Death... and me

Still, there was one thing that Rean didn't understand.

"How exactly did they find that I had something to do with the Umbral Energy thing?"

Tiria pondered a bit, and an idea popped into her mind.

"Now that Nana is healed, elder Javiu let her free to fly around. Nana is a quasi Stage Five Demon Beast, so the sect's territory is too small for her. When she goes, she travels several thousand kilometers before she comes back again."

Rean understood where Tiria was coming from.

"I see. Nana had also been hit by the Umbral Energy attacks. Also, the pills necessary to heal such a severe Umbral Energy Injury was too expensive. It wasn't worth it using it on Nana, a Demon Beast. That being said, Nana shouldn't be flying around anytime soon. I'm sure our sect has a few eyes on the other sects. In the same way, the other sects have eyes on us."

"A Stage Four Snow Crane that should be lying on her nest without being able to fly was now as lively as ever. Obviously, the Umbral Sect would notice it if we let her out, which we did. If the Umbral Sect wasn't made of idiots, they would reach the conclusion that we healed the Umbral Energy somehow. However, they know their Umbral Energy very well and how expensive it is to heal with pills. They didn't believe we paid so much to put Nana back on her feet."

"After that, they only had to investigate what happened in the Beast Taming Faction. After matching the fact that I was on duty there, that I have my Light Element power, and that the Crane was healed around the same time, they reached the conclusion that I was somehow involved in it."

Roan agreed with Rean in that conjecture.

"Rean is most likely right. Now we know the underlying cause. The question is, what will we do now? Rean and I can't simply stay inside the sect for the rest of our lives. Our cultivation would definitely stagnate like that."

Mia didn't seem very concerned about it, though.

"That isn't too hard to resolve. People just don't need to know that you two left. If you decide to take a mission, talk with Hulian. I'll have him fetch the mission in secret for you two. After that, you just need to leave the sect without anyone noticing. Our sect has several different exits that no one knows about. You can simply use it to both come and go. I can guarantee that as long as you don't reveal yourselves on purpose, others won't know about it."

Rean and Roan nodded, satisfied.

"That's good then."

Mia then smiled coldly.

"However, we can't possibly lose this chance to give those idiots a lesson, now can we? We have the ultimate baits on our side at the moment, so we should use them. It will also make them think twice before put more people after your two."

Roan couldn't help but look at the sect master with a new light. If Mia hadn't offered it herself, he would definitely have brought this option to the table. However, he was satisfied that she also thought the same thing.

"Alright, next time you decide to go out on a mission, make sure to tell Hulian in advance. He will inform us right after. You two are dismissed."

The twins nodded before turning around to leave. However, just as they were about to go through the door, Mia said a few more words.

"Oh, right. Malaka, that girl, she's quite good."

Rean and Roan didn't stop for even a second, nor did they turn around. They simply kept moving forward while saying.

"We know."

After they left, Tiria looked back at the Sect Master.

"Sorry, Sect Master. I should have thought about Nana's issue. If I didn't let her free to fly around, no one would have noticed Rean's Light Element ability."

Mia shook his head.

"It's okay. Fortunately, Rean is a Light Element user. That is something we probably won't see again in our lives. That's also why the Umbral Sect isn't being too bold. It's only one Rean, there is no other, nor there will be. Besides, I'm looking forward to the bait plan."

Tiria was taken aback.

"Is Sect Master coming too?"

Mia nodded.

"If I kill a few people that shouldn't have been around, no one will have anything to say, right?"

Mia then got up.

"Call Malaka over. I have a few things to teach her now that I'm her Master."

Tiria nodded, and the two girls left the room right after.

Rean and Roan made their way back to their room after that.

"What do you think?"

Roan pondered a bit before saying.

"It seems like we are fine now. The worst problem would be an enemy in the shadows. As long as we know who they are, we have the advantage. Anyway, we can bother about this next time we go on a mission. For now, let's enter the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm and check what happened inside."

Rean nodded, and the twins focused. Right after, the two of them disappeared from their rooms.

As soon as they entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, they noticed a big difference.

"This..."

[Oh! You are here! What do you think?]

Rean and Roan mouths twitched. Right in front of them, there was a building. However, what really caught their attention was the words on the entrance board.

-Bathhouse.-

"Sister Orb, was the upgrade related to this... thing?"

[Yes. Now you can take a bath anytime you want. Amazing, right?!]

Rean and Roan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Amazing your head! What kind of useless upgrade is it?! Are you messing with us?!"

[Hmph! Idiots! Do you really think that a Bathhouse created by the Soul Gem System would be useless? Why don't you enter it first before jumping to conclusions?]

Rean and Roan were taken aback. Still, they looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright, let's see what is so good about it."

They entered the building, and sure enough, there was a bath in there. However, the water inside shined with semi-transparent white and dark colors. Rean and Roan didn't need to be geniuses to understand that it had something to do with their Elemental Affinity.

The two quickly took off their clothes and only left the underwear. After that, they entered it to test the benefits.

"I can't feel anything."

"Me neither."

However, it didn't last for long. Rean then began to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Isn't this way too hot?"

Roan, on the other hand, shook his head.

"Hot? Are you crazy? This thing is freezing!"

Only then did they notice what was happening. Their bodies were absorbing the white and dark 'colors' in the water!

[Hahaha! Did you notice? That's the special ability of the bathhouse.]

However, Rean and Roan felt like they wanted to leave straight away!

"This is too hot!"

"This is too cold!"

[There go the two babies complaining about a little bit of pain again. Stop nagging and stay inside. Your bodies are absorbing the Yin Yang essence in the water, so make sure to not waste it.]

Rean then asked while gritting his teeth.

"What is this about?"

[The essence can strengthen your bodies. Think about it as the Bone Upgrades of the Reward System. However, it is created for your flesh instead. The best thing is that it is not a reward. This bathhouse can be accessed anytime you want!]

Rean felt helpless already.

"Sure enough, it can only be good if there is pain. No, wait, these words don't seem right."

[I didn't expect that you two were masochists.]

"Shut up! I didn't mean it like that!"

Roan also complained, but for another reason, though.

"Can't you two be quiet? I need to concentrate on absorbing this thing before I freeze to death!"

Rean couldn't help but say.

"Death is freezing to death? I didn't know such a thing was possible..."

Roan almost vomited blood. If the two of them were not passing through this, he would have definitely sent Rean flying with a kick.

Sister Orb, on the other hand, laughed out loud.

[Hahaha!]

Obviously, that didn't make Roan feel any better.

The process took around ten minutes to finish. After that, the Yin Yang essence in the water finally disappeared. Because of that, the water became utterly transparent too. Seeing that everything was over, Rean and Roan exited the water.

"Phew... well, let's see what changed."

---

Author's note: If you like the story so far, consider leaving a few Power Stones to help the story. =X