Death... and me

Roan kept looking outside.

"That's enough for now. Let's head outside and try to understand where we have been sent to."

The twins then used the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm's power to send everyone out. Obviously, they fell on the snow of the mountain range.

"So cold..."

"Use your Spiritual Energy to block the cold. Otherwise, it'll be hard to keep going."

Agis couldn't help but ask.

"What about that thing called Dimensional Realm? Are we leaving it here?"

Rean shook his head as he replied.

"Although you can't see it, it always follows Roan and me. As long as the two of us aren't way too far from each other, we can enter it at any time."

"That convenient? Isn't it the same as having a second chance at life?"

Rean and Roan nodded. However, they also knew that this situation was only temporary. Obviously, once one reached a certain level of cultivation, one could detect and even attack the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. They could only hope that this world didn't have anyone who could notice it.

"Which side should we head towards?"

"Just a second."

Rean then closed his eyes as Light Element gathered around him. However, he immediately noticed another problem.

"This... The concentration of Spiritual Energy in this planet is less than half of our previous world."

Roan and the others tried to absorb the Spiritual Energy, and soon enough, their expressions turned ugly. Sure enough, this place was much worse for those following the cultivation path.

"This might not be a bad thing. If this is a place where it's difficult to cultivate, it also means that there's a smaller chance of finding anyone capable of detecting the Dimensional Realm."

Rean knew that Roan was just finding excuses. After all, they had never been found in the Sukan Planet. If not because of that artifact spirit, they would be able to cultivate there for much longer.

Rean then put those thoughts behind and continued what he was doing. Light Element continued to gather around him until finally, he felt something.

"How is it?"

Rean then looked in a particular direction before saying.

"It's very faint, but there is more concentration of life force in that direction."

"Kentucky!"

*Chick!*

Rean immediately jumped on Kentucky's back and took flight.

"I'll be back soon. Let me check out what we have there."

Roan nodded. It was better for Rean to go on first since he could also conceal Kentucky's existence with his Light and Spiritual Bending ability.

"Just make sure you stay within the range."

"Alright."

In an instant, Kentucky and Rean's figures disappeared as if there was nothing there. Agis and Qia were taken aback by that since they had never seen Rean using it before. Even their Spiritual Senses couldn't detect Rean, who was there just a second ago.

Roan ignored their surprise, though.

"Let's not waste time either and move in the direction Rean pointed out. If anything happens, I'll send you all back into the Dimensional Realm."

As Roan's group moved by foot, Rean flew ahead. Sure enough, he moved in Danve City's direction, the closest city to the mountain range they were sent to. Around two hours later, Rean finally spotted the city.

The city wasn't that big. Perhaps two or three times bigger than Astreg City. It was surrounded by what seemed to be a giant ice wall. Above the wall, Rean could tell that there was a formation. However, the formation wasn't there to protect against attacks. It was way too weak for that to the point that even Rean could destroy it with brute force. Its purpose was to simply prevent the snowstorms from hitting the city.

Rean also noticed that there were a few figures waiting in front of the city gates. However, compared to the queues Rean saw back in Sukan Planet's cities, this one wasn't even worth mentioning. That showed just how less this planet had in terms of population.

"Kentucky, let's go down and take a look."

*Chick!*

Kentucky immediately descended from the skies and stopped just a few tens of meters above the crowd. So far, Rean couldn't feel any Spiritual Sense hitting his bending skills. However, Rean had little time to pay attention to that. That's because the people down there were very different from normal humans. No, there were humans in the crowd as well, but they were definitely the minority.

Immediately, Rean thought about the Lakure Race, who had humanoid forms but weren't really humans. These ones, however, didn't have the special meridians over their skins. Instead, their skin seemed to be covered with several shards of ice crystals. However, his Spiritual Sense immediately detected that those things were not really ice. That's because the temperature of these people was the same as an average human, including the shards.

'A variation of a human? Well, I do remember Jana commenting before that Lakures were also a type of evolution of humans due to the environment or something. She even said that both races could procreate with each other, although with a bit of difficulty. Perhaps these people are the same. At the very least, they would be perfect humans if you took those shards out of their skins. Not to mention that their bodies aren't completely covered in it, just a few areas.'

After pondering for a bit, Rean put those thoughts behind.

'Well, I guess that's Darwin for you.'

Nevertheless, Rean's eyes narrowed as he looked at the humans. There weren't many, but most of them were in chains. The ones who were free seemed to be someone's subordinates. Rean also noticed that each and every single one of them had what appeared to be a black collar. After sweeping his Spiritual Sense over it, he immediately identified the inscriptions.

'Hum? Lightning Type Equipment Formation? It seems like that's what this race uses to keep humans under control. However...'

As far as Rean could see with his Spiritual Sense, not a single Core Formation Realm figure could be found. The highest cultivation was from the gate guards, which were between the Initial and Late Stage of the Energy Gathering Realm. As for Foundation Establishment and above, Rean couldn't spot anyone.

Usually, Rean wouldn't like to see the humans being treated like that. However, he also remembered what happened to the Lakures. That being said, was the actual situation of the humans really unjust or something they brought upon them by themselves? Besides, it's not like humans were good or anything. Naturally, Rean refrained from making any moves. He even ignored some of the humans who were being punished for whatever reason.

'It's not time to be harsh. First, I need to gather information.'

Soon after, Rean gave Kentucky an order.

"Kentucky, fly down and grab that person over there."

There was one of the human subordinates who seemed to have separated from the group. However, he wasn't fleeing. Instead, he went to a pond near the gate that didn't freeze like everything else for some reason. From its looks, the guy was going there because he was ordered to do something in the pond.

Kentucky immediately understood the order and dived down. Thanks to Rean's concealment abilities, no one noticed anything.

*Vup!*

Without anyone noticing, Kentucky grabbed the guy as he dived to the ground.

"Ah!"

Obviously, the guy was frightened when he suddenly began to shoot up into the skies.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Whatever I might have done, I won't do anymore! Please, don't kill me!"

Well, anyone would think of something similar in this situation...

"Hey, hey! It's fine. I have no intention of killing you."

Rean then popped his head out the side of Kentucky's back, which allowed the man to take a look at him from below.

"This! Are you... a human? No, that can't be. All humans must use the enforcement collars."

But it was then that the guy remembered something.

"No! Please, go back! I will die if you fly further away! Go back! Please!"

Rean narrowed his eyes as he patted Kentucky's back. Soon after, Kentucky stopped in mid-air while he held that guy.

"Send him up, Kentucky."

*Chick!*

With a single move, the guy was thrown in the air before Kentucky flew under him.

"Ahhh!"

*Thud.*

Sure enough, he fell right on Kentucky's back before Kentucky stopped in mid-air once again.

Only then did he notice that he wasn't falling, but he was on the back of the demon bird instead.

"This..."

The guy then looked at Rean, who definitely looked like a human.

"Wh-What do-does sir want from me?"

"First, what's your name?"

"Me? I-I'm Guan Lin."

Rean smiled before touching the guy's collar.

"Don't worry. I have no bad intentions. Let me take a look at it."

"No! It will immediately kill me if anyone tries to remove it."

Guan tried to move away, but he noticed that he didn't have the strength to stop Rean. Just as he thought he would die and closed his eyes, he heard a sound coming from his neck.

*Clack!*

Nothing happened after that. When Guan opened his eyes again and looked over, he noticed his collar in Rean's hands, which was now open.

"Such a crude Lightning Type Formation Equipment... It's only dangerous for those without any cultivation at all. Its connection with its core is terrible as well. As long as one goes too far, the collar immediately activates. However, it uses its full power in one go. Chances are that the one using it might even die if he or she had nothing to protect themselves. Of course, once again, it's only effective on those without any cultivation."

Guan looked at Rean with his eyes wide open. He couldn't believe that his collar was removed that easily.

'Just... who is this guy? Is he really human?'