Death... and me

Rean was puzzled by that name.

"What's a Minokawa?"

Even Droman had no idea what a Minokawa was.

Reliance then looked at Kentucky before replying.

"To be honest, I've never seen one myself. Well, not before Kentucky. All I knew about were legends shared between the people of my home country. Later on, I found several records that Minokawas are not legends... but real Demon Beasts. Who could have thought that I would find one here?"

Reliance then continued.

"Anyway, from what I know, Minokawas are dragon-like Demon Birds. It has a beak and claws that are as resistant as metal. Their eyes are like mirrors. The wings' feathers are as sharp as blades, while the body has several dragon scales mixed in with the feathers. Most of the feathers and scales are a mix of white and black colors. The legends of my people say that they can grow strong enough to swallow the sun and moon. Of course, I think this part is an exaggeration."

Reliance then made Rean ask a question.

"Has it already started to shed its plumage?"

Rean nodded absent-mindedly. Reliance then approached Kentucky, who was still sleeping, and lifted some of its under neck plumage.

"Take a look."

Rean didn't pay much attention to the places where the plumage had disappeared before. He simply felt that it was normal for a bird to lose its plumage, which would give it space for its new feathers. However, when he looked under the plumage that Reliance lifted, he noticed tiny protrusions between still growing tiny dark and white feathers. After touching them, Rean could feel how hard they were.

"This... could they be?"

Reliance nodded.

"Kentucky had already entered Stage Two. It's to be expected that his scales already began to take form."

Reliance then lifted one of Kentucky's wings and rubbed his hands on both sides as if he was looking for something.

"Oh! Here you are."

Reliance then looked at Rean.

"Give me your hand."

Without thinking too much about it, Rean extended his hand to Reliance. After that, Reliance rubbed Rean's finger in the same place he found on Kentucky's wings.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly, Rean felt that something had cut his finger. It wasn't anything big, but it was definitely sharp. Reliance then lifted the plumage that was covering that part of Kentucky's wings. Sure enough, Rean saw more of those White and Dark feathers beginning to take form. However, as a Blacksmith, he could quickly tell just how sharp these feathers' edges were.

After seeing this much, there was no need for Rean or Droman to doubt Reliance's words. Everything he said about this so-called Minokawa had been proved correct so far.

"My people have no idea how strong a Minokawa can become. No, that's the wrong way to put it. In fact, any demon beast or cultivator could grow to unprecedented levels as long as the conditions allow it. A good example of it is how I was able to help Zunzun reach Stage Six even though he is a common Fire Tanager."

"However, we can't ignore that talent and bloodline are also extremely important to a cultivator or demon beast. As a member of the legendary Minokawa race, Kentucky's potential is simply above our imagination. That's why I want to train it. I want to see just how far it can get. It really makes me jealous that you were the one to find its egg and not me."

Rean then went beside Reliance and patted Kentucky's head with a smile on his face.

"As I thought, you are really a fantastic chick."

Reliance then looked at Rean with a peculiar expression. 

"You... don't seem to care about my skin color that much, no?"

Reliance was already used to all these white people trying to stay far from him because of how different he looked. Even Droman and Mia were not different in the past. It took quite some time for them to grow used to it. However, Rean didn't seem to give a damn about it. He even extended his hand when Reliance asked as if there was nothing wrong with that. One must remember that Rean still had the height of an almost 13-year-old kid. Reliance wasn't wrong to expect that a white kid like Rean would avoid him since there were virtually no black people in the Sasamil empire.

Rean looked at Reliance, puzzled.

"Is there something wrong with it? Oh, I see! You heard that I can also use my Light Element to heal other's injuries, right? Alright, since Elder Reliance told me what Kentucky is, I'll help you recover. Show me where the problem is."

Rean wasn't really pretending. Back on earth, black people were nothing but ordinary where he lived. Although there were still more white people in his city than black ones, they weren't rare. During his life, he had seen so many that he can't even guess a number. They were present in school, college, companies, shops, and etc. There were even two metallurgists who worked together with him in the same room, which he interacted with on a daily basis. So yea, Rean didn't feel anything wrong with Reliance's skin color at all. The only moment he felt some surprise was when he had seen Reliance for the first time. But that was because Reliance was the first black person he had seen in the cultivation world, not because of his skin color itself.

"This... errr... no, it's okay... I can deal with it myself."

Rean nodded.

"Well, if you say so."

Rean then looked at Kentucky again and asked.

"So, how does Elder Reliance intend to train Kentucky?"

Reliance's opinion about Rean turned a lot more favorable after that. He had seen the way others treated him tens of thousands of times, so he could tell that Rean wasn't pretending.

"Ahem... how about you tell me how you had been raising him so far?"

Rean nodded and then looked at Droman.

"Elder Droman, is it okay if we pause for a moment?"

Droman shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, he already gave up the idea of taking you with him, so I guess it is okay. Since I'm already at it, Reliance, pass me the Formations' Flags you have. You still want to repair them, right?"

Reliance nodded and threw an old bag at Droman.

"Sigh... can't you find a better case to keep the flags?"

Reliance shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not like they will break because of it, right? As long as I can carry them, who cares about how I do it?"

Droman shook his head and then left the room. Since he was already in the Formations Hall, it wouldn't be difficult for him to fix the flags. It's just that he would need the Blacksmith Hall's help as well, so he needed time.

After Droman went out, Rean began to explain how he was training Kentucky. Well, he simply let Kentucky hunt on his own in the Dalamu's private Demon Beast forest. Of course, he didn't tell about the baths Kentucky took in the Soul Gem Dimension Realm.

"You will need a lot more than just that. Minowakas can be considered a kind of a 'metal bird.' Of course, this is just the way I put it. It's not like the 'metal bird' denomination really exists. After all, I don't know about any other demon bird race that needs precious metals for its development."

"According to the records I found about Minokawas, the rarer the metals, the more sturdy their feathers will be. They aren't considered as sharp as blades for nothing."

Rean couldn't help but ask.

"How come I've never seen it touching a piece of metal before? Could it be that it has a specific palate for metals?"

Rean has many High-Level Spiritual Ores and even some Peak-Level ones in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Still, Kentucky has never touched them before.

Reliance narrowed his eyes as he pondered.

"Hum... It's hard to say since I've never trained a Minokawa before. What level of Metals have you shown to it?"

"High and Peak-Level Spiritual Ores."

Reliance nodded.

"This guy is a Legendary Demon Beast. Perhaps these metals aren't good enough to catch its attention..."

"Wait here for a sec."

After that, Reliance disappeared from the room. It was so fast that Rean couldn't even see his shadow.

'As expected of a Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.'

After that, Rean waited for ten or so minutes. Eventually, Reliance came back. In his hand was a small piece of ore that looked as black as coal. However, Rean could tell that its level was far above any other ore he had seen so far.

"Could it be...?"

Reliance nodded.

"This is a Heaven-Ranked Ore, Malagal Iron. I found it by coincidence while dealing with a few ants in the past."

Suddenly, Kentucky's nostrils caught the scent of the piece of ore. His eyes immediately opened, and looked directly at Reliance's hand. They immediately shone like stars as Kentucky got his plumpy body up and ran directly at it.

"Stop right there!"

Hearing Rean's voice, Kentucky stopped in place.

*Chick?*

He then looked at Rean with a pledging eye. Rean could even see Kentucky drooling.

Rean didn't care, though.

"Do you know how expensive this thing is? Go back to sleep. This is not for you."

Obviously, Kentucky showed an almost crying expression.

Reliance then laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! It's okay. It's not like I need it for anything."

Surprisingly, Kentucky seemed to have understood Reliance's words as his sad expression warped into an excited one.

*Zap!*

As fast as lightning, Kentucky took Reliance's Malagal Ore and swallowed it. 

*Burp~~*

Reliance couldn't help but feel surprised when he saw it. Kentucky's speed just now definitely surpassed what any Stage Two Demon Beast could achieve.

"As expected of the legendary Minokawa."

It was then that he remembered something.

"Oh, right! The mutation."