1-8 Surviving The Cultivation Calamity

1. Devilizing

"2 hours huh."

It had been 2 hours since this peculiar nightmare started.

I mused, looking at the intricate wooden clock fixed on the wall opposite me. It was adorned with strange symbols instead of numbers and the second hand was moving in the anti-clockwise direction.

Despite this, I could read them clearly, for god knows what reason.

4:12

Sigh…

I adjusted my attire while lazily reclining on the bed. After all, I wasn't quite used to something like this.

A robe worn by ancient Chinese men; yeah, the one in those wuxia novels and dramas.

It was baggy, yet strangely comfortable; especially the air ventilation inside.

However, I had no clue how to wear it right. 

For instance, I found this fancy golden pen and a coin on the table, and it was a whole mission trying to stuff them into my pockets. The robe was so baggy, that I couldn't even find the pockets of the pants- or whatever was underneath this robe.

It was strange how I could do so many things, considering this was just a dream. Everything felt real. From every second of time to every oxygen molecule in the air. I don't know why, but I still perceived this as a dream.

For the past two hours, I walked here and there, observing the unique Items and antiques present in this room. 

I spent some time fantasizing that I had transmigrated into a cultivation world, how I would become an Immortal and get myself a beautiful wife.

And now, I felt tired.

If I sleep, I would wake up back on earth, right? Would sleeping inside a dream cause them to wake up? I didn't know.

In any case, this was not the time to sleep.

"Waa"

Yawning, I dragged myself up from the bed.

"Alright, time to see what's outside."

Before leaving, I looked up at the mirror once more. I could feel my mouth slowly curling upwards, which was an understandable reaction.

The person in the reflection had a tall, slender figure. His eyebrows, nose and jawline were as sharp as blades. His grey eyes had a slight shine as if it were a jewel made of platinum. Topped off with the white robe trimmed with gold, he looked straight out of some ancient legend.

That's me… or more like- the me in this dream.

After admiring myself for a while, I headed downstairs. The stairs were wooden and old, as I could hear the cracking noises while placing each step.

Not long after, I found myself in a crowded hall.

There were wooden tables with people sitting around them. Most of the tables had two or three glasses made of bamboo.

"So… this was a hotel." I mumbled to myself 

The people wore robes, not like that of mine but a different type.

After noticing me, they all stood up and the entire hall went silent. Their expressions went abstruse and I sensed their demeanour shifting.

'Whoah, are they going to attack me or something?'

I had this uneasy feeling, but I quickly brushed it off saying this was just a dream. 

Even if it was, since I could feel my senses, I was sure I would feel pain if they started beating me up.

I awkwardly walked into the counter and decided to buy something to cool down the tension.

"Ahm, what's there to drink?"

I spoke some words completely different from all of the languages I knew.

If I had to explain how I felt…

Hmm… think of a person who lost all their memories due to some illness or accident. They'd still remember their language and how to speak.

How could this happen if they've lost all their memories? Shouldn't they forget such things too?

It's simply because of their brain. The brain stores Languages in a different section.

Perhaps this was the language stored in my brain here? While my memories had no idea about such a language.

"Ahh yes, Senior Ye, should I bring you the best wine here?" The bartender asked, wiping the sweat formed on his neck using a towel.

"How much would it cost?" 

"You don't need to worry about the price, senior."

"but still-"

Before I could say anything, he scurried back, leaving me with my mouth half open.

It shouldn't cost more than a gold coin, right?

Oh, that's right, this is a dream and what's there to worry about?

I bent down, pulled up my robe and then took out the gold coin from my pants.

I didn't have to wait long before the bartender returned with a huge bamboo jug.

At first, he didn't take my coin, saying "I dare not." but I just plopped it there.

Should I consider the value of money in a dream? Absolutely not.

Nonetheless, the tension there didn't change a bit as I thought it would. All of them kept staring at me the whole time.

While walking up the stairs, I kept hearing murmurs from the hall, but I ignored them.

Once I was inside my room, I tried the blood-red wine and man… it was one hundred percent worth the hype.

It didn't taste like grapes or any other fruits, but something completely different. Maybe it's made of a fruit that's only found here in this dreamland?

The wine didn't have any alcoholic effects on my body. I mean, it's a dream, after all.

After putting the jug on the table, I flopped back onto the bed, intending to sleep. But…

"Knock knock"

Someone was knocking on my door. And that too as soon as I closed my eyelids.

I wasn't particularly irritated, since I actually wanted to stay here for as long as I could.

I approached the wooden door, opened it and saw a youth wearing a green robe.

He looked as if he had run a marathon- Panting heavily, Sweating profusely, his Complexion mimicking that of a tomato.

"S-senior brother Ye.." he gasped out between breaths.

I heard the bartender addressing me the same, so it wasn't hard to figure out that my name here was Ye.

After a pause, he bowed and said-

"Su Feng meets Brother Ye"

Hmm? Why was he acting so weird though?

But then I realised, it wasn't just him. Almost everyone here was…

"...Yes" I replied blankly.

"B-brother Ye Chen was killed…"

The youth named Su Feng uttered while trembling. 

Wait…

Ye Chen? Su Feng? Why do these names sound so familiar?

Somehow, I found this exact same scenario of  'Su Feng reporting about Ye Chen's death' etched in my memory.

Right then, a ridiculous thought came to my mind which I quickly discarded.

Heh. No way.

"I-it was Shen Ming. Shen Ming killed brother Ye Chen."

As soon as I heard that, my jaw, which was previously intact, felt like it had fallen. The atmosphere went silent as various thoughts started piling up in my mind. 

'No, it can't be. That's too ridiculous.'

"What's my name again?" I asked in a daze.

Su Feng seemed confused, but he quickly answered-

"Senior brother's name is Ye Han." It was as if he'd never think twice in front of the so-called Ye Han.

Ye Han huh? HUH!!

Strange words formed sentences and sentences formed paragraphs as they materialized in my mind. 

["Ye Han, you targetted my women and killed many of my companions. Today, if I don't kill you, I'm not worthy of calling myself a demon." Shen Ming's both hands held his sickle swords as he pointed towards Ye Han and shouted.]

I was familiar with these lines, but recalling them now felt strange and frightening.

For some time, I stood there like a deer in headlights. Apart from me was Su Feng, standing like a statue, probably waiting for me to say something.

"Y-you can leave." I said with utter difficulty.

My mind was going through an overload and I needed time to process everything.

"Yes"

Saying this, Su Feng quickly left, as if he had expected such a thing.

... ... ...

Hours passed by and night came soon.

I stood near the wooden window, gazing at the moons up in the sky. There were three of them, forming a small triangle.

Although I appeared calm on the outside, my mind was buzzing with various thoughts.

I found myself in a dream that felt abnormally similar to a novel I read-

Devilizing.

I sighed and turned around, after confirming my doubts.

"It's a dream, after all. You just have to wake up."

I muttered as I lightly patted my cheeks.

Honestly, after meeting Su Feng, this dream only started feeling less dreamy.

Because I couldn't recall ever falling asleep. The last thing I remembered was going to shower in the morning.

And then… And then, I stepped on something? 

Was it a soap?

I wasn't entirely sure.

I sank back onto the bed with a hard expression.

'Devilizing' was a popular Chinese web novel. It followed the story of Shen Ming, who awakened a few memories from his previous life as the 'First Devil', Shen Mogui.

The devil race was one of the primordial demon races that had absolute authority over other demons.

But don't get it twisted, 'Demon' doesn't mean the bad guys. In this world, both humans and demons were equally powerful as well as peaceful towards each other. There were still some, who believed their race to be superior. I mean, that's how every world works.

As for who Ye Han was…

Well.

He was a major villain during the Tri-moon realm arc.

It went like this-

Shen Ming, the protagonist, kills Ye Han's brother, Ye Chen,  for trying to harm his companions and girls.

Ye Han tries to get revenge, only to get killed.

It all started from the very beginning of this arc.

Ye Han was from the Golden Moon sect, while Shen Ming was from the Blood Moon sect. Both of the sects were rivals, just like their founders. They also held the top spots in the Northern Edge.

Ye Han was the number one genius of the Golden Moon sect, as well as the entire Northern Edge.

Shen Ming was the number one in his sect, while he stood second in the Northern Edge.

Not because he lost to Ye Han or anything, he just lacked in cultivation base.

But still, during their battle, Shen Ming was on par with Ye Han even though he was a whole stage behind. He was the true genius.

Back to the plot,

Shen Ming had three jade beauties in the Blood Moon sect. More particularly, they were humans. When Ye Han saw him for the first time, he got envious thinking-

"How could a lowly demon have three beauties? Imma kill him and snatch em all" 

Sadly, this thought led to his very end.

He plotted against Shen Ming, killed many of his subordinates, although he didn't personally do anything, he made his minions do so.

I suddenly felt sleepy, probably because of the amount of overload- which was what I thought.

Till now, I had been thinking of ways to survive, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't find anything.

But who knows? Maybe I'll wake up back on Earth. 

Chapter 2. Cultivation

As I woke up, I felt like a brand new person. The sense of vagueness I experienced earlier has now transformed into that of rather familiarity. The one thing that remained was the fact that I transmigrated into a novel, as a villain.

Unlike yesterday, I was feeling calmer and composed. In such a situation… that was so… not like me at all!

Perhaps this body was slowly influencing me or my personality.

This realisation frightened me. After all, who would want to be a completely different person when they wake up the next day?

Especially in my case, where I'd be a villain, a pathetic one.

In a way, this was somewhat helpful. Instead of clinging to futile beliefs such as- waking up back on earth, I now began thinking more about ways to survive. 

Even if there weren't any, I could create one… I hoped I could.

For that, I had to proceed patiently yet fast.

First, I need to check the strength of my body. Was I as strong as Ye Han in the novel? Could I fight like him? Could I Cultivate?

I should at least get strong enough to survive the attacks from Shen Ming.

Instead of going outside, I decided to check everything inside the room, as I didn't want much attention. My actions from yesterday might have weirded out those other disciples for sure.

I couldn't help but gulp, whenever I thought about what I did yesterday.

Their reactions were making sense now as Ye Han was considered a terrifying existence throughout the Northern Edge.

Sitting on the bed, I stared at my fingers. There were golden rings engraved with exquisite designs on four of my fingers. Three on the left hand and one on the right. They were probably dimensional rings that could store things.

I somehow managed to open them easily. As if it was a muscle memory.

In the deep black background were hills of weapons and treasures. I was rich. After all, I was the 'number one genius'.

I furrowed, trying to focus on a sword among them as it appeared in my left arm. It was too easy.

As my hand and the sword came in contact, I could feel a strange energy rising around me. A strange feeling that made me think I could use it effortlessly. 

This had the same reason as the dimensional rings, I think. Even if I had no theoretical knowledge of such stuff, I knew how to use them.

Maybe I can use all of Ye Han's abilities as well?

If I'm not wrong, I'll have to battle Shen Ming in almost a month, since the death of Ye Chen was about a month before their confrontation. There was no way to improve my cultivation till then.

Even if I get stronger than him, there's no way I'd survive if I fight him, because he had 'that thing'.

The best thing to do was to avoid the battle. But unfortunately, that too was a dead end.

In any case, I decided to increase my strength. 

I've already figured out a way to increase it, which was by increasing my talent. But I wasn't sure if that would work, as I didn't even know if I could fight like Ye Han or not.

Ye Han's Talent was at the lowest of the ternate width.

'Width' is the quantity used for measuring one's talent. Talent widths ranged from Inactive, basic, ternate, predominant and variant.

In this world, every single person was born with equal talent. One can increase their talent by increasing their comprehension towards oneself. Such was everyone's Idea about talents. Although it was the truth, it had more complex and deeper meanings that no normal person knew.

Every talent level has their method of increasing it. These methods are considered the secret of the heavens. If someone were to expose these secrets, that person and the ones who heard them would be instantly punished by the heavens. As the protagonist, Shen Ming knew of these methods naturally. As a reader, I knew of it too.

The method of increasing talent at the ternate width was by comprehending more about one's fated/favourable weapon. In my case, it would be a sword.

Ye Han's strength was so high that everyone in the entire northern edge considered him the best genius, even though he had such average talent. While still in the rebirth stage, he could fight on par with those at the Core Foundation stage.

The reason was his unique sword dao inheritance. But he used it wrongly, causing his talent to get stuck.

Most of the demons had something called 'bloodline power' while the humans had 'Inheritance'.

If I corrected him by using the inheritance in the right way, it would increase my talent as well as strength.

Almost all of the inheritances were used in the form of a separate skill. Just like a battle skill that in nowhere connects to other skills.

Ye Han did the same with his inheritance. He created another powerful battle skill using his inheritance, which was a complete flaw. 

Ye Han's inheritance wasn't similar to others, as it was a 'dao inheritance'. The correct way to use it was by merging it with other skills instead of using it as a separate one.

Looking at the scabbard in my hand, I closed my eyes.

Ye Han's sword dao inheritance was called… Hmm? What was it again? 

Anyway, It was about- how a sword cultivator could use anything as his sword. Even if it's just a piece of wood, in the hands of a sword cultivator, it could be a sword that cuts through countless swords.

Truly! That was straight-up overpowered.

The method of practising it was by imagining a scabbard to be an unsheathed sword, which was what I was trying to do. 

Poor Ye Han, instead of considering it as a 'power up', he used it as a whole separate one.

He even named it the 'Sword God's scabbard arts'. Where he used a scabbard as his weapon.

It for sure was powerful enough to get him the name of the 'number one genius'. But the cost was too high.

As I tried to imagine a sword in my mind, I felt an immense pressure rising around me. My body started feeling hotter, and I could hear my heartbeat speeding up.

When I opened my eyes, I could see sharp edges formed on the scabbard, as if it were a sword. This was enough for me to understand that I had entered the state of inheritance usage.

These sharp edges were in fact an illusion, but my hands could make it more powerful than swords.

In this state, any moves I use would be immensely powerful, no matter what I choose as a weapon. But using an unsheathed sword was the best, as that was the way of forming foundation.

Use the sword sheath to enter this state, unsheath it to strengthen the foundation. 

That was the right way.

I unsheathed the sword and a surge of golden light hit my eyes. 

This feeling! 

I calmed myself down for a bit, as I thought I might go insane.

I brought up my left hand and swung the sword, as lightly as possible. I could feel the spiritual qi slowly thickening itself around my sword while doing so. That light swing caused the spiritual qi in my room to get cut in half.

I snapped out of the state of inheritance shortly after. As expected, I felt my power rising. I assumed it to be because of the barrier, which blocked my talent, breaking.

Perhaps, in a month, I will become twice as strong as I am now.

Ye Han's sword arts had already reached such a stage where he could cut through the Qi itself. He also had perfect control over its destructivity.

Although the way he practised was entirely wrong, he was still able to pull such battle prowess.

I wonder how powerful he'd have become if he practised normally from the start.

Till now, I had been using my left hand, which was strange, for a right-handed person. 

I decided to try the same thing using my right hand but it felt rather weird and unfamiliar. 

This too had the same reasons.

I don't own anything in this body except for my soul. I'm not him, but my brain... No, Ye Han's brain and nerves still work exactly like how they did in the past.

…

Battle skills are skills used in a fight. They come in various strengths and rankings. Right now, I am trying to list out all of the battle skills known by Ye Han.

Finding Ye Han's battle skills without his memories was tough. I had to completely rely on the feeling of familiarity to figure them out. Up until now, I managed to figure out three of them. 

One was a fist technique. It used the skin on my left hand to form a circle of qi, circulate it in a timely manner and pressurise it. This technique was the easiest to figure out since I felt this weird feeling in my left hand.

I didn't know any of the names of these skills, so I decided to name them myself. 

This fist technique is mostly based on concentrating the pressure. It's kind of basic but powerful. 

I named it the 'Arm of pressure'

The next technique was a sword skill. A heaven-class battle skill. This was shown in the novel, which was why I figured it out easily. 

It was done by condensing spiritual qi into crystals and releasing them in a certain way. It was so powerful that I couldn't test it right now. Because that'd create huge destruction. 

I decided to check it and if possible- strengthen it, after going somewhere far.

Now that I'm using my inheritance in the right manner, this sword skill should also strengthen up.

I couldn't remember its name either. And I named it 'Crystal Sword.'

The third one was a movement technique. It used spiritual qi to create shades and afterimages, at a ridiculous speed. 

I named it the 'Shady Steps'

I spend some more time trying to list out more of his battle skills and techniques. And I did list out much more, but they were mostly basic.

'Haah.. that almost used up all my stamina.'

I took out a pill, which had the effect of healing and sat there after consuming it. Almost in an instant, I recovered my stamina by half. That was the effect of a high-grade healing pill, I guess. 

I could identify and use almost all of the items owned by Ye Han, including this pill.

I slowly circulated the qi inside my dantian and entered a state of meditation. My body and mind felt relaxed as I got rid of everything that concerned me.

This was cultivation!

Chapter 3. Escape

"You heard what happened yesterday right?"

A youth leaned towards the person sitting opposite him and whispered.

"I'm one among those few who saw everything clearly." The person opposite him said with a smirk on his proud face, as though he witnessed some miraculous phenomenon.

"Then, Brother Zhao, is it true that Senior Brother Ye stripped in front of others? H-how good was it?" His face had the obvious sorrow as if he missed a once-in-a-lifetime sight. 

He previously heard rumours from other disciples of what happened yesterday. But all of them were contorted and unbelievable. 

Some said- "I saw Brother Ye's flawless body." while some others said- "He didn't show anything." He didn't know whom to believe, there weren't any recordings of that sight, which was why he asked his brother Zhao Ning about this.

"WHAT? No, he didn't. I-I mean, he did, but-" Zhao Ning replied, before pausing midway. He looked around the hall to see barely one or two disciples apart from them and said in a weak voice-

"shh… Brother Ye's senses are unmatched, he might hear us. Let's discuss this somewhere else."

With that, both of them stood up from their seats before heading out.

…

Inside my room. 

I sat on a chair, holding the golden pen in my left hand. My face twisted into an ugly expression as I wrote something on a piece of paper.

[31. Enhanced Hearing.]

I was making a list of Ye Han's skills that I've figured out. With the last one, I could enhance my hearing ability to a certain extent, which was enough for me to hear everything from the hall below.

I shook my head. I shouldn't care about such things but instead, focus on what to do next.

'This should be all' 

Of the skills I figured out till now, 11 were battle skills, 6 enhancement skills, and the rest included other techniques such as movement, breathing, etc.

With that, it was time for the next step. Which was to run, as far as I could. 

I have to avoid interacting with other disciples in any case. Especially those 'named characters'. If I had the power to erase memory, I swear I would have erased everything about me from their minds.

I made sure to empty up my room before leaving. I planned to jump through the window without anyone noticing. 

I stood in front of the mirror, imagining how everything would go according to my plan. 

After I change my appearance using the disguise skill, I'll jump off and quietly leave this place. Honestly, my plan was perfect… if I wasn't interrupted by a certain someone.

UGHHHHH! WHY HIM? 

I groaned my lungs out; in my mind, of course. As I couldn't do such acts in front of him. 

The one who just entered my room casually was the one I was afraid of the most. I knew who he was in a glance, because of the blue shard on his forehead. His skin was pale, and the blue robe he wore gave off a luxurious aura.

"Greetings… Brother Ye" He said as he cupped his fist. 

He was Xin Yang, the current heir of the Golden Moon sect. He was the reason for everything, the reason why I'm about to die.

Xin Yang wasn't as strong as me, but he had the whole Golden Moon sect backing him, as the son of the sect master. He was the one who wanted me to defeat Shen Ming. 

He targeted one of Shen Ming's beauties named- Nan Xifei. He tried to capture her many times and even ended up killing many of Shen Ming's subordinates. Because of this, he almost got killed by our protagonist. Afterwards, killing Shen Ming became Xin Yang's biggest goal. 

Now, he was here to remind me that I should kill Shen Ming.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said in a sorrowful tone. 

I didn't know how to answer him as I just said. 

"Yeah"

It was because I couldn't think how Ye Han would react in such a situation. Like hell, he'd feel sad or angry for his brother's death.

Even in the novel, Ye Han was rather happy when he heard about his brother's death. 

Not only had he removed a headache, he could add one more person to his harem.

Of the three beauties, one was supposed to be Ye Han's, one for Ye Chen and one for Xin Yang. That was their agreement.

Now that his brother was dead, he could add one more girl to his harem.

How dumb!

These kinds of developments could only be found in such novels. Why did I even read it in the first place? I should have spent those hours finding the meaning of life, instead of reading it.

"Su Liang… you should take her since brother Ye Chen is no more." Xin Yang said, trying to comfort me.

Just as I expected.

Su Liang was the name of the girl 'reserved' by Ye Chen.

Xin Yang's priority was to make me as infuriated towards Shen Ming as possible. He would do anything to kill Shen Ming because he once lost his pride.

Yeah, I'm not angry at all.

Like hell, I'd ever fight the protagonist. That was straight-up courting death.

Not fighting him would also end in my demise, as that would be 'going against Xin Yang', which was enough for the whole sect to annihilate me.

I couldn't just kill this guy named Xin Yang either. He wouldn't die, even if I did.

I was surrounded... by death.

The Tri-Moon realm was like an ancestral land that opens every hundred years. 

Each sect from the Northern Edge would send their disciples here to gain treasures and experience. 

Anyone above the Core Flame Stage couldn't enter this realm, and because of this restriction, everyone here was either disciples or the natives, who didn't have any cultivation base.

Within a year, they are to come back to the real world, the Ruan Continent.

I was in the rebirth stage right now, as I had advanced after entering this realm.

Even If I kill this guy here, he would resurrect outside this realm with the help of his blue shard.

The blue shard was the biggest treasure of the Golden Moon sect. It acted like a pair of Bluetooth devices. One of them is kept safely under the hands of our Sect master while the other one is with this guy. If he somehow ended up dying, he could be resurrected using the other shard. In short, he simply had an 'extra life'.

There was barely a month left for the realm closing. Those who entered here will be teleported back to where they entered from. 

For me, it was a place used by the Golden Moon sect and the Blood Moon sect. 

I could imagine how the two whole sects would be all around me, at that time. If I fought Shen Ming, I'd die. If I didn't fight him, I'd die. And escaping simply wasn't an option.

"The realm will close in one month and before that, we have to kill Shen Ming and make him regret his existence."

I nodded vigorously, trying my best to look like a villain.

"This time, he's dead for sure. He has already offended numerous other sects and they'll all be on our side." Xin Yang said with the grin of a villainous young master.

I've always wondered what these 'villains' sounded like, in real life. How can they spout such cringe dialogues without being embarrassed? Now that I was seeing it, I suddenly had an urge to laugh.

Poor guy didn't know those others, including him, were going to be demolished by Shen Ming.

"Ahh yes, this is the list of those who have agreed to join us."

Xin Yang took out a paper from his ring along with another object, which he placed on top before passing it to me.

The object was another dimensional ring. I picked it up and looked at Xin Yang in confusion.

"I heard you like wine made of Bubble-rat's blood. That contains some best quality ones I found." Xin Yang smiled gently, looking at the ring held by me.

"Bubble… rat's blood?!" He wasn't referring to the wine I had yesterday, right?

He was...

Even if I tried to deny it...

Because I could sense the contents inside this ring.

"Then, I shall take my leave. Be sure to vent your sorrow on it." saying so, Xin Yang left the room.

I felt nausea, but my body didn't. It wasn't reacting the way I wanted it to! Should I just puke purposely by sticking a finger in?

…

After he left, I changed my appearance into a rather ordinary one.

Black hair, brown eyes and slightly more muscular. I changed the robe into a casual brown one as well. 

Ye Han's looks were considered on par with Shen Ming's, if not slightly lower. He was perhaps the only character in the entire novel who could rival Shen Ming in terms of looks.

With his looks, he could get any girl he wanted. Yet, he solely targeted Shen Ming's girls.

Because he was a freaking dumb. 

Anyway, the technique I used was a basic one as well as useless. 'Disguise' only worked in front of those with the same or lower cultivation base, compared to the user. 

In short, anyone stronger than me can easily see through my disguise. As of now, I was the strongest here in this realm. No one could see through my disguise here.

In terms of strength, Shen Ming was ahead of me now, while in terms of cultivation stage, I was ahead. So he wouldn't see through me as well.

Albeit, in front of those higher-ups from my sect, it was useless. In their eyes, my disguise will be revealed the moment I step out.

This was just a temporary relief. A relief till the day of realm closing.

I opened the wooden window and jumped without much thought. I used 'Blinding steps' in half-air and reached somewhere no one was around. 

Blinding steps was another movement technique known by Ye Han. Though It was weaker than shady steps, it was more relevant in this situation.

I quietly left this place, which was one of the few native villages in the Tri-Moon realm.

Chapter 4. The Unknown Expert

After searching for a full 5 hours, I found a suitable place to stay. It was a cave located on top of a small hill. If one wasn't close enough, they wouldn't be able to spot it.

The cave was huge and beautiful. The walls were moist, with lush green grass scattered around. It was already midnight. The faint light emitted from what seemed like blue fireflies illuminated the cave.

I found a flat stone inside to sit and do some work.

I had previously noticed some spirit stones and an array manual inside one of my rings and decided to set it up here. 

This array was designed to increase the spiritual qi within a certain radius. It should be very useful for cultivation. 

With the help of a manual, setting up an array wasn't that hard. I did everything accordingly and it indeed worked. The spiritual qi inside my cave became almost thrice the amount outside.

After cultivating there for a while, I headed outside to get a proper view. Sun had risen up and the outside could be seen more clearly than at night.

I stretched, feeling the breeze brushing past my hair. The view wasn't very spectacular, but I could cover up almost the entire front side of the Tul mountain just from here.

During these hours, I somehow managed to not interact with other disciples. It was easier than I expected.

If one wasn't popular enough for their strength, they for sure would bump into some disciple demanding- Hand over your items, if you want a peaceful death.

Because this was the tri-moon realm, there was no one stopping them.

"Now, surrender all your items if you don't want a tragic death." As if my thoughts were spoken aloud, I heard these words coming from nearby.

"The hell?"

A muscular man stood near a youth, pointing a metal club at his face. The youth was lying on the ground filled with wounds. He had a mixed expression that contained both sorrow and helplessness. The muscular man wore a red robe and a belt that seemed to be made of bones.

By the looks of it, he should be a disciple from a corrupt sect.

"Of course, I would still kill you. But believe me, if you surrender your items now, you will get a really peaceful death." While saying this, the muscular man had a fixed grin on his face.

The next second, his expression turned slightly sceptical.

"Hmm?" He turned his head in the direction where I was, as his grin widened.

"Looks like I've got another prey to hunt"

Fuck, did I just get caught?

Not giving a chance, the muscular man launched towards me as the club in his hand suddenly erupted out with a bloody aura.

I don't know why he did that? Because I looked weak to him? Maybe.

I retreated one of my feet as I swung my hand. I instinctively took out a useless dagger from my ring before throwing it towards him.

"Thud"

Blood splashed, forming a diagonal line on my face.

Before I could see clearly, I felt an immense pressure in my mind. This body was suppressing me!

I didn't know what to do, or how to fight back. Everytime I blinked, I could see a pool of blood, causing me to keep my eyes wide open. Unknowingly, my lips started twitching, as I spoke-

"Too weak."

…

The youth lying on the ground barely saw anything. He brought up his hand and rubbed his eyes. Wasn't this thing rolling in front of him… a head? The same one that almost killed him moments ago? He looked towards the figure on a small hill as though looking at a god. His features were rather ordinary, one that didn't match his demeanor. The figure's piercing stare alone sent shivers down his spine. 

Just how strong of a person was he? Crushing that muscular man like that was not something anyone could do. After all, he was a 'Blessed'. 

The so-called 'Blessed' are those who've unlocked their inheritance or bloodline power. They were extremely rare, numbering about one in ten thousand. Their strength would easily surpass that of normal cultivators. Such a person got killed just like that? This kind of feat was something only the top geniuses like Ye Han or Shen Ming could do. But who in the world was this person? A top genius was always popular, and this face was nowhere among those.

'Such strength… I'm afraid he won't spare me.' The youth felt even more frightened. After all, in the eyes of those geniuses, the weak were no more than ants.

He tried to open his mouth and beg for mercy, but he couldn't. The right side of his mouth was heavily wounded, as he was hit by the metal club. 

"Leave."

The unknown figure said calmly, interrupting his thoughts. 

The youth's expression changed. He was relieved to the point that the corner of his eyes got wet. He wasn't a genius, nor was he rich. Till this day, he had nothing to rely on, but hard work. This world was unfair. All his hard work was about to be in vain, when he almost accepted his death moments ago. 

He brought himself up and bowed deeply. Although he couldn't speak, he was thanking this unknown person in his mind.

…

Eventhough my body was pretty much used to killing, my mind wasn't. I was trembling inside. In the end, I could only calm myself down thinking 'this is how this world works.' I had no choice but to adapt. 

I felt countless gazes on me as I told the youth to leave. Certainly, I was being watched by disciples who were hiding nearby. My intuition told so, as a powerful cultivator.

This incident alone would get me a new image. There were people recording me for sure.

In this realm, almost every disciple carried a visual pendant. This way, they could capture visuals and share it with the outside world or their sect's higher ups. There were many people, hiding and recording others.

The visuals of such a pendant didn't have the ability to see through disguises. Even if anyone outside the Tri-moon realm saw my visuals, they wouldn't connect me with Ye Han.

Now that I think about it, I can just keep the image of an unknown expert to avoid any actions like this.

At first, I thought that the sudden appearance of an unknown expert just after Ye Han's disappearance would incur suspicion among those of the Golden Moon sect.

But I totally discarded such a possibility.

Why would Ye Han ever do something like that? In their eyes, he was already unparalleled. They never saw him truly fight as it would end in an instant. Why would someone like that need a sudden disguise?

Although they wouldn't suspect my new image, this still wouldn't answer my disappearance. I should make up a reason so as to completely avoid being searched.

I don't have to do anything for now as Xin Yang or the others wouldn't look for me just after a day of my disappearance. After all, this was the Tri moon realm where every Individual had their own matters. However, they would surely look for me about a week or so before the realm closing.

As the youth slowly limped back, recalling something, I used qi to clean the blood stains on me as I jumped down from the hill and approached the headless corpse. 

The intense stench of blood caused me to hold my breath. Bending down, I took the dimensional ring from the corpse and quickly retreated inside my cave abode.

I was not surprised to see a lot of bones and skulls as it was a spatial ring that belonged to a corrupt disciple. Besides them, I noticed something glowing. It was in the size and shape of a human canine tooth which was tied onto a tiny string. Just as I took that out, my abdomen started aching as though it was on fire.

I had the body of a really strong cultivator and normal fire wouldn't hurt me, but now, It felt like my organs were slowly melting. I hurriedly took out the thing that made my abdomen burn. Somehow, an A4 sized paper had appeared inside my robe. One that looked more ancient than ancient treasure maps. 

There were letters formed on it which were slowly burning and disappearing. The fire wasn't affecting the paper, but the letters alone. I was barely able to read those words before it completely disappeared.

[Ye Han saves Xiao Yating and increases the number of Shen Ming's subordinates by one.

Possible reward outcome: Rank 5 Soulshield.]

These were the words formed on that paper.

Now that I think about it, I don't remember Ye Han owning such a thing… is this perhaps my cheat?

I thought as I felt joyful.

It had been three days since I got transmigrated. After having no signs of getting a cheat, I worked my head like crazy. I was constantly thinking of the things I had to do in order to survive, thinking of every possible outcome and their side effects. I also had to recall all those incidents that happened during this period. In my memory, this novel had 3000+ chapters and it was still ongoing. Right now, It was roughly around 300 chapters.

This was enough proof for how hard I had to work my brain. Recalling everything that happened before 2700 chapters wasn't that easy.

Now, as I saw the vanishing text, I felt somewhat relaxed. I quickly placed the canine tooth inside my ring as I extended both my hands in an excited way.

"Now, give me my Rank 5 Soul Shield."

Although I don't know what a Soul shield is.. The rank '5' meant that it was powerful. In cultivation, rank 5 is equivalent to the core foundation stage.

I stood there like a statue for more than 5 minutes, yet, nothing appeared in front of me

Is this thing broken?

I thought the way I asked was too impolite, which caused this thing to reject it. You might find it ridiculous, but this world was an entirely different one where anything could happen.

Wait.. Why did it say 'possible' reward outcome?

Chapter 5. Fate Calculator

Could it be that it only calculates the outco- Ahhh

Pausing my thoughts, I opened my dimensional ring and once again took the glowing canine tooth out.

Is this the Rank 5 Soul shield? Yes… that is indeed possible. Those words started disappearing the moment I touched this.

If I'm guessing right, the words would disappear after I get in contact with the possible reward.

After wrapping it around my hand, I nodded as I felt a slight understanding towards my cheat. I still had some doubts, I'll clear them once this happens for the next time.

Of course, I preferred a system more as that sounded more cool and understandable unlike this old thing.

But Yeah, It was still a lot better than not having a cheat.

But then, I noticed a strange symbol on the top right corner of the paper. Strangely enough, this symbol matched perfectly with something I had on me.

I stared at a golden pen in my had, after I took it out from my ring.

Yeah, they both had the same symbol of a tree's curvy roots.

As I held it properly, I carefully thought of the words that had appeared on the paper before.

It said that I saved Xiao Yating and increased the number of Shen Ming's subordinates by one. Shen Ming's subordinates referred to the 78 survivors from the Blood Moon sect. There were many others but they all ended up dying inside this realm. These 78 people will later become an army and have huge impacts in the storyline.

So… that person from before was a member of the Blood Moon sect and was actually fated to die here. I saved him, which meant that I increased the number of Shen Ming's army by one. That would bring a lot of changes in the future, considering how important those people were.

I had a guess about the pen's use and decided to check if that was it.

I placed the blank paper on a flat stone and sat beside it. After one more brief pause, I wrote.

[Ye Han kills Xin Yang.]

As I expected, new words started appearing on the paper. This time, they weren't burning.

It only burns while disappearing, huh.

[Ye Han kills Xin Yang.

Possible reward outcome: nothing]

What? How can there be nothing as reward? Xin Yang is way richer than me. He would surely have something in his ring.

It can't be that after I kill him, all his items will get destroyed, right?

After thinking for a while, I came to a possible conclusion.

If I kill him, I would probably get killed very quickly and the items I received will be of no value. Yes, that might be the reason for such an outcome.

To make sure this was it, I wrote some more words.

[Ye Han kills Nan Xifei]

Nan Xifei was one of Shen Ming's girls. She too had many treasures on her. If I kill her, Shen Ming won't let me live for the next second. As I wrote this, the previous words started burning slowly as new words started appearing.

[Ye Han kills Nan Xifei.

Possible reward outcome: nothing]

Yeah,that's it for sure. This thing is hinting that I'll die

[Ye Han Kills Lin Shu]

Lin Shu was a top genius from the corrupt path. I remembered his name because I hated him as he always troubled the protagonist and kept escaping just before getting killed. After a lot of battles with Shen Ming, he was annoyingly still alive. 

It's not like I'm going to kill him as he would die at the hands of Shen Ming soon.

The Previous words started burning as new words replaced them.

[Ye Han kills Lin Shu.

Possible reward outcome: Lin Shu's storage ring.]

This was something that I expected.

Killing Lin Shu wouldn't stir up much of the storyline as he'll die here anyway. The best reward I can get is indeed his spatial ring.

Now, I almost fully understood the use of my cheat. This thing simply calculated the possible reward outcomes according to my actions.

Should I just call it the fate calculator? Yeah, That sounds good.

I didn't store it inside my ring as it was rather unsafe. One has to remember that if their dimensional ring breaks, everything inside it will stay there forever.

…

Inside a brightly lit cave, three ladies and a young man gazed at the screen before them. The ladies had an elegant aura around them as everyone's looks matched that of a goddess. They had a kind of beauty that would leave anyone in a daze. The young man looked otherworldly with his long black hair and deep scarlet eyes. His facial features were simply unmatched throughout the heavens. This sight alone was enough to stir up the minds of all men.

The visual pendant in front of them showed a fight scene.

"Not one more again."

Nan Xifei heaved a deep sigh as she said this. She was already tired of those geniuses. From the moment they stepped here, they were constantly being troubled by them. Moreover, Shen Ming was about to have a battle against Ye Han, as he publicly challenged him by killing his brother. Now, there was a new one, who just popped out of nowhere.

The appearance of a new genius wasn't any normal news. The more geniuses a path had, the likely their probability of winning. Right now, Ye Han was the number one genius of the righteous path followed by Shen Ming, while the corrupt path had Lin Shu, Cui Lanye and some others. The sudden appearance of an unknown genius became popular in no time.

However, this news was spread first among the companions of Shen Ming as Xiao Yating was a member of the Blood moon sect.

"There are two possibilities. One is that he had a fortuitous encounter inside the realm causing his strength to rise suddenly, the other is that he was hiding himself… deeply."

"The former is more likely the case. If he was hiding, why would he choose to reveal his strength now? Of course, I can't tell if he had some motives in his mind. As long as he don't cause any harm for me and my companions, I won't harm him"

Shen Ming said his thoughts.

Although this was what Shen Ming said out, his instincts were telling him the opposite. He still chose to say this as he couldn't think of any other reasons.

"Shen Ming, are you sure about defeating Ye Han?" Li Yuel asked worriedly. It wasn't the unknown genius that made her worry, but Ye Han.

Shen Ming smiled warmly after hearing this.

"I don't know. But one thing's for sure. Even if I die, I'll make sure to bring him along with me."

At that moment, a voice came from outside. 

"Ahem… sisters in law, can I see brother Shen for a minute?"

…

It was in the dawn time.

I was lying on a flat stone inside my cave abode, scribbling on the fate calculator. After testing it some more time, I realised that there were other weird results besides 'nothing'. One was '???' which I received when I wrote, [Ye Han kills Shen Ming] and the other was nothing… I mean, the other showed nothing. When I wrote [Ye Han kicks a rock], it disappeared without even showing the outcome. Now, don't ask why I wrote these.

I don't know what '???' means but the latter must be that there weren't any possible reward. Whatever the former meant, I knew it wasn't for good. If the protagonist dies, the world might just collapse right away.

I realised that I hadn't eaten anything after coming here. As a cultivator at the rebirth stage, my appetite was different from that of mortals. Till now, I had been relying on pills for recovering my energy. 

I took out a large portion of meat from one of my storage rings and decided to cook it. I already had several storage rings with me, which had almost everything required for living. As expected, being a rich young master came with benefits like this.

…

Dense aroma filled the cave as I stared at the meat which was being cooked using bright crimson flames, right in front of me.

This meat in front of me was that of a Spirit beast as normal meat wouldn't do anything for cultivators. From the looks of it, this seemed to be the leg of a large bird.

After putting out the fire, I sliced off a small portion with a dagger and savoured it. I felt my body and mind relax, fully immersed in the taste. It was so good that I ended up finishing it entirely. This portion of meat was more than enough for three people which I ate in one go.

After resting for a while, I decided to go out and test the 'Crystal Sword' out.

I descended from the hill and used Shady Steps to find a place far away from my new cave. I chose an empty place as I didn't want anyone to record me while I'm at it. 

But it's almost impossible. A heaven class battle skill was meant to cause huge destruction. Doing it secretly was just not possible. 

I changed my appearance once again to someone with red hair. I did so because I didn't want people to relate this person with my other disguise. I was planning on continuing the other disguise, so if people managed to find out that I had this battle skill, that'd be rather disadvantageous.

The problem was Xin Yang. As a fellow sect member and a close friend, he must know that I have this heaven class battle skill.

As per the novel, no one should be aware. During the battle against Shen Ming was the first time he used this skill. But this can't be practical here… People like the sect elders must be aware of it. In case of Xin Yang, I was uncertain.

If he knew, I'm sure he'd relate my disguise with Ye Han. I can't possibly leave out any clues, which was why I chose a new appearance. I don't care if he relates my current appearance with Ye Han, as I won't be using it anymore.

Sigh…

After changing my appearance, I took out the most powerful sword in my ring, which I named- 'Falcon'

I didn't come up with it. I just stole it from another novel. 

I closed my eyes, trying my best to concentrate. I slowly raised my sword, pointing at the sky. The clouds instantly concentrated towards a single place as spiritual qi in the form of crystals filled the sky.

Chapter 6. Meeting

"What in the world…"

"Wow! So beautiful~"

"Are the heavens collapsing?"

Throughout the realm, various exclamations echoed as people stared at the wonderful yet chilling phenomenon in the sky.

"It's a battle skill! It's a heaven tier battle skill!"

"So this is what a Heaven tier battle skill looks like."

"Aren't Heaven tier Battle Skills only usable by Core Foundation stage experts?!"

"Who even is that?"

People were quick to realise what was going on. Many were recording this phenomenon, but none dared to approach it. 

Such a technique could only be used by a Core Foundation stage expert. Yet, someone here could use it? Who in the world was that? As far as everyone knew, the strongest person here was Ye Han, with cultivation at the rebirth stage.

...

The space surrounding me was constantly trembling as the sword emitted a golden light. 

All the crystals in the sky converged into the sword in my hand which was pointed upwards. 

A huge sword light formed as those crystals merged into my sword . Terrifying sword qi soared, causing the nearby land to shudder

Those nearby felt despair. Some fainted, while others knelt, trying their best to withstand the pressure.

After a moment, the phenomenon stopped and everything returned to normal.

"T-that w-was…. Was that sword intent?!"

"No way." 

They hadn't encountered real sword intent, so they couldn't recognize it. The aura that suppressed them moments ago was just pressure, a terrifying one.

…

I feel like this skill has strengthened too. Surely, it's because I entered the state of inheritance usage before trying it.

I didn't launch the attack as I was just testing its strength. And I was really satisfied. 

I quickly rushed back to my cave, quite exhausted. I made sure to change my appearance so no one would recognize me. I sat down in a lotus position and started replenishing my energy.

…

Now that I've checked almost everything with my body, I had to focus on the plans to move on. Next, I should do something about Ye Han's disappearance.

I planned to somehow deceive everyone into believing that I, Ye Han, had died. If I could do so, the only thing I'd have to worry about would be escaping after this realm closes.

But this wasn't easy, considering how strong I was in the eyes of those disciples. Before doing so, I had to eliminate the slightest details, such as my ring, since it contained various survival measures. An example would be the teleportation talisman given to me by Xin Yang. People know that I have one, and they'd rather think I had escaped with it, even in a life-and-death situation.

Right now, I was thinking how to get rid of those details. 

Of all the people, deceiving Shen Ming would be the toughest. Heck, I remember him predicting someone's thoughts after seeing a slight movement in their muscles. That was just too ridiculous along with his godly instincts, which could tell him if his predictions were true or false. He was completely cracked for a protagonist.

"Sigh… I gotta do something about it."

As I was pondering, I sensed two figures near my cave. Compared to before, there were even more disciples wandering around this place, most likely due to me. They were probably appointed by some young masters to observe my actions. I cared nothing and ignored them since I knew they wouldn't act recklessly.

But now, I heard clear footsteps from near the cave entrance.

As I went ahead, two youths suddenly landed on the hill. They seemed to have jumped up till here.

I flinched upon noticing one of the two who had arrived. I knew him well; he was the youth from the Blood Moon sect whom I had saved earlier, Xiao Yating.

The previous wounds on him were fully healed.

The person beside him was a man who had pitch black hair and red eyes. His handsome face adorned with sword-like features, had a calm expression. He was rather lean and looked younger than me. He wore a beautiful earring which stood out from his all-black outfit. His aura was strange and powerful, one that didn't match that of humans. 

A demon!

Most of the demons looked exactly like humans, the only way to distinguish them was by their aura.

Wait... these features?

I don't know why, but I kept repeating a name in my mind after seeing his appearance. 

Shen Ming

I tried to erase that thought and calm down, but I couldn't.

'No, please don't be Shen Ming, I'm not prepared yet. Please…'

As I repeated this in mind, they both came near and greeted me.

"Greetings, senior" Xiao Yating said this while the other just cupped his fist.

I was trying my best not to panic. No words came out of me as I stared blankly at them. Not because I couldn't, but because I was too scared. I knew Shen Ming better than anyone. Every single word I say would only expose me as he was a fucking lie detector.

Thanks to this body, I looked calm. Otherwise, he would have sensed the fear in me, if he really was Shen Ming.

Seeing no responses, Xiao Yating was about to speak but was suddenly interrupted by the person beside him.

"My name is Shen Ming and he is Xiao Yating. If it's okay, can we have a chat for a moment, brother…"

He stopped and looked at me, intending to hear my name.

He was really Shen Ming? What was he doing here? There was nothing like this in the original plot. Shouldn't he be cultivating along with his girlfriends at this time?

It was surely because of the variable: Xiao Yating.

No, he wasn't exactly the variable here. I was the one who created a variable such as him, so I should be the variable.

At this point, I myself couldn't believe how calm I was in front of him.

He called me 'brother' which meant that I was safe for now. It was one thing the author of Devilizing stated about his personality again and again. 

After a pause, I said.

"Zhao Fan"

It was the name of someone from another novel. He'd find it to be a lie, but I knew he wouldn't pry for no reason either.

"Right, brother Zhao, so… shall we?"

Denying wasn't an option, and accepting it outright would seem abnormal for my current persona..

After hearing this, I looked towards Xiao Yating and replied.

"You don't have to thank me, I didn't do-"

"Brother Zhao seems to have misunderstood something, we're not here for that." Said Shen Ming after cutting me off.

Of course I knew that. There was no way Shen Ming would come all the way here just to say thanks.

I said that solely to keep the conversation going. Thankfully, it worked.

I could barely think straight, thanks to this body.

I continued staring at him, without saying anything.

Shen Ming carried on,

"This matter involves your cave, so we're here to ask for your cooperation"

So it was like that. Eh? Matter involving my cave?

"There happens to be a large ruin right below your cave, which we would like to explore. If you're interested, we could work along and split the rewards equally"

After saying that, he looked at Xiao Yating, who then took out a map.

"I received this from a powerful dead spirit. Earlier when I was going there, I was interrupted by that corrupt disciple."

Now this makes sense.

After handing it over to me, both of them looked at me as if to see if I'll decline it or not.

For them, declining meant that I intended to go there on my own, to get all the treasures by myself. 

As far as I knew, Shen Ming was very righteous and wouldn't think of going there after my disapproval, since I was the one living here now. If I decline it now, I'm pretty sure they both would turn around and leave.

Honestly, I want to just decline the offer and do nothing about this 'large ruin'. But on another thought, that wasn't the best option.

As my thoughts wandered around, I saw Shen Ming looking towards Xiao Yating with a confused look as if to ask "how long is he going to think"

Ah.

Forgot about that.

I then opened my mouth and said.

"alright"

…

'This was just returning a favour, to think that he'd actually let us go with him…'

Pondered Shen Ming as his mouth curled slightly upwards.

They both were expecting to hear the disapproval. Although they were quite interested in this large ruin, they came here mainly to return the favour.

Shen Ming wanted to learn more about the other's personality, which was why he said that they needed his cooperation.

From this, he briefly understood the other party. He was different, way different from those other geniuses.

Either he was too dumb or too smart. Or perhaps, he was just too… kind-hearted? Of the three possibilities, the third one was the least credible.

Shen Ming sensed no malice from him, thus he decided to go along…

Chapter 7. Large Ruin

When I saw Shen Ming's mouth curling upwards, I had an ominous feeling.

Did he notice something wrong? Oh no, should I just run? There's no way I could. Should I use the teleportation talisman?

And then I heard him letting out a sigh.

"It's only natural, but the number of disciples monitoring us now is… Insane"

That's it...?

Phew… 

For now, I could tell that I was safe. No matter what, he wouldn't be able to connect me with Ye Han. When Shen Ming met Ye Han for the first time, it was said that he sensed a kind of malice from him. 

Not just him, Shen Ming could recognize every villain at a glance by sensing their 'malice'.

But he wouldn't from me. Because I wasn't Ye Han, but an average human from Earth. Although I only had partial control over this body's 'emotions', I had full control over its 'intentions'. And 'malice' belonged to the latter.

Most of those disciples monitoring us were hiding. But, Shen Ming appeared to know the exact number of people watching us.

I nodded back.

I wanted to use the fate calculator to see what would happen if I went with them, but I couldn't find a chance to take it out.

Even If I took it out secretly, I was pretty sure Shen Ming would notice it, so I decided not to do anything.

After some time, I led them both inside my cave. According to the map, the only entrance to the large ruin was through my cave.

Shen Ming surveyed the area and headed directly toward a corner of the wall. He seemed to have noticed something.

"Did you find anything, brother Shen?" Xiao Yating asked in my stead. It was obvious from how Shen Ming was staring at the wall.

"I think..." Shen Ming replied as he touched the wall. As a cracked protagonist, every action done by him had a certain significance and meaning. He trailed his fingers down and halted at some point.

"Knock. knock"

He knocked the spot where his fingers stopped. Surprisingly, the voice it produced did not feel like a wall made of stone. Instead, it resembled a musical instrument. With a powerful punch, he shattered the wall, revealing an inner wall.

Another type of rock, which appeared hard and spherical, made up the inner wall. Without thinking much, Shen Ming gave it a light push and the 'wall' rolled inwards like a ball.

It was actually like a tunnel slide. 

Heh, as expected of our cracked protagonist. We only entered here a minute ago and he already found the entrance.

The insides were eerily dark and there was no way we could see the end of this tunnel to know what awaited us. What if this isn't even a tunnel in the first place?

Thankfully, the one guiding us was Shen Ming. And I believed in his plot armour.

Shen Ming turned around and looked at us to see who was willing to go first. Seeing neither I nor Xiao Yating wanted to, he decided to do that himself. He should… that's our protagonist right there.

He summoned a flame in his right hand, squatted down and touched the surface of the tunnel with his other hand.

"It's… Ice"

The ice looked black and impure. It seemed to have no property of melting, which was evident from how long it had been there. Centuries, or perhaps even longer. The flame used by Shen Ming was no ordinary one, it was a beast flame. Even so, it did not affect this ice. 

Don't know if it can still be called 'ice' but the texture seemed cold and moist, just like any other ice.

It seems the tunnel's maker designed it so others could use the ice as a lubricant to slide through, effortlessly.

"I'll go first," said Shen Ming, in a tone resembling that of a righteous leader.

After looking at us once more, he laid half his body into the tunnel before going in.

After he was gone, we both took out our lighters, mine emitted a bright crimson flame while Xiao Yating's looked rather normal. Of course, his lighter was way cheaper than mine.

Xiao Yating followed suit, and eventually, it was my turn.

Phew… finally got some time to check the results. I had to check if it showed something like 'nothing'. If it did, I could just run somewhere else and change my appearance.

After making sure they both were gone, I put down the lighter, took out the fate calculator from my robe and wrote-

[Ye Han accompanies Shen Ming and Xiao Yating to explore the large ruin.]

Instead of showing results, It started burning and disappearing. This meant that there weren't any possible rewards I could get. But, that might not be the case. 

I tried to write it in more detail, thinking my wording might be the issue. But the outcome was still the same.

Previously, when I saw such an outcome, I came up with two explanations. One was that there weren't any possible rewards. The other was that the fate calculator couldn't calculate the outcome. But I ignored the latter as the first one seemed more plausible.

Either way, I'm sure I wouldn't die since the fate calculator didn't show 'nothing' as an outcome.

After putting it back in my robe, I took the lighter from the ground and quickly went inside.

Shen Ming could adjust his body temperature easily because he had a fire affinity. But, I wasn't him, so I could only rely on the lighter to keep my body warm.

Not gonna lie, this felt just like a long amusement park ride which I kind of enjoyed, if not for the freezing temperature.

Soon enough, I encountered a faint light signalling that this ride was about to end.

At that moment, I lost control of my speed. I tried using qi to quickly stabilise myself but the gravitational pull here was different from that above. I hurtled through the air until I collided with something. Presumably, it was the boulder that Long Chen pushed inside back then.

I didn't feel much pain, but I felt my head spinning.

The black ice on the ground was slippery, making it quite difficult for me to get up. Once I did, I formed a layer of qi under my foot to avoid tripping.

I looked around and found myself stunned.

"So Large." I couldn't help but exclaim.

The atmosphere was freezing as a black fog shrouded the entire ruin. Yet, it failed to obscure the colossal mountains of black ice from view. One could easily suspect this to be an entirely different world.

There weren't any light sources here but the darkness wasn't as oppressive as it had been inside the tunnel.

Shen Ming and Xiao Yating walked over quickly, after hearing an "Aaaaaaaah" from nearby. It was none other than Zhao Fan holding a crimson lighter.

"Is there anything wrong? Senior brother Zhao?"

Xiao Yating asked with a confused look.

"Ah…"

What? You're saying that you didn't 'come in contact' with the boulder? Was it just me? No way.

"...no" I replied.

Afterwards, I looked at Shen Ming, who was holding a large piece of black ice in one of his hands. Noticing my gaze, he said in a calm tone-

"These ice have special properties and are suitable for both cultivation and forging. We should collect as much as we can."

The ice indeed was very useful, he might have thought of giving it to Su Liang, who had the ice affinity.

The three of us busied ourselves collecting the ice. Shen Ming was using his hand to punch the ice into huge chunks before storing them in his storage ring. Xiao Yating was using a blade while I used a dagger. My efficiency was no less than Shen Ming's even though I was using a dagger.

Shen Ming had a strong body as a body cultivator but mine was rather weak. We could still be considered equal since I've already finished my first cycle of rebirth whereas Shen Ming hadn't even entered the rebirth stage.

Like that, a few hours went by and we finally decided to move on deeper into the ruins.

We talked very little… No, it was me who talked little, because I knew a single word could expose me. Feeling awkward was better than getting exposed, after all.

As we went further, the black fog was getting denser and colder. We halted at some point because of the ginormous structure in front of us. Two Icebergs had collided, forming a pathway between them. The structure was so large that it stretched up miles into the sky- I mean the roof. We went right through the path and encountered a stunning sight.

A faint star was glimmering amidst the foggy plains. An entire range of mountains formed a circle which connected with the icebergs we just came through. It seemed the star was the only light source throughout this place.

A star in the middle of a circle? What a beautiful theme.

"Strange..." Shen Ming muttered with a weird look.

We all felt the same. Ever since we walked past those icebergs, there seemed to be a slight vibration hitting our toes.

Chapter 8. Large Ruin 2

We continued forward. The vibration intensified after each footstep.

In a flash, Shen Ming dropped to a crouch. A piece of ice, the size of a fist, shot past his head.

Then... 

*Crack*

The three of us turned around in unison and saw that the structure behind us was quivering. The pieces of ice scattered around it quivered at a larger frequency.

We wanted to check what was going on, but all of a sudden, the pieces of ice started coming at us at an insane speed.

Shen Ming jumped up, swiftly dodging the barrage of ice. But the ice that came afterwards went right above, exactly where Shen Ming was. It was as if the ice were solely targeting us. He extended his hand as a sickle sword appeared out of thin air.

There was no way to dodge all of them so we had no choice but to block. I took out my sword and slashed through the air. This created a large blade of qi which collapsed with the flying ice stones.

Shen Ming gave me a look, conveying his intentions. Maybe because I knew his way of thinking, I understood what he meant and nodded back.

Defending was also futile, as it showed no signs of stopping. The best we could do was to run. After slashing out once more, I turned around along with the two and sprinted. The star at the centre was our goal.

However, the frequency of the vibrations increased as we ran, and the ice stones grew large.

Xiao Yating wasn't able to keep up with us and Shen Ming couldn't ignore him either. A large dimensional space opened beside him as he called out

"Meng'er"

A large figure with azure fur jumped out and approached Xiao Yating at a speed not slower than us. It was a horned wolf, Shen Ming's pet mount.

From time to time, I turned around and slashed out, to decrease the amount of ice stones. As the wolf got closer, Xiao Yating jumped and held onto it. 

Once Xiao Yating settled, he turned to face the oncoming Ice stones. 

Previously, I had seen him wielding a blade but his hand was now gripping a silver bow. Two arrows appeared in his other hand, probably from the storage ring as he aimed at an ice boulder. The boulder looked way larger than all of us combined. Two arrows formed a golden light, pierced through and shattered it completely. 

Xiao Yating could shoot out two arrows at once.

'Woah, he's strong', I thought.

So, Xiao Yating was good at archery. Short-range attacks were his weakness, which might be why he lost to the corrupt disciple back then.

Suddenly, a thunderous crack echoed behind us. The two colossal Icebergs were cracking as if they would come at us any moment. If something like that happened, our chances of survival were uncertain.

"Change the directions." Shen Ming shouted as he started running towards the left. Meng'er too, ran towards the left while I ran towards the right. It was for the better.

From the beginning, the ice structures directly behind us showed signs of movement, while the rest remained still.

As we changed directions, the colossal structure of Icebergs stopped cracking, instead, the other structures directly behind us did. Just as we expected.

Running constantly was the only way to avoid this.

If I went in the same direction as the two, I was afraid the structure would launch at me by the time.

I tried to run in a circular path so that any of the large structures wouldn't shudder and… as expected, Shen Ming and Meng'er did the same.

This trick was kind of working, but it didn't completely stop the ice from approaching us.

As the distance shortened, I could now have a proper look at the star glimmering in the middle. No, It wasn't a star, but an old, rusty lantern that emitted a strange black flame. 

The light it emitted had a yellow tint even though the fire was completely black.

Before I could turn to look at the other two, I felt a giant shadow covering me as I instinctively slashed out. 

The sound of a slash was heard but it did nothing to the huge chunk of ice.

Till now, I had only used normal sword slashes, instead of using attacks that contained sword qi.

Looks like I have no other choice.

…

"Are they still inside?"

A female voice echoed in someone's head. He was currently standing near the Tul mountain, monitoring the hill where an unknown genius resided.

"Yes, I can't sense their presence inside. But they hadn't left this place in the last 3 hours."

The person responded.

"Hmm.. Go inside and check what's going on" the female voice said in a demanding tone.

"B-but" The person was bewildered for a moment as he hastily tried to reject.

She wants him to check what they're doing inside? Wasn't that just courting death? Especially when two of the people there were referred to as 'heavenly geniuses.'. One among them was even called the 'Second greatest genius' of the Northern Edge.

"Didn't I make it clear?"

"Y-yes." There was no way he could defy her orders. And so, he decided to grit his teeth and do as she said.

Approaching the hill, he sensed numerous gazes upon him.

"How brazen…"

"To think that he'd dare to go there? Isn't he just courting death?"

"Looking at his expression, someone must have forced him…"

"Poor fellow"

"Rest in peace soon."

'Ugh.. These guys…'

Just like him, there were other disciples appointed to monitor the unknown genius.

Although they were 'murmuring', they deliberately said in an audible voice. 

They did so just to provoke him and he knew that very well. Because he was doing something they could never do.

Discarding them, he leapt onto the hill and approached the entrance.

"Woah."

The amount of spiritual qi inside the cave made him speechless, as he stood there for a moment, feeling blissful.

An array of spirit stones bathed the cave in dense spiritual qi. The array looked refined, something he had never seen.

If he could cultivate here for at least a day, he was sure his strength would soar.

What exactly was that person's identity to have this many spiritual stones?

There had been many investigations on him, but none yielded any info. Who was he? Which sect did he belong to? And finally, what relation did he have with Shen Ming?

No one knew the answers.

Moving forward, he found a hole near a corner wall, instead of the three men.

"This.."

He immediately transmitted a message to the person who ordered him.

"..."

Although she said nothing, he could guess she was up to something crazy.

That's what she literally was, after all.

Within moments, another figure entered the cave. She was clad in a casual yellow robe which had slight tatters and dust, as if she just came rushing from a battlefield. Her emerald eyes shone brilliantly, their exquisite beauty perfectly complementing her flawless, jade-like face. Yet her unkempt hair and parched lips made her look homeless. Besides the two storage rings, she wore nothing decorative.

At first glance, she was a delicate beauty. In the next glance, her appearance will creep you out. So you probably wouldn't take a third glance.

That was her.

She went near the hole with a curious look.

"Hmm, I wonder what's inside."

"Are you entering, senior sister?"

"No, let's just wait outside for now."

…

As the giant chunk of ice drew near, a blinding light enveloped Zhao Fan's sword. 

Dense sword Qi rose as the blinding light burst out.

Shen Ming and Xiao Yating felt a weird sensation that made every hair on their body stand up. 

They both were kilometres distant from Zhao Fan and yet, they felt like they'd be sliced into pieces. 

Was that sword qi suppressing them? Terrifying!

From this, Shen Ming understood a few things.

Zhao Fan was the one who executed that heaven-tier battle skill. Although he didn't witness it head-on, it was quite evident.

'Zhao Fan is stronger than me. He might be the strongest person in this realm right now… perhaps even stronger than Ye Han.'

Even if he were to fight Zhao Fan, unless he used his final trump card, there was no possibility of winning. 

By this time, the huge chunk of ice above Zhao Fan had already been shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"Woof"

Meng'er let out a cry, interrupting Shen Ming's thoughts. 

They were about to reach the centre, but the whole mountain range started shaking uncontrollably.

Shen Ming was quick to decipher what was happening, once he saw the rusty lantern. He turned back and stared at their shadows, which blocked the light from reaching the mountains.

From what he understood, the light at the centre was the source that stabilised this mountain range. After they entered through those Icebergs, they were blocking the light from reaching certain places, because of their body. The places where the light couldn't reach were directly behind them, causing them to lose their stability.

The more they went near the lantern, the larger their shadow became and the larger the amount of unstabilised ice became. 

If they went any further, this entire ruin would collapse, including them.

They couldn't run back to where they came from as it would take much more time than it takes this ruin to collapse. 

Even a slight jump would block the light from reaching the ceiling.

He quickly transmitted this message to Zhao Fan, as his voice wouldn't reach him.

Shen Ming activated a teleportation talisman and vanished from the spot, taking Xiao Yating and Meng'er with him.