Death... and me

Under the lead of Burio and Malo's group, the construction of the houses proceeded without too many issues. Rean created the blueprints and explained to them how they worked. Of course, he created very simple ones so that there wouldn't be errors.

Of course, that wasn't everything that happened. After checking and noting down all their aptitudes, Roan worked on a training routine for all kids so that they could cultivate. In the end, out of the 3589 kids, 2469 had Blue Color Aptitudes with at least five Orbs of Elemental Affinity. Another 957 had Red Color Aptitudes and at least six Orbs of Elemental Affinity. Last but not least, 163 showed Purple Color Aptitudes and seven or more Orbs of Elemental Affinity.

Among those 163 kids, the five kids at twelve years old were included, which were Malo, Poliana, Falas, Wataba, and Glennie. That pretty much confirmed that the Purple Color ones had the most stable souls. That's why they still haven't been sent to turn into Soul Stones since their soul took much longer to reach the chaotic phase where they couldn't control the Bloodline Trial Formations anymore.

Chaotic phase. That was one thing that Rean was worried about. From what it looked like, their souls were very close to breaking apart, with Rean seeing many of the kids crying with intense headaches. However, it wasn't all bad news. Thanks to that, Rean learned to apply Soul Power to his Instant Recovery skill. The fusion of Light Element and Soul Power allowed Rean to enter the realm of Souls, healing them. Not to mention that the power of his Instant Recovery skill also increased for normal flesh wounds. That being said, Rean worked on all the kids with problems, repairing their damage for three days straight.

With all the issues regarding their Souls resolved, several spaces were cleared so that they could serve as arenas while thousands of wooden weapons were made.  Roan didn't want to take care of the kids forever, so he worked on making them stronger enough to defend themselves. Every day, one could hear the sounds of kids crying and shouting in these crude arenas.

Of course, Rean knew that they were all kids, so he put Kentucky and Celis in charge of entertainment. At the end of the day, Kentucky would bring many kids to fly around the valley, while Celis used hundreds of its vines to grab the kids and play around.

Of course, Celis couldn't help but ask Rean, "Just why the hell is a Demon Tree like me previously at Stage Nine doing this? If I apply just a little bit of strength, I can crush them all or suck them dry of their blood and flesh. Don't you think this is the right way to use a World Swallowing Cedar?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said with a smile, "Hey, why don't you think more positively? All these kids are extremely talented and can possibly become powerhouses in the future. Wouldn't it be nice to know them all if you need their help one day?"

"I...guess so?" Celis still had his doubts but decided to leave them aside. It's not like he can do anything anyway, nor did it impede his cultivation.

Two months went by as more and more simple wooden houses were erected. The kids began to get used to Roan's hellish training and were more willing to do so, thanks to Rean's rewards for their efforts. Kids of a medieval world weren't hard to please since simple things like candies would do the trick. Under the watch of Burio's group, they would select which kids performed best during the day, and those ones would get the sweets.

It was also during these weeks that the talent of the kids truly showed themselves. All of them, with the help of the environment's Spiritual Energy, entered the Energy Gathering Realm without issues. One must remember that Celis was able to increase the Spiritual Energy in the valley to be equivalent to Rank Three Spirit Stones. The only exceptions were those kids below five years of age. As mentioned back when Rean and Roan reincarnated in the tribe, kids more or less below five years of age couldn't cultivate even if they wanted to.

Roan paid special attention to those with Purple Color Aptitudes. Let alone two months. Most of them didn't even need two weeks to go through all the stages of the Body Transformation, quickly entering the Energy Gathering Realm. Some of the Red and Blue Color Aptitude kids were quite competitive, so they put even more effort just so that they wouldn't fall behind them. For Roan, that was a very good thing.

Among those with Purple Talent Color, the ones who stood out were obviously the oldest ones like Malo and company. After all, them being older made them a lot more mature and intelligent. They could grasp things easier and understand the importance of putting in the effort. Above all, they weren't willing to be captured again so that they would become Soul Stones in the future.

However, as soon as any of the kids reached the Energy Gathering Realm, their cultivation speed plummeted. Well, it wasn't as if they were having problems, but it was because Roan explicitly prohibited them from charging through the ranks. As good as their talents were, their future would be cut short if their foundations weren't stabilized.

One might think that Roan could help everyone by making Cultivation Stabilizing Pills. However, Roan didn't even consider doing such a thing when Rean asked him. "Cultivation Stabilizing Pills? Ha! What a joke!" Roan looked at him as if he was an idiot as he said, "Let alone the fact that it would take forever to make enough pills for all these kids, you need to first think about the materials necessary. Can you gather enough materials to concoct tens of thousands of Cultivation Stabilizing Pills? Don't forget that only one isn't enough. You need quite a few of them after a breakthrough."

Roan then pointed at the herb garden he was creating in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm as he continued, "This garden will only be ready in a few years. Also, the herbs there will only be used for you and me. After all, the higher the level of the pill, the harder it is to make, and more failures will happen. Forget about feeding all the kids with it. Besides, they're already very lucky to have an environment with dense Spiritual Energy."

Rean had to admit that Roan was right. "Well... I guess I can't complain. Still, when did you start building that garden?"

The one who answered that was Celis, responding, "I'm a Demon Tree, remember? I have a very high sensitivity towards plants. All I had to do was have Kentucky bring a few of my seeds around this core region, and I was able to analyze the areas. I then told Roan where most of the rare herbs could be found after that."

Rean couldn't help but feel impressed by Celis. "That's truly an amazing ability." He also understood another point. "Oh! No wonder you and Kentucky have such great synergy and want to be together. While you can feel the presence of rare herbs, Kentucky can feel the presence of rare metals. You simply complement each other way too much."

Kentucky agreed with Rean, saying, "That's true. Oh, right! I forgot to tell you that I found a deposit of Heaven-level ores around 1600 kilometers to the north. Well, there's also the fact that it's outside our territory, so I didn't try to get close to it, though."

Rean's eyes lit up after hearing that. "Heaven-level ores! That's great! I have forged another Black Star and White Star for Roan and me, but they're still in the Earth Peak-Level. All the Heaven-level ores we had in the past have been eaten by you, after all."

Kentucky then puffed his chest as he replied, "Yes, but thanks to that, I have unparalleled defense! Even Roan has some difficulty cutting through it. If not for those ores, I wouldn't be as strong." Kentucky truly thought it was a well worth trade. Well, it really was if one thought about how much help Kentucky could provide.

Roan nodded his head in response, saying, "He's right. His defense is hard to break through at the moment, even with your White Star. However, I was using Earth Peak-Level equipment. Considering Kentucky's strength, Earth-level weapons simply won't do anymore. If not because Rean's weapons far surpass the level of normal Earth-level equipment, I doubt I could break through his defense without using special means. We should head there and take those ores so that you can forge something better."

Rean then looked behind as his Spiritual Sense spread through the valley. He saw how Burio and the others were cultivating, training in the arenas, working on the constructions, taking care of the babies, and so on. "I think everything here is more or less organized already, so we should be able to leave for a short while. With Celis fuelling the Protection Formation, none of the Stage Five Demon Beasts should be able to break through it while we're outside."

Roan pondered a bit and nodded before looking at Celis and saying, "Very well. Celis, we'll leave this place on your hands for now."

Celis didn't seem to mind. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go already. My seeds are spread around the core region, so I'll be able to call you if something happens."

With that, Rean, Roan, and Kentucky soon departed.