Little did Calan know, he was playing on Roan's hands like a marionette.
Rean's group then went outside the settlement. There, Reliance whistled once again, which immediately called the Sky Egle in the distance.
*Creee!*
The Sky Eagle quickly arrived, landing right beside Reliance and the others.
Before they left, Roan received one last visit. Who else could it be if not Luina? Seeing Roan, she decided to talk with Spiritual Sense messages.
'What happened there in the gathering? Why did the Imperial Family experts call you over?'
Roan shook his head in response.
'They told us to keep our mouths shut, so I can't talk about it.'
Luina was a little disappointed but did not insist.
'By the way, where is that other girl?'
Roan glanced at Luina for a moment before answering.
'She left on her own after joining her group. I don't know where she went after that. I doubt we will see each other again anyway.'
Well, he only talked that much because he didn't want to increase suspicions. Otherwise, he probably would have driven Luina away already.
Luina smiled after hearing that.
'I see! Well, that's too bad. Anyway, do you plan on going out on a mission anytime soon? We could join forces again, you know? Look at me, I'm already in the Core Formation Realm Initial Stage!'
Unfortunately for him, Roan couldn't care less about that.
'Not interested.'
Still, Luina didn't seem perturbed. She did spend enough time with Roan to understand his personality.
'Come on! You know I'm the Lagan Sect Master's Daughter, right? I can definitely get a few good missions for us.'
Roan couldn't help but ask as his eyes narrowed.
'Your sect shouldn't like similar level cultivators going out on missions with you, no? You said it yourself, you are at the Core Formation Realm already. Wouldn't it be better to simply gather some people in the same realm? Why are you so interested in me?'
'Eh?'
Luina's face got a little red. One must remember that Rean and Roan might be eleven years old but looked much older. They joined Dalamu Sect when they were ten but told everyone else that they were thirteen already. No one doubted that after looking at them either. Now that more than one year has passed, they did look to be fourteen indeed. And Luina believed that as well.
Also, Luina already showed some interest after their mission a year prior. With Roan's physical change, she felt like it was already worth a try. The only problem was his ice-cold demeanor that was really hard to crack. Nonetheless, that might be precisely the thing that she felt attracted to.
'Errr... That's because I know that you are much better than them, especially when it comes to using one's head...'
She dropped her head as it got redder.
'Is it bad?'
Roan's eyes finally relaxed a bit. Indeed, he knew his own abilities very well. He was far from being a narcissist, but he was sure that he far surpassed those at his level, not just because of the Soul Gem System. He thought that Luina's vision of him was just right and proper. For a mission partner, he would indeed be a much better choice.
'At least she understands this much.'
He thought to himself, not noticing poor Luina's real intentions at all. Still, what if she 'understood?' He felt it to be a bother nonetheless.
'I appreciate your vote of confidence. However, it's better if-'
Suddenly, Rean put his arm around Roan's shoulders before cutting right in the middle of the conversation.
'Sure, we would love to go on a mission with you again!'
Roan's mouth twitched. What is this idiot thinking?!
Luina had no idea how Rean knew about her and Roan's Spiritual Sense conversation. Still, she ignored that fact and nodded with a happy face.
'Great! I'll let you know when something good appears. Wait for my contact.'
Right after, she dashed away as fast as the wind.
Roan, however, didn't seem the least bit happy with it.
'What the hell are you doing? Why would you promise such a thing? We have nothing to gain by involving ourselves with her! Worst of all, others might find out where we had gone through her, you know? Did you forget that the Umbral Sect still wants our heads?'
Rean shook his head in response, saying.
'Don't worry, we are just making some friends. There is nothing wrong with getting a better relationship with the daughter of one of the five sects' Sect Master. I'm thinking about your futu- ahem, our future.'
Roan felt like kicking this guy right here and then. For some reason, he didn't believe a single word from Rean's mouth.
Reliance saw that Roan finished his conversation and then spoke.
"Alright, get on Fanfan's back. We need to go."
However, Malaka decided to use Kentucky instead.
"Kentucky got a lot more powerful. He can definitely fly with me for much longer!"
*Chick!*
Kentucky also showed a confident expression as Malaka mounted on his back.
Rean and Reliance could only laugh at that scene, though.
"Alright. Long-distance flights are also useful for Kentucky to get used to the skies. We will do the same thing as before. You keep flying with Kentucky. Once he gets tired, make him land on Fanfan's back to rest."
Malaka nodded and immediately took flight with Kentucky as Rean's group followed right behind with the Sky Eagle.
However, Rean noticed something different.
"I feel like Kentucky's wingspan increased quite a bit, don't you think, Elder Reliance?"
Reliance nodded, not surprised at all.
"It's like I said. Kentucky has reached the Peak Stage Two level while in the Profound Abyss. As a demon beast, the higher his cultivation, the bigger he becomes. You didn't notice it before, probably because of the Decaying Fog and that Kentucky didn't fly around. Only after reaching Stage Seven will they be able to control their body's size to a certain extent."
Rean's interest was immediately piqued.
"They can change sizes? That's impressive!"
Reliance just laughed, saying.
"Well, we are talking about Demon beasts with a power equivalent to Saint Realm cultivators. How many do you think there are? It's still something from far in the future."
Rean agreed with Reliance and returned his attention to the path ahead.
They kept flying for a day when suddenly, Reliance murmured something on Zunzun's ear. Soon after, the Fire Tanager took off, flying in a different direction.
Rean and Roan were the only ones who noticed that, though.
'Seems like the Imperial Family's interrogation caught a few people's attention. Oh well, with this guy having three Stage Six Demon Beasts, we should be fine.'
Soon after, they closed their eyes once more and ignored everything else.
Rean and Roan were right. Although no one from the Imperial Family followed or asked anyone to do anything to them, there were still a few curious ones. They were planning to intercept Reliance's group and ask what it was about. After all, they felt like they were being left behind.
Unfortunately for them, Zunzun, Lanlan, and Jinjin didn't give them the chance to even appear near Reliance's group. Around an hour later, Zunzun came back. In its beak, one could see three pouches that were even bigger than the Tanager itself. Of course, with its Stage Six level, carrying a few things like that was anything but complicated. It's just that it looked quite weird due to the size difference.
Zunzun then dropped the pouches in front of Reliance before landing on his head before using Reliance's hair as a nest. Reliance didn't seem to care anyway.
'Good job, Zunzun. Did you kill anyone?'
Zunzun immediately shook her head.
'Nope. We let them go as Master said.'
Reliance nodded, satisfied.
'That's good. We don't know which powers they are from, so it is better not to force their hands. It should also scare the nearby other powers. Our travel should be safe from now on.'
Reliance was right. Three Stage Six Demon beasts wasn't something that anyone could take care of. The majority only sent their own Nascent Soul Realm elders to bring their disciples, so they weren't the demon beasts' match. Even if there was a Soul Transformation Realm between them, it wouldn't be worth fight three Stage Six Demon Beasts at once. That was basically Reliance giving them a warning to not bother his team.
'Now then, let's take a look at our rewards.'
Reliance then spent his time looking through the items in the bags. Every now and then, he would throw something to the Fire Tanager, who would fly out in the distance and come back later. Rean knew what he was doing. He was simply sharing the spoils with his three demon beasts. Simple as that.
Kentucky's increase in power also showed itself in his endurance. When he arrived at the gathering, he could only fly for 200 kilometers at most before stopping to rest. Now, he was able to fly for over 400 before doing the same thing again. That was a huge improvement considering that only two weeks passed inside the Profound Abyss. Perhaps, Kentucky was the one who harvested the most benefits in this adventure.
Just like before, their group took another two weeks to go back to the Dalamu Sect. During this time, Calina stayed in the Soul Gem Realm without being able to come out. By now, Rean's Light Element had already dissipated, making her size and appearance go back to normal. Her white-snow hair had turned blond once again while her silver-white eyes returned to the previous blue color.
However, Calina was already feeling quite helpless. She never thought that an Orb could talk so much. It reached the point where she had to implore Sister Orb to give her a break. She also felt incredibly bored. She couldn't go anywhere near the workshop, electrical formations repository, bathhouse, or the twins' possessions. In the end, she could only train by herself in that place.
Still, she noticed something incredible about that place. Her ability to manipulate the Yin Energy in her body increased several times. It made her training a lot easier to the point where it even felt good. That was to be expected. After all, the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm has a perfect balance of Yin and Yang Energies. It was even able to create a mutation on Kentucky while he was an egg.
'I wonder if they would let me train here a few more times in the future.'
Back outside, Rean's group went up to the mountain to talk with Mia and report the travel results.
"Well, that's basically everything that happened."
Mia nodded, satisfied. Leaving the thing about the Imperial Family aside, the fact that all five of them could use the Vermilion Pools was great news.
"Alright, you guys can go back now and rest. I'll let you be duty-free for the next two weeks. As for the thing about the Imperial Family, I'll think about it later."
Weren, Tuve, Malaka, Rean, and Roan then bowed to Mia and left. Right after everyone disappeared, her eyes narrowed. Something told her that things were not that simple.