Death... and me

[Hmm?]

Rean and Roan didn't notice anything, but Sister Orb was totally different.

[What is this...? Seals? I'm not from this Universe, so I'm not sure what they are for... I better block them for the time being.]

Back on Tarshalia's side, her Seals in the air kept floating until finally, they gave her a result.

"This..."

Hulian noticed Tarshalia's change in expression and couldn't help but ask.

"What is it? Are they below 90%?"

Tarshalia nodded.

"Yes..."

Hulian's eyes lit up.

'So they are really reincarnations!'

However, before Hulian could finish forming this idea in his mind, Tarshalia continued.

"But there is a problem, their soul and body connection is... 0%."

"Wait, what?!"

Hulian thought like he had heard a joke.

"Are you sure it is 0%? Because that would mean..."

Tarshalia nodded.

"I know what that means. It is as if they are dead! Only in death would someone's soul lose the connection with their bodies entirely."

Hulian looked at Rean and Roan with his Spiritual Sense.

"It doesn't matter how I see it; they are very well alive and kicking! If some dark arts were used to lock their souls inside, their connection would be shallow, but definitely not 0%. Not to mention that the bodies used by them were dead ones. But Rean and Roan are absolutely alive, or at least, their bodies definitely are."

Tarshalia nodded.

"I know, I can see that with my Spiritual Sense too. However, the results still show 0%."

"Try it again, maybe you failed while drawing your Seals."

Usually, Tarshalia would be enraged by that comment. But even she had to admit that it could only be a mistake. There is no way that Rean and Roan are dead.

Tarshalia then took a deep breath and restarted the process, just for Sister Orb to block her once more. Two times, three times, four times. It kept showing 0%. In the end, Tarshalia used her Seal on Julio, Malaka, and Lenna. Finally, she got the results she wanted. All three of them had connections between 90 to 95%. That proved that she wasn't mistaking her readings.

"Just what is happening with those two?"

Hulian thought a little before saying.

"According to their protector, Rean and Roan have the ability to exchange the Elements that they can use. Roan can use Rean's Light Element, and Rean can do the same with Roan's Dark one. Their hair colors even change when that happens, becoming a mix of white and black. Do you think this anomaly in those twins could be causing these results in your search?"

That was the first time Tarshalia heard something like that.

"This... I really don't know. I've never heard of such a phenomenon before. However, that could really be the case, unless..."

Hulian's interest was immediately picked.

"Unless what?!"

"Unless someone is purposely intervening with my search. But I'm already in the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. So even if it was a Nascent Soul Realm expert, I would still detect it. In fact, I'm confident that even a Soul Transformation Realm would still leave some traces behind. However, there is absolutely nothing in my readings that show it."

Hulian understood what Tarshalia meant.

"Are you saying that it might be a... Saint Realm expert? Ridiculous! I refuse to believe that a Saint Realm expert would lose his or her time in a place like this."

Tarshalia immediately nodded.

"I agree with you. That's why I struggled to say that. After all, no one would believe this notion. In that case, we are only left with one option. These twins' connection is really affecting the readings, which also means that this connection is made through their Souls."

Hulian agreed with her.

"This is a lot more plausible than the Saint Realm option. Still, if that is the case, there is no way to find out whether they are reincarnations or not."

Tarshalia sighed.

"Most likely, they are not. After all, would two reincarnations try something as dangerous as a soul connection? I don't know if something like this is possible, but I can guarantee that the risks would be way too high!"

"Besides, if you were an expert strong enough to brand your soul and keep your memories for reincarnation, why would you do something that risky? There is simply no need for an expert at this level to do that due to their own knowledge. They would be more than competent enough to raise back to their peak on their own."

Hulian had to admit that Tarshalia is right.

"That's not all. You need to be at least above the Saint Realm if you want to brand your soul. I refuse to believe that such an expert would lose his time to enter our Dalamu Sect, right? They would be much better alone."

Hulian nodded his head once more.

"I'll keep an eye on them. Even though they are probably not reincarnations, I can't simply ignore this. That 0% result is bothering me, after all."

Tarshalia agreed with Hulian.

"That's the correct decision. There is nothing bad in keeping one's guard up. Anyway, you can continue with your entrance exam, I'm going back to the sect."

Hulian quickly bowed to Tarshalia.

"Thank you for your help. Keep it a secret, as we discussed before."

She nodded and quickly departed, soon disappearing in the distance.

Hulian looked at Rean and Roan from above for a few more hours after that. Sure enough, Rean and Roan really impressed him. Those two are in entirely different leagues compared to others, especially Roan.

"Well, their cultivation is still shallow, so it would take decades for them to present the sect any degree of danger. As long as they mean no harm to the Dalamu Sect, then I'm okay with anything."

Hulian then turned around and returned to the base.

As for Rean and Roan, they kept going on their hunt as if nothing had happened. Sister Orb was the only one who knew about what happened, but she decided not to comment.

[I need to finish analyzing those Seals before I can get a conclusion.]

Just like that, the time continued to pass. Rean's group finished their fourth day six positions higher, and they are now the 31st one.