The veiled girl nodded, and shortly after her chanting began, the entire cave began to shake violently. First, small rocks fell down, followed by larger ones, and before the magic reached its peak, the two had already passed through the twisted space vortex.

Wang Xiaole felt a sudden chill in his body, then his feet touched solid ground, accompanied by noisy voices filling his ears. When they looked around, they found themselves inside a massive city.

Seeing is believing. It wasn't until Wang Xiaole set foot in Black Stone City that he realized how different it was from where he had lived before. Firstly, the city walls of Black Stone City were low. Despite being the headquarters of the "Disaster Eradication Society," it could be considered a country that was both defenseless and highly guarded. The city walls were of little use, but on the streets, many pedestrians wore insignias of swordsmen and mages, far more than in an average city.

The buildings on either side of the streets appeared quaint, not as tall and magnificent as some buildings in major cities, nor as luxurious as in some wealthy areas. After scanning the surroundings, Wang Xiaole noticed that the pedestrians on the street showed little interest in passersby. Even if they found one or two foreigners behaving strangely, they would still ignore them.

In fact, Black Stone City was a relatively free city. The assassins and mercenaries within the city would not interfere with the personal lives of its residents unless one posed a threat to others' safety. Even if you were to run naked on the street, no one would pay much attention because it was your own business.

The rain continued to pour, with most pedestrians carrying umbrellas. Therefore, the majority remained calm when faced with heavy rain. Only a few sought shelter and quickly ran under the buildings. Wang Xiaole and the veiled girl were also running, but their aim was not to seek shelter.

From their perspective, they could clearly see a building in the distance shaped like a spire. If someone were to look down from above, they would notice its structure, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, resembling an inverted triangle. A brief glance might make one feel that this seemingly balanced building could collapse at any moment.

That was the headquarters of the "Disaster Eradication Society," known as the "Black Stone Tower." Even without the girl explicitly mentioning it, Wang Xiaole knew that was where they should head next.

As the two ran into the alert area, several guards, beastkin soldiers positioned at the entrance of the spire, immediately raised their weapons and intercepted, fulfilling their duty. In Black Stone City, the status of beastkin was not lower than that of humans; in fact, some (like the White) were even higher in esteem than humans.

Such a situation was not surprising. The main source of income in Black Stone City came from top-notch assassins, who earned forty percent of the total mission earnings. In other words, without them, even building the city would have been impossible, let alone caring for the daily lives of its citizens.

Therefore, in this place, humans could not easily achieve certain goals based on their racial status, which was somewhat inconvenient for the two. The guards, beastkin soldiers on the periphery, clearly could not simply allow two suspicious individuals to pass through.

Entering surreptitiously was already a wild idea. After all, with guards keeping watch, even regular folks found it difficult to approach the perimeter, let alone sneak in by climbing windows.

At this critical juncture, Wang Xiaole started contemplating a corresponding strategy.

As a wanderer like him, once faced with a situation, he usually would talk if he could, deceive if he couldn't, and resort to violence if all else failed. That's how straightforward and rough his approach was.

Following this principle of action, the only thing Wang Xiaole had to do now was

--- to deceive!

Wang Xiaole pretended to be a guest who came to make a request, leading a veiled girl towards the guards head-on, arriving in front of the group of guards.

First, he handed over proof of his identity, emphasizing that he was a law-abiding citizen.

Then, he put on an innocuous expression, blinking his eyes at the guards in front of him, waiting for their response.

Due to the convincing fake credentials, the guards did not notice any flaws and, through their nods, acknowledged his identity.

The guards maintained their responsible attitude and did not neglect to check the companion standing next to Wang Xiaole, the veiled girl.

Initially, he was worried about how the girl would handle this; however, she also produced a similar object, handing it to the guards for confirmation that she was not a dangerous intruder.

Based on his years of experience with false identities, he could immediately tell that the identity proof the girl provided was fake;

that little item was almost identical to the one he carried with him all the time, perfect for comparison of their similarities.

Yet, the guards still did not perform exceptionally, once again proving the limitations of their anti-counterfeiting skills, not suspecting the intentions of the two individuals before them.

Naturally, being naive didn't necessarily equate to honesty among these beastkin.

Following the usual practice, the beastkin guards extended their hands, reaching towards the one who appeared wealthier among the two, greedily reaching out.

What were they intending to do?

Even a beginner rogue fresh to the scene would understand that when beastkin extended their hands, it was certainly not for a handshake.

In fact, in this aspect, humans and beastkin did not differ much, as this particular gesture always signified the same thing:

"This gate is mine to guard, this path is mine to block, if you wish to pass through, leave behind some coin!"

Upon a swift analysis, Wang Xiaole suddenly felt:

The guards before him were not so different from regular bandits and robbers; the only distinction was that the former had thicker skin.

His assessment was spot on, considering that those in this line of work judged their income at the end of the month by how daring they were.

These beastkin gatekeepers were known for their insatiable greed and ruthless hearts - anyone attempting to pass unnoticed under their watchful eyes would have their purse bitten into first.

Shameless!

This was Wang Xiaole's current impression of these individuals before him.

The main reason for his outburst was that in the eyes of the beastkin, the person who seemed wealthier was none other than himself...

Since he was targeted, not complying meant there was no way to pass through.

Thinking about this, Wang Xiaole gritted his teeth, took out two copper coins from his purse, and handed them over to those eager, clawed hands.

For the meager sum of money, the beastkin guards' reaction was quite straightforward, simply shaking their heads, hoping the person in front of them would give a bit more.

No way around it, so Wang Xiaole took back the two copper coins and instead handed over two silver coins.

Shaking heads, shaking heads.

The guards were still unsatisfied, and the look in their eyes towards Wang Xiaole began to turn pitiful;

Yet beneath that seemingly pitiful gaze, there lay a deep-seated greed.

They gazed at Wang Xiaole, who in turn looked at the girl intently, then received a brief three-word response:

"I have no money."

The implication was clear - but you do!

Finally, Wang Xiaole gave up the struggle.

He considered today as his private day of suffering for his own pocket money, and shortly after retrieving the two silver coins, reluctantly handed over a few gold coins.

As the guards used their claws to clutch the glittering gold coins, a hint of delight blossomed in their pupils.

Do not misunderstand, even after taking the money, the guards had no intention of formally letting him through;

The reason was not anything else, but due to something Wang Xiaole carried with him.

They pointed to the sharp long sword, and the person involved soon understood that such a weapon could not be brought inside without arousing suspicion.

Although without this sword, Wang Xiaole's strength could not be fully unleashed, he didn't care about such minor details in order to meet Bai Jian.

With a clank, Wang Xiaole stuck the sword into the ground, still carrying the scabbard.

Perhaps because they received quite a sum of money, the guards made an exception and allowed him to bring what seemed like a non-threatening metal object into the Blackstone Tower.

The somewhat naive guards had no understanding:

Whether something poses a threat depends on whose hands it falls into.

Even considering the value of that long sword, Wang Xiaole was not worried at all that the beastkin would take the sword. The reason was simple - they couldn't lift it!

Wang Xiaole had infused a bit of holy power into the sword; those below the "City Destroyer" level absolutely couldn't pull out the sword, let alone think of using it.

By deliberately leaving the weapon outside with one more move, the girl's situation became much easier.

After all, she didn't carry any weapons, nor did she have any magic books;

Those who use magic, at her level, even empty-handed, with just the power of incantation, could become a formidable force.

The beastkin guards were at a loss for not understanding magic, helplessly watching another dangerous individual pass by them and enter the interior of the spire.

The Blackstone Tower was divided into thirteen levels in total, with a spiral staircase separating each level, an architectural design unfriendly to those with a fear of heights.

Since the two were on the first level, the top of the spire, the surrounding space was very cramped.

However, going up was a different story. This pyramid-shaped structure widened as you ascended;

Especially when they reached the thirteenth level, it would make the entrants feel like they were on a spacious square.

The two walked on the black tiled surface, brushing past the mercenaries who happened to pass by without much contact.

Although the two of them were unsure of where Bai was at this moment, as long as they kept going up, they would surely not go wrong; This was how they planned it, and how they executed it.