Chapter 635: Dignified Gentleman.

Rasmus, Aris, and Serena watched Anastasha leave on her own in her carriage. She had decided to meet with Cyuren in the capital city after she wrote a letter to him. Based on her prediction, she should have arrived when the letter came to Cyuren’s hand. The three of them were left alone and Anastasha wasn’t worried about them in a foreign nation, it was quite the opposite, she was worried that the whole nation would fall by their hands.

"I wonder if Rullein is still waiting in line to register the tournament," Serena looked at the distance at the Nuan Clan estate where warriors and martial arts in this city compete for the qualifier for the tournament. "I didn’t expect the registration to be so thoroughly even at this stage," she talked about the physical examination to avoid Demonic Cult from entering.

"It is interesting that they can play with Mana around like that. To think their martial arts and cultivation can affect the Mana inside their bodies, revealing if their martial arts are pure or corrupted," Aris responded and watched the long line. "This is what happens when spirits are involved. I wonder why Sanya allowed this to happen," she muttered, trying to figure out the oldest Orthias and the one who sat above even the elders of the Orthias, someone that she spent most of her life with.

"Both Sanya and Aristoria have their own plans to prepare for the threat of the past that might come back. For whatever reason, their plans might have clashed and that was how Aristoria decided to walk her own path," Rasmus assumed, knowing his mother after he spoke to her in his dreams.

"Yes, it seemed that way," Aris nodded, wondering if Aristoria was listening to her deep within her body.

"Shall we check on Rullein? I honest a bit worried that she might cut the line and fight everyone doesn’t want give their spot to her," Serena put her hands on Aris and Rasmus’ backs as she suddenly stood in between them.

Rasmus saw a beggar lazing on the side of the street, lying down so comfortably on the dirty floor and damp wall. He noticed the beggar’s eyes that didn’t seem drained or empty, and there was no sign of stress in his expression.

"Give me one moment," Rasmus said as he walked away, walking toward the beggar.

Aris and Serena tilted their heads when he watched Rasmus stand in front of the beggar and pull out a gold coin out of his pocket before he put it in the bowl. They watched him squat in front of the beggar and said something that made the beggar look at him dead in the eye.

"Beggar by choice, suffer for something," Rasmus said as he stared at the beggar. "Without suffering, you’ll achieve nothing," he continued, rephrasing the slogan of the Poor Man’s Hands.

"And so I will suffer as my only choice," the beggar continued the phrase as he stared into Rasmus’ eyes with a serious expression. "What is it that you want to know, Count Blackheart?" He asked.

"The Blackhands, my people," Rasmus answered.

"So those people are yours, it’s no wonder they knew about us. They have made contact with the branch leaders of our society. They’re currently working for us because they offered us their skills," the beggar revealed.

"Any of them in the Khan Empire?" Rasmus asked.

"None, they can’t enter the empire with the current state of belligerent. They’re foreigners with no backgrounds, they can’t do anything about it," the beggar shook his head.

Rasmus pulled out a piece of paper, the most expensive currency that was created by the magic tower itself and used as an international currency. He pulled out one Ecler that was worth 500 gold coins and then put it in the beggar’s bowl.

"Bring twenty of my people into the empire, help them gather any kind of information they need," Rasmus said with a serious expression.

"Understood," the beggar nodded.

Rasmus stood up and then walked away, but on the other hand, the beggar was surprised that Rasmus only asked about his people instead of the current situation. The beggar found Rasmus weird, but he brushed it off and went back to being lazy and yawned before he took a nap like nothing had happened.

Rasmus, Aris, and Serena then walked toward the clan estate, and they looked at each of them but they didn’t find Rullein in her disguised appearance. They realized that she might have entered the estate and waited for the tournament to qualify for the main stage. They waited in a queue with other spectators that wanted to watch, and when it was their turn to be checked, Rasmus, Aris, and Serena offered their arms to the old man that no other than the elder of the Nuan Clan that checked the roots, or people from Khan Empire called it dantian to see if they were spies from the Demonic Cult.

"(Cold...)" The old man thought when he held Rasmus’ wrist, and then he stared into Rasmus’ blue gray eyes like a glacier. "(Foreigner?)" He thought as he checked Rasmus’ dantian, his eyes blown wide for a moment. "(What’s this?! The Mana is too thick that I can’t even check his dantian. Could it be?)"

"May I ask your name?" The elder asked as he looked at Rasmus, Aris, and Serena.

"Rasmus Blackheart. We are here to watch because we are interested in martial arts," Rasmus answered.

The elder remembered the letter that came from Gang, the Patriarch of Ganyi Clan about Rasmus Blackheart. Gang sent letters to every clan, whether they were big clans or small clans about Rasmus, a man that they shouldn’t offend but also told them that he wasn’t a man without respect or dignity. Gang called Rasmus a dignified gentleman.

"You may come in," the elder nodded with understanding and pointed his hand at the gate.

"Thank you, elder," Rasmus did the hands gesture at the elder before he walked in, Aris and Serena also did the hands gesture at the elder.

They entered the training area with a huge stage in the middle, and many martial artists and spectators had gathered. It was hard to find a spot, and they had no choice but to stand at the far back. Because Aris, Serena, and Rasmus were taller than anyone, they had no problem watching from the back. Their eyes were looking for Rullein, but they only found martial artists stretching, checking their weapons, or warming up by doing a few moves until they saw a woman with long middle-parted straight hair standing still with her arms crossed with a black sword on her back and not moving a muscle.

"Look at her, she’s a menace," Serena chuckled softly.

"She is. Everyone seems to prepare for a fight, she seems to prepare to kill," Aris shook her head, smiling in disbelief. "Are you sure it’s okay to let her join the tournament? It’s not too late to drag her out of this place," she looked at Rasmus with her brows raised, obviously joking.

"Well, if she ended up in a big trouble, that would be none of our business," Rasmus smiled.