Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique

Chapter 38: Brothers

In the distance, the giant Level 9 ape that had been launched into the tree trunk weakly twitched.

Its bones had shattered under that casual strike.

It slowly pushed itself up from the dirt, its massive arms violently trembling.

It looked at Rhain. The ferocity in its eyes had completely gone, and what remained was only absolute, primal fear.

Before this human, its proud Level 9 strength was fundamentally nothing more than a joke!

"Kriii... uuuh..."

It let out a low, pathetic whimper that sounded entirely unfitting for a ferocious beast of its massive size.

Then, it turned its massive body around and frantically fled into the deeper woods.

The remaining six giant apes stood completely frozen.

They looked at the fleeing back of their absolute strongest member, and then slowly turned their widened, terrified eyes back to Rhain.

Step by step, they slowly retreated backward, keeping their fearful eyes locked on Rhain’s completely indifferent face.

Once they reached the edge of the clearing, their survival instincts completely took over.

They turned around and scrambled wildly into the dense forest, vanishing without a trace.

Rhain didn’t even spare a glance at the fleeing beasts.

He simply raised his head and looked at the thick branches of the colossal ancient tree.

His body shot into the air, and plucked all ten of the glowing, purple-colored fruits.

He held one in his palm, his dark grey eyes analyzing it.

A rich, incredibly pure essence drifted from the Purple Striae Soul Fruit.

Faint, silver veins could be seen beneath its translucent skin, emitting a sweet aroma.

It was truly a good thing.

It could help him officially break through to the Essence Condensation Realm.

Rhain’s lips curled into a faint, satisfied smile.

It wasn’t completely futile to come here.

With a flick of his wrist, he smoothly stored eight fruits into the spatial storage ring Harmon had given him.

He walked back to the dense brush where Bria and Hale were still hiding.

As he approached, both of them stared at the treasures in his hands, their mouths almost drooling.

They knew they hadn’t contributed a single ounce of effort.

But the absolute allure of the Purple Striae Soul Fruit was simply too powerful to ignore.

Rhain didn’t care. He casually flicked his wrists, tossing one fruit to Bria and the other to Hale.

Before their minds could even comprehend it, their hands had already moved up and carefully caught the fruits in their hands as if holding some priceless treasure.

Bria and Hale froze for three seconds.

"Is this enough?" Rhain asked.

"Y-yes! More than enough!" Bria hurriedly nodded subconsciously , her face flushed with excitement.

Hale tightly gripped the fruit, echoing her frantic gratitude.

But thens as he thought about something, his expression turned a little strange.

"Rhain..." He looked up, "Are you the one who beat Brennan half to death a few weeks ago?"

Rhain raised an eyebrow. A flicker of surprise crossed his dark grey irises. "I am. Do you know him?"

Hale’s face twitched. "He is... my younger brother."

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Bria’s eyes widened, and subconsciously took a half-step away from Hale.

Rhain looked at Hale, his expression completely devoid of any fluctuation.

"Oh?" Rhain’s eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you angry?"

Hale looked at Rhain.

His mind replayed what he had just seen. A giant Level 9 ape had been swatted away like a bothersome fly by him just a moment ago.

If anyone else had beaten his brother, he would have fought them to the bitter end.

But facing Rhain, how could he dare to even fart half a fart?

He forced a stiff, unnatural smile. "A little bit..."

Rhain tilted his head slightly. He extended an open hand toward Hale.

"Then do you want to return the fruit?"

Instantly, Hale’s expression changed.

A bright, incredibly sincere smile instantly bloomed across his face.

"Absolutely not! I harbor absolutely no resentment toward you!"

Hale let out a dry laugh and quickly added, "To be completely honest, I don’t have a good relationship with Brennan at all. The guy is a meathead who talks too much and causes me endless trouble."

Rhain turned his head to look at Bria, not having any interest in Hale’s family drama.

"Do you want to follow me, or move alone?"

Bria was slightly startled by the sudden question.

"if you want to come with me, you absolutely cannot consume that fruit now." Rhain added, before she could answer.

Bria’s eyes flashed with confusion. "But Sect Master clearly instructed us to consume all resources the exact moment we find them. He said storing them is a death sentence here."

Rhain gave a slight nod. "He did. But I need to find Seris. I do not have the time to waste waiting for you to sit down and slowly refine that fruit’s energy."

He had given Harmon his word that he would bring back as many of their people as possible; otherwise, he wouldn’t have even bothered asking her.

Moreover, the Location-Tracking Talisman didn’t differentiate between identities.

Every Azure Cloud disciple he gathered and kept by his side was one less anonymous green dot on his projection, stopping him from wasting precious time tracking false leads while searching for Seris.

Bria stood in silence, slightly thinking over his words.

Her raw strength alone wasn’t enough to survive the brutal ambushes of the Ironpeak Sect.

Compared to her, Rhain was a complete monster.

He had effortlessly crushed Victor Corvin.

He had swatted a Level 9 giant ape like an annoying fly.

Following him was undoubtedly the safest option.

Furthermore, he was officially appointed as their disciple leader.

Following his commands was exactly what she was supposed to do anyway.

"I understand," Bria nodded her head firmly. "I want to follow you."

With a flick of her wrist, she smoothly placed the glowing purple fruit into her spatial ring.

Hale, who had been watching the exchange quietly, awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Uh... Rhain?" Hale asked, forcing a stiff, hopeful smile. "Do you mind if I tag along as well? Our families are allied, after all. I swear I won’t drag you down."

Rhain’s dark grey irises swept over Hale and gave a slight nod, "As long as you do not cause any trouble."

Hale’s face instantly lit up. "Absolutely no trouble! My mouth is zipped. I will loyally, with all my heart, obey your all commands like a younger brother!"

Rhain was left completely speechless.

Bria looked around the dense woods which had no end in the sight, "Where do we go now?"

Rhain didn’t answer immediately.

He reached into his dark robes and pulled out the small, exquisitely carved jade pendant.

The translucent projection instantly hovered in the air.

The bright green dot in the center was his own position.

Right next to it, completely overlapping, were another dot—Bria.

His dark grey eyes bypassed them, locking onto the next closest flickering dot.

It was thirty miles to the northwest.

Rhain extinguished the projection and safely tucked the talisman back into his robes. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Northwest," Rhain said calmly.

________________

Hundreds of miles away, in a completely different region of the Black Hollow Realm.

Seris walked carefully through the colossal ancient roots.

Seris was alert, her purple eyes constantly scanning the dark, oppressive environment.

Even a slight distraction in this place could prove fatal.

In her pale hand, she held the tracking talisman.

The translucent projection hovered faintly above the stone.

A single green dot blinked in the absolute center—her own position.

But as her eyes swept the outer edges of the projection, a deep sense of helplessness flashed across her flawless face.

There, the closest green dot was flickering dimly, incredibly far away.

She had been walking for over an hour and hadn’t encountered a single person yet.

When will I find Rhain?

She let out a soft sigh and safely tucked the talisman away into her robes.

As she stepped around a massive boulder, a faint, pure fragrance caught her attention.

Nestled in the shade was a small cluster of delicate, three-petalled white lilies.

Seris’s pale purple eyes lit up slightly.

Tranquil Mind Lilies.

A spiritual herb known to calm the mind and sharply enhance focus.

It’s an uncommon grade herb, and the Azure Cloud Sect needs atleast ten years to grow this herb.

She crouched down, a faint smile touching her lips, and carefully plucked the pristine white flowers, preparing to store them in her spatial ring.

Crunch.

The sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind.

Seris instantly froze.

A mesmerizing silver-blue light seeped from her skin as she abruptly turned back, her beautiful eyes locked on a figure that suddenly appeared behind her.

He wore silver-trimmed black robes, his hands casually clasped behind his back.

His chin was raised high, and his eyes swept over her delicate face and silver-blue hair with an expression of wonder and admiration.

The oppressive, heavy aura of a Level 1 Essence Condensation Realm radiated off him.

Valerius Krath.