Death... and me

Lrist continued, "It's just that you won't like it."

The twins' group looked at each other before looking back at Lrist. "And what way would that be?"

Lrist explained, "Once every nine years, the Jhiod Continent's representatives start a competition in all the continents around it to look for talents willing to join the Jhiod Sect."

"Jhiod Sect?" Rean asked straight away.

Lrist nodded, explaining, "Yes. It's the Jhiod Sect that controls the Jhiod Continent. Well, you could probably guess that already due to the sect's name. Anyways, you need to enter this competition and win to get a vacancy. If you do, there will be no need to get involved with the top five powers."

The twins were quite confused, though. "That seems quite simple. Why wouldn't we like this?"

Lrist couldn't help but laugh in response. "Hehe! As if it was that easy. This competition has a very, very high risk of death. You must understand that Jhiod Continent isn't small. They don't lack places where they can get talents in their own soil. So why would they even start a competition to look for recruits outside? Obviously, they will only accept the cream of the crop."

Roan narrowed his eyes, saying, "That doesn't make sense. With their power, they can simply issue a recruitment notice, and those top geniuses would come willingly. There's no need for competition at all. What's the point in it?"

Lrist shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Now, you have asked too much from me. You will have to ask the Jhiod Continent's experts themselves if you want that answer. At the very least, I don't know why."

Roan immediately related it to the huge number of Destiny Points they would get from the quest. After all, it seems way too easy for the reward given. Suddenly, he thought about something. "Wait, how long does this competition last?"

Lrist pondered over it for a bit before answering, "If I'm not wrong, it can range from one to nine years. There are several stages of the recruitment... or so I'm told. You can look at it as if there were nine batches. Each year a certain number of cultivators or demon beasts are selected."

The twins nodded after hearing that. That explained why the system gave a different reward depending on how long they took to complete the quest. "What's the competition about?"

Lrist shook his head in response. "No idea. You will have to check it by yourselves. However, there's one good thing about this competition."

"What is it?" everyone asked.

"The fact that you don't need to wait for the official opening to go to Jhiod Continent. Just so you know, the official opening that the top five powers' experts use to enter Jhiod only opens every nine years. However, the cultivators and demon beasts selected by the Jhiod Sect are sent there every year," Lrist explained.

"Have you never thought about trying it?" Rean asked this time.

"Hahaha!" However, that question only made Lrist laugh. "Are you crazy? Let me make things easier for you to understand. When I say the death toll is high, I'm not kidding! More than 90% of the competitors end up dead as dead people can be. Their cultivation levels simply don't matter."

Immediately, Celis had an idea. "So that's how it is." Everyone looked at him, waiting for Celis to continue. "It's okay for Lrist to not know this since it doesn't seem like he's anyone important."

Lrist's mouth twitched in response. 'Do you have to really rub salt into an open wound that deep, bro? First of all, I'm a Void Tempering Realm cultivator! I'm not that bad, am I?' Well, he didn't say that out loud.

Celis continued, "Everyone wants to join Jhiod as it seems the best place to cultivate, or so everyone here believes, right?"

Lrist nodded, saying, "As far as I know, at least."

"That's the point," Celis pointed out. "Jhiod doesn't want other continents to become too strong and shake its own position. What better method to get rid of the surrounding continent's power than eliminating their future generations? 90% of the participants, which I'm absolutely sure is not small, end up dead in the competition. No geniuses, no strength, no future problems."

Lrist's eyes widened after hearing that. He was considered a genius within his own area, but he knew he wasn't a real genius. Now more than never, he was happy that he was like that. 'Fortunately, I didn't try to take part in the competition.'

Rean, Roan, and Kentucky had to admit Celis's words made sense. "Very well thought, Celis."

Nevertheless, Lrist couldn't help but ask, "But, why don't the powers of the continents around stop their geniuses from participating?"

Roan was the one to answer that. "They can't. Even all of them together aren't as strong as Jhiod Continent alone. If they intervene with the competition, the powers behind the intervention are bound to be wiped out. It's a vicious cycle they can't afford to escape from."

Kentucky nodded in response, continuing, "Not only that, the few who pass the tests are the top of the top and those top of the top end up in the Jhiod Sect's hands. Get rid of those very good and below, and leave the best for themselves. Is there be a better strategy than that?"

Lrist still had his doubts. "But if that's the case, wouldn't it be better to simply take all of them in? Not only the top of the top ones?"

Roan snorted in response. "You've become too used to playing under the Jhiod Sect's hands. Your mentality is already one that simply accepts anything." Roan continued, "Tell me. If Jhiod Sect simply accepts everyone, how many geniuses or very good cultivators will end up in their continent every year? Remember, they're all people and demon beasts from outside."

After that, Lrist understood. "I see... if too many outsiders join, the Jhiod Sect will start losing its grip on the situation. They are strong and numerous, but definitely not as numerous as several continents together. That's why they can only take a few every time."

Roan nodded in response. "You aren't completely useless, it seems."