Setting the Stage

"Okay, everyone, listen up!"

At the mouth of a gigantic ravine, the small expedition team led by Wang Mang stood at attention.

This was the Nine Revolutions Maze, its many twists and turns continuing far off into the distance, great canyons gouged into the blackened earth like a titanic ant's nest.

Eerie wisps of fog trailed up from its depths, and although Hu Long had gone over the layout multiple times during their descent from the overlooking mountains, he couldn't help but second-guess how well he'd memorized it, now that he was staring the maze in the face.

"For those of you who will be entering the Nine Revolutions Maze for the first time, know that the natural formation will heavily impair your perception and directional sense. Even if you have the map perfectly memorized, it will be all too easy to miss a branching path or accidentally run in circles, and there won't be any landmarks to guide you once we're inside."

Wang Mang once again went over the warning speech he'd been drilling into them the whole way, this apparently being his third time entering the Nine Revolutions Maze.

His face was solemn, as was everyone else's, so much so that it was hard for Hu Long to tell if this was a Great Void set-up, or not.

"Brother Yao will be leading the way. His formation arts are the most formidable amongst those present, and he has extensive knowledge of the maze, as well. So long as you keep him within your sight, you will be fine. Well then, let's move out!"

At the conclusion of Wang Mang's instructions, a plain-looking disciple stepped forward and bowed, introducing himself with a gentle smile.

"Greetings everyone, I am Yao Chen of the Justice Enforcement Hall. Feel free to call me Brother Yao," he said.

"As Brother Wang has already said, I'll be the one to guide everyone inside the Nine Revolutions Maze. Please stay close once we enter."

'Justice Enforcement Hall?'

Hu Long returned the bow along with the rest of the expedition team, though his was a little stiff. It couldn't be, was this just another one of Elder Jiang's schemes?

'If that's the case, then the past two days feel like mobilizing an army to subdue a frog.'

He smirked.

The plot was probably something along the lines of stranding him in the maze, leaving him unable to escape before the registration period for the Inner Disciple competition ended, and thus denying him his qualifications for entering the Pill Saint Mystic Realm.

How petty…

'Don't let your guard down, foolish disciple.' 

It was at this time that his master decided to speak up, voice creaking.

'What's the problem, master?" Hu Long asked, "There's no way the formations in the maze are an issue for the Divine Sight you taught me, is there?'

'Hmph, if you know, then use your Divine Sight on that Yao Chen, you fool.'

Confused, Hu Long did as he was told, activating his Divine Sight and observing Yao Chen.

Although the technique was called Divine Sight, it was more like a spiritual sense, using the eyes as a medium to see past the veil of the material world and into the metaphysical.

So when he 'saw' the abnormality, he was slightly shaken. 

Yao Chen was wrapped up in a swirling vortex of energies, each signifying a different method of internal cultivation.

Although practicing many cultivation methods wasn't uncommon, it was what he 'saw' within the myriad of auras that shook him: a dark emptiness that served as a sort of core, most likely his main internal method, and one very similar to the presence he felt back in his encounter with the Steel-Back Wraith.

'Great Void Sect… they've infiltrated as far as the Justice Enforcement Hall?' he thought to himself, deactivating his Sight as he felt the technique's signature headache coming on.

He figured it was typical to have spies infiltrating from other sects, but for them to have ingrained themselves to this extent, that wasn't a good sign, was it?

'The Dabang Sect seems to be dying, so it's no surprise,' his master said, callously.

'Although they've been lucky to hold onto the title of Great Sect, until now, it looks like they've been bleeding out for quite a while. It's only a matter of time before one of the other Great Sects takes action and cuts off their inheritance.'

Hu Long just nodded sullenly. What his master said made sense; from what he'd seen during his short time as a disciple, there weren't many outstanding talents in the sect.

Even those geniuses from his hometown seemed to shine brighter than many of the inner disciples he'd managed to get a glimpse of.

Of course, it wasn't as if he'd been able to see the cream of the crop, but honestly, he'd had higher expectations of one of the Great Sects. Even Caelus's so-called 'experiments' made the sect-given resources pale in comparison.

'Well, I'm just here to get stronger. No need to concern myself with sect affairs.'

He shook any unnecessary thoughts from his head, rubbing the storage ring in his pocket that held a plethora of tools and life-saving talismans.

Although Hu Long initially expressed some hesitation in accepting such an expensive gift, Ryker had simply given to him without a care, assuring him that he "had a bunch more".

'... Better not to worry about where he got them from.'

Steeling himself for what could be a life-or-death situation, Hu Long followed the rest of the expedition team as they descended into the depths of the Nine Revolutions Maze.

—

"Rejuvenation Pills, check."

"Quick Escape Talismans, check."

"Instant Barriers, check. Okay, that should be everything!"

Back in Caelus's villa, Ryker sat poring through all the items he and Caelus had prepared for today's events. If the Great Void Sect really was targeting him, again, he'd be ready this time.

"Don't forget to charge the compad," Caelus, who was fiddling with something at his desk, reminded him.

"Ah, right."

He quickly grabbed the compad from off the couch and started pouring mana into it.

The two of them sat in silence, Ryker focused on mentally preparing himself while Caelus continued his own work, and the only sounds were the low hum of the compad and the occasional whirring of Caelus's tools.

Although they'd been friends for well over half their lives, they didn't speak much when things came down to the wire. Actually, perhaps it was because they've known each other for so long that there wasn't much needed to be said between them, both of them knowing exactly what to do without any communication.

"Here."

Their silence was broken when Caelus finished what he was working on, levitating two, metallic-red boomerangs onto Ryker's lap.

"I've modified your boomerangs with a force-amplification enchantment. They should serve as a mid-range option, during combat."

Ryker nodded, putting the boomerangs into his dimensional pocket.

They were originally recreational models, using a force-dampening enchantment to ensure they didn't hurt or break anything, but by reversing that enchantment, they could become a deadly weapon in the right hands.

"Thanks. By the way, how much of my other stuff do you have?"

"Just whatever you left in my office. I grabbed it all before we were transported here."

"... That's, like, everything, isn't it?"

As Ryker pondered over what might be useful amongst the many knick-knacks and toys he'd left in Caelus's office, back home, Mini C and Bestie popped up beside him, floating above his shoulders.

[Now would be a good time to go over the enhanced functionality of the system,] Mini C started, while Bestie nodded enthusiastically.

{Yes! We've upgraded the 'borrowing' function so that you don't have to use it all at once, and you can stockpile any unused time up to 30 minutes!}

[It's still in the testing phase, and you'll still only gain 10 minutes every day, but at least this way you can use 'borrowing' more flexibly.]

"I see, so I can use it and save any time I don't use."

He grinned, thinking of all the ways he could utilize 'borrowing', now. Instead of a trump card, it would now be safe to use it throughout the fight, as necessary.

"Feel free to use it often. The more data we receive from the system, the more data we have to modify it," Caelus said, though Mini C shook his head from his perch on Ryker's shoulder.

[It's fine to utilize the system, but don't get too dependent. We still don't know what its true purpose is.]

"Aren't you being too cautious, R.A.I.S.U? I'm sure we'll be able to handle things, whatever that purpose may be."

[Negative. My prime directive is ensuring Ryker's safety.]

"... I suppose I did program you that way."

Caelus just shrugged his shoulders before returning to his desk, taking out more gadgets and miscellanea to tinker with.

{Mr. Caelus is more reckless than expected, huh?} Bestie observed, to which Ryker just laughed.

"Haha, well, we didn't become friends for no reason, I guess. We used to get into all sorts of trouble, back in Greyson Shores-"

Before he could expound upon their hometown adventures, however, a bright light suddenly shone from his jacket pocket, and he took out the vibrating talisman that indicated that Hu Long had broken the emergency talisman, on his end.

"Looks like that's my cue. Be back in a minute, C!"

Caelus nodded and raised his hand in acknowledgement, while Ryker quickly sent a text to his sister before crushing the talisman in his hand.

With a burst of light, the talisman instantly warped the space around him, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

—

In a sparse forest not far from the Nine Revolutions Maze, a young girl in Dabang Sect robes stood watch near the perimeter of a camp. Her purple eyes were staring off into the distance, their brilliance pronounced by her dark skin and jet black hair.

 As she was scanning the surroundings, however, she paused, seemingly sensing something, before taking out a small, rectangular device out of thin air.

Looking at the contents of the screen, she furrowed her brows in annoyance, putting the device away and walking back to the small fire that was crackling at the center of the campsite.

"Lady Lilliana, is something the matter?"

Another man in disciple robes stood up at her approach, saluting respectfully. The other disciples around the fire also stood up in salute, at least the ones who could; a few of them were lying injured on makeshift bedrolls, undergoing treatment.

Lilliana just nodded in response, quickly packing up her own things into a dimensional pocket and turning to leave.

"Sorry, something urgent came up. Will you be fine getting back, without me?"

"Ah, well, we'll make do. I don't think there will be any trouble."

The man forced a smile. Although she was asking, he didn't think she'd stay even if he said they needed help…

"Okay. Good luck."

And with that, she disappeared, leaping off into the forest.

"... Lady Lilliana's movement technique is impressive, as usual."

Shaking his head, the disciple in charge sat back down to continue treating the others' injuries.

Meanwhile, Lilliana sped through the trees, making her way to the location Ryker had sent over compad.

Instead of the joy one might expect at the prospect of their impending reunion, however, she wore a scowl on her face, eyes set in a glare straight ahead.

'Finally, I get to give this idiot a piece of my mind!'