Ruri, who was on the ground just listening and sensing the movement very close to them, couldn’t quite grasp what was happening. ’A pet? The Master was obese and... maybe a bit perverted... although he changed a lot.’
Then, Ruri remembered the first day she was summoned by the patriarch of Divinestone, right after they returned from the forest training. She had to take care of the unconscious and poisoned Innoa, and the patriarch appeared in the morning, looking pale and distraught about something.
She was on a spying mission for her Master and managed to gather information she couldn’t hear perfectly, so she didn’t report it to her Master at the time. But the words’ Denil,’ ’No more interest in the Maids’ she understood. Now, Ruri’s mind suddenly made a connection to this situation, and instinctively, her body seemed to freeze.
’M-Master... could it be that you...?’ Ruri asked through the array, astonished.
Alm and Bruno looked at her. ’What are you talking about?’
Ruri shook her head, seeming to have accepted it. ’It’s... It’s fine. Ruri doesn’t mind if Master now plays in the other team...’
Alm and Bruno almost vomited blood! ’Who the hell plays in the other team?! You play on the other team! Your entire family plays in the other team!’
Ruri was surprised by the anger in her Master’s mind voice. ’W-was I wrong?’
Bruno quickly nodded. ’Obviously! Just where the hell do you get these fucking ideas?’ But before Ruri could answer, Bruno stopped her. ’I’ll kill you if you point at me again!’
Ruri trembled a little and immediately looked away, pretending she didn’t do anything.
Finally, Alm and Bruno returned their attention to the task at hand, holding a subdued Almin by the neck. "Great, a good pet should follow its Master. And jump into a sea of lava if he commands."
A dry and painful murmur escaped Almin, replacing his response. Initially, they applied the Non-Lethal Strike Technique repeatedly, which was easy because Almin was deeply consumed by hatred.
After breaking his confidence, they used the mental power coming from Ruri through the array in the most direct and brutal way possible, as they were not skilled in this type of ability. In the end, they instilled fear in Almin’s mind, forcing his submission; after all, there was a risk he might prefer death to submission. So, to finish, Alm made sure to break some bones and inflict a bit more pain, sadistically.
With Almin subdued and completely defeated, Bruno activated the array. If they were in an open space, everyone could witness multicolored phenomena and a mystical crown above the head of the giant whale. However, in the darkness of the Yin laws that enveloped the area, only a few noticed a strange fluctuation.
Then, Ruri, close to the event, felt the change in the array and the connection between her and the Master, causing the network to tremble. A new segment in the formation was created under the command of Alm and Bruno. Ruri, upon receiving confirmation of this connection, became even more astonished and frightened.
In a matter of seconds, a runic mark blossomed on Almin’s forehead, integrating directly into his body. He officially became the second subject of Alm and Bruno in the Array of the Eternal Crown.
Although Alm and Bruno had a basic understanding of this array, the soul energy that controlled their formation far exceeded the power of the original creator of the technique. This allowed them to make certain modifications that were initially unforeseen; they forcibly sealed all of Almin’s connections to the array.
This way, their brother wouldn’t be able to cause trouble and wouldn’t immediately notice the runes and changes in his body. However, Alm and Bruno, as the core and commanders of everything, could still sense his location and impose strict control over their new subject. Of course, the consequence of this method was that they couldn’t utilize Almin’s abilities, and he himself gained no benefit from the array. However, this limitation wouldn’t last forever, and Alm and Bruno hoped to rescue some of their younger brother’s old personality.
When everything was done, Alm violently tossed Almin toward the large entrance door of the tower after walking back a little. They were still quite close to the entrance, just a few dozen meters away. Almin flew for a few seconds, and then the sound of a thunderous impact echoed throughout the area.
Almin’s battered body was immediately enveloped in earth runes, sealing and protecting him. He remained there, unconscious and attached to the gate, awaiting the end of the test; if he were still in danger at that point, they would know through the array. There were still thirty minutes left in the test, after all.
Alm and Bruno turned around, took a few steps, and encountered Ruri. They then felt a different fluctuation coming from her. She was still confused as to why they took Almin into the array as well.
Alm, who could see perfectly, mentally spoke to her. ’There is indeed a reason for us to take him in, but we can’t tell you now. You will understand in the future. Just don’t start with your weird ideas again.’
Ruri nodded, relieved that Alm wasn’t really gay like she initially thought.
***
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The test continued. With twenty minutes left, Ruri was already put into punishment by Alm in a new painful training.
He was directly manipulating the Yin laws of the environment and, through the array, forcing everything into her meridians, teaching her to manipulate it in the most brutal way possible.
Ruri focused forcefully through the pain. All living beings possessed different amounts of Yin and Yang in their bodies; she, being a human woman, naturally had much more Yin. But when that avalanche was placed on her, a deep pain ran through her. The Yin was swallowing the little Yang within her, and that could easily kill her.
’Focus on always being in control of this Qi. Although Yin Qi has no consciousness, if you hesitate or fear, it will immediately sense it, and it will be you who is subjected, not it,’ Alm spoke mentally to her.
Ruri almost spat blood at various moments, but despite Alm being quite irritated, he always manipulated the Yin and eased the damage while she slowly got used to it. Soon, to his surprise, Ruri was already managing it. Then, he began teaching her to use Yin correctly.
Bruno, being a pure Yang soul, couldn’t use Yin like Alm did, even with all the knowledge and mastery Alm had. So, unlike him, Ruri started to see the surroundings a bit in that place, and Bruno felt a bit odd, being the only one completely blind inside the tower.
After walking a bit, a frenetic fluctuation stirred the Yin laws near them. Then Ruri and Alm could see, not far away, the silhouette of a tall woman with a bone saber attacking and emanating a powerful presence. It was the familiar Langrum.
Alm then calmly spoke to Ruri. ’She seems to be quite diligent with her harem in dual cultivation.’
Ruri was a bit doubtful and, at the same time, admired the first powerful woman she encountered as Langrum fought resolutely.
Alm seemed to think he understood Ruri’s admiration and added. ’The most powerful dual cultivation is based on Yin. It’s quite rare for women to be willing to practice dual cultivation, but certainly, a woman having a Yin body benefits much more from it.’
Ruri seemed to understand and was even more impressed with that.
Alm and Bruno now completely misunderstood her reaction, thinking it was just curiosity. ’The greatest example is the patriarch of the Vital Yin Sect. He, despite being a man, is an elf. And elves are a race of intense Yin. Elf women are practically pure Yin, and elf men have Yin in their bodies as strong as human women. Him being powerful and becoming the patriarch is not strange,’ Alm explained.
At that moment, Ruri’s eyes sparkled. Being strong was all she wanted, and now she seemed to discover a natural advantage of being a woman. Without Alm or Bruno noticing, she developed an intense desire to study this dual cultivation technique.
If Bruno knew about her thoughts, he would feel extremely guilty about a child wanting to practice this cultivation without really knowing what it meant.