Death... and me

To be honest, the Dragon Tail Brotherhood group was lucky to have seen that scene. At the very least, they would be able to warn their other companions about the event. That information would also be spread to their other groups once they arrived at the third level. However, they definitely wouldn’t tell anyone else. After all, it’s not like the top ten powers of the Lanqueas Continent were friends or anything like that.

Then again, it wasn’t all bad news for them. That’s because a member of their group now had both the ice blue dragon wings and the red dragon body on their forehead. As mentioned before, the small white dragon would check the five most worthy people to give the marks to. Surprisingly, it turned out that this group of the Dragon Tail Brotherhood was close enough when that happened. It’s just that Rean, Roan, Kentucky, and Hurio were still considered to have much more talent than the five members of the Dragon Tail Brotherhood. With that being said, the twins’ group got the four extra marks and didn’t even notice the Dragon Tail Brotherhood member, who got the fifth and last one.

The elder, who accompanied the cultivators of that group, looked at the top of the volcano before saying, “We already got Frinho’s mark. Let’s head to the lava pool in the volcano and see if the white dragon will appear or not. If it doesn’t, then that group we saw leave some time ago got the rest of the marks from this pool.”

The other four who didn’t get the second mark obviously agreed with that. As for Frinho, he sighed in relief, seeing that he at least got his own. ‘Now I know how Celso felt when he was the only one who got his mark.’

Their group soon ascended the volcano, eventually showing themselves in front of the lava pool. Unfortunately for them, the small white dragon didn’t come out at all. The Dragon Tail Brotherhood had participated in this selection fifty-two times, so they knew what that meant. “Alright, all five marks have been distributed.”

The elder then looked in a certain direction before saying, “Celso’s group went to their Dragon Pool as well. However, only Celso can get the second mark. That means the white dragon there will still have four marks remaining. This detour will make us lose quite a bit of time, but it’s better than the rest of you not getting your marks.”

Except for Frinho, the rest of their members naturally approved the idea. However, they also understood that it would delay Frinho. The brotherhood was known for its union, so the rest of the cultivators immediately understood what they should do. “Frinho, you go ahead of us and try to reach the third level. We’ll head to the next lava pool. There’s no need for you to follow us since you don’t need the second mark anymore.”

Frinho knew how their brotherhood worked, so he didn’t complain, nodding as he told them, “Alright. We don’t know what happened to the other ten powers, so you still have time. Try to make your way to the next Dragon Pool quickly. I’ll wait for you at the third level’s entrance.”

The elder then warned Frinho, “If we take more than one day to arrive, then you should go ahead and look for the Dragon Pool there. As you know, speed is paramount in the selection, so don’t wait more than you need. Be careful, though. Although the number of ancient beasts is smaller during the Light Element Wave season, they’re still around. That salamander is proof of that.”

Frinho nodded, taking out an item that looked like a compass. “Don’t worry, elder. I should be able to avoid danger.”

With that said, Frinho soon separated from his group, heading to the second level’s exit. His group, on the other hand, went to the second Dragon Pool on the second level.

In the meantime, Kentucky flew at his normal speed. Before, he had to be careful to not catch any ancient beast’s attention. However, with Sally there, he didn’t need to care about that anymore. Thanks to that, Rean’s group was one of the first groups to arrive at the second level’s exit while they still had their marks, spending only three days.

Of course, that only included most of the top ten powers’ groups, who stayed in the second level to look for their beast pools. When they entered the second level, many cultivators rushed forward, trying to leave the searing environment as soon as possible. Although a few perished along the way, there were indeed those who made their way out. Not only that, but they were mostly waiting outside the second level, right in front of the exit. They were once again waiting for the top ten powers before continuing onto the third level.

Then again, the word ‘mostly’ did not mean all. It turns out that Rean’s group wasn’t the first dual mark bearers to exit the second level. Stationed close to the exit of the second floor, they quickly noticed three more small groups with five people in them. Judging by their clothes and badges, it was easy to tell that they were part of the top ten powers. To be more precise, there was one group from the Lanqueas Sect, one from the Jix Organization, and finally, one from the Croste Clan.

At first, those from the top ten powers didn’t care too much about Rean’s group. A bunch of cultivators with a flying demon beast could definitely make their way out of the second floor. There were even a few cultivators around who didn’t even have their flying demon beasts but arrived nonetheless. However, their expressions quickly changed when they paid attention to the marks on Rean, Roan, Hurio, and Kentucky’s foreheads. No, to be more specific, it was the aura left behind by the twins’ group marks that got their attention.

“Two Dragon Marks?!”

“How did they get that?”

“They must have killed the Dragon Tail Brotherhood members. Don’t forget, you can steal others’ marks if you kill them.”

Rean could have used his Light bending skill to hide the marks again. However, it would be useless at this point. That’s because they noticed that after they received the second mark, it began to release a strong aura. The worst part was that they couldn’t prevent it from spreading at all. ‘Seems like they noticed it….’