Mira, who was on the ground just listening and sensing the movement very close to them, couldn't quite grasp what was happening. 'A pet? The Master was obese and... maybe a bit perverted... although he changed a lot.'

Then, Mira remembered the first day she was summoned by the patriarch of Divinestone, right after they returned from the forest training. She had to take care of the unconscious and poisoned Innoa, and the patriarch appeared in the morning, looking pale and distraught about something.

She was on a spying mission for her Master and managed to gather information she couldn't hear perfectly, so she didn't report it to her Master at the time. But the words' Denil,' 'No more interest in the Maids' she understood. Now, Mira's mind suddenly made a connection to this situation, and instinctively, her body seemed to freeze.

'M-Master... could it be that you...?' Mira asked through the array, astonished.

Zane and Gael looked at her. 'What are you talking about?'

Mira shook her head, seeming to have accepted it. 'It's... It's fine. Mira doesn't mind if Master now plays in the other team...'

Zane and Gael almost vomited blood! 'Who the hell plays in the other team?! You play on the other team! Your entire family plays in the other team!'

Mira was surprised by the anger in her Master's mind voice. 'W-was I wrong?'

Gael quickly nodded. 'Obviously! Just where the hell do you get these fucking ideas?' But before Mira could answer, Gael stopped her. 'I'll kill you if you point at me again!'

Mira trembled a little and immediately looked away, pretending she didn't do anything.

Finally, Zane and Gael returned their attention to the task at hand, holding a subdued Zanou by the neck. "Great, a good pet should follow its Master. And jump into a sea of lava if he commands."

A dry and painful murmur escaped Zanou, replacing his response. Initially, they applied the Non-Lethal Strike Technique repeatedly, which was easy because Zanou was deeply consumed by hatred.

After breaking his confidence, they used the mental power coming from Mira through the array in the most direct and brutal way possible, as they were not skilled in this type of ability. In the end, they instilled fear in Zanou's mind, forcing his submission; after all, there was a risk he might prefer death to submission. So, to finish, Zane made sure to break some bones and inflict a bit more pain, sadistically.

With Zanou subdued and completely defeated, Gael activated the array. If they were in an open space, everyone could witness multicolored phenomena and a mystical crown above the head of the giant whale. However, in the darkness of the Yin laws that enveloped the area, only a few noticed a strange fluctuation.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Then, Mira, close to the event, felt the change in the array and the connection between her and the Master, causing the network to tremble. A new segment in the formation was created under the command of Zane and Gael. Mira, upon receiving confirmation of this connection, became even more astonished and frightened.

In a matter of seconds, a runic mark blossomed on Zanou's forehead, integrating directly into his body. He officially became the second subject of Zane and Gael in the Array of the Eternal Crown.

Although Zane and Gael had a basic understanding of this array, the soul energy that controlled their formation far exceeded the power of the original creator of the technique. This allowed them to make certain modifications that were initially unforeseen; they forcibly sealed all of Zanou's connections to the array.

This way, their brother wouldn't be able to cause trouble and wouldn't immediately notice the runes and changes in his body. However, Zane and Gael, as the core and commanders of everything, could still sense his location and impose strict control over their new subject. Of course, the consequence of this method was that they couldn't utilize Zanou's abilities, and he himself gained no benefit from the array. However, this limitation wouldn't last forever, and Zane and Gael hoped to rescue some of their younger brother's old personality.

When everything was done, Zane violently tossed Zanou toward the large entrance door of the tower after walking back a little. They were still quite close to the entrance, just a few dozen meters away. Zanou flew for a few seconds, and then the sound of a thunderous impact echoed throughout the area.

Zanou's battered body was immediately enveloped in earth runes, sealing and protecting him. He remained there, unconscious and attached to the gate, awaiting the end of the test; if he were still in danger at that point, they would know through the array. There were still thirty minutes left in the test, after all.

Zane and Gael turned around, took a few steps, and encountered Mira. They then felt a different fluctuation coming from her. She was still confused as to why they took Zanou into the array as well.

Zane, who could see perfectly, mentally spoke to her. 'There is indeed a reason for us to take him in, but we can't tell you now. You will understand in the future. Just don't start with your weird ideas again.'

Mira nodded, relieved that Zane wasn't really gay like she initially thought.

***

The test continued. With twenty minutes left, Mira was already put into punishment by Zane in a new painful training.

He was directly manipulating the Yin laws of the environment and, through the array, forcing everything into her meridians, teaching her to manipulate it in the most brutal way possible.

Mira focused forcefully through the pain. All living beings possessed different amounts of Yin and Yang in their bodies; she, being a human woman, naturally had much more Yin. But when that avalanche was placed on her, a deep pain ran through her. The Yin was swallowing the little Yang within her, and that could easily kill her.

'Focus on always being in control of this Qi. Although Yin Qi has no consciousness, if you hesitate or fear, it will immediately sense it, and it will be you who is subjected, not it,' Zane spoke mentally to her.

Mira almost spat blood at various moments, but despite Zane being quite irritated, he always manipulated the Yin and eased the damage while she slowly got used to it. Soon, to his surprise, Mira was already managing it. Then, he began teaching her to use Yin correctly.

Gael, being a pure Yang soul, couldn't use Yin like Zane did, even with all the knowledge and mastery Zane had. So, unlike him, Mira started to see the surroundings a bit in that place, and Gael felt a bit odd, being the only one completely blind inside the tower.

After walking a bit, a frenetic fluctuation stirred the Yin laws near them. Then Mira and Zane could see, not far away, the silhouette of a tall woman with a bone saber attacking and emanating a powerful presence. It was the familiar Langrum.

Zane then calmly spoke to Mira. 'She seems to be quite diligent with her harem in dual cultivation.'

Mira was a bit doubtful and, at the same time, admired the first powerful woman she encountered as Langrum fought resolutely.

Zane seemed to think he understood Mira's admiration and added. 'The most powerful dual cultivation is based on Yin. It's quite rare for women to be willing to practice dual cultivation, but certainly, a woman having a Yin body benefits much more from it.'

Mira seemed to understand and was even more impressed with that.

Zane and Gael now completely misunderstood her reaction, thinking it was just curiosity. 'The greatest example is the patriarch of the Vital Yin Sect. He, despite being a man, is an elf. And elves are a race of intense Yin. Elf women are practically pure Yin, and elf men have Yin in their bodies as strong as human women. Him being powerful and becoming the patriarch is not strange,' Zane explained.

At that moment, Mira's eyes sparkled. Being strong was all she wanted, and now she seemed to discover a natural advantage of being a woman. Without Zane or Gael noticing, she developed an intense desire to study this dual cultivation technique.

If Gael knew about her thoughts, he would feel extremely guilty about a child wanting to practice this cultivation without really knowing what it meant.