Death... and me
chapter-555

"What about we use Rean's appearance-changing skill to enter the cities? The rest of us can pretend to be slaves while using fake Binding Collars. From what he told us, a few humans are allowed to move around as long as they have their owners' permission and keep their Collars, right?"

Agis immediately shook his head as he replied.

"You're forgetting the main issue here, our cultivation. In the Zasfin Race's eyes, humans shouldn't even have any cultivation to start with since they're too weak."

However, Frandin shook his head.

"That's not true. Most humans are very weak in our world. However, a few Owners like to let their humans cultivate so they can be used as free guards. They simply change their collars for more powerful ones to keep these humans in control."

Qia couldn't help but ask Rean.

"Can't you simply change all our appearances to look like these Zasfin Race people? In that case, we wouldn't need to pretend to be slaves either."

Rean immediately shook his head.

"I can change how our human body looks, but I can't create the traits of the Zasfin Race. For example, I wouldn't be able to emulate their bloodline's Soul Power, nor can I make those shards appear over our skin. Besides, my appearance-changing skill is something that needs a constant influx of Light Element. If some of you separate from me for whatever reason, your appearance will return to normal a few hours later."

Roan agreed with Rean.

"Indeed. It's too impractical. In fact, both solutions are. The problem is what Agis mentioned, our cultivation. Sure, there are humans who can cultivate if their 'owners' allow it. However, do you think any of them would be at our level? If anyone at the Core Formation Realm or above checks us, they'll definitely be shocked and start making inquires. After all, this trash here is supposed to be someone of talent, but he's just a puny Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator even though he's around our age."

[You sure know how to roast this guy...]

Or so Sister Orb thought.

Frandin couldn't help but feel some anger when he heard that. He never thought a day would come where humans called him trash. The worst part was that he couldn't refute those words. Be it because he was afraid of Roan or because of the gap in cultivation. He could really only be considered trash in front of these people. Little did he know that Rean's group was a special case. Most people on Sunkan Planet wouldn't even be at his stage at the same age. Jury and Alanda, from the Varen Tribe, were very good examples of it.

"Does that mean our only solution is to go to that Decadence Region where humans are discarded?"

Rean pondered for a bit before shaking his head.

"Not necessarily."

Soon after, he looked at Frandin.

"You said something about the 'Celestial Lands,' right? It seemed like it wouldn't have been a surprise if we were at our current level if we lived there. What do you know about this Celestial Land?"

Frandin's eyes couldn't help but twinkle as he thought about that.

"Celestial Lands are called that way because of the advantageous point where they're situated. It's said that the amount of Spiritual Energy in the air around those places is several times higher than anywhere else. Those are places where one can cultivate twice as fast with half the effort. As you can imagine, every single young Zasfin wishes to be part of one of the Celestial Lands."

Roan then looked at Rean and asked.

"Why would you want to go there? That place should be even harsher for humans than anywhere else."

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said.

"I'm just eliminating all the options. Frandin, are the Celestial Lands the same as the capital? Would it be a bad thing for humans to be there?"

Frandin pondered for a bit before saying.

"I'm not too certain about it since it's too far from my scope. However, I'm pretty certain that humans are still being used there as free labor. After all, only those of the purest bloodline or talent can enter. I don't think such high and mighty members of our Zasfin Race would ever do their own shores. As I mentioned before, humans are rare but still exist in the capital as well. It's just that they are all owned by powerful Zasfins who would never put their hands on manual labor. The Celestial Lands 'might' be under the same case."

Calina then asked.

"How do you enter a Celestial Land?"

"How else? They hold several tests every year. As long as you pass, you can join them. Of course, speaking about it and doing so are two completely different matters. I have tried before, but I wasn't even in the middle by the end of it. Let alone close to the acceptance mark."

Malaka still shook her head in the end.

"That won't do. Even if we are taken in as laborers, they would still question us about our level. Besides, I don't think they would let us cultivate as we wish to start with. They might even be afraid that we're too strong for humans, so they might kill us or throw everyone into the Decadence Region."

Rean had to admit that she was right. However, it didn't seem like it was a good idea to go to the Decadence Region. One doesn't need to be a genius to understand that that place was definitely under constant surveillance. After all, what if a human became strong enough to leave that place and wreak havoc outside?

Qia added.

"There's one thing you're forgetting about that Decadence Region. The Empires are definitely looking at all the humans there without breaks. There's bound to be a limit to what cultivation level a human can reach in that place. If it goes above the limit, the Zasfin Race will eliminate that guy without the other humans having to do anything."

In the end, humans were just prisoners there. There wasn't much to gain in such a place.

"This is becoming even more complicated. However, there's one thing I want to know. Frandin, are you sure that humans are really being treated like that everywhere else? I refuse to believe that you don't have some rebels or things like that. Perhaps... no, most likely there are even some Zasfins who don't like how humans are treated."

Frandin scratched his head as he muttered in response...

"Well... I heard stories..."