{Both Trial Takers have decided to participate in the Optional Phase 4 and consequently the Phase 4 will happen.}

  {The two Trial Takers will now have the two hours promised to recover from the previous trial, after which Phase 4 will begin in exactly: 01:59:59.}

  Thud.

  It was on that note that the countdown began, while both warriors assumed the classic meditative position, each closing their eyes as they began to meditate to recover from the fatigue provoked by Phase 1, which had primarily been a mental one.

  …

  Time passed swiftly and quietly, the two simply recovering and returning to their peak condition in preparation for the hard fight that awaited them.

  The only ‘exception’—if it could even be called that—was that Mikael’s Foresight of Heaven’s Mandate calamity-sensing sense grew stronger and ‘louder’ as the countdown neared its end.

  Fortunately—or rather, as expected, since Mikael hadn’t forgotten about his fate-related Cultivation Technique that was always passively working in the background—his calamity-sensing sense wasn’t ‘telling’ him that he was fucked and doomed to die!

  Otherwise, he most certainly wouldn’t have accepted to participate in Phase 4!

  It ‘merely’ warned him that a hard, life-and-death battle awaited ahead—a sensation that grew stronger as the countdown continued to tick away, nothing more and nothing less…

  In this way, time continued to flow quietly until only a few seconds remained before the end of the countdown.

  Nod.

  Both men looked at the other warrior and gave a small, respectful nod, and then—

  Both were enveloped by an invisible force as space distorted around them, and in the next instant, the place where the two meditating warriors had been was left empty—nothing remained but the faint trace of distorted space, which soon faded as everything returned to normal.

  The two Inheritance Pedestals also regained their former luster, and under the control of the Inheritance Spirit, they once again gained new prizes for the Trial Takers who would come in the future, making it clear that the presence of Mikael and Tharvonis within this Inheritance Site was nothing more than a small footnote in its vast and ancient history…

  ***

  “Hum… hum… la-la… la… la… Hum, hum… la-la.”

  A beautiful, pleasing-to-the-ear humming sound echoed across the desolate battlefield that was the Realm of Broken Skies, its lighthearted and almost joyful tone carrying a strange contrast when compared to the bleak and lifeless landscape.

  “La-la… hum-hum… hum… la… la.”

  Yet the source of this humming didn’t seem to care, as the gentle sound continued to drift through the air, and soon enough, its origin became visible.

  It—or to be more precise, she—was an extremely beautiful fairy with long, silky brown hair cascading freely down her back, while her eyes were of a beautiful hazel hue that sparkled with life.

  All of it came together to form a heavenly visage that naturally gave one the impression that this fairy wasn’t only breathtakingly beautiful but also mischievous, and they wouldn’t be wrong to think so, considering this woman’s character.

  This beautiful fairy was named Hua Lianyu, and her mischievous visage was currently adorned with a bright, playful smile as she joyfully hummed to herself while swiftly moving through the desolate landscape.

  “Another one!”

  A joyful exclamation escaped her as she noticed a Spiritual Herb growing nearby, and consequently she took the time to carefully harvest it before transferring it to her storage ring—one that already held several Spiritual Herbs like this one.

  Patt.

  Lian’er patted her Taoist Robes, brushing away an imaginary speck of dust that she believed had ‘dirtied’ them while she harvested the precious herb, before once again taking off, her low flight carrying her toward the next treasures.

  Swish.

  ‘I don’t know why, but my luck is really good!’ was the thought that flashed through Lian’er’s mind as her attention drifted to her storage ring, which was now noticeably fuller than when she had entered this Secret Realm!

  Its addition included two dozen of precious Spiritual Herbs—their preciousness not leaving room for doubts or else they definitively wouldn’t have survived and even thrived in the Realm of Broken Skies considering the dreadful environment.

  But her gains weren’t limited to that as she also found some ores and minerals that she could ‘sell’ back to the Sect for precious Contributions Points and the most precious of what she obtained—

  Her attention focused on a manual that, just by looking at it, made her head begin to spin as dizziness struck her, yet that wasn’t all, for fear soon manifested within her heart while anxious thoughts appeared in her mind.

  ‘What if—NO.’

  Lian’er shifted her attention away before the manual could affect her thoughts and ruin her mood, something she knew perfectly well it was capable of and that she didn’t want to experience.

  ‘This isn’t the first time I am exposed to it, but each time I am awed! This Ephemeral Disarray Art is really terrifying…’ was the thought that passed through her mind, bringing with it a flicker of awe and even a hint of fear, but it wasn’t enough to dispel her joyful mood.

  Nearly an entire day ago, she had found this Special Cultivation Technique—more precisely, she had found this manual in a hidden location—and fortunately, it wasn’t hidden behind any Trial, or else she dreaded to imagine what kind of trial she would have needed to cross to obtain it…

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Especially considering that she knew that the Trials left behind by now-dead powerhouses were, more often than not, linked to what the rewards were, and since this Cultivation Technique was one that induced mental effects, fear, stray thoughts, and more… yeah, she wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about participating in that kind of Trial!

  And this was doubly true considering the power of this Cultivation Art, which she estimated to be at the High Stage Core Perfection Realm!

  Fortunately, there wasn’t anything like that, and she was simply lucky enough to effortlessly ‘pocket’ it, which put her in a good mood but… why?

  After all, while this Cultivation Technique was extremely precious, that was only the case for someone capable of using it, and considering that Lian’er didn’t delve even a little into anything related to what the Ephemeral Disarray Art represented… it was useless to her, right?

  That would have been ‘true’ if she were a rogue cultivator or part of a trashy Sect, but fortunately, she was a disciple of the Wandering Sword Sect, and while she didn’t need it herself, that didn’t mean the same applied to the Sect.

  All she needed to do was ‘sell’ this Cultivation Art to the Sect and she would receive an enormous amount of Contributions Points that she would be able to use to learn a bunch of Core Perfection Realm Cultivation Arts!

  After all, there was a large difference between selling, which was what she was doing, and renting Cultivation Arts to learn them, which was why she would be so generously rewarded by the Sect in a way that she would trade an ‘useless’ High Stage Core Perfection Cultivation Art for learning a bunch of Cultivation Art that were useful to her!

  This was a trade where all sides were happy, both the Sect and the disciple, so knowing all that, how could she NOT be happy!?

  A happiness that was only amplified as, in her continued exploration, she remained lucky and kept finding precious Spiritual Herbs and Ores, which led to the current situation where she was joyfully humming to herself while flying toward the next treasures.

  “Eh!?”

  Hua Lianyu’s cheerful humming came to an abrupt halt as a flash of intense light flickered at the edge of her vision, drawing her attention and causing a slight frown to form as she turned her gaze toward the far horizon—and froze.

  From the distance, a colossal pillar of light erupted skyward, its blinding radiance and brightness merging together as it pierced upward as if it sought to pierce the Secret Realm itself!

  “What’s… ‘that’?” a part-awed, part-confused exclamation escaped her as the beauty’s attention stayed fixed on this vast ray of light that acted like a ‘beacon,’ illuminating the entire region and pulling eveyone—or to be more precise, everything’s attention—toward it…

  “It’s probably some kind of opportunity… right?” Lian’er hesitated for a moment before finally nodding to herself.

  “I should go check,” she ultimately decided, because as a cultivator she knew better than to ignore an opportunity, though danger and opportunity often came hand in hand… so she promised herself to be careful.

  It was on these words and thoughts that the mischievous beauty began to fly toward the unknown that was this ray of light but—

  What was immediately noticeable was that, compared to before its appearance, her mood had clearly grown heavier and more serious as it could be seen from the fact that she wasn’t humming anymore…

  Fwooosh, Swish.

  The beauty swiftly cut through the ‘sky’ as she moved toward the ray of light, and accompanying her was the same desolate landscape she had grown familiar with since the beginning of her exploration of this Secret Realm.

  “Huh?

  A mildly surprised exclamation escaped Lian’er as she caught sight of something from the corner of her eye, and when she focused her gaze on it, she immediately noticed something that stood out within the usually devastated landscape.

  She was too far—really far—to see it clearly, but from her height in the sky, she could tell it was some kind of structure that looked as though it had been abandoned for millions of years.

  Its form was that of a large hollow ring composed of some kind of metal, covered with traces of…runes or…technology?

  She really wasn’t sure what it was, but what she did notice was that no matter what it once had been, it was now nothing more than an abandoned, ruined structure.

  Of course, while Lian’er had no idea what the structure was, if Mikael had been here, he would have instantly recognized its resemblance to a kind of ‘warp gate’...

  Nevertheless, Lian’er wasn’t Mikael, so after a casual glance, she didn’t pay it any further attention and continued on her path toward the ray of light.

  …

  It was half an hour later, after having crossed only an infinitesimal portion of the Realm of Broken Skies, that she finally reached her ‘target’.

  Surprisingly, contrary to the joy one might expect upon arriving at what she believed to be an opportunity, her features distorted in confusion.

  ‘Where is it?’ she thought in puzzlement as she cutely tilted her head, scanning her surroundings for anything extraordinary—but there was absolutely nothing different from the countless kilometers she had already crossed!

  The only difference was the ray of light that remained in her field of vision, now just a few meters before her, but—

  Even though she didn’t sense a threat from it, she wasn’t reckless enough to touch it, who knew, maybe it would instantly kill her!?

  ‘Maybe there’s nothing? But—’ her gaze returned to the ray of light that was still as present as ever, ‘No! This clearly isn’t here for nothing, there’s obviously a significance to this ray of light, but… what?’

  ‘Hum…’ Lian’er fell into deep thought before her eyes suddenly lit up, ‘I know! This should be a heavenly phenomenon created by the birth of a Heavenly Wonder!’

  The moment she had this thought, Hua Lianyu grew excited, feeling like she was really, really lucky in this Secret Realm exploration.

  Down.

  She looked downward, her attention fixing itself on the ground below, ‘Considering there’s absolutely nothing all around me, it should be… there!’

  The moment she had this thought, Lian’er didn’t waste an instant before scanning the ground beneath her with her powerful Divine Sense, but unfortunately… she didn’t find anything!

  “Oh? You want to hide?” she raised an inquisitive eyebrow before her expression turned mischievous as she stuck her tongue out, “I don’t think so!”

  Boom, boom, boom!

  The instant she finished her words, Lian’er shot downward like a rocket, colliding into the ground, and using her immense physical strength along with her sword, she began hacking into the earth—in other words, she was digging!

  Her ‘digging’ was what produced the chain of continuous explosion-like sounds, the result of her overwhelming power, and this was with her still holding back, as she needed to remain somewhat cautious so as not to damage the potential Heavenly Wonder hidden below.

  Got thoughts? Comments and reviews help shape future arcs—your voice matters.

  ———

  A/N:

  In this chapter there really was an 180 of the ‘mood’, going from the tense, serious, respect filled ‘stand-off’ of Mikael and Tharvonis and then going to Lian’er humming to herself… yeah I don’t think comments are needed here…

  ———

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  Thanks for walking this path with me.

  — End of Chapter —