Alm and Bruno brought Ruri all the way to the formations... making sure to not trip and roll over the poor girl. Still, after a few tests, it was obvious that Ruri's control over the Soul Sealing Technique was severely lacking. Without another choice, they could only go back and think about other methods. In the end, Bruno and Alm decided to visit the city the next day.
It was noon, and the scorching sun beat down on the small town called Stonehaven. This town had a long history, being governed by the ancient Divinestone Clan, strategically located between the clan and the bustling central commercial city of the planet. Due to its location and the constant protection of the cultivators from the Divinestone Clan, it was relatively safe.
On that day, an imposing and burly man strode through the city gates, his heavy steps resonating and attracting the attention of everyone around. The town's inhabitants quickly exchanged apprehensive glances, and a silent commotion began to spread. However, no one had time to notice that, beside the imposing figure, there was a small girl dressed as a maid, with a look that mixed anxiety and excitement.
Alm and Bruno continued to advance through the city, indifferent to the excessive attention they received. Ruri followed closely, attentively observing everything around her.
Alm began to speak mentally, 'It's clear that if she advances a few levels in the realm, she can start the plan by deactivating the formation. However, at the pace we're going, it will take years. We still have time to look for different types of poison and...'
Bruno interrupted Alm, cutting off his words, 'Stop talking nonsense and focus on sensing things around you. There might be some useful things here.'
They walked through the vendor stalls, but nothing caught their attention. The available weapons and armor were all of inferior quality, which, in their eyes, was true junk. 'Using our own bodies to attack would be more effective than using this rubbish,' observed Alm, and Bruno agreed. However, after an hour or two of fruitless searching, something strange captured their attention.
'Have you noticed that there are no young women in a considerable age range in our field of vision? We've only found very young children, like Ruri, or very elderly and wrinkled women,' Bruno commented with an amused tone.
'Why are you so concerned about that? Are you looking for one?' Alm responded somewhat gruffly.
'It would be good. Perhaps if I find one at this whale's age, you would stop calling me a lolicon,' Bruno said, showing little emotion. 'But we're not just wasting time here. There don't seem to be any dwarven blacksmiths in this town; they must all be in the center, selling their goods or working in the mines of the Southern Nation. Let's visit all the major marketplaces and buy all the earth iron ore we can find.'
'Using already refined ore would be much more efficient and possibly cheaper. Too bad, this clan is a disaster at managing such an insignificant city,' Alm complained.
Two more hours passed, and they had spent nearly two-thirds of the spiritual crystals they possessed on raw earth iron ores. 'I hope we make some progress in our bloodline. We could have extracted all the QI from the crystals and risen a stage in the realm with that.'
'The gain wouldn't be worth it; half of the QI in the crystals is impure. The purification technique would remove it, and we could absorb the rest without issue, but it would be too little. We're gaining more by spending like this,' Bruno said, turning to Ruri, who was standing nearby, distracted. 'She's looking and observing everything around. She's probably searching for people from her land or any trace of them.'
Bruno couldn't help but chuckle. 'The master is attentive to every detail of his disciple, isn't he? Well, she rarely left the clan and never had the chance to meet someone like her.'
'I even thought we'd find something here.' Alm replied, disregarding Bruno's previous comment. 'The clan should be making a profit selling the belongings of those people.'
They didn't stay much longer and soon returned to the clan by late afternoon. However, as they were a certain distance from the clan's central building, they noticed a great commotion and movement happening within the clan.
Walking a bit further, they could see from afar a procession surrounded by clan elders. In the center of it all, they saw a handsome young man with long, golden hair tied back and luxurious white clothes. On his chest, a runic symbol stood out, pulsating with three colors and power.
'It's the symbol of the Three Extremes Sect, the largest and most powerful sect on this planet,' Bruno commented. He already had a good understanding of the planet due to Denil's memories and basic knowledge books he had read in the library.
They couldn't hear what was being said clearly, but they continued to observe the situation. As they got a little closer, they saw the young man angrily shouting something, and in front of him was a young girl kneeling with a disheartened expression and tears on her face.
Alm and Bruno soon recognized the girl as the one whose cultivation they had stolen, leaving her with no future. She had lost all her potential and would take years to regain her previous level, missing out on the prime cultivation time. Naturally, the clan had abandoned her, and she was now just a mortal without support.
As they watched, only a fragmented sentence reached their ears: "... A WORTHLESS MORTAL. I DEMAND COMPENSATION WORTHY OF IT, OR YOU WILL HAVE SERIOUS TROUBLE!"
'Hmm... did they have some kind of relationship? An engagement, perhaps?' Bruno analyzed.
Alm laughed like a villain reveling in someone else's misfortune. 'Hahahahahahaha, great, a ridiculous spoiled brat and an even worse spoiled bastard.'
Quickly, several clan advisors appeared with forced smiles on their faces. Behind them were people with their heads lowered. Before Alm and Bruno could fully understand the situation, they felt a fervent fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from their side.
Ruri was completely stunned, her eyes trembling with disbelief. Then, Alm and Bruno realized that, behind the advisors, there were a dozen women holding luxurious spatial rings.
'This distinctive look... they're all from the Montide Nation,' Bruno said seriously. Yet, what caught their attention the most was the mark on their foreheads. 'They all have visible forced slavery seals.'
'The clan is slowly dominating and monopolizing all the resources in the region. Enslaving people and absorbing everything they can without leaving anything for the outside... I must admit they had a somewhat reasonable idea,' Alm commented sarcastically.
The round and chubby hand gently touched Ruri's head, stroking her hair softly and calming her turbulent emotions. Suddenly, the tears that were about to fall were held back, and she took a deep breath, lowering her head and continuing to walk. Alm and Bruno nodded in satisfaction, knowing that the right moment for her to act would come, and she was smart enough to control herself.
Bruno continued to walk slowly, ignoring the commotion around him, as it was none of his concern. However, he felt a change in the atmosphere and noticed Alm getting excited, almost radiant. Then, Bruno almost facepalmed in disbelief as a voice echoed in their direction.
"Why the heck is there a giant ogre here?"