Death... and me



Qia quickly arrived in the Freedom Sect, going straight into the room where the Soul Flames of all its members who could generate one were kept. Before departing, Rean, Roan, Kentucky, and Luan left their Soul Flames there. 

Calina and Zuo Were there too. Zuo was Roan's first disciple, the one with Magnetism Affinity. "Qia, you came fast," said Calina with a smile.

Qia nodded as she looked at the Soul Flames of the twins. Sure enough, they were a lot more distinct than they had been in the last few decades. "They are truly back in the Realm of Gods! Even Luan and Kentucky's flames are also burning in the same way."

With their communication system, everyone now had a much easier time acquiring information from many different places in the Realm of Gods. When the twins left the Realm of Gods for the Underworld, Calina's group noticed that those four Soul Flames had diminished in size by a lot. Still, they didn't seem like they were going to extinguish. 

Naturally, Calina and the others got worried and went after information regarding this event. Using the communication formation and also the experts of the Dragon Race, they found out that this kind of specific change happens when a Soul Flame Owner leaves the Higher Realm where the flame is located.

That's how Calina and Qia found out that the twins had departed from the Realm of Gods. They sighed in relief after discovering that, but they weren't surprised. They knew from the twins that they would have to eventually go to the Underworld and the Heavens to acquire the fragments.

"Still, the intensity of the flames isn't anywhere near what it was when Rean and Roan first left the sect," Calina said, puzzled.

Qia tried to remember what the flames looked like back when the twins still lived in the sect and nodded in the end. "Indeed, they recovered a lot, but it is still not as big."

Zuo knew why." That means although they are in the Realm of Gods, they are truly far away. Unfortunately, we can't use the flames to find their location. Otherwise, we could ask senior Placake to send someone to pick them up with a Spatial Gate."

Calina and Qia nodded. They also knew that. "In any case, they can deal with it on their own. They will come back eventually, so we just need to wait."

"Hmph! I would rather they never came back," said Fay, still angry at the Rean's departure.

Qia laughed in response, seeing that although Fay said that with her mouth, her expression could completely hide her surprise. Rean had always been the one with the highest knowledge about Circuitry Formations. She deeply respected him for that since she loved formations herself. She obviously wanted to learn more and especially see what Rean learned during the time he was out. She just didn't want to admit it since it was also true she was angry about Rean leaving her mother behind.

'If just she knew what her father and Uncle are trying to achieve...' Qia couldn't help but think for a moment. Of course, she quickly threw that idea away as it wouldn't be good for others to know. 

Qia then took a deep breath and prepared to leave. "Since they are far away still, we can only hope they are fine. I still have to go to the facility to make the modifications in the communication badges." As mentioned before, Placake ordered that all the equipment used in the Demon Beasts Communication System should be out of the Freedom Sect. After all, he knew the Freedom Sect could be relocated at any time by the twins. She had to go out to continue working on it.

Calina watched as Qia left with Fay before she turned to her son, Alen. "So, what about you? Do you think your cultivation progress will be enough to satisfy your father when he comes back?"

Alen felt a chill running down his spine after hearing those words. "Mo-Mother... I-I-I've b-been very diligent..." Different from Fay, Alen wasn't angry with Roan for his leave. His fear of him didn't allow that. "B-But I guess it is not a bad idea to polish my skills a little more while he is out."

Zuo Fin smiled, being much older than Alen. "Let's go take the teleport formation and join the Demon Beast Armies in the conquest of the Devil Territories. That's a true skill-honing place."

  He has never had any problems with diligence, so he was very proud of his accomplishments. Sure, he fell quite behind Luan in his cultivation realm, being only at the Initial Stage of the Transition Realm. But he hasn't received Roan's attention as much as Luan, obviously. Not to mention that Luan had been inside the time acceleration effect of the Swamp of No Return, so he naturally fell even further behind. That still didn't diminish his efforts. Being at the Late Stage of the Transition Realm at his age was truly remarkable. 

Alen was taken aback. He did mature a lot and was indeed more diligent compared to himself decades ago. However, it didn't mean he changed his core nature. He still hated training and especially seeking danger on his own. "Ahem... there is no need. I know what to do."

Yet, Calina just waved her hand. "Bring him with you. He has been confined in the sect for the past few years. Although he did train consistently, he will lose his touch if he doesn't experience some hardship. Sorry for disturbing you again, little Zuo."

*Zush, zush!*

Alen tried to flee straight away, but Zuo was even fast, quickly catching him. "Don't worry, mistress. I'll make sure he won't die... probably."

"What do you mean with probably?" Alen asked back while struggling to get free.

Calina nodded. "If he dies, he dies. Everyone here goes out to train now and then with this in mind. I wish you two good luck." She mercilessly ignored her son's pledge and bid farewell to the two.

Screams were heard on the way to the teleport formations as Alen tried to get free, just to stop when the formation activated, making both of them disappear with a flash of silver light.