Death... and me

On the way, Weren and Rean talked quite a bit. As for Roan and Tuve, they didn't say much. Malaka, of course, did what she could to help with the passing time. However, in the end, they spent the majority of the time cultivating.

Every now and then, when Kentucky recovered his energy, Malaka would hop on him, and they would follow the Sky Eagle while flying on their own. As time passed, Kentucky got more used to controlling the Light Element to sustain its body strength to keep flying.

There were several Flying Demon Birds in the Dalamu Sect that could already fly for several hundreds of kilometers without rest. Those Demon Birds were also at the same stage as Kentucky. However, the difference was that they were mostly adults, while Kentucky was still a half year old Minokawa. At his age, none of those Stage Two Demon Birds could even dream of carrying someone while flying.

In the end, Kentucky was able to keep flying with Malaka on his back for 200 or so kilometers. That was basically the fruits of his constant training these past few days. If Malaka wasn't weighing him down, Reliance believed that Kentucky would be able to keep flying for at least double that distance.

The only one who didn't do anything during the entire journey was Reliance. He was already at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, so cultivation had no meaning for him anymore. His only choice was to enter the Soul Transformation Realm or die of old age. Well, Reliance didn't seem to care either way.

Finally, after 13 days of nonstop flight, the group was able to see the Profound Abyss in the distance. As mentioned before, the Abyss stretched out for hundreds of kilometers, so it was more or less easy to see it from up high in the skies.

Other than that, Rean's group was also able to see a faint yellow light that covered the entire extent of the Abyss as far as they could see. Those were the restrictions put by the Imperial Family experts to prevent anyone from entering. It wouldn't attack the cultivators if they tried to enter, but they wouldn't be able to pass through it either. Others said that only experts above the Soul Transformation Realm could force their way in. However, such old monsters had little interest in a kids' training ground.

The Sky Eagle then began to follow the Abyss' line for another hour or so. After all, they arrived at the Profound Abyss, but not at the gathering point. To be more specific, the place where the entrance was located.

Finally, Rean's group began to notice something akin to a small settlement ahead. There, it was possible to see several experts and demon beasts coming and going. Some were flying, while others were moving on the surface. Still, there were a lot of them.

Reliance then patted the side of the Sky Eagle's head, who immediately began to descend. Of course, the Eagle was quite big, so it had to stop outside the settlement.

There, several cultivators immediately came forward to receive Reliance's group.

"Senior, shall we take care of your Sky Eagle?"

Reliance wasn't surprised by that. Many sects were using demon beasts to come to this place, so they needed people to care for them.

"It's okay. It can take care of itself."

Reliance then murmured something close to the Sky Eagle's ears and got down. Rean and the others did the same, leaving the Eagle's back. Soon after, the Sky Eagle spread its wings and took flight once more. From the looks of it, Reliance gave it permission to fly around on its own until he called it back.

"Alright, let's go into the settlement. There are still three days before the Profound Abyss opens, so you can take a look around. If you want, you can even have a small sparring session with the other participants as long as there are no serious wounds inflicted."

"Spar?"

Reliance nodded as they entered the settlement.

"The young ones like yourselves like to make bets before the aperture of the Profound Abyss. There are things like Affinity Level Bets, Battle Bets, Talent Bets, etc... You can even find a few side occupation challenges against the young disciples of the other organizations. Oh, right. Rank Three Spirit Stones are quite hard for you guys to get at your level. However, this place definitely has it. All the participants are the geniuses of their own powers, after all. I believe you all have a few of those as well. You can simply challenge others who are also willing to use their own."

As Reliance walked with Rean's group, his appearance caught others' attention. After all, black people were very rare on this side of the world. Then again, Reliance simply treated all of them as air.

"Anyway, I'm going to find the representatives of the Imperial Family that are taking care of the Abyss this time. I need to register you guys ahead of time to prevent issues. If you need me, just ask Zunzun to call me out. As for where you will stay... well... you are all cultivators. I'm sure you can deal with a few days out in the open."

The Fire Tanager on Reliance's shoulder then flew out and landed on Rean's shoulder. Without wasting any time, Reliance disappeared from where he was. The group was then left alone.

Weren looked around with an excited expression before saying.

"I have a few Rank Three Spirit Stones, so I'm going to see if I can grab a few more. See you later!"

Tuve wasn't any slower.

"The same for me, later..."

The two of them left as fast as Reliance. They couldn't be blamed. After all, Rank Three Spirit Stones were really hard to get at their level. They wanted to use this time to see if they could increase the scant amount they had. Not everyone had an agreement with the Sect Master to exchange lower-ranked Spirit Stones for higher ones like Rean.

"What do we do now?"

Roan looked around and saw several stalls selling cultivation related items. Some of them even had skill manuals on display. Surely enough, this was a great chance to find several items and skills that you usually wouldn't be able to find. Roan, of course, was interested in the skill manuals. The more references he had, the better he could work around with creating his Death Style Skills.

"I'm going to take a look around the stalls. I'll let you know if something happens."

Right after, Roan began to wander around the smalls.

Rean then looked at Malaka on Kentucky's back.

"Well, I'm pretty much free. What do you want to do?"

Malaka was delighted to hear that question.

"Then, then! Let's go to the Affinity Tests! Master said that my Water Affinity had been improving at an alarming rate that even she can't believe it. I can get a lot of Rank Three Spirit Stones, too, if I bet with others!"

Rean didn't have to think much to understand why. Back then, Sister Orb told the twins that her long time standing close to Roan had also affected her Yin. Because of that, her affinity with Water, which was also that of the Yin element, had improved much faster than others.

Rean then looked at Malaka with a doubtful expression.

"Do you even have Rank Three Spirit Stones?"

Sure enough, Malaka immediately shook her head.

"I don't, but you do, right? Right?!"

Rean's mouth twitched in response.

"And why should I give my Spirit Stones for you to bet?"

Malaka then showed a playful smile before saying.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell my senior sisters in the Blue Orchid District who the Perverted Dogs were."

Rean almost vomited blood!

"Yo-you! How can you blackmail your older brother like that? Have you no shame? Just where did you learn to be like this?"

Malaka answered straight away.

"It was Master. She said that shame can't put food in your belly."

Rean was speechless. The image of the cold and aloof Sect Master in his mind suddenly began to crumble apart.

"Hmph! Since that is the case, I'll ask Roan to increase your training session by two times. As long as I pay for it, I'm sure he will too."

Malaka's expression changed in an instant. She couldn't tell who was worse with their Sparta-like training, Roan, or her Master.

"That's not fair!"

Rean shrugged his shoulders, though.

"Life isn't fair. Deal with it!"

Malaka then hugged Kentucky while showing a sad expression. Of course, Rean knew Malaka better than herself. That was just her way of making others feel pity for her.

Yes...

He knew it...

He really knew...

Still...

"Ahhhh! Fine! Let's go! I'll pay for you to try the Affinity Competition against the others. But you better not lose, okay? These Spirit Stones are quite expensive, even for me."

Malaka's expression immediately transformed as she jumped from Kentucky's back to give Rean a hug.

"Thank you, Rean! You are the best brother ever!"

Rean could only sigh in response.

"How long will you act like a spoiled brat? You are already 11 years old, you know?"

Malaka shook her head as she replied.

"I'm not a brat anymore. I have already entered puberty."

Rean felt even more helpless.

"Is that something a girl should say out loud?"

"Why not? It's not like I don't know how things work. I also have Spiritual Sense, you know? Senior Sister Amanda also explained a lot of things to me while we were out."

Rean knew very well what Malaka was talking about. During missions or when going out for whatever reason, one would often pass through cities. Using one's Spiritual Sense during it was simply common sense. After all, Spiritual Sense simply made it way too easy to find one's way in those places. However, it would naturally make the cultivators catch a few couples here and there inside their houses during their 'private' moments.

It wasn't something a cultivator could prevent from happening, though. It would get even worse as one's Spiritual Sense increased in range with cultivation. Malaka was already at the Peak of the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment. Rean would have to be too naive to think that Malaka hadn't seen such things before.

"Ahem... Fine, you are not a brat anymore then. Let's go."

Malaka smiled as she held Rean's arm while they walked.

Kentucky felt somewhat jealous and also rubbed its head at Rean, asking for some attention.

Rean then laughed helplessly as he also caressed Kentucky's head. The small group of three soon disappeared right in the middle of the crowd.