Death... and me

Rean met with Roan outside the room before showing him the message he got in his CD. "So, this guy probably wants to talk to me about my performances in the arena, right?

Roan nodded. "That's obviously it. But you can just go and refuse him. Another thing, Rank One Spiritual Stones aren't making the cut anymore. We need Rank Two Spiritual Stones. We have plenty of Rank One but there is only so much speed we can achieve with them."

Rean pondered a bit. "Well, I guess we can already go back to the pill shop and buy those Foundation Establishment Pills. That way, we don't need to pretend to be in the Energy Gathering Realm anymore. 110 Rank One Spiritual Stones each, we have more than enough." Roan agreed with him. "I'm going to the market then. As for you, go and see what this elder wants. Perhaps you can extract some information from him as well."

"What kind of information are you looking for? Rean asked. "I don't think the people of a mortal world would know much about the Universe they live in."

"True," Roan didn't deny that. "But it is not guaranteed. Anyway, I'm off to the store. Just contact me if something happens." And so, Roan left.

Rean shrugged and shook his head before heading in another direction. Thanks to the invitation message he received, he got a free pass into the inner area of the Golden Clan, although he had to have someone accompanying him. Finally, Rean was brought to a big residence in the central area.

"You may enter," the guide spoke to him. "I can't follow you, so I'll be waiting outside once you return to the west side."

Rean nodded and headed into the residence. There, a young lady brought him to a living room before excusing herself. Rean had to wait for almost two hours until that elder Kuslau decided to appear.

"So you are the new star of the Arena, Rean, right?" An old man spoke as he entered the room and sat in front of Rean.

Rean pretended to be nervous, and he confirmed. "Y-Yes, elder Kuslau. M-My father didn't h- have much talent for cultivation, so he put all his effort into combat training. He is only in the Body Transformation Realm, but he can fight the Energy Gathering Realm experts of our village on his own. He made sure to teach me and my brother ever since we were very young." Kuslau nodded. He saw Rean's battle recordings in the arena during the past few days. At first, he had no interest since Rean was already twelve years old and still in the Initial Stage of the Energy Gathering Realm. However, his talent for combat was truly remarkable. Even Kuslau found it hard to see through Rean's pretense in the arena.

"You did a very good job suppressing your own combat power," Kuslau began to talk as he checked Rean with his Divine Sense. Without a doubt, Rean was indeed only in the Initial Stage of the Energy Gathering Realm, which pleased him now that he knew the whole story. "Tell me the truth, you probably can fight even those in the Peak Stage of the Energy Gathering Realm, can't you?"

Rean scratched the back of his head and nodded shyly. "Y-Yes... C-Could it be senior is angry I pretended to be weaker? My brother and I are very late in cultivation, so we need Spiritual Stones to catch up to the others. W-We aren't doing it because we like it..."

"Hahaha!" Kuslau laughed out loud. "Angry? Who is angry? Such a talent for combat that allows you to jump so many stages. It is the other kids' fault that they didn't see through your pretense faster. Besides, none of them has the right to complain about. Even your first opponents in the arena were at least in the same cultivation stage as you. Now, you are even fighting those with higher cultivation. If they are losing with higher cultivation, it is their fault for being weak."

Kuslau smile increased. "However, I also noticed you purposely avoided fighting any of the more famous youngsters from the Gondel Clan. Isn't that right?"

Rean was taken aback for a moment. Sure, Rean was much stronger than his cultivation showed. However, he couldn't possibly be the only cultivator capable of fighting those with higher cultivation. After Rean began to gain some fame, he received quite a few requests from other youngsters who could also fight those with higher cultivation. None of them could be compared to Rean, but they were still the geniuses of this Clan in their own right.

Rean read through their information every time they appeared and always refused to fight with them. There were various reasons behind this. First, it would look like Rean was afraid of fighting them, which would bring more fish to his net. Second, if he fought and won, which he could easily do, then he would find it harder to find other young cultivators willing to fight while betting their Spiritual Stones with him. These and other considerations ended up with Rean refusing to fight every single one of those geniuses.

"Y-Yes... I tried to not fight them," Rean didn't deny it.

"Tell me why," Kuslau asked back.

Rean took a deep breath. "Quite a few of them were direct descendants of the Gondel Clan. At the very least, they had incredible backgrounds. My brother and I come from a small village. If I fought and I won... I... I was afraid they would use their background to get rid of me." Kuslau's eyebrow raised a little. "You are quite thoughtful for someone so young. Your decision was correct. You have no backing, so causing trouble for those kids would not be a good idea. However, it can end now..."

Kuslau got up and extended his hand to Rean. "Rean Lark, would you like to be my disciple. I'm one of the High Elders of the Gondel Clan. As long as you have me, no one will be able to use their connections to cause you trouble."

'So he said,' Rean repeated the same words to Roan through their Soul Connection. Roan, who was on his way back to their rooms, didn't seem very interested. 'He doesn't have anything to offer us, so you can refuse. But... Hum... Perhaps he can be of some use in the future. Whatever, just decide for yourself and come back. I already got the pills.'

Rean didn't care much about it either, but in the end, he decided it might be better to have this Kuslau as his backing, even if it is just for a short time. "Y-Yes! I accept!" Obviously, he pretended to be excited. And so, Rean was announced in the Gondel Clan as Kuslau's new disciple, elevating his status immediately.

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