Death… And Me

Chapter 3306: Finally Back

It took an entire year, but eventually, the lockdown in Etijei was lifted. During this time, several searches, repeating the same places many times, happened. As one can imagine, quite a few ʼdirtyʼ deals and other not very ʼlegalʼ events were unearthed, but none of them had anything to do with the phenomenon. The same thing happened to all the other cities that were affected by the phenomenon, just not as rigorous as Etijei.

Yet, this region of the Divine Snow World became many times more livelier as well. The cities were on lockdown, but that didnʼt mean the regions were completely locked. The area was just too gigantic for the powers to keep an eye on everywhere, so they didnʼt even try.

With that, countless cultivators, demon beasts, and spirits came from many different places in the Divine Snow World. They all joined outside the cities and in various other locations, creating settlements and things like that. Everyone had only one thing in mind, the hope that the phenomenon would happen again and they would be the ones to benefit from it. When Etijei and the other cities were finally open, a big wave of experts immediately rushed inside. People looked for information everywhere, and they especially talked to all those who experienced the phenomenon. No side effects were found, only pure talent change. The few who could already be considered geniuses in these places were especially targeted since the evolution was the same for all.

Inside the Celestial Soul Dimensional Realm, the twins and Kentucky were still cultivating, absorbing the Divine Energy from the Divine Stones and the Starlight Energy from the Fragment nonstop. By now, they had already reached the Sixth Sky Realm, which was equivalent to the Soul Transformation Realm back then.

[We got some news from Marev and Karev.] Sister Orb suddenly appeared, showing them the information.

Rean, Roan, and Kentucky stopped for a moment, checking what Sister Orb wanted to show. ”So Etijei is now open again, uh?”

Kentucky thought for a moment. ”Do you think it is safe to go out and leave the city? It seems like so many people are now coming in that it shouldnʼt be an issue to go out without being noticed.”

”The opposite,” Roan shook his head, though. ”Everyone is probably trying to come in, and considering how long they kept the lockdown, I doubt they have given up already. Instead, they most likely lifted all the lockdowns to pay close attention to everyone who would try to leave the city instead of entering it. Look at this part.”

Roan then pointed out in the news.

-Everyone who desires to leave the city will have to be checked first. Those with Pocket Dimensional Realms must allow the City Personnel inside to check everything as well.-

”They want to find out if we are still in here. It is one last chance to make sure that they didnʼt miss us or whoever they think is responsible for the phenomenon.”

Kentucky sighed. ”Then Rifindio still canʼt go out to train and gain experience. Well, we can only wait.”

Roan agreed with him. ”Exactly. However, it wonʼt last forever. Keeping such a tight search while so many experts are coming and going is not easy. Just let Rifindio and Zangeshu continue to cultivate normally. Also, tell Marev, Karev, and the others to not come into any of these cities.”

[Alright. To be fair, Marev and Karev are the only ones still in the range of the phenomenon. They didnʼt go out as this place became quite good with the influx of experts from everywhere. They joined several groups, went out hunting, cultivated together, and things like that. They are having quite a good time. As for the others, they all left these regions a long time ago. Tanxanʼs group, for example, is already out of this continent.]

”Tanxan is a Space Bending Realm expert, after all,” Rean wasnʼt surprised in the least. ”Not to mention, with his knowledge, earning some Divine Stones for cultivation and long- distance teleport formations wouldnʼt be an issue. It is good that he is already gone with Foliana and Renata.”

Roan sat down again, taking another Divine Stone in his hands. ”Anyway, back to cultivate. If something different happens, let us know. Sister Orb.”

[Alright.]

Kentucky bitterly smiled and also took another Divine Stone. Rean, obviously, did the same as they returned to their cultivation. They were far from emptying the Fragment of its Starlight Energy.

Time continued to pass, and the twinsʼ group cultivation speed continued as fast as ever. One could only wonder just how much better it would have been had Celis been here. Nonetheless, each realm needed more and more Sky Energy, so the speed of breakthroughs obviously went down.

It took them another half a year just to reach the Seventh Sky Realm, an entire year and nine months to reach the Eighth Sky Realm, and almost four years to finally reach the Ninth Sky Realm Peak Stage.

There was good news during this time, though. Rifindio finally reached the Void Tempering Realm and was now in the Peak Stage. Also, a year after Etijeiʼs lockdown was lifted, the powers of the Divine Snow World finally made it easier to exit the cities. Too long and too many resources were being used, with no proof whatsoever that the twins or whoever made the phenomenon happen was still in any of them.

Thanks to that, Rifindio and Zangeshu were allowed to go outside, and they took the opportunity to gain experience in the nearby Demon Beast territories or by simply taking missions available in the city for them. Zangeshu wanted to go to the Formations Guild, but Rean prohibited him from doing so since he would still have to provide his ID, and that might lead to problems in the long run. They would have their time to check the formations of the Divine Realm once they truly leave this city for good.

With pretty much only his cultivation to take care of, Zangeshu reached the Initial Stage of the Transition Realm. Sure enough, having Rean as master and Roan to work on his cultivation technique was a heaven-sent blessing. With Divine Stones and the phenomenon included, Zangeshuʼs cultivation speed skyrocketed.

Seven years after they arrived in Etijei City, the twins and Kentucky were finally ready to enter the Void Tempering Realm. Or should they call it the Tenth Sky Realm? The Transition Realm was the last ʼMortalʼ Cultivation Realm, while the Void Tempering marked the start of what people considered the real ʼImmortalʼ Cultivation Realms. They would have to break through to see if they would return to the same path as others again.