The entire group was led to a large open flower garden within the royal castle. Rare and ancient flowers grew throughout the space, and their pure fragrances elevated the Yang in everyone present, bringing a sense of purity and tranquility.
At the entrance of the garden, four maidens dressed in palace servant attire waited silently. These servants were at the Divine Origin Realm and were hybrids, half Immortal Crane.
The whale’s group snorted in discontent. It wasn’t that there weren’t any royal family members available to stay with the twins; it was just that they had been left practically to fend for themselves and die.
They had heard that people didn’t want to join them, but so what? There were many who could be forced to help, giving them a chance to live.
Noticing the critical looks, the prince sighed. "Don’t judge so quickly. Our race is called Immortal Crane for a reason. These twins might not seem like much, but among all the hybrids with royal blood, they were chosen for this task because they have the necessary abilities."
Although he didn’t go into details, everyone in the whale’s group understood what he meant. The twins were probably the only ones with a bloodline strong enough to use some secret skill of their race. Maybe something that justified the title of Immortal.
An Empyrean conqueror could be reborn; it wouldn’t be impossible to imagine they had something similar under certain conditions. They hoped it was something like that; otherwise, it would be very cruel to these young people.
Ruri’s eyes lit up when she heard this. The Immortal Crane race specialized in time manipulation, a field she had never been able to study deeply. Her space laws had hit a limit some time ago, and she needed to study time to advance further. The two facets were complementary and necessary for more significant progress.
"We need a large place to accommodate an army," the whale said softly to the prince, who looked at him with doubt. "My girl is a beast tamer, and my group is much larger than it appears."
The prince’s eyes widened in surprise. Now he was sure the group had been holding back during the fight.
He signaled one of the maids, who immediately directed them to a residential area with hundreds of rooms and a huge courtyard.
"The soldiers should finish the hunt soon. I’ll discuss everything with the king and return to settle the details," said the prince, bidding farewell and leaving.
Ruri released everyone from her beast world, except Amary, who was still reconnecting to the old body. Suddenly, an army of draconic beasts appeared, making the maids hold their breath at the powerful aura emanating from them.
The whale and the twins were left in a room with the five who had brought them. Finally, Merua heard from the five who they were and what had happened up to that point.
She was stunned by the incredible events but eventually turned to the whale and bowed. "Nice to meet you, I’m Merua. Thank you for saving my brother."
The whale nodded slightly and then spoke clearly. "Firstly, my group and I were not actually recruited by Nenuo. It was a coincidence that we decided to save him. However, we were planning to join one of the four nations and took advantage of the situation."
"I understand. We appreciate you choosing us. I... I don’t know if we have enough to satisfy you; you arrived and have already achieved feats we never imagined," Merua replied seriously, looking down.
"Don’t worry about that. We were just passing through and planned to head to the Red Void Forest. If there are no restrictions, we’ll work together fairly for everyone. Afterward, we’ll leave," said the whale.
Bruno then started asking questions about the forest and other information he got from the dwarf. He needed to cross-check the details and confirm everything to ensure it was accurate. Merua answered seriously with what she knew.
Alm and Bruno initially focused on her fluctuations, but soon stopped. She was exactly what she seemed—simple and honest, just wanting to live. But life had been cruel and forced the twins into impossible responsibilities too early.
After finishing his questions, the whale turned to the five who were nearby. "We need to prepare for the Red Void Forest. If you five want, you can train with my allies. I can’t guarantee anything, but if you have a strong enough will, your gains could be immense."
The five’s eyes lit up with excitement. Training with them? They’d all seen how strong they were. They quickly clenched their fists in determination, nodding eagerly. Merua, seeing their enthusiasm, gestured for them to leave.
The whale, Merua, and Nenuo, who was still unconscious, were left in the room. "It seems that, unlike your brother, your bloodline is in conflict, making your cultivation difficult," the whale commented calmly.
She sighed and said, "Immortal Cranes are very close to Yang. As a woman, even with a pure bloodline, I would be weaker than him. As a hybrid, the situation becomes a thousand times worse."
Alm mentally snorted, while Bruno nodded and handed her a rune. "This will be useful. Your brother will wake up soon. Use this time to prepare."
She took the rune with a puzzled look. Upon reading it, her body froze. "Beast Blood Refinement Technique: Universal Hybrid," she murmured in astonishment.
The whale got up and left the room, not wanting to witness her attempt at gratitude; her self-esteem was too low, and it wasn’t pleasing to them.
A few hours later, the prince, accompanied by several important figures, approached the courtyard. Seeing the army of draconic beasts, their eyes widened in surprise. Then, seeing the intense training of the five, they were pleased.
When they met the whale, the prince said, "The king wanted to express his gratitude and decided to reward you appropriately. What do you want? Resources?"
"Hm... no, you have a lot of knowledge and ancient techniques, right? I want all the knowledge possible about the laws of time. My girl needs it."
The whale spoke calmly. Previously, they confirmed with Merua that this nation was essentially broke. They barely had resources for their pure members, and even with all their help, they could barely offer a decent place to rest. Resources? What they could offer would be negligible.
However, being an ancient nation with much knowledge and ancestral techniques, it was acceptable to ask for something like this. So, they would let Ruri take advantage of the opportunity, since she was a space cultivator.
The plan was to gather all the benefits from the Red Void Forest and, upon returning, negotiate with the nation for what they truly needed.
The prince nodded, he already knew Ruri was a space cultivator, and it made sense. They almost let out a sigh of relief. It would have been embarrassing if he had asked for something they couldn’t provide.
The whale called Ruri, and she was taken to the royal family’s ancestral library. All the knowledge about the laws of time was available to her, and she immersed herself in it like a sponge, trying to absorb as much as possible.
The next day, Nenuo woke up. His sister ran to see him and explained everything that had happened. He knew absolutely nothing, not even how he was still alive.
"Thank you, sir!" Nenuo roared toward the whale. "I’d die without hesitation to help you, but I beg you! Protect my sister and bring her back from the forest."
The whale replied dryly, "You must get strong enough to protect her. Don’t entrust someone so important to a stranger."
Bruno sent the same technique to the other brother. Now, they could use the remaining weeks to improve significantly.
The days went by, and the five, as well as the twins, trained relentlessly, not caring about anything else. The whale’s group was pleased with their determination to rise. The ones in charge of their training were the three young Feys, who taught everything they knew and also learned a lot themselves. In the end, everyone benefited.
Among the twins, Merua had explosive growth. Within a few days, the issues with her bloodline were resolved, and she finally showcased her true talents. Although the Immortal Crane race had a greater affinity for Yang and space-time laws, Merua was only average at it. With Rehvka’s tips, she began to manipulate Yin effectively, without conflicts with her bloodline.
Her brother, on the other hand, focused on studying his race’s time techniques. As everyone suspected, there were deep, secretive aspects to this technique. Only those with a strong enough bloodline could learn the introduction.
Both of them managed it surprisingly well, something no other hybrid with royal blood their age had achieved. Unfortunately, what should have been a blessing almost turned into a mortal curse for these twins.
After some time, the prince returned and observed the changes in the twins and the group. The changes were quite shocking. The entire royal family was excited and grateful to the whale’s group and its members.
Alm and Bruno didn’t miss the chance and quickly requested access to the nation’s history and fantasy books. Everyone was surprised, but they saw no reason to refuse. After all, they were just fanciful tales made for entertainment.
So, the weeks passed with them immersed in the library, reading all the ancient stories they could. The amount of books and Jade Slips was overwhelming, even for them.
Finally, with just one day left before the forest opened, the whale returned to the courtyard of their group, accompanied by Ruri. It was a calm and peaceful morning, and Ruri was visibly pleased with the gains.
Upon arrival, they inquired about the twins and learned that both had fainted from exhaustion after training to their limit the night before.
The whale moved slowly, and Alm felt a strange fluctuation. They turned towards the twins’ room and clearly sensed that Merua was very distressed.
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Entering the room, Merua faced them with a pale expression. In her arms was her brother, with his eyes closed. Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened as they focused on Nenuo, sensing something terrifying.
’He... he’s dead? Impossible!’ Bruno exclaimed.