Death… And Me

Chapter 3975: Something to Say

Going back a few minutes...

When Rean contacted Trulerga, he offered him a deal. He said that Roan would purposely score the same points as Trulerga, but in exchange, Trulerga would have to provide him with the same alchemy equipment that he was using. As a top alchemist in the Diamond Level of the Rongui Continent, he obviously had the best the Rongui Continent could offer.

Of course, how could Trulerga believe it so easily? First of all, Rean wasn’t Roan, so why was he coming up with this deal? So, obviously, Trulerga refused the deal at first.

But then, Rean used his logic. ’You really should take this deal, you know?’

’Yeah?’ Trulerga snorted. ’And why should I? I have confidence I can beat him.’

’Oh! So that’s the issue,’ Rean smiled in response. ’How about this, if you win, you obviously don’t have to do anything. Just pretend I never got in contact with you. However, if Roan achieves exactly the same score as you, then you have to give him the alchemy equipment he wants. How about that?’

’Once again, why should I do that?’ Trulerga asked back.

’Because you have nothing to lose. If you win, you win. However, what if you lose? Wouldn’t that be the same as losing all your face? You purposely selected a pill that you believed Roan couldn’t concoct. Yet, I’m sure you are checking on Roan’s progress once in a while. You should have noticed by now that he will at least finish the pill, just like you.’

Rean continued. ’I might as well add that he is purposely following your rhythm. He intends to finish his pill at the same time as you. Otherwise, he would have finished it a long time ago. Well, I can’t prove it to you, so you can decide whether I’m telling the truth or not.’

’Now, another reason for you to accept is actually the chances of the same score being achieved. Admit it, something like that is extremely unlikely to happen. I brought you this deal. If Roan does score the same points, it will be proof that he held back to match your pill performance.’

’Above all, you will not lose. For you, that’s what’s most important, isn’t it? Not losing is your main objective. No one will be able to say anything about you... Well, almost nothing at least.’

’Almost nothing?’ Trulerga got confused.

Rean sighed. ’Think, Roan is in the Middle Stage of the Space-Bending Realm, while you are at the Peak Stage. If he achieves the same points score, some might think that you are worse than him since you had the cultivation advantage.’

’Isn’t that the same shit as losing?!’ Trulerga pointed out.

’Maybe,’ Rean didn’t deny it. ’Fortunately, no one will dare to say it aloud. Instead, they will cling to the ’draw factor’ and use it as their own emotional support. Can you see why?’

Trulerga thought for a second and finally understood. ’I was second place in the challenge prior to this one. I do indeed have a higher cultivation than Roan, but so do all of them, and they lost to Roan and me. If they say I’m worse than Roan because of my cultivation, that’s the same as admitting they are even worse.’

’Seems like you know how to use your head.’ Rean was happy he didn’t need to explain everything. ’So, what do you think? This is a deal where you can save your face regardless of the result. If you end up winning, there is no need to care about what I said. If you get a draw, no one can say anything either. I believe your reputation is worth more than a few pieces of equipment, even if they are proprietary.’

Trulerga checked on Roan’s progress once again, but this time, he noticed Roan glancing at him, nodding slightly. Obviously, Roan knew of this deal Rean was offering and was waiting for his response. Trulerga was in a dilemma. Was Roan truly so good that he could purposely match his own score? In the end, Trulerga wasn’t willing to risk losing it, contacting Rean back. ’It’s a deal. However, I will definitely try to win this. And if you lose, I will expose this conversation we had to everyone.’

’Great!’ Rean was more than happy to comply. ’Then just finish your pill as you intended. We will see the result at the end.’

And that’s how Roan and Trulerga got the same score. Trulerga saved his face, Roan gained a lot of attention again, but as an alchemist this time, and the twins’ group as a whole earned another fortune. There will be plenty of High Rank Divine Stones by the time the selection starts.

---

Tanxan and Foliana were also doing their own things in that facility. Yes, Rean and Roan caught quite some attention. But at the end of the day, it was only within those small groups, and this was their first day there. There were plenty of things happening around.

Celis went to check on a group of Demon Plants, which, as always, had the fewest experts due to their rarity. The difference was that there weren’t really any challenges going around between them. They just exchanged experiences. Demon Plants can’t find masters and information about their types of cultivation very easily, even if you use the Werdlem Network.

Celis found that quite entertaining, and stayed there for the day. In fact, he returned to them in the following days and weeks. You could say that Celis was the only one to make some friends during this year before the selection. Even better, he gained quite a bit of respect. After all, he was once a Divinity Peak Stage Demon Tree, so his experiences were very valuable to those plants.

---

Time passed, and the twins’ group, especially Rean, Roan, and Kentucky, began to catch a lot of attention. Somehow, they were always attempting some challenges against other competitors, and even more ridiculously, they often got some absurd results. The word ’draw’ seemed to follow them around.

Of course, they also lost a few times on purpose, or it would be way too obvious they were doing their bits intentionally. Nonetheless, because they always stood out, winning or near the top, the experts in the Space-Bending Realm began to take close note of them.

That prompted some investigations by the bigger multi-continent powers, who sent their own guys to the Runia Continent to check out what the deal was with those six. No one expected a weak continent like Runia to have this many geniuses capable of putting up a fight on the various types of challenges.

It didn’t take long before it was found out that they were all Golden Radiance talents. Of course, the Judgemental Eye was something from the Runia Continent. Other places had their own ways of measuring potential and talents, just like Ximao once explained. The point was that there was a reason for them to be that good, and now those who investigated know why. Some even thought the Runia Continent put all its eggs into those six baskets.

As a result, some of the more well-known top experts of the same cultivation realm began to challenge the twins’ group. Some even tried to come up with challenges to force them to give up their selection slots, just like that first challenge Rean took part in.

Too bad that every time such a topic was brought up, not a single member of the twins’ group accepted. They were called cowards many times, and yet, none of them seemed to be the least bit concerned by the public opinion.

Many Divine Senses of Space-Time and Divinity Realm experts appeared and disappeared from time to time, focusing on the twins’ group. It was good that they didn’t need to worry about their cultivation being found now. Only a Celestial Realm expert would be able to see through their suppression... or the formations of the selection.

In the end, they increased their reputation and proved they deserved to be considered top experts among those in the Space-Bending Realm. It was still the same plan at the end of the day. Gather as much reputation as possible, so when they ’reach’ a higher cultivation level, no one would have anything to say. That’s what you expected of generational geniuses.

Time passed, and nine months went by. Today, Sister Orb was finally able to give the twins’ group some news regarding the formations used to check the participants before the selection. They gathered in the Celestial Soul Dimensional Realm to hear it.

[Well, it should be evident by now that some of those formations are indeed in the Legendary Level, considering how long it took me to work on them. But it is also good that the system’s processing power was upgraded, and those formations are only the most basic of the Legendary Level.]

”Wait, Sister Orb,” Foliana stopped her. ”Before that, Tanxan and I have something to say.”

”Uh?!” Rean was taken aback. ”It can’t be! Another love story?! No! I don’t accept it! I can’t have missed that too!!!”

”Your ass!” Foliana and Tanxan cursed back. ”It has nothing to do with love, idiot!”