Inside the Labyrinth
Nie Li turned toward a specific section of the wall.
"…It's here."
The Treasure Chamber
CRACK.
The stone door split open.
A golden light spilled out—
And all three of them froze.
The chamber beyond was massive.
Piles of gold stretched endlessly. Ancient weapons lay scattered across the ground. Armor, scrolls, rare materials—layer upon layer of forgotten wealth filled the space like a buried kingdom.
Ziyun gasped softly.
"…So much…"
Nie Li narrowed his eyes.
"This should be the treasure beneath the parade ground… the remains of Ancient Orchid City."
Karma stepped forward—
And froze.
Golden light reflected in his eyes.
✨ GOLD REFLECTION ✨
"…Oh."
"…Oh this is good."
Nie Li turned to Ziyun.
"Pick a few things for yourself—but don't take too much. Chen Linjian and the others won't be happy."
Ziyun nodded obediently.
"…What about you?"
Nie Li smiled faintly.
"I only need one thing."
He walked toward a dim corner of the chamber.
There—
A small, ancient spirit lamp rested quietly.
Its glow pulsed faintly.
Nie Li picked it up carefully.
Shadow demon spirits… extremely rare…
Even at higher ranks… still useful.
A satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
"Got it."
A short while later—
Ziyun returned.
"I'm done."
She held out her hands.
Several rare items rested in her palms.
Nie Li glanced over them.
"A crystallized core of a Black-Gold rank demon beast… and a fragment of a Legend-rank Snow Wind demon beast's heel bone."
He nodded.
"Good choices."
Ziyun smiled slightly.
Meanwhile—
A sudden laughter echoed through the chamber.
"Hahahaha—!"
Both Nie Li and Ziyun turned.
…and froze.
Karma sat casually atop a pile of treasure.
A crooked golden crown rested on his head. Chains hung around his neck. Rings glittered across his fingers. A golden staff rested against his shoulder.
He leaned back like a king.
"Ah… my loyal servants," he declared dramatically.
He pointed at Nie Li.
"You—servant number one."
Then at Ziyun.
"You—servant number two."
He raised his chin proudly.
"Bow before your king!"
"Muahahaha!"
Nie Li: 😐
Ziyun: 😐
Karma hopped down like nothing happened.
Then casually pointed toward a staircase behind the treasure.
"That's our exit."
Ziyun frowned slightly.
"But it's blocked…"
Nie Li suddenly raised his hand.
"…Wait."
The Sound Above
Thud. Thud.
CLINK. CLANK.
The three of them froze.
Nie Li's eyes sharpened.
"Footsteps…?"
Karma tilted his head.
"…That's not rocks."
The sounds grew louder.
Then—
A voice echoed from above.
"Boss! We managed to dig our way through here!"
Karma grinned.
"Oh? Visitors?"
CRASH!
The blocked stairway burst open.
Light flooded into the chamber.
Figures rushed down—
—and froze.
"Gold…!"
"Treasure!"
"WE STRUCK IT RICH!"
Men flooded into the chamber, eyes wide with greed and shock.
Amidst them—
Chen Linjian stepped down.
His gaze swept the room—
Then locked onto two figures.
"Karma… Ziyun…"
Relief washed over his face.
Ziyun smiled softly.
"Young Master Chen! You've really come—that's great!"
"Miss, we've found you at last," Chen said, exhaling.
Then his gaze shifted.
"…Why are you underground?"
Nie Li shrugged casually.
"Long story. We fell, survived, explored… and found this."
Karma added helpfully,
"I suffered greatly."
Ziyun shot him a look.
"You did not."
Shisui stepped forward calmly.
Then stopped in front of Karma.
Silence.
"…I'll be reporting this to your mother."
Karma froze.
The crown nearly slipped off his head.
"…Wait."
"…Let's talk about this."
He grabbed Shisui's sleeve dramatically.
"Brother. Friend. Loyal companion."
"Don't do this."
Nearby—
Chu Ming stared at the treasure, stunned.
"…How much is all this even worth…?"
Others had already started moving.
Gold was being collected rapidly.
Chen Linjian turned to Nie Li.
"As promised," he said calmly,
"you can choose whatever you want first."
Nie Li shook his head.
"I've already taken what I need."
"The rest… is yours."
Ziyun added quickly,
"I've also taken what I wanted!"
Chen paused.
Then nodded.
"…Alright."
He turned sharply.
"Take it all away!"
"Use your spatial rings! Move quickly!"
As the chamber filled with movement—
Chu Ming stepped forward behind Chen.
His eyes were sharp. Calculating.
"Young Master Chen," he said slowly,
"are you satisfied with that?"
Chen frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Chu Ming's gaze shifted toward Nie Li and the others.
"They've been here the longest. The most valuable items have already been taken."
His voice lowered.
"That's why they don't care about the rest."
A tense silence followed.
"Of course," he continued coldly,
"we should have them hand over what they've taken… before they leave."
Chen Linjian's expression hardened.
"Hmph."
"We arrived late. Even if they cleared everything, we would have no right to complain."
He crossed his arms.
"Moreover, they left plenty behind. That is already more than fair."
The Chu Ming frowned.
"I can guarantee everything they hold is of the highest value. You may regret this."
Chen's gaze turned cold.
"I said—it's fine."
The Chu Ming froze.
"Y-Young Master Chen—!"
Chen didn't even look at him.
"Do you really think I don't know what you're aiming for?" he said calmly. "Trying to use me to get at him?"
His gaze shifted slightly toward Nie Li.
"…Don't even think about it."
Chu Ming stiffened, his expression turning ugly.
"Hmph."
But he said nothing more.
A few steps away—
Karma leaned slightly toward Nie Li and whispered,
"…Damn. He actually shut him down."
Nie Li smirked faintly.
"Chen Linjian isn't simple."
Karma nodded thoughtfully.
"…I like him. He didn't even try to rob us."
He paused.
"…That already puts him above most people."
Chen Linjian walked toward them.
Then—
He casually placed a hand on Nie Li's shoulder.
"Brother."
Nie Li raised an eyebrow slightly.
Chen smiled.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to obtain so much good stuff."
His tone was sincere.
"From now on, if you run into any trouble—come find me directly."
Nie Li chuckled lightly.
"Hehe, no problem."
Beside them—
Karma stared at Chen's hand on Nie Li's shoulder.
"…Oi."
Chen glanced at him.
Karma pointed at himself.
"What about me?"
Chen blinked.
"…What about you?"
Karma placed a hand on his own chest dramatically.
"I was also emotionally supporting him."
Nie Li: 😐
Ziyun: 😐
Chen paused…
Then chuckled softly.
"…You too."
Karma instantly grinned.
"Good. I like you even more now."
Chen turned slightly, his expression calm once more.
"Focus on packing everything."
His men immediately obeyed.
Karma stretched lazily.
"…So are we done here?"
Then he glanced around.
"…Because if anyone suddenly changes their mind, I'd prefer to know early."
His tone was light—
But something about it made a few people unconsciously step back.
Nie Li turned to Chen.
"By the way, Young Master Chen—once we're done packing, we should leave immediately."
Chen looked at him.
"Hm? Why's that?"
One of the men nearby spoke up—
"We're all done packing, boss!"
Nie Li's expression turned serious.
"I was able to shake off that spirit-grade demon beast because I encountered the Dark Guild."
Chen Linjian's eyes narrowed.
"They seemed to be looking for us…"
"…We're their target."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The earlier excitement vanished.
Chen's gaze turned sharp.
"The Dark Guild…"
Shisui frowned.
"No wonder the Giant Blue-Armed Ape you encountered earlier was wounded… they must have fought it."
Chen nodded slowly.
"…Which means they're somewhere nearby."
His gaze swept the surroundings.
"Then the other underground areas here…"
"…are not safe."
Karma let out a low whistle.
"So basically… we walked into a treasure room…"
"…and also into a trap."
Nie Li nodded slightly.
"Something like that."
Karma grinned.
"…Nice."
Ziyun stared at him.
"…Nice?!"
Karma shrugged.
"What? Life's boring without a little danger."
Nie Li spoke calmly,
"I've already inspected the other areas within. There isn't much else worth taking."
He paused.
"Though traps… are plentiful."
Several of Chen Linjian's men stiffened.
"…That's not comforting."
Chen Linjian closed his eyes briefly.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Then—
He opened them.
His voice was firm.
"Let's go!"
"ROGER!"
"ROGER!"
The group quickly began moving toward the exit.
As they walked—
Karma casually strolled beside Nie Li.
"…Dark Guild, huh."
He stretched his neck slightly.
"Think they're strong?"
Nie Li glanced at him.
"Yes."
Karma's grin widened.
"Good."
Behind them—
The golden chamber slowly emptied.
Treasure taken.
Secrets uncovered.
The expedition to the Ancient Orchid City ruins finally came to an end.
With casualties suffered and several still missing, the group had no choice but to withdraw.
And with the looming threat of the Dark Guild hanging over them—
They returned.
Safely.
…For now.
Glory City – Days Later
The city was as lively as ever.
Crowds filled the streets.
Voices overlapped—
"Did you hear about the auction conducted by the Divine Family a few days ago?"
"Auction?"
"The one where many items were sold for astronomical prices!"
"I heard those treasures were all discovered by Chen Linjian at the Ancient Orchid City ruins!"
"The Ancient Orchid City ruins… huh…"
"No wonder there have been so many adventurer groups organizing expeditions there recently."
"Such things are best not delayed! Shall we gather some people and take a look as well?"
"Of course!"
The streets buzzed with excitement.
Rumors spread faster than wildfire.
At the edge of the crowd—
Nie Li stood with his hands in his pockets, watching lazily.
"Heheh… my harvest was more bountiful than expected…"
He tilted his head slightly, eyes gleaming.
"But…"
His expression sharpened just a little.
"The Dark Guild has already seen my face."
He exhaled lightly.
"I should reach Silver rank as soon as possible."
Sacred Orchid Institute
A large tree swayed gently in the breeze.
Students moved about the courtyard.
Peaceful.
Normal.
…Almost too normal.
Inside—
Lu Piao leaned forward dramatically.
"WAHH! If you had brought me there, I could've made ten million as well!"
Nie Li spoke calmly,
"This time, everyone who went there was at least Bronze rank. Only a few of us had actual battle experience."
His expression turned slightly serious.
"And even then… we still lost people. Including Shen Yue. If you had followed along, you would probably also have been…dead"
The room fell silent.
A moment later—
Lu Piao spoke up hesitantly.
"Shen Yue… I saw him yesterday!"
The words hung heavily in the air.
Suddenly—
Nie Li turned.
"…Huh?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
He straightened slightly.
"He's back?!"
Nie Li's eyes narrowed.
"He didn't meet up with the group…"
"How is that possible?!"
Lu Piao student spoke,
"Ah, maybe he came back on his own."
Nie Li crossed his arms.
"Hm…"
"…That's possible."
Then he frowned slightly.
"…But I don't like it. Shen Yue is only a one-star Bronze Rank," Nie li said, scratching his head. So how did he make it back by himself?"
Zhang ming shrugged.
"I guess he must have run into other companions on the way back."
"Companions, eh..." Nie Li murmured.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Companions...
The word echoed in his mind.
Shen Yue.
The Dark Guild.
The Sacred Family.
A moment later, Nie Li's eyes flashed.
"So that's it..."
The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.
Lu Piao blinked.
"Huh?"
Seeing Nie Li suddenly stand up, he looked confused.
"What's wrong?"
"What did you figure out this time?"
Nie Li immediately sat back down.
"It's nothing."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Just a hunch."