Death... and me

Chapter 3961: In The Open

That same day, Rean contacted Ximao through the CD, now that he had his CD number.

-Hum? The Future Realm?- Ximao narrowed his eyes. -That will be complicated. As you already know, the countries will definitely try to send their own experts. If you were backed by one of them, they could have taken you to try to acquire those slots. Unfortunately, you bunch are all without backers, neutral members of the academy.-

He continued. -And, above all, there is also the fact that none of the six of you are from the Runia Continent. For the countries that own the Academy, it would be the same as offering outsiders the chance to take their own slots. Don’t you dare act surprised. You guys already knew that keeping that neutral position would come with several obstacles.-

Rean pondered a bit. "So... we just need to join one of them, and they would allow us to try to vie for the Space-Bending Realm slots? We had been holding our cultivation for a while, but we intend to break through in the following days to graduate. Then, we will join the academy as teachers, elders, workers, or whatever you think would be a good option."

-What bullshit breakthrough? You are just pretending to be that low-level,- said Ximao. -Anyway, it wouldn’t change the fact that you are neutral. So, yes, first you would need to get a backer. The problem is the proximity of the Future Realm opening. Anyone would be able to tell that you are only trying to join them because you want to go there.-

It was then that Rean had an idea. "Hehe! I know exactly what I have to do. Thank you, Ximao."

Things went according to the plan, and everyone in the twins’ group got their ’breakthroughs’ in the following week. It was a surprise to those watching them, and at the same time, it wasn’t. As mentioned before, it was very normal for the highly talented recruits to hold back and stay in the Initial Stage of the Space-Bending Realm to not graduate. So, seeing them breaking through that close to each other made it obvious they decided to do it themselves, and that they could have done it a long time ago.

The surprise was that they did it so soon. Once again, the recruits hold back to make the most of their time in the Divine Military Academy before graduating. The twins’ group members were still considered to be barely over 70 years old. They had a long time ahead to enjoy the benefits the academy provided, even without having someone’s backing.

Everyone watched closely, trying to see what they would do after that. With their automatic graduation due to their cultivation level, they couldn’t be recruits/students anymore. They had to either leave or become part of the Academy Structure.

Also, since the timing matched, most thought they had graduated for the sake of going back to Verjansy. Sure, Wisfreya and Zangeshu left a few years earlier, but the rest of the group was still thought to have been born in the Green Cluster, where Verjansy Country was located.

The news that followed the next days took them by surprise, though. The twins’ group all opted to join the academy, this time as workers and teachers. Doesn’t that mean they intend to stay with the Runia Continent? Naturally, that was good news for everyone, and perhaps now that they weren’t students anymore, they would accept one of the countries’ backing. No one forgot that they were all Golden Radiance Talents, with four of them being the highest level ones.

Too bad that their offers were ignored for the following days. Rean and the others began their work in the academy, often supervising missions, teaching new recruits, and such. It was exactly what you expected from new members.

But then, a rumor began to circulate within the Divine Military Academy. It seemed like the twins’ group was trying to put their own names in the group going to the Future Realm. Some found it ridiculous, and they wouldn’t waste their slots on neutral members of the academy.

And sure enough, the countries blocked the twins’ group’s attempts, saying that the slots were already taken. However, it also opened a new window for the various countries, so various of them reached the twins’ group once again in the shadows. This time, however, they were the ones offering a slot from their own countries.

That was Rean’s plan. Instead of trying to go look for a country to join, he made it look like his group would join anyone willing to give them a slot. Rean’s attempts to get a slot for his group neared desperation, and it obviously baited many interested parties.

There was still a problem, though. The various countries had decided in that meeting decades ago that none of them would try to get the twins’ group to join their side. If any of them came out and tried it now, that would go against that treaty.

So, instead of accepting any of the hidden offers they received, which could cause problems later on, the twins’ group made a new announcement. They ’noticed’ how difficult it was to improve without a proper backing, and would like to join one of the countries.

Few experts had enough importance to force a new meeting outside the yearly report ones. Fortunately, the twins’ group had Ximao on their side, and Ximao’s reason for that call was pretty simple when he got to the meeting hall.

"Do you all think I’m blind? Now that those Golden Kids said they were looking to join someone, all you have been sending anonymous messages to them with who knows how many offers. Didn’t we agree to leave them neutral?"

The meeting hall was silent. Few had truly kept their words... although those who did simply thought they didn’t have any chance of recruiting anyone from the twins’ group. They weren’t any less guilty.

"Enough with this! I’m the principal, so there is nothing that happens here that I don’t know," Ximao continued. "I’m well aware that they have been trying to get slots for the Future Realm, and I’m even more aware that quite a few of you likely offered a slot if they accepted to join your side."

His voice sounded serious. "Since you are all jumping into this bus now that those kids are willing to join a country, we might as well put an end to this agreement of neutrality for them. However!"

He stopped for a moment, his expression dark. "There are only six of them remaining. That means most of you will definitely fail to recruit them now that they are willing to join someone. Are you truly, truly okay with the VERY HIGH possibility that you might end up not getting any of them?"

Immediately, several voices were raised, especially from the representatives from smaller countries who weren’t very confident they could recruit anyone in the twins’ group. They would rather that the neutrality agreement remain in place.

However, most didn’t want to let this opportunity pass. The main barrier, which was the twins’ group’s refusal to join anyone, was now gone. As for the balance of power between the countries, which was originally the main reason for the agreement, it wasn’t much of a concern now.

That’s because, in the following decades since the twins’ group joined the Academy, the number of Golden Talents appearing increased substantially. Sure, none of them reached the highest level of Golden Radiance, but there were various. The twins’ group’s members joining different countries wouldn’t make that much of a difference anymore.

"Alright, we can put an end to that agreement," Sotivuk, a representative from a country called Morkrel, spoke. "However, let’s at least agree that if a country manages to recruit one of them, it is prohibited from recruiting the rest. The balance of power won’t be affected as much anymore, but they are still the best geniuses of the academy in a long time. I believe no one here would like to see all six of them joining a single country, right?"

Ximao looked at him, nodding. "That is pretty much the same idea I gave back then. You will hear no complaints from me." Indeed, Ximao did give this exact same idea once, but the twins’ intervention caused the neutrality agreement to be the chosen one in the end.

And so, everyone accepted the new terms, and they could now go and try to recruit the twins’ group’s members in the open.