Death… and me

Rean immediately noticed something different between the Deep Sea Monster Assault and the Life Syphon Forest. Both realm’s formations allowed the attacking enemies to find anyone hiding with any kind of technique. However, the time of transferring the information to the enemies was different.

Because there were a lot of insects, demon beasts, and plants, it was too hard to warn all of them at the same time. There was then a slight delay in reacting to Rean’s movement. By the time they attacked the position where Rean was a moment ago, he and his group had already used the battle formation to get out of there.

It only worked because of Rean’s Light bending skill. Normally, the insects and demon beasts would ‘see’ the enemy and then attack. In that case, there wasn’t a need to warn them as they could do that on their own. But since it was impossible to see Rean with one’s sight, they had to rely on the realm’s formation, which was too busy controlling everything.

Rean also took that chance to warn Roan, Kentucky, and Celis about this small detail. Kentucky and Roan could also use his Light bending skill, so they didn’t waste time activating it. Immediately, their groups became the ones that were the most relaxed during this test.

Meanwhile, the Silver Horn Sturgeons also separated into several groups. They knew that staying together would only attract more of the hostile enemies in this realm, so they had to do that. At the same time, that also helped them do a wider search for Erla’s location.

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter where their groups went. They simply couldn’t find a single trace of Erla at all. Sure, the Life Syphon Forest was very big, but they should at least find some clue after several hours in this place.

The worst part for them was that they didn’t have an easy time like Rean and the others. They had to fight the realm’s creatures and plants nonstop while doing the search. Because of that, a few of them were already caught and were forced to crush their badges. There were also those who didn’t have time to do that and simply died.

And just like that, seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours. Battles between cultivators, demon beasts, spirits, and the realm’s creatures happened everywhere. Badges being crushed and others refusing to give up just to die was a very common thing.

Fanso’s group gathered in the middle of the realm quite a few times during the search.

“Did you find anything?” Fanso asked the other Sturgeons.

“Not even a clue,” one of them answered.

“Same here.”

“Nothing on my side either.”

Fanso began to find it strange. “Have you found the twins instead?”

Once again, everyone shook their heads in response. That made Fanso have a bad feeling. However, he knew that the contract he gave Rean worked properly. ‘Could it be that Erla was caught by the creatures of this realm and died?’

In any case, he couldn’t just give up. “Continue the search. Also, do your best to stay alive. We’ll have no use for your bodies.”

“Understood.”

In the end, the test didn’t last an entire day. As the manager outside mentioned before, if 70% of the participants were eliminated from the test, the remaining 30% would automatically pass. 

*Tammm…*

Suddenly, a weird sound echoed throughout the entire Life Syphon Forest, which caused all its creatures and plants to stop moving. Immediately, the silence was the only thing one could hear as everyone paid close attention to their surroundings. They didn’t know what that sound was about.

However, in the next moment, all their badges activated at the same time, forcing them to teleport outside the Life Syphon Forest.

*Vup, vup, vup, vup, vup…*

Everyone then appeared in the same place. Seeing that, a worker from the Jhiod Sect’s building smiled at them. “Congratulations. You were all within the remaining 30% of the participants. The rest of the candidates died or used their badges to flee from the realm. Remember, only those who complete twelve tests in a row can join the sect. Keep up the good work.”

Fanso and his race members couldn’t care less about that, though. Their eyes instead were looking all around, trying to find Erla and Min.

“There they are!”

Surprisingly, Erla and Min had a very sorrowful appearance. It was more like they had gone through hell and come back to tell the story. Fanso’s group wasn’t that well-off, but even they didn’t look as bad as Erla and Min did.

At the same time, Fanso found Rean and Habac on another side. They were talking with Roan and Kentucky’s groups about their own tests with smiles on their faces. Unlike Erla and Min, Rean and Habac seemed to be doing relatively well. If anything, they seemed to be taking it easy.

Rean then looked in Fanso’s direction and noticed that Fanso was looking at him. However, all he did was a small nod before continuing his conversation with his group.

With how different Rean and Habac looked compared to Erla and Min, Fanso found it very hard to believe that Erla and Min were still together with Rean or anyone related to him. ‘Was I thinking too much? But then again, why didn’t we find Erla and Min at all? If they were having such a hard time, someone should have spotted them during our search in the Life Syphon Forest,’ Fanso thought.

Erla and Min then sat down and took a few Divine Stones to recover their energy.

Fanso, on the other hand, turned to his Silver Horn Sturgeons. “Those who are injured can go to the elders outside and get yourselves healed. The rest of us will stay here to watch Erla’s movements.”

Little did Fanso know, but Erla and Min weren’t as bad as they looked. The battle formation, Enhancement skill, and the Light bending skill allowed his group to pass the test easily. The only reason Erla and Min looked like that was to make Fanso think that Erla and Rean weren’t together anymore. It was all planned. They had purposely got themselves injured to continue their pretense.