Death... and me

The first condition wasn't too much of a problem. The twins had figured out most of the things already. Even the cultivators that were not part of the top ten already had an idea of what was happening. It's just that they wouldn't be able to escape the next Light Element Wave. The only problem was the Freezing Star Liquid.

"What?!"

"Freezing Star Liquid?!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find such a thing?"

"You're asking for too much!"

In response, Rean patted Sally's head as he continued, "Is it really that hard? Weird, I thought being able to tame an ancient beast was several times harder. At the very least, none of you have ever succeeded in doing it. As for the Freezing Star Liquid, although rare, you have found quite a lot of it after tens of thousands of years. I wonder, which one is worth more in your eyes? The Freezing Star Liquid, or the method to tame the ancient beasts? Well, it's not exactly taming, but you get the idea."

"This..." Rean's words immediately shut everyone up.

Rean knew that he had hooked them, so he struck the iron while it was hot. "In the Soul Binding Contract, I will put a clause where my brother and I won't ever tell anyone else how to form an agreement with the ancient beasts. That means the people who go through this deal with us will be the only ones who will learn the method. I wonder... would one of the top ten powers of Lanqueas Continent find it useful to be able to do these agreements with the ancient beasts? Especially during the times when the Lost Star Selection is happening?"

At that point, the voice of disapproval among the cultivators disappeared. Indeed. How good would it be to be able to borrow the ancient beasts' power when they participated in the Lost Star Selections? Wouldn't that mean they would always be selected? After all, who could fight against the ancient beasts in the Lost Star Realm?

With that, Colirano gritted his teeth and raised his hand, telling them, "I accept the deal. Two vials of Freezing Star Liquid. However, you'll have to sign the Soul Binding Contract first."

Naturally, the elders of the other powers couldn't let the Didatido Sect have the method for themselves. Who knows if they would ever find another way to do the same thing?

"Our Krui Clan is willing to give two vials of Freezing Star Liquid and a thousand Rank Two Divine Stones."

"Hmph! Our Forse Guild offers extra ten thousand Rank Two Divine Stones!"

"Extra fifteen thousand from our Jix Organization!"

"Hehe! If it's Divine Stones, our Croste Clan doesn't lack any of them. Two vials and twenty thousand Rank Two Divine Stones!"

"Ha! Aren't you too cheap? Let me show you why we're the leading force of the Lanqueas Continent. Three Vials of Freezing Star Liquid!"

After hearing that, the others looked at the elder of the Lanqueas Sect. He was one of the four elders sent along with their four groups of five disciples. In fact, he was also the same guy Rean and Roan saw at the exit of the second level, Yuan.

Naturally, the other powers narrowed their eyes in response when they heard that. Two vials were already pushing it in their eyes. Three vials made it somewhat unfeasible for them. But then again, they needed the methods to form an agreement with the ancient beasts.

"We also offer three vials and the Rank Two Divine Stones," the elder from the Jix organization said.

And just like that, a bidding session had begun. Rean, of course, was delighted to hear all of that. However, he and Roan only needed two vials. As long as they had the necessary items, the Soul Gem System's Starlight Body Cultivation Technique would always work. With that said, he immediately reached a decision. 'It's not much, but it'll serve as a small payback for what they had done.'

Rean then looked at the Croste Clan elder before saying, "Alright, all of you can stop already. The guy from the Croste Clan, what's your name?"

That elder immediately answered, saying, "I'm Opacli Croste."

Rean nodded in response. "I have some connection with your Croste Clan, so I've decided that I'll take your offer. We just need two vials in the end, so there isn't much of a point in the offers continuing to rise. After all, as people from the Jhiod Continent, we don't lack Divine Stones that much."

Opacli was ecstatic to hear that. Even for the entire Croste Clan as a whole, Three vials of Freezing Star Liquid was a ridiculously high price. The twenty thousand Rank Two Divine Stones weren't much of an issue, though.

"Wait, you can't do that!" Naturally, the other powers didn't like that at all.

"We can definitely offer more, even if it isn't Divine Stones."

"Yes. How about rare alchemy pills? We have those as well."

However, Rean didn't seem to care about it. "I have made my decision. If any of you are dissatisfied with my deal, you can make a deal with the Croste Clan later. Opacli, come here and write the Soul Binding Contract. Put there that you shall explain the Lost Star Selection's rules and pay me for the secret. In exchange, I must tell you the methods to form the agreement or my brother and I will die. Also, you can put a clause there that other than me and my brother, no one else in our group knows how to do it. That means it'll be useless to ask Hurio and Lilia about it later."

How could Opacli not agree? Rean basically told him to write everything he wanted to from the very start. He only had one doubt, though. "You don't mind if I put a time limit for you to teach our Croste Clan the method, right?"

Rean smiled in response. "Not at all. However, I will only tell you the methods through a Divine Sense message a moment before the selection is over. Your Croste Clan can make use of this secret in the future, but I don't want to have competition before we're guaranteed a chance in that second plane."

Opacli already expected as much. "That's fine. I'll put the time limit to coincide with the selection's ending."

And with that, Opacli took out one of his own Soul Binding Contracts, just to make sure it was genuine, and wrote down the clauses.