Death... and me

Frandin was surprised that neither of them seemed to have heard of it before.

After some time, the elders couldn't help but ask.

"Little friend, are you sure your elders said it?"

"I didn't know about it at all."

"It seems unbelievable."

"A rank even higher than the Emperor's Bloodline Soul Mark."

However, the ancestor of the Portin Clan, Ye Portin, had a dark expression on his face as he heard all of that.

"Enough!"

The other elders immediately shut up, waiting for him to continue.

"Gian, this isn't something you should talk about in the open like that."

Everyone was taken aback once more. From the looks of it, Ye Portin seemed to know something about the Rank Ten Bloodline Marks.

"All of you, what was said today can't leave this room. It includes you, Valia."

Valia noticed the seriousness of the situation and immediately nodded in response.

"Yes, ancestor."

Ye nodded before explaining.

"I can't say anything else. Just know that if you start talking about it, I won't be surprised if your body appears on a river the very next day. Well, you'll be fortunate if your body can even be found. Worst case, the entire clan will be destroyed. This is a taboo topic that few dare to touch."

However, the fact that Gian(Frandin) knew about that made the elders and the ancestor of the Portin Clan even more convinced that he was from one of the Celestial Lands. Ye then got up and called Frandin over.

"Come with me. I'll tell you what I know. However, I don't know much to start with, so you better not get your hopes up. Valia, take care of his humans in the meantime."

Frandin glanced at Roan and the girls for a moment before they nodded at him. As long as he could obtain information, that was for the best.

Frandin then left with Ye Portin while Valia was given the responsibility of taking care of Roan's group. Of course, as soon as they left the elder's room, her expression changed, totally showing how disgusted she was to have to deal with them. Since when did she ever have to care about humans? Let alone the ones that made her pass through such humiliation.

"Count yourselves lucky for having such a master. If it was any other situation, I would have cut all of you to pieces."

However, she soon noticed that neither Roan nor the girls seemed to be paying attention to her. It was as if she was nothing but air. Instead, the girls were talking about the clothes they bought a while earlier while Roan just listened. Well, he was ignoring that, to be honest.

"Humans, you dare ignore me?"

Hearing that, Calina looked in Valia's direction before asking.

"That's weird. I didn't know you cared about humans paying attention to you. Don't you hate us?"

Valia was taken aback after hearing Calina's question. That's right, she shouldn't care about them at all.

"That's not it, Calina. She grew up being the center of attention. Even if we're humans, she won't be able to accept it if we don't put her on a pedestal."

"Qia's right. Oh! I have an idea. Let's praise her looks. She should feel happy like that. Besides, she's trying to catch young master's attention, so it should give her some confidence, right?"

"That's a great idea!"

"Miss Valia, you're beautiful!"

"Such nice clothes, even better than the ones we bought in that shop."

"I love your smooth skin. What did you do to become like this?"

Even Roan couldn't help but show a faint smile. It would have been okay if they had just praised her. However, they didn't hide their previous words either, let alone the fact that their expressions didn't look like they meant it at all. Obviously, they were doing it to make the girl even more upset.

Suddenly, Roan saw the red color of killing intent spread around him and the girls.

"You bunch of trash. How dare you treat me, a noble Zasfin, like that? You're courting death."

However, none of them seemed the least bit concerned. They knew that it was all bark but no bite. As much as Valia wanted to kill them all right now, she couldn't do so because of Frandin.

Eventually, Roan opened his mouth as he said.

"That's enough. We're here for the young master, so stop causing trouble."

Calina and the others looked at Roan with a smile.

'Wasn't it you who offended her first?'

Well, they still followed his orders and kept silent.

Valia was still fuming, though. However, she really couldn't do anything against them at the moment. It's not that she had no way of doing it, but because she couldn't afford to offend Frandin again.

'Hmph! You just wait! If I succeed in conquering him, the first thing I'll do is get rid of you four.'

Valia didn't say those words out loud, though.

"Forget it. Come with me. I'll leave you in the human's lodge for the time being."

Roan and the girls followed Valia after that.

Somewhere else, in a private room, Frandin and Ye Portin began talking about the Rank Ten Bloodline Trial Grounds.

"Senior Ye, do you know where that place is located?"

Ye shook his head.

"No. I dare say that only the Imperial Family or the biggest organizations like the Celestial Lands know about it."

Frandin found it strange as he asked.

"Then, how did you hear about it?"

Ye waved his hands as he replied.

"That's because there is a need for some of us to know about its existence. After all, that place also needs new blood joining every now and then. The ancestors of the big clans in our city also know about it. Of course, we never discuss it out in the open. That is the rule. For all effects, Rank Nine Bloodline Soul Marks is the limit."

Frandin understood what he meant.

"I see... The requirements to join that place should be sky-high. Still, there's a small chance that someone good enough would be born even in a city like this one. That's why some of you need to know of its existence."

Ye smiled after hearing that.

"It's good to talk with intelligent people. Anyway, go ahead. What else do you want to ask?"