Death... and me

No one there could remember the Sacred Land coming out to fight for the recruitment of a disciple. The disciples came naturally to them, so it was definitely a sight to behold. Could it be that the Dark and Light Elements were really that good for one of the Ten Greats to come out? Everyone wanted to hear Etherian's reason.

"A reason, huh?" Etherian pondered over it for a bit before saying, "To be honest, I'm just curious. You two can obviously exchange elements with one another. I want to see how far you can go with this weird ability of yours."

Everyone found that reason a little strange. In the Realm of Gods, two cultivators exchanging elements with rare techniques wasn't unheard of. The Sacred Land itself, although rare, had a few cultivation techniques that did the same thing. These kinds of techniques would usually be cultivated by couples or two cultivators who trusted each other a lot. That shouldn't be a reason for Etherian to come out to fight for Roan, though.

Roan narrowed his eyes after hearing that. From what he could see, Etherian wasn't lying. However, Roan was sure that Etherian's words were only a small part of the real motives Etherian had to intervene in Roan's business. It's just that he couldn't figure out what the rest was. Well, he wouldn't dig deeper into it for now. It was better to wait until a better moment showed up as there were too many eyes at them at this moment.

Etherian then finished by pointing his finger at Gille, adding, "Besides, this brat here wants your body. I wouldn't go there if I were you."

Gille's face went pale for a moment when he heard those words. "Wh-What?! What is senior talking about? I want him to be part of our sect, that's all."

Gille couldn't help but let out a bit of cold sweat. After all, a body transfer wasn't anything easy. In fact, everyone in the surroundings knew that as well.

"Wait! Is it possible to take someone's body?"

"It is... with the right techniques."

"Indeed. However, no one would do such an idiotic thing. Such techniques come with a huge backlash. Unless you're about to die for some reason, you definitely don't want to leave your body behind."

"Gille is the Sect Master of the Blood Path Sect, isn't he? Why would he throw away his enormous cultivation? After all, such techniques don't transfer one's cultivation over."

"Could it be that he's dying?"

Hearing everyone's words gave Gille the chance he needed. "Everyone is correct. That's why Senior Etherian is wrong. I would never risk losing my cultivation and status to take this youngster's body. It's just ridiculous to think that I would make such a commitment. And before anyone asks, no, I'm not dying. I'm very healthy, thank you."

Everyone around nodded in response. Even if those words came from a Sect Master of the evil path, his words were reasonable. None of them could detect any problems with Gille's body that indicated he was dying either.

However, Rean and Roan were different.

'It seems like Rival- ahem, I mean, Etherian hit the bullseye,' Rean said.

Roan agreed with him. 'Yes, I can tell that. However, there's a problem with the backlash, so why would he want my body?'

[Could it be that he's part of one of the races that can change bodies, like Langara?] Sister Orb wondered.

That was the only thing Rean and Roan could think of as well. But then again, they also knew how rare such races were. Wasn't it too much of a coincidence to find two members of those races in such a short time? They could only look at Etherian and wait for his answer.

Etherian didn't deny everyone's doubts, though. "You're all right. There are high prices to be paid when taking someone's body. However, you have to calculate the pros and cons when trying to do such a thing. For him, the pros definitely overcome the cons. A body with a natural Dark Element Affinity...hell, if I was part of the evil path, even I would feel tempted. The majority wouldn't do such a thing exactly because of the price. However, some think it's worth it. Besides...if he waits too long, Roan's cultivation will reach greater heights, and transferring bodies would be even riskier. If there's a moment for him to do it, it is now."

"I don't want to transfer to another body!" Gille shouted in anger. That sudden burst caught everyone by surprise. Even Roan had to admit it was a very convincing response.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Roan's head as he said, "You don't want to transfer bodies since you would lose too much...but what about someone else's soul? Someone that even a person from the evil path like you can trust. Perhaps...a son?"

Gille gritted his teeth. "So what?" With that, Roan finally got to the root of the matter. Gille wanted to give a family member the perfect evil path body!

Gille then looked at everyone around and said, "Are you all going to condemn me? I can see at least three cultivators here who are using someone else's body at this very moment."

"Of course not!" Etherian laughed heartily. "The evil path always had these kinds of things. In fact, even our side of the cultivation path has a few techniques like that. You said you can see at least three people using someone else's body? I can see seven. Hahaha!"

"No one will condemn you. At least I won't. The evil path is necessary for our continent, so you can take as many bodies as you need. As long as it doesn't affect the Huring Continent or the Sacred Land, who cares? If the evil path was really something bad, why would the heavens let it exist? That's how I think of it, at least."

Etherian then patted Rean and Roan's shoulders as he continued, "However, I told you already. I want these twins. With that being said, I can't allow you to take one of them away."

Roan couldn't help but think after hearing that, 'This guy is good. He completely avoided the question, and no one bothered to ask back. Elemental Exchange isn't anything that impressive, so what's the reason behind his interest? When he pointed out the body change, everyone simply forgot the rest. Forget it. I don't believe he will tell us right now.'