Death... and me

Rean believed that Celso's group would definitely pay very close attention to their surroundings this time. Perhaps they would be able to find their group, which would definitely cause trouble in the future. Unless, of course, they fought Celso's group and got rid of them. It's just that everyone in their five-person group was at the Elemental Transformation Realm, so it would be a complicated thing to do so with no victory guaranteed. Even if they could win, killing the other party would be another story altogether.

However, Roan didn't seem to care about it. 'Let's follow Celso again. That's our best choice.'

'Why?' Hurio Rean, Kentucky, and Lilia asked in response.

Roan then explained, 'Simple. First of all, the marks are only given to the people the dragon finds to be the most worthy. If we follow another group, we might not receive any marks at all, depending on their talents. Also, Celso had definitely warned the other Dragon Tail Brotherhood members about what happened, so the other guys will still keep an eye out. Last but not least, we need to follow them to see if they really know where the pools are located or if it's just a coincidence that they found the first one.'

Rean and the others had to admit Roan was right. 'Alright, then. Let's pretend that we're leaving before Celso's group does.'

Everyone jumped on Kentucky's back before flashing into the distance. Celso, obviously, noticed that, as did most of the other groups still remaining. They all thought that Rean's group was the same as the others who left. They couldn't resist staying in this place for too long, so they wanted to reach the exit.

However, after the twins made sure no one was looking anymore, Rean activated his Light bending skill and asked Kentucky to go back. By the time they arrived, the rest of the groups had already separated, heading somewhere else by themselves.

It wasn't a problem for Kentucky, though. He could see further than most, so he still managed to find the direction Celso's group was heading in. 'Fortunately, they didn't change the composition of Celso's group. They're still the same five members.'

'That's to be expected,' Rean replied. 'Even though they're from the same organization, everyone there wants to gather the marks. If there's even a small chance that joining Celso would lead to losing the second mark, the rest of the members from other groups definitely won't join him.'

With Kentucky's vision and Rean's Light bending skill, they were able to stay hidden from Celso's group as they followed Celso and the others. Sure enough, Celso's group seemed to be a lot more aware of their surroundings, afraid that they were being followed again. However, Divine Sense in the Lost Star Realm was still blurry, so they had to rely on other detection abilities.

Then again, even though everything was chaotic in the range of the volcanoes, there was still wind and other things. With that said, Rean and Roan guided Kentucky so that their smell wouldn't be carried over to Celso's group.

The sound made by Kentucky as he flapped his wings didn't escape at all as their group also kept a Divine Energy barrier up. All in all, they left no clues left on the ground since they were flying, no Divine Sense, no sound, no sight visible from the naked eye, and no smell. If Celso's group was full of Transition Realm cultivators, they would still most likely not find Rean and the others with such preparations.

However, a few hours after Kentucky began to follow Celso's group, Kentucky noticed a shadow flashing somewhere nearby. It was very fast, making it really hard to detect. If not because of his improved sight, Kentucky would have missed that shadow entirely. 'Rean, Roan, there's someone else following Celso's group.'

'What?! Who is it?' Rean asked.

'I don't know,' Kentucky replied. 'It moved way too quickly, trying to stay out of sight. All I can say is that the one following Celso's group is much stronger than we are. That wasn't the kind of speed we can achieve with our cultivation levels.'

Hurio couldn't help but ask, 'Could it be that someone else is also trying to steal Celso's group mark?'

Roan immediately shook his head, saying, 'I don't think that's the case. Most likely, that's someone from the Dragon Tail Brotherhood. In fact, it should be one of their Void Tempering Realm elders.'

How could Rean and the others not know what that meant? The guy was keeping out of sight so that he could watch over Celso and the others. Celso's group got robbed once, so they might get robbed again during the time they get their second mark.

'I see...' Rean noticed something else. 'They hope that the people who stole the first marks will appear again. After all, four members of Celso's group are still without the first mark. Since the marks can be stolen once their owner is killed, that's their best option. Don't forget that we believe we have no time to return to the first level anymore. That's their only choice unless they decide to attack the other top ten powers. However, if they decide to do that, they will definitely wait until everyone arrives at the third level so that they can avoid meaningless conflict.'

Roan and the others agreed with Rean on that. 'Of course, this is all speculation. That shadow might be some ancient beast from the second level. Or maybe it's someone from the other top ten powers. Let's not forget we also have cultivators who are not part of any of the top ten powers. As far as we know, any of these options are possible, or maybe none of them at all.'

Lilia then remembered something. 'We still don't know if Void Tempering Realm experts can find low-level cultivators with their natural spatial detection ability. However, the shadow that's following Celso's group doesn't seem to have noticed us yet. If Void Tempering Realm cultivators can really find enemies with lower cultivation levels through that ability, then its range isn't that big.'

Rean's group looked at each other after that. There was only one way to find out, and that was to get closer. It's just that they definitely wouldn't do such an idiotic move. 'Let's stay away as far as possible. Kentucky, you should be able to detect that shadow easier now that you have noticed its presence. Make sure you don't get too close. We'll eventually find out its identity.'

Kentucky nodded after hearing that. 'Understood.'