Death... and me

One month passed in a flash as a sudden rumor began to spread in the city. There was a human Heaven-level blacksmith who asked for Heaven-level materials in exchange for his services. As long as one had them, he would forge something for them. Some asked for claws, others for armors, others for helmets, and so on. It all depended on which type of demon beast one was and what one needed.

During this time, Rean only stopped to cultivate with Roan. Other than that, he spent all his time forging equipment and accumulating Heaven-level materials. It wasn't only ores, though. He also got some rare Heaven-level herbs for Roan's herb garden, Heaven-level wood with different uses, and a few other things he deemed necessary.

At some point, the queue of demon beasts with Heaven-level materials had become so long that Rean couldn't hope to finish everyone's tasks even if he had an entire year to work on their requests.

However, that also brought him problems. He was fine as long as he stayed in the city since the agreements ensured his safety. However, many eyes were focused on him, waiting for the very moment he stepped outside to rob Rean of his possessions.

'Hehe! They think I'm just a fat sheep, ready to be killed. Too bad that this city's considered a safe zone,' Rean thought with a smile as he felt the many Spiritual Senses focused on him. Since the city was a safe zone, the Soul Gem System considered it safe as well. That being said, it wasn't blocking Rean's entrance into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Obviously, Rean could use the Circuitry Teleport Formation to teleport at least 1000 kilometers away before making his way back to the valley.

Rean quickly put his thoughts at the back of his mind before he finished covering a Fire Unicorn's horn with a crystalline cover. "Alright, the product in this crystal should fix the crack on your horns in a few months. Make sure you keep it filled with Spiritual Energy so the process won't be stopped all of a sudden."

Since Rean could work on horns to make equipment, he could also fix them for those who already had one. It wasn't anything far from repairing a piece of equipment made of horn materials.

The Fire Unicorn was a Stage Six Demon Beast, so he was able to talk back to Rean without Spiritual Sense. "Oh! I can tell with my Spiritual Sense that it's really filling the gaps. To think that my horn can absorb such a thing as time goes on." The unicorn then looked at Rean, saying, "Usually, I would ask you to stay around to make sure you weren't tricking me. However, I have seen all the other demon beasts with the pieces of equipment you forged for them. Those are all legitimate equipment, so I will trust you that you made it as it should be."

Rean nodded with a smile, responding, "Of course! However, it's not like I won't come back to this city. That being said, if you find out that something happened during the repair, you can come and look for me another time."

The unicorn nodded before he passed him a bag, saying soon after, "Inside, you can find two and a half kilograms of Lunar Lime. It's at least three hundred years old, which should prove very helpful for the forging of Heaven-level equipment."

Rean sent his Spiritual Sense inside before nodding his head, thanking the unicorn. "I have indeed received my payment. Thank you very much for the deal."

"Hahaha!" The unicorn laughed in response. "I'm the one who should thank you. This is a very small price to pay for my horn to be fixed. If I did it on my own, it would take me at least twenty to thirty years to finish. As a Stage Six Demon Beast, you never know when you might need to go all out in a battle, especially in times like this."

Rean knew what the unicorn meant by that. After all, the tension between the Zasfins' Soul Rulers and the demon beasts seemed to be increasing as time passed. It was still far from a real confrontation since both sides were feeling the other reactions. Nevertheless, most of the demon beasts of the Demon Beast Continent could tell that this balance wouldn't last forever.

"Well, I'm just a human who has nothing to do with the conflict between Zasfins and demon beasts, so I'll probably just watch by the side. In the end, the human race is too weak to give their opinions on the matter," Rean said as he shrugged his shoulders.

The unicorn nodded before making his way outside Rean's room. As soon as he left, another demon beast entered, flying. However, this one wasn't a customer, but Kentucky instead.

"Rean, look at what I got." Kentucky then threw another bag in Rean's direction. When Rean opened it, he saw 5.2 liters of Humin Water inside a big bottle. It was another Heaven-level material that Rean could use in the tempering process. Not only that, but it could also be used in a few formations that needed cooling.

"It seems like your challenges are paying out quite well. Good job, Kentucky!" Rean praised the Minokawa. A week after Rean started making equipment for the demon beasts, he passed Kentucky a few kilograms of Heaven-level ores. It wasn't for Kentucky to eat, though. Instead, Rean told Kentucky to challenge other Demon Beasts and bet the ores against their materials. Kentucky was a Divine Demon Beast, so any demon beast at his level wasn't a match for him.

"However, I don't think I can do it anymore. The other demon beasts already noticed that I'm a lot stronger than what my cultivation shows. It was very hard to make that scorpion accept my challenge, and that's already considering the scorpion was at the peak of Stage Five." Kentucky couldn't help but sigh since it meant less Heaven-level ores for himself.

Rean didn't find it bad, though. During this time, Rean didn't just get Heaven Initial and Middle-level materials. He was also able to get some at the High-level, which he would be able to work on once he reached the Soul Transformation Realm. "It's fine. We've obtained a lot more than I could have thought. I didn't expect that Heaven-level blacksmiths were in such high demand in the Demon Beast Continent that they even paid with Heaven-level materials. With your own gains through battle, we're safe for at least a few years. Of course, if you don't eat anything, we'll be safe for several times longer."

Kentucky immediately shook his head, saying, "No can do! I also help a lot, so I want my food!" Sure enough, the bird might not be fat anymore, but that didn't mean its hunger for Heaven-level materials disappeared. If anything, Kentucky could eat a lot more and digest them a lot faster now.

Rean couldn't help but laugh as he said, "Hahaha! Alright, alright! I know that your strength will help us a lot more than a few pieces of Heaven-level materials. Since you also got a lot on your own, I'll let you eat them for the time being."

He then warned Kentucky, "However, you can only eat the ores I allow you. If you take some ore that I need, I'll make sure you won't touch another Heaven-level material for the next ten years."

In the end, Heaven-level materials were too important. Rean had to make sure that the supply he got now wouldn't disappear that quickly.

"Alright, I promise I won't touch them. But you must leave enough for me to eat, okay?" said Kentucky, unwilling to starve. Well, starving was too strong of a word, though.

Suddenly, Roan contacted Rean from inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, asking him, 'How are the Spiritual Senses on you?'

Rean nodded before replying, 'The number is increasing by the day. Just yesterday, I felt a Stage Seven Demon Beast's sense who has been waiting until now. However, no Zasfins are watching me so far. Oh, talking about Spiritual Sense, there seems to be a human's sense on me. Not only that, but this person is also at the Nascent Soul Realm.'

Roan understood, saying, 'Well, this is a place where a human can be free if they're strong enough. When another human starts to stand out, the others will naturally want to check him. Did you feel any killing intent coming from that human?'

'No.' Rean shook his head, responding, 'I don't think this person has any ill intentions.'

Roan pondered for a bit before shaking his head. 'Alright, leave it be. You already got enough materials to work with, right?'

'Yes, it should be enough for the time being,' Rean replied.

'In that case, let's head back to the valley. The Blue Luan probably warned the other demon beasts there to not bother us. However, it's better to prevent Celis from taking action in case someone appears. Besides, Burio and the kids are probably getting worried even though we said we would stay out for some time. It would be bad if they tried to leave the valley at this moment.' Obviously, Roan didn't want more problems to surface.

'Alright.' Rean then looked at Kentucky. "We're leaving."

Following that, Rean activated an Anti-Spiritual Sense Formation that he had built in the room during the month he stayed here. Because the room was very small and Rean had obtained a lot of materials, it wasn't hard for him to create a sturdy one. Sure enough, everyone watching Rean noticed the barrier, not knowing if they should and check. After all, it was against the rules to cause trouble in this city.

Unfortunately for them, even if they went there right now, Rean and Kentucky would be nowhere to be found. Those two had already entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm and used the Circuitry Teleport Formation to leave the city.