Death... and me

Frandin couldn't help but ask.

'Isn't that a bad move? It was difficult for others to trust me before. But now that I've obtained a Rank Five Bloodline Mark, it should be possible to convince my race that you are a threat. Just the fact that you can appear here without them knowing is more than enough for them to consider it a huge problem.'

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

'Hahaha! I still doubt very much that they will believe such a thing. Even if they do, so what? Zasfins had never thought much about us humans, so they won't put as much importance on it as you're saying, especially because of our cultivation. After all, we're just a small group. Anyway, it wouldn't be a good thing for you either. The best option for you is to keep mum and go back to your city. With a Rank Five Bloodline Mark, you should have a very good life from now on. Because of that, I also doubt that you will say that you got this because you were helped by humans.'

That was also why Roan didn't care much. After passing all the cities and investigating the Zasfin Race, he had concluded that the Zasfins would never consider them a problem. At the very least, not until they find out about the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm and their Circuitry Teleport Formation. Of course, to find out about it, they would need to enter it. Naturally, that won't happen.

However, Frandin insisted.

'Still, isn't it better to prevent it?'

Roan looked at Frandin with cold eyes.

'I was letting you leave as payment for all the help so far and because there's little risk to us anyway. However, are you perhaps asking us to kill you, then? If that's the case, I don't mind it at all.'

Frandin immediately felt a chill.

'Of course not!'

Suddenly, Rean stepped back a little as he looked at Frandin with disgust on his face.

'Could it be... that you're actually a masochist?'

Roan's eyes widened after hearing that and immediately jumped back as well. Sure enough, it looked like that, right?

Frandin felt like crying! 

'Who the hell's a masochist? You're masochists! Your entire families are masochists!'

Rean and Roan looked at each other before looking back at him.

'Then stop beating around the bush. Just tell us what the hell you want, for fuck's sake.'

Frandin madly scratched the back of his head as he replied.

'Aghhhh! Fine! I don't want to leave yet, alright?! My cultivation and Soul Power have been improving more than ever during this journey. Why would I leave such great conditions? Just let me stay around. I won't bother you much.'

Rean and Roan then took a few steps further back from Frandin after that.

'So you really are a masochist! Sorry, bro. But we don't dabble in that area.'

If Rean and Roan weren't so much stronger than him, Frandin would have definitely given them a beating.

'Fuck you! I'm not a masochist! Sure, Roan's training schedule is hellish, but I'm doing it for my cultivation! Who the hell likes pain? Stop coming up with these weird ideas! It's all for my own benefit! You keep me around, and I'll keep playing the owner role every time we need to enter a city. Isn't that good enough? Why are you making it look like I'm weird?'

Rean sighed in relief.

'Oh... So that's what you meant. Bro, you gave me a fright just now.'

Frandin's mouth twitched in response.

'It was you who got the wrong idea! First of all, how the hell did you instantly assume that I'm a masochist?! What's wrong with your head?!'

Rean laughed, pretending that he didn't care at all.

'Hahaha! It's fine, it's fine. Let's just say that you didn't hear anything, and I didn't say anything. How about that?'

Now that they found out Frandin wasn't a masochist, Roan then entered the main topic.

'Whatever. Since Frandin wants to stay, that will save us some trouble. Rank Five Bloodline Marks have pretty big standards in the Zasfin world, which will help a lot. Besides, capturing someone with a similar rank would be annoying. Such Zasfins would most likely have too much pride to accept being controlled by us.'

It was then that Frandin understood a point.

'Wait! You were already intending to swap me for someone else, weren't you?!'

Roan snorted, not hiding his intentions at all.

'Isn't that obvious? Do you really think I believed you would succeed in the Rank Five Bloodline Trials? Wake up, idiot! Anyone would definitely bet that you would fail.'

Rean immediately nodded. No one thought that Frandin could succeed at all in his Rank Five Bloodline Trial. If not because of the abnormal conditions of his test, such a thing shouldn't have happened.

Frandin's pride couldn't help but get another hit. Well... it didn't hurt that much this time since his pride had been getting beaten up ever since he joined their group. As much as he hated it, he already got used to being looked down upon by now. Besides... he was indeed much weaker than them even though he was of similar age.

'Whatever... I will just ignore these comments from now on.'

Roan then threw him another poison pill.

'Since that's your choice, take the pill again. As much as you might be telling the truth, I can't afford to be wrong in the end. Of course, this is up to you. If you don't want to take the poison pill, we will simply let you go when we're out.'

Roan then continued.

'Also, I will warn you. Things will only get harder and more dangerous from here and out. You simply have no idea how idiotic it will be if you really decide to come along. Chances are that you WILL die at some point. Last but not least, this pill is even more potent than the other pill I've been giving you so far. I have no choice since your cultivation is increasing. Trust me when I say that if you fail to take the antidote, you will experience an ending worse than any death you could ever hope for.'

That was the truth. Let alone trying to do something for the girls and boys of the Bloodline Trials. Their own future was bound to be as crazy as one could possibly imagine. After all, they were the Soul Gem System's Owners.

Frandin couldn't help but show a hint of fear as he looked at the pill in his hand. It's Roan that we're talking about here. Frandin was absolutely sure that Roan didn't exaggerate in his descriptions at all. However, determination filled his mind a second later. If that's the price for a chance to become much stronger, he might as well embrace it all.

*Gulp!*

In a single go, the pill went down his throat. In the end, he was still a Zasfin, so he couldn't blame Roan for being careful. Besides, he would definitely have done something similar in Roan's shoes. Their own group's safety was still their top priority after all.

However, just as the pill reached his stomach, a burst of Light and Dark Element came out of it. Together with a huge amount of Spiritual Energy, those two elements began to run through all his meridians. Like what happened during the alchemist exam, the Light Element protected the meridians while the Dark Element destroyed all impurities. Thanks to the medicinal properties of the pill and those two elements, such a thing was possible. 

Frandin was shocked by that effect. However, he didn't have time to ponder about it as the energy of the pill ran through his body. He immediately sat down and used his own Spiritual Energy and even Soul Power to help the pill work.

Rean, on the other hand, smiled in Roan's direction as he said.

'Big brother likes to put up a strong front, but you're very gentle, aren't you?'

*Bang!*

*Clang!*

Roan immediately kicked Rean once again. However, Rean was ready for that this time and blocked Roan's attack.

'Hahaha! Why so mad? I'm just telling the truth here.'

Roan then brought out his White Star, which gave Rean a slight chill.

'Alright, alright! I'll stop. Man, you really can't take a joke.'

Roan snorted.

'Hmph! That's because you talk too much bullshit.'

Frandin didn't even see what was happening since his entire focus was on the pill's effect. The purification of his meridians was not the only thing it helped him with. As one could remember, that was Roan's Cross-Realm Pill. Naturally, its effects weren't just that. 

Frandin felt his bottleneck becoming weaker as time passed. The medicinal properties kept rushing into his dantian, making it even clearer. Frandin, of course, didn't let such a good chance pass up. He immediately took out his Spirit Stones and aimed for the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

*Boom!*

Sure enough, a burst of Spiritual Energy came out of his body sometime later. With that, the Spirit Stones dried out as Frandin's cultivation increased at a fast pace. It only stopped after it stabilized in the Late Stage.

*Phew...*

Frandin exhaled some air together with Spiritual Energy. Finally, he opened his eyes again, thinking about thanking Roan for this. However...

*Clang, clang, clang!*

*Crash!*

*Boom, boom, boom!*

For some reason, Rean and Roan were in a life-and-death battle against each other. Well, because there wasn't much space to maneuver, Roan clearly had the advantage. Rean was obviously suffering quite a bit there.

'Just... how did they end like that?'