The forest path stretched long and quiet.
Leaves rustled softly.
Occasionally, a distant bird took flight.
Karma walked slightly ahead of Ye Ziyun this time.
Not joking.
Not walking backward.
His eyes scanned the treeline.
Casual posture.
Sharp awareness.
Behind him, Shen Yue muttered something under his breath.
Karma didn't even turn.
"If you're whispering strategies," he said lightly, "at least make them good ones."
Shen Yue stiffened.
"I wasn't talking about you."
"Then you should. I'm the most interesting topic here."
Shisui walked beside Chen Linjian.
Silent.
Observing.
After a while—
The trees parted.
Mountains rose in the distance.
A ruined city stretched below them.
Stone towers cracked.
Domed rooftops broken.
Vines swallowing walls.
A faded civilization frozen in time.
"Finally."
The word hung in the air.
Wind passed through the broken arches.
They stepped through a tall, fractured gate.
Stone chipped.
Symbols worn down by age.
A cracked staircase led inward.
"This is the city from before the Dark Ages…" Chen Linjian said quietly.
Several students swallowed nervously.
Nie li looked ahead softly.
I guess this is how Glory City would look… after being destroyed…
Chen Linjian stepped forward.
"We finally arrived, without too much trouble."
He reached into his interspacial ring.
A scroll materialized in his hand.
The map spread across a flat stone.
"This is the map. Let's plan our route. The historical remains of an ancient orchid city are from long ago. Strong beasts should be gone by now. So we can search freely."
Karma crouched beside the map.
Tilting his head.
"'Should be gone' is my favorite kind of reassurance."
A few students laughed nervously.
Shisui knelt opposite him.
His gaze scanned the ruins around them instead of the map.
"You're expecting movement?" Chen Linjian asked quietly.
"Yes," Shisui replied calmly.
Karma tapped a section of the map with a stick he had somehow already picked up.
"If I were a demon beast…"
He paused.
"…I would absolutely not be 'gone by now.'"
Shen Yue frowned.
"You're overthinking."
Karma looked up at him slowly.
"No," he smiled faintly. "You're underthinking."
Karma grinned suddenly.
"If a demon beast jumps out, Shen Yue goes first."
Shen Yue's face darkened.
"What?!"
"You're loud. You'll attract it anyway."
Ziyun covered a small laugh.
Even Chen Linjian chuckled softly.
Ziyun shook her head.
"You're impossible."
Karma stood, brushing dust from his clothes.
"Correction."
He pointed toward the crumbling city ahead.
"I'm prepared."
The team gathered around the unrolled map.
A blue-haired student crouched and pointed at a section.
"Look here!"
His finger traced the outer wall.
"We can enter from the west gate. It's the closest to us."
Another nodded eagerly.
"Only by entering the city will we have rewards. We should search the commoner area first."
"Yup! Easier to get treasure there."
"Correct."
"I think so too."
Several voices overlapped.
Chen Linjian rested his chin on his hand.
"Hm…"
He turned toward Nie Li.
"What do you think?"
Nie Li didn't hesitate.
"That's incorrect."
The chatter stopped.
He leaned over the map.
"Think about it. The most probable place to find treasures—would it be the common residence?"
"The larger portion of treasures would definitely be in the hands of the wealthy families."
Murmurs.
"Well… yes…"
"Reasonable."
"Right."
Shisui gave a small nod.
"Logic checks out."
Karma folded his arms lazily.
"Poor people don't hide secret vaults under their kitchens."
Shen Yue shot him a glare.
Karma smiled.
"What? It's economic reality."
A Shen Yue frowned.
"These city ruins span over a hundred miles. A lot of the commoner houses collapsed. How can we tell where the wealthy families stayed?"
Chen Linjian glanced at Nie Li again.
"Continue."
Everyone shifted closer.
Nie Li pointed calmly at a cluster of larger plots.
"Looking for the wealthy families' residence area is simple. Just look for areas that are sparsely placed. Wealthy families had their own courtyards."
Lanruo stepped forward slightly.
"Ah! Over here!"
Chen Linjian studied the map.
"Not bad… I should say here. This stretch of buildings is relatively large."
"But this area…" Chen Linjian hesitated.
He continued.
"This has been searched before. Although they found some items, it was only a few. And they discovered no secret passages or hidden rooms."
Shen Yue crossed his arms.
"Hmph. As I said earlier, whatever you think of, others already thought of. Do you think the wealthy families in Glory City are that simple-minded?"
Karma sighed loudly.
"Can you be quiet while I'm thinking? If you're that smart, why don't you take over for me?"
Shen Yue's face darkened.
"You—!"
Chen Linjian snapped lightly,
"Shut up."
Shen Yue gulped.
"…Yes."
Karma leaned toward Shisui and whispered,
"See? That was effective leadership."
Shisui replied calmly,
"…You started it."
"I stimulated discussion."
Nie Li coughed lightly.
"It's normal for this area to have been searched. It's in the middle of the city and the most heavily guarded area."
He tapped a central structure.
"And this area should be the location of the City Lord's residence."
Chen Linjian's eyes narrowed.
Nie Li's conjecture up until now is on point. This is indeed the City Lord's residence. But the teams before us already searched this area, including the basement, and found nothing.
Karma tilted his head.
"Which means either there's nothing… or they weren't smart enough."
He glanced sideways at Shen Yue.
"No offense."
"Everything you say is offense."
"Good. You're learning."
Nie Li nodded calmly.
"Of course this area must have been thoroughly searched."
He pointed again.
"But look here."
"The City Lord's residence has three areas with no buildings. Young Master Chen, do you know what these three areas were used for?"
Chen Linjian leaned closer.
"Ah."
Nie li answered immediately.
"This is the academy field. Used as the City Lord's military training ground."
He pointed to another.
"This area has a lot of stone fortresses. But they are all empty. All of them are made from black marble. Not even a chisel can open them."
Then the third.
"I have no idea what this side is used for. I heard that it is filled with weeds and wild plants."
He paused.
"Don't tell me these three areas are suspicious?"
Karma slowly crouched beside the map again.
His playful smile faded just slightly.
"Empty training ground."
He tapped it.
"Sealed black marble structures."
Tap.
"And an overgrown section no one bothered clearing."
He looked up.
"Yeah."
A faint grin returned.
"That's not suspicious at all."
Shisui's eyes sharpened subtly.
"Three blind spots in a central compound."
Chen Linjian folded his arms.
"…Continue."
Karma glanced at Ziyun briefly, then back to the map.
More serious now.
"Treasure isn't always under the obvious floorboards."
He pointed toward the blank areas.
"Sometimes it's hidden where no one thinks to dig."
Shen Yue muttered,
"Or maybe it's just empty."
Karma gave him a slow side glance.
"If you keep hoping for empty places, life will grant you plenty."
Lanruo stifled a laugh.
Shisui's lips twitched faintly.
The breeze moved across the ruins again.
Somewhere in the distance—
A loose stone shifted.
Karma's eyes flicked toward the sound for half a second.
Then back to the group.
"Alright."
He straightened.
"Let's go look at the places everyone else ignored."
And this time—
There was just a little less joking in his voice.
Chen Linjian looked up from the map, a faint smile forming.
"What you mean to say is… these areas will have something in them?"
He tapped the drawing of the stone fortresses.
"But even the stone fortress has been searched by others to no avail."
Nie Li nodded calmly.
"My guess is that these stone fortresses are disaster shelters built by the wealthy families. And there might be a hidden room hiding treasures."
He traced the outline lightly.
"The surrounding area will be riddled with traps, rushing in will alert you before you notice it."
Several students shifted uncomfortably.
"But to be honest," Nie Li continued, "I feel like the academy field is the most suspicious place."
"Eh? Why?"
"Yeah, why?"
Nie Li pointed to the wide, empty square drawn on the map.
"Looks like the most inconspicuous places are the safest. The academy field is actually built on the side of the City Lord's residence. It's definitely suspicious."
He straightened.
"Such a big school field must be hiding all kinds of important items! We should start searching its surroundings!"
Chen Linjian's eyes lit up.
"Okay! Then it's decided!"
He folded the map.
"Check your weapons and prepare to leave! Let's go!"
"Yes!"
"OK!"
The group dispersed slightly to prepare.
With a soft paf, a brown pack dropped to the ground.
Nie li crouched beside it.
"I prepared some specially made poison arrows for the demon beasts here…"
He opened a cylindrical container.
Click.
Pak.
Neatly stacked arrowheads glinted inside.
He slung the quiver onto his back and tightened the strap across his shoulder.
"Let's move."
His voice was steady.
Serious—but not heavy.
Behind him, Chen Linjian smiled faintly.
The team began walking along the inner city wall, choosing the quickest route inward.
Stone fragments crunched underfoot.
Ka-cha.
Birds fluttered from a broken rooftop.
Shisui's gaze sharpened slightly.
Karma noticed.
Their eyes met for half a second.
Both alert.
Both aware.
But then—
Karma smiled again lazily.
"Well then."
He stretched his arms.
"Let's go treasure hunting."
And the team stepped deeper into the silent ruins moving quietly along the outer city walls, choosing the quickest route into the ruins.
Ka-cha.
Boots stepped across loose gravel.
The formation remained tight.
None of them noticed the shadows watching from deeper within the ruins.
Somewhere near.
Under a broken archway framed by the jaws of a massive stone beast statue—
Figures emerged.
Dark robes. Covered faces. Cold eyes.
At their center stood a tall man cloaked in deep red, his hood casting a shadow over half his face. Pale blond hair fell over one eye, the visible one sharp and predatory.
"Are you sure the brats that just entered are from wealthy families?" he asked coldly.
One of the masked men bowed slightly.
"Yes, Yun Hua Deacon."
The red-cloaked man's visible eye narrowed.
"Very good."
His voice dropped lower.
"Get the most wealthy-looking ones. Then extort their family for ransom."
A subordinate hesitated slightly.
"And the rest?"
The Deacon's expression didn't change.
"Kill them."
A brief silence followed.
Then one of the masked men stepped forward carefully.
"Deacon… among them… Karma Uzumaki has also entered the ruins."
The air shifted.
The red-cloaked man's visible eye sharpened.
"…The Uzumaki heir?"
"Yes."
For a second, the tension thickened.
Then—
A slow smile curved beneath the hood.
"Good."
His cloak stirred as he turned slightly.
"By capturing the Prince of Glory City, we can demand a far heavier ransom than the others combined."
Several masked figures exchanged glances.
One of them swallowed.
"Deacon… Shisui Uchiha is with him."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the wind seemed to hesitate beneath the broken archway.
The red-cloaked man's eye flickered.
"…Shisui Uchiha."
No one spoke.
The name carried weight.
The subordinate continued carefully, "He's known to have personally handled multiple internal suppression missions. His combat ability—"
"So what?" the Deacon cut him off coldly.
His gaze hardened.
"It's only him."
A faint, dangerous edge entered his voice.
"No matter how strong that Uchiha may be… he can still be dealt with."
The hesitation in the air slowly faded.
A few of the masked men nodded sharply. "Yes!"
The red cloak flared as he turned, wind brushing through the ruined archway.
The assassins vanished into the shadows between collapsed buildings and broken courtyards.
The ruins grew quiet once more.
But now—
They were no longer empty.