Moonlight spilled across the ruined courtyard, pale and cold.
The masked figures of the Darkness Association stood gathered beneath broken pillars, their cloaks shifting in the night breeze.
"What a bunch of useless bastards!" the cloaked leader snarled.
"A whole six people were injured, and we ended up letting the Giant Blue-Armed Ape escape!"
Around him, several members knelt with their heads lowered.
The leader's visible eye darkened.
"That demon spirit alone was worth a few hundred thousand demon spirit coins…"
His gaze sharpened.
"But that brat who lured the demon beasts here was the most annoying!"
He rose slowly from the stone seat, cloak sliding over his broad shoulders.
"So be it. It's just a Silver-Rank demon beast. Those noble kids from earlier are definitely worth more."
He turned sharply.
"Go search! Don't come back without capturing someone!"
"Yes!" the cloaked members replied in unison before scattering into the forest.
Moments later—
One of the masked men paused.
"Hold up! There's a light! Someone's there!"
They rushed forward through the trees.
"Go!"
A short while later, beneath the full moon, a young noble was shoved roughly to the ground.
"Why are you grabbing me?! Who are you?!" he shouted in panic.
The cloaked leader stepped forward slowly.
"Heheh… young master, could it be you haven't heard of our Dark Guild?"
The captive's face paled.
"Sons of noble families like you are exactly who we're after."
"D-Don't, don't kidnap me! I'm from the Sacred Family! We can give you lots of money!"
"Tsk, tsk… now should I exchange you for money… or kidnap you?"
"The Sacred Family?" the leader repeated, interest flashing in his eye.
He paused, thinking.
The Shen Yue swallowed nervously.
"Cheh. I thought I could earn a tidy sum. But it turns out it's someone under the deputy guild leader. What a letdown."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Leave someone to stand guard over him. The rest of you, continue to search!"
"Roger!"
As the others dispersed again, the captive forced a shaky smile.
"Heheh… looks like even the Dark Guild is wary of our Sacred Family…"
"Hmph," the cloaked guard snorted.
Meanwhile…
Deep beneath the ruins.
After walking for quite a while, Nie Li and Ye Ziyun continued forward through the underground palace, unaware of the shifting danger above.
Torchlight flickered against ancient stone.
And somewhere in the darkness—
The real game had only just begun.
Creak—
The stone door shifted open.
"It's all carved from stone…" Nie Li murmured.
Torchlight spilled into a vast inner chamber.
Rows of pillars stretched into the darkness.
Broken statues lined the walls. The floor—
Was covered in bodies.
Old men. Women. Children.
Some lay curled together. Some slumped against pillars. Some still clutching one another as if trying to shield the weak.
The air was heavy. Stale. Ancient.
Nie Li's steps slowed.
Ziyun stopped beside him.
Her fingers trembled.
One skeleton leaned against the wall, arm raised as if it had tried to fight. Another smaller figure rested beside it.
Ziyun's voice cracked.
"Why… is it like this…?"
A tear slid down her cheek.
"What happened here…?"
Nie Li lowered the torch slightly, expression dark.
"This labyrinth must have been used as a refuge by the people of the city. They sheltered the old, the weak, and the women here… probably hoping to protect them after the war ended."
His jaw tightened faintly.
"But the city fell."
Silence filled the hall.
Only the faint crackle of flame echoed against stone.
Ziyun's shoulders shook quietly as another tear fell.
Karma, who had gone unusually silent, stepped forward.
For once, there was no joke. No grin.
He gently placed his hand on her head.
"It wasn't their fault," he said softly.
Ziyun didn't respond with words.
She simply stepped closer and quietly wrapped her arms around him.
Karma stiffened for half a second—then relaxed.
His hand remained on her head, protective. Steady.
Nie Li watched in silence, eyes heavy with thought.
The underground palace no longer felt mysterious.
It felt tragic.
Torchlight flickered across stone faces frozen in time.
And in the center of it—
Three young figures stood among the remnants of a fallen era.
Carrying both the weight of the past—
And the uncertain future ahead.
The silence in the underground palace grew heavier.
"So they could do nothing but remain stuck here… and starve to death," Nie Li said quietly, his gaze fixed on the scattered bones.
His eyes hardened.
Glory City in my previous life was the same. Those elderly… children… and women sent to take shelter at the beginning… were probably not able to avoid a similar fate.
His fist clenched.
I will definitely not allow something like this to happen again.
Ziyun's hands trembled slightly.
"Perhaps… we should leave…" she whispered.
Nie Li shook his head.
"No. We can't leave. We have to take all the treasures here."
He turned toward the deeper chamber.
"The treasures here can increase our strength. Only then can we defend Glory City."
"Otherwise…" his voice lowered, "Glory City will become the next Ancient Orchid City."
The words struck Ziyun like a blade.
Her eyes widened.
She imagined the people she knew. Her grandfather. The citizens. The children laughing in the streets.
A ruined city. Silent corridors filled with bones.
Her gaze dropped to the stone floor.
"That's right," she whispered. "We must stop at nothing to increase our own strength."
Even if it meant disturbing the resting dead.
"Although it seems disrespectful…" she murmured softly, pressing her hands together in prayer. "Still, for the sake of Glory City and many more lives… I can only apologize."
Karma stood a short distance away, quietly observing the skeletal remains.
His usual smile was gone.
He walked slowly between the stone pillars, looking at the small shapes curled against walls… the larger frames collapsed protectively over them.
For once, there was no humor in his eyes.
Ziyun's thoughts were still dark when suddenly—
Karma spoke.
"Glory City will not become like this."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
He didn't shout. He didn't joke.
He simply stated it.
"As long as I'm alive…"
He turned slightly, his gaze unwavering.
"Never."
There was no arrogance in his tone.
No exaggeration.
Just absolute certainty.
The kind of certainty that made the air itself feel stable.
Ziyun blinked.
Something warm replaced the cold fear in her chest.
Relief washed over her quietly.
Nie Li looked at Karma for a moment.
Then nodded.
"…Yes."
The underground palace no longer felt like a prophecy.
It felt like a warning.
And standing among the bones of a fallen city—
Three youths had just made a silent vow.
They began searching the chamber carefully.
Nie Li moved toward a collapsed weapon rack near one of the pillars.
"There's a set of Bronze armor here," he said, brushing dust from the metal surface.
Karma crouched nearby, lifting a broken spearhead and whistling softly. "Not bad. Ancient craftsmanship. Heavy though… definitely not my style."
Nie Li continued scanning the area.
"There are also some pills here… but they're probably not usable anymore."
In another corner, stacked neatly in a stone alcove, several weapons gleamed faintly under the torchlight.
"Ten-plus pieces of Bronze-rank weapons," Nie Li counted. "And quite a few demon crystal materials."
He nodded slightly. "Other than that… there's a Silver dagger. A decent haul."
Ziyun stepped forward quietly, holding a faintly glowing blue crystal in her hands.
"Soul stones are too important to cultivate to the higher ranks," she said softly. "We must take them."
She lowered her head respectfully.
"I'm really sorry… I hope you rest in peace."
She pressed her palms together and prayed for a moment before carefully storing the crystal.
Karma watched her silently.
He didn't interrupt.
Just gave a small nod.
Nie Li's gaze shifted toward the center of the chamber.
"However… the item I want apparently isn't here."
His eyes narrowed toward the raised platform ahead.
"That stone coffin…"
The coffin stood elevated at the far end of the hall, carved from a single massive slab of rock.
Ancient. Silent. Heavy with presence.
Nie Li stepped forward.
Step.
Step.
The sound echoed in the chamber.
As he approached the coffin, faint glowing inscriptions lined the stone surface.
"What inscriptions are these?" he murmured.
He leaned closer.
"They feel… familiar."
The characters shimmered faintly in blue light.
Nie Li slowly raised his hand toward the coffin's surface—
The moment his fingers brushed the stone—
BOOM!
A violent surge of energy exploded outward.
Blue spiritual force spiraled violently around him, like a raging vortex of water erupting from nowhere.
The entire chamber trembled.
Wind howled through the hall as if a storm had been trapped inside the coffin for centuries.
Nie Li staggered, eyes wide, bathed in glowing light.
Ziyun gasped.
"Ah!"
Standing beside the stone coffin felt like standing upon the raging sea itself.
The energy roared and twisted around Nie Li, pulling at his clothes, his hair whipping wildly in the surge.
The energy around the stone coffin roared like a storm-tossed ocean.
Standing beside it felt like standing upon the raging sea itself.
Blue waves of spiritual force surged outward in violent pulses.
Ziyun tried to step closer.
"Nie Li, this is—"
The moment she crossed an invisible boundary—
"Ah!"
She staggered backward, clutching her head.
"What happened to you?" Nie Li asked quickly, steadying her.
Ziyun winced, her face pale.
"Once I approach it… I get a splitting headache!"
She retreated another step, breathing unevenly.
The platform around the coffin was eerily clean—no bones, no dust disturbed.
As if nothing had ever been allowed near it.
Nie Li's gaze sharpened.
"This… it must be some powerful expert who laid down a barrier," he muttered. "Making her unable to get close."
His eyes flickered thoughtfully.
"No wonder there isn't a single corpse on the platform…"
He looked back at the coffin, blue energy still swirling around him.
"But why doesn't it work on me?"
Before he could think further—
A familiar hand gently rested on Ziyun's shoulder.
Karma had stepped forward.
His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp.
"If it's giving you a headache, don't force it," he said lightly.
Then, with unusual seriousness beneath the casual tone:
"Go check out some other spot."
He turned his gaze toward the coffin.
"Just leave this to me."
Ziyun hesitated for half a second.
Then nodded.
"…Okay."
She trusted him.
Without another word, she stepped back from the platform, leaving Karma and Nie Li before the ancient stone coffin—
While the storm of blue spiritual energy continued to churn.