Starting with the awakened Poison God: I choose the Master Thief.

Those around were startled by what they saw.

"This is my proof for you, Professor Bors. Are you satisfied?"

The damage from the divine poison only lasted a moment before Chu Ci stopped it.

After all, he was just trying to prove that he had the ability.

"When...when did you poison me?"

Bors walked up to Chu Ci, and the two looked into each other's eyes.

"Hmm? I don't seem to have an obligation to answer your question, do I? Or is this one of the rules for joining?"

The first half is a rhetorical question, while the second half is a different kind of sarcasm.

Having lived for hundreds of years, Bors naturally understood the implied meaning and immediately realized his lapse in composure. He had indeed been a bit anxious, causing him to speak without thinking.

That's true, how could someone just casually tell him such a method?

No matter how you look at it, it's just too incredible.

Who would believe that a newcomer could injure his veteran?

"Alright, I'm satisfied with your performance. I approve your membership test. When do you plan to start?"

"It's settled!" Chu Ci's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Now."

Bors was not surprised at all. He simply threw out a badge made of an unknown material, which Chu Ci caught steadily.

Above is the Thieves Guild's iconic symbol—a toyed gold coin.

"Drop a drop of your blood on it to start the membership test."

Everyone watched with bated breath, wishing they could be the ones to receive the badge.

Pulling out the bloodstained dagger, Chu Ci didn't hesitate to cut a wound on his finger. Bright red blood dripped through his skin onto the badge, and in an instant, a beam of light carried Chu Ci away from where he stood.

……

[Ding! You have entered the Thieves Guild induction test space.]

[Completion Requirements: Defeat at least 10 Ancient Remains and successfully exit the maze.]

"Is this the Thieves' Guild's testing grounds?"

In front of the Chu Ci, a huge maze gate stands, as tall as a ten-story building.

Wait, killing monsters is one thing, but why do we have to navigate a maze?

Chu Ci himself had no idea that such a ridiculous rule existed.

But since we're already here, what else can we do? We can only bite the bullet and go for it.

Invisibility!

As soon as you enter the maze, three paths appear ahead.

Left, front, right.

Choose the left.

Chu Ci didn't hesitate at all; he trusted his intuition.

Sure enough, within minutes he encountered his first monster, a 4-meter-tall creature clad in dark silver armor.

However, these suits of armor seem to have lost their former luster and become tattered under the decay of time.

Wild Monster: Ancient Capital Remains (lv.100)

Health: 5 million

Physical attack: 3k

Magic Attack: 1k

Physical defense: 0.5k

Magic Defense: 0.5k

Speed: 2k

Skill: Silver Blade: Adds high attributes to the silver sword used in battle, and can unleash a silver blade to deal mixed damage of (physical attack + magic attack) × 2.

That's it? That's pretty weak.

Putting aside the fact that this monster's attributes weren't very high to begin with, and it didn't even have the ability to detect stealth, what's even more bizarre is that this skill deals mixed damage.

The term "hybrid" means combining physical and magical damage. Although it looks powerful, it is still affected by both physical and magical resistances.

For example, if Chu Ci's physical defense is 1040 and his magic defense is 124, then this attack will deduct another 1164 points of damage, leaving only 6836 points of damage when it hits him.

With his current health, he would need to withstand three hits from such a skill to be left with low health.

Of course, this is also because the attributes of Chu Ci are incomparable to those of normal players; otherwise, such a statement would not have been made.

Alright, now that we've confirmed there's no threat, let's start killing monsters.

He was a master thief.

You did not steal anything.

-1000 -1000

Fifty seconds later, the towering remains of the ancient capital collapsed to the ground with a thud.

In the middle, Chu Ci stood less than 5 meters away from it, watching it continuously slash at the air.

[Ding! Defeat the Ancient Capital Remains (lv.100), gain 3k experience points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up, gaining 10 free attribute points and a 10-point boost to all attributes.]

Wow! This monster from the guild entry test actually gives me experience! Even though I didn't get any other drops, I'm still pretty satisfied!

Monsters at level 100, or Tier 1 and above, are usually located far from the starting city. These areas are also typically the territory of other high-level monsters. Chu Ci would never dare to go there alone.

There's no other reason than that I cherish my life.

His stealth level has now reached level 5 (stealth + real image intersection). Not to mention level 1 monsters, even level 2 monsters would have a hard time finding him. But what if he can't?

He only had a few lives to live, and he had already experienced the feeling of almost losing his life due to carelessness in the newbie village. He didn't want to experience that feeling again.

"The rules previously stated that at least 10 of these monsters had to be killed, meaning there are definitely more ancient ruins in this labyrinth than just these!"

Thinking of this, Chu Ci became excited and quickened his pace.

This time it took ten minutes, and he finally arrived at the next fork in the road.

There are only two directions this time: left and right.

Choose the right!

The Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) doesn't give you any time to think.

When your first instinct kicks in, any hesitation is unnecessary.

He proved to be right; sure enough, not long afterward he encountered another ancient capital relic.

Less than a minute later, the upgrade notification sounded again.

[Ding! Congratulations on reaching level 13.]

"Keep going, keep going!"

Meanwhile, in the heart of the thieves' capital city.

The place was now crowded with people, all of whom had come after hearing about the story of Chu Ci.

They were all wearing black cloaks, making it impossible to see their faces.

Among them, Professor Bors stood at the very front. He had already changed out of his tattered beggar's clothes and put on a black gentleman's suit.

His sleeves and collar were adorned with exquisite floral embroidery in gold thread.

His half-raised eyes swept over everyone present, and no one dared to meet his gaze.

Just standing there, he exudes an indescribable sense of pressure.

"Heh, thieves are most sensitive to intelligence. You little guys got here pretty fast."

One of the fourth-tier thieves mustered his courage and stepped forward, speaking respectfully.

"Professor Bors, we're just here to watch the fun, we absolutely have no intention of opposing you."

Bors squinted, a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh? Is that so?"

boom!

In an instant, the fourth-tier thief was blasted into the ground, his crimson blood splattered everywhere.

Before anyone could even react to what had happened, they saw Bors wiping his hands with a snow-white handkerchief, a smile still playing on his lips.

His voice seemed to possess a magical quality; though not loud, it reached the ears of everyone present with precision.

"Should I personally escort you out, or will you leave on your own?"