The Thorne of Destiny
Chapter 103: Did they beat me here?

Chapter 103: Did they beat me here?

"Whheeeew," Julian whistled, eyebrows raised. He stared at his sword in his hand, marvelling at the power it had just unleashed.

He walked over to the body of the young man and glanced at it with a cold, emotionless gaze. He didn’t feel the slightest ounce of guilt over what he had just done.

"Hmmm. You should have just kept your mouth shut and worked like the dog you are." He said coldly, before squatting and slipping off the storage ring from the man’s finger.

He continued to store all the weapons in the ring, completely emptying the place. He checked the whole floor, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

He was a bit confused why he couldn’t find any cultivation resources. There were no pills, no herbs that could help one in cultivation. Even on the ground floor, such things were not present.

However, he didn’t think too much about it. He simply thought that he would find everything on the second floor. Thinking about the second floor, a wave of excitement bubbled through him.

On the ground floor, he had found resources meant for Qi condensation realm and Foundation establishment realm cultivators. On this floor, he found resources meant for the Golden Core realm and Nascent Soul realm cultivators.

Did that mean that on the second floor, there would be resources for the Soul Formation realm? Possibly even for the Transcendent realm. Just thinking about it made him salivate.

He walked towards the staircase and noticed two flags planted just before it. He recognised them as formation flags and instantly became cautious. There hadn’t been any traps in the building before, so he was caught off guard.

He didn’t want to enter an unknown formation that could kill him.

"Damn it! If I had noticed it earlier, I wouldn’t have killed that idiot." He muttered while glancing at the body of the young man. Now that he didn’t have anyone to be his guinea pig, it seemed he would have to take some risks.

He gritted his teeth and walked straight towards the staircase. He passed between the two flags and was surprised when nothing happened. He rejoiced internally, thinking that the formation had probably crumbled apart after being neglected for too long.

He couldn’t see any runes on the ground, which further solidified this belief. He started climbing the stairs when a sudden pulse of energy rippled through the air.

The pulse of energy was incorporeal, which meant that Julian didn’t notice it until he was struck by it. As the energy crashed into him, it didn’t affect his physical body, but passed through it.

The wave of energy entered his sea of consciousness and struck his soul, making him release a gut-wrenching scream.

"Ahhhh!" He screamed in pain as he clutched his head. His body crumpled down the staircase, and he fell down unconscious. He couldn’t even withstand a single attack.

His body landed between the two flags, and they suddenly began to release golden light. Various runes began to manifest on the flags and began hovering over the unconscious Julian.

The golden light intensified until Julian’s whole body was enveloped in it. After a minute, the golden light dimmed down until it disappeared completely. The runes on the flags also disappeared, returning them to their previous ordinary state.

However, Julian, who was lying on the ground unconscious, had disappeared.

******

Adrian was making his way slowly through the maze in slow, measured steps. After the battle with the mist puppets, he was in a rather good mood.

Aside from all the pain he suffered, he was able to refine his battle techniques. He had gained a lot from being in the maze. His soul had become stronger, and his fighting style had become more refined.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was a completely different person now than when he entered the mystic realm. His steps were now more confident, more firm. The uncertainty about what to do after the tragedy was long gone, replaced with a steady, unwavering discipline.

He continued through the maze before he saw a welcoming sight. At the end of the passage he was in, he could see the open field.

He quickly made his way through the passage, and soon enough, he was standing on a fresh, open field. He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of fresh green grass.

The castle-like building that Julian and the young man had encountered earlier now stood directly in front of Adrian.

Its ancient structure loomed over the fresh field like a sleeping beast with hidden majesty. Even from a distance, Adrian could see the worn engravings on its surface. The heavy double doors were sealed shut, giving the impression that it was impenetrable.

Adrian stepped forward, his feet crunching lightly against the grassy earth. Unlike before, there was no oppressive pressure, no deadly formations, no lurking puppets. Just stillness.

He reached the doors and placed his palms against the cold surface. He exerted quite a bit of force, trying to push the doors open.

With a low groan, the doors swung open inward, revealing a shadowy corridor that led into the heart of the structure. Adrian exhaled slightly and stepped through the threshold.

The sight that greeted him was not what he was expecting to see. The entire floor was in disarray. The shelves on the floor were damaged, and he could see books and scrolls sprawled around on the floor.

Even the pile of weapons in the corner was scattered, with different weapons scattered across the floor. Adrian was honestly surprised at the sight before him.

This was not what he was expecting to see at all. Well, to be honest, he didn’t know what he was expecting to see. He picked up one of the books and realised it was a Bronze rank cultivation technique.

Only suitable for Qi condensation realm cultivators. He picked up a few more and figured out they were all either Bronze or Silver rank cultivation techniques and martial skills.

He went to check out the weapons and found most of them rusted and unusable. Only a few among them were in good shape; even then, those few were only silver rank weapons.

His own sword was a Silver rank weapon. A top grade one at that. However, after facing opponents much stronger than himself, it had begun to show signs of weakening.

A few chips could be seen along the blade that had begun compromising its integrity. Adrian had been a bit worried that it wouldn’t hold out much longer.

However, he seemed to have found a solution to his problem. Amidst the pile of swords, he found a Silver rank sword that was still in good condition.

Its grade wasn’t as high as his current sword, being only a mid-grade sword, but it would have to do. Having it was better than not having anything at all.

He swiftly stored the sword in the blood star before going around to inspect the entire floor. He wanted to be sure that he wasn’t missing anything.

After searching the floor thoroughly, he didn’t find anything else, disappointing him slightly. While he was searching, he wondered why the floor was in such a rough condition.

He could see the dust that had accumulated on the pillar and the floor. This meant that this place hadn’t seen any movement for a long time.

Then why was everything scattered? Had it always been like that, or had someone...? As soon as the question appeared in his mind, the silhouettes of Julian and his group appeared in his mind.

It was then he remembered how he had even entered the mystic realm in the first place. He had found the entrance while he was tailing Julian and his team in the Misty Mountains.

He suddenly realised that this could have been their handiwork.

"Did they beat me here?" He wondered to himself. Well, that wasn’t surprising. They had entered the mystic realm ahead of him, so it wasn’t strange if they got here before him.

Plus, he was also stuck in that illusion for who knows how long. He didn’t know if they faced the same challenges as he did. Still, with six individuals, it shouldn’t have been that hard, right?

The more important question was whether they were still here. Aside from this castle, there wasn’t anything else here. The exit had to be here or close by, meaning there was a high chance of encountering them.

That would be bad news for him. After what he had seen when he was tailing them, he knew that coming in contact with them was bad news. Not only was he outnumbered, but every single one of them had a higher cultivation realm than him.

There was no way of winning in that scenario. Forget winning, he wouldn’t even be able to escape.

All these thoughts raced through his mind as he was trying to decide what to do next. Should he climb the stairs and risk encountering them, or escape quickly while trying to find a way to leave the mystic realm?

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