The mini giant with the axe finally stopped ten paces away from the archway. Its crimson eyes slowly swept across the gathered groups, showing no emotion, no anger, no hatred, only a cold, mechanical intent to purge the intruders.
Liang stared at the giant, then looked down at his own trembling, pale hand. He could physically feel the qi he had spent decades cultivating being forcefully dragged out of his meridians and into the earth.
Suddenly, a memory of his emperor's final instructions before they entered the tomb flashed through his mind.
"Go to the core, Liang. Offer your strength to the tomb. The ancestors will reward your devotion, and the seal will remain eternal."
'Offer your strength.'
Liang's breath hitched in his throat. His eyes widened in sudden, horrifying realization. The Emperor's sudden generosity in inviting the world's top otherworlder guilds all slammed together in his mind like a physical blow.
