Death... and me

Roan decided to simply ignore that.

"Forget that. We still have at least half a year's worth of time to cultivate, so focus on using this time as much as possible. Since you already accepted the political marriage thing, the problem that will come after the selection will be easier to handle."

Everyone nodded in response. The next ones closest to a breakthrough were Rean and Roan. Of course, they were still a few months away from gathering enough energy, even with the help of the Red Crystals. In fact, Malaka could be said to be catching up to them since their Spiritual Pool increased in size with every breakthrough. The others also increased in size, but not at the same level as them. Then again, that was one of the reasons why they can jump so many levels to fight, so they wouldn't complain about it.

As for Wulio, he had just achieved a breakthrough a few years ago into the Late Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. Because of that, it would take him much longer to accumulate enough energy for the next one. He was sure that he wouldn't be ready for the next decade at the very least.

And just like that, time continued to pass. Soon, the eight months were up. In fact, it had almost been nine months since Calina's breakthrough. Everyone could tell that the natural formation was practically gone by now. If one looked at the natural formation's core, they would see that it was littered with cracks. The intense red light it had in the past was almost gone, leaving just a faint red... or more like a black ball with a tinge of red.

It had lasted this long because the experts outside were aware that there would be a negotiation after the natural formation came down. That being said, they stopped attacking it, which increased the formation's lifespan near its end.

However, as everyone had their minds filled with those thoughts, the twins' minds were elsewhere.

[Good! This should be enough. As long as you follow the cultivation manual, you should have another easy breakthrough.]

Sister Orb, as always, observed the condition of their cultivation closely. It took longer than expected since they had a breakthrough too quickly last time. Nevertheless, they were still able to keep a very sturdy foundation, thanks to that. Of course, the life-absorbing crystals that Kentucky was eating helped a lot in that process. Unfortunately, there were only fifty over a year ago. Right now, not even a single one remained.

"Alright! Let's do this."

There wasn't much of a secret between stages. After all, they were within the same realm. That being said, the twins were very confident in their breakthrough.

However, Rean wanted to make sure it would work well, so he took out a few of their Rank Four Spiritual Stones. They were rare and hard to replenish, but if they don't use them even in a moment like this, what's the meaning of having them?

Energy rushed into Rean and Roan's Dantian like a torrential storm due to the stones' higher quality. Their Spiritual Pool soon overflowed, forcing it to increase in size once more. Obviously, the core inside their Dantians had increased in size and power as it also absorbed the pool's extra energy.

After some time, a burst of Spiritual Energy came from the twin's body, spreading outwards. As always, everyone around them perceived the breakthrough before ignoring it once more. They had seen way too many of these breakthroughs already.

"Phew... This cultivation technique really makes everything easier."

[Hmph! We're talking about a Cultivation Technique made by the Soul Gem System. Of course, it would work perfectly.]

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We understand. You don't need to say it every single time."

Roan ignored Rean and Sister Orb as he paid attention to the chaotic energy in his Dantian.

"No Foundation Stabilizing Pills for us. It'll be better for us if we take our time to calm it down the normal way."

Rean didn't mind.

"It's fine. We're only 24 years old (At least our bodies are). Plus, we're already in the Peak of the Core Formation Realm. There's no need to hurry. Don't forget that Core Formation Realm cultivators have 200 years to live."

Roan nodded and shook his head right after.

"That's true, but it's not that reassuring."

"Why is that?"

Sister Orb knew what Roan was talking about, so she answered before he could.

[Roan's right. That's because the higher your cultivation level, the longer you take to cultivate. Don't be fooled by the lifespan you have at the moment. What you're doing is basically accumulating lifespan to spend it in the higher realms.]

Roan agreed with Sister Orb.

"I asked Old Worm before. A Soul Transformation Realm cultivator has a thousand-year lifespan, while a Saint Realm cultivator only increases that to 1600. Do you see the trend here? The bonus in lifespan doesn't cover the time necessary to cultivate it. He told me that almost no Saint Realm cultivator could break through to the Elemental Transformation Realm."

[Exactly. Breaking through to the next realm close to the end of one's lifespan is a terrible idea. You have to accumulate as much lifespan as possible at the start, using your talents and young bodies to push forward. Ideally, I want you two to reach the Saint Realm before you two reach 500 years old. It would give you 1100 years to cultivate through the Saint Realm. Don't forget, your foundations require a lot more energy than others.]

Rean nodded with a serious expression.

"I see... So this extra strength we get from having a bigger Spiritual Pool can also backfire on us in the end."

[Correct. Of course, that doesn't mean you can rush things. If you damage your foundation for a hasty breakthrough, it will lead to worse results. Just as Roan said, let your foundations stabilize naturally this time. Taking too many pills is obviously not a good thing.]

Roan then took his sword out as he looked in the direction of the arenas.

"And the best way to naturally let them stabilize is obviously battle. I'm going ahead!"

Rean laughed in response as he took out his sword as well.

"Guess I'm going with you. This is also a good chance to test the power of someone at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm before the natural formation collapses."