Death... and me

Rean then looked at the map and asked, "Should we pursue them?"

Roan shook his head in response. "No one can beat us in numbers alone. It's useless to go after them to get their pearls, especially since they might use them straight away to escape. It's a futile effort. Instead, let's just keep patrolling."

Rean nodded in agreement. "That's true. In any case, it shouldn't take long for many more people with ten pearls to appear. They'll definitely try to snatch pearls from other people, which will increase the number of people exiting in a hurry as well."

Rean was right on that one. The number of fights happening decreased, that's true. However, the number of pearls only increased. So, when Rean and Roan went patrolling and intervened between fights among cultivators, they would obtain quite a few Existence Pearls at once.

Roan intended to not meddle with the other cultivators who had ten pearls or more as long as they didn't bother him. However, it was then that Rean saw Venali also obtaining ten pearls a day later. "Hey, Roan. Didn't you want to fight this guy on the same level? This would be the perfect chance."

Roan shook his head in response, telling Rean, "When I said I wanted to fight him, it was in a situation where we had the same cultivation. Now that we have no cultivation whatsoever, this would be meaningless. There would be nothing to learn at all."

Although Roan thought like that, Venali didn't. The moment he had his eyes on the scoreboard and who had the pearls, he felt like he was humiliated. "What?! How the hell did he get 127 Existence Pearls?! Impossible!" Back in the guests' hall, Venali made it clear that Roan would still not be his match in a level battlefield. Although he and Roan didn't fight in this place, they definitely had the same level of physical strength. How could he not feel bothered?

Dissielle and Ricab also got their tenth pearl at the same time, so they saw the map and the scoreboard as well. "Impressive...whatever he did to get those pearls, it definitely humiliates everyone else in this Dream City. At the very least, there is no way we can catch up to him without robbing his pearls."

Venali then slammed the table in front of him. "Gather everyone! There's no way we can let that guy be first place. We'll just become a joke in our Huring Country like that. After all, he and his brother were already the first ones to pass the previous test."

"No can do," Ricab replied. "Take a good look at the rank. We already have twelve people with ten pearls or more. That Liana from Tenke Country, for example, already has 27. Do you think that none of them thought about stealing Roan's pearls? The fact that Roan is still there with this many proves that he definitely has the means to defend himself."

Dissielle agreed with Ricab. "Ricab's right. Do you think it's humiliating to be behind him on the scoreboard? Then, how will you feel if you try to attack him and end up getting defeated? Or worse, get your pearls taken from you before being disqualified."

Hearing that, Venali took in a deep breath and calmed down. "Sorry, I was harsh. You guys are correct. However, we can't let our Huring Country be behind again. That's not how we should perform."

This time, Dissielle and Ricab agreed with Venali. "Obviously, such a thing can't happen. With that said, we have only one choice. Roan definitely has some kind of protection to have kept his pearls for this long. We need to gather information. Depending on the outcome, we will need to join forces with the other big countries to assault him."

Venali pondered in silence for a bit before nodding. "Very well. I know Fulia from the Volava Country. I believe I can get his member's help if necessary."

Ricab also added, "I know the guys from Holand Country in the Calamal Region. Their leader, Tical, has 14 pearls at the moment. I can head there to talk."

Dissielle smiled before she got up. "Alright, while you talk with the other participants, I'll go check and see why Roan hasn't lost his pearls yet. It shouldn't be hard to find out."

Dissielle was right. Rean and Roan couldn't hide anymore after they got the pearls. Naturally, the other cultivators were able to see that they were part of the City Guards.

Later that day, Rean and Roan saw that several owners of ten pearls or more gathered in a place far away from the City Guards' headquarters. It's just that they couldn't care less what was happening there.

Volava, Huring, Tenke, Holang, and a few other countries' participants appeared at that gathering. Of course, each one of them had at least one person with ten pearls already.

Venali then took the lead and started the discussion. "As you know, Cassia said that there is some hidden surprise in this test. Most likely, it has to do with who finishes the test with the most Existence Pearls. The fact that you guys got ten pearls and haven't left yet shows that you still hope to get Roan's pearls. At the very least, you believe there will be a chance to be first place by the end of the following two weeks."

He continued, "Our Huring Country members are the same. We also wish to be first, as it is our tradition. However, none of us can go after Roan and his brother as they're now part of the City Guards. I truly wish to know how they joined that force with that monster called Rivaldo stopping everyone."

Fulia immediately gave his thoughts. "Probably, it has to do with who goes there first. They were just lucky as there's no way anyone passed through that mountain."

Everyone around nodded in agreement. They had many members of their powers try it, but it was simply too hard.

Venali smiled in response. "Then, I guess everyone here agrees with me. At the very least, we can't let such a small fry country take place, even if it isn't my Huring Country. Am I right?"

Everyone agreed with Venali...except for one person, Liana.