Death… And Me

Chapter 4352: New Group

Celis didn’t waste any time. The moment they left the Treasure Hall, he immediately requested the full payment to be withdrawn. Those who participated in a war were exempt from mandatory missions for at least half a year, and Celis had no intention of wasting that precious period. As far as he was concerned, every single crystal they had just obtained was cultivation fuel waiting to be consumed.

”Come. You are helping me,” Celis said as he grabbed Kentucky and dragged him along.

Kentucky’s eyes widened.

”What? Already?!” he complained. ”We barely finished the war!”

Unfortunately for him, Celis wasn’t interested in excuses. Kentucky’s nest was located on Celis’ branches for a reason. The effect of their shared cultivation setup was simply too good to ignore, especially now that they possessed enough resources to attempt a major breakthrough in their cultivation.

Now that he finally had the resources necessary, nothing short of a catastrophe would stop him.

Rean and Roan paid little attention to the argument.

The moment Celis and Kentucky disappeared into the distance, the twins began discussing their own plans.

”I’ll join them during this cultivation round,” Roan said. ”What about you?”

Rean had already made up his mind.

”I’ll focus on the airplane. Now that we finally have the funds, I think I can build something capable of rivaling a Zone God in terms of pure flight speed and defensive capabilities. Of course, it won’t be of much use for battle, but it doesn’t have to be.”

His eyes shone with anticipation.

”Honestly, I have the feeling it will become useful very soon.”

Roan wasn’t surprised. Rean’s instincts regarding inventions and preparations had proven themselves countless times before. More often than not, whenever Rean felt compelled to improve something, that improvement ended up becoming extremely important later.

Suddenly, Rean remembered something. ”Right! What about that invitation to join the exploration elite team?”

Roan had already been thinking about that matter.

”It might actually be a good opportunity,” he answered. ”At the moment, we possess enough strength to handle most situations involving Anchor Gods and even some weaker Aura Gods’ level of threat. However, if a Godly Predator appears, we still won’t have any way to deal with it ourselves.”

He paused briefly before continuing. ”These exploration groups are usually accompanied by Zone Gods. As long as they are present, we will have a safety net. More importantly, we’ll gain opportunities to leave the settled territories, gather information, test our abilities, and train under real conditions.”

The Celestial Plane was enormous.

The Wangamiglia Sect was only a tiny part of the Besgol Region, and the Besgol Region itself occupied only a small portion of the surrounding territories.

If they wanted to truly understand this new world, eventually they would need to venture outside.

Rean nodded in agreement.

”Well, you’re the one responsible for planning. I’ll leave that part to you.” Then he shrugged. ”It just looks like we’ll have to stay together for a while longer if we want to keep using the system.”

Both twins felt somewhat helpless regarding that issue.

Originally, they had intended to separate after reaching the Celestial Plane. Rean wanted to pursue his research and inventions, while Roan preferred gathering information and exploring opportunities. Their personalities naturally pushed them in different directions.

Unfortunately, the Orb System had other ideas.

If they moved too far apart, many of its functions would become unusable. More importantly, they wouldn’t be able to purchase future upgrades for their shared cultivation technique.

At least they were already used to staying together after so many years.

That didn’t mean they liked it.

”I’ll talk to Huriu later,” Roan said. ”Then we’ll find out when the next exploration group is scheduled to leave Besgol. Ideally, it should happen after you finish the airplane.”

His gaze shifted toward Rean. ”Speaking of which, how long do you think it will take?”

Rean pondered the question for a moment. ”At least a year.”

Roan wasn’t surprised.

Rean continued explaining. ”The new funds give me access to much better materials, but that’s actually part of the problem. Better materials mean better alloys. Better alloys mean redesigning a lot of the existing structure. I can’t simply replace components one-for-one and expect everything to work perfectly.”

He shook his head. ”I’ll have to recalculate everything. Structural support. Energy distribution. Array compatibility. Flight stability. Defensive layers. The whole thing.”

Then he sighed. ”And don’t forget there are only three Array Masters helping me. We aren’t exactly running a huge research division.”

Considering the complexity of the project, a year was actually quite impressive.

”A year is fast enough,” Roan replied. ”In that case, I’ll tell Celis to prioritize efficiency instead of breakthrough speed during cultivation. With that amount of Godly Crystals, we might be able to reach the Peak Stage of the Anchor God Realm by the time you’re finished.”

The possibility sounded quite realistic.

Their cultivation speed was already absurd thanks to the shared cultivation. Adding thousands of high-quality cultivation resources on top of that would push their progress even further.

With everything decided, the twins finally separated.

As Rean walked through the city toward his residence, his Ring Communicator suddenly activated.

”Yes?” he answered.

-Are you Rean Larks?-

”The one and only,” Rean replied with a smile. ”Can I help you?”

-Yes.-

The man didn’t waste any time.

-I’m Flugel, Guild Master of the Arrays Guild here in Besgol. Tobao spoke with me and passed along the array you created for review.-

Rean wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

The Godly Pressure Disguising Array had already proven its value during the war. Any competent Array Master would naturally want to study it.

”That’s good to hear,” Rean replied. ”The blueprints are exactly as I released them. I made them public so anyone could work on improving them.”

Then he laughed. ”If you’re calling because the design looks inefficient, that’s because it is. The current version is still incredibly rough. I wasn’t trying to hide anything.”

-I am calling because of the array,- Flugel admitted. -But more importantly, I want to recruit you.-

Rean blinked. ”Recruit me?” He looked genuinely confused. ”What are you talking about? I’m already a member of the Arrays Guild. My name is in your registries.”

-That’s not what I mean.-

Flugel quickly clarified.

-I want to recruit you into the development project for the Godly Pressure Disguising Array. You’re an ascender, and it’s obvious you possess extensive experience with arrays or similar systems from your Great Void. I want you working directly with our Array Masters to improve the design. If possible, I’d even like you as the leading figure of the project.-

Rean immediately shook his head.

”No can do.” His answer came so quickly that Flugel was briefly caught off guard. ”I already discussed this with Tobao. Even if I’m an ascender, I’m still just an Anchor God. I can’t even project my energy outside my body yet.”

Rean snorted. ”Do you honestly think a bunch of high-level Array Masters are going to accept orders from me? Most of them will probably assume I stumbled onto the concept by pure luck.”

The more he thought about it, the more troublesome it sounded. ”I’m not interested in spending my time proving that my decisions are correct every few days. That’s exhausting.”

Surprisingly, Flugel didn’t sound disappointed.

-Yes. I’m aware of that problem.-

That answer immediately caught Rean’s attention.

-Which is exactly why there won’t be any Level Three Array Masters in your project.-

Rean frowned. ”What?”

-I’ve already investigated your situation. I know you’ve managed to gather several Level Two Array Masters around you. Well, you actually made one of them a Level Two Array Master in a month, it seems. Since they already trust your abilities, they shouldn’t create many problems. So, I’m sending you more Array masters of a similar level instead.-

That explanation only made Rean more suspicious.

”Are you listening to yourself?” he asked. ”You’re talking about a project that could influence the future of the entire Besgol Region. And you’re telling me that no Level Three Array Masters will participate?”

-That’s where you’re mistaken.- Flugel chuckled. -Your group won’t have any Level Three Array Masters. That doesn’t mean there won’t be another group.-

The moment those words left his mouth, Rean began to understand.

Flugel continued. -I will lead another official project. The higher-level Array Masters will work under me to study the array and explore possible applications. Publicly, that will be the only project anyone knows about.-

Then his tone became more meaningful. -In the background, however, you’ll lead a second team. A private one. No announcements. No publicity. No unnecessary attention. Exactly the way Tobao said you prefer it.-

Rean’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Flugel clearly had everything planned already.

-And before you ask,- Flugel continued, -yes, I’ll be receiving most of the public credit. However, you’ll gain access to resources, personnel, facilities, and support. If your claim that you released the blueprint for the benefit of Besgol was genuine, then this arrangement shouldn’t be a problem.-

He paused briefly. -In fact, we can even support your other projects, provided those resources are used exclusively for array-related development.-

That final point immediately attracted Rean’s attention.

Flugel waited a moment before speaking again.

-So? What do you think? It sounds like a fairly good deal to me.-

Rean considered the proposal carefully.

His identity would remain hidden.

He would receive additional support.

He could direct his own research.

He would gain access to more personnel.

Most importantly, he wouldn’t have to waste time dealing with politics and public recognition.

As for the issue of credit...

Rean couldn’t care less.

If he wanted fame, he would never have asked Tobao to conceal his role in creating the Godly Pressure Disguising Array in the first place.

After thinking it through, he finally nodded. ”Alright. I’ll accept.”

Flugel smiled.

However, Rean wasn’t finished. ”But there is one condition.”

The Guild Master’s smile faded slightly.

”We work on the projects I choose. Naturally, every resource allocated through this arrangement will be used for those projects and not for my personal benefit.” Then Rean’s voice became firmer. ”And nobody interferes with my work. That includes you.”

For a moment, silence filled the communication channel.

Even Flugel found those words somewhat uncomfortable.

After all, he was the Guild Master.

The idea of supporting a project he couldn’t directly control didn’t sit particularly well with him.

Yet as he thought about Tobao’s warnings and the reports he had received about Rean, he slowly realized something.

Trying to control Rean would probably be the fastest way to make this cooperation fail.

Eventually, Flugel sighed.

-Very well.-

The agreement was reached.