Death... and me

Rean then looked at Roan before asking.

"Are you sure? I think we should leave and look for another Rank Four Bloodline Trial Ground. There's no point in risking being found out once again. If my speculations are correct, those guys knew about us because you visited the Bloodline Trials Office in Kastran City. Once we leave and head somewhere else, no one will have any idea on who we are."

Roan agreed with Rean as he said.

"I know. Just on the jade slip map of the Palif Continent, we can find seven Rank Four Bloodline Trial Grounds, including this one. However, they head in another direction that deviates from the Tuvaro Empire. We would need several months to arrive at those."

Frandin then mentioned something else as he asked.

"What about the next Empire's Trial Grounds? It should be that hard to buy another map when we get there, right? After that, we can use their Trial Grounds without having to deviate from our destination."

Rean and Roan looked at Frandin with a weird expression in response, causing Frandin to ask.

"Wh-What? Did I say something wrong?"

Rean shook his head as he responded.

"No. It's just that I didn't think you would try to help us. Shouldn't you be hoping that we get captured so that you can heal the poison in your body?"

Frandin was taken aback by that question.

"Well... Something tells me that you wouldn't really be captured even if they tried their hardest."

Roan shook his head as he said.

"It still doesn't answer Rean's question. Even if you think that way, you should at least hope that we won't be able to escape. Helping us like that still makes no sense for a Zasfin like you. Especially one with a bloodline mark, who are obviously prideful. Not to mention the fact that you despise the existence of humans."

Frandin scratched the back of his head as he eventually said.

"Just pretend I didn't say anything."

Rean laughed, though.

"Hahaha! Well, let's leave him alone. Roan, Frandin's right about his idea. We could simply find other Rank Four Bloodline Trial Grounds in the next Empire. There's no doubt that we are being looked for. Besides, the cautious you would definitely have accepted this idea when we're at such a disadvantage."

Roan narrowed his eyes in response. He really didn't want to wait until the next trial. However, Rean and Frandin were right that moving to the next Empire would be safer. 

"Very well. I doubt the safety measures of each Bloodline Trial are that different from each other anyway. How are we faring with Spirit Stones?"

Rean shook his head with a light sigh as he replied.

"We don't have much left. But there's no need to worry. We don't know where the next Empire's Rank Four Bloodline Trial Grounds is, but we know where the next city is located. At least, the next big one."

Roan and Frandin knew which city Rean was talking about. It was also the closest city to a Rank Five Bloodline Trial, the only one on this side of the Palif Empire. It was marked very brightly on the jade slip. It was much bigger than the city they were in at the moment, so selling Rean's weapons there wouldn't be an issue.

"Venasi City, huh? That one might be a little risky since there are more experts there. We might bump into someone with cultivation high enough to see through your Spiritual Sense Bending Skill."

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said.

"You know very well that just having a strong Spiritual Sense isn't enough. The person will also need to be a certain distance away from me. Don't forget, Spiritual Sense is like the wind of a fan. The closer you are to the fan, the stronger it is. I think our chances are pretty good. Or better yet, we shouldn't be unlucky to that extent."

Roan nodded after listening. As for Frandin, that was the first time he heard how Rean's Anti-Spiritual Sense skill worked.

'What a strange concept. However, Rean's skill indeed works. I better remember that.'

With that decided, Rean's group decided to leave the city at once and head straight to Venasi. However, Rean and Roan passed by the Alchemist Guild and had Frandin sell all the Demon Cores they've gotten so far. They wouldn't fetch as many Spirit Stones as Rean's weapons, but they were worth quite a decent amount.

The attendants of the Alchemist Guild were frightened by the sheer amount of Demon Cores and quickly arranged for their supervisor to negotiate it with Frandin.

"Are you sure you want to sell all of it? There's even a few Stage Four Demon Cores present here."

Frandin nodded as he answered.

"Yes. I need Spirit Stones as soon as possible, so just quote me a price."

The supervisor took a deep breath and then offered the same price as the market. He didn't dare to scam Frandin because he couldn't risk losing those Stage Four Demon Cores. Although they couldn't be considered any heaven-defying alchemy material, they definitely had many uses and were always in demand.

Of course, just as Rean and Roan thought, that supervisor arranged someone to follow them. However, since he didn't know about Rean's skills, it was quite easy to make them lose sight of them.

Rean was quite satisfied with the amount of Spirit Stones they had received. That guy paid 1120 Rank Two Spirit Stones for everything, which was a good value for this world. That was definitely enough to last until Venasi City, at least.

'Everyone's efforts during our training paid off. At least no one can be considered a burden as long as we keep gathering more of these Cores.'

Following that, Rean's group went to one of the city's exits. Obviously, they soon found out that the gates had been closed, which didn't surprise them. The same thing happened in Kastran City, after all. Not to mention that they really made a show just a while ago.

"There are probably a few guys using Soul Power to look for us around the gates. We can't use them."

Their group then went somewhere else where no one was looking. Of course, Roan didn't try to jump over the walls this time since he didn't want to be ambushed twice.

*Ouch!*

Suddenly, Frandin felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck before his vision went dark. Following that, Rean and Roan put him into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm before entering it themselves. 

"Oh! You two are already back."

Obviously, Malaka and the others noticed when the two of them had appeared.

[I saw everything outside. The Circuitry Teleport Formation is ready for use.]

Rean smiled in response.

"Thank you, Sister Orb."

Rean also took the chance to explain the change in plans to everyone and pass them their share of Spirit Stones.

Rank Two Spirit Stones could only carry them up to 300 kilometers in any direction. However, they didn't need that much. Just enough to appear a few kilometers away from the city.

The Circuitry Teleport Formation then activated, making the twins disappear from the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. The next time they looked outside, they were once again falling from the skies. Rean then brought Kentucky out of the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm for them to fly away.

*Chick? Chick! Chick! Chick!*

Kentucky then looked at them with an angry expression. Obviously, he didn't like to be summoned in such a manner.

*Pah!*

Roan then slapped the back of his head.

"Stop complaining. You just sleep, eat, and sleep again. Shut up and do some work."

Rean couldn't help but laugh as Kentucky begrudgingly opened his wings and began to fly in the distance.

"Alright. Do you want to go to Venasi City by foot again, or should I just head straight there with Kentucky?"

Roan shook his head as he said.

"Just fly with Kentucky. Everyone trained a lot on our way to Fhanzen, so they just need time to cultivate now. Not to mention that Calina and Malaka had just made a breakthrough. They need a few days to get used to their new level of combat prowess."

"Also, even if you are keeping the camouflage skills up while flying with Kentucky, make sure to cultivate as well. We don't need to make our foundation any sturdier for the moment."

Rean didn't mind before Roan sat by his side and began to cultivate as well. As everyone knew, they needed each other's elements to cultivate, so Roan couldn't simply return to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm.

That being said, Kentucky made its way to Vanesi City high in the skies while Rean kept him camouflaged with his skill.

In Fhanzen City, Jamil had just finished setting up his Soul Power skill to find Rean and Roan's location through the energy left behind in their attacks. Back in Kastran City, he was afraid that Roan was trying to lure him and his subordinates out of the city, so he didn't do it. However, he did have Lucas' forces and his own this time. 

Suddenly, some kind of black and white energy began to leave the body of the man Rean and Roan had killed. It hovered in the air for a few seconds before Jamil's Soul Power fused with them. Following that, the energy was compressed into a tiny point and entered his forehead.

Unfortunately for him, the moment the energy made contact with his soul, Jamil felt like he was being eaten alive.

*Arrrrghh!*

Immediately, he used his Spiritual Energy to block the energy's effects as his forehead let out cold sweat.

'Just what is this energy? It almost eroded my soul. If I delayed a second longer, it definitely would have caused damage.'

Obviously, that was Roan's Dark Element. 

Still, Jamil didn't give up and slowly felt the energy. Although the process was a lot slower, he at least succeeded in using his technique. 

"So far!"

Jamil then looked at Lucas before saying.

"They escaped the city and are moving away. Quick, before they leave the range of my tracking skill."

Lucas was surprised to hear that his target had escaped after everything had been locked down. However, he put those thoughts behind and took flight. They didn't have time to gather their subordinates since they left them guarding the city walls. Without any other choice, Jamil and Lucas had to burst forward on their own.