Mysterious Ancient City

In the darkness, distant lights seemed to flicker, like the gleaming eyes of wild beasts spotted across a barren wasteland. That was how Li Hao felt right now. The surroundings were deathly quiet. Beneath his feet lay hard stone slabs, giving him the impression of walking through a deserted alleyway. Only when a faint breath sounded beside him did Li Hao realize he was not alone. He turned his head. Liu Long looked extremely tense. His vision was not completely clear, but a Hundred-Breaker martial master possessed decent eyesight. Even in the dark, he could make out rough shapes, albeit still somewhat hindered and obscured. On the other side, Liu Yan was also panicked, glancing all around. Having only recently stepped into late Hundred-Breaker, this suffocating silence truly made it hard to breathe. Faint footsteps seemed to echo in their ears as well. Yet the sound felt muffled by a layer of separation, far from distinct. Footsteps! At first, they assumed it was the Night Watchers, but they soon realized it was not. Those footsteps kept clicking, sounding ceaselessly, yet never came closer. It was as if someone were pacing right beside them, refusing to approach. At this moment, the words Yuan Shuo had once spoken flashed through all three of their minds: in this ancient city, you would hear footsteps. And hearing footsteps meant danger was arriving! Yet Yuan Shuo had also said that he only heard the footsteps at the deepest point of his exploration. He had entered through the outer city gates and explored along the way before finally hearing them. By then, he had already drawn close to the inner city. Gulp. A sound of someone swallowing saliva. Whose it was remained unclear. Li Hao knew it was not his own—was it Liu Yan's? Or... the captain's? Even the captain was scared? To be honest, Li Hao felt frightened as well. Where was everyone? Where were the others? According to Hou Xiaochen, they were supposed to stay together upon entering, appearing at the entrance as one group. So why were only the three of them here? "Boss..." Li Hao called out softly. The very next instant, an echo suddenly bounced back through the space: "Boss..." The three of them jumped in fright! It proved that even martial masters were not truly fearless. Subconsciously, the three huddled closer, seeking warmth from one another. This ghostly place was dreary, eerie, and terrifying! Drawing together finally brought a modicum of security. Yet the footsteps in their ears never paused. When Li Hao called out "Boss," the footsteps seemed to halt for a second, draining the color from their faces. Had they been heard? The three exchanged glances. Liu Long was the boss after all, and a Thousand-Battler at that. He forced himself to pull it together, though inside, he was cursing up a storm. I knew coming in here was dangerous, but I didn't know it would be this terrifying right from the start! "Don't be afraid!" he whispered, his voice so quiet that only a martial master's keen hearing could have picked it up. As he said it, he felt thoroughly unconvincing even to himself. Fortunately, there were three of them... If someone had suddenly found themselves alone in this place, they would likely have succumbed to sheer terror. Liu Long surveyed their surroundings. They did indeed appear to be in a narrow alley with tall walls rising on both sides. Up ahead, faint light gleamed, and the eerie, will-o'-the-wisp glow seemed to originate from the far end. They looked at one another. What should they do? Advance, or wait? For a moment, all three were caught in a dilemma. In the end, Li Hao proved bolder—he had no choice, having been tempered by past horrors. Back when he saw the Red Shadow every single day, it had felt very much like this. Back then, he had been the only one who could see it, which was far scarier than this; at least there were three of them now. He signaled, pointing ahead. Move forward! Since they were already here, they couldn't just stay put forever. This alley did not appear spacious. If enemies arrived and pinched them from front and rear, there would be nowhere to run. Besides, they had no idea how tall the flanking walls were or whether they could even be destroyed; neither of them dared to make a rash attempt right now. Li Hao crouched down and felt the ground. It possessed the texture of hard stone, cool to the touch. Probing more carefully, however, sent a chill through his heart. These paving stones... felt as though they contained a terrifying power within. Something seemed stored inside them, and he could find no seams. He ran his hand along the floor all the way to the side walls, his face gradually stiffening and turning grim. It felt... integrated! The ground and the walls were completely seamless. It was like a single, unified whole! His teacher had told him not to leave the ground lightly. Li Hao swallowed hard—how could he dare take flight now when everything felt so terrifying? What kind of ghost city was this? None of the three uttered a sound. Liu Long was also running his hands along the stone. The ground looked as though it had seams, but feeling closely revealed that they were not real crevices, perhaps merely decorations meant to keep the surface from looking too polished. The three advanced cautiously. Their movements were as light and nimble as kittens. The further forward they crept, the clearer the footsteps became. And the light grew increasingly bright. Those footsteps instilled a sense of dread, every tread feeling like a heavy stomp upon their hearts. As they neared the end of the alley, Li Hao suddenly felt his arm gripped in a vicious pinch. He nearly shrieked out loud, but his strong endurance allowed him to swallow it down. When he realized Liu Yan was pinching him with all her might, he nearly cursed! Why pinch me at a time like this? Go pinch Liu Long! In reality, Li Hao soon realized she was pinching both of them, one in each hand. This woman was normally daring enough and killed without batting an eye. Yet right now, she was genuinely terrified. Trembling, she stared ahead. Li Hao and Liu Long followed her gaze; having been pinched, they hadn't had the chance to look yet. The moment they peered forward, their bodies seized up instantly! At the far end, within the illuminated patch of ground, a faint silhouette could be seen pacing back and forth. Tap, tap, tap! Those were the footsteps. And the sound was actually coming from beneath that figure's feet. The footsteps his teacher had spoken of—a person that might exist in the darkness! An ancient human? How could that be! There couldn't possibly be living people here. This place had been sealed away for countless ages; if people lived here, what would they eat or drink, and how could they pass down generations? It was impossible. Yet the silhouette was right before their eyes. Moreover, the figure seemed to sense something. At the end of the alley, it abruptly came to a halt. It seemed to be looking in their direction. The three were so scared their hearts nearly stopped beating! They didn't fear a powerful enemy; they feared the unknown. If the other party had announced themselves right now, claiming to be a Three Sols or even a Rising Light above Three Sols, they wouldn't have been this terrified. Yet the figure said nothing! That was the most damned terrifying part. Imagine an ancient city sealed away for countless ages, where someone in the dark suddenly stared at you, and you saw them right back... What kind of feeling was that? If the enemy does not move, I do not move. The shadow showed no sign of leaving, and the three stood frozen in place, as if bound by an immobilization spell. Who knew how much time elapsed—perhaps a minute, three minutes, five minutes... When the silhouette at the end finally vanished and the footsteps started up again, they let out a breath of relief. At this point, hearing the footsteps was far more reassuring; the real terror was having them cut off without warning. Hunching their backs, the three crept forward with utmost care, their movements nearly soundless. Covering the short distance took them dozens of seconds. Moments later, the three arrived at the spot where the shadow had just lingered. They poked their heads out from the mouth of the alley. In that single instant, Li Hao's scalp went intensely numb! His whole body stiffened to the extreme! Sensing his stiffness, Liu Long also peeked out, and in the next heartbeat, his scalp prickled with goosebumps as well! Then Liu Yan cautiously peeked out... With one glance, all three heads froze, none daring to twitch. Beyond the alley lay what appeared to be a grand thoroughfare. And along that thoroughfare, there was not just one dark silhouette, but many. To their left was the shadow that had just walked past, while to their right stretched numerous other dark figures! In a flash, all three heads retracted. For right at that moment, a rhythmic series of footsteps was steadily drawing near. Clack, clack, clack! The orderly tread sounded as though it belonged to one person, but they had seen clearly: it was a patrol squad. Not one person, but at least seven or eight, though they hadn't dared to count precisely. Clack, clack, clack! The footsteps continued, drawing ever closer. Li Hao wanted to retreat, but Liu Long gripped his arm and gave a subtle shake of his head, holding his breath to signal that any movement now was too likely to attract attention. The three waited in rigid silence. A moment later, the small squad of dark silhouettes drew near. Only when the figures drew close and the first one passed the alley mouth did they truly see what it looked like. Soldiers! Their hearts trembled with shock. These were no mere shadows, but soldiers clad in black armor. The armor was seamless, fully integrated even with the helmet, encasing the entire body in black plate. Weapons hung at their waists. This was an ancient patrol squad. The dark figures strode in synchronized cadence past the alley, none looking toward them, none paying them any mind, or perhaps none noticing them at all. Clack, clack, clack! The footsteps carried on, perfectly uniform. This was a disciplined, exceptionally elite squad of soldiers. They appeared to be on patrol—a routine patrol. Day after day, year after year! Liu Long and the others were struck with overwhelming shock. Were these... living people? Patrolling soldiers? They could hardly conceive of it. Could this ancient city truly still house a great number of living beings? Before long, however, Li Hao's expression shifted slightly. He shook his head and waited until the footsteps faded into the distance before whispering in an almost imperceptible murmur, "No... they don't seem like living people!" A martial master's senses were exceedingly keen. Beneath that armor, he had felt no breathing, no heartbeat, nor even the presence of any glowing energy cluster. What on earth were these things? He likewise refused to believe anyone could survive in an ancient city sealed away for countless years. "Puppets?" Li Hao pondered and offered the possibility. He had memorized many ancient texts, some of which recorded that puppets existed during the ancient civilization era. At times, puppets were indistinguishable from real people, though they were not truly alive. Crafted through specialized techniques and methods, they looked identical to human beings, lacking only consciousness, and could even simulate flesh and blood. Could this be a squad of puppet soldiers? Puppets deployed back then to guard and patrol the ancient city? They couldn't see through it, nor could they understand it. The ancient civilization was simply too remote for them. Huddled at the alley's mouth, the three dared not venture out, only poking their heads out to look. The sight of those soldiers had terrified them too much to expose themselves earlier, but now that the patrol had departed, they peered outward once more. This glance filled them with awe. Roughly a hundred meters ahead of them stood what appeared to be an immense wall. And spanning the hundred meters between the alley and the wall was a grand avenue. An extraordinarily wide avenue! Was this an ancient thoroughfare? An ancient thoroughfare of such breadth? Yet that was not what truly shocked them. Following the wall upward... what met their eyes was the real cause of their astonishment. This wall was toweringly, impossibly high. It took Li Hao a long time to faintly spot the top. Nearly a hundred meters tall! A hundred-meter-tall wall? That was over thirty stories high! This was an ancient wall? What a joke—even city walls weren't built this high! In the next instant, Li Hao's eyes narrowed. Looking closely, he noticed dark figures upon the high wall as well, seemingly more puppet soldiers. A watchtower appeared to be perched atop the great wall. He saw it—a dark silhouette stood there. A soldier? Liu Long followed his line of sight upward and seemed to spot the dark figure as well, swallowing hard once more. What sort of place was this? "The boundary between the outer and inner cities..." Li Hao murmured in awe as a memory surfaced. "This seems to be where the outer and inner cities meet. Teacher said it was right around here that he heard the footsteps... and right here that he saw a city gate branded with a tortoise!" Could they be standing in that exact place right now? This alley lay in the outer city, while that towering wall ahead was the inner city wall? According to the Night Watchers, entering the ruins should have deposited them in the outer city, around the outer city gate area. The outer city also held residential quarters. Only after overcoming multiple hazards would they emerge before the inner city. Could it be that they had arrived straight here this time? Why weren't they together with the others? Li Hao sank into deep thought, his hand feeling the small sword at his chest. Did this have something to do with the Starry Sky Sword? Yet... if it was related, why didn't you just teleport me straight into the inner city? Wouldn't that be better? Dropping them right at the border between the inner and outer cities—what was that supposed to mean? Trapped between forward and backward! Retreating now might lead back to the outer city, where running into the Night Watchers would be fine, but encountering Red Moon or Yama would be disastrous. As for pushing forward... that was pure madness. Those dark-armored soldiers displayed no energy fluctuations, but according to his teacher, footsteps often accompanied deadly danger in the darkness, and a Solar Radiance expert had been slain by a single sword strike. A sword... likely the very weapons carried by those shadowy soldiers. In other words, these soldiers without any energy fluctuations possessed the might to slay a Solar Radiance in a single strike. That was terrifying! His teacher had only managed to explore up to this vicinity back then, failing to enter the inner city. Li Hao knew nothing of the inner city; how could he dare recklessly explore it? Just as he was mulling this over, a piercing shriek faintly drifted from behind them. Even as he was mid-thought, the squad of soldiers that had just been marching suddenly vanished from their spots at blinding speed, sprinting toward the area where the scream had originated. Not only that, but under Li Hao's and Liu Long's appalled gazes, more black-helmeted soldiers abruptly emerged from the darkness, vanishing in a blur as they raced toward the outer city. Evidently, the scream had alerted them. "The people who came inside!" The three reached an instant conclusion. Those who had entered the ruins had made the noise; judging by the sound, the distance didn't seem terribly far, yet the cry was faint and muffled. Even if it wasn't far, it wasn't something they could see immediately. And they had disturbed these soldiers! Soldiers who had likely been patrolling here for countless ages. "Incredible speed... The speed at which those black-helmeted soldiers ran didn't feel any slower than a Hundred-Breaker..." At least thirty to forty soldiers had rushed in that direction. Yet the patrol here did not seem disrupted in the slightest. The dark figure atop the wall remained in place. All around, other soldiers seemed to appear, squad after squad continuing their patrol as though the screams from the outer city had never occurred. "Elite!" Liu Long whispered into Li Hao's ear. "If these soldiers aren't puppets... they are the elite of elites! Even the Tiger Wing Army under Hu Dingfang's command is said to be among the sharpest forces in Silver Moon Province... but compared to these soldiers, they feel worlds apart!" Their demeanor, efficiency, speed, reaction, and defensive coordination were flawless. When trouble arose, troops were dispatched immediately to deal with it, yet the designated patrols, sentries, and defensive perimeters remained utterly undisturbed. Liu Long also pondered the possibility: if these soldiers truly possessed Solar Radiance strength... it was almost too terrifying to imagine. An army with such seamless coordination, even if individually only at the early Solar Radiance level, could likely match a Three Sols expert with a ten-man squad. Under normal circumstances, ten early Solar Radiance combatants would struggle to match a Three Sols powerhouse. If they were at the mid or late stage, however, doing so wouldn't be much of a problem. "What do we do?" Li Hao paid no heed to those musings, turning to Liu Long with the question. What do we do now? He felt caught between a rock and a hard place. They dared not advance, nor did they dare retreat. Were they supposed to wait here indefinitely? Wait until the others explored their way here, then tag along behind them? Stop joking! Liu Long looked back at Li Hao, inwardly lamenting. What do we do? I have no idea either. He was completely blind to this place; how was he supposed to know the right course of action? If they pressed forward, the open ground offered no cover, and watchtowers loomed above. Would they be spotted immediately? And if discovered... how could they possibly contend with so many soldiers? Even though they hadn't seen the soldiers strike, their speed alone proved they were far from useless ornamental figures. Bitterly vexed, Liu Long kicked the ball right back to Li Hao: "You tell me. Aren't you a student from the Ancient Civilization Exploration Department? Facing this situation, you ought to understand it better than me, right?" "..." Li Hao was left speechless. That made sense! Yet... he had never encountered ruins populated by soldiers, nor had the Ancient Academy ever taught such a thing. They taught things like reading orientations, assessing feng shui, discerning authentic relics from fakes, finding water sources... that sort of practical fieldwork. If only his teacher were here! At this moment, Li Hao sorely missed him. If his teacher were present, they could simply follow his instructions. Li Hao was still too young, too green, and lacked experience; he was actually quite rattled right now. Still, hearing Liu Long's words... Li Hao decided to make the call himself. The captain was right. I came from the Ancient Academy, and my teacher is a master of exploration. Can I afford to disgrace him? Just because Teacher is gone, does that mean I can't grow up? A moment later, under Liu Yan's and Liu Long's bewildered gazes, Li Hao pulled out a small disc-like contraption from his robes and fiddled with it swiftly. Next, he plucked a strand of hair, placed it on the disc, and blew a gentle breath upon it. In the blink of an eye, the hair began to spin atop the disc. Gradually, it ground to a halt. Its two ends pointed directly toward the two openings of the alley. Liu Long seemed to understand that Li Hao was attempting to divine their direction, but... with the ends pointing toward both sides of the alley, wasn't this a wasted effort? Li Hao examined it closely and whispered, "Let's go—we take the back way. We can't go forward!" "Why?" Liu Yan asked softly. Li Hao kept his voice low. "This is the force-field pathfinding method. The root end points toward the inner city, which means the inner city's force field is stronger and far more dangerous... So we check the outer city first. I don't know why we were dropped here instead of with the others... Maybe we got an early advantage, but we know nothing about the inner city. More likely than not, we'd just become cannon fodder!" The inner city was guaranteed to hold magnificent treasures, without a shadow of a doubt. If Li Hao possessed his teacher's strength, appearing here would allow him to bypass a great deal of trouble and head straight inside. The key issue was that he did not. Ending up here was practically a white elephant. Better to head to the outer city! He had no desire to be anyone's pathfinder; it was far too hazardous. Besides, emerging ahead of the other factions was actually a golden opportunity. If they found the right timing and the right opening, they might reap unexpected benefits. "Let's not dream about the great treasures in the inner city... We'll kill more villains and harvest their superpowers. If we can take down some Red Moon bastards and seize a few Blood God Seeds, that won't be any worse for us than entering the inner city." What was inside the inner city anyway? Even if Origin God Armaments were piled up like mountains, so what? Could they take them? Could they carry them out? At this critical juncture, Li Hao's mind cleared once more. Nothing mattered more than strengthening his own power; he hadn't even stepped into Thousand-Battler yet. Neither Liu Long nor Liu Yan raised any objections. In an instant, the authority to direct them fell onto Li Hao's shoulders. Who told him to be a student of the Ancient Academy's exploration department? His teacher was also a renowned exploration expert. At this point, Li Hao led them in turning around and heading toward the other end of the alley. Keeping their movements featherlight, he murmured, "Try not to make any noise, and speak as little as possible later. Those soldiers seem to navigate by sound! That scream earlier drew many of them away, yet when we were hiding right next to them before, they didn't spot us... If these soldiers are puppets, they might be equipped with some sort of sound-tracking system..." The two listened in silence, asking no questions. Right now, obediently following Li Hao was the correct choice. The alley was not particularly long, roughly five hundred meters from end to end. Li Hao and his companions moved neither too fast nor too slow. After a short while, they drew close to the exit on the opposite side. At that moment, the faint sound of footsteps met their ears once more. Li Hao held his breath and waited. A short while later, a dark silhouette marched past the mouth of the alley—still a black-armored soldier, though this time only a single one. Once the soldier had moved on, Li Hao poked his head out to look, and the sight brought a sudden realization of where they were. This appeared to be a street in the outer city. An ancient street! Lining the street outside were what looked like ancient storefronts. He even spotted several distinctive banners adorned with calligraphy—characters different from the modern script, yet Li Hao was a professional; even though he had dropped out, his expertise remained. He barely made out a single character: "Tea!" Ahead, the building hanging that banner was likely a teahouse. For a moment, it felt as though time had rolled back countless ages, to when crowds jostled shoulder to shoulder along this outer city street, snacking on street food, browsing stalls, ducking inside for a cup of tea or a hot meal... Li Hao felt a brief sense of disorientation. This was also his first time laying eyes upon such a fully intact ancient city ruin! In the past, he had seen archival materials, but those merely showed the aftermath of destruction, buried deep beneath mounds of earth. How could that compare to standing right in the middle of it, experiencing it firsthand? Shaking off the momentary reverie, he snapped back to attention. This was no place for archaeology. Danger! His teacher had warned him: this place was perilous beyond measure. Sudden blades, creeping footsteps, even fire-like phenomena that incinerated people in a heartbeat—danger lurked everywhere. Right at that moment, another shriek drifted from afar. It sounded filled with agony! Li Hao's ears twitched slightly. The sound didn't seem too far from them, perhaps just behind this very street! Faintly, the clashing of blades could also be heard. Had the black-armored soldiers engaged the entering supers in battle? "Let's go!" Li Hao slipped out of the alley, moving with agile grace as he darted across the street. Liu Long and Liu Yan hurried after him. Though they didn't know Li Hao's exact objective, following him was all they needed to do right now. Here, they were blind to everything. *** Just as Li Hao and his companions were closing in, a battle was raging across a plaza-like expanse. One side of the clash was precisely as Li Hao had deduced: thirty to forty black-armored soldiers. The opposing side consisted of rogue practitioners and members of minor organizations who had entered first. Bloodstains already spattered the ground. Those black-armored soldiers had appeared without warning. Though accompanied by footsteps, their arrival seemed to swallow even the faint traces of light. Li Hao and his companions had at least been able to see faint glows that let them discern shapes, but here, the darkness was terrifyingly pitch-black. Only when a fire super unleashed their elemental power did the crowd see clearly: an encirclement of black-armored soldiers had materialized around them at some unknown point, draining the blood from many faces. How could there be people here? "It's the Night Watchers!" someone cried out in furious alarm. Only the Night Watchers had previously explored these ruins, so their immediate assumption was that these were Night Watchers! Ambushers left behind by the Night Watchers! The moment that person finished shouting, a black-armored soldier appeared beside him. Footsteps sounded; the soldier had not flown or stepped on air, merely walked forward on foot. In the next instant came the scrape of an unsheathed blade. Squelch! A wet sound of tearing flesh rang out—a decapitating strike! The shouting man's head flew straight off his shoulders. He had not been particularly weak, possessing the strength of a Lunar Nether Full Moon stage—though, admittedly, on the lower end for this expedition. Even so, a Lunar Nether Full Moon was considered an expert in Silver Moon. Yet here, a single black-armored soldier had beheaded him on the spot with one slash. Nor was that all. The fire super who had kindled the illumination let out a gasp of horror. Footsteps sounded beside his ears, and in the blink of an eye, three swords swept across the empty air simultaneously—high, middle, and low—sealing off every avenue of escape. In a flash, squelch, all three struck home at once, slicing the man into three pieces. An instant kill! That fire expert had reached the Moon Overflow stage of Lunar Nether, a powerhouse bordering on Solar Radiance, yet he was equally helpless against these black-armored foes. The flames died out. In the crowd, some were frightened enough to scream, while others turned pale with shock and frantically hissed, "Don't make a sound, don't produce light..." The moment the words left his mouth, a sense of mortal peril washed over him. Yet he had felt compelled to warn the others! Without uttering another word, he threw a punch and attempted to burrow into the earth. The very next instant, terror overtook his face. It didn't work! He couldn't burrow into the ground! Damn it, earth-travel was completely blocked here. He had never imagined any surface could resist an earth super's tunneling ability. His punch packed considerable power, knocking a black-armored soldier several paces back. Yet because he failed to sink into the earth, a sword thrust toward his heart the very next instant. Violent earth energy erupted, forming a defensive barrier. However... in a heartbeat, rapid footsteps closed in, and four or five swords appeared at once, striking in unison toward his head, throat, temples... Every vital point was targeted by an incoming blade. A colossal force transmitted through the sword bodies! With a wet tear, one sword pierced his throat, followed instantly by a second, and a third... Every blade plunged into his body. The earth expert slowly collapsed to the ground. He was a Solar Radiance! Yet here, stripped of his tunneling ability, he had been slain all the same, dying without ever understanding why. Silence descended over the surroundings once more. Everyone was consumed by terror, no longer daring to make a peep or generate any light. Darkness enveloped them, breeding pure dread. Regret! They never should have come. What on earth were these black-armored soldiers? Night Watchers? What a joke! If the Night Watchers possessed a force like this, they would have deployed it long ago. Some had already gauged their strength—they weren't overwhelmingly powerful individually, roughly at the Lunar Nether level. Yet they possessed no energy fluctuations, much like martial masters. At least martial masters had breathing and heartbeats, whereas these soldiers seemed to possess neither. Their sword strikes were highly methodical, far from random slashing. Their coordination was astonishingly tight. Even if you managed to dodge the first strike, you might not evade the second—and if you still survived, a third and fourth would follow! Not many people from the smaller factions had entered, only thirty to forty in total, roughly equal to the number of soldiers. Yet several had already died before this. And now, several more had been slain. Even though quite a few among them were Solar Radiance experts, none dared to make a sound right now. They didn't even dare let their superpower energy fluctuate too violently. When supers feared using their powers, their reaction speed, responsiveness, and night vision fell far short of martial masters. Martial masters relied on physical cultivation; even without circulating inner force, their baseline physical constitution was immense. Consequently, martial masters enjoyed excellent night vision, whereas supers possessed terrible sight in the dark unless their superpowers surged. In the darkness, they could barely make out vague silhouettes. Someone attempted to stir their superpower, and in the next instant, the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out through the gloom. At this moment, the surviving supers realized that energy fluctuations, sound, and light would all draw the attention of these black-armored soldiers. Staying completely still... might actually be safer. These soldiers did not seem like living people. They functioned more like entities tracking targets through sound and energy fluctuations. So staying still... meant safety? One flight-capable expert, terrified as he felt a dark silhouette closing in, could bear it no longer. He shot straight into the air, fleeing the area! Flight was often the ultimate trump card for survival. As he soared skyward, nothing happened at first. Just as he rejoiced, believing he had escaped death, a beam of light violently erupted through the air above. Before the man could block or evade, it struck him like an artillery shell, blowing him to pieces in an instant! That burst of light also illuminated the entire area. In an instant, the hiding supers were fully exposed, cursing furiously in their hearts while blanching in horror. What was that? A flight-capable expert had been blasted to smithereens by a single ray of light! Worse yet, the radiance had laid bare the entire plaza. Instantly, the black-armored soldiers who had been searching sprang into action. "Ah!" Screams tore through the air once more! Black iron swords punched through the heads of expert after expert. Unable to endure the suffocating pressure, someone roared and unleashed a torrent of fire, shooting out a blaze hot enough to scorch the heavens. Boom! A black-armored soldier was blasted backward, crashing heavily to the ground. The armor was not destroyed, but the soldier lay there incapacitated before struggling to stand back up... This sight ignited a spark of hope among the experts in the crowd. Their faces lit up with joy! Though powerful, these black-armored soldiers were clearly not invincible; they could still be dealt with. In an instant, several other Solar Radiance experts struck back fiercely! Sure enough, there was a limit to the soldiers' might. Despite their flawless coordination, several were battered back by heavy blows. Now that they were fighting back, people stopped caring about making noise, shouting hurriedly, "That armor seems to be a supernatural item... hard to break! Knock them away and shock them from a distance! Also, don't fly—there's an anti-flight restriction here..." Some well-traveled supers quickly called out the taboos. No flying! Flying past a certain height would invite that beam of light, which had obliterated a Solar Radiance expert in a flash... Who would dare take to the air again? They poured everything into resisting! Meanwhile, others seized the opening to flee. Tangled in combat, several Solar Radiance experts cursed under their breaths and fought as they retreated. There were still other groups behind them; if they found the major organizations, those factions had Three Sols experts and even Origin God Armaments... They had no desire to throw their lives away here! Although the soldiers remained formidable and cut down several more people, they could only watch helplessly as several powerful experts broke out of the battlefield. Some of the fallen soldiers gradually clambered back to their feet. They pursued relentlessly, chasing all the way to the edge of the plaza... Once the fleeing supers had scattered into the distance, the soldiers seemed to receive an order. A moment later, they regrouped and began marching back. In the darkness, the black-armored figures vanished one after another, heading back in the direction Li Hao and his companions had come from. The footsteps gradually receded. Only after they were completely gone did Li Hao and the others on the opposite side of the plaza let out soft, ragged breaths, drenched in sweat. Fuck! Terrifying! These soldiers appeared to possess only Lunar Nether strength, yet they were seemingly indestructible. Those who had been knocked down earlier had simply stood back up and marched off as if nothing had happened. Among those supers, there were at least a dozen Solar Radiance experts, yet several had been killed in the blink of an eye, and over a dozen Lunar Nether practitioners had perished as well. More than half had been wiped out, yet they hadn't managed to destroy a single black-armored soldier. This was simply too frightening! One had to remember that among their trio, only Liu Long could genuinely match an early Solar Radiance. Li Hao might barely withstand one, while Liu Yan could hardly hold her own. If the three of them ran into three to five black-armored soldiers, they would be completely finished. Too terrifying! And this was merely a small detachment; Li Hao and the others knew there were vastly more of them near the inner city. Fuck! Was this ancient city something human beings were meant to explore? "Let's... let's get out of here..." Even Liu Long felt his courage falter. There was a difference between bravery and throwing one's life away. Facing those black-armored soldiers, he felt three to five of them working together would certainly beat him, a Thousand-Battler, to death. The crucial point was that the enemies couldn't be killed. That was what bred true despair! Li Hao, however, licked his lips. "Leave? Boss, have you lost your mind?" The boss had to be crazy! Leave for where? "Look ahead—so many people died! That's all mysterious energy!" The boss had definitely lost his mind. A man who coveted mysterious energy so dearly was actually proposing to leave when it was right in front of him? Liu Long stared at him in disbelief. You're the one who's crazy! What happens when those soldiers return? Is this guy choosing money over his life! "Boss, they only kill trespassers, and only light, sound, and flight draw their attention. As long as we keep quiet, there won't be an issue. They're definitely heading back toward the inner city now. Hurry, before other people show up and lure them back again..." At this moment, a daring thought took root in Li Hao's mind: "Boss... what if we just shadow these black-armored soldiers from now on?" No noise, no shouting, no light, no flying... the soldiers likely wouldn't notice them. Yet outsiders arriving later wouldn't necessarily know that. More battles were bound to erupt! Wouldn't that allow them to follow behind and scavenge the corpses? So much mysterious energy—that was precisely what he lacked, with Five Elements energy being the best, though wind and thunder would do as well. Both Liu Long and Liu Yan stood dumbfounded. Wealth was found in danger, and they were bold individuals, but having just watched those soldiers slaughter everyone in sight, daring to loot the corpses before the killers were even out of earshot... Truth be told, they genuinely felt weak in the knees. "Move!" Li Hao ignored their hesitation. What was there to fear? These black-armored beings didn't feel like living people. If they were puppets, they had to operate on strict instructions; as long as one didn't violate them, there wouldn't be an issue. Certain ancient texts recorded similar details. The boss and Liu Yan didn't understand and were simply scaring themselves silly. Running around blindly in this state would only be more hazardous. In this moment, Li Hao cast his worries to the wind. What could be more enticing than all this mysterious energy? He swiftly sprinted to the recent battlefield. Upon looking down, his face drained of color—the flesh and blood on the ground seemed to be getting swallowed by the stone! Not only that, but the mysterious energy was being absorbed by the ground as well. Li Hao swallowed hard. The ground! He had previously sensed a strange power coursing through the stone. Now, fear gripped his chest. This... this thing could devour corpses and superpowers? Heavens above! Could this entire city... be alive? Sweat beaded across his forehead, but he couldn't afford to hesitate. Gritting his teeth, he began hauling away the larger chunks of remains. No wonder those black-armored soldiers hadn't bothered to clean up the battlefield or collect the corpses... There was no need. Given enough time, these bodies would vanish as if they had never existed. Every corner of this ancient city exuded demonic, sinister malevolence! It sent shivers down the spine! Li Hao rapidly gathered up several remains, quickly filling his energy storage box before making a swift escape. Too damn terrifying! The ground ate people!