Death... and me

A week later, Rean exited the Dimensional Realm while carrying three badges in his hand. They looked pretty much the same as the one he received for the competition. However, there were a few key differences, which were the inclusion of some circuitry formation runes.

'In the end, I couldn't figure out some of the higher-level runes. They were just far above the scope of a Divine Low-level Formation Master.' Indeed, with his Late Stage Transition Realm cultivation, Rean also didn't find much of a problem becoming a Divine Low-level Formation Master. If anything, it was even easier than forging. 'But then again, I was able to change them according to what I believe they do with some of my own runes. Now I just have to try them out.'

The palace in the center of Butiva Country was completely abandoned... or so it was supposed to be. However, it still had one more use other than just serving as the tower for the communication system's antenna. It was the fact it was located in the very middle of the city. With that said, Celis headed straight to that place before turning back into his tree form and spreading his roots underground.

That way, he could gather more Divine Energy from the surroundings, making the city a much better place for cultivation for himself and the others. Of course, Celis would rather stay in the Dimensional Realm since the Dimensional Realm had a naturally higher Divine Energy concentration. It's just that Roan didn't allow him to do that, as increasing the country's strength for the competition took priority. Celis's role would be that important.

There was a problem, though. With Celis's cultivation suppressed to the Peak Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, not only couldn't he cultivate, the amount of Divine Energy he could gather was ridiculously low. Most people in the city didn't feel any difference whatsoever. To be more specific, Celis's presence in the palace caught a lot more of their attention than his ability with Divine Energy.

Sometime later, Rean arrived at the palace and smiled at Celis, telling him, "Hey, Celis, I finished it up. Give it a try."

Suddenly, Rean threw one of the badges to Celis, who let out a sigh of relief in response. "Finally! I haven't progressed in cultivation at all during the past week."

Celis then used his own Divine Sense and blood... or sap for the matter... to bind the badge to himself. Immediately, Celis felt like the pressure acting on his Demon Core completely disappeared, allowing his Divine Energy to run freely. "Great!"

Following that, his size began to increase even more as his roots spread further and further. Hundreds of kilometers around the city, Divine Energy rushed in Celis' direction, being felt by everyone in the city at the same time.

"That's more like it!" Celis was happy to see that he could finally cultivate again. "It isn't as good as the Dimensional Realm, but it'll do. From now on, everyone in the city and several kilometers around it will benefit from it."

Rean nodded after hearing that. "That's the idea. By the way, do you feel any problem with the badge, or is it holding back the suppression perfectly? The badge isn't exactly the same as the one I received, after all."

"Don't worry," replied Celis. "My cultivation is running smoothly. I can still feel the suppression around my body, but it's avoiding me. I can totally fight with my full power at the moment."

"That's good." Rean obviously wanted to hear that. "By the way, where's Kentucky? I have to pass one to him as well."

"I'm here," answered a giant black and white bird as it came flying down from the skies. "It was about time for you to finish the badges. Flying at the Nascent Soul Realm feels so slow that it feels like I wasn't even moving."

"Why were you even flying there?" Rean asked, curious.

"It was Roan," Kentucky told him. "He told me that Luina and Leticia's choice of taking the center countries would definitely raise a bit of suspicion. He believes that some of the cultivators of the Jamai Sect or their subordinates will definitely fly over here to see what's happening. I should keep my Divine Sense bending skill active all the time as well for that."

Rean nodded in response, saying, "I see... but then again, it's not like you could do anything about it."

"I told him that," Kentucky answered. "But he simply said that he only needed to know when they appeared. They most likely wouldn't use the teleport formations to avoid catching anyone's attention. It seems to have something to do with his own plans about when to start attacking the surrounding countries that don't give up straight away."

Rean shrugged his shoulders after hearing that. "Well, you know Roan. He doesn't make a move if it isn't really necessary. Anyway, take this badge here. See if your cultivation returns to normal."

Kentucky quickly took the badge, and sure enough, the suppression on his Demon Core disappeared in a flash. "Yeah, I'm back to the Late Stage Transition Realm."

"By the way, did you find anyone?" Rean couldn't help but ask.

Kentucky shook his head, telling him, "Not yet. Even Roan thinks it's still too early before anyone appears. The other participants will definitely focus on getting their countries back on track first. I'm just part of a contingency plan."

Rean didn't mind. "Alright. I already gave the method of making the copies of the badges to the blacksmiths and formation masters of the sect. With that, I can tell them to start mass production. Anyway, I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave."

Celis didn't even listen as he continued to cultivate. In fact, he even took many Divine Stones out and used them for it.

As for Kentucky, he simply nodded and shot to the skies once again. Obviously, the speed at which he disappeared was many times faster than when he arrived with his cultivation unlocked.

Following that, Rean arrived back in the sect's office, where Jessica worked with Ganhan to make everything work. By now, Ganhan had already gotten tired of feeling shocked with everything the System Sect had to offer with their Circuitry Formations. He simply accepted everything and tried to learn as fast as possible.