The moment Rainor and Winay reached the location of the Designer’s Ruins, Winay quietly observed the surroundings.

  There were not many people present.

  Only about sixty individuals stood around the massive entrance of the ruins.

  Winay scanned the crowd carefully.

  Out of those sixty, twenty people wore robes he recognized.

  The same robes he had seen earlier that morning at the Temple of Creation.

  Winay spoke quietly.

  “Professor… out of the sixty people here, I can recognize twenty of them from their clothing. They are from the Temple of Creation.”

  His gaze shifted to another group.

  “And those twenty dressed in black… their energy levels feel almost identical to the disciples from the Temple of Creation.”

  Rainor glanced at him and nodded.

  “Good observation, Winay.”

  He continued calmly.

  “They are cultivators from the Temple of Destruction, the one I mentioned to you earlier. Their hierarchy is the same as the Temple of Creation.”

  Winay nodded slowly.

  “So the ones wearing black follow the Path of Destruction… I see.”

  Rainor slightly tilted his head forward, directing Winay’s attention toward the front.

  “And the man standing there… that is the High Priest of the Temple of Destruction.”

  “He is known as Shield of Black Heaven.”

  Winay frowned slightly.

  “Shield of Black Heaven? What does that mean?”

  Rainor chuckled faintly.

  “He earned that title because of his absurd defensive abilities.”

  “Some people even say his body is tougher than a turtle shell.”

  Rainor then pointed toward another figure.

  “And the woman standing opposite to him is the High Priest of the Temple of Creation.”

  “Her name is Rexana.”

  Winay blinked in surprise.

  “Wait… she’s not the person I saw during the blessing ceremony inside the temple.”

  Rainor nodded.

  “Ah, right. I forgot to tell you.”

  “Each temple has three High Priests.”

  “The two you see here are the Third Seats of their respective temples.”

  “The High Priest you saw earlier, Nova, is the Second Seat.”

  Winay nodded.

  “Ah… now it makes sense.”

  Meanwhile, in front of the massive gates of the Designer’s Ruins.

  The High Priest of Destruction spoke first.

  “So, Rexana… how confident is your temple this time about finding clues to the Fourth Floor?”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Rexana smirked.

  “Black Heaven, you are underestimating us.”

  “This time we won’t just find clues.”

  “We will clear the Fourth Floor in one go.”

  Black Heaven laughed.

  “I don’t know what gives you that confidence… but we will see.”

  “Whether you find clues… or we clear the floor first.”

  “Ahahaha.”

  Behind him, a disciple muttered.

  Sharden whispered irritably,

  “Just because she’s a High Priest she thinks she can spout nonsense.”

  “We’ll show her which temple is superior.”

  Another disciple, Deshart, whispered urgently.

  “Hey, idiot… shut your mouth.”

  “If she hears you, you’ll die before entering the ruins.”

  A third disciple, Vanthes, nodded.

  “He’s right. She’s called the White Mystic for a reason.”

  Suddenly—

  Rexana casually waved her hand.

  A tiny ripple of energy brushed past Sharden.

  Sharden froze instantly.

  Cold sweat ran down his back.

  Rexana laughed lightly.

  “You should really teach your disciples to control their mouths.”

  “Otherwise, I might help them keep it shut for the rest of their lives.”

  Black Heaven sighed.

  “You don’t need to tell me.”

  Then he glanced at Sharden with a smile.

  “Don’t do that again… unless you can face her wrath yourself.”

  Sharden nodded nervously.

  Rexana turned away.

  “You can all prepare to enter the ruins.”

  “I have something to attend to first.”

  She began walking toward Rainor.

  But her movement felt almost like teleportation.

  Within a single second—

  She stood in front of him.

  “Rainor.”

  “What brings you here?”

  “I don’t recall asking for your support.”

  “And even if someone had… what exactly could you do here?”

  Rainor sighed.

  “Stop mocking me.”

  “I’m not here because someone called me.”

  He gestured toward Winay.

  “I brought one of my students.”

  “He is here to enter the ruins.”

  Rexana looked at Winay carefully.

  “Oh?”

  “So this is the boy who awakened the unique-grade soul.”

  “The same one who fooled half the temple into believing he received a Herald-level blessing.”

  Rainor smiled calmly.

  “Well… you’ll find out soon enough whether his talent is real.”

  “But I can already say he’s more capable than someone who can’t even kill a cockroach.”

  Rexana frowned.

  “Don’t talk about my student.”

  “She’s better than anyone you could find on this continent.”

  One minute passed.

  Their argument continued.

  Two minutes passed.

  Still arguing.

  Winay watched silently.

  Inside his mind he sighed.

  What is happening here…

  They started arguing about me… and now they’re talking about some old conflict.

  I don’t even understand half the things they’re saying.

  He observed them closely.

  Wait…

  Now that I look carefully…

  They actually look quite similar.

  they do… look alike?

  Five minutes later—

  Winay finally spoke loudly.

  “Professor Rainor!”

  Both of them stopped.

  Winay asked innocently,

  “Are you two siblings by any chance?”

  Silence.

  Both Rainor and Rexana froze.

  Rexana slowly turned toward him.

  “Kid.”

  “Mind your words.”

  “If you say something foolish again… I might remove one of your limbs as a reminder.”

  Rainor waved his hand.

  “Alright, stop the nonsense.”

  Then he looked at Rexana.

  “He has a high-grade entry token.”

  “Take him with your team.”

  “And make sure he’s protected.”

  Rexana shrugged.

  “Sure.”

  “It’s not the first time we’ve taken dead weight along with us.”

  She looked at Winay.

  “Be ready in ten minutes.”

  Then she suddenly narrowed her eyes.

  “Wait.”

  “Why isn’t your blessing activated?”

  “That blessing will be crucial inside the ruins.”

  Winay froze.

  Rainor frowned.

  “What do you mean, Rexana?”

  She replied calmly.

  “It’s exactly what it sounds like.”

  “He is enduring the ruin’s pressure using only his soul energy.”

  Rainor’s expression changed.

  “That shouldn’t be possible.”

  Rexana continued.

  “Inside the ruins the pressure will be ten times stronger.”

  “Only divine blessings can properly guide cultivators through that pressure.”

  Rainor looked at Winay.

  Then he turned to Rexana.

  “You are more sensitive to divine energy.”

  “Can you check what’s happening with him?”

  Rexana scoffed.

  “You think I have nothing better to do?”

  “Handle it yourself.”

  But inside her mind she thought,

  Even I don’t understand this.

  Is it really because he received a Saint-level blessing like Nova suspected…?

  She walked away.

  Rainor turned to Winay.

  “Do you feel the pressure she mentioned?”

  Winay shook his head.

  “No, Professor.”

  “I don’t feel anything unusual.”

  Rainor thought silently.

  Maybe his blessing level is so high that even Rexana misunderstood the situation.

  He nodded.

  “Alright.”

  “But if you feel any danger inside…”

  “Immediately activate the inscription on your token and leave.”

  Winay nodded.

  “Understood, Professor.”

  Inside his mind he thought calmly.

  Whatever pressure she mentioned…

  My Cancel skill should be able to deal with it.

  Soon both High Priests stepped forward.

  “Everyone, prepare.”

  Rexana waved her hand.

  Small slips of paper floated toward every participant.

  “You can read the slip,” she said.

  “It contains the information about the participants entering the ruins with you.”

  Rainor looked at Winay.

  “How many participants are there?”

  Winay read the slip.

  “There are 42 people entering the ruins.”

  “11 from the Temple of Creation.”

  “11 from the Temple of Destruction.”

  “8 from the Council.”

  “5 from the Black Sand Corporation.”

  “And 7 independent participants like me.”

  Designer’s Ruins Arc.