Death… And Me

Malo then looked at Poliana and told her, "Pass on my orders. Those who are strong enough to go out are required to look for Spirit Stone Mines. The Demon Beast Continent has never been denied of its Spiritual Energy because of the agreement with the Soul Rulers. Besides, demon beasts aren't very keen on looking for those mines themselves. With that said, there must be many undiscovered Spirit Stone Mines everywhere."

Rean and Roan faintly nodded before they turned around. While doing so, Rean told them, "Seems like you do know how to act. In any case, you can ask Burio's group for help. They took care of your entire group for years and have also lived in tribes before. They should be able to give you some insights. Alright, we're going back to cultivate. Don't bother us if it isn't important."

With that said, Rean and Roan left the room and went back to cultivate. They also had to drag a certain Minokawa away together.

Things moved as Malo ordered. Those who were in the Foundation Establishment Realm and above formed quite a few groups and went out to explore the region. In the end, the Blood Rabbit kept his word. There were simply no signs of Stage Five Demon Beasts in the area at all. Well, Red himself often appeared to take a few carrots away. 

Malo was right. A week later, one of the groups that went outside came back. They had identified a possible location of a Spirit Stone Mine. When Malo and the others went to check and verify, they confirmed that it was really a mine. Not only that, but it was quite close to their living area.

"How's the investigation of the new mine?" Malo asked one of the Freedom Sect members called Rafin, responsible for checking the area.

"It is as you thought, Malo. Except for the five peaks area where we expulsed all the demon beasts, the rest of the region around has a lot of them. I confirmed at least five packs with one Stage Four or more demon beasts inside. If we decide to mine this place, we'll need to deal with them first," Rafin explained.

Rafin was one of the very few males in the Freedom Sect. He and Malo were quite close since they were just one year apart. Rafin had a Red Color Aptitude and a Wind Element Affinity. He was very good at keeping himself hidden and was swift when he decided to flee. Not to mention that he was also in the Core Formation Realm. With the cultivation technique given to him by Roan, Rafin became a very good scout for them.

Glennie was there as well, so she rebuked Rafin, "It's not Malo anymore. It's sect leader, okay?!"

*Pah!*

Malo then slapped the back of her head, saying, "Sect Leader, your ass! I hate that title, so let them call me by my name."

"But..." 

"No buts! This is a sect leader's order!" Malo still didn't like the fact that he was forced into this position. With that said, he might as well use it to make things go as he liked. One of those things was his repulsion for that title.

Malo then looked at Rafin and nodded, responding, "I understand. Thanks for the report. Take the chance and call Suana over."

Soon, the girl called Suana arrived at the scene, asking, "Do you need something, Malo?"

Malo then told her about Rafin's report, saying, "Alright, I need you to put up several Demon Beast Extermination missions."

Suana ended up being responsible for the 'Missions Hall'...although the Hall itself didn't exist yet. She was two years younger than Malo's group, being 16 years of age. Also, she had what one would call the 'worst' aptitude color in the Freedom Sect, not considering Burio's group. With that said, she had a Blue Color Aptitude. Nevertheless, she excelled at keeping everything in order, and Burio's group often relied on her to help with the management of all the kids' issues. That's why Malo decided to put her as the Mission Hall's 'elder.' Well, not that she was that old to be an elder, of course.

"It's all well and good. However, there's a problem with the missions, Malo," Suana said that with a helpless expression.

Malo also sighed when he heard that, saying, "The rewards, right?"

Suana nodded as he replied, "Yeah...our Freedom Sect members don't mind helping the sect begin to take its roots. However, I've been putting a lot of different missions according to the request of the other elders. Changing what was just a training settlement into a proper sect is very complicated. With that said, our members have been doing several types of tasks while we still have no rewards whatsoever to give them."

Malo nodded, saying, "It's fine. I asked Senior Rean to help with that. Although he said he won't intervene, we simply don't have any other Formation Master. That being said, he at least agreed to build several formations that could be used as rewards. For example, he's making ten Spiritual Energy Gathering Formations. However, they will only be used for those who have Sect Points."

Malo then asked, "You did mark down everyone's Sect Points as I asked from the start, right?"

Suana nodded, saying, "Of course! There's even a group that has amassed over 100 points already."

"That's very good." Malo was satisfied with that. "That's only one of the things we are working on. After we start the mining of Spirit Stones en masse, we can also offer Spirit Stones as rewards."

Glennie, who was listening to everything, also added, "That's not all. Rean and Roan won't intervene directly, but they agreed to start giving classes on side occupations. Rean will teach Blacksmithing and Formations, while Roan will teach Alchemy. It will happen every morning starting next week. We can use the formations, pills, and equipment built by the disciples as rewards as well."

Suana couldn't help but mention, "Oh! So that's why we have so many requests for finding herbs, ores, and things like that."

Malo smiled in response, saying, "Exactly. There's no need to worry. We are putting everything in place little by little."