Death... and me

"Selection?"

Frandin nodded as he replied.

"But of course. After all, I have to be fair to everyone, right?"

Fair? That's not exactly a common word in this world.

Frandin then looked at everyone with his prideful expression and began to explain.

"As I mentioned to Xiria before, this task you're going to embark on is anything but easy. There will be dangers, A LOT of them. Truth be told, I would be surprised if you didn't survive for more than a few months."

Someone couldn't help but ask.

"Why is that?"

Frandin snorted before taking out several pieces of paper. On it, one could see nothing more, nothing less than his own training schedule, which Roan wrote with his help. As everyone read through it, their blood went cold. Wasn't that practically suicide?

"Afraid? Unwilling? Unbelievable? Know that I've always been following this type of training. Do you think I have some great Soul Power Talent or amazing Cultivation Aptitude and Elemental Affinity?"

Frandin then pointed to a guy on his side, asking him.

"You, what's your Cultivation Aptitude? Also, how much was your Soul Power when you were born? I'm sure your parents told you that before. A clan of this size would definitely record that."

The guy was taken aback. His name was Maiozen Asume, one of the candidates trying to join Frandin.

"Y-Yes. I have a Blue Color Cultivation Aptitude. Also, I was born with 92 Soul Power Points."

Frandin nodded and pointed at the next one.

"I have a Green Color Cultivation Aptitude and was born with 87 Soul Power Points."

Frandin kept asking everyone there the same question. Xiria obviously had to answer that as well.

"I have a Blue Color Cultivation Aptitude, and I was born with a relatively high Soul Power Point of 102."

Frandin then laughed out as he said.

"So, it turns out that the majority of you have better Cultivation Aptitude and Soul Power Talent than me. I have a Yellow Aptitude Color and was born with 73 Points of Soul Power."

As soon as Frandin said that, everyone's eyes in the room widened. Let alone being considered a genius, Frandin was at most an above-average Zasfin. However, how come he had such high cultivation and Soul Power Points?

"Surprised? Thinking that I'm lying? Definitely not. I only have one thing you all don't have, the will to stake everything into cultivation. By following this kind of training, I have higher cultivation than any of you had or will have at my age."

After that, Frandin's Bloodline Soul Mark, the real earned one, shone on his forehead.

"I was also able to improve my Soul Power enough to pass the Rank Five Bloodline Trial. In the end, it only means that you're all a bunch of scaredy cats. There no such thing as a genius when it comes to my talent. But all of you are not my match."

*Bang!*

Frandin then hit the table with his palm, right where the paper with his training schedule was located.

"Do you want to follow me? Do you want to get a chance to get stronger? That's fine since I need help. However, you better be prepared. This is the kind of life that awaits you ahead. Hell-like training with a high chance of death at each corner. If you persist, I wouldn't be surprised even if you surpass me. If you don't... Hehe! I don't think the demon beasts out there will refuse a free meal."

The candidates were not the only ones to see that. The clan head, Xiria's father, and a few elders were also present. Surprisingly, even they considered Gian's (Frandin's) training schedule terrifying! Little did they know that Frandin wasn't the only one. In fact, his training schedule was still quite lenient. Compared to what Roan prepared for the girls, Rean, Agis, and Frandin had it easy. Of course, that was because Roan was adapting the schedule on how to train with Soul Power. Soon enough, Frandin's routine wouldn't be any easier than theirs now that he got Soul Power.

Frandin saw the fear in everyone's eyes, including Xiria. That made him feel very satisfied while he thought.

'Yes! Now you know how much I suffered! Hahaha! I will finally have someone to share my pain with! Today is such a great day!'

Nevertheless, the thing that impressed them more than anything else was that Gian(Frandin) was simply not anyone special. Except for a few, the majority had both cultivation aptitude and soul power talents that were higher than his. Of course, because of that, they thought that Gian might be lying.

Roan noticed what these candidates were thinking, so he sent Frandin a Spiritual Sense Message.

Following that, Frandin took out an Aptitude Measurement Orb and put his hand on it. Sure enough, the yellow color, in the end, proved that he wasn't joking. He really wasn't anything special.

"Now, then. To those who are afraid of dying, step back. I have no intention of helping scaredy cats."

Everyone's expressions changed nonstop. As expected, one Zasfin after another began to retreat. From the twenty-two Zasfins that were there at first, only five of them remained. The rest simply didn't think they could survive such a crazy style of life.

Laun's face went dark when he saw that, though. That's because, between the five that remained, his daughter was also there. However, he couldn't push her back now in front of Gian. The fact that Gian wasn't as talented as they thought only gave them more confidence that he was anything but simple. Perhaps only someone as crazy as him could be accepted in a Celestial Land, so it made a lot more sense.

"Oh! So we still have five of you here, huh? That was five more than I expected. Hahaha! Great! Let me praise you for your determination."

Those who were old already gave up, leaving only the young ones. The oldest in that group of five was only 31. Because of that, all of them were in the same Realm as Frandin, with Xiria and a guy called Kiu being the only ones in the same stage.

Frandin then took out his spear and pointed at the candidates.

"Come, let me test your abilities. You can attack me at the same time."

In that instant, everyone's expressions in the room changed. Wasn't Frandin being way too overbearing? Can he really fight all those five on his own? After all, two of them were also at the same cultivation stage as himself. As for the others, they were at least in the Foundation Establishment Realm as well.

Frandin had extreme confidence on his face, though. However, little did they know he was talking with Roan.

'That was your idea! You must help me read their movement, okay?! Otherwise, I'll definitely be beaten like a dead dog. There's no way I can fight so many of them at the same time!'

Roan mentally snorted in response. Just who do you think has been training him until now?

'My help? Hehe! Fine. Not that it will be necessary, though.'

Frandin was taken aback by Roan's remark. What did he mean by that?

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Author's note: I released a new project called The Ascension Age, check it out if you like this type of work.