Death... and me

Blansin then took an item out that Erla couldn't recognize. Following that, he poured Divine Energy inside. It was then that Erla felt her body go numb all of a sudden. It wasn't just physically but also on the energy side of things. She couldn't use Divine Energy, Elements, or even Soul Power. "T-this... What are you doing?!"

Blansin's expression wasn't like someone who enjoyed it, though. "I'm sorry, Erla, but I must take it back for the sake of my Silver Horn Sturgeon Race."

Above in the skies, Min wanted to go help Erla straight away. However, Rean quickly held him back. 'Hold on, idiot! We still don't know what he wants. If you stop him and don't find out an answer, there might be even more Silver Horn Sturgeons coming after Erla. In fact, chances are that much higher-level ones are outside the Jhiod Sect's building. They didn't join this hunt because the tests don't allow anyone above the Void Tempering Realm.'

Min felt a chill on his back when he thought about that. Rean was right. It was obvious that Blansin wanted something very important. However, neither he nor Erla herself knew what it was. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided to observe further.

Back down, Blansin sighed in response, asking, "I think you have the right to know at least. Don't you think it's too far-fetched that your father told you to join the Jhiod Sect?"

Erla narrowed her eyes in response. "What do you mean? You know very well I don't have much use for the White Scaled Carp race as a whole. That's why he allowed me to come."

Blansin shook his head, telling her, "Come on. Even I know your father better than that. That father of yours would have never allowed you to try something as dangerous as the Jhiod Sect's test, let alone leave the White Scaled Carp race. That's also why you always had enough resources to reach your level with your talent. He even allowed you to get together with that human even though the other members of the race were obviously against it. He loves you way too much. Sure, you might not be as talented as me, but you aren't that bad. In the end, you don't just find a Void Tempering Realm demon beast in every corner, you know?"

Rean looked at Min far in the skies, asking, 'So her father was not against it?'

Min nodded with a dark expression. 'It's true. He absolutely doesn't like me at all. However, because he didn't know how to say no to Erla, he eventually accepted the two of us. However, Blansin's right. He was basically the only one who did. The rest continued to look down at us there, so we decided to leave. Even now, I find it strange that he would allow Erla to leave for the Jhiod Sect's test since he went as far as to accept our relationship just so that Erla wouldn't leave her race.'

Blansin continued from there. "Let's be honest, the travel to reach this test is very, very expensive as well. I only came here with a few elders, and it cost us a fortune in teleports." Not everyone was as rich as Rean, after all. "But lo and behold, your father didn't mind forking out the Divine Stones necessary to get to this place for both you AND your husband. Are you sure you didn't find it even the least bit odd? Think well, was everything really okay back in the White Scaled Carp race before you left?"

Erla's expression turned worse after that. Now that Blansin had asked, she thought back to the time she decided to leave. For some reason, her father seemed quite distressed. Not only he, but the other few high-level elders were the same. However, that was just about it. The rest of the race seemed to be pretty fine.

Blansin noticed her change. "It seems like you finally noticed something wrong. No, to be more specific, you did notice something wrong back there but ignored it at first. Living with Min there wasn't easy, so you were just glad your father allowed you to leave. As for the rest, you didn't pay much heed to it. However, he gave you something he shouldn't have. Otherwise, we wouldn't have come for you. Don't get the wrong idea. I truly consider you my friend. Believe it or not, I tried to think about other ways to get this problem resolved. Unfortunately, there's no other way."

Blansin finally entered the main topic. "I need the Clendes Sea Heart that your White Scaled Carp race has."

"Clendes Sea Heart?!" Both Erla and Min exclaimed when they heard that name. Fortunately, Rean kept a Divine Energy barrier around Min and him. That allowed the sound to reach them but not to leave. Otherwise, Blansin would have definitely heard Min's voice just now due to how shocked he was. Of course, Blansin definitely heard Erla's loud voice.

Erla immediately shook her head, though. "B-But, the Clendes Sea Heart is the treasure of my race. Look at me! Do you think I would ever have something as important as that?! Are you crazy! First of all, why didn't you just ask me? I would have told you if you had asked. I don't have it. I don't have it at all. I would never be allowed to get even close to it!"

Blansin agreed with Erla. "Indeed, you would never be allowed to carry such an item. That's exactly why you have it. Usually, no one would think about you carrying this thing."

"I told you I don't have it," Erla stood her ground. "I'm not lying. I didn't receive it from my father. If I had, do you think I would leave the White Scaled Carp race? Chances are that the elders would kill me before that!"

Blansin shook his head, saying, "I know you are not lying. Your father told me that. It's just that you yourself didn't even know you had it."

Rean above was completely lost, so he asked Min with a Divine Sense message. 'What's the Clendes Sea Heart?'