Death... and me

The process of breaking through the Core and Soul Fusion Realm was already on the name itself. One had to fuse one's Soul and Core inside one's dantian together. Of course, it wasn't the entire Soul, but just a small piece of it.

[Simply put, you guys will be cutting off a small part of your Soul and feeding it to the Core. Now that you two are at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, the Core has reached the necessary requirements to hold and nurture that piece of Soul.] Sister Orb said as Rean and Roan began their breakthrough.

Rean and Roan understood why as one of them replied, 'The Soul being nurtured will then grow all the way to the peak of the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. Once we reach that level, it will give birth to a Nascent Soul. Is that correct?'

[Exactly! It's a very simple process...well, at least for you two, it is. It's not as easy for the others since they don't have the Soul Gem System's Cultivation Manual and support. How about you thank your Sister Orb for these blessings?]

'Alright, Roan. Do you have enough Spiritual Energy?' Rean soon asked, completely ignoring Sister Orb.

'I do. Let's start.' Roan nodded in response as he replied.

[Hmph! You're lucky your Sister Orb has a big heart, so I'll let this one pass.] Obviously, Sister Orb was angry at them for ignoring her.

Of course, they weren't the only ones going through the process. At the very moment Rean and Roan started their breakthroughs, a certain snoring demon bird woke up at the corner of the Dimensional Realm.

*Creeee!*

Obviously, that bird was none other than Kentucky. The limit of his cultivation was always based on the twins' cultivation level. Thanks to that, his breakthrough started at the same time as the twins did. Kentucky immediately opened his wings as he cried out loud. Surprisingly, compared to Rean and Roan, Kentucky began to absorb the Spiritual Energy in the surroundings in massive waves.

[I guess that's why he's a legendary demon beast.]

Rean and Roan also heard that and nodded. However, they didn't pay attention to Kentucky for long as they continued to absorb Spiritual Energy for themselves. 'According to the Soul Gem System's Cultivation Technique, we need to redirect the internal energy of our Core to our Soul in our heads.'

After recalling that step, the two did just that. As always, the cultivation manual explained everything perfectly. All the meridians, the ratio of energy, what to expect, everything was there. Their Core began to released a milky-white and pitch-black energy that found its way into their own Soul.

'Sister Orb, if I remember correctly, the formation used by those Zasfins weren't able to cut a part of Roan's Soul. Can we not do that as well?' Rean asked in the middle of the breakthrough process.

[Don't worry. It was the System that prevented Roan's Soul from being damaged. Now that you're in the middle of your breakthroughs, not only won't it stop you, but it'll even give support.] Sister Orb answered straight away.

Sure enough, as soon as Rean and Roan's Core Energy touched their Souls, it began to absorb them. This process only lasted a second, and the pain they expected was nowhere to be found. Once the energies took what they wanted, they immediately headed directly back to the Dantians. From there, the absorbed piece of Soul was taken into the Core.

*Bzzzzz!*

As soon as that happened, the Core began to swell, increasing to at least three times their previous sizes. Not only that, but Rean and Roan's Spiritual Energy Pool had also grown in size proportional to the Core's new size.

[Great! Now everything will happen naturally. Just keep absorbing Spiritual Energy.] Sister Orb was very satisfied with the result.

*Creeeeeeeee!!!*

Rean and Roan's cultivation wasn't the only one to start increasing. Kentucky's breakthrough happened at the same as theirs, with his cultivation rising as even more Spiritual Energy flowed into his body. Following that, his body followed suit, growing ever larger. Kentucky was now transforming into a Stage Four Demon Beast!

Outside Rean's room, the people using their Spiritual Senses to check on him noticed what was happening and reported to Palaris.

"What? Breakthrough? Why didn't he tell me? I could have helped him! What if he doesn't know how to do it correctly? Doesn't he know how important his formation skills are to us?" Palaris said as he rushed back to Sevinia's estate.

However, just as Palaris was about to enter Rean's room, a burst of Spiritual Energy emanated from it.

"This..." Palaris was left at a loss for words. He hasn't entered the room yet, but his Spiritual Sense could already tell that Rean had officially entered the Core and Soul Fusion Realm! "So fast!"

Ophele, who also received the information and came to check, was just as shocked. "Is he that good?" Naturally, she didn't like the feeling, seeing someone at her own age surpass her cultivation level. On top of that, the one that surpassed her was a human. Well, she was part of the Soul Rulers, after all.

Back in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, Roan had finished his breakthrough together with Rean. 'Sure enough, the boost in Soul Power was only at the start. Now it has reached the same speed as our Spiritual Energy cultivation. Zasfins are better at Soul Power, while Lakures excel in Spiritual Energy. I guess I can consider humans to be balanced in that regard,' he thought as he checked his body.

Sister Orb warned Roan not long after that, saying, [Alright, Roan. You should head back outside before your clone disappears due to the lack of Spiritual Energy.]

Roan nodded and immediately disappeared from the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Not long after, in one of the Bloodline Trial Control Formations, Roan's clone disappeared, with Roan's real body taking its place. As for the clone, it crumbled inside the Dimensional Realm right after. From start to finish, no one noticed anything strange happening to Roan. 'It'll probably take some time before those idiots notice my increase in cultivation.'

Inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, a giant Kentucky flapped his wings. Even though his size increased over two times with this breakthrough, his body looked a lot more slender now. There were basically no chubby parts anymore. *Chick!* Kentucky wanted nothing more than to go out and fly for a while to adjust to his new breakthrough.

Rean noticed that and couldn't help but sigh. He connected to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm before saying with a slightly sad expression, 'Sorry, Kentucky. We're in a tight situation at the moment, so we can't let you out. There's even a small possibility that someone might identify you now. Just stay in there for a bit longer.'

*Chick...* 'Al-alri-ti...'

'What?!' Rean's eyes widened when he heard that. Just now, he felt Kentucky's Spiritual Sense connecting to him through the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, giving him an answer.

He wasn't the only one. Since the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm was used for that, Roan also heard Kentucky talking. With that, he asked, 'Hey, fat bird. Can you convene thoughts through Spiritual Sense now?'

*Chick! Chick!* Kentucky flapped his wings in anger as he replied, 'I-I'm nut... fot!'

Rean couldn't help but ask, 'What's happening here? Aren't Demon Beasts only able to gain sapience at Stage Five? Kentucky has just entered Stage Four, you know!'

[Well, he's a Minokawa, after all. Legendary Demon Beasts like him are in a completely different league compared to normal ones. Besides, we can't discard the possibility that it was the Soul Gem System's fault.] Sister Orb responded to Rean's query, not thinking it was any big deal.

Rean laughed out loud in response as he soon said, 'Hahaha! Kentucky, it's great to be able to talk to you now.'

Though not long after, Rean thought about something else. 'Oh, right! What's the level of a Demon Beast's intelligence that has gained sapience for the first time?'

[Well, normal demon beasts would have the intelligence of six to seven-year-old kids. To be more exact, it would be at the level of a newborn baby. However, this is only the case for demon beasts who lived in the wild without the influence of other intelligent beings,] Sister Orb explained.

Rean understood what Sister Orb meant by that. 'I see...simply put, Kentucky's six to seven-year-old level intelligence is because he lived most of his life with intelligent beings around him. Because of that, his intelligence culminated in all that he had memorized during this time after the breakthrough. Otherwise, he would be more like a newborn baby, having to take his time to learn language from the very start.'

*Chick?* Kentucky heard all of that but couldn't understand very well due to the complexity of their words. 'I dunt inderstend...'

Roan shook his head as he said, 'His vocabulary needs a lot of work. In any case, we finally have a job for our lazy Sister Orb.'

[Who's lazy?! Who do you think is working on analyzing all the Bloodline Trial Control Formations, huh?] Obviously, Sister Orb didn't take those words lightly

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said in response, 'Sister Orb. Even though you're doing that, you can still talk with Kentucky and us normally. Since it's only teaching proper vocabulary, it shouldn't intervene in your analyzing abilities.'

[And why should I waste my time doing that?] Sister Orb soon rebuked.

Rean smiled right after as he replied, 'Of course! That's because Sister Orb is the best teacher in existence! Our Sister Orb is the mighty Soul Gem System's AI, so how could such a simple thing bother her? There's simply no one better in the Universe for this task.'

[...]

[Ahem...well, when you put it like that, I guess it can't be helped.] Sure enough, Sister Orb's tolerance on compliments was still weak

'Great!' Rean nodded with satisfaction as he said, 'We're counting on you, Sister Orb!' He then turned his attention to the Minokawa before saying to Kentucky, 'Kentucky, be a good bird and learn everything, okay?'

*Chick!* 'U-ukay!'