One-Eyed Monster

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, an hour had gone by.

Many things happened in that hour, but in front of the building marked number twenty-eight on Bayes Avenue, Kadi and Igor patiently, without moving, sat on the ground.

They were waiting, waiting for Coban Kangen’s return.

Similarly, Coban Kangen was waiting for them too, waiting for them to pass this test!

If Igor and Kadi could safely pass this test, they would be granted unrestricted passage on Bayes Avenue.

Being able to move freely on Bayes Avenue was crucial for Igor and Kadi because many things they sought could only be found there for answers. Even though these answers might just point them in the right direction, for Igor and Kadi, that was enough. After all, what lay before them was unknown, and with some guidance, they wouldn’t wander aimlessly.

Igor and Kadi waited silently, which was a sign of trust in Coban Kangen and currently their best choice.

It is said in Xinbal that time is everything. The people of Xinbal can create great value with just a bit of time, which is undoubted, but now for Igor and Kadi, time is their greatest asset.

What they have the most of now is time.

Time is the least valuable to them.

This kind of waiting consumes time the most, yet for Igor and his companions, it has a negligible impact.

However, for those in Bayes Avenue, it’s a different matter altogether.

The passage of time gradually caused them to lose many things, from gold coins to techniques and various discoveries.

”Now that you have left Xinbal, although you are part of the Kangen family, you probably can’t mobilize the Kangen family’s resources, right?” the old man said to Coban Kangen.

”I understand what you mean. Although I can’t mobilize the Kangen family’s resources, I can now represent the entire Bistal. Lord Popovich’s handwritten letter was just shown, and we will compensate you for the losses you incurred in these two hours.”

”Very fair. I like dealing with people like you. Although your guarantee isn’t that important for the entire Bayes Avenue, rules are rules. Outsiders arriving at Bayes Avenue must be assessed.”

”We follow equivalent exchange and won’t short you a single gold coin,” Coban Kangen said calmly.

”We fighters never measure our gains and losses with gold coins...”

”I understand. Bistal, under Lord Popovich’s jurisdiction, has never been renowned for gold coins!” Facing the bargaining, Coban Kangen didn’t back down at all; he was confident in Igor and Kadi.

If these two young people didn’t even have such endurance and perseverance, they wouldn’t have gradually defeated the Circus organization hidden in Bistal all these years. This alone was enough.

Unknowingly, two hours had passed, and Igor and Kadi showed no sign of retreat.

”Isn’t this test a bit too simple?” Coban Kangen raised an eyebrow, expressing a bit of doubt to the elder fighter.

”Dripping water penetrates stone; such endurance and perseverance are the basic skills that practitioners of physique technique must possess. This test seems simple but essentially has many intricacies.”

”I know this steadfastness in front of you fighters can be completely achieved, but in Bistal, we require more than just determining if these two youths have the potential to become fighters!” Coban Kangen’s tone increased, clearly having higher expectations for Igor and Kadi.

”What more do you want?” the elder fighter asked, bending forward, ”Do you still want to test their strength?”

”No, we just want to see if these two youths are worthy of entrustment!”

”The entire Bistal is going to be entrusted to these two youths?” the elder fighter was a bit incredulous.

A smirk appeared on Coban Kangen’s lips: ”Not just Bistal; soon, the entire Bayes will be looking forward to them making a difference!”

The elder fighter fell into deep contemplation, a contemplation that consumed considerable time, time he could have used to further improve their fighters’ combat formations.

”Trust me, our world has already changed; the unknown has already invaded, only that most of us are still in the dark.” Coban Kangen’s words served as a warning.

No matter whether he faced enemies or allies, these words would definitely impact them. The smile on his face said it all.

”In any case, your guarantee is acceptable from the perspective of our Martial Clan; these two youths can traverse freely in Bayes Avenue,” the elder fighter said softly.

”Thank you!” Coban Kangen stood up.

”I will send mail birds to the other families and organizations to inform them of these two young people’s passing our test in detail.”

”Alright, then I’ll go get the horses,” Coban Kangen said as he walked out.

And so the test ended. Although it seemed like nothing happened during the entire process, it was actually the strictest test in all of Bayes Avenue.

Integrity is the most important quality on Bayes Avenue.

Bayes Avenue believes that only those who are honest and trustworthy are qualified to enter Bayes Avenue.

The Martial Clan, as a fighter organization, indeed assesses integrity in a unique way. They won’t use obvious things to evaluate a person’s honesty but will instead test them in terms of patience.

During these patience tests, the Martial Clan would lay traps, misleading the tester about their trust level in something.

More than once, they conveyed the false impression to Igor and Kadi that Coban Kangen had left, but Igor and Kadi remained unmoved, like a piece of wood.

No, not just wood, but stone, utterly unshakeable.

Igor and Kadi didn’t think much of it at the time; they felt they had no other choice now. The only one they could trust was Coban Kangen, and they couldn’t easily trust anyone else.

No matter who it is, everyone in front of them was a stranger, as everyone in this place was an unknown. In such an unknown environment, they couldn’t easily trust anyone...

The door creaked open, and the long wait finally came to an end.

Coban Kangen walked out slowly, followed by three strong stallions.

Igor let out a sigh of relief and glanced at Kadi, thinking to himself, see, I told you he would come back!

Kadi shrugged; his thoughts were simpler than Igor’s, though he had been troubled by the uncertainty ahead before.

Coban Kangen’s wait also ended; what he gained was mutual trust, but he knew that wasn’t all he wanted.

The three horses were all robust and seemed to be breeds with good burst power.

”You’re back!” Igor greeted Coban Kangen.

”Yes, I’m back. Sorry to keep you waiting!”

”The waiting time was indeed a bit long, but it was worth it, after all, you brought back three horses!” Kadi said with keen interest, sizing up the three horses.