Death... and me

Cleyg then began to tell them what he knew. "It seems like there are really many different ways to get Existence Pearls. It's just that these ways can't be repeated. I heard that a guy accepted to do a job for some store merchant and got paid with an Existence Pearl. However, when he tried to repeat the same job, the owner of the store only paid with gold coins. Other people thought that it might be because a person could only get a single pearl from the same job and tried to do it as well. Unfortunately, everyone who came after the original guy only got gold coins as well."

Venali narrowed his eyes after hearing that. "That means the number of Existence Pearls is limited. Very well, did you get the pearl of that guy?"

Clyg shook his head as he told him, "Our Huring Country disciples weren't the only ones to target him. Because everyone here is basically as strong as any other cultivator, no one really cared as to who we were. Our country does have a lot of people, but it still severely pales in comparison when you put everyone together."

Dissielle, who was there as well, asked something else. "What about the city guards? Did they intervene when the cultivator was attacked?"

"No." Clyeg shook his head. "It was possible to hear them laughing at the scene, though. From the looks of it, they consider us outsiders and don't care whether we die or not. However, you better not destroy anything in the process. Otherwise, they will make those responsible for it pay. If you do, you better run."

Venali smiled in response after hearing that. "Cassia wasn't lying when she said we can steal from other cultivators. At least this part won't be a big issue." Venali then looked at everyone before saying, "Alright, you know what to do. Go look for the tasks, but above all, steal any Existence Pearl from other participants if you can. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Of course, the Huring Country's participants weren't the only ones. Most of the big countries knew that instead of looking for the necessary tasks, it was even better to steal the pearls from those who got them. Everything was valid as long as they got ten pearls.

However, a problem quickly arose after a few hours...who would be the first to go out of the Dream City? Let alone the small countries, not even the bigger ones, wanted to give the Existence Pearls they got to the other participants. Naturally, Venali, Dissialle, Ricab, Hedoi, and many other leaders of those countries' disciples didn't get their companions to deliver it to them. Why should they? Everyone wanted to enter the Sacred Land! That was especially so for countries like Klacks, whether no one trusted the other party. Powers from evil paths would always have a lot more trouble with these kinds of things.

Of course, there were exceptions.

"Senior Liana, here are the two Existence Pearls we got for you," a young woman said as she passed the pearls to Liana.

Liana was the Tenke Country's Pure Yin Body disciple. In her country, respect and trust were part of the most important qualities. Those girls didn't mind giving their pearls to Liana at all.

Liana, however, was even more adamant than these girls or the few men who were part of their entourage. "No can do. You got these pearls fair and square. Just keep it. If things turn awry for me, then we can talk about it again. However, I wanna try getting them on my own first."

"Yes, Senior Liana."

Meanwhile, the twins arrived at the City Guards' headquarters.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few city guards in front of it. "Halt! This place is out of limits. Go away!"

Rean then approached the guy. "We would like to join the City Guards."

"You?" The guard at the front gate couldn't help but laugh out loud after hearing what Rean said. "Hahaha! Do you think we would accept outsiders to join our ranks? Keep dreaming! Shoo, shoo, go away!"

Rean was taken aback. "We can't join? Why?"

"Because we don't trust you, outsiders," the guard explained. "You have been causing trouble all over the city since you arrived, killing each other even. Why would we want something like that? You were not the first one to ask for it, but the answer was the same for everyone."

Rean pondered in silence for a bit. 'Could it be that the city guards are out of limits in this dream city?'

However, Rean knew that this was one of the best ways to obtain Existence Pearls. It was then that he had an idea.

"How about this? I'm sure you would like to get rid of these inconveniences as soon as possible, right? I also feel ashamed that the other outsiders are behaving this way. In that case, you can let me and my brother join the city guards, and we will only deal with outsiders. We won't mess with any other duty of the City Guards."

The guards at the gate didn't seem very convinced, though. "And you expect us to believe that? First of all, everyone we captured from your people so far was weak as fuck! They only knew how to flee and couldn't pose any threat to our companions. Why should we recruit someone like you?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he smiled. "Oh, then you're severely underestimating the two of us. With that in mind, would you like to test us? You can use your weapons and armors to fight one of us. We will only use our hands."

"This..." The guard didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from inside the city guard's headquarters. "Interesting!" Soon after, a bulk man dressed in heavy armor with a huge axe on his back came out. "I would like to see what you can do, then."

"Ca-captain!" The guards at the gate immediately opened the way for the man.

He nodded at them before looking at Rean and Roan. "It's hard to see someone willing to fight in such a disadvantageous position. I don't know whether you're really that good or just plain idiotic. However, I'm willing to give you a chance. You don't even need to defeat me. As long as you last a minute in battle, I'll deem you worthy of joining our ranks."