Death... and me

"Perhaps it's something that's only possible in this place," Roan said in response. "They could match their spatial disruption with the flow of space because a flow exists, to begin with. Outside, there's no flow of space whatever. Space is static most of the time until experts at the Void Tempering Realm and above fight or something like that."

Rean had to admit Roan had a point. "That makes sense... the flow of space covering the disruption is a very likely possibility."

[Let's forget it for now. The creatures could jump off the swamp at any moment, so pay attention. We are very far away from our objective.]

Luan agreed with her. "Sister Orb is right. We've been moving for a few days already. But even though that's the case, the flow of space barely changed at all. That means the source of this phenomenon is really, really far away."

Rean and Roan nodded in response. "Very well. Kentucky will keep flying low while the rest of us cultivate. We'll keep an eye out as well."

'That is very much welcomed.' Celis obviously approved any time cultivation was mentioned from within the Dimensional Realm.

And just like that, the twins' group journey continued. Before they knew it, two years had gone by in a flash! Not only that, Sister Orb and Luan were right about the time disruption. The further they went into the swamp, the faster time moved. Two years in this place was only a single year outside. Of course, the disparity would only grow further.

The twins had already lost track of how many times Luan asked them to change direction, to which Luan answered that they didn't really change direction. Even now, only Luan's eyes prevented their group from being affected by the swamp's disruption of their sense of direction. The good thing was that everyone could tell that the flow of space was indeed getting faster.

That meant they were getting closer to the source, albeit very slowly.

Other than cultivating, Rean, Roan, and Kentucky took the chance to fight the Demon Beasts of the swamp. They've gotten quite used to their ambushes during the past couple of years, making it very hard to take them by surprise. With that, Roan also took the opportunity to further train Luan in combat. Sometimes, he even had Luan participate in the fights despite his much lower cultivation.

For Luan, that was great news nonetheless. After all, there was no lack of Divine Stones in the Dimensional Realm. The decaying effect of the Dark Element in the swamp didn't affect him either since Rean and Roan were there to prevent it. If anything, that only helped his body get stronger.

Naturally, Rean, Roan, and Kentucky were no exception. Celis never stopped cultivating, and when the four of them joined forces, it only became faster. Another good point of this was that the battles served to hone all their skills.

By now, Luan had achieved another breakthrough in his cultivation, finally entering the Initial Stage of the Transition Realm. It went without saying that his control over space with his Space Affinity only got stronger because of it. Rean and Roan only got to control space at the Middle Stage of the Transition Realm, which was already ridiculously fast.

Luan, on the other hand, was able to do it way before that due to his affinity. It wasn't as good as Rean and Roan's at the moment, but it was definitely better than when the twins first got to use it.

'Void Steps!'

'Void Style, Space Slashing Threads!'

Luan's sword suddenly released several thin threads of Spatial Power behind as it moved against Roan's scythe.

*Clang!*

In response, Roan used his scythe to block Luan's attack head-on. However, the threads that were left behind didn't stop, causing several more blades of Spatial Power to follow after the impact.

Roan didn't seem to care, though.

'Death Style, Shadow Bind!'

Several dark vines shot from the darkness, appearing right in front of the spatial threads left behind by Luan's sword.

*Swish, swish, swish, swish...*

*Clak, clak, clak, clak...*

Both attacks nullified each other without any damage to either side. However, little did Luan notice that Roan had summoned one extra Shadow Bind. It latched on Luan's leg, pulling him down.

"Shit!"

Luan immediately used his Spatial Power to cut the vine while his eyes focused fully on Roan. He wouldn't let his father use that opportunity to attack him with his White Scythe.

Roan looked at that and mentally nodded. Regardless of the situation, never take your eyes away from your opponent. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough. Sure, Luan succeeded in keeping Roan's scythe in check with his sword. However...

*Bang!*

Luan was sent flying with a kick from Roan's leg.

*Cough, cough, cough...*

The poor guy coughed several mouthfuls of blood even though he possessed a Star Body of his own. Yet, his level was nowhere near Rean and Roan's level. Then again, he still had to thank his Starlight Body Cultivation Technique nonetheless since the damage from Roan's kick would have been several times worse without it.

"A kick...? I didn't see that coming... cough, cough..." Luan felt like he would never be able to touch his father. Roan was fighting Luan while suppressing his cultivation to the Initial Stage of the Transition Realm. Simply put, they had the same strength in that regard.

Roan shook his head in response. "You did well. Most experts would have their attention robbed by that Shadow Bind of mine. You still made sure to keep my weapon in check, which forced me to use a far less deadly move, a simple kick. Between being slashed by my scythe and receiving a kick, the kick was definitely a much better outcome.

I have way more experience than you, so it's normal for me to have the upper hand. Reflect on today's training, and let's try again in a few days."

"Yes, Father!" Luan immediately nodded.

*Roar!*

*Splash!*

Roan and Luan's attention was then taken by the death of another creature. While they trained, Rean fought another Swamp Demon Beast nearby with Kentucky. Obviously, that battle had just ended.

Not long after, Rean came back with Kentucky and landed on a rock close to Roan and Luan.

Roan looked at that and narrowed his eyes. He could see that Rean had been hit by the creature at some point. "Even more?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as his Light Element quickly got rid of the injury. "Yep. That fish... crab... turtle thing was quite tough. I would put it somewhere around the Initial Stage of Space Bending.

These Demon Beasts are getting stronger, just like we thought."

Roan nodded in response. "That's a good thing. Our cultivation is constantly improving while we have the necessary combat environment to get used to it. It's been a long time since we truly stopped to focus on those two points. Since that's the case, we might as well make use of it."

[Another good thing is that you're gaining time. Don't forget that time is moving faster the further we go.]

Rean, Roan, Kentucky, and Luan nodded in agreement.

It was then that Celis's voice echoed in their ears. 'Rean, Roan, Kentucky, I think this should be enough.'

The three of them focused on their cultivation and agreed with Celis. 'We finally have enough Divine Energy to break through.'