Death... and me

Min was taken aback for a moment but continued to talk with Blansin and the others as if nothing had happened. However, he used his Divine Sense to answer Rean's question at the same time. 'Why would you ask something like that?'

Rean smiled in response. 'It might be hard for the others to tell, but not me. Well, to be honest, I think your beloved might have noticed something as well. Although she isn't willing to bring it out. Anyway, at least for me, it's quite obvious that you don't like the guy very much.' Rean couldn't help but ask soon after, 'Is he some kind of love rival of yours? Are you afraid of him taking your Erla away?'

Min looked at Rean with a weird expression for a moment. 'I won't lie. I don't like the guy. However, it's not because of some love issues. Erla and I wouldn't get separated that easily after so many years. Not to mention that Blansin doesn't have this kind of intention towards Erla to start with. The problem lies somewhere else.'

Rean wasn't disappointed to hear that. He would feel quite sad if the issue was that cliche. 'Oh! Now you have my attention. But first of all, if you wish, I can ask him to leave the group. I'll just come up with some random excuse.'

Min immediately shook his head, saying, 'No, there

s no need. The reason I don't like him is because of the reason behind his presence in this place. It's quite complicated.'

'His... presence in this place?' Rean was confused. 'Wasn't he supposed to be here?'

Min confirmed Rean's words. 'That's correct. You see, I came to know Blansin through Erla since they're friends. He's one of the top geniuses of the Silver Horn Sturgeon Race. He's also in the Void Tempering Realm, just like Erla. Yet, he's just 179 years old. His race considers him to be their leader in the future. Of course, I'm only talking about the Silver Horn Sturgeon Race in the sea where he lives back in Terces Continent. Nevertheless, he's very important for them.'

Min continued, 'However, here he is, trying to join the Jhiod Continent. Erla, on the other hand, is different. She has some connections with the high-level White Scaled Carps as she's the daughter of one of them. That's why she came to know someone like Blansin and also how she had the connections to come to this place. However, she isn't especially gifted like Blansin. Both she and I are over double his age. Our reason in our attempt to join Jhiod Sect is basically because it's one of the best ways to make up for our lack of talent.' Min was only talking about super high-level talents. At their age, their cultivation was already very good compared to the majority.

'You think he wants something from Erla, is that right?' Rean asked.

Min nodded in agreement. 'That's what I think. However, Erla wasn't supposed to have anything that would matter to someone like Blansin. Sure, she might be the daughter of one of the White Scaled Carp higher-ups, but that's about it.'

Rean understood what Min meant. 'You think it's too much of a coincidence for him to appear right here, right?'

'That's correct,' Min answered.

Rean then used his Divine Sense to check Erla's body from top to bottom. Erla would definitely feel it, but because of the place they were in at the moment, there was no lack of Divine Senses everywhere. She would think that it was just another one, just like how she was using her own.

'Hmm... I can't see anything different on her,' Rean mentioned.

Min agreed with him. 'She's not very at hiding things from me either. If she had something important on her, she would have already told me.'

Rean then asked, 'So, do you want me to stop him from going with us, or should we just leave it be?'

'Leave it be,' Min answered. 'I want to see if I'm just thinking too deep into it or not. After all, it might indeed be just a coincidence. With Blansin's talent, I'm sure he would be welcome in the Jhiod Sect once he passes all twelve tests. Considering he survives until then, that is.'

Rean then called everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone. Let's go. It's time for the next test."

Erla, Habac, Blansin, and Min immediately followed Rean to the area of the spatial gate. There were many other groups and solo cultivators and demon beasts waiting there as well. Eventually, one of the managers appeared as the spatial gate activated. "The next test is the Pressure Realm. This will test your physical condition more than anything else. As for the rest, go and find yourself." Sure enough, very little was said before the test started. It was mostly because the tests repeated, so there wasn't much of a point in telling the same thing over and over again.

Roan's group quickly passed the gate together with the others. Kentucky and Celis' group followed a moment later. As for Rean's group, they were close to the last groups who passed through the portal.

*Bang!*

As soon as they appeared on the other side of the Spatial Gate, everyone felt as if their body were being pressed by a mountain. Naturally, Rean's group was no different. Min and Habac were obviously the ones who suffered the most.

"What the hell? Was it supposed to be this hard?" Min asked.

Habac nodded with a bitter smile. "It is. Last year, I wasn't able to resist this pressure for more than a few hours. I trained quite a lot before coming back here, so you better get used to it."

Erla and Blansin were demon beasts, so they had stronger bodies. Then again, they had to admit it was quite hard to keep standing. "As expected of the Jhiod Sect, I guess?"

As for Rean... "Hmm? Is there any difference between inside and outside?" Surprisingly, he didn't look the least bit annoyed.