c159: The Final Floor for the Inheritance
[March 15, 2020] ... Everyone who pa.s.sed the second floor was now accounted for: Feng Wu, Ming Xi, Ai Lin, Zi Cheng, Cohen, Milien, Falay, and the old grandfather with his young companion.
Milien"s arrival triggered the start of the inheritance test. It happened so fast Cohen didn"t even get a chance to greet his vice-captain.
A metal door, much like the one Feng Wu and everyone else walked through, popped up in the center of the hall. The door"s appearance meant it was the end of their peaceful comradery. Everyone knew it was the entrance to the final floor and the last one standing would get the coveted inheritance. It was possible they would fight each other to the death.
Like the other doors, this one looked heavy, but was in fact very light and opened easily.
Falay was obsessed with strength and he was the first to rush through. He was followed by Cohen and Milien. It was natural for them to stay together since they were both high ranking members of Inferno. Following them was the old gramps and his young charge. Feng Wu and everyone entered after.
The door disappeared after everyone went through.
They found themselves in front of what must have been a magnificent palace at one time, but was now a shadow of its former self - the ceiling was shattered, the walls precariously stood pockmarked with holes, while the floor was littered with broken pillars.
The dark sky showed through the broken ceiling like a beast waiting with its mouth wide open. The exterior was destroyed but the gates were still intact with some red paint still visible.
Zi Cheng and Ai Lin were about to walk in when a hand reached out and stopped them.
"Senior Ming Xi?" Confusion flashed in Zi Cheng"s eyes.
Ai Lin looked to him with the same confusion.
Jier took up a defensive posture after pulling Feng Wu behind him.
"Don"t go. There"s something wrong with this place." Ming Xi"s mild voice was cold.
Zi Cheng bit her lip and turned her head to look at the entrance clearly unwilling. She would get a chance to inherit once she walked in. It was only a few more steps. She struggled internally debating if she should listen to him or not.
Ai Lin was more determined. "Don"t worry Senior Ming Xi. There"s nothing wrong. If there was, how could we have not heard or seen anything?" She smiled slightly and spoke in a calm voice.
With her knowledge, she was not worried at all. It was strange Calven"s consciousness hadn"t disappeared like in the original novel. In that one the only two who reached the final floor were Zi Cheng and the Yiduo clan member. But perhaps things changed because there were more people now.
From what she recalled, though the process of Zi Cheng getting the artifact was suspenseful, it wasn"t dangerous. In fact it was very simple. The inheritance crystal was on the final floor. Once you reached it all you had to do was pick it up and all of G.o.d Calven"s training would flow into your mind.
How could Ai Lin let go of this G.o.dly opportunity knowing there was no danger? Unlike the heroine, she had no system to rely on for support. The inheritance was a strong temptation.
Ming Xi shook his head, not wanting his juniors to take the risk. "It"s dangerous. The atmosphere inside is dark." Whatever it was, it couldn"t be normal if it gave him such a sense of danger. Hopefully it wasn"t what he suspected, otherwise they"d all be in danger.
"Senior is overthinking it. We"re in the realm battlegrounds, of course the atmosphere"d be dark. No need to worry. I can protect myself." Ai Lin flashed out of his grasp as she spoke her last sentence. She gave them all one last rea.s.suring look before waving goodbye and walking to the gate.
Zi Cheng"s hesitation disappeared. There was something inside that belonged to her. She could feel it. She had to get it even if she had to disregard Ming Xi"s good intentions.
"Senior, I…"
Ming Xi knew what she wanted to say, so he waved helplessly. "Go. I know you won"t be willing to leave without taking a look."
Ming Xi wasn"t some kind of saint. They were juniors from his school and he had wanted to protect them, but if they weren"t interested in that protection, then he wasn"t going to force them, and he certainly wasn"t going to be troubled over it.
"Senior, I"m sorry." Zi Cheng gave him an apologetic nod before promptly following Ai Lin into the palace.
Of the ten who reached the final floor, only three chose not to enter.
Ming Xi and Jier protected Feng Wu between them. Both of them knew something big was about to happen.
Feng Wu obediently stayed in the middle. She frowned. The air reeked of blood.
She pulled at Ming Xi"s sleeve. "There"s blood. A lot of blood."
"Blood?" Ming Xi knew Feng Wu wouldn"t make stuff up. She only said what she observed, like in the inn when she saw what only necromancers could see. "In the palace?" Ming Xi clarified.
Feng Wu nodded confirming his guess.
"What should we do? Should we go in?" Jier asked hesitantly.
A voice suddenly came from the sky. Obviously it was G.o.d Calven. "Hey you three guys, why aren"t you going inside to fight for the inheritance? Go on, quickly, quickly. Ten people is needed. Everyone is waiting."