Death... and me

Of course, their group was being searched by the Zasfins of Danve City, so they didn't start their journey in this place. Instead, Rean asked Frandin about the Tuvaro Empire's general direction before going out with Kentucky and taking flight. He used his Light and Spiritual Sense bending skill, making sure to leave this place.

Sure enough, Rean had done the right thing. Devol had mobilized the entire city's forces to looked for Rean. At some point, some of their cultivators had passed by where their group was staying before. Unfortunately for them, they were already long gone.

Rean flew with Kentucky for two days straight while the others stayed in the Dimensional Realm, training. Eventually, Rean and Kentucky came down one again.

*Chick...*

Rean smiled as he patted Kentucky.

"You've done a lot. Go back and rest a little."

Kentucky then disappeared inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Following that, Roan and the others came out. That also included an unconscious Frandin, who didn't know he was in another dimension, to begin with.

"This should be more than far enough. From the information we got from Frandin, Lumeria City should be around two thousand kilometers southeast from here, right?"

Rean nodded.

"This planet's condition is great when you want to feel Life Energy. After all, the only places with a lot of life are the cities. I can tell that there's a bit of life energy coming from that direction, just like I did with Danve City. It might house a city there."

Roan nodded as he began to slap Frandin's face.

"Ah!"

The guy quickly woke up before noticing where he was.

"This... Am I free?"

"Free, your ass! Here, swallow this."

Frandin looked at Roan's cold face and didn't dare to refuse. Anything was better than feeling  Dark Element running through his body again.

"Wh-What is this?"

Roan faintly smiled before saying.

"That's a poison pill I've concocted myself. If you don't take the antidote in the next 12 hours, you'll die. Now, then. We are close to Lumeria City. I want you to go with Rean and pretend to be his owner. We don't have any Spirit Stones and other provisions at the moment, so we need to buy them. You are about to perform your first job as a slave. Congratulations!"

Frandin didn't like to hear that. However, he at least understood that he wouldn't be killed anytime soon as long as he followed the orders. Of course, he also thought about his chances.

'Should I try to free myself and get this guy captured? I might be able to use him as a hostage to get the antidote.'

However, he quickly put those ideas at the back of his mind in less than an instant. First of all, would they succeed in capturing Rean? He was at the peak of the Core Formation Realm. There would be a good chance that he could run away. Not to mention his ability to hide from Spiritual Senses. Even if everything went alright and he got to capture Rean, they were all humans. Would the 'degenerated' humans care about Rean if he was caught? Chances are that they would leave him behind and flee on their own. If that happened, he would be doomed since there was no guarantee he could find another way to heal his poison.

'I must first find a way to heal the poison in my body.'

Roan looked at Frandin and snorted in his mind. How could he not know what Frandin was thinking? That's why he was so confident in leaving Rean alone with him. Even if Frandin could really escape while ignoring his poison, there was no way Rean would be in danger with his ability to enter the Dimensional Realm.

"Alright, you two can go to Lumeria City now. It's just two thousand or so kilometers away."

Frandin was taken aback.

"Two thousand kilometers?! Are we going there by foot?!"

Rean looked at him, puzzled.

"Obviously. Why do you ask?"

It was then that Rean noticed a problem.

"Oh, right! You're just an Initial Stage Foundation Establishment Zasfin. This planet's cold can even pass through one's Spiritual Energy barrier if it isn't strong enough. Such a long journey would be quite harsh for you. Sigh... why do you have to be this weak?"

Frandin's mouth twitched as he thought.

'I'm not weak. You guys are just freaks!'

Rean then spread his Spiritual Energy and Light Element to cover Frandin. 

'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement.'

Immediately, Frandin felt his body become much stronger and warmer. Even the outside cold became a joke in front of him now.

"This..."

Rean ignored him as he dashed forward.

"Ah! Wait for me!"

Frandin quickly followed.

Agis narrowed his eyes as he saw Rean and Frandin disappearing in the distance.

"Are we just going to wait here?"

Roan snorted in response.

*Roar!*

"Hehe! Seems like they've already noticed our presence."

Agis, Calina, Qia, and Malaka were taken aback. They could feel the power behind that roar just now. Immediately, they got ready for battle.

"What is this place?"

Roan then explained.

"There's one more good thing about this planet. Because the environment is so harsh, the demon beasts who can live here are stronger. They overcame the lack of Spiritual Energy with their struggle for survival. You better be ready. I asked Rean to leave us right in the Core of Lumeria City's Demon Beast Region. It's going to be fun."

Agis took a deep breath, but he smiled in the end.

"That's a lot more like it."

He quickly pulled Calina to his side before dashing away. Those two were not part of Roan's group. Although Rean wasn't there, they could still fight with only two. 

Roan saw that and didn't mind. Staying together would make things easier, which wasn't good if they wanted real battle experience. They simply had to gather at this place later once again. If someone died in this process, then so be it.

Of course, Rean and Frandin were no exception. Although they were going to the city, they would need to do that while keeping themselves alive on the way. Sure enough, Roan never wasted training opportunities.

However, Rean quickly found out that Calina and Agis were following him.

"Hm? Shouldn't you be going somewhere else to fight the demon beasts?"

Calina nodded.

"We will. However, the two of us are still part of your team. We will follow you until we reach the border of the Demon Beast Region before returning."

Frandin sighed in relief. He also felt the power of that roar earlier and didn't know if just Rean would be enough to guarantee his life.

Rean didn't seem to mind. This might be an excellent opportunity to try their team play.

Frandin tried to keep his own aura as restrained as possible. However, Rean's group had other plans. Without hesitation, Agis, Rean, and Calina released their cultivation, letting their own auras spread everywhere.

"Ah! Why would you do that?!"

"Why else? To attract a few demon beasts, of course. We need to train. You should take this opportunity to do the same."

Frandin felt like crying. Can't they see that his strength was completely different?

*Roar!*

Sure enough, Rean's group looked like a bright light in the middle of the night. It quickly caught the attention of the surrounding demon beasts of this ice world.

"Here they come!"

*Boom!*

Suddenly, the ground below their group caved in as a giant mouth tried to swallow them whole. Frandin's complexion went pale as soon as he saw that. He simply had no time to dodge anymore.

*Vup!*

However, Rean grabbed his shoulders before tossing him out of the Demon Beast's mouth. He also used the counterforce to get out of the way as well.

Calina and Agis weren't any slower either, immediately leaving the range of the attack. Finally, Frandin called out.

"It's a Stage Four Trifon Ice Centipede!"

Rean couldn't help but find this one similar to Elder Reliance's demon centipede. Of course, this one was several times smaller due to its cultivation.

Rean smiled as he spread his Light Element to envelope Calina and Agis.

'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement.'

Calina and Agis's power immediately increased as well, as they attack the centipede from all sides. Agis was already informed of Rean's ability. Still, he couldn't help but feel surprised with how much his own power had increased. However, he quickly put those thoughts behind his head and concentrated on fighting.

'Life Fire, White Stellar Explosion!'

White flames came out of Rean's body and his Black Star Sword. 

'Extreme Heat Slash!'

'Myriad Glacial Blades!'

Agis and Calina were no slower as they attacked from two other directions as well.

However, it was still a Stage Four Demon Beast, which was equivalent to a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator. Besides, its carapace's defense was much higher.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

The attacks landed on the centipede, leaving only a few small cuts behind. The only injury the centipede really felt pain from was Rean's White Fire Explosion.

*Shhzzzzzzz!*

Immediately, the centipede's eyes focused on Rean as it ignored Calina and Agis. It was giving priority to the most dangerous target as expected.

Rean narrowed his eyes when he saw that.

'So it's true. The demon beasts of this planet were able to grow stronger due to the environment, even though there's a lack of Spiritual Energy.'

The White Stellar Explosion should have seriously injured an ordinary Stage Four Demon beast. After all, Rean could fight at the Core and Soul Fusion Realm with his actual cultivation.

However, Rean smiled after seeing that as he thought.

'This world isn't too bad, after all.'