Kill The Old Ones!

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”You’re back!”

”Welcome home!”

”Well done. You’ve returned to us stronger.”

These sentiments echoed once a year passed and some of the geniuses returned to the real world.

Not all of them returned, though. But it’s already comforting for most that some already returned home. This means that what the GMU told everybody was indeed true.

At least one year, a maximum of two. This will be the time period of the youth’s disappearance.

After a year exactly passed, some of the participants received a notice that they could return home if they wished. The mechanisms of the trial grounds will ensure their safe return. They will appear exactly where they’ve been taken.

Of course, there was also an option to stay, but just for another year; it won’t go past that because that will be beyond the rules of this realm.

Some who had received the offer, of course, felt ecstatic and immediately confirmed their wish to return home.

To some of them, although this place was indeed a good place for training, the loneliness and dreariness had worn them down severely. Sure, they could stave off the loneliness by making a call to their family and friends, but that could only go so far.

One must remember that they’re still young. 18 and below. Most of them have never endured long-term loneliness or have lived in a reclusive manner. They can’t endure that kind of lifestyle just yet; something like that comes with experience.

Therefore, unable to endure the atmosphere of this place, they immediately accepted a way out and returned home to their loved ones.

To them, one year was enough. They’ve trained hard enough in this place and have seen incredible progress. They’ve had enough. What they did was enough. It was time for them to leave.

Most of the families of those who returned were ecstatic to see them return. Only very few were disappointed that their children returned so early. They thought that they should’ve stayed a bit longer to gain more progress before returning.

Of course, there were those who chose to stay for longer.

In fact, the number of those who stayed behind far outnumbered those who left as soon as possible.

These children knew the truth: that this was an incredible opportunity they may never be able to experience again in their entire lives. If they leave now, they’d probably come to regret it in the future.

That’s why, even though they too wished to return, they deemed it too early to go back. They stayed behind to extract as much value from this place as they could.

Some wanted to go straight to the Inhuman Realm before returning, which is the natural instinct of those at the Pulse Awakening Stage. Some wanted to earn more points to buy more of the Sky Archons Arts. Some wanted other things that are available from the store.

Others either had nobody to return to or simply didn’t want to return at all. Which is why they stayed. There are even some who’d prefer to live here permanently if they could. Alas, that’s not an option for them.

Obviously, Ren didn’t return just yet. His business here was far from over.

Although he almost had every copy of all the available Sky Archon Arts in the store, he still doesn’t have the one he coveted the most.

Nobody from the Banished Arms Clan was surprised that Ren hasn’t come back yet. Hell, they’d be surprised if he actually returned now. They’d probably call that one an imposter had it happened.

Ren had repeatedly expressed his wish to train there as much as he could. He’s one of the very first people who immediately noticed the advantages of being here and had been working hard since night one.

He said it himself, ’Even if I could return, I wouldn’t. This place is just too good for training.’

That’s why the clan wasn’t surprised to know that he hasn’t come back yet. Besides, Ren himself told them that he too received the offer but chose to stay behind for some more.

At this rate, it looks like Ren would stay there for the whole two years, extracting as much benefit from it as possible.

That’s just Ren as always, though.

What’s unbelievable is that Ren was keeping up with his potion-making lessons with Raymond even though he’s away. He said that there were some ingredients available in there that made it somewhat possible for him to continue making potions.

He actually had his potion-making kit with him when he got taken, so he had no reason not to continue his lessons.

Even Raymond was exasperated with this child, seriously. He doesn’t understand how Ren’s mind works, but he also couldn’t see the fault in his reasoning. Therefore, the lessons continued.

At this point, Raymond was running out of things to teach him.

Ren had already made and mastered most of the potions that the clan makes on all occasions. His skill was catching up to Raymond’s own, and he was not slowing down.

It was Raymond who told him to slow down and focus on his current situation, instead. Both because he was concerned that Ren was putting way too much burden on his shoulders and because he’s running out of materials to teach him.

Fortunately, Ren was perceptive enough. He spared the old man and showed that he understood his concerns.

But in truth, Ren knew that he had come very far in his potion-making, especially for someone at his level.

It wouldn’t be long before he had to consider another ’side profession’ or ’hobby’ to master.

**

”Third section, secured,” Ren panted as he clutched the newly formed inheritance section on his hand. ”Just one more to go.”

He was close.

Close to the Godly Sky Archon Inheritance that he had been coveting since he arrived here.

He pretended that he didn’t care much about it to his uncle and relatives, but in truth, Ren had been wanting to get his hands on that particular one since the day he found himself here.

Ren pretended because he didn’t want to endanger them.

He knew that, at some point, people would make the connection. They will realize that the godly Sky Archon’s Inheritance could become a godly martial art, too.

Possessing a godly martial art wouldn’t be considered a blessing for a clan such as the Banished Arms Clan. It would be a curse.

If the idea spread that he was gunning for that inheritance in particular, by the time everybody returned, he too would be under close observation.

Everybody knew the names and the faces of those who had been taken here, and they could guess who went for the inheritance. The temptation was too great for anybody involved, and it would certainly cause some tensions, suspicions, and ultimately, chaos.

Ren didn’t want the clan to suffer from those. He didn’t want to endanger them for his pursuit of the main inheritance. He hasn’t even had the chance to raise the reputation of his clan yet; how could he risk them like that?

That’s why, if there’s anybody who’s spying on the clan and listening to his conversations with his clan through the world system, they would have an impression of him just training to his heart’s content. A person who doesn’t care about the main inheritance, just extracting as much benefit from his situation as he could.

He felt a little bad lying like this, but since it was for the sake of the clan, he’d do it without hesitation.

Ren also didn’t want to assume the worst from others, but he could never be too careful. He knew that there would certainly be people who would stoop so low just to get what they wanted.

On another note...

Now that Ren has the third piece, he would assume that the difficulty of his ’nights’ will sharply increase from here on out.

Hell, he might even start with Sky Archons breathing down his neck as soon as the night starts.

But Ren wasn’t afraid. He had dealt with Undead Sky Archons many times already. By now, he’s familiar with their habits and fighting styles.

Although he still couldn’t compete with them in terms of flying, at the very least, he never died in their hands.

Plus, he gets to test the Sky Archons’ arts he learned against them for direct comparison.

He might never be able to use them as well as they could, ever, especially since he’s not a Sky Archon. But seeing them in person still provides excellent reference material for him.

Ren Bad practically rehauled his martial discipline by integrating the Sky Archon discipline with it.

He was already unrivaled within the same realm before, but with this? He’d be unstoppable. And this is exactly why he kept on clearing each night.

Ren had basically no shortage of points to use. He buys an experience boost without feeling the pinch, making it permanently applied. He had purchased all the available Sky Archon Arts and could freely buy ready-to-eat meals, raw ingredients, and water for both drinking and bathing without emptying his wallet.

He was practically living at large here.