There was no point in hiding Malaka's talent anymore, so Rean and Malaka continued to issue challenges in the gathering. Unfortunately for them, it became harder to find opponents.
Of course, there were a few that already knew about it but went ahead and did the challenge either way. Usually, they were the disciples of sect leaders, like Malaka herself, or had assumed a high position in their own organizations. Simply put, they were the real geniuses of this gathering.
With that, Malaka lost some and won others. Finally, others realized that she wasn't the only monster to have come to this gathering this time around. It's just that the others hadn't shown their faces before.
Rean wanted to go to the arena and go through battle competitions for Rank Three Spirit Stones. However, Roan prohibited him from doing so.
'We already did enough by moving against that Calina girl. I don't want others to know even more about our capabilities. I'm going to keep looking into the stalls for some more useful Skill Books.'
However, a certain someone came to challenge Malaka every now and then while they were there, Calina. Well, Valeu was always with her now.
"Malaka, one more time!"
"Sure!"
Malaka had won the previous match because Calina had stopped attacking the targets. However, Calina played by the rules this time and solely focused on defeating Malaka. Sure enough, it was as Rean and Roan expected. Malaka wasn't her match in Water Element manipulation. It wasn't that Malaka was worse at it, but her cultivation was lower, two stages to be more specific. Not to mention that the Imperial Family was bound to have much better Water Element cultivation techniques than Mia and her Dalamu Sect.
"Hahaha! It's my victory this time again."
Malaka couldn't help but admire Calina. She was the only one she lost to that didn't have that much of an advantage in cultivation. No, Malaka was sure that if they were in the same cultivation stage, the fight would probably end in her victory as well.
"Sister, you're so amazing!"
"Si-Sister?"
Calina wasn't used to be called in such an intimate way. Everyone around her would usually use her name, honorifics, or her title. However, seeing Malaka's shining eyes directed at her, Calina simply couldn't bring herself to complain. She couldn't be blamed. Even Rean, who knew Malaka for so long, would still lose to that face every time. Roan was basically the only one immune to that.
"Cough, cough. But of course! I'm not just a girl with an imperial bloodline. I also trained a lot every single day to reach this point."
Rean looked at that by the side and just smiled, not doing anything. They had already obtained quite a lot of Rank Three Spirit Stones anyway. Even though Malaka lost a few times, she still won more, so they had amassed around 1500 Rank Three Spirit Stones.
Malaka then nodded her head vigorously.
"I know, I know! My brother and my Master make me train as if my life depended on it. It's so painful that I feel like crying every single time. I lost count of how many times I tried to escape, just to receive and more training as punishment."
Calina's eyes immediately shone as much as Malaka's.
"What?! You too?!"
Valeu, who was beside Calina, immediately warned her through a Spiritual Sense message.
'Princess, you can't tell others such things.'
Only then did Calina come back to herself and released Malaka's hands.
"Ahem... escaping is not good. You have to train hard every day so that you can live up to your family's expectations."
Rean had to hold himself to not laugh. She had just admitted that she liked to do the same thing and pretended that nothing happened.
'No wonder she looks so much like Malaka. Other than their upbringing, this girl is basically as naughty as this sister of mine. Well, she's probably no more than a year older than Malaka anyway.'
Malaka didn't seem to care and began to ask questions about Calina's Water Element manipulation. Malaka could tell that there were several points where Calina was simply much better than herself. Well, that was to be expected due to her background.
Unfortunately, Valeu stopped Calina once more.
'Princess, you can't talk about the Imperial Family's techniques to outsiders.'
Calina showed a hint of sadness but immediately recovered.
"I can't talk about my techniques, but that doesn't mean I can't challenge you. If you can learn something on your own during this time, then it has nothing to do with me."
Rean understood why she didn't want to talk. Part of her high control over the Water Element was definitely due to the high concentration of Yin Energy in her body. Roan already told him that her energy was relatively pure, which showed how proficient the Imperial Family was in that area. Roan saw that man taking that Yin Ice Ore before, which was obviously for this girl's sake. From the looks of it, they also had a way to purify the impurities in that ore to some extent. Most likely, that was some of the Imperial Family's Secret Techniques. Well, Calina's Yin Energy could never hope to compare to Roan's or the Soul Gem System.
Valeu then warned Calina once more.
'Princess, you two are from different worlds. You better not get too attached. You don't even know if this girl will survive in the Profound Abyss.'
Calina couldn't help but become annoyed.
'Valeu, can't you stop being so annoying for once? I can't do this, I can't do that, can't you give me a break? I know what you mean. Even if she survives, we probably won't see each other again anyway. But what's wrong with enjoying the moment?'
Valeu's expression darkened as he looked at Malaka. Still, he didn't say anything else.
Usually, no one would have noticed anything. However, Rean was the one present this time. Immediately, he saw the red color of killing intent appearing around Malaka. This was Roan's unique 'Death' ability from the previous life and something Rean could use thanks to their Soul Connection. It was obviously coming from Valeu.
Still, that red color only lasted for a second before disappearing. Still, that was more than enough to put Rean on guard.
But that wasn't all. Rean immediately noticed Kentucky's expression changing as he looked at Valeu. In that second, Kentucky already marked that man as an enemy and was even ready to attack.
'What?! Kentucky can see it as well?!'
Rean then sent his intention to Kentucky with his Spiritual Sense.
'Stop. Don't do anything, Kentucky.'
*Chick?*
Kentucky looked at Rean with a puzzled expression. Still, he followed Rean's orders and did not do anything.
It took some time to explain, but all of it happened with Spiritual Sense as a means of communication. That being said, only two seconds had passed so far.
Malaka and Calina were oblivious to those things, surprisingly.
Rean didn't waste any time and informed Roan through their Soul Connection.
'But he didn't attack, right?'
Rean confirmed.
'Yes. The killing intent only lasted for a second. Besides, it seems like Kentucky can also see it. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have attacked that guy straight away.'
Roan was surprised to hear that. It seemed like the small connection Roan had with Kentucky also allowed the Minokawa to see Killing Intent.
'That's a good thing. Anyway, he didn't attack because that girl seems to like Malaka. Of course, he also wants to kill her for the same reason. However, even if Calina was not present, he wouldn't be able to take action. Try to use your Light Skill that can perceive Spiritual Senses.'
Rean immediately did that. That was Rean's Light Element skill that allowed him to perceive any level of Spiritual Sense. A higher cultivation made no difference for Rean since he wasn't using the same method as others did. (Read chapter 129 if you don't remember it)
Thanks to that, Rean could perceive all of the Spiritual Senses present at the moment.
'That's quite frightening. There are hundreds of Spiritual Senses at the Nascent Soul Realm or higher covering the entire place. There is even one of them that is stronger than Reliance's Stage Six Demon Beasts. Most likely, it is someone above the Soul Transformation Realm.'
Roan nodded in response.
'Those people are checking everything happening in the settlement. Don't forget the rule of not killing or crippling anyone before entering the Profound Abyss. That is also valid for that guy beside Calina.'
Rean couldn't help but ask.
'That doesn't make any sense. Didn't Calina try to attack Malaka before?'
Roan agreed with Rean.
'She did. However, can you guarantee that she was really going to kill Malaka? With the control over the Water Element she showed to us, it would be a simple task to dispel those Water Icicles at the very last moment. Besides, from what you told me about her behavior, I find it even harder to imagine that she was really trying to harm Malaka for real.'
'Last but not least, you are forgetting a fundamental issue. There had never been any Killing Intent directed at Malaka coming from Calina before.'
'Ah!'
Only now, Rean remembered that point. Indeed, there was no killing intent coming from Calina during the Water Icicles at all!
'We are safe while staying in the settlement. However, we will need to be careful once we enter the Profound Abyss.'
Rean nodded and finished his conversation with Roan. Just like before, this Soul Connection conversation only took another few seconds.
Obviously, Malaka, Calina, and Valeu didn't notice anything.
With that, other than picking up a few challenges every now and then, Malaka would often have a match with Calina. Not only that, but those two girls would often walk around the settlement.
Seeing that and how the two girls behaved, a thought came to Rean's mind.
'Birds of a feather flock together.'