Death... and me

Naturally, Roan agreed with what Hurio told them. “Well, he’s right. However, how exactly do we take the marks from them?”

Hearing that, Rean got close to the guy he killed and touched the mark on his forehead. As soon as he did that, the turtle limbs and shell seemed to transform into some kind of liquid that flowed into Rean’s hand. The liquid then made its way to Rean’s Dragon Mark, quickly disappearing as it melded with the mark. “See? Like this.”

Roan’s mouth twitched in response to what Rean did. “Don’t talk as if you knew it would happen.”

“Who cares?” Rean responded back with a question. “Just go ahead and take your marks.”

However, as soon as Rean said that, a burst of aura came out of his mark, spreading around for hundreds of kilometers. It was the same aura they felt when they first acquired the second mark, but far stronger than before.

Naturally, Roan understood what it meant. “No wonder it’s called a selection. Even the marks you get end up trying to warn other groups that you killed someone somewhere in the aura’s direction.” Of course, he didn’t care about that at all and approached the corpse of the guy he killed.

Kentucky did the same thing as he could not help but say, “Well, the top ten powers had been monopolizing the marks up to now. So, whoever might have felt our presence will just think that we’re also part of the top ten powers who killed some people from the same league.”

Hurio nodded in response. “The weird thing is that they waited to reach the third level to do that. Do you remember the Lanqueas Sect, Croste Clan, and Jix Organization groups outside the second level? They didn’t attack each other at all.”

Lilia could guess why, so she told them, “That’s probably because of what that guy who fled told us. You need to get the recognition of the beast who distributes the third mark. If you don’t kill your opponents on the third floor, the beast won’t be able to feel it. The fact that the aura of your marks increased could have been some type of mechanic in the selection which would force a group to purposely lose to the other.”

Rean, Roan, Hurio, and Kentucky had to admit Lilia was right. “Well, we will find more about it soon. Let’s get the rest of the marks.”

Sure enough, another burst of aura came from Roan, Kentucky, and Hurio’s marks, being felt for hundreds of kilometers once again. If there were any groups of the top ten within this range, they would probably come after the twins’ group. Especially since their marks now had a much stronger aura, making it easier to detect from further away.

The twins’ group didn’t care, though. They simply spread Hurio and Rean once again and continued to travel further into the third level. All that mattered to them right now was to find that beast pool and the Fallen Light Star Fragments.

In the meantime, Gigo used an item given to him by the elders of the Didatido Sect to find his sect’s other groups. To be more specific, he went to the group where he knew there was a Void Tempering Realm elder overseeing them. Of course, he was also cautious since it would be terrible if he was caught by another group with five members from another top ten power.

“Elder Colirano!” When he finally caught up to his sect members, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Surprisingly, Colirano was a cultivator at the Late Stage of the Void Tempering Realm. Obviously, with that level of cultivation, he was put in charge of one of the best groups from their Didatido Sect, making it clear that Gigo’s group wasn’t one of them. “Hmm? Gigo?” As Gigo arrived, Colirano noticed the former’s presence and narrowed his eyes.

A female cultivator called Qlinca couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Gigo. “Hahaha! So four of you already died? Indeed, no wonder your group was the weakest one.”

The other cultivators obviously laughed in response after hearing that. Unlike the Dragon Tail Brotherhood, the Didatido Sect wasn’t as united. One more death meant less competition for the rest.

Gigo gritted his teeth when he heard that. However, he knew it wasn’t the time to entertain those guys. Besides, he was indeed not considered good enough to have a Void Tempering Realm elder protecting his group, unlike Qlinca and the others. Nevertheless, he ignored them and immediately told Colirano what had happened. “What?! Someone brought a demon beast stronger than the elders to the selection?”

Gigo nodded in response. “Yes. That thing was extremely powerful and, at the same time, small. It looked nothing more than a weird fat lizard. However, it was able to almost kill everyone in a moment.”

Colirano narrowed his eyes when he heard that. “A lizard?” As part of the top ten powers, the Didatido Sect obviously had a good grasp of the experts from the Lanqueas Continent. That also included the demon beasts at the Void Tempering Realm and above. “Can you describe the lizard to me?”

Gigo nodded and described the lizard as he saw it. However, Colirano couldn’t remember any demon beast at such a level in their Lanqueas Continent. It was then that he thought about the ancient beasts of the Lost Star Realm. “Wait! That’s not a demon beast from our Realm of Gods. What you’re talking about is a Star Armored Salamander!”

Gigo and even the other disciples were taken aback to hear that. “Impossible! Everyone knows there’s no way to tame the ancient beasts. Even when the ancestors joined hands to subjugate a few ancient beasts before, all of them died battling to their dying breaths. The ancient beasts simply don’t accept becoming a tamed beast for anyone. The ancestors only got injured for nothing.”

Colirano agreed with them, saying, “I know. However, I also know all the demon beasts at the Void Tempering Realm and above in our Lanqueas Continent. None of them fit the description.”

“But aren’t the Star Armored Salamanders supposed to be gigantic, over several kilometers in size?” Qlinca could not help but ask.

Colirano nodded, explaining, “As far as I know, that’s true. However, what makes me think this is a Star Armored Salamander is the fact that it used a spatial restriction ability imbued with Fire Element. Void Tempering Realm cultivators can’t even dream about doing such a thing. In fact, I’m not even sure which realm would be necessary to be able to do that. It has to be an ancient beast for sure. That group most likely had something to do in the Lost Star Realm.”

Gigo found it strange, though. “Maybe not.” Obviously, Colirano and the others looked at him with puzzled expressions, so he continued, “Well, it was very obvious to me that they didn’t know about the conditions to acquire the third mark. Otherwise, why would they pretend to be weak to make me tell them this rule?”

Indeed, they had to admit Gigo’s words made sense. “Are you telling me that they didn’t even know what was happening when they came here?”

“That’s what I think,” Gigo replied. “Also, I’m not sure if they really tamed the Salamander. After all, they could have used it to kill my companions and me. However, it didn’t kill anyone. Their group had to act and do it by themselves.”

Colirano then took an item from his spatial ring that released a small stream of purple energy in a certain direction. “In any case, we need to meet the other groups before they end up meeting those guys.. Let’s go.”