Seifr and Shayla decided to simply return to the house after the realization about the fence instead of spending their new-found money. Seifr was not sure how he felt about supposed government sanctioned thievery, and he had a lot to ponder about it. Regardless, he still owed the Head for his benevolence and shelter, and if he could come to sufficiently understand the situation and find merit in it, he would consider staying longer.

He had no plan currently and was just reacting to situations he found himself in and making the best of it. Seifr had a strong sense of honor, and although he was committing theft, he would not easily abandon an obligation - especially since he had lost his faith in the "justice" of the city government.

As Seifr was walking along pondering these things, he came to a sudden realization. How did that cultivator recognize me? I was wearing a mask. Seifr was pretty sure he had not given himself away the other night.

"Hey, how do you think that guy recognized us?" Seifr turned to Shayla and asked.

Shayla appeared baffled for a second before suddenly realizing the answer and responding, "He probably recognized your aura and body. Powerful cultivators can distinguish weaker auras much easier. If you were closer in cultivation level with him than you are, it would not have been so obvious to him."

"So that's it," Seifr was suddenly enlightened. He had heard at the academy about something like that, but the instructor had not gone in depth into it saving that for a more advanced level class.

The pair of teenagers made their way back through the city at once both jubilant at their new wealth and pensive at the revelation. Seifr had grown accustomed to having money to spend over the years, if not quite as much as he had on him now, so he was not overly excited. Shayla, on the other hand, was practically dancing in the street. She had obviously been impoverished for most of her life.

"Seriously, though. What are you planning to do with your cut?" Shayla inquired again.

"Nothing right now. I'm going to save it up and use it on something important. Later." Seifr knew revenge was burning brightest in his heart at this moment, but he had no way to realize such a goal considering the power disparity. He knew that the only solution was likely to either buy some ridiculously powerful items at an auction or hire a powerful mercenary. Both of which would cost more than three platinum coins, and both of which would require considerable luck.

Suddenly, a loud crash from further down the road sounded out, startling everyone and causing them to look for the source of the noise. Up ahead a large, burly man with scars crisscrossing his chest in an open vest was casually holding up another young man off the ground with one arm, a small stall collapsed on the ground next to them. The young man was obviously a commoner with no significant cultivation to speak of, and despite his struggles, he could not free himself from the larger man's grasp.

"What did you say to me, peasant?!" The large man roared at the younger man.

Beside them was a middle-aged man wringing his hands in worry, and he opened his mouth to say, "Sir, sir, it was nothing. He didn't mean anything by it. He's just a young boy who doesn't know the way. Please..."

The large man used his other arm to backhand the middle-aged man across the face, sending him sprawling unconscious with one hit. He returned his gaze to the young man, who appeared to be no older than Seifr. The boy stopped struggling as his body began to shake uncontrollably, and a wet spot formed at his crotch and made a line down his leg.

The big man saw this and smirked, "Hahahaha. Look at that! He pissed himself. What a waste. You insulted the wrong person, boy, and now you're going to die." The older cultivator seemed genuinely pleased with himself at humiliating this younger boy.

Seifr saw this scene playing out as the two made their way down the street, and visions of the innocent commoners getting maimed and killed with blood everywhere from his chase across the city crossed his mind. I can't sit by and do nothing when the innocent get trampled underfoot, otherwise I'm consenting to that kind of behavior. Seifr quickly reached a decision to help, and he suddenly dashed forward away from Shayla who gave a startled cry.

Seifr had not taken the time to analyze the other party's cultivation base, and he realized his error only as he was hurtling through the air to deliver a kick to the man's midsection. He remained calm, though, as he realized the man was only at the Peak Stage of the Elementary Realm; someone he could easily content with.

The man noticed Seifr's approach and sneered in derision. His sneer quickly turned into a look of astonishment and pain as Seifr's kick landed and sent the man tumbling down, losing his grasp on the commoner. Seifr quickly ushered the boy away as the other man regained his feet and glared maliciously at Seifr.

"Boy, don't think a lucky, surprise kick means you can stand up to me. I'm going to grind your bones into dust for interfering with my leisure," the scarred man exclaimed as he stalked towards Seifr.

Seifr's face contorted in disgust as he realized what this man was saying. He didn't even have a real grievance! He deliberately wanted to bully someone for no reason, just for fun.

Seifr shook his head and said, "If you're as good at fighting as you are at running your mouth, I might think twice about confronting you. But you're only a coward. Too scared to stir up trouble with someone who could put up a fight."

The older cultivator was thoroughly enraged, and he ceased stalking towards Seifr in favor of a mad charge. Seifr smirked at how easily the bigger man was goaded into his rhythm. The big man drew his fist back to deliver a powerful punch, and Seifr decided to meet it head on. He usually resorted to maneuvering and technique to fight, but this time he decided to directly beat this miscreant down with a full show of might.

Seifr channeled his ki into his arm and executed a proper punch that had been ingrained into his muscle memory towards his opponent's fist. All of the onlookers shook their heads and muttered to themselves that this young man was acting too recklessly and arrogant. He was obviously almost an entire Realm below the bigger man.

"Young kids today don't know the immensity of Heaven and Earth."

"He's simply looking to get thrashed. His sneak attack has inflated his ego."

"Haha, this will be fun to watch."

Many in the crowd exclaimed their expectations for the confrontation. Shayla secretly sighed and somewhat agreed with the onlookers. She had noticed Seifr's unusual strength the other day in the jewelry shop, but this was an entirely different situation. She prepared to rush forward to save her friend.

Seifr's fist made contact with the burly man's fist, and the big man let out a mighty roar as they collided. Neither side moved an inch, and they appeared to be locked together at their fists for a moment. Then, despite everyone's expectations, the big man's knees buckled and he grasped his right arm with his left, letting out another agonized scream. His first roar had not been to intimidate, apparently, but had been from the excruciating pain from all of his arm bones being pulverized.

"What?! What just happened?"

"I don't believe it! What trick did that kid use?"

"The kid won with brute strength?!"

The crowd was shocked at this turn of events, and Shayla stood there in a daze. Seifr stood over the other man and looked down on him in contempt.

"Get out of here. If I see you bullying anyone again, I won't be so kind next time," Seifr said.

The big man nodded his head as he crawled up onto his knees. He looked up at Seifr with pain, fear, and confusion on his face. "Why are you sparing me? I was obviously intending to kill you."

Seifr's face remained stony as he replied, "I'm not a piece of trash. I don't kill the weak."

Seifr turned around and made his way back towards Shayla. The big man's face suddenly turned vicious as he drew a dagger from his waist and launched himself at Seifr's back. The crowd hissed with gasps, and Seifr noted Shayla's eyes go wide and shift their gaze behind him. He had been watching her eyes to see her reaction, and when they darted past him, he knew the big man had not given up.

In a flash too fast for anyone in the crowd to see, Seifr spun in a circle, and a bright light arced through the air. Seifr came to rest with his sword extended above his right shoulder, and the man's left arm from the elbow down went flying in the same direction with a spray of blood. Seifr had moved so fast, that no blood had even stained his sword. Seifr slowly sheathed his sword as the other cultivator fell back onto the ground with yet another howl.

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"I told you, already. I don't kill the weak. Permanently crippling you and hindering your ability to fight and cause mischief is a much better punishment for you than death." Seifr spat at the man's feet and turned back to Shayla once again.

Clapping suddenly erupted from the crowd. It was not deafening or thunderous, but many in the crowd approved of his actions.

"Right, right. The young master is merciful and ruthless at the same time. This is definitely the best solution."

"Yeah, that guy has been coming around here for a couple of weeks to stir up trouble, now. Good riddance!"

Seifr secretly sighed and shook his head. The will of the people was a strange thing. At first when they thought they were going to get a good show of Seifr making a fool out of himself, they jeered and derided him. Then, when he flounced their expectations, they were pleasantly surprised, and when he cut off the other man's arm, they cheered for him.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. No need to entangle ourselves with any City Watchmen," Seifr said as he re-approached Shayla. Shayla gave him a curious look as she resumed walking with him.

"So what was that all about? Why did you go help those two? They're just commoners," Shayla asked.

Seifr shook his head again. If this kept up, he would strain his neck. "That's exactly it. They're just commoners. They're not cultivators. I understand the so-called Law of the Jungle, but they didn't sign up for that. The other night, that Mid Spirit Stage Cultivator maimed and possibly killed several bystanders while chasing me. I'm somewhat responsible for that. Why should they have to suffer for something that I've done and for the negligence of a more powerful cultivator? Especially direct bullying. You heard what he said. He deliberately sought out people weaker than him for fun. He was a disgusting individual, and he deserved what he got. We're thieves, not murderers. If I can do something to stop a murder but don't, then I've tacitly agreed with it. And I don't agree with it."

Shayla was somewhat taken aback by the vehemence in Seifr's tone as he explained his actions to Shayla. She had never even really considered the matter before, but upon examining the justification of Seifr's actions, she agreed that there was some merit to his stance. She would have to think further on it, though, especially considering their current occupation.

"Ok," Shayla replied, saying no more on the subject. The two continued their journey in amiable silence. It wasn't awkward silence, just the absence of conversation as the two pondered their own, private thoughts.

The two finally made their way back to the safe house, and they immediately made their way towards the Head's office. Quillin was no longer at his desk, and instead a young woman sat at the opposite desk. She looked up and smiled when she saw Seifr and Shayla enter the room.

"The Head said to send you right in when you got back," the young woman said.

Seifr nodded his head and entered the office. Shayla walked up to the Head, who had been reading through some reports and held out her hand with the gilded ring in it towards him. "We already took our 60% cut. We were paid ten plats, and four are still in the ring."

The Head took the proffered ring and pulled the four plats out. Then, contrary to expectations, he placed two in Shayla's outstretched hand and offered the other two to Seifr. "That particular fence pays us our cut separately. The ten plats was your 60% cut," he said with a smile.

Shayla gave an exclamation of surprise and threw her hands into the air in triumph. Seifr reached out and retrieved his two platinum coins woodenly. They had been shocked before, now they were utterly speechless.

The Head smiled at their disparate reactions and then said, "So?"

Seifr pocketed the money and then replied, "It was the government. I just don't understand why."

The Head's smile grew wider as he heard Seifr's answer. He replaced the space ring in his desk, and then motioned for Seifr and Shayla to close the door and take seats. After they had done so, he explained, "This is a branch of the Thieves Guild. The Official Thieves Guild. I'm actually an Imperial Agent, and in some cases - very rare cases - my authority actually exceeds the governor's." He gave a wry smile at the thought of himself, a thief, having more authority than the governor of a province.

"We train young cultivators with promise by sending them on ever increasingly risky 'missions' to 'steal' valuables and evaluate their performance. I was once an orphan living in one of these shelters a long time ago myself, though it took me much longer to figure things out than you, haha.

"We don't want the potential recruits to actually harm anyone with ties to the nobility or the government, so we use our special fence to handle those goods. In regards to the other merchants who get robbed, the profits the houses take are spent on public works, charity, and reimbursing many merchants through governmental insurance. Not all of the merchants choose to purchase insurance, but for the most part, it works out ok by restricting the amount of theft we approve of to any one merchant.

"We understand that these actions cannot be offset completely, but by controlling most theft and using this system, we restrain the potential damage that could be caused, and it's far cheaper than setting up some sort of actual camp to train people in these types of skills. It also keeps you out of the eyes of foreign spies looking for our so-called training camps.

"Yes, you heard that right. The Thieves Guild does not operate locally. Only the trainees. And for the most part, it's safe for the trainees, unlike what you went through a couple nights ago. That was an aberration, and very much impressed me. We send the actual members to other nations to steal from their wealthy, and we don't restrict the damage they can cause. We encourage it. We also supply the Empire with the majority of its spies. That's not to say we train a lot of spies from these houses. There's much more to spy work than skulking through the night, and one has to have the prerequisite skills to operate with high society." The Head gave Seifr a shrewd look as he mentioned this last part. Seifr's heart jumped in his chest as he realized the Head probably knew his background.

"There are other rules, of course. You know the rules regarding the thieves, but what you don't know is the rules regarding the targets. The ones who get their stuff back from the government fence know the rules. The most important of which is once you trade the merchandise to the fence and get paid, you've 'gotten away.' They cannot retaliate against you for past thefts, only if you steal from them again. All bets are off then, because we don't allow you or anyone else affiliated with us to hit them a second time in the next six months.

"However, your situation is a little different. That Mid Spirit Stage Cultivator employed at the jewelry shop is a man named William, and word on the street is that he's very prideful. He won't come after you as long as he works for the jewelry shop, because he has enough honor to obey orders, but if he ever leaves that employ, he is not tied with the nobility, and he may seek you out over the perceived insult of 'losing' to you. We'll try to shield you as much as we can, but think of this as another evaluation.

"Now that you know what's going on, you can choose to stay and remain a candidate for recruitment, and believe me, your chances are looking good so far, or you can choose to sever ties. We are not vindictive, and we know that what we do is not evil or exactly shady to the right people, so you won't be hunted down. Though I would advise you against spreading the knowledge, as that could lead to enemy spies, and that will definitely get you a wanted poster.

"If you stay, we will no longer select the targets for you, but will provide a list of targets that you can select yourself based on your own judgment. This also means that the information given will be more rudimentary, and you'll have to provide your own intelligence - another evaluation - but at the same time also important training.

"And one last thing to consider before making your decision when you leave. No restriction on theft when operating in foreign lands, and the cut is 90/10. Think about it." The Head finally came to a close on his long explanation, motioning to Seifr and Shayla that they should go. They both had a lot to think about.