White Bear was the one to break the silence: "You should better stay away from those arrogant bastards"

Jin asked back: "Why?"

One of the members of the trio questioned Jin: "Baem, have you never met any or something?"

Jin admitted willingly that he did not. Obviously, it was a lie. But no one cared about that. The same member of the trio informed him: "They are a dangerous bunch, i tell you. They always fight between themselves for the slightest grievances and have no qualms killing others"

Another added: "Fucking lunatics!"

They cheered and drank to that. Jin remained puzzled though. Certainly, he would never describe cultivators as a courteous and virtuous bunch but still... For fellow cultivators to say that, just how depraved were they here?

White Bear noticed his puzzlement and explained: "They send people here to fight each other. This continent...Our home... It's a battleground to settle their disputes and nothing more in their eyes. They don't want to destroy their own homes so, they send people here to fight each other instead. Bunch of motherfuckers...Lost many good people to those bitches..."

That explained everything. Jin added one and one and got the answer to the riddle. The lower continents were used as a battle ground as if a border war but on a bigger scale. Good against evil, good against good and even evil against evil... Every grievance might be taken care of here. It was economical in a way. To the higher-ups of both sides, it was probably the best deal possible. They could settle some matters without risks to their own belongings and no one would be able to say anything to them. The rulers of the lower continents definitely did not have the abilities to go against whatever those of the higher continents said.

If they wanted to use the continent as their playground, who could stop them?

The spiritual energy restriction might be useful but it would not be enough to bridge the gap if the higher continent attacked for real. They could just send batches of stage 30 cultivators and raze everything down. It was many times easier to grow a stage 30 in the higher continents after all.

In the end, the poor suffered from the fights of the wealthier ones.

This was a truth that did not change regardless of where Jin had been. And regardless of how sad it might be, there was nothing to be done about it. Not like Jin would have even if he could have. He was no hero and far from selfless.

After discussing some more, the trio and White Bear left. Jin wanted to reimburse White Bear in some way and wondered throughout the meal why the man was so nice.

As he left, he told him: "If everyone was welcoming, wouldn't the world be a better place? If you want to thank me, help someone too when the occasion presents itself! See you around, Baem!"

Jin found an inn to rest as he meditated on what Baem told him. Not his parting words, mind you. While they were worth considering, Jin's priority was himself. That would not change just because of a free meal. Instead, he focused on his options.

Realistically, he saw five of them:

1) Find employment at the royal palace, as a royal guard.

2) Join the Church.

3) Stay in the border town.

4) Live alone as a hermit somewhere as he trained.

5) Roam around the continent in search of opportunities.

The options 3 and 4 were the safest but if he went with those, he would sorely feel a lack in resources in time. What he had could only take him so far. What's more, once he unsealed his core, if he failed to absorb the fear element and went with those options, he would be pretty fucked.

Option 2 was probably the best if it came down to resources and safely grinding his way up the stages. However, it did present some risks. Religious fanatics were the kinds he hated most. In his past life, he had quite a few interactions with such people and they never ended well.

As for option 5, it was too random. While it could bring out the greatest benefits, it could also bring nothing at all.

In the end, option 1 seemed the best but whether or not he could join the royal guards was another story. 30 elites in 10 corps... There were not many spots and none empty at the moment.

Regardless, he decided to make his way to the capital first and check whether there was a possibility to join the royal guards. If there weren't...maybe he would have to bear with the devoted? That was an 'if-question' though and should be left for later.

...

The next morning, he departed towards the capital. His next stop was another small-town further inland. It was supposed to take five days to reach.

He reached it in three and a half after rushing at top-speed.

He stopped within an inn and enjoyed a few discussions with random men and women he crossed paths with. He continued on his way from the next morning on and learnt more and more as he advanced further in, meeting more and more people as he did so.

And two months later, in a small city, he heard something interesting.

"I heard the church will be recruiting people for a demon extermination tomorrow as they pass by"

"Eh? Again? Aren't those guys tired of this shit?"

"Shh! What if there were some in here?!"

"My bad, my bad, sorry! Anyways, should we join in? They do pay rather well"

"My thoughts exactly. Belief won't move me but gold coins will!"

"Amen!"

"Ahahah!"

This attracted Jin's attention. As a potential candidate for his future faction, the Church did interest him. If he could get an idea on how they operated and what they were like through this subjugation, it would be quite a good deal.

But then again, it was his first time hearing of 'demons'. Where there demons in this world? Or maybe they were just describing a peculiar spiritual beast? Turning the mundane into something mystical and relevant to their religion was something they could do. At least, Jin would not be surprised if it came down to something along those lines. This religion was geared towards common mortals after all.