1657-1671

Chapter 1657 Let's see what I can do

Libraia smiled when she saw that. "They took their sweet time to find that out, didn't they?"

Govin shrugged his shoulders in response. "It's not like we made it easy to detect either. From the groups who took that path, they were the third ones to perceive how Soul Power Weapons are formed. It's not that bad."

Libraia agreed with him, saying, "Well, that's true. Then again, the healing power of that boy is really outstanding. Even that White Scaled Carp, who's above his realm, was healed in just a few dozen seconds. Truly impressive. Does he match our sect's healing techniques?"

Iglet pondered over it for a bit. "I believe so. However, I've never seen anyone using Light Element for healing, so we'll have to ask him later. Perhaps it's possible to control Yang Energy to gather Light Element and use it the same way as he does."

Libraia shook her head after that. "We'll do it if he completes all twelve tests. Didn't you see? His brother and even that Minokawa can use the same Light Element skills. I don't want to scare them away."

Everyone nodded and continued to watch the test.

Be it Rean, Roan, or Kentucky's group, all of them passed through their own share of dangers. There were real near-death situations during the test. Ultimately, they still crossed the entire Soul Land, arriving at what seemed to be a spatial gate. After they passed through it, they reappeared in the entrance hall once again.

"Phew..." Rean felt relieved. "Holy shit. I don't want to go back to that place ever again. The challenges there were just too bizarre."

Erla, Min, and Habac nodded vigorously. "Same goes for us."

Roan then contacted Rean through their Soul Connection. 'Are you out? If so, help me heal two members of my group.'

Rean was taken aback to hear that. Sure, Roan's healing skill wasn't as good as Rean's, but he was definitely much better than any other healer Rean had seen before. The Instant Recovery skill should be enough to heal pretty much anything as long as one wasn't dead or had their dantian or demon core destroyed. 'Is there something you can't heal with my skill?'

Roan nodded, saying, 'We were caught by a Soul Power trap that created some kind of barrier inside one's meridians. I'm fine since I used my Dark Element to destroy it. The same goes for Krikei since he's a Spirit. He doesn't have meridians. However, the other two got their meridians damaged and blocked. It's directly connected to their dantian and demon core too. If I use my Dark Element, I'm afraid it will be redirected directly into them. Your control over the Purification skill is definitely better than mine.'

Rean nodded in response and quickly moved to the area Roan was waiting for. Erla, Min, and Habac didn't have anything better to do, so they simply tagged along.

Soon, Rean saw that many cultivators and demon beasts around Roan seemed to be suffering on the ground. It was obvious that Roan's group wasn't the only one to be caught by the trap. "Was that trap this good?"

Krikei looked at Rean and was immediately surprised at how alike the two looked. "You said you would call for help. It has to be this guy, right? He's identical to you... except for hair color."

Roan nodded, saying, "His healing skills are better than mine, so let him take a look."

Rean smiled and touched Lita's shoulder first. Soon after, he used his Divine Sense to check her condition. However, he couldn't see much. 'Oh, I see. It's a Soul Power attack, so I have to use a Soul Power Scan instead.' Rean's Divine Soul Power then fueled his scan as he looked at Lita's meridians again. "This..."

Rean got up and narrowed his eyes, muttering, "This is quite complicated..."

It was Roan who was surprised this time. "What did you find out?"

"The things that are blocking and damaging their meridians are indeed made out of Soul Power," Rean explained. "However, they seem to be alive. It's like they're worms. I'm afraid that if I use my Purification skill to get rid of them, they will rampage in their bodies. They might really lose their demon core and dantian." It was the first time Rean had seen something like that.

'Have most of the geniuses who take the test die... only the few who pass can be brought to Jhiod.' Rean thought about what the real identity of this test was. 'The Jhiod Sect isn't joking about that.'

Several of the cultivators and demon beasts went to the Jhiod Sect workers to ask about how they could heal their meridian problem. However, all they heard was that they knew the risks when they entered the test. No one gave them an answer that could help heal those afflicted by the Soul Power Worm Rean found out about.

Lita and Vrie might be suffering, but they still heard Rean's words. "Can you at least try? If things continue like this, then we'll seriously lose our dantian and demon core."

Rean then looked at Roan after that, asking, 'What about Kentucky and Celis?'

'They're fine,' Roan answered as he pointed in their direction. 'The path they took was different, so I don't think they came across anything like my group did.'

Rean looked there and could see that Kentucky and Celis seemed to be resting. Other than that, they didn't look like they were experiencing any problems. 'That's good then.'

Finally, he looked back at Lita and Vrie. "I can try it. However, do you even trust me? As far as I'm concerned, I could simply try to hasten the effects, saying that it was the worms' fault. What if your spirit friend here blamed me later?"

Roan closed his eyes, avoiding any attention. He didn't know Krikei and the others before the test, so his words didn't really have much value in this situation. The only ones who could accept to take the risk were Lita and Vrie.

Krikei knew that they didn't have another choice anyway. "Don't worry. I won't blame you unless I see that you're purposely trying to make things worse."

Vrie and Lita nodded as well. "The same goes for us. Just do it."

Rean could only agree in the end. "Fine. Let's see what I can do."

Chapter 1658 From Inside Out

Rean went for Lita first, as it seemed like she was in worse shape. "There we go."

'Life Style, Fourth Form, Purification!'

Immediately, Roan's Dark Element entered Lita's body, followed by Rean's Light Element. Both of them followed the meridians, quickly finding the Soul Power thing that was damaging her meridians. After that, Rean controlled the Dark Element to eliminate that worm-like Soul Power.

*Arrrgh!*

However, as soon as the Dark Element started to destroy it, the worm, together with the others present in the other meridians, acted together, going on a rampage. Seeing that, Rean immediately retracted the Dark Element. A few seconds later, the worms stopped their rampage. Only then did Lita's expression ease a bit after that.

"These things are more complicated than I expected. They went on a rampage when I started to destroy them. Not only that, because they are connected to her dantian through her meridians, the dantian was what suffered the greatest burden. I can't destroy them quick enough. Even if I can destroy them, I'm not sure if it'll have a detrimental effect on her cultivation."

Lita obviously heard all of that, asking in response, "Is there no way around it?"

Rean narrowed his eyes for a moment before he got an idea. "Not all your meridians have been infected with these worm-like Soul Power things. Let's do it like this. I'll send my skill through your meridians into your dantian, so I'll need you to let my power course through it. From there, I'll start to destroy the worm things. I'll basically work from inside out."

"This..." Lita was obviously concerned about that. Opening one's dantian to a foreign power. One would need to be desperate to do such a thing. After all, it also meant anyone would be able to destroy the cultivator's foundation, as well as their Nascent Soul.

Roan glanced at Lita after that. "Your dantian is already in a precarious state as it is. Rean won't insist, but I don't think you have a better choice."

Krikei agreed with Roan. "Lita, you need to go for it."

The pain caused by the worms continued as Lita finally gritted her teeth. "Fine! It's do or die."

Rean nodded in response. "Then, let's start."

'Life Style, Fourth Form, Purification!'

This time, Rean sent Dark and Light Elements through the healthy meridians, quickly arriving at Lita's dantian. Because she didn't resist it, both of them entered her dantian without many issues through the openings.

Rean was quite surprised by what he saw. "No wonder the things acted so roughly when I tried to eliminate them. They all have a core." Rean looked at what seemed to be the head of those Soul Power worms. Those heads could also be said to be their cores. "They're attaching themselves to her Divine Energy pool, using it to grow stronger."

Rean then warned Lita, "This probably gonna hurt quite a lot, so you better be prepared."

Lita nodded. "Just get over with it."

Rean then glanced at Roan, who understood what he meant.

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

Lita was then held by Roan's Shadow Binds, unable to move a muscle. "Don't worry. I'm only holding you in place so that you won't try anything during it."

Immediately after, Rean sent Roan's Dark Element into the Divine Energy Pool and ultimately attacked the worms' heads and cores.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Sure enough, Lita tried to contort in pain, but Roan's binds firmly held her in place as Rean worked. The pain was due to the danger the Soul Power worms felt. As a result, they tried to attack her meridians since Rean prevented them from doing anything else with her Divine Energy pool or dantian.

In fact, Rean expected her meridians to be damaged beyond repair by the time he finished... well, beyond repair for someone else. For Rean's healing skill, he was very confident he could make them recover.

Lita screamed and contorted for a whole ten minutes before the pain finally began to subside. It might have been just ten minutes, but for her, it was an eternity. That's because Roan's Dark Element was also used. As mentioned before, it ate life force, and the life force in the dantian wasn't an exception. If not for Rean protecting her dantian with Light Element, Roan's Dark Element would have destroyed Lita's dantian before the worms did.

Fifteen minutes later, Rean finally finished destroying the cores of the Soul Power worms. "Phew... you can let her go, Roan. I'm done with them."

Roan nodded before waving his hand. Soon after, the Shadow Binds disappeared as if they had never been there. It's just that Lita didn't seem to look well.

Rean nodded in response. "After I destroyed their cores, the rest of the worms' bodies dissolved into pure Soul Power. There was no need to destroy the rest."

Krikei couldn't help but mention, "Still, her meridians..."

Krikei wasn't the only one who thought about it. The place around Roan's group was full of people and demon beasts who were caught by the same trap. They were all watching as Rean worked on Lita, hoping he would succeed so that they could ask for help. However, because of what happened to Lita's meridians, they didn't know if it was worth the trade.

"Hahaha!" Rean just laughed in response, though. "Roan, give me one of the nutrient pills."

Roan nodded and threw a pill to Lita.

"What is this?" Lita, who seemed to be in a sorry state, asked.

"Just swallow it. I'm going to heal your damaged meridians now," Rean explained.

"You can do that?!" Let alone Lita, everyone around was shocked by that claim.

Rean just smiled as he waited for Lita to make her decision. Well, Lita had come this far already, so she simply swallowed the pill straight away. Following that, Rean used his Instant Recovery skill to regrow or heal the damaged parts of her meridians. If anything, Roan's pill's ability to clean the impurities of the meridians made them a lot stronger than before after Rean was done with it.

Chapter 1659 Come With Me

"Impressive..." Lita could feel how revitalized her meridians were. It was as if she was using them for the first time, like when she started to cultivate. "My meridians feel so... light! The Divine Energy is passing through them a lot easier than before."

Rean nodded in response. "Well, you took Roan's pill, after all. His pills have this side effect."

"Side effect?" Krikei was confused to hear that. "Such an amazing ability is just a side effect? Then what was the pill's real use?"

"Didn't you hear the name?" Roan asked back. "It was a nutrient pill. Simply put, Rean could reconstruct her meridians, but he can't do that out of thin air. One's body needs nutrients to grow things."

Rean nodded. "Roan's correct. If it was some deep cut, I could do it without a pill. However, remaking the destroyed parts from scratch requires nutrients. Thus, the nutrient pill."

Roan looked at Vrie, who seemed so impressed that he forgot the pain he was going to go through very soon. "You're next."

"Ah!" Only then did Vrie get back to himself. "Oh! Right!" He looked at Rean after that. "Please, brother. Get rid of these things in my meridians too."

Rean nodded in response. "Sure. You're part of my brother's group, so I'll help you with it. Just do the same thing as Lita. Open your demon core so that I can send my skill's power inside."

Vrie nodded. However, he also looked at Roan, saying, "There's no need to hold me. I can resist some pain."

Roan snorted in response. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

As Vrie said that, Lita remembered the pain of the Dark Element and felt a chill on her back. "Vrie, trust me. You won't be able to resist it."

Krikei didn't want to take any chances. "Stop trying to look cool and stay still. Roan, hold him down. If he complains, leave him to me. I know how to make this guy cooperate."

Vrie felt wronged after that. 'I'm a demon beast, you know? We're a lot more resistant to pain than your humanoid races...' Nevertheless, he didn't go against Krikei's words and let Roan use his Shadow Bind to hold his body.

Well, it turns out that Vrie felt like dying right there and then. If Roan wasn't holding him, he might have committed suicide straight away. Only after the problem was solved did Vrie understand how he really had no idea what he was talking about. "Holy shit! How can something hurt so much like that?! I was even begging for death."

Rean patted Roan's shoulder in response. "Roan, he was begging for you."

*Bang!*

Roan's elbow hit Rean's ribs, almost breaking them. "Arrgh! Fuck! Can't you take a little joke? It's not like I've never done that before."

Roan didn't seem to mind it at all. "I don't remember ever saying I liked them."

Vrie and the others didn't know what those two were talking about. Then again, since they were brothers, they simply thought it was some kind of joke that only the two knew about. "Ahem... Rean, Roan, thank you."

Lita quickly followed suit. "Me too. Thank you for saving my life."

Rean bitterly smiled at them as he rubbed the area where Roan hit him with his elbow. "No problem, no problem. However, I didn't save your lives at all. Even if your dantian, demon core, and meridians were destroyed, you would still survive. It's just that you would have lost all your cultivation. I could tell as I examined those Soul Power worms. They only existed to do that. Once they were done with their job, they would disappear straight away."

Lita sighed in response. "Destroying our cultivations... isn't that the same as dying? I wouldn't bear it if everything I worked so hard to achieve disappeared like that. Not to mention that cultivating again would be almost impossible with most of the meridians damaged or gone."

Vrie agreed with Lita. "She's right. I would have definitely killed myself straight away. For us demon beasts, this is far more important. We love strength more than anything else, after all."

Roan then glanced at a certain Minokawa in the distance. 'For that demon beast, women are probably a lot more important than its own strength. Food might even take second place.'

Rean smiled back at Vrie and Lita. "Well, it's good that you're fine. Roan, I'll take my leave here. See you later."

"Wait!"

However, someone else immediately called Rean's attention. It looked to be a demon beast in human form, probably a bird type one. However, Rean had no idea who the guy was. "Hum? Is there a problem?"

The demon beast immediately pointed to the other demon beasts that were probably part of his own group. "Can you help them, please?"

"Me too!" A woman from one of the humanoid races then called Rean's attention. She looked to be in the same shape as Lita a few minutes ago. "I'll do anything if you can heal me."

"Brother, help my friends and me. We can pay you!"

"No, we can pay more. Just help my daughter here first."

"Fuck you! Can't you see that my group is at its limit? They won't hold much longer! Brother, please help them."

"Who cares about them? My friend. I can pay you as much as anyone here. Heal me first."

Hundreds of voices raised everywhere, making it quite difficult for Rean to discern them.

"Enough!" Suddenly, another voice echoed in everyone's ears before a woman appeared. It's just that Rean had no idea who she was.

However, the workers around seemed to know her very well. "Senior Libraia! Why did you come here?"

Rean was confused. Who was Libraia? She seemed someone important, though.

Libraia continued, "I'm here for this boy. As for the rest of you, deal with the problem yourselves. You all know very well that the tests were extremely dangerous. Now, get lost."

Rean shook his head, though. "Errr... but I don't mind helping them."

"You can't." However, Libraia didn't let him. "You and your friends will come with me."

Chapter 1660 Then what do you want?

Rean narrowed his eyes in response. "Why? They will lose their cultivations like that."

Suddenly, Rean and Roan felt like their bodies were locked in place. Not only them but their groups as well. After that, Libraia took flight and left the area with them. At her cultivation level, restraining their groups was as easy as flipping her hands.

As for those inflicted by the Soul Power worms, only despair remained for them. Then again, there was nothing they could do as they couldn't go against Libraia.

In a private area, Rean and Roan's group were finally set free. It's just that they could see a few more elders there, including Govin and Iglet. Of course, they had no idea what was happening. "Why did you bring us here?"

Libraia then used the monitoring formation to bring up the image of cultivators and demon beasts who were inflicted by the Soul Power worms. "Can you see them? We have had this kind of result countless times already. No one was able to get rid of the Cultivation Destruction Soul Worms until today. Well, not in the Lebgram Continent, that is."

Rean nodded in response. "Obviously. Getting rid of those things is hard as hell. However, I can do it, so why did you stop me?"

Govin didn't like Rean's behavior, saying, "Boy, be careful with your words. Even if we kill you right here and right now, no one will say anything about it."

Iglet then shook his head, saying in response, "Let him be, Govin. It's obvious that he's the type who doesn't like killing. It's quite idiotic, but that's how it is."

"Hmph!" Govin snorted but didn't say anything else.

Roan, who was there as well, could guess the answer. "You can't have someone healing the cultivators and demon beasts since it would make the trap's existence useless. It's also unfair to those who passed this test before and were successful or lucky enough to avoid those worms." At the same time, he thought, 'It would also be bad since this place exists to eliminate future problems.'

Libraia was happy that Roan understood. "Very good. I don't mind that you heal your own groups. After all, the participants form groups to help each other. It's part of the tests. However, I can't allow the rest to be healed. Otherwise, the ones afflicted by the Cultivation Destruction Soul Worms would complain about those who were healed in the past."

Rean, obviously, didn't like it. However, he understood that insisting on this topic would only make things difficult for everyone else. He knew that Govin was right. They could really just kill them right there and then. Rean and Roan's strength was nothing in front of these people. "Fine... we will do as you say."

Iglet nodded, satisfied. "Very well."

Krikei, Erla, Min, Lita, Vrie, and Habac didn't know what to say. Lita and Vrie were obviously thankful that Rean helped them. However, none of them wanted to get on the Jhiod Sect's bad side. They were trying to join it, after all.

Seeing their expressions, Govin added, "All of you are in a group with these two, so this serves as a warning for you as well."

"Yes, senior." Obviously, none of them were against Govin.

Roan, however, felt it to be weird. Although he wouldn't pry any further. "Can we go back now?"

Libraia then looked at the twins' groups after that. "Your friends can go. As for you twins, I have something to talk about with you."

Krikei and the others could only take their leave after hearing that. As curious as they were, they wouldn't open their mouths here.

After the twins' groups left, another elder from the Jhiod Sect's trial building appeared. This time, he had Kentucky and Celis with him.

"Oh! Rean, Roan, so it was you," Kentucky complained. "Couldn't you have just asked me to come? This was too abrupt."

Celis closed his eyes and didn't say anything. He knew that things were not that simple.

With the four of them there, Libraia finally got into the main topic. "To be honest, I had no intention of calling you out before you four finished all twelve tests. That skill that allows you to share Divine Energy with each other was impressive, but it's not like our Jhiod Sect doesn't have something similar."

Libraia then narrowed her eyes as she continued, "However, the mysterious energy that the twins had on their weapons. I was sure I had seen it before. To make sure, I sent a message to Jhiod Sect in Jhiod Continent. After they analyzed my message and the memory images with it, I received an urgent message from the High Elder of the sect."

After that, she pointed at the twins. "Was that mysterious energy perhaps the weapons' intents?"

The twins, as well as Kentucky and Celis, were surprised to hear that. As far as they knew, they had never seen anyone using weapon intents. How does the Jhiod Sect know about it?

Well, hiding would be useless since Libraia and the Jhiod Sect obviously knew about it. "We did indeed use the weapons' intents. What's the problem with it? We checked the rules. There was nothing in the tests saying one couldn't use intents."

They were impressed by Roan's words. "So they really were weapon intents!"

Libraia was quite excited herself. "I have seen a sword intent in the past, but only once. It was during a visit to the center of the Realm of Gods back in the Jhiod Sect. A senior from there was challenged by one of our elders before he trashed his opponent with his staff intent. That elder was over a realm below our own elder, so everyone was shocked."

Roan could guess what they wanted by now. "If you're expecting us to teach you how to use weapon inten-"

"We're not," Libraia cut Roan off straight away. "Don't underestimate us, brat. We know that intents aren't something that can be taught."

This time, Roan's attention was really piqued. "Oh-ho... then, what do you want?"

Chapter 1661 Deal!

While Roan asked that question, Rean and Roan also thought about something else. 'It seems like the rumors were true, then. The Jhiod Continent has some relationship with the continents in the center of the Realm of Gods.'

Libraia then explained, "To be honest, this power alone should be enough for us to give you an exception and let you join the Jhiod Sect straight away."

Celis couldn't help but ask, "What about Kentucky and me? We do know about weapon intents, but we have no idea how to use them. First of all, we don't use weapons other than our own bodies."

Libraia shook her head, saying, "Do you even need it? You're Divine Demon Beasts. Well, one of you is a Divine Demon Tree, but it's the same thing. Although we do have some Divine Demon Beasts in the sect, having some more won't be bad."

Govin then intervened, "Get back to the main topic, Libraia."

Libraia nodded in response. "Right. As I mentioned, that would be the usual. However, we can't let you enter it yet. If you want to join the sect, you will have to complete the twelve tests."

"How come?" Rean asked, confused. If they could avoid the tests and enter Jhiod Continent Straight away, they would get the reward and wouldn't need to take those dangerous tests. Just the Soul Land alone was already very difficult.

"Our Jhiod Sect is under a new administration," Libraia explained. For some reason, Libraia seemed extremely dissatisfied when she said that. "As impressive as your weapon intents are, the new controlling power in our Jhiod Sect won't care. Well, that's basically because weapon intents can't be taught. If they could, then I'm sure no one would let the chance pass up."

'It seems like the Jhiod Sect has their own problems,' Roan commented through the Soul Connection with Rean.

Rean agreed with him. 'Well, we were already expecting to go through the twelve tests anyway.'

Libraia then asked something else after that. "One last question. Just how did you know that weapon intent existed? It's not an ability that just anyone knows about. Even the leaders of the powers of various continents around Jhiod are unaware of it."

Roan shook his head, saying, "We didn't know. We learned it by ourselves. It's impressive that you guys also call it intents."

Libraia's group was taken aback to hear that. "You didn't know about it until you got them? Is that even possible?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "It's not that impossible, right? At some point in time, no one knew about weapon intents. Someone had to find out about them on their own. We just did the same thing."

"Well... that's true." As hard as it was to believe, it was even harder to believe that the twins found out about weapon intents through someone else. "Alright, then that's it. We have no more questions."

Celis found it strange, though. "Then... why did you even call us here? You found out that they can use weapon intents. However, you know they can't be taught. Was there any point in having us here other than saying we can't heal anyone?"

Libraia nodded, responding, "But of course! We know that weapon intents can't be taught, but hearing about one's experience with them can help in some cases. Also, experiencing them might guide one to comprehend their own. Since there are still a few weeks before the test..."

Libraia then reached behind her hair before she pulled out a hairpin. Her hair then fell down before she embued the hairpin with Divine Energy. The hairpin then began to float and vibrate as if it was alive.

Rean was a blacksmith, so he could tell that the thing wasn't just a hairpin. 'That thing's level is definitely above the Golden level. Divine level equipment? I've always wanted to see what Divine level equipment was capable of.'

Libraia continued, "You might as well give us a first-hand demonstration of your weapon intents. Who knows? Perhaps we can understand something."

"So that's how it is..." Roan faintly smiled in response. It was obvious that the Jhiod Sect knew more about weapon intents than he expected.

Celis and Kentucky then looked at Rean, who had a smile on his face. 'There it comes...'

"Oh! I see, I see... so you want us to fight you with our weapon intents. No wonder, no wonder..." Rean then opened one of his hands as he asked, "So, what will it be?"

Libraia and the others, who were expecting to start the spar straight away, looked at Rean in confusion. "What will it be what?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Rean asked as if stating a fact. "You want us to provide some service, so there has to be some payment in exchange. Let's see... we're talking about weapon intents, which seem to be extremely rare in your Jhiod Sect. Naturally, there has to be equivalent payment for our services, don't you think?"

Govin's mouth twitched in response. "What about you doing what we say, and we don't kill you as payment?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders in response. "What if we don't really use weapon intents but just something similar. Or maybe we can just use it partially. Since none of you know how to use weapon intents, would you be able to tell the difference? You can't really say whether they're real or not since you don't know what it is."

Rean's hand continued to be open as he added, "However... Roan and I wouldn't mind signing a Soul Binding Contract. As you know, forced contracts are useless. Only when one wishes to sign it with their own will can the contract take effect. For us, a good payment would definitely make Roan and I very, very willing. This desire would come directly from the bottom of our hearts."

Libraia glanced at Rean after that. "You mean, directly from the bottom of your pocket, right?"

"Isn't that the same?" Rean asked with an innocent expression.

Govin had a red face, but he couldn't find a way to go against Rean's words.

Libraia, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh in response. "Hahaha! Boy, you are really funny. Very well, how much will it cost?"

"A thousand Rank Two Divine Stones per working day," Rean answered straight away.

"Deal!" Without thinking twice, Libraia accepted. Sure enough, she was a big shot from Jhiod Sect.

Chapter 1662 What Is It?

Rean was taken aback by Libraia's words. He gave a sky-high offer at first so that they could come to a middle ground. Never did he expect Libraia to accept his offer that easily. 'Just how rich is this lady? Perhaps she's even richer than me.'

Of course, he was more than happy about that. 'Well, the System Sect has already used more than 20 thousand Rank Two Divine Stones in these past few years. I haven't done anything to recover them, so I guess I can get most of it back. We're four weeks away from the next test, after all.'

"Wait! Libraia! This is just way too much!" Govin intervened, though. "You can't simply spend the sect's resources like this."

Libraia shook her head, clarifying, "Sect resources? Those are my Divine Stones. The sect has nothing to do with it. Besides, could it be that you don't want to check out their weapon intents?"

"I..." Of course, he wanted to. He simply didn't like the price.

Iglet patted his shoulder before using a Divine Sense message. 'Don't forget who she is. It might be a lot of Divine Stones for others, but definitely not for her.'

Govin sighed before he also took his weapon out. "Fine! In that case, I'll spar with the brat that's free."

With that decided, Kentucky and Celis were allowed to go back to the hall. The twins told them to talk with their groups so that they wouldn't be worried. They still wanted to pass the test, and their groups were already in good shape for it.

During the next four weeks, Rean and Roan sparred with many of the elders there. Still, Libraia was the one they sparred with the most. No one complained, though. After all, she was the one paying for it. They also considered it a huge opportunity to experience weapon intents.

"Senior Libraia, it's time." Suddenly, a subordinate called Libraia out.

Libraia looked at the monitoring formation and couldn't help but sigh in response. "Has a month already passed by? That was way too fast." She looked at the twins after that. "Anyway, you two can go out. We will continue this once you pass or fail the next test. Just make sure to crush your badges if you see that you're going to die. Also, don't forget. No healing."

The twins nodded before they left. As they went out, Rean looked at the spatial ring with the payment from Libraia. "28000 Rank Two Divine Stones. Man, so many in such a short time. If not for the mine we found before, this would have been the fastest we've ever earned so much."

Roan glanced at him in response. "That Govin doesn't seem to like our faces very much. We better not fail these tests, or he might come after us to take the Divine Stones back."

"Do you think he would remove his only chance of learning weapon intents?" Rean asked in response.

Roan shook his head, saying, "Probably not. However, nothing stops him or someone else from kidnapping us for that purpose." Of course, if that happened, the twins just needed to wait for the moment they weren't in danger and enter the Dimensional Realm. From there, they could simply take the random Circuitry Teleport Formation.

Outside, Krikei's group was already waiting for Roan. "Is everything fine on your side?"

Roan nodded, saying, "We had something they wanted, so we reached an agreement. It's that simple. Now, let's go." Without saying anything else, Roan left Rean's side with his group.

Rean simply shrugged his shoulders and walked around until, eventually, he sighted Habac, Erla, and Min. "Oh! There you ar-" However, he quickly noticed someone else with them there.

Erla also saw Rean coming. "Rean, you're finally back."

Min sighed in relief. "If you didn't come back, we wouldn't even try to enter the next test. That Enhancement skill of yours will definitely be a key."

Habac glanced at those two and said, "Aren't you forgetting something important?"

Only then did the two remember that Rean didn't know who the new guy was. "Rean, let me introduce him to you," said Erla. "This is Blansin, a member of the Silver Horn Sturgeon Race. Now that I think about it, I haven't told you much about Min and me. We're both from the Terces Continent. Blansin is also from there, and his race has a good relationship with mine."

Rean nodded in response. "I see... Well, nice to meet you, my friend." Rean then looked at Min, who was smiling as well. It's just that with all the experience Rean received from Roan, he could tell that Min wasn't really feeling happy at all. It was just a facade. 'Hmm? What's happening here?' However, he decided to leave it aside for now.

Rean then looked at the next spatial gate. "Anyways, we can talk about your reunion some other time. The next test will start, so we need to go."

"Wait, Rean!" Erla quickly called his attention. "Would you mind letting Blansin join our group? He's also trying to pass the test to enter the Jhiod Continent."

"This..." Rean looked at Blansin. Normally, he wouldn't mind. However, although Min didn't show on the surface, it was obvious to Rean that he didn't want Blansin to join them at all.

Blansin then bowed to Rean, saying, "The next test is especially beneficial for demon beasts. If that Enhancement ability of yours really does what Erla said, it would truly help me a lot."

Rean then looked at Habac, who shrugged his shoulders in response. "I don't mind. The next test is indeed more suited for demon beasts than humanoid races or spirits."

Rean then warned Blansin after that. "Our battle formation can only fit four members, though. Are you sure you wanna stick together? If things go south, I don't know if I will be able to help you since I'll prioritize my group."

Blansin was more than happy enough with that. "That's great! Don't worry. I definitely won't hold you guys back."

Rean nodded before he turned to Min and used a Divine Sense message. 'So, what is it that you have against the guy?'

Chapter 1663 Was There Any Difference

Min was taken aback for a moment but continued to talk with Blansin and the others as if nothing had happened. However, he used his Divine Sense to answer Rean's question at the same time. 'Why would you ask something like that?'

Rean smiled in response. 'It might be hard for the others to tell, but not me. Well, to be honest, I think your beloved might have noticed something as well. Although she isn't willing to bring it out. Anyway, at least for me, it's quite obvious that you don't like the guy very much.' Rean couldn't help but ask soon after, 'Is he some kind of love rival of yours? Are you afraid of him taking your Erla away?'

Min looked at Rean with a weird expression for a moment. 'I won't lie. I don't like the guy. However, it's not because of some love issues. Erla and I wouldn't get separated that easily after so many years. Not to mention that Blansin doesn't have this kind of intention towards Erla to start with. The problem lies somewhere else.'

Rean wasn't disappointed to hear that. He would feel quite sad if the issue was that cliche. 'Oh! Now you have my attention. But first of all, if you wish, I can ask him to leave the group. I'll just come up with some random excuse.'

Min immediately shook his head, saying, 'No, there

s no need. The reason I don't like him is because of the reason behind his presence in this place. It's quite complicated.'

'His... presence in this place?' Rean was confused. 'Wasn't he supposed to be here?'

Min confirmed Rean's words. 'That's correct. You see, I came to know Blansin through Erla since they're friends. He's one of the top geniuses of the Silver Horn Sturgeon Race. He's also in the Void Tempering Realm, just like Erla. Yet, he's just 179 years old. His race considers him to be their leader in the future. Of course, I'm only talking about the Silver Horn Sturgeon Race in the sea where he lives back in Terces Continent. Nevertheless, he's very important for them.'

Min continued, 'However, here he is, trying to join the Jhiod Continent. Erla, on the other hand, is different. She has some connections with the high-level White Scaled Carps as she's the daughter of one of them. That's why she came to know someone like Blansin and also how she had the connections to come to this place. However, she isn't especially gifted like Blansin. Both she and I are over double his age. Our reason in our attempt to join Jhiod Sect is basically because it's one of the best ways to make up for our lack of talent.' Min was only talking about super high-level talents. At their age, their cultivation was already very good compared to the majority.

'You think he wants something from Erla, is that right?' Rean asked.

Min nodded in agreement. 'That's what I think. However, Erla wasn't supposed to have anything that would matter to someone like Blansin. Sure, she might be the daughter of one of the White Scaled Carp higher-ups, but that's about it.'

Rean understood what Min meant. 'You think it's too much of a coincidence for him to appear right here, right?'

'That's correct,' Min answered.

Rean then used his Divine Sense to check Erla's body from top to bottom. Erla would definitely feel it, but because of the place they were in at the moment, there was no lack of Divine Senses everywhere. She would think that it was just another one, just like how she was using her own.

'Hmm... I can't see anything different on her,' Rean mentioned.

Min agreed with him. 'She's not very at hiding things from me either. If she had something important on her, she would have already told me.'

Rean then asked, 'So, do you want me to stop him from going with us, or should we just leave it be?'

'Leave it be,' Min answered. 'I want to see if I'm just thinking too deep into it or not. After all, it might indeed be just a coincidence. With Blansin's talent, I'm sure he would be welcome in the Jhiod Sect once he passes all twelve tests. Considering he survives until then, that is.'

Rean then called everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone. Let's go. It's time for the next test."

Erla, Habac, Blansin, and Min immediately followed Rean to the area of the spatial gate. There were many other groups and solo cultivators and demon beasts waiting there as well. Eventually, one of the managers appeared as the spatial gate activated. "The next test is the Pressure Realm. This will test your physical condition more than anything else. As for the rest, go and find yourself." Sure enough, very little was said before the test started. It was mostly because the tests repeated, so there wasn't much of a point in telling the same thing over and over again.

Roan's group quickly passed the gate together with the others. Kentucky and Celis' group followed a moment later. As for Rean's group, they were close to the last groups who passed through the portal.

*Bang!*

As soon as they appeared on the other side of the Spatial Gate, everyone felt as if their body were being pressed by a mountain. Naturally, Rean's group was no different. Min and Habac were obviously the ones who suffered the most.

"What the hell? Was it supposed to be this hard?" Min asked.

Habac nodded with a bitter smile. "It is. Last year, I wasn't able to resist this pressure for more than a few hours. I trained quite a lot before coming back here, so you better get used to it."

Erla and Blansin were demon beasts, so they had stronger bodies. Then again, they had to admit it was quite hard to keep standing. "As expected of the Jhiod Sect, I guess?"

As for Rean... "Hmm? Is there any difference between inside and outside?" Surprisingly, he didn't look the least bit annoyed.

Chapter 1664 Divine Sense Message

Let alone Min, Erla, and Habac, even Blansin was shocked to see Rean taking it so easily. "How the hell are you not affected by this place's gravity? Is there some secret technique for that? Is your Enhancement skill really that good?"

Rean looked at them and laughed in response. "Hahaha! I'm joking, I'm joking. Of course, I can feel this place's gravity. It's definitely very strong."

Min's mouth twitched in response. "You don't seem to care that much in my eyes, though."

Rean agreed with him, saying, "Well, that's for sure. With my physical ability, just this much gravity won't bother me. However, I'm not using my Enhancement skill."

He then looked at the others and continued, "You, on the other hand, seem to be using a lot of Divine Energy to keep yourselves standing."

Habac immediately explained, "Why do you think this test is so hard for those who aren't demon beasts? Most of the humanoid races can't resist this place's gravity like the demon beasts. We are forced to keep using Divine Energy nonstop to neutralize the gravity's force that's trying to pull us down, you know? Even the demon beasts, if they aren't some crazy strong ones, will have to use some amount of Divine Energy to keep themselves in peak condition in this place."

Blansin agreed with Habac. "He's right. I may be proud of my physique. However, I have to keep some flow of Divine Energy if I don't want to be affected by it."

Rean then touched each of their shoulders. "Then, let's try my Enhancement skill." The Enhancement skill was a pure body-enhancing ability. It was perfect for this place.

'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement!'

Immediately, Light Element entered each member's body, greatly increasing their raw strength.

"Phew... that feels a lot better," Habac couldn't help but comment.

The others agreed with him. However, Rean warned them. "It's only a temporary thing. My Light Element will be spent up sooner or later. At that point, I'll have to use this skill again, so make sure you don't stray away too far from me."

Following that, Rean looked at Habac and asked, "So, what can we expect in this test? Is it some survival test again? Or maybe we have to traverse this Dimensional Realm under the effect of this gravity?"

"The second option," Habac answered. "The Pressure Realm works almost the same way as the Soul Land. We will have to traverse it while many traps and other hindrances try to stop us. As you can expect, physical attacks cause a lot more damage in this place than attacks filled with Divine Energy or Soul Power. The best way to make use of it is to use Divine Energy to strengthen our bodies and then use physical attacks."

Rean quickly understood. "The amount of strength one can display with that method will depend a lot on their original raw strength. It's really a test made for cultivators with powerful body cultivation techniques. Of course, demon beasts too."

Rean then shrugged his shoulders in response. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Soon after, Rean began to run in the front.

Erla, Habac, and Min looked at each other and quickly followed. With Rean's Enhancement skill and their own Divine Stones, they should be able to make it through or at least have a good chance.

Last but not least, Blansin followed them from behind. However, little did the others see, but he didn't have a good expression on his face as he looked at Rean far ahead. 'I have to find a way to be alone with Erla.'

Meanwhile, Roan didn't know what to do with Krikei. Krikei was obviously a Kipos Lake Spirit. Rean's Enhancement skill worked wonders in living beings of flesh and blood. However, the effect of this skill in Spirits was limited to the point it could be called useless.

Krikei himself didn't weigh much. However, the gravity still affected him more than anyone else. "This goddamn test..." he said with quite some difficulty.

Vrie, the demon beast in Roan's group, was obviously taking it easy. Lita wasn't faring that well but wasn't doing so bad either. After all, the Enhancement skill worked well on her. "Krikei, you'll have to use more Divine Energy. There's no other choice."

Krikei knew that they were right. "I truly don't want to use that much Divine Energy. After all, it would affect our battle formation."

Roan shook his head. "It's still better than letting you drag us down with how much you're suffering in this place." Sure enough, Roan didn't beat around the bush with his words.

Without much choice, Krikei began to drive even more Divine Energy to counterattack the effects of gravity. Only then did his floating body stabilize somewhat. "Fuck it! I've been saving Divine Stones for this moment, so I'll use them!" Soon after, several Rank Two Divine Stones appeared around him as he absorbed their power. "Let's go. The longer we wait, the more Divine Energy I'll have to use. I'll be counting on you if any problem arises."

Roan glanced at him and said, "If you put us at risk, I'll cut you down myself."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure you will." Krikei brushed Roan's words aside as he started to move away. He wanted nothing more than to finish this test as fast as possible.

Last but not least, there was Kentucky and Celis' group. Well... If Rean and Roan didn't feel anything, then let alone Kentucky, whose body was even stronger than theirs. Celis, on the other hand, did feel the weight of gravity. Celis had a huge vitality, but his body's strength definitely didn't reach Kentucky's level. If anything, in terms of resistance, he was below the twins and their Third Grade Star Bodies. "Kentucky, you will take the lead while we follow behind to give you support."

Kentucky then looked at everyone and asked, "Isn't it easier if I just use Rean's Enhancement skill on them?"

Celis disagreed, saying, "Aren't we here to train? It makes sense for Rean and Roan to use the skill. However, we're demon beasts, so it's better to rely on our own strengths."

Kentucky could only agree with it...

Suddenly, Kentucky noticed that Rean was getting closer through their connection. The same was the case for Celis.

Chapter 1665 Thank You, Celis, Kentucky

Celis and Kentucky looked at a small hill on the side in this Pressure Realm. They knew Rean was behind it while moving along with them. Eventually, Rean got close enough to send the two a Divine Sense message. 'Kentucky, Celis, help me a bit on something.'

In this Pressure Realm, there were no rules about attacking other participants. It was different from the Soul Land. As always, each of the tests had its own rules. 'Er... are you sure about that?'

Rean nodded in response. 'Yes, just do it. Make sure you do what I say.'

Kentucky and Celis didn't mind and immediately called out the other demon beasts in their group. In total, they still had eight members after the losses in the Soul Land. It was then that they rushed over to the other side to attack Rean's group.

Obviously, Rean and the others saw when Kentucky's group appeared and immediately stopped. "Someone's coming."

However, before Min or anyone else could say anything, a snake demon beast launched out a jet of poison in their direction. Except for Kentucky and Celis, everyone in their group was in the Void Tempering Realm. That meant their attacks also had a small amount of Space Power behind them. Of course, the snake wasn't the only one. The other demon beasts also attacked with full strength.

Rean's expression turned dark before he ordered, "Run! There are too many of them for us to fight! They're not mindless puppets like the ones in the Deep Sea Monster Assault test."

Rean then gathered the power of their battle formation and immediately counterattacked as they tried to open distance from the demon beasts. However, there were too many demon beasts for them to deal with... well, Rean could probably still defend against their attacks as long as Celis and Kentucky intervened. However, the Minokawa and Cedar couldn't show up since Erla and the others would definitely recognize them as part of Rean's group.

"This isn't working. Let's split!" Before anyone could say anything, Rean broke the battle formation and quickly grabbed the closest members of his group with his Divine Energy. Min and Habac felt their bodies being pulled as Rean dashed away. At the same time, Rean looked at Erla and Blansin while using a Divine Sense message, 'You two are in the Void Tempering Realm, so it will be easier for you to escape on your own. I'll help Habac and Min escape, and you two do the same thing. You already know the direction we're heading in, so try and meet us there.'

"Wait!" Min didn't want to split from Erla for obvious reasons. However, Rean's overwhelming advantage in this test made it impossible for him to break free from Rean.

'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement!'

'Death Style, Second Movement Form, Shadow Air!'

Rean's advantage in this realm was so great that he could even afford to fly while carrying Habac and Min. There were no rules against flying in the Pressure Realm. That's because it was considered a very wasteful way of spending Divine Energy with the gravity applied to everyone's bodies. Then again, the story was different for Rean, Roan, Celis, and Kentucky. Naturally, Rean used the second form of the Death Movement Style, aimed at fast movement in the air.

Seeing Rean flying away put Erla slightly at ease. She knew it would have been hard for her to pull Min together because of the Dimensional Realm's traits. She also focused all her strength on her spatial ability and immediately dashed away.

There was one guy who was delighted, though. That was Blansin. He didn't expect that he would suddenly be alone with Erla. As long as he managed to escape the assault of the Demon Beasts coming at them, he would have the chance he was looking for. "Erla, grab my hand. My movement technique is better outside water. As long as we focus on running away, we can definitely escape this place fast enough."

"Alright!" Erla considered Blansin a friend, so she had no reason to not do so. Soon after, Blansin activated his movement technique before the two focused on their spatial abilities.

The demon beasts behind attacked nonstop, trying to stop Rean's group. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong target. Because Rean was in the Transition Realm, they thought he would be the easiest one to catch. Little did they know that Rean's strength made him the fastest in their group. By the time they decided to switch their attention to Blansin and Erla, the two were already quite far away.

They pursued Erla and Blansin for a while after that. However, the high gravity of the place was already putting a great strain on their bodies. Erla and Blansin, on the other hand, still had the effects of the Enhancement skill. They had it a lot easier than the demon beasts behind. At least that would continue to be the case until Rean's Light Element in their bodies ran out.

Eventually, the demon beasts from Kentucky and Celis group stopped the pursuit. Not that they wanted to, as they would continue if they needed. It's because they received a Divine Sense Message from Kentucky, telling them to let Erla and Min go. 'That's enough. You won't be able to catch those two anymore and will instead spend your strength for nothing. Come back so that I can use my Light Element skills on you.'

The demon beasts seemed bothered by the fact that they couldn't fulfill the Divine Demon Beasts' orders. However, since they told them to go back, they could only do so.

Kentucky then appeared far behind as he used his much better long-distance sight to watch the situation. "Yep, they're gone." He then looked at three humans standing on his side. If Erla and Blansin were here, they would definitely have recognized them as they had been in the same group a moment ago. "Rean, is that what you wanted?"

Rean nodded with a smile in response. "That's perfect. Thank you, Celis, Kentucky."

Chapter 1666 I need something from you

Habac obviously recognized Kentucky and Celis. They had seen Rean and Roan with those two before back in the entrance hall where the spatial gates were located. "This... what's happening here?"

Min, on the other hand, more or less understood what Rean was trying to do. After all, they had talked about Blansin a lot before entering this test. "Are you trying to leave Blansin alone with Erla?"

Rean nodded in response. "That's correct. You think he has some ulterior motive, don't you? What better way of checking things out other than letting them think they were stranded from us due to some 'unfortunate' circumstances? Hahaha!"

Min didn't look happy, though. "But what if he tries something against Erla?!"

"Don't worry," Rean didn't seem worried. "He will first find somewhere to rest since they had to run a lot to get rid of the demon beasts behind them. The Enhancement skill I used on them didn't have a lot of Light Element, so they should have run out of it by now. That means they're back to their normal states plus the strain of the recent escape. Let's not forget that this realm also has a lot of obstacles that they don't want to run into."

Habac was still confused. "Just what are you two talking about?"

Rean looked at him before giving Habac a summary of what he and Min had discussed. Only then did he understand Min's concerns. "So that's how it is. You could have told me beforehand, you know? These friends of yours scared my soul out of my body."

Min was about to leave in Erla's direction when Rean stopped him. "Calm down, Romeo. Your Juliet won't go that far."

"R-Romeo? Ju...liet? Who are those?" Naturally, Min and Habac had no idea what Rean was talking about.

Rean could only sigh after that. "It's quite saddening that you can't understand. Anyways, we're going after them."

*Rumble...*

Suddenly, the rest of the demon beasts returned to Kentucky and Celis's sides. Obviously, they were puzzled to see Rean's group there since they were pursuing them at first.

Kentucky then explained, "Don't worry. They're with me."

Following that, Kentucky used Rean's healing and Enhancement skills to ease the burden on the demon beasts' bodies.

Rean was satisfied with that as he pushed Habac to Kentucky's side. "Kentucky, Celis, take care of this guy, will you? I'll go after Erla and Blansin. Flying with two extra bodies in this kind of gravity is a burden even for me."

Habac was taken aback to hear that. However, he knew that Rean wasn't kidding about the gravity. It's just that he would have to stay in the middle of a bunch of demon beasts. Not to mention that he could see it. The demon beasts here were all sentient. None of them seem to like the idea of having him in their midst. "Errrr... can I not?"

Kentucky then patted Habac's head with his huge wing. "Hahaha! Don't worry, don't worry. These are my friends. Here, let me introduce them to you."

Kentucky then brought Habac to the Twin-tailed Crimson Tiger in his group. "This is Gunter. He likes the taste of the flesh of humanoid races, so don't bother him too much, okay? Other than that, he's a very nice guy, very dependable actually. If you get in danger, ask him for help. Next, we have..."

Ignoring Habac's bitter expression, Rean grabbed Min's body with his Divine Energy before taking flight once again.

Seeing Habac being left behind, Min couldn't help but ask, "Will he be fine?"

"Oh, that?" Rean knew what Min was talking about. "Don't worry. Kentucky is just messing with him. Leaving that aside, we can now follow Erla and Blansin from above. If it's only you, I can keep flying without spending too much Divine Energy."

Min simply couldn't measure Rean's true power. All he knew was that even Blansin wouldn't be able to do as much as scratch him. In any case, it was a very good thing for him and his wife.

Around two hours later, Erla and Blansin finally stopped in a concealed corner to recover their Divine Energy, especially since Rean's Light Element had run out by now.

Erla then began to focus on healing some injuries on her body. "Phew... not only have we had to escape those demon beasts, but we were also almost killed by the other trap of this Pressure Realm."

Blansin nodded in response. He wasn't looking any better than Erla. In fact, he had to jump out to help her once and was caught in a very shitty situation. "Fortunately, another group also came by, and the trap had to divide its focus between them and us. Otherwise, we might have really died there."

Now that Erla finally had some time to rest, she took the opportunity to ask Blansin something else. "Blansin, why did you come to this place? We both know the importance you have in your Silver Horn Sturgeon Race. You're different from me, who has no use whether I'm there or not. If you end up joining the Jhiod Sect, you will also be cutting ties with your race." Sure enough, Erla had also thought about this topic. It's just that she didn't want to bring it up before.

Little did the two of them know, but around a kilometer high up in the skies, Reana and Min were observing them as well. Rean was obviously using his Divine Sense bending skill as well as bending the light to make themselves invisible. He could get much closer if he wanted to, but he preferred not to risk it as he didn't know if Erla or Blansin had detection methods up their sleeves.

'I told you, didn't I?' Rean asked Min. 'Erla had probably noticed something as well.'

Min nodded. 'Let's hear what he has to say.'

Blansin then explained, "I have no intention of cutting ties with my race."

Erla was confused by that answer. "Then why would you take this test?"

Blansin then double-checked his surroundings with his Divine Sense, making sure no one was nearby. "Because I need something from you."

Chapter 1668 Clendes Sea Heart

Blansin then took an item out that Erla couldn't recognize. Following that, he poured Divine Energy inside. It was then that Erla felt her body go numb all of a sudden. It wasn't just physically but also on the energy side of things. She couldn't use Divine Energy, Elements, or even Soul Power. "T-this... What are you doing?!"

Blansin's expression wasn't like someone who enjoyed it, though. "I'm sorry, Erla, but I must take it back for the sake of my Silver Horn Sturgeon Race."

Above in the skies, Min wanted to go help Erla straight away. However, Rean quickly held him back. 'Hold on, idiot! We still don't know what he wants. If you stop him and don't find out an answer, there might be even more Silver Horn Sturgeons coming after Erla. In fact, chances are that much higher-level ones are outside the Jhiod Sect's building. They didn't join this hunt because the tests don't allow anyone above the Void Tempering Realm.'

Min felt a chill on his back when he thought about that. Rean was right. It was obvious that Blansin wanted something very important. However, neither he nor Erla herself knew what it was. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided to observe further.

Back down, Blansin sighed in response, asking, "I think you have the right to know at least. Don't you think it's too far-fetched that your father told you to join the Jhiod Sect?"

Erla narrowed her eyes in response. "What do you mean? You know very well I don't have much use for the White Scaled Carp race as a whole. That's why he allowed me to come."

Blansin shook his head, telling her, "Come on. Even I know your father better than that. That father of yours would have never allowed you to try something as dangerous as the Jhiod Sect's test, let alone leave the White Scaled Carp race. That's also why you always had enough resources to reach your level with your talent. He even allowed you to get together with that human even though the other members of the race were obviously against it. He loves you way too much. Sure, you might not be as talented as me, but you aren't that bad. In the end, you don't just find a Void Tempering Realm demon beast in every corner, you know?"

Rean looked at Min far in the skies, asking, 'So her father was not against it?'

Min nodded with a dark expression. 'It's true. He absolutely doesn't like me at all. However, because he didn't know how to say no to Erla, he eventually accepted the two of us. However, Blansin's right. He was basically the only one who did. The rest continued to look down at us there, so we decided to leave. Even now, I find it strange that he would allow Erla to leave for the Jhiod Sect's test since he went as far as to accept our relationship just so that Erla wouldn't leave her race.'

Blansin continued from there. "Let's be honest, the travel to reach this test is very, very expensive as well. I only came here with a few elders, and it cost us a fortune in teleports." Not everyone was as rich as Rean, after all. "But lo and behold, your father didn't mind forking out the Divine Stones necessary to get to this place for both you AND your husband. Are you sure you didn't find it even the least bit odd? Think well, was everything really okay back in the White Scaled Carp race before you left?"

Erla's expression turned worse after that. Now that Blansin had asked, she thought back to the time she decided to leave. For some reason, her father seemed quite distressed. Not only he, but the other few high-level elders were the same. However, that was just about it. The rest of the race seemed to be pretty fine.

Blansin noticed her change. "It seems like you finally noticed something wrong. No, to be more specific, you did notice something wrong back there but ignored it at first. Living with Min there wasn't easy, so you were just glad your father allowed you to leave. As for the rest, you didn't pay much heed to it. However, he gave you something he shouldn't have. Otherwise, we wouldn't have come for you. Don't get the wrong idea. I truly consider you my friend. Believe it or not, I tried to think about other ways to get this problem resolved. Unfortunately, there's no other way."

Blansin finally entered the main topic. "I need the Clendes Sea Heart that your White Scaled Carp race has."

"Clendes Sea Heart?!" Both Erla and Min exclaimed when they heard that name. Fortunately, Rean kept a Divine Energy barrier around Min and him. That allowed the sound to reach them but not to leave. Otherwise, Blansin would have definitely heard Min's voice just now due to how shocked he was. Of course, Blansin definitely heard Erla's loud voice.

Erla immediately shook her head, though. "B-But, the Clendes Sea Heart is the treasure of my race. Look at me! Do you think I would ever have something as important as that?! Are you crazy! First of all, why didn't you just ask me? I would have told you if you had asked. I don't have it. I don't have it at all. I would never be allowed to get even close to it!"

Blansin agreed with Erla. "Indeed, you would never be allowed to carry such an item. That's exactly why you have it. Usually, no one would think about you carrying this thing."

"I told you I don't have it," Erla stood her ground. "I'm not lying. I didn't receive it from my father. If I had, do you think I would leave the White Scaled Carp race? Chances are that the elders would kill me before that!"

Blansin shook his head, saying, "I know you are not lying. Your father told me that. It's just that you yourself didn't even know you had it."

Rean above was completely lost, so he asked Min with a Divine Sense message. 'What's the Clendes Sea Heart?'

Chapter 1669 Awakening

Min immediately answered while trying to control the shock he was feeling. 'That's the White Scaled Carp race's treasure. Nothing for them is more important than the Clendes Sea Heart. I've never seen it before, let alone gotten close to it. I don't even know where it was guarded. Sometimes I even thought it was nothing more than a legend told by the elders of the White Scaled Carp race to their young. After all, if they really had such a thing, all the powers of the Terces Continent would have come for them a long time ago.'

'In any case, according to the stories, the Clendes Sea Heart is supposed to be an amazing treasure capable of controlling the sea itself. It was told that it was once forged by the god of the Clendes Sea so that he could protect his sea forever. Anyone who held that item would be invincible as long as they were in the Clendes Sea.'

Seeing Rean's confusion, Min also added some extra information, "Terces Continent isn't like Pol Continent, which is just a huge sea. It does have its own land. However, at least 50% of it is covered by the Clendes Sea. That doesn't make it any less powerful, though.'

Rean finally understood after that. 'If this Clendes Sea Heart really has the power of controlling the entire Clendes Sea, one could use it to destroy the whole land surface there. Obviously, nothing could match the power of those holding the Clendes Sea Heart in the Clendes Sea either.'

Min nodded in response. 'That's correct. That's why I find it extremely unbelievable that Erla would have such an item. I don't even know if she believes that this item exists at all. As you heard, even she had never got close or even seen that thing.'

There was one thing Rean didn't understand. 'But... if they really had it, why would they send it out with Erla? It would have been much better to keep it within the race.'

Min shook his head, telling him, 'How would I know? Let's hear what Blansin has to say. He had always been talkative as far as I know, so he will probably tell her a few more things.'

Sure enough, Blansin explained to the puzzled Erla. "The Clendes Sea Heart, Erla, isn't some item. Instead, it really is a heart. To be more specific, it's your heart. Anyone who gets your heart can use the White Scaled Carp race's secret forging technique to refine it into a real treasure capable of controlling the Clendes Sea back in Terces."

"What?!" Sure enough, everyone was even more shocked now.

Seeing that, Blansin sighed as he continued, "You see now why it pains me to have to do this? I have to get your heart before anyone else does."

Erla didn't believe it. "This is impossible! If I had such power, don't you think I would be able to do a lot more than I can now? Even if my heart isn't refined into a treasure, just the fact that I have it would have been enough to make me extremely powerful and talented. I'm not anywhere near that!"

That's exactly the question in Rean and Min's minds. Erla was better than average demon beasts, but that's about it.

Blansin then took a black pearl from his spatial ring before showing it to Erla. "Do you recognize it?"

Erla nodded slightly, saying, "I also have a few of it. They're Deep Sea Calming Pearls. They are very good for calming one's mind during cultivation if you have Water Element Affinity. I always carry a few since they lose their effect with time."

Blansin bitterly smiled as he said, "That's what you were told. However, let me ask you. Have you ever seen anyone using them back in your race?"

"This..." Erla was taken aback by that question.

At the same time, Rean looked at Min and asked, 'Did you?'

Min pondered about the years he spent in the White Scaled Carp race's territory with Erla. He might not have been welcomed, but he did meet a lot of them, including some powerful ones. However, he had never seen anyone else other than Erla using those pearls. 'Now that he said that, I indeed have no recollection of anyone else using such an item. However, since Erla seemed to always cultivate with them, I've never paid attention to those pearls. They had no use for someone like me since I don't have Water Element Affinity. My affinity is Lightning, as you know.'

Erla's answer was similar to Min's. "I haven't... seen anyone using them. Is there some secret about it?"

Blansin nodded, telling her, "You aren't wrong when you said these pearls have a calming effect. However, this calming effect only works on the holder of the Clendes Sea Heart. What they calm down isn't your mind. Instead, they calm down the power of the heart. They exist for the sole purpose of not letting you lose control over your power. At the same time, they seal the heart's abilities to control the Clendes Sea. However, there's a huge side-effect."

Rean, Min, and Erla could already imagine what the side effect was. "They also affected my overall talent..." Erla couldn't help but say.

Blansin confirmed her words. "That's correct. However, it isn't a bad thing. When a child with the Clendes Sea Heart is born, the child will not live long if the heart isn't put under control. These pearls might have a bad effect on your cultivation. But above all, they were the reason you were able to live to this day. Sure enough, your father truly loves you since these pearls are extremely hard and expensive to make. Well, there were also your White Scaled Carp race's own ideas. They probably expected you to become their goddess in the future once you got strong enough to control the power of your Clendes Sea Heart."

Following that, Blansin took another item out of his spatial ring. It also looked like a pearl but was red instead of black. "Well, to harvest your heart, I first need it to recover its true powers. Sorry, but I'll have to awaken your Clendes Sea Heart now."

Chapter 1670: Is that so?

Rean and Min narrowed their eyes once they heard that. Should they try to stop Blansin now? It's because Erla's Clendes Sea Heart had been sealed that her talent didn't develop. If they allowed Blansin to do that first, she would recover that so-called enormous talent and power, right? She might not be anywhere close to Clendes Sea, but the heart alone probably would help her a lot.

However, there was also the possibility of her dying. The black pearls were used to keep the heart from going out of control and potentially killing Erla. Blansin mentioned that it was supposed to be the case until the day Erla got strong enough to control the heart on her own. The question was whether Erla was already that strong enough or not.

However, Min gave up in the end. 'Forget it! I don't care how strong she might become in the future. If there's a chance of her dying because of the heart's problem, then let it be sealed for all eternity. We need to stop him!'

Rean looked at Min as his opinion of him increased a lot. 'Well said! I would be truly disappointed if you didn't make this decision.'

However, just as Rean was about to attack, Erla opened her mouth. "The awakening of my heart? Would it be bad if I lost control over it? Are you sure you want to awaken it? If I'm not wrong, it would be better if I simply followed you back to your elders."

Blansin shook his head in response. "Don't worry. According to the records, the Void Tempering Realm is the requirement to control the Clendes Heart. That just so happens to be the realm you're in at the moment. Can you guess why?"

Erla was taken aback, and so were Rean and Min. However, all three of them had an idea. 'The power to control an entire Sea… That would be impossible without the power of space! The Void Tempering Realm is the realm where cultivators and demon beasts touch the power of space for the first time. Thus, the Void Tempering Realm requirement.'

Blansin could tell that Erla understood. "That's correct. To be more specific, the heart is capable of fusing both Water Element and Space Power together. Of course, that's just a small part of its power. Let's say that's just the minimum realm necessary to start taking control of its entire strength. The higher your cultivation gets from here, the more the heart will help you improve. Naturally, the higher your control over the Clendes Sea."

Min and Rean immediately gave up on the idea of stopping Blansin. Since she had the cultivation necessary to control the heart, that's obviously a huge opportunity for her. They could stop Blansin after the heart was awakened.

Blansin then moved the red pearl near Erla's heart, which immediately began to shine with a red color. At the same time, Erla felt like her own heart was going to pounce out of her chest as it beat faster and faster. Whatever the red pearl was, it was deeply related to her own heart. 

At some point, Erla and the others noticed that her heart was also giving out light. It's just that the light coming from Erla's heart inside her body was blue, not red. 

Blansin smiled as he let the red pearl go. It slowly floated in the direction of Erla's heart when suddenly, it became kind of ethereal. Following that, the heart passed through Erla's skin as if it wasn't even there, ultimately entering her heart.

*Arrrgh!*

Erla felt immense pain coming from her chest. That also affected her entire body, which seemed to be about to explode. However, that didn't happen. Instead, everyone saw as many strands of black energy started to come out of her body instead. One didn't need to be a genius to know what it was.

'The black pearls' energy…' they all thought.

That was correct. The red pearl, together with the Clendes Sea Heart, were expelling the black pearl's power that sealed the heart. 

Suddenly, Erla changed back into her White Scaled Carp race's form. As a Void Tempering Realm demon beast, she was obviously quite big. It's just that she now looked like a fish out of water. Blansin was already expecting that, though. He selected this area to rest exactly because it would help conceal Erla's body after the transformation.

Erla's body then began to change from that point onward. The color of her white scales slowly turned blue. The same happened to her eyes, which were white before as well. The color of her body wasn't the only thing that changed, though. Something that looked like a crown made of fins appeared above her head. It was quite big and shone with a gentle blue color that emanated energy.

Her other fins, scales, and even her body's overall form changed to something a lot more imposing. If one asked, Erla still kind of looked like a White Scaled Carp but was obviously from a different race.

The process took over an hour before the pain for Erla finally subsided. It's just that Erla was now as weak as an ant. She couldn't move a single muscle of her body. Changing back to her human form? That was impossible for her at the moment. Not to mention that the item that kept Erla restrained was still active.

"Seems like it's finally over," Blansin murmured as he took the tools necessary to harvest Erla's Heart. He did so with a painful expression, obviously not liking to do that. However, there was too much in play for him to care about his own feelings. "Sorry, Erla. I'll make sure your White Scaled Carp race will be safe." 

However, it was then that a Divine Sense message echoed in Blansin's mind. 'Is that so? Shouldn't you keep Erla safe as well, then? Oh well, whatever. We will keep her safe since you can't.'

Blansin's eyes widened in response as his Divine Sense finally broke through Rean's Divine Sense bending skill. Of course, since that happened, that was because Rean was now too close for the bending to not work.

Blansin tried to retaliate, but Rean was obviously much faster. Sure, Blansin was able to fight those above his level with his talent and resources. However, he was still not Rean's match. 

'Death Style, Fist Energy Form, Shadow Bind!'

Rean's hair changed into a mix of black and white as Dark Element gathered and restrained Blansin.

Of course, Blansin immediately used his full strength to try and free himself. It's just that such an action was too late. In saying that, Rean appeared right in front of him as his sword came against Blansin's head.

*Bang!*

However, Rean didn't cut Blansin's head at all. Instead, he hit his head with the side of his Black Star. It's just that with Rean's raw strength, Blansin lost consciousness straight away. And just like that, Rean had Blansin in his hands.

As for Min, he went straight to Erla, who was still too weak to move. "Erla! Are you okay?!"

Erla, who didn't have the strength to even return to her human form, could only glance at Min and use Divine Sense to talk. 'I-I'm… fine… just tired as hell…'

Rean then touched Blansin's body before sealing the guy's demon core. If Rean wished it, he could have Blansin lose his cultivation forever at any moment. Not to mention that Blansin wouldn't have access to it unless Rean allowed him to do so. "Well, I'm done with this one. Let's that a look at the fish out of water."

'Life Style, Second Form, Instant Recovery!'

Rean's Light Element entered Erla's body, quickly healing any injuries she might have… which there were surprisingly none of. "Hoh? She isn't injured, it seems."

"She isn't?" Min asked in concern.

Rean nodded in response, saying, "Yeap. Her bodily functions are all fine. However, she's still being restrained by this thing. Of course, she's also too exhausted to do anything else, even if she wasn't restrained. Not to mention that the gravity of this Pressure Realm definitely isn't helping." Rean then showed the item Blansin used to lock Erla down. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

Min took it from Rean but shook his head in response. "No. In any case, let's just destroy it." Rean didn't mind as Min used his Divine Energy to crush the item.

Erla immediately felt the energy holding her body in place disappear before she could finally relax. 'Thank you, Rean, Min. I truly thought everything was over.'

Rean laughed in response, telling her, "Hahaha! It's nothing, it's nothing. In fact, you weren't at risk at all. Min and I have been observing you two from afar and were ready to take action at any point. It's just that I had to hold Min down until Blansin spilled the beans as to why he captured you. Otherwise, this guy would have jumped in a long time ago."

Min didn't regret it. "Hmph! He was trying to hurt my Erla. Regardless of the reason, I would definitely step in." However… "However, I admit that waiting was the best thing. Now we have a good picture of the whole situation and have Blansin in our hands."

Rean nodded in agreement. "The time limit for this test is the entire month the spatial gate is open. We have plenty of time here, so let's sit down and wait for Erla to recover her energy and for Blansin to wake up. I believe you two still have a lot more things to ask him."

Erla then glanced at Rean with her eyes, asking, 'Rean, aren't you interested in my powers?'

Min's eyes changed as he immediately looked at Rean.

Surprisingly, Rean nodded straight away. "Of course! A heart that can control an entire sea? How cool is that?! I very much wish to take it and refine it into the treasure Blansin mentioned."

Seeing the dark expression on Min's face, Rean laughed once again as he continued, "Hahaha! Unfortunately, I consider relationships a lot more important than any treasure in the Realm of Gods. Besides, Erla's heart would be 100% useless for me."

Erla pondered over it for a bit before understanding. 'My heart's power can only be used in Clendes Sea. If you don't decide to go to Terces Continent and live there, its power will be pretty much useless.'

Rean nodded in response. "Yep. That's pretty much it. Well, even if I did go to Terces Continent, I still wouldn't take your heart away from you. As to whether you believe my words or not, that's up to you."

Min narrowed his eyes, muttering, "Says the guy who attacked us the first time we met…"

Rean almost fell to the ground after that. "Ahem… I was just showcasing my amazing healing abilities. Yep, that was all. I wasn't doing it for fun at all. Definitely!" 

Rean then came up with some excuse and immediately left to set up a simple concealing formation. The area was already well concealed, but there was nothing wrong with extra protection. At the same time, he shared the things he discovered with Roan, who was obviously in the middle of the same test. 'And that's about it.'

Roan couldn't help but sigh in response. 'Sure enough, without Destiny Avoidance Mode active, all kinds of crazy and continent-changing issues fall on our hands. What will be next? Something that will change the entire Realm of Gods? I don't know if I even want to see it.'

'Well, we do have to gather the fragments of the universe's foundation. In a certain way, we're already doing something that will affect the entire Realm of Gods,' Rean mentioned.

'That's true.' Roan had to agree with Rean on that. 'So, what do you intend to do with that White Scaled Carp. Or should I call it a Blue Scaled Carp now?'

Rean shrugged his shoulders in response. 'I'll just wait and ask Blansin a few more questions. In the end, we have no intention of heading to Terces anyway. Not to mention we wouldn't take her heart, so if we wanted to use it somehow, we would have to wait for the day she can truly control it properly.'

Roan nodded, saying, 'It's good that you know. I'm going to focus on passing this test, so you do whatever you want.'