Death... and me

After that, Frandin left the Bloodline Trials Office with Rean and Roan.

'As I thought, strict training and near-death experiences are also deeply linked to how much you can improve in a period of time.'

Rean agreed with him as he said.

'It seems like the potential of Frandin's Soul Power was being wasted so far. No, to be more specific, most Zasfins are wasting their potential. After all, we rarely see Zasfins outside, battling demon beasts. Even when we do, they are usually attacking lower-level beasts.'

Roan nodded before looking at Frandin and asking.

'Correct. Frandin, before I put you into your new training schedule, how often did you go through battles that could really kill you?'

Frandin couldn't help but feel a chill on his back when he thought about that. He already lost his count on how many times he was just a hair's breadth away from dying since he had joined Rean's group.

'Errr... My father did send me out to fight the demon beasts nearby Danve City. That day when Rean capture me, I had just come back from one of those training sessions. However...'

Frandin then felt a little embarrassed, not wishing to talk about it. Rean and Roan didn't wait for him either. His expression had already answered their question. Sure enough, Frandin probably didn't fight truly dangerous beasts and didn't go through any life and death experiences. Even if he did, it was only once or twice.

'That's good for us. As long as the Bloodline Mark allows us to use Soul Power, we will be able to increase our power much faster than others. Of course, there are definitely Zasfins out there who know about it and are going through similarly dangerous training like ours. For example, those so-called geniuses that can join the Celestial Lands probably grew up through this method.'

Roan nodded once again.

"That's what I think as well. Simply put, Frandin's dream of joining a Celestial Land was a joke since he never tried to put in the necessary effort to raise his Soul Power. I can't even imagine how much stronger his Soul Power would be if he wasn't such a chicken before meeting us.'

Frandin felt even more embarrassed. Rean and Roan's words were harsh, but they were the absolute truth. Before being captured, his training schedules could be called anything but hard.

Roan then continued.

'Leaving his chicken thoughts aside, his Soul Power is increasing way faster than I predicted.'

Rean knew where Roan was coming from.

'You have the same idea as me, it seems. Most likely, Frandin's power is increasing this quickly because there was a lot of space for growth to start with. Once he uses up all the space available, the improvement in his Soul Power will slow down by a lot even if he keeps up the same training routine.'

Frandin was taken aback by that as he asked.

'Is that true? How come I don't know that?'

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said.

'That's because you don't know anyone who has trained seriously. Your father, who is already in the Nascent Soul Realm, couldn't get anything better than a  Rank Two Bloodline Mark. That shows that your chicken blood runs in the family. If I'm not wrong, your father is already very old, with no chances of breaking through into the Soul Transformation Realm anymore, right?'

Frandin didn't like how Rean put his words. Then again, he never acted any better when dealing with human slaves. In the end, he just sighed and nodded.

'Ever since father entered the Nascent Soul Realm, he has been in the initial stage. He is already 359 years old and has been in the initial stage for 168 years.'

One must remember that a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator's lifespan was nothing more than 500 years.

Rean and Roan were not surprised by that. It seemed like Frandin's father would at most reach the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm in his life.

'I'm quite impressed that he got to the Nascent Soul Realm at all, especially considering the lack of Spiritual Energy in this world.'

Frandin scratched the back of his head before saying.

'That's because he used the Rank Two Bloodline Trial to give the last push for his breakthrough. If not for that, he probably wouldn't have succeeded. The Bloodline Mark Trial allowed my father to jump from the Late Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion Realm straight to the Initial Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.'

Rean and Roan immediately stopped at that moment.

'Wait, what? You can use the trials to push for a breakthrough?'

Frandin then remembered that he had never commented about that.

'You can, but I don't know the specifics. As I mentioned before, the trial chances according to those taking the trials. I really don't know how it would be if you or I tried it. Of course, it probably isn't too much different, but I can't guarantee that either.'

Rean and Roan were still shocked by that. A trial alone allowed a Zasfin to jump two stages and one realm. How ridiculous was that?

'I'm even more interested in these trials now.'

Rean then pondered for a bit before only asking Roan.

'The Rank Five Bloodline Trial Grounds' security is even more strict than the Rank Four. However, it still follows the same rules as all others. The protection exists only in its surroundings. Once inside, you're alone. We are already intending to enter a Bloodline Trial anyway. That said, why don't we try this Rank Five one?'

Roan had to admit that he had been thinking about it ever since they exited the Bloodline Trial Office.

'However, we don't know the exact location of the Trial Grounds. Without that, we can't teleport there.'

Rean shook his head as he said.

'That's the point. We don't really need to get too close, right? The trial grounds seem to be quite a big place. What about we use my Spiritual Sense and Light Bending Skill to enter the security range and see where it's located? We don't need to get too close, just enough to see where we should teleport to.'

Roan nodded.

'Seems like that's a good idea. Let's find a place to stay and then leave Frandin there. After that, we can try to enter into their defenses without being discovered.'

As always, Rean asked Frandin to find some Blacksmith Workshop to rent. They ended up paying for one far from the city center. However, Rean didn't mind that since the place mattered little for him. After drawing a simple Anti-Spiritual Sense Formation, Rean entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm to see the others.

This time, however, Calina had black hair. Sure enough, she used the products to change her hair color once again. Roan had many materials for it from the time Calina was hidden in the Dalamu Sect. She didn't know when she would be going outside, but she wanted to be ready for that.

"What do you guys want to do now?"

Rean then explained their plans to everyone.

"I see... That seems risky but could also bring huge rewards."

Roan then mentioned.

"If things get risky, we will teleport away again. Last time, we only had to care about two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. This time, the Trial Grounds are filled with Core and Soul Fusion Realm and above cultivators. I wouldn't be surprised if a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator was also present, guarding it. That said, we won't fight and will immediately flee if we're found."

That was to be expected. One thing was fighting against powerful enemies, while the other was simply suicide. Without a doubt, trying to battle in this place could only be suicidal.

"Don't forget, once we get there, I'll bring you guys out as well. This Bloodline Mark might be a very good thing for all of us."

Malaka and the others immediately nodded and began to prepare. Meanwhile, Rean and Roan exited the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Frandin didn't even bother to think how they were doing that anymore after seeing it so many times. Following that, they sent him into the Dimensional Realm before leaving.

The quality of Formations in this world was definitely beneath the Formations in Sunkan Planet. However, the Zasfins could make up for it with the Soul Power Runes added to them. One of these Formations with Soul Power just so happened to be the protection formation around the Trial Grounds. That being said, there was only one entrance to the area.

Of course, Rean and Roan completely ignored that. Instead, they went to another side of the protection formation without anyone looking. From there, they entered the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm and used a very short teleport to appear on the other side. Besides, the entrance would have Nascent Soul Realm Spiritual Senses watching over. At Rean's cultivation level, he wouldn't be able to fend off those Spiritual Senses at such a close distance. Using the entrance was out of the question from the very start.

Rean and Roan also refrained from using Kentucky or Calina. Little by little, they made their way through the region, trying to find their way to the Trial Grounds. Tens of kilometers later...

'Roan, I can feel several Spiritual Senses already. Core and Soul Fusion Realm ones are the majority. Still, there are already two at the Nascent Soul Realm level.'

Roan wasn't surprised by that.

'This is good. That shows that we are moving in the right direction. Make sure not to let us get too close.'

Rean nodded as they kept moving forward. Using Rean's Light Bending Skill, they also couldn't be seen by the naked eye. In the end, the twins had to do several turns and retreat many times. Finding a breach where a Nascent Soul Realm's Spiritual Sense wouldn't be too close proved a lot harder than expected. However, those who put in the effort would eventually be rewarded.

'Found it!'