA, there was no such thing as an identical life force. That perhaps it was the DNA of each person that molded their life force.

Rean then moved closer, ready to give the guy the experience of his life.

However, it was then that someone intervened.. "Halt! Stop your actions right now."

Chapter 1404: So Be It

Rean then looked in the direction of the voice's origin, quickly seeing a group of people running in his direction.

"It's the City Lord's guards."

"Get out of the way if you don't want to die!"

"It's Captain Oem! Run!"

In just a few seconds, all the crowd dispersed, not daring to stay in this place anymore. Oem was known for going berserk when dealing with situations and would usually kill a lot of people. That also included people who had nothing to do with whatever was happening. He was also known for being one of the trusted subordinates of the new City Lord... well, as far as trust could be believed in this kind of place.

Falangia immediately warned Rean through a Divine Sense message about Oem. However, Rean didn't seem to care too much. "Is that so? It's fine, it's fine. Let's see what he has to say."

Gustin, of course, was delighted to see that. Regardless of how bad Oem's reputation was, that at least meant he had a chance at living.

Falangia was somewhat worried about Oem, though. The stories about him were plenty, and none had a happy ending. She also wanted to leave this place straight away. However, Rean was here as well. Usually, she wouldn't care about anyone, regardless of who it was. Still, for some reason, she finally felt like she could trust someone other than herself for once, so she gritted her teeth and stayed.

Oem saw how Rean didn't seem the least bit worried after his group stopped nearby. Nevertheless, he asked, "What are you doing? Who said you could kill as you please in the middle of Dry Sky City?"

Rean snorted in response as he pointed at the corpses on the ground, asking, "How come these guys were killing anyone who didn't follow their orders? Where were you when they were doing as they liked in this place?"

Oem didn't seem to care, though. "I'm here now, am I not? How about we end things here, shall we? I'm sure none of us want to make things worse than they are."

Oem's words immediately shocked his subordinates and Falangia, let alone Gustin. Oem had never been the type to talk, after all. The normal Oem would have gone for Rean's head already, as far as they knew. Where did all that talk for negotiation come from? They didn't even know that Oem could negotiate at all.

However, no one there was an idiot. It was obvious that Rean's cultivation was too high for even Oem to take him head-on. In fact, they were right. Oem had already used his Divine Sense, and he couldn't see Rean's cultivation at all. Oem was at the Late Stage of the Saint Realm. In this city, such cultivation could put one at the very top of the food chain. However, Oem could tell that such cultivation was nothing in front of the white-haired man in front of him. Deep inside, Oem was already regretting stopping Rean's actions.

'Fuck! When I told him to stop, I was too far away to feel his cultivation. If I knew, I would have never intervened! Gaius, this agreement of ours isn't worth it at all!' Oem thought. Unfortunately, he had a reputation to maintain, so he couldn't simply back away anymore.

Rean smiled in response as he said, "Unfortunately, this guy is a child rapist, so I can't let him go. Especially when he attacked my dear friend's daughter. Can you imagine how she felt when he appeared while my friend was out trying to earn a living for them? Or could it be that you have a better idea? Can you offer something that can make up for what he did?"

Oem looked at Gustin with a dark expression before sending him a Divine Sense message. 'Why the hell did you attack this guy's friends? Do you know how strong he is? I might as well tell you that I can't even feel his cultivation. He's definitely at the same level as the City Lord, the Elemental Transformation Realm. There's even a chance that he's already at the Transition Realm.'

Gustin's happiness immediately disappeared after that. Elemental Transformation? That was a dream for anyone in Dry Sky City. How many Elemental Transformation Realm cultivators existed here? Four? Maybe five? Even his boss, Gaius, could only bow his head and do whatever someone at that level asked him to do. 'I... I didn't know. How would I guess that a kid in the middle of this trash place was related to an Elemental Transformation Realm cultivator? Even if you had given me a hundred times more guts, I wouldn't get even close to her.'

Gustin was feeling immense despair already. Would the City Lord buy a fight against someone with similar cultivation because of him? Of course not! If he was the City Lord, he wouldn't either!

Oem had the same doubt in his mind as Gustin. Why was some piece of trash from a place like this involved with someone like Rean? "Ahem... I'm one of the trusted subordinates of City Lord Zostemou. If you let him go, you would be putting up a good display of friendship with our City Lord. I'm sure it would be beneficial for you." 

Rean shook his head as he replied, "I don't need anything from your City Lord." Rean then looked at Falangia and asked, "Should I deal with this guy, or do you want to do it yourself?"

Falangia was taken aback for a moment. "But... is it really okay to ignore the City Lord like this?"

Rean understood what Falangia was worried about, saying, "Oh, don't worry. I can guarantee that you won't suffer anything even after I leave this city."

Falangia sighed in relief after hearing that. "Th-Then I shall rely on your words." Even Falangia herself didn't believe she believed someone other than herself or her daughter. Nevertheless, she did just that. 

Rean could make the guy suffer more than he could ever think was possible with Roan's Dark Element, and he planned on doing that. However, he decided that Rafatia's mother had to be the one to do that. He wasn't the type who liked to torture others either.

Falangia then put her hand on Gustin's head before Wind Element gathered. Gustin's cultivation was completely sealed by Rean's power, so he couldn't do anything but just watch. After some time, Falangia conjured several wind blades that began to cut through Gustin's head little by little. The worst thing was that he couldn't even scream due to Rean's power pinning him down.

Only after a few minutes did Gustin stop convulsing as his body fell to the ground. Falangia had killed many people in the past, and she didn't feel anything about it. After all, it was a norm in a place like this. However, she really enjoyed this one.

Oem's subordinates saw how Oem didn't do anything, proving that the white-haired man in front of them was definitely much stronger. With that being said, since Oem didn't make a move, they didn't even dare to speak.

Oem then sighed and shook his head, muttering inwardly, 'Gaius, I did what I could. This guy is your problem now.'

Oem then looked at Rean and shrugged his shoulders after that. "Well, since there's no way around it, I can only say it was Gustin's bad luck. Until some other day, friend."

Rean didn't stop Oem as his group left, though.. 'So be it.'

Chapter 1405: Monsters

Rean then looked back at Falangia and told her, "Your daughter isn't the only kid who has already lost their virginity. At least 20 to 25% of the kids I can see with my Divine Sense that are also below ten years old experienced the same thing. I can't say much about the boys, but there's a good chance they aren't that much well off. Just how the hell did things turn out like this? There should be a limit as to how terrible things can become."

Falangia shook her head as she replied, "The limit is within everyone's minds. I told you, didn't I? I'm not any more innocent than this trash I just killed. Without a doubt, I killed plenty of innocents just so I could earn something. Of course, I believe I killed even more trash as well."

Rean sighed in response after hearing that. "At the very least, you do that for your family."

"And can you say that these people we just killed, including this Gustin, aren't in this business for their family as well?" Falangia asked in response.

Rean had to admit she was right. "Maybe. However, chances aren't very big."

Falangia was confused. "Why?"

Rean then explained, "Your Divine Sense is very small. You can't see more than a couple of meters with it. However, my Divine Sense can reach up to eight kilometers. The majority of the Anti-Divine Sense Formations here are quite bad, so I can pierce through most of them. Tell me, how many of the living kids in this city do you believe have a mother or a father to rely on? I'll tell you. For every one hundred kids moving around, just twenty or thirty have someone to take care of them."

However, Falangia immediately shook her head as she corrected him. "I indeed don't have a large Divine Sense. However, the numbers are definitely a lot higher than what you can see with your Divine Sense."

Rean's interest was instantly piqued. "Oh! Is that so?"

Falangia nodded before explaining, "It's very common for fathers to abandon the women they impregnated. After all, it mostly happens through force. The reason you can only see around 10% of them with a parent is that most of these kids' parents are also out, trying to earn a living somehow. Their parents, obviously mothers, for the most part, can't leave them to be taken care of by someone else as no one really wants to do that. Just wait until nighttime arrives. You'll see that more than half of the kids alone in the streets will meet up with their mothers, while the very lucky ones will perhaps meet up with their very rare fathers."

She continued, "If you stay here for an entire week, you'll also see the mothers and the few fathers who went out of the city come back as well. Do you remember me? I went out to earn some profit and was expecting to stay out for two weeks. I basically left enough food for Rafatia and told her not to go out if possible. That's the only thing I could do. The same goes for the others. If I were to guess, I believe that around 70% of the kids you can see with your Divine Sense do at least have a mother."

Rean wasn't disappointed to hear that, of course. "That's great! It seems I jumped to conclusions way too fast. Now that I think about it... if so many kids had been abandoned, how did they grow up to those ages where they could move around? They should have starved to death a long time ago."

But then he noticed something. "Wait, following this logic, how come around 30% of them are parentless?"

However, Rean only had to look at Falangia's helpless expression to understand. "They did have parents, most likely the mothers. However, in the middle of their growth, their parents died, leaving them alone. It's just that since they're old enough, they can at least struggle to survive on their own."

Falangia nodded, saying, "You have to understand one thing, Rean. Most of the women who are mothers in this place chose to give birth. They wanted to have those children, even if it was a fruit of an assault. Try to pay attention to this huge Divine Sense of yours. If a woman doesn't want to have a child, she'll terminate her pregnancy once the kid inside gets big enough for her to notice their presence."

Rean couldn't help but smile a bit after hearing that. "It seems like this place isn't completely helpless yet. At least there are a few people who understand the importance of life and want to give it a chance, just like you."

Falangia couldn't help but become somewhat red after hearing that. It was the first time someone praised her for her choice to give birth to Rafatia in the end. Especially since she made that decision when she was still eleven. Being complimented like that was quite embarrassing. Though, at the same time, something like that deeply improved her mood. "Th-Thank you..."

Rean nodded before he patted Falangia's head. Rean was already over sixty, so he really saw Falangia as nothing more than a child. As for Falangia... she didn't dislike it. Nevertheless, she quickly recovered and jumped back, saying, "Do-Don't treat me like a kid."

"Hahaha!" Rean couldn't help but laugh in response. "In my eyes, you're just a kid. Do you know how old I am? I'm 64 years old already. It's just that my cultivation makes me look like I'm in my teens."

"64?!" Falangia was shocked to hear that. When she heard that Rean could possibly be as strong as the City Lord, she thought he was at least a few hundred years old! Were there really such geniuses in the world? "You're kidding, right?" 

Rean shook his head, saying once more, "I'm really 64." He then thought, 'Well, 64 in the Realm of Gods' time. If I was on Earth, I would probably be close to my 90s...'

"You and your brother are monsters..." Falangia blurted without holding back.

"Hey, that hurts, you know?" Rean didn't really take it to heart, though.

Chapter 1406: Mixing of Bloodlines

After that, Rean noticed something. "Wait, if what you said is true, then I might really have killed some parents here..."

It was then that a voice came from the back. "So what? Once you decide to oppress and kill people, you have to be ready to be oppressed and killed. Since they didn't care about the others' lives, so shouldn't you."

Rean didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Roan who responded to him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you doing something to relax somewhere else?"

Rean then looked at Roan and was surprised by what he saw. "Wait, where did you get this kid?"

Roan just so happened to be carrying the kid with the good sensory abilities he found during his stroll. "He kept following me, so I caught him."

"Following you?" Rean knew very well what it meant to be able to follow Roan. "Were you letting him follow you on purpose? There's no way you would be followed if you didn't want to."

Roan agreed with Rean, saying, "Indeed, if I simply used the cultivation difference to speed away, he obviously wouldn't be able to follow me. However, I did truly hide my presence in other ways. I used your Light and Divine Sense bending skill, I covered my tracks, and I didn't let my smell waft in his direction. The only thing I didn't do was use my speed to let him lag behind. Believe it or not, he was able to follow me with perfect precision. He always knew where I was."

Rean, obviously, was shocked to hear such a thing. "Hey, kid. Did you put a tracker on Roan?" Rean had to go to Roan's back to ask it. That's because Roan was carrying the kid as if he was a big sack of grains.

The kid felt helpless at this point. It didn't matter what he did. He couldn't get free from Roan. "I... I was just curious. He helped me against the bad guys, so I followed him to see what he was doing."

Rean looked in surprise at Roan after hearing that. "You? Helping the people in need? I just hope the world doesn't end tomorrow."

Falangia didn't want to intervene, but it did look like they had forgotten her existence. "Ahem... Rean and... Roan, right? Did you two really stay in Dry Sky City to rest?"

Roan looked at Falangia and then at the ball of Light Element with Rana's shape inside Falangia's house. However, he didn't care about that much, so he didn't ask anything. "We did indeed decide to take a respite in this city."

It was then that Falangia noticed that the people began to gather around once again. Obviously, they were looking at Rean's group and all the bodies on the ground. "Er... can you come to my house first? We can talk some more there."

Rean, who was quite curious about the kid Roan was carrying, nodded in response. "Oh, right! Yeah, let's go there. You three can go ahead first. I can't let the street be dirtied like this. Otherwise, some disease might spread."

Falangia nodded and guided Roan inside her rundown house. As for Rean, he raised his hand as Fire Element gathered around him. Sure enough, Rean was very good at controlling the Fire Element. Thanks to his perfect Yang Energy manipulation, he was almost as good as a real Fire Element Affinity cultivator.

*Shuaaaaaa!*

Suddenly, fire spread across the bodies on the ground, casting an infernal heat in the surroundings. The people were even forced to retreat several meters because of that, for the heat was too high for them to resist. It only lasted a few seconds, though. The fire then disappeared in a flash, and there wasn't even smoke to tell the tale. If not for the remnant ash on the ground, one would hardly believe that there was a fire in this place a moment ago. The bodies had completely disappeared to the point that there were almost no ashes in the end. "Well, that should take care of the issue."

Rean then turned around and entered Falangia's house once again. As for the people, they all rushed to the area where the bodies were a moment ago. The reason? That's because Rean spared the spatial rings of those people, so they all wanted to take them. 

Back inside Falangia's house, the fake 'Rana' brought Rafatia back to the living room. Well, the house only had two rooms to start with, the bedroom and the living room, which was connected through a small kitchen.

"Mommy!" Rafatia immediately hugged Falangia's legs, afraid of the black-haired guy who appeared. The fact he was carrying a kid like a sack of grains didn't help either. 

Roan narrowed his eyes, staring at her until Rean entered the room to complain. "Stop starring at the little girl. Can't you see that your face can even summon the devil himself when you narrow your eyes? She's becoming scared."

Roan's mouth twitched in response. "How about I be the devil that will punish you? Would you like that?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders, saying, "You complain of me when it's you who scare the kids. So small, oh so small..."

"Hmph!" Roan then put the boy down and looked at Rean. "Anyways, I brought the boy here to see if you can find anything different about him. I don't know which race he's from and if it is his race's abilities that can track others."

"I don't think it'll be easy to guess his race," Falangia said as she looked at the boy. The boy's skin was slightly blue-silver in color, not that he was sick, of course. That was just his natural color. Still, that was hard to notice as one had to pay very close attention to see that small difference in the skin color compared to a human. In his eyes, there were three pupils, all three also being blue-silver to different extents. And last but not least, his hair. His hair was still a mix of blue-silver, but the color was very apparent compared to the other parts of his body.

Rean and Roan then looked at Falangia after that, asking, "Why?"

Falangia sighed before pointing at herself, then Rafatia, and finally at the boy. "We're all fruits of unwanted pregnancies. Unless a race is too different from the other, the rapings that happen only increase the mixing of bloodlines. Even I don't know which race I'm from. My mother didn't know either, and she has passed away already. This boy is definitely in the same boat." 

The twins had to admit Falangia was right. "Well, his sensory abilities might be the result of such mixing...."

Chapter 1407: A bath

Roan didn't discard that possibility. "True. However, it's more likely that he has a bloodline from a race with good sensory abilities. Obviously, it has something to do with his eyes as well."

Rean patted the boy's head before asking, "How old are you, little man?"

"I-I don't know," the boy answered truthfully. 

Rean didn't mind and touched his shoulder before sending his Divine Sense and Light Element inside. After checking his bones for a few seconds, Rean reached a conclusion, saying, "He is around six years and two months old. Then again, even I can't give the precise day of his birth as there are small changes during one's growth. Well, let's just say you're six years and two months old for the sake of the matter."

Roan then mentioned, "I thought he was older than that."

Rean understood why. "Indeed. He does look older than he really is. But that's probably because of how dirty he is. Look at him. He's fully covered in sand rags."

Falangia was surprised to hear that. "Only six years? He's already in the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He's doing pretty well, no?"

Rean and Roan looked at each other after hearing that. Back in Lanqueas and Huring, this kind of cultivation at this age wasn't anything impressive. However, in this Treavin Continent, where Divine Energy was only a fifth of the amount, it could indeed be said to be very good. Especially since he obviously didn't have anyone providing him the resources to cultivate. "Oh, aren't you quite a strong boy?"

Rean then asked him, "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Luan," the boy answered.

"Luan? Luan what? What's your family name?"

Luan shook his head after that. "I don't think I have one."

Falangia nodded in response, saying, "That's very common here. I also don't have a family name, nor did I give one to my daughter. There isn't much of a point in doing such things in this place. It's not like we can go after our family and ask for help or anything like that. A lot of them just give themselves names if they didn't get one."

Rean nodded and patted Luan's head again. "That's a nice name nonetheless. Now then..." Rean looked at Roan, who understood what he wanted.

Roan then flicked his finger, and Luan's clothes were completely ripped apart. Soon after, Roan used his Yin Energy to gather the Water Element in the surroundings, creating a ball of water that floated in the middle of the room. Surprisingly, he even made it slightly warm. "Sure enough, Water Element is very scarce as well. It took me several seconds just to summon this water ball."

Falangia was shocked to see that, though. Even if she concentrated for several hours in a row, she might not be able to gather even a small jar of water. Of course, she didn't have Water Element, so it made things even more difficult. Due to the environment, Water Element Affinity cultivators were very, very rare.

Roan then used his Divine Soul Power to grab Luan and throw him into the water ball. Roan could have used his Divine Soul Power to simply detach the dirt from Luan's body, but even he had to admit that a bath felt much, much better. It was mostly psychological, but using Divine Soul Power to take away the dirt of the body simply didn't make one feel as clean as a shower or a bath.

Surprisingly, Rean also had some bath products to wash Luan's body through and through, making him look a completely different person by the time he was done. "Oh! After a bath, you now like a kid around six or seven years of age," Rean said with a smile.

Luan didn't know what to say. For a moment, he thought Roan was trying to drown him in the water. However, he began to feel very good, as he had never taken a warm bath before in his life. Now that it was over, he even felt like he wanted to go back into the water ball. "T-Thank you."

*Ahem...*

Falangia then pointed at the boy's little friend and asked, "Shouldn't you put some clothes on him?"

Rean nodded, saying, "That's true. Let me see what I have..." Rean then looked into the Dimensional Realm and found some of Malaka's old clothes from the time when she was still a kid. Malaka had always been a boyish girl, so her clothes weren't directed at any specific gender. "Here you go." With that, Rean used his Divine Soul Power to quickly put Luan into the clothes.

After that, Roan nodded, satisfied. Even he, who usually didn't care about appearances, had to admit that Luan was a lot more pleasing to the eyes. "That's much better."

Suddenly, Rafatia looked at the fake Rana before asking, "Rana, can you ask him to let me do that as well?" Sure enough, seeing another kid feel very good in the bath made her jealous.

Rana nodded, not minding it at all. Of course, that was actually Rean controlling the light fairy. "Of course!"

Rean laughed as well. "Hahaha! Well, I guess a bath isn't something easy to get in this place."

Roan already helped the boy, so he might as well go through it. Without Falangia being able to say anything, he had already summoned another ball of clean water and pulled Rafatia over with his Divine Soul Power. Once again, another kid was given a full bath, with all the perks included.

Rean then looked at Falangia as Roan finished her daughter, asking, "Do you have clean clothes, or do you want me to use some of my little sister's? It's just some clothes, so it isn't anything impressive or expensive." 

Falangia looked at her naked daughter floating in the water ball, having the time of her life. She didn't look the least bit embarrassed, what embarrassed Falangia instead was something else. "Sigh... just give her a few clothes then..."

Not too long after, the boy and the girl were now smelling very nice as they looked quite satisfied.. "Well, kids are quite easy to please in a place like this," Rean said with a smile.

Chapter 1408: Luan's Eye Abilities

Well, Falangia would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in taking a bath as well. After all, it's not like she could head to the Oasis and jump inside. With that, she did her best to hide her emotions so that Rean and Roan wouldn't notice that she was also jealous of the two kids.

Then again... hiding something from Rean and especially Roan wasn't very easy in the first place. 

Suddenly, that floating ball of water shot in Falangia's direction, not giving her time to react. 

*Shua!*

*Splash!*

"What are you doing?!" Falangia contorted in the water ball, trying to get free. However, if even a Peak Stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator couldn't escape the twins' Divine Soul Power pressure, then let alone a cultivator at the Middle Stage of the Core Formation Realm.

Rean shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just enjoy it while you can."

Rafatia and Luan couldn't help but laugh, seeing the big naked woman trying to escape from the water ball. It was just too funny for the kids. "Hahaha! Mommy, you look like a worm contorting out of the ground like that."

Falangia wanted to cry after hearing that. They ripped her clothes off and threw her into the water ball as if they weren't doing anything wrong. At the same time, her own daughter was laughing at the scene with a new friend, it seemed? "Shut up, you two!" Her words only made them laugh even harder, though.

Falangia then looked at the ice-cold expression of Roan, who seemed to simply not care about any of that. As for Rean, he was laughing with the kids as well. "Hahaha! Come on! Stop struggling. Your own bath will only take longer like that." He then threw a few of the bath products inside, which allowed the teenager to be cleaner than ever before. One must remember Falangia was still nineteen. Well, in Rean and Roan's eyes, she was nothing more than another kid trying to escape the bath.

"Are you two perverts?! How can you do this to a woman?! Is it normal to rip off the clothes of women back in your home?!" Falangia felt like crying and was extremely embarrassed at the same time.

Roan couldn't help but find it weird, though. "You got yourself completely naked in front of us when we were traveling to Dry Sky City. Back then, you didn't seem the least bit concerned. How come you're feeling embarrassed now?" Roan wasn't teasing the girl. He was truly curious why she was like that since the situations were the same... or so he thought.

Falangia turned redder in response as the water ball washed every nook and cranny of her body. "Th-This is not the same, though?!"

Rean laughed even harder after that, and so did the kids. Rafatia and Luan were already crying due to laughing way too much. It was truly a comical sight. 

Roan, of course, became even more confused. "Not the same, how?"

"Because you obviously don't want to do anything to me as a woman!" Falangia answered. "That makes everything different! I'm basically floating naked for no reason!"

Roan found that reason very strange but nodded in the end. "It doesn't make much sense. Oh well, whatever."

*Splash!*

Eventually, the water ball fell to the ground, turning the entire room wet before Roan dropped Falangia on the floor too. "Here, take these clothes." He then threw a set of clothes from Malaka once again, but from the time she was already an adult. The Dimensional Realm was just too big when it came to storing things, so the twins never really threw anything away. That's how Malaka's clothes stayed there all this time. If not for the current situation, they probably wouldn't even remember they existed.

Falangia quickly put the clothes on and looked at the twins with an angry expression. "You're despicable!"

Rean then patted Falangia's head and said, "Hahaha! Alright, alright, it's our bad. Don't be angry, okay? Kids should enjoy things as much as they can. Wasn't the bath very nice?"

"I'm not a kid!" Being treated as a child didn't help with Falangia's mood, though. Though, deep down, she felt relieved. The twins simply didn't see her as something for sex at all, and that was quite a rare thing in a place like this.

Rean then looked at the two small kids and the big one after that, saying, "Very good, you three look nice. Now, go to your bed because it's sleep time."

Falangia's mouth twitched in response. Rean still treated her as a kid to the very end. "Fuck you! What sleep time?! It's the middle of the day!"

Roan didn't really care about their antics before asking Rean, "So, did you figure out anything about Luan's sensory abilities?"

Rean nodded, replying, "Well, I believe it's pretty obvious, but everything is in his eyes' three pupils. If you could see the world as he sees, you would be quite surprised."

Luan was taken aback to hear that. That's because he had never told anyone about what the world around him looked like. All he knew was that he saw it in a different manner from others. "Can you see it too, big brother?" 

Rean shook his head, saying, "I can't, but I used my Light Element and Divine Sense to check your eyes. Those three blue-silver pupils aren't just for show. One pupil is responsible for seeing the world as we all see it. The other two create two additional layers to that normal world, but they form a different spectrum. I'm pretty sure the second pupil allows you to see the elements of the world, while the third one gives you a vision of the energies of the world, like Divine Energy."

Rean looked at Roan, continuing, "That's why even though you hid behind walls and things like that, he could easily see you. He could see the Light Element you manipulated to use my Light and Divine Sense bending skill. He definitely hasn't seen many people using Light Element before, so it made it very easy for him to follow you. As for the second, each person's dantians have a concentration of Divine Energy inside. He could see that as well. In the end, you looked like a giant torch of Light Element and Divine Energy. After all, how many Peak Stage Elemental Transformation Realm cultivators do you think he has seen in this place?"

Roan was truly surprised to hear that.. "That's quite an amazing ability."

Chapter 1409: Monsters

Luan was truly shocked by what Rean said, especially since he himself didn't know his abilities that well. "So that white light around big brother was Light Element, huh? Also, my third vision made him look like a big ball of golden light."

Rean smiled in response, saying, "The big sphere of golden light was most likely his Divine Energy. In fact, you can see that Roan and I look the same in that aspect, right?"

Luan nodded, replying, "Yes, big brothers have the biggest golden ba- spheres... inside your bodies."

Rean laughed in response once he heard that. "Hahaha! If you want to use the word balls, just use it. There's no need to use the same words as me."

Luan was happy that Rean wasn't angry. "Everyone has golden balls inside their bodies."

That made sense. Kids below the age of five wouldn't have started to cultivate yet but they already had their dantians. After all, in the Realm of Gods, no one was below the Foundation Establishment Realm, as that is the cultivation everyone was born with.

"Nevertheless, what an amazing eye ability," Rean said in awe. "It might be better than my own life force detection." Rean could detect others' presence even if his Soul Power Scan, Divine Sense, or Divine Sense bending skill didn't catch their presence. He only had to feel the surroundings' life forces for that. Of course, he used that ability several times in the past.

Roan nodded in agreement. "Your life force sense gets better the higher your cultivation becomes. Back when you were in the Energy Gathering Realm, you couldn't feel others' life forces from more than a couple of meters away. Luan's different, though. He was able to clearly see me over a hundred meters away and probably even farther than that. Not to mention he was very precise."

Rean agreed with Roan on that point. "Nowadays, I can feel life force several hundred meters away, but I'm already in the Peak Stage of the Elemental Transformation Realm."

It was then that Luan's face became pale as he took several steps back, asking, "Are you going to take my eyes out?"

Falangia narrowed her eyes in response. Indeed, she found that very possible. Who knew what kind of abilities the twins have, especially Rean and his Light Element Affinity. Matters of the body seem like something he could easily deal with. Wouldn't transplanting organs also be an easy thing for him? "Should Rafatia and I leave the room?"

Rean's mouth twitched after hearing that. "Fuck all of you! Do I look like some monster?!"

Falangia, Rafatia, and Luan nodded in unison. In their eyes, someone with the twins' power did indeed look like a monster.

"Go to hell! That's not the kind of monster I talked about! Just so you know, I would never harm an innocent kid. Even if you kill me, I won't do that!" Rean said with an angry expression.

Roan didn't say anything, but he also had his limits. 

Rean then added, "First of all, do you think simply taking someone's eyes and transplanting them away would work? Do you know what compatibility means? We're obviously from different races. What about blood types? People have blood types too, and in the Realm of Gods, where countless humanoid races exist, blood types are even more aplenty. Last but not least, the bloodline. His eyes are definitely a bloodline ability. Even if I could transplant his eyes, which is almost impossible, it would be useless without his bloodline power. Simply put, you guys are thinking into it way too much."

Roan pondered in silence for a bit before saying, "The only way for it to work would not be a transplant, but a swap of souls. That way, we would take his entire body, and his bloodline would be part of it."

Luan felt even more scared now as Rean's mouth twitched once more. "Stop scaring the kid! Do you even know how to swap souls? First of all, there's no way we would throw our bodies away!" Indeed, the twins' bodies were perfect due to the Soul Gem System. No soul swap would ever be worth the change, regardless of what advantages the other body might have. Not to mention that something like a soul swap would come with its own downsides.

Rean then patted Luan's head after that, telling him, "Don't worry, we will never do something like that to you."

"Really?" Luan asked with a hint of doubt.

Rean shrugged his shoulders, replying, "Can't you see how strong Roan and I are? If we wanted to do something like that, we would have done it already. However, Roan and I love our own bodies the way they are. We won't change them ever. In fact, if someone appears and says that he wants to rob your body, I would definitely not let them do it."

Luan couldn't help but tear up a little after that. "Bi-Big brother... if so, then why are you treating me so well?"

"This..." Sure enough, that was to be expected from Luan. In this kind of place, almost no one made a move without some ulterior motive. In fact, Luan was doing the right thing to stay suspicious. 

Rean then looked at Roan after that. It was Roan who brought the boy over, so he didn't really know what Roan wanted. "Roan, why did you bring him over anyway?"

Roan shook his head in response. "I told you already. I was just curious about his sensory abilities. If I could find out what kind of ability he used to follow me, then I could improve my concealment skills. It was that simple. Well, after finding out what kind of eye abilities he has, I guess it's pretty much impossible to try and hide from him." 

Rean knew Roan's personality. He had his concealment skills exposed so easily, so he definitely had to find out why. "I see... well, if the mixing of bloodlines was what developed this kid's eye abilities, then I guess we're pretty much fine. Unless there are more people like him."

Falangia looked at Luan's eyes and shook her head. "Well, I've lived in Dry Sky City my entire life and have never seen anyone else with eyes like his."

Roan nodded after that. "That's fine. I've already memorized Luan's traits.. If I find something similar, at least I'll know how to act if necessary."

Chapter 1410: I must take more care from now on

Of course, Luan didn't understand what Roan meant as he was just too young. Though, he understood that nothing would happen to him, at least. "Th-Then... can I go back?"

Roan looked at him with a confused expression. "You can if you want to. But if that's the case, why did you follow me in the first place? Was it really just because you were curious?"

Luan nodded, saying, "I want to know more about big brother. You saved me for no reason."

"I see..." Roan understood after that. "I saved you because I was bored. In fact, I saved quite a few other people, and you were just one of them. You can go back to where you came if you want."

Rean couldn't help but ask, "Luan, do you have parents to whom you should come back?"

Luan shook his head in response. "My dad left around 4 months ago and didn't come back anymore."

Rean couldn't even feel surprised by that anymore. "Well... that sucks..."

Falangia was the same as Rean. "That's how things work here. His dad is probably gone already. I myself had quite a few encounters where I almost passed away, which would leave my daughter alone as well."

Rean closed his eyes to think a little when Roan intervened. "I hope you're not thinking about bringing this guy together. Do you think we have the time to take care of others while we're already having difficulty taking care of ourselves? If that's the case, then what about all the other kids in this city, or in all other cities we passed by or that we will pass through? Are you going to take them in as well?"

Rean scratched the back of his head, saying, "Alright, alright... but I'm still on my time off, so I'm going to help him and the others in any way I can."

Falangia couldn't help but ask, "You said that you stopped to rest. Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely grateful for the help you gave me. However, can it really be considered rest if you spend your time helping everyone around?"

Rean nodded without thinking twice. "Of course! It makes me feel better, even if the situation itself won't change much. Compared to the constant life and death situation that we have been through, this time in Dry Sky City is really relaxing."

Roan had to admit Rean was right. "Only if you compare it to our normal situation, of course."

Falangia couldn't even imagine it. Just what kind of life were the twins living for them to almost always be in life and death situations? They were two Peak Stage Elemental Transformation Realm cultivators. Their cultivation was as strong as the City Lord. Is there really something that can put them in danger? She had a hard time thinking about something that could be dangerous for these two.

Rean then patted Luan's head before saying, "Alright, you heard Roan. You can go back to where you came from now."

He then made his way outside the house, which caught Falangia's attention. "Where are you going?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Where else? I'm going to pay a visit to that guy called Gaius. He obviously doesn't mind the abuse his subordinates do in the districts around his mansion. Even rapists seem to be welcome. With that being said, I can't possibly let him escape the blame."

Of course, Roan didn't try to stop Rean. There was simply no one in this city that could possibly put the twins in danger. The city lord was most likely an average Elemental Transformation Realm Cultivator, and the twins could even fight geniuses one entire realm above themselves. Let alone at the same realm. A hundred of them probably wouldn't be of any concern to the twins.

"Wait!" Falangia stopped Rean before he left, though. 

Rean looked back at her, confused. "What is it?"

Falangia then asked, "You said something about we don't have to worry about the repercussions of what happened here. But if you leave, what will happen to us? The city lord's people will eventually come after us if you just leave like that. Don't get me wrong. I have sustained my daughter on my own until now, and I'm not afraid of being left behind with her again. However, that would be in the case that nothing like this happened. If you hadn't intervened when Gustin came in, at most, we would be forced to have sex with those guys, but we would survive to see another day after they got bored of us. Now, it definitely won't be as simple."

Rean nodded in response. "Oh, that? Don't worry. I was simply going to bring you two to the cities close to the center of the Treavin Continent. I don't know if life there is easier, but it should definitely be more developed than Dry Sky City. It shouldn't be a problem since the only person you care about in this Realm of Gods is your daughter."

Falangia was taken aback. "But... wouldn't it be extremely expensive to have us teleport as well?"

Roan, who was also making his way outside, snorted in response. "Do you think anyone in the Formation Guild will dare charge two Peak Stage Elemental Transformation Realm cultivators?" 

Only then did things make sense to Falangia. "So that's why you are so carefree. Other than the extra time, you won't lose anything else."

Roan nodded in response. "That's basically it."

Suddenly, a big black and white Demon Bird appeared in the middle of the street. Obviously, that was Kentucky. "Eh? What is it? I was sleeping, you know?"

Rean patted Kentucky. "You can keep sleeping here. Just make sure to protect Falangia and her daughter, will you?"

Kentucky immediately recognized Falangia. "Oh! The girl who was feeling too hot..."

Falangia's face became bright red once more. 'Do you need to remember me because of that?!'

Kentucky then sniffed her a bit before saying, "You're smelling quite well now, and you look a lot more beautiful. Alright, you can leave this baby for the great Kentucky to take care of. I believe that one is her daughter. Very cute as well. There's absolutely no problem!"

Falangia felt like crying. Didn't that mean she smelled horrible before Roan forcefully gave her a bath? In doubt, Falangia tried to smell the clothes that Roan had ripped off earlier, and her expression went dark. 'Holy shit! I smelled terrible!' She just didn't notice before because she was always like that.. 'Damn, I hate this desert.'

Chapter 1411: Brother Gaius

The so-called Gaius was in his mansion, cultivating with the few Divine Stones he obtained every day through 'tax collections.' In fact, those were all Rank One Divine Stones, and even after many years doing this kind of business, he still hadn't seen a single Rank Two Divine Stone.

He arrived here and started to operate with his group just a few weeks ago in the Yulital District and the others surrounding it. However, this kind of extortion business was already going on for a long time in another city. It's just that things started to get really bad in the previous town, so he saved some of his Divine Stones to teleport to Dry Sky City. He didn't bring anyone with him, though. The entire group he had gathered for the job was completely new.

The reason he teleported away was not that things had become dangerous. In fact, the situation was pretty much okay. It's just that after extorting Divine Stones for such a long time, people really couldn't provide him that much anymore. The other districts in the previous city already had their own groups controlling it. For Gaius, it wasn't worth starting a war against them. Instead, giving up his actual group and starting a new one in another city was much better. And that's how he ended up here.

Things were better than he expected as well. As always, the poor districts of the cities in this desert didn't have that many Divine Stones. However, when he acted on several districts at once, he was still able to gather a sizeable amount. He planned to stay here for a few more years until the people in the area couldn't produce Divine Stones anymore before moving to another part of the city or another city altogether.

Suddenly...

*Boom!*

The entrance of his mansion was blasted away, sending his few guards flying with it. Those guards were also the strongest members of Gaius' group. Gaius himself was at the Initial Stage of the Elemental Transformation Realm. As for his guards, some were even in the Initial and Middle Stages of the Saint Realm. It was a very strong group when one considered the city as a whole. Maybe only the City Lord and a few other rulers might be stronger than that. Surprisingly though, that explosion didn't kill anyone. At most, they were seriously injured but wouldn't die anytime soon.

It was then that a white-haired guy entered the mansion with leisurely steps. "Oh! Look at this place! Even in Dry Sky City, you can still find some lavish residences." Obviously, the young man was none other than Rean. A few other guards at the Soul Transformation and early Saint Realm came forward to stop Rean, only for their bodies to be pinned to the ground due to Rean's ridiculously strong Divine Soul Power. It didn't take long for all of them to understand that Rean wasn't someone who they should mess with.

Seeing that, a few of the guards gave up on their job and tried to escape the mansion. First of all, there wasn't much loyalty here. Now that someone strong appeared, none of them wished to lose their lives for Gaius at all.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang...*

Unfortunately, they were all struck by some rays of Light Element and were made unable to move anymore as Rean said, "Anyone who tries to escape will end up just like those idiots. If you're confident in your speed, you can always try."

Everyone immediately froze in place after that. Confident in their speeds? They didn't even see those rays of light before they had already struck the previous guards. They also saw how they were seriously injured as well. There was no way in hell that they would try to escape right now. That would just be tantamount to suicide!

*Boom!*

It was then that the ceiling broke apart as a bullish man came down. "Who dares to wreak havoc in my mansion?" All the guards' eyes lit up, seeing that it was none else than Gaius.

"Gaius!"

"It was him!"

"He destroyed the entrance!"

"It was him who put everyone down as well!"

Gaius looked around, and his expression quickly went dark. After that, he looked at Rean... before his dark expression became pale in a second. "Peak Stage of Elemental Transformation!" 

Rean was covering his body with the Divine Sense bending skill. That's why Gaius came down without a care to the world, thinking that someone had barged into his mansion to die. However, Rean let Gaius see his strength as soon as he touched the ground. In fact, that was far from Rean's real strength, as he could fight people much stronger than his cultivation suggested. "So what if I dared to wreak havoc in your mansion? Do you have a problem with that?"

Gaius then took a deep breath and calmed down. Even though Rean's words were humiliating, shame was something no one cared about in a place like this. "So it was this friend who came. It was my mistake not to welcome you outside. What would this dignified young man want with a bullish guy like this Gaius?"

All the guards began to let out cold sweat after hearing that. How could they not understand? Rean must be much stronger than Gaius, or that psycho would have attacked Rean a long time ago.

Rean smiled in response, saying, "Oh, it's good that you asked. Did you know that one of your men tried to rape my friend's daughter? Believe it or not, she's only eight years old, but it seemed like that deranged piece of shit didn't care. What do you have to say about that?"

Gaius wanted to cry once he heard that but couldn't. 'Why are you even asking me such a thing? There's no lack of people like that in Treavin Continent. With your strength, why would that kid be in such a situation anyway?' Of course, Gaius didn't say that out loud.

"I see... that was a mistake from my side. Just tell me the name, and I shall behead the guy personally!" Obviously, Gaius didn't want to make Rean angry.

Rean smiled in response. "I didn't expect Brother Gaius to be that righteous. Don't worry, I already took care of the guy.. Now then, I would like to discuss something else with you."

Chapter 1412: Dry Sky City's Saviors

Rean continued, "However, it doesn't change the fact that he was your subordinate, so you'll have to pay a small fine for his mistakes."

Gaius narrowed his eyes for a moment before he took out his spatial ring. "I see… a monetary compensation, right? How about 50 Divine Stones? Yes, I think that should be enough to make up for the mental strain your friend's daughter suffered."

Rean shook his head, though. "No, no, no! There's absolutely no need for any monetary compensation, Brother Gaius."

"No Divine Stones?" Gaius was puzzled by Rean's words. However, he had a bad feeling about it.

Rean smiled after seeing that as he continued, "Exactly. It's just that Brother Gaius seems to be a righteous person since you wanted to take revenge for me. However, instead of that, how about Brother Gaius takes care of everyone from now on? A righteous person like you obviously wouldn't mind that."

Gaius didn't understand what Rean meant by that. "Can this friend describe what you want for me?"

Rean shook his head as he replied, "Not only for you but for everyone in this mansion." He then took out a Soul Binding Contract, which greatly surprised Gaius. Such contracts were expensive back in Lanqueas and Huring, let alone in Treavin. Gaius had only seen them twice in his life. "Here is the Soul Binding Contract. I want all of you to sign it."

Gaius knew very well that whatever was written there, he would have to accomplish. Of course, that would be the case if the punishment stated was worth it. If the punishment was something light, then it might be worth breaking it.

However, Gaius's expression went pitch black as soon as he read the terms. Simply put, he would be forbidden to commit any evil acts from now on. Not only that, his first priority would always be the well-being of the people. He basically had to become the exact opposite of what he was at the moment.

Robbery, killing, and things like that would still be allowed…if the targets were evildoers. He absolutely couldn't attack innocent people. Extortions were forbidden as well. He and his group would not be allowed to leave Dry Sky City for the rest of their lives, being responsible for its protection. They would have to put the people's necessities ahead of their own. 

Rean wrote a very long contract, covering all possible flaws that could be exploited. Simply put, Gaius and his group would need to become the heroes of Dry Sky City! "This is too much! If I really do that, I'll never be able to increase my own cultivation anymore."

Rean shook his head, saying, "That's because you only knew how to force others until now. Believe me. It's entirely possible to be a good person and still increase one's cultivation. A righteous person like Brother Gaius definitely won't find it difficult. Not only that, people will not hate you but love you. Isn't that great?! You have the chance to start a revolution! It's time for this city to correct its wrongdoings, and Brother Gaius has the righteousness and strength to start it."

Gaius gritted his teeth before Fire Element gathered around him. Divine Energy soon ran rampant, giving it the expression that a battle was about to start. However, Gaius didn't attack Rean at all. Instead, he focused his entire power on his movement technique and tried to escape that place. "Like hell I would do such a thing! This world is for the strong, and I intend to stay as the strong! Everyone should just follow my orders and give me everything I want!"

However, he barely had the time to give a few steps before Rean's body appeared in front of him. 

"Ahhhh!"

Gaius didn't give up, though.

'Myriad Fire Dragon!'

His Fire Element changed into several dragons that moved according to the movements of Gaius's weapon, a staff! Rean was quite surprised by that since Malaka had been the last person Rean saw that used the staff. In any case, Gaius was way too weak to fight someone like Rean.

Rean moved like a ghost, destroying all of the fire dragons before cutting through Gaius's staff in a single move. Gaius's staff was nothing more than a simple Silver Peak-level weapon. This just went to show how much poorer the people in this continent were. It obviously had no chance against Rean's Golden Middle-level sword, which was already as strong as a Golden Peak-level weapon. Rean didn't even need to use any skill to achieve that.

*Bang!*

Rean then kicked Gaius against the ground, breaking several of his ribs at once. Poor Gaius spurted blood like a fountain, almost passing out from that single move. He quickly became unsuited for combat, just like that. Naturally, all the guards around were terrified. Most of them couldn't even see the move due to how fast it was. Nevertheless, it was obvious that Rean defeated Gaius so easily. 

Rean brightly smiled at Gaius as he said, "Brother Gaius, there's no need to feel so shy. A righteous person like you can definitely pull it off. So, how about it? Do you want to sign the contract right now? If you don't, then I can take away your cultivation. You got to this level doing what you do. I think most of the people who 'contributed' to your cultivation so far wouldn't mind if I 'permanently confiscated' it from you."

Rean's hand then approached the location of Gaius's dantian as it shone with white light. Gaius, obviously, was terrified by what he saw. "Alright! Alright! I'll sign it! I'll sign it!" As unwilling as Gaius could be, it would be much worse if he didn't have his cultivation anymore. He could only drop his blood on the contract, which was used to bind his soul.

Of course, before the contract burnt, Rean had every single guard in that mansion sign the contract as well.. The penalty for those who break the contract was death! They only had one choice now, which was to become Dry Sky City's saviors.

Chapter 1413: A Bit Bored

Rean nodded after that, satisfied with the outcome. The Soul Binding Contract burnt down, and its restrictions entered everyone's foreheads, quickly attaching to their souls. "Very good, everyone. I'm counting on you to make everyone's lives easier. If you see any injustice, move out and help. Of course, don't go and commit suicide if the enemies' forces are stronger. Just act on the things where you think you have a substantial chance of winning."

Naturally, Rean didn't wait for anyone to complain. With the contract in place, they would have to do what they were told to. They couldn't run either, as the contract stated that they must not stay out of Dry Sky City for more than half a year. The other half had to be spent in the city, helping its people.

However, Rean left a silver lining for them. The contract had an expiration date of 100 years. After that, they would all be released from their duties and could do whatever they wanted again. Rean did that to make sure they would all sign it. After all, some might think that it simply wasn't worth being held up in the city for the rest of their lives.

He then looked around and could see several eyes in the corners, looking at the commotion. 'Gaius isn't the only tyrant in the city. Naturally, the other big fishes keep an eye on each other, just in case. They would inform their bosses of any changes. If a chance appears, they wouldn't mind sweeping Gaius's estate down and take over his territory for their own gains.'

Suddenly, Rean disappeared from his spot. A few seconds later, Rean reappeared once again in the middle of the street. However, he had several men and women pinned down with his Divine Soul Power. They were all people at the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Realm, so they couldn't resist at all. "Look at how many fans I have. I believe your bosses are even more curious about me, aren't they? How about you tell me where I can find the headquarters of your groups? I need to pay your bosses a visit. Why? It's because it's time for Dry Sky City to become a better place."

During the next two days, Rean pummeled all of the tyrants in all the districts in Dry Sky City. Every single one of them and their own guards were obligated to sign the 100-year contract, no exceptions. Rean wasn't afraid of them finding a way to still make selfish gains through the contract, though. He truly made an all-encompassing contract, covering all corners that could possibly be exploited.

Of course, such actions quickly caught the ears of the City Lord's forces. Zostemou, a Peak Stage Elemental Transformation Realm cultivator who defeated the previous City Lord, was listening to the reports. "Are you telling me that all those pieces of trash began to act like they were some good samaritans and that it's happening in the entire city?"

His subordinate nodded, responding, "Yes, sir. They are all the strongest cultivators in their own territories, so little can others do about it. Killing, raping, robbery, you name it. If they catch you doing any of those things, they will act to stop you. Even their bosses are helping with it right now."

Zostemou narrowed his eyes after he heard that. That's not the kind of city he knew of. "Soul Binding Contracts. Those tyrants, women and men alike, would never do such a thing if their lives didn't depend on it. They must have signed Soul Binding Contracts that forced them into it."

Oem, the same guy Rean met close to Falangia's house, suddenly barged into the room at full speed, shouting, "Zostemou! I found the reason behind it. It's as I thought. It's those twins I told you about. They forced Soul Binding Contracts on all the tyrants who control the districts of Dry Sky City. Those contracts have bonded them to the city for the next 100 years."

Zostemou wasn't surprised by that. "Someone with enough money to use Soul Binding Contract as he wishes… what are they even doing in a place like Dry Sky City? Could they be from some other power? Then again, I can't see what they wish to achieve by that. Dry Sky City is way too poor. It wouldn't be worth using those contracts at all."

Little did he know that although the contracts were expensive, it was only from the perspective of the average cultivator. For Rean, their cost barely counted as pocket change.

Oem and the other members of the City Lord's estate couldn't help but ask, "What do you want to do, Zostemou? You're probably the only one strong enough to stop them."

"Stop them?" Zostemou looked at everyone with a weird expression. "Why should I stop them? As long as they don't get in the way of my tax collection, I couldn't care less about how this city turns out."

However, it was then that a voice echoed in the room. "Unfortunately, your taxes are way too high, and it's hurting the people."

Zostemou was shocked to hear that. Ever since things began to change in Dry Sky City, he had kept his Divine Sense spread all the time. He didn't want anyone to sneak up on him, after all. However, he couldn't even tell from where the voice was coming from. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

Surprisingly, light began to bend a few meters in front of Zostemou, quickly revealing a young man's form. That only shocked Zostemou even more. Rean could have simply cut his throat, and he wouldn't have even noticed until it was too late.

The Divine Sense bending skill became easier to be pierced through the closer one got to the target. With that being said, those few meters were the limit of how close Rean could get to Zostemou without the latter's Divine Sense piercing through the ability. Of course, Zostemou didn't know that, so it played the role Rean wanted. Rean wanted to pretend that he could really kill him anytime he wanted. Well, Rean could do it anyway without having to hide due to their strength difference.. It's just that Rean wanted to change his approach as he was feeling a bit bored at this point.

Chapter 1414: Traste

"So what if I showed myself? What now?" asked Rean with a smirk as always.

Hearing that, Zostemou looked at Rean's expression of confidence. However, if one wanted to talk about confidence, then Zostemou was even more confident. "Hehehe! I thought you would come sooner or later, so I prepared a gift for you."

Suddenly, the entire city-state began to tremble as an underground formation activated. That underground formation was obviously under Zostemou's command, and he used to bind it Rean down. Several multicolored bindings sprung from thin air. They all tried to bind Rean on the spot, which Rean didn't try to stop at all.

Seeing that Rean was easily caught, Zostemou sighed in relief, instantly saying, "So, what were you saying? Something about my taxes being too high and that it hurt the people? Ha! I couldn't care less. That's how the world works. The strong prey on the weak, simple as that. Give me one reason not to kill you right now."

Rean looked at Zostemou with a puzzled expression as he replied, "Shouldn't that be my question? Give me one reason to not kill you right now? No, there's no need. All you have to do is sign the Soul Binding Contract, the same one all the other 'friends' signed. As long as you and your members sign the contract, you will obviously survive."

Zostemou and the others were taken aback after that. Even though Rean was completely bound by the formation, he still acted as if everything was under control. "Ridiculous. Since you don't want to collaborate, then don't blame me for being nasty. In any case, I'm sure you have quite some valuables on your body, so I guess getting rid of you is the best option anyway."

Zostemou then took a spear out of his spatial ring before launching an attack against Rean. He aimed directly at the head to make sure Rean would die straight away. However…

*Puff!*

All the binds holding Rean suddenly disappeared just as the spear was about to pierce his head. Following that, the impossible seemed to happen. Those same multicolored bindings seemed to go out of Zostemou's control and tried to capture him instead. "Impossible!"

He wasn't the only one. The formation captured everyone in the City Lord's estate, with only the City Lord himself having the strength to fight against it. Zostemou destroyed all the binds and immediately tried to escape. He had already decided that he would leave this city and try to conquer another one after what Rean did.

Unfortunately, the formation wasn't the only thing he had to deal with.

'Death Style, First Energy Form, Shadow Binds!'

It was rare, but Rean could use Shadow Bind as well. It's just that it wasn't as good as when Roan did it. Well, that was more than enough for an average cultivator at the Peak Stage of the Elemental Transformation Realm. At the very least, they were a lot faster and stronger than the multicolored binds of the formation.

*Grab! Grab! Grab! Grab…*

Zostemou had no chance to react as his entire body was wrapped in Shadow Bind. He tried to use his attacks to pierce them down, but it was simply impossible to deal with that many at once. A spear wasn't exactly a good weapon against this kind of threat. 

Rean kept his hands behind him as he looked at Zostemou struggle. Little by little, Zostemou's Divine Energy was consumed without finding a single chance to escape. Eventually, he lost the power to fight against the binds and was captured as well. 

Zostemou then looked at Rean with a helpless expression, asking, "How… how did you make my own formation work against me?"

Rean smiled in response but didn't answer. Naturally, that was Sister Orb. Well, there was also the fact that the formation wasn't anything impressive. It was only a Golden Initial-level formation. Not to mention that it was made using quite low-quality resources. It only took Sister Orb a day to analyze and take full control over it. "Let's forget this small detail. I'll give the formation's control back to you after we're done here. So, how about it? Will you sign the contract?" 

However, Zostemou suddenly laughed out loud when he heard that. "Hahaha! There's no way I will sign this thing. If you know what's good for you, you will release me right now and disappear from my estate. Believe me, you don't want to buy a fight against my family."

Rean nodded, not finding it surprising at all. "As I thought. I heard before that the position of City Lord has changed quite a few times as the years passed. Sometimes it changed more than once or twice in the same year. However, ever since you got control of Dry Sky City, no one was able to take you away from power. It has a lot more to do than just your individual strength, right? So, tell me. Who are you?"

Zostemou was full of confidence as he replied, "So you did your homework at least. Indeed, it's all thanks to both my strength and my background that no one dares to take this city away from me. I'm Zostemou Traste, a direct descendant of the Traste Clan."

Rean nodded in response before saying, "Hello, Zostemou of the Traste Clan. So, will you sign the contract now, or should I threaten to destroy your dantian before you do so?"

Zostemou and his subordinates were taken aback after that. "Did you even hear what I said? No, first of all, do you even know what kind of power the Traste Clan is?"

Rean shook his head as he replied, "I came from outside the continent, so I have absolutely no idea as to who they are. With that being said, I can't really be afraid of them. Alright, enough bullshit. Will you sign the contract and help make Dry Sky City a better place or not? Your dantian is on the line just so you know."

Zostemou tried to explain to Rean who the Traste Clan was. It seemed to be one of the big powers of the Vankotis Region. Obviously, that was the region Rean was in at the moment.. Unfortunately for them, Rean didn't seem to care, and Zostemou's group was forced to sign the contract of one hundred years in the end.

Chapter 1415: You Can Do That?

[There's one thing I don't understand, though.] Sister Orb could not help but say. [Soul Binding Contracts shouldn't work if a person is forced to sign them, right? Wouldn't the contract all those guys signed be useless in the end?]

Back when Rean and Roan were told about the Soul Binding Contract, they were told that the contract only worked if the person genuinely wanted to form that contract. It prevented things like what just happened, forcing someone to sign something they didn't want to do. So, in theory, even if Gaius, Oem, or Zostemou broke the contract, nothing would happen to them.

Rean laughed in response before saying, "Hahaha! That was supposed to be the case. However, the contracts I used are different from the normal ones. They had been modified by none other than myself! As you know, Light Element Affinity is the best when it comes to dealing with the soul. I have been analyzing how the contract operates and why it didn't work when someone was forced to sign it."

Naturally, Sister Orb's interest was piqued. [Oh! I did see you messing around with the contracts before. What did you find?] 

Rean smiled and explained as he made his way back to Falangia's house. "The Soul Binding Contracts were a mix of restriction runes and talismans. The talisman part is what connects with the soul, while the runes are what puts the restrictions. However, the interaction between the talisman and the runes is far from optimal. This imbalance between the two made that any interference during the binding process would result in failure. Can you imagine what could be an interference?"

Sister Orb pondered in silence for a bit and eventually thought of an answer. [The rejection of the contract. That in itself is already an interference. If someone signs something they aren't willing to, that will generate an obstruction for the contract to attach to the soul. Obviously, the runes won't be able to put on the restrictions.]

Rean nodded, saying, "As expected of Sister Orb. You're really smart."

[Hehehe! That's just normal.] Of course, she didn't reject the praise at all.

Rean didn't mind it, though. "So, you could say that the Soul Binding Contract needs a 'clear path' to put the restrictions in the soul. Unwillingness to sign it will obviously not count as a 'clear path,' you see? That's where Light Element comes in. My runes are compatible with Light Element, and most of the souls wouldn't reject Light Element as it is connected to life force. Simply put, I have a much better balance between the talismans and runes than anyone else could. Why? Because I have Light Element Affinity. This isn't something anyone could copy… well, maybe the angel races could, but they shouldn't exist in the Realm of Gods anyway."

[However, that isn't all, right? You said that most souls should accept it even if their owners are unwilling to sign the contract.]

Rean didn't deny that. "You're correct. My contracts are better than the original ones. However, they aren't omnipotent. There is a way to make them not work."

Sister Orb was dying of curiosity. [What is it? What is it?!]

Rean smiled and answered, "Shielding your soul beforehand. If any of them put a Divine Energy barrier on their souls before the contract could attach, then the runes definitely won't work properly. At most, they would feel some pain when they break the contract the first time before the runes and seals completely disappear."

Rean's smile increased even more. "However, no one knows that my contracts have such a flaw. I wonder how many of them even thought about shielding their souls. First of all, this is the Treavin Continent, where such things are very rare. How many of them do you even think know that normal contracts don't work if you're unwilling? That guy called Zostemou and some of his subordinates might be the only ones with that knowledge."

*Aaaarrrghhhhh!*

Suddenly, Rean heard a shrill scream come from the City Lord's estate and smiled. He didn't need to go back to know what happened. "Hehe! It seems like Zostemou really knew about it, so he immediately asked one of his subordinates to break the contract. Even if he knew, he wouldn't risk it himself. As small as the chances might be, he wouldn't risk his own life. Too bad that it wasn't the normal contract, but my own. Hahaha!"

Rean was right. Zostemou looked with a terrified expression at his dead subordinate. He had just got his own soul wiped out, and his body became nothing more than an empty shell. "Impossible… contracts shouldn't work if you're unwilling…"

Zostemou then looked at the other people in the room. He obviously wanted to test it once again. However, no one was an idiot to try it, so they reached an impasse. Well, it didn't matter anymore since even Zostemou didn't try to shield his soul with Divine Energy. He relied on his conception that unwillingness would make the contracts useless, and now he was bonded by Rean's new version of the contract. 

Falangia was still at home with Rafatia and Kentucky. Kentucky had always been a lady killer, and even his oversized body didn't change it. Naturally, Rafatia quickly fell in love with him. Not only her, but quite a few women overcame their fear and came to talk with Kentucky, who welcomed all of them with open arms…or wings, for the matter.

He played with the girls, giving all his love, much to Rean's confusion. "Just what do women see in this guy?"

Falangia, surprisingly, was able to resist it and kept herself alert all this while. What if someone came to attack her and her daughter? She couldn't trust Kentucky alone. "Rean!" Obviously, she noticed when Rean appeared.

"Yo! How are things going?" Rean asked with a smile.

"No one came to bother us so far," Falangia replied. "Also, I started to hear some weird rumors. It seems like Gaius began to help people out of nowhere."

Rean laughed out loud before explaining what he had done to Falangia, which obviously shocked the girl.. Of course, he omitted the fact that he had changed the Soul Binding Contracts. "You can do that?!"