In the end, they could not agree on a single candidate. They decided to cut the fruit in two and each would be allowed to pick five. Ame did not bother too much and settled on taking the five who had reached the highest realms of cultivation.

As for Jin, he planned to take some more time to make a decision.

He scrapped the papers containing the information of those he deemed potential spies and left with the others after bidding Ame a good evening. He went straight to his high-end restaurant and was welcomed by the beautiful manager Xie Bi. Jin approved of the food here. That was mainly the reason why he gave this woman the role of overseer of all his restaurants.

He was led to an isolated table with stunning view of the outside.

As he watched the gigantic leaves bigger than houses fluttering above and under, he could not help but smile. This was a wonderful scenery. He might someday be so used to it that he would no longer pay attention to it but, right now, he enjoyed it.

It was peaceful.

He sighed. How wonderful would it be if it could remain peaceful like that forever? Having wealth and standing while only needing to worry about who to select to work under him... Unfortunately, he was very much aware that his life was still in the palm of death. He had to work diligently to escape it.

So, he turned his gaze back to the papers.

Only late in the night did he leave. He made up his mind and selected five people. They were not the strongest, far from it. They were not the weakest either. They were those who seemed to deserve the position instead of those who had the qualifications for it.

An old man aged sixty-two who served as a soldier since he was seventeen.

Another of fifty-six who lost a leg and an eye and had been a soldier for thirty years and some.

A woman of forty who remained as a city guard for the past twenty years.

A young man of twenty-four who came all the way from the cold south harboring high hopes.

And finally, a woman who had a quarter of her face burnt.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Those were the five people that he deemed the worthiest of becoming royal guards for they devoted their lives and bodies to this country. As for their abilities? It did not matter. He could give them pills if he wanted to nurture them. He did not obviously. The reality was just that: he needed to select five people that would not be threats. As such, he might as well reward five people who seemed worthy of it.

Of course, he picked those five in particular for some specific reasons.

An old soldier that survived close to fifty years on the battlefield? That was someone who knew how to survive and dodge death. A man of experience who knew when to retreat and save his skin. The other man was very similar except that he seemed to be someone willing to sacrifice himself for others on top of that. Both could be used and much could be learnt from their experience. They stayed as soldiers in this very country for so many years after all.

The city guard would be useful whenever they needed something here in the capital. She probably knew about every nook and cranny around, maybe even the darker ones. Jin hoped so at least...

The young one that came from the cold south? He was someone who knew the present geography of the land on that path. It was very likely that they would be sent here and there to do their duties. Having someone with some recent knowledge of the situation would be useful. And he seemed like a diligent man when they met. That man gave him quite the impression compared to others since he was the only one wearing furs over the south soldier's outfit.

As for the last one... It was because she directly asked for a spar when she entered the tent. Jin fought with her, both of them not using any spiritual energy and he found her abilities with the sword rather good. She seemed even slightly better than Ame. He could not help but pick her as she simply stood out from all the others. Of course, she would have her own uses as her resume was quite interesting...

All in all, things were settled.

The next morning, surprising all the candidates, Ame and Jin had the names of the candidates that they picked plastered at the front of the fair. All the candidates who planned to try their luck but waited for nothing the previous day were eager this morning. They could not help but deflate as they saw that the opportunity no longer existed.

As for the dozen that got in, they had mixed reactions.

The five selected by Ame were smiling arrogantly and with confidence.

The five selected by Jin were crying tears of joy and jumping out of excitement.

After they reported to the new building granted to the 11th Corps and servants gave them the golden battle robes of the royal guards, they met Ame and Jin again.

From there, they would have to train together for the next half a year in order to reach the standards of the newly created Corps. Under the King's orders, their first mission would only be at that time.

Ame and Jin relegated the duty of teaching the newcomers to the newcomers themselves. The five stronger ones would teach the weaker ones. They would practice on their own and in their own ways. They did not want to delay their growth for others. Especially people they would never trust or befriend in the first place.

What's more, Jin had some things to settle.

He could finally meet Sarina again now that his situation was stable enough.