Death… And Me

Chapter 4433: Hunt

Back in the present day, things began to get interesting once again at the Godly Subjugation Guild Branch in Jufafner Country.

*Boom!*

A huge burst of Godly Energy spread outward, just like it had over two years ago. The sudden wave swept across the surrounding area, immediately catching the attention of every expert nearby. Before long, countless pairs of eyes turned toward the same estate.

The leader of the Jufafner Godly Subjugation Guild Branch was in the middle of reviewing several documents when he sensed the familiar burst. He slowly raised his head, looking in the direction where the energy had come from, his eyes narrowing almost immediately.

”Another one...”

His name was Conco. He had been stationed at this branch the last time he felt four simultaneous breakthroughs from that very same residence, and now history seemed to be repeating itself.

Not long after that first incident, the headquarters of the Godly Subjugation Guild had personally contacted him. The orders had been simple: keep an eye on those four cultivators, report anything unusual, but under no circumstances interfere with them.

”This is weird...” Conco muttered to himself. ”How can all four of them break through at exactly the same time twice? What about bottlenecks? There are two humans, a Demon Bird, and a Demon Tree. Their constitutions, foundations, and cultivation requirements should all be completely different. Even if they cultivated together, there should be no way for their breakthroughs to align so perfectly every single time.”

The more he thought about it, the stranger it became.

Eventually, however, Conco shook his head and let out a helpless sigh.

”No, forget it. I was told to observe, not investigate. The Guild Master personally contacted me to make sure those four were treated well. The headquarters must have some kind of special plan regarding them...”

He already knew about their ability to fly despite only being Aura Gods, so after witnessing another synchronized breakthrough, he became even more convinced that the guild was secretly conducting some sort of experiment through them.

Unfortunately for Conco, he couldn’t have been more mistaken.

The truth was much simpler. Nobody in the Godly Subjugation Guild knew what to do with the twins’ group. There was no hidden project, nor was anyone guiding their cultivation. The guild simply chose to leave them alone because no one understood them.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Conco connected to his Ring Communicator and calmly submitted another report regarding the four simultaneous breakthroughs before returning to his paperwork.

—

Inside the twins’ residence, Celis slowly retracted the roots spread throughout the cultivation room as his body transformed back into its humanoid form.

A little over two years.

That was all it had taken for the four of them to advance from the Initial Stage of the Aura God Realm to the Middle Stage.

Such cultivation speed was practically unheard of in a remote region like Besgol.

Even so, Celis showed no trace of excitement.

Instead, he controlled his Godly Energy, causing a crystal to rise from the ground before gently landing on his palm. Most of its golden brilliance had already disappeared, leaving behind only a faint remnant of its original color.

”This is not good.”

Roan stood up as well, immediately understanding what Celis meant. His eyes swept across the cultivation room, where piles of fine crystal dust still covered the floor.

Most of it came from Godly Spawn and Godly Beast Crystals they had consumed before switching to higher-quality resources. However, mixed among that dust was an equally noticeable amount left behind by Godly Predator Crystals.

”Indeed...” Roan nodded. ”Seventy-eight Godly Predator Crystals, not to mention all the Godly Spawn and Beast Crystals we used beforehand. And yet, that was only enough for us to reach the Middle Stage of the Aura God Realm.”

Rean let out a helpless sigh. ”We only have thirty-five Godly Predator Crystals remaining, plus a handful of Godly Spawn and Beast Crystals we purposely kept aside in case we needed money later. Those lower-level crystals won’t contribute anything meaningful to our cultivation anymore. Well, the Godly Beast ones can still be used, but the Spawns are definitely out of the question now.”

Sister Orb immediately voiced her dissatisfaction.

[What are you all looking so depressed for?]

She sounded genuinely confused.

[Did you already forget why your cultivation has always required absurd amounts of energy? You have no bottlenecks whatsoever, and your cultivations allow you to challenge opponents several stages—or even an entire realm—above yourselves. Why do you think that’s possible? One of the reasons is obviously because your Godly Energy reservoirs are many times larger than everyone else’s.]

She didn’t even pause before continuing.

[This isn’t anything new. You’ve been like this ever since Rean and Roan first reincarnated on Sunkan Planet. Every realm required absurd resources because every breakthrough built a foundation far beyond what ordinary cultivators could ever achieve.]

Then she laughed.

[Or would you rather cultivate faster while storing far less energy? If that were the case, your combat strength wouldn’t even compare to what you have now. You would need to be at least a Zone God just to match with the four of you at this moment.]

[Besides, look on the bright side! You can now manipulate fifty percent of your Godly Energy outside your bodies! Your energy reserves also increased again, which means you can stay airborne even longer than before. That’s something worth celebrating! Yay!]

Rean shrugged.

”Well... she isn’t wrong.” He scratched the back of his head. ”Not that I’m going to celebrate.”

Celis simply stored the nearly exhausted crystal away without taking another one out.

”There is no point continuing.” Everyone looked toward him. ”The remaining thirty-five Predator Crystals aren’t even close to enough for the Late Stage of the Aura God Realm, much less the Peak Stage. At this point, we need a new source of cultivation resources.”

Roan nodded before asking the obvious question. ”Can you estimate how many Predator Crystals we would need to reach the Late Stage?”

”I can.” Celis had been monitoring their energy consumption throughout the entire cultivation period, so he already had a rough answer prepared. ”Judging by how much our Godly Energy reservoirs expanded after this breakthrough, I estimate we would need at least one hundred and fifty Predator Crystals. One hundred and sixty would be a safer estimate.”

He paused briefly before adding, ”Of course, not all Godly Predator Crystals are equal. Stronger Godly Predators naturally produce crystals containing more Godly Energy and greater purity. My estimate is based solely on the Predator Crystals we currently possess.”

Rean suddenly remembered something. ”Right... Most of those came from the Spatial Boxes inside the ruins.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ”They were probably all collected from the same category of Godly Predator. I wonder where those crystals actually rank compared to the rest.”

”That’s easy enough to find out,” Kentucky said.

Without the slightest hesitation—or consideration for social etiquette—he connected to his Ring Communicator and immediately initiated a call.

—

At that very moment, Tobao was quietly stabilizing his cultivation after breaking through to the Late Stage of the Law God Realm when his Ring Communicator suddenly lit up.

”Hm?”

He looked at the unfamiliar communication request with some surprise.

Not many people possessed his personal contact information. More importantly, he remembered every single person who did.

So who was calling?

After accepting the connection, Kentucky’s cheerful voice immediately rang out.

-Hey, Senior Tobao. About those Godly Predator Crystals we received as rewards. Where would you rank them compared to the Predator Crystals you’ve seen throughout your life?-

Tobao blinked. ”What kind of question is that?”

He thought for a moment before answering honestly. ”Err... Quite low, I suppose. Why?”

*Cluc!*

The connection was immediately terminated.

”...”

The monk stood there in complete silence.

A moment later, one of his eyebrows twitched.

Was there actually someone in the entire Besgol Region bold enough to hang up on him immediately after getting the answer they wanted?

Of course...

After hearing Kentucky’s voice, Tobao already knew exactly who the culprit was.”What exactly is wrong with that bird...?”

—

Back inside the twins’ residence, Kentucky nodded in satisfaction. ”There you have it. Senior Tobao said they rank pretty low.”

He looked around before continuing, ”So we can probably treat the Predator Crystals we’ve been using as roughly Initial Stage ones, although this separation of level doesn’t really exist here.”

Roan silently organized the information, paying absolutely no attention to Kentucky’s incredible lack of manners during that call.

Finally, he nodded. ”Then our next course of action is obvious.” He looked at the others. ”Godly Spawn Crystals are no longer worth spending time on. At our current cultivation, even ordinary Godly Beast Crystals won’t provide much benefit unless we collect them in huge quantities.”

His expression continued as emotionless as ever. ”Godly Predator Crystals are what we truly need now. Which means...”

”We’re going out to hunt Godly Predators.”