"EHHH?! No, that's out of the question!"

Ariana sighed as she replied.

​​

"Is that so? Oh well. I guess I asked too much from the start. In any case, one thing is certain!"

*Gulp*

"Wh-What's that?"

Ariana then pointed at Qia before saying.

"You need to attack! Your half-assed attitude is no good! Didn't you two agree that it was all practice? That's good enough! From now on, 'practice' a lot more! Every time a change appears, go get him. If he asks, say that it's for the sake of practice."

Ariana was really fired up as she continued.

"Of course, don't stop at just that! Make sure to leave some clues behind. Anything is good as long as it makes him think that there's more to those actions. You inherited both your parents' blood, so you turned out a beauty, just like your sister. Your older brother is quite handsome in his own right as well. I refuse to believe that Rean's heart won't sway if you press forward."

Qia couldn't help but ask.

"Bu-but... Would it really be okay for a princess to act like that?"

Ariana completely disagreed.

"Hmph! You're wrong! You're a princess of the Sasamil Imperial Family. The third princess might not be a strong contender for the throne, but she's still trying her best. Do you think she's keeping her position by acting delicate or defenseless? No one in the Imperial Family thinks like that, so give up those thoughts of yours."

Qia had to admit that her mother was right. In fact, she was also like that. When there was something she wanted, she had to put her all into it, ignoring everything else. It's just that this was her first love, so her feminine side was speaking louder than usual.

"A-Alright! I'll do it!"

Ariana nodded, satisfied.

"Obviously! You're my daughter, after all."

And so started Rean's will test.

---

Of course, neither Rean nor Qia could spend much time with that at the moment. Both of them were aiming to pass the Formations Guild Main Branch test. Qia's appearance at the guild entrance was purely coincidental since her mother held her back a long time. That's why she made the first attack there and left right after to continue her studies with her master.

Rean looked as Qia walked away as if nothing had happened.

'Sigh... Whatever. As long as I stand my ground, she will eventually give up. Yes, that's the best strategy for the moment.'

Suddenly, Rean heard a Spiritual Sense Message from Droman.

'What are you doing standing like a statue in the entrance? Stop wasting time and come inside. I prepared everything for this last stretch before the exams. Don't forget, I won't let you go out anymore after we start.'

Rean immediately put those thoughts behind and nodded.

'Yes, Elder Droman.'

---

Back in the Black Market, Roan was perusing the skills list in one of the available shops. As always, the entire Black Market had a few people walking around, and the shops were no different. However, every single item was stolen goods, prohibited for selling, or had some other kind of shady background. The Yin Energy Dark Element skills that Roan was looking for just fell ins the same categories.

Roan did find a few of these manuals for sale. However, he was blocked by one of the other traits of the Black Market. Everything here was just too damn expensive! He would be able to buy at most one of the skill books available here, and the money he made with the assassination would be gone already.

'Hmm... There are almost no examples of Dark Element Skills. I guess controlling Yin Energy to use the Dark Element isn't easy for others, after all. Besides, the ones I saw had descriptions that seem to be quite behind my own techniques.'

Roan continued to look into the skill introductions until, finally, something piqued his interest.

'Shadow Steps? Did someone create a movement technique like my own? Well, that would make sense since the cultivation world had existed for who knows how many years before I appeared.'

Roan quickly read through the introduction. However, he narrowed his eyes in the end.

'Pretty similar indeed. However, other than merging with the shadows to move around more silently, it can also leave behind an energy reading to confuse the enemy. It can make them think you moved in another direction. I have to admit that this was a clever idea. In head-on combat, making the enemy lose their guard could make a difference.'

However, Roan wasn't an idiot. He knew that the description of the skill was definitely modified. It didn't say anything about the difficulty of using that extra skill, nor the price to make it work.

'Besides, even if it works, that doesn't mean I disappeared. Creating an energy reading that could fool my enemy is easier said than done. For that, I would rather use Mirage Assault. At least the clones would be identical to Nightingale or me.'

Roan pondered if he should take that skill until he eventually shook his head.

'Leave it aside. Just the description alone was enough for me to form the idea in my head. It'll be better if I create something similar on my own. It shouldn't be too difficult since the Mirage Assault and the Three Claws of the Dragon already use the same principle.'

That's why Roan read so many skill books. More than acquiring new skills, he put more importance on obtaining new ideas. The new abilities would follow right behind.

Roan continued to browse the list. After some time, he found a skill that he wanted to buy for real.

-Dark World-

Uses Yin Energy to control the surrounding Dark Element. The area around the cultivator will then plunge into a world of darkness, affecting the enemy's vision.

'That's surprising. How did they deal with the huge expenditure of Spiritual Energy necessary for something like this? It probably won't affect the enemy's Spiritual Sense that much, but robbing them of their vision is still quite an advantage.'

Roan had thought about such a use case before. However, controlling all the Dark Element in such a large area was not only difficult, but the expenditure on Spiritual Energy was also ridiculously high. Considering that it didn't affect the opponent's Spiritual Sense that much, Roan discarded the idea in the past.

'What else does it say...?'

-The affected area depends on the user's cultivation and ability to control the Yin Energy to use the Dark Element. One must remember that any area of effect skill has a higher consumption of Spiritual Energy. However, this skill has been created to reduce consumption as much as possible.-

'Sure enough, the sellers predicted that the readers would think about this point, so they added this detail.'

Roan pondered a bit and made up his mind. Even if the skill wasn't perfect, he at least wanted to understand how they worked with the massive consumption of Spiritual Energy. It might not be worth using Dark World, but that information alone could still be used in other skills later.

Roan then turned to the guy on the counter before asking.

"How much for Dark World?"

The guy behind was taken aback for a moment.

"Oh... There aren't many cultivators who use the Dark Element. Even in the Black Market, I've only seen three of them so far. Dark Element is quite hard to use, and their skills are quite costly. Are you sure you want to buy it? In the Black Market, there is no such thing as giving the item back. Once you get the book, your Spirit Stones are gone for good."

Roan nodded.

"Just tell me the price."

The guy then shrugged his shoulders as he nonchalantly replied.

"Alright. It costs 200 Rank Four Spirit Stones."

Roan narrowed his eyes. He didn't expect that Dark Element Skills would require Rank Four Spirit Stones. Also, there was another problem. Even if the guy accepted Rank Three Spirit Stones' equivalent price, he wouldn't have enough to pay for it.

'Should I offer one of my skills in exchange?'

Obviously, Roan also had his own Dark Element Skills. It's just that they were made to work better when there was the Light Element as well. Still, they all worked with the Dark Element alone.

However, Roan shook his head in the end. His skills were created by himself. He had been hiding his identity until now, and only Old Worm would recognize him. But if he gave his skill out, others might use it to track him down. Roan would rather not do such a thing.

Roan then turned around and left the Skill Shop. The guy at the counter didn't try to stop him either. He already had to give part of his profit to the Black Market, so he wasn't willing to lower the price to start with. Since Roan didn't have the money or didn't want to pay, he simply let him go.

However, Roan didn't really give up the skill.

'It seems like I can only use the exam reward to put my hands on that skill.'

The Alchemist Guild Main Branch Exam! They only accepted 10 or so new members every year. However, thousands participated in the exam every time. Naturally, the guild prepared a fitting reward for those who succeed. Besides becoming a member of the Main Branch, passing the test will allow one to obtain Rank Four Spirit Stones as a prize. Obviously, the higher one's position was, the more one would get. That was one of the reasons Rean was putting so much effort. After all, he hadn't found a way to earn Rank Four Spirit Stones on his own yet.