Inside the ice stronghold that Shangguan Bing Xue had erected earlier and which contained 60% of her Mana as it was the minimum necessary to withstand the aftershocks of an attack comparable to the aftershocks of a nuclear bomb explosion, all those who had fainted before because of the strong shock to their minds after being hit by the explosive sound wave from the first clash between Bai Zemin and Kang Guiying had yet to open their eyes.
Although none of them had died, it was clear that at least for the rest of the night they were unlikely to wake up since in contrast to monsters with high Health, all of them had just barely become First Order existences or were in the process of completing their breakthrough quests.
But those who were standing such as Chen He, Nangong Lingxin, Cai Jingyi, Zhong De, Shangguan Bing Xue, Sun Ling, Feng Hong, Teng Hua, Huang Tian, Liang Jing, Feng Tian Wu, and of course, the only mutant beast within the group, Little Snow, as well as two dozen more soul evolvers; were waiting for the moment when the chaos that was raging outside the ice stronghold would end for them to finally step out to see who was victorious.
If Bai Zemin won, then they could live and continue to create history together; advancing far enough to in the near future become part of the team of founding fathers of the new homeland.
If Bai Zemin was defeated, then their lives were over and this was the untimely end of their paths; paths which could have been bright.
There was no third option available. Because they were too weak for it.
“… It ended…?” Chen He muttered somewhat uncertainly.
“… It seems… It seems so…?” Cai Jingyi wasn’t too sure of her own reply either.
It had been about two minutes since the terrifying explosions coming from high in the sky, as well as the bright light born from the fierce attacks of two powers beyond the comprehension of most of those present, had completely ceased.
Shangguan Bing Xue, with a slightly pale face, slowly lowered her arms that were pointing toward the roof of the ice stronghold. The mana inside her body stopped circulating and her Mana stopped decreasing as she no longer provided the defensive structure with energy to harden further.
Everyone was silent for another minute more before Shangguan Bing Xue waved her hand and the ice stronghold began to melt at surprisingly fast speeds considering the enormous amount of ice that had been used to make it.
“We’re heading out?” Nangong Lingxin frowned a bit worried.
“There have been no more explosions and not even the roar of a beast has been heard for a while now.” Sun Ling pointed out trying to act calm. “Probably… The battle is already over.”
After a moment of hesitation, Teng Hua asked the question that somehow or another most were asking in their hearts:
“But… What if we came out only to find that Bai Zemin was defeated…?”
They had all heard Kang Guiying say that he was a Fourth Order powerhouse, and they had seen with their own eyes how the seemingly invincible Bai Zemin was beaten like sandbag and sent flying with serious injuries as proof of what the man who came out of the fourth pagoda said were not pure lies.
If the enemy were various Second Order enemies, the current group would not be afraid to fight as they now not only had better equipment but had also raised many levels, evolved skills, and were even in possession of the powerful Electromagnetic Rifles.
They would even dare to confront a Third Order existence despite not knowing how powerful one was; they believed they had the ability to fight one.
However, Fourth Order? They could not even imagine what an existence of such magnitude could cause with a real strike… Even Bai Zemin who could smash Second Order armies and even annihilate an army of millions of enemies seemed to not be able to do very much against such an existence, what else could they do then?
“Didn’t Bai Zemin say it? If he loses then everyone here is dead.” Chen He gave Teng Hua a sidelong glance and replied with surprising calmness, “You all also saw that barrier surrounding the place. We can’t leave the perimeter of the stone square anyway.”
“That’s… That’s true.” Teng Hua nodded and sighed while shaking his head, “Forget it, if the worst comes to the worst then let it be so. Who sent us to be weak and unable to decide on our own destinies?”
“I don’t think that person did lose.”
A voice suddenly rang out, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Tianwu?” Feng Hong looked at his daughter with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Usually, Feng Tian Wu did not trust anyone but herself so it was hard to believe that this same Feng Tian Wu seemed to have so much confidence in another living being.
Feng Tian Wu ignored her father temporarily and said in a clear voice, “If Bai…. If Team Leader had really lose in this battle, then that Fourth Order existence would have already come to hunt us down. We all heard when that person said that he only had a few mintues left to live, and his purpose just like the golems from before, is to serve as a trial of these ruins.”
Hearing the words of Feng Tian Wu, the people still standing exchanged glances and everyone noticed that they were no longer as worried as before.
At the end of the day, even if they were all willing to fight and die together with Bai Zemin, the fear of death was not something that could be taken away simply by having the resolve to fight. It was the natural reaction of every cell in the body to react with fear of death, a reaction in which the body begged the brain to move away from the danger zone as soon as possible.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Feng Tian Wu and her eyes flashed curiously before she turned around and said in an indifferent voice, “You all can wait here if you want to.”
Huang Tian and the others exchanged glances and all saw the helplessness in each other’s eyes.
Shangguan Bing Xue was the only person present capable of erecting a defense powerful and firm enough to keep them safe from what was happening. If she deactivated the barrier and left, then there was no meaning for them to stay here since they would die anyway if anything happened; after all, none of them could really escape from the square until the trials were over.
Shangguan Bing Xue waited for no one and was the first to leave the now almost completely melted ice fortress. Behind her, the second to move was Xia Ya.
Xia Ya knew that even if Bai Zemin won, his already previously wounded body would definitely not be in good condition, and even though she was still not in her best condition either after using Healing of the Cursed three times on him, Xia Ya knew that everyone present needed a supreme powerhouse in order to avoid any danger there might be in this place. Therefore, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to move despite the mental pain still stinging every nerve in her body.
Soon, everyone began to move towards the center of the square with slow and careful steps while observing the surroundings with maximum caution. But the more they looked around, the stronger was the disbelief and fear in their hearts.
* * *
Bai Zemin had already finished paying his respects for Kang Guiying and had also made a vow under the heavens as a witness that someday, in the distant future, the core of the universe would be known by the name of Kang City.
Calling the most important reunion point of all in the history of creation under the surname of Kang Guiying and what was once the Kang Kingdom was the way Bai Zemin would show respect, appreciation, and gratitude to King Kang.
Even if Kang Guiying had died and Bai Zemin could do nothing about it, at least his name would be remembered for all eternity.
“I’m sure brother Kang will definitely be happy, from wherever he is watching.” Lilith said softly as she felt Bai Zemin’s emotions still somewhat unsteady.
Bai Zemin took a deep breath and nodded, “I know.”
Although he wanted nothing more than to lie down to sleep and rest both physically and mentally, there were things to do first.
Bai Zemin picked up the small glowing object and fiddled with it in his hand. Despite being only the size of a human fingernail, its beautiful deep blue color was especially striking under the glare of the stars and even though clearly most of its energy had worn off, that remaining 30 or 40% was big enough that even he couldn’t help but feel a little fear at the possibility of all that energy suddenly exploding.
“It will not happen.” Lilith chuckled not knowing whether to laugh or cry as she understood what Bai Zemin was thinking. “Even Unclassified Soul Stones are indestructible and only disappear once the energy inside is somehow consumed, even I can’t break one…. Let alone a Fourth Order Soul Stone.”
“Fourth Order Soul Stone…” Bai Zemin couldn’t help but gasp as the simple but meaningful registration of the small rock in his hands flashed across his retina.
Although he already felt it in his heart, seeing it with his own eyes and confirming it with his mind was another thing completely different!
This was a Fourth Order Soul Stone for crying out loud! There might even be Fourth Order existences who had never in their lives seen one let alone held one in their own hands, but here was Bai Zemin, a First Order existence who now owned one!
“Even though it’s very worn out, this energy should be equivalent to at least a few hundred or maybe even a thousand Third Order Soul Stones.” Bai Zemin muttered in astonishment.
“That Soul Stone in your hands must be the Soul Stone that brother Kang used to seal part of his soul just before he died.” Lilith pointed from the side. “Considering that the Soul Stone in your hands has so much energy remaining, we could say that even if no one came to these ruins for at least several million years, that remaining soul thread could have stood the test of time using the energy inside the Soul Stone.”
“I see…” Bai Zemin nodded.
The spatial ring glowed slightly and the Soul Stone was soon stored inside.
He turned to look toward the fourth pagoda and realized that it had now undergone a noticeable change.
The fourth pagoda had closed and released a faint green glow that in the middle of the night was especially striking. That green glow was absorbed by the magic circle in the square and although at this moment it should be 8/10ths lit up with green, it was actually completely glowing.
Looking at the central, fifth, and final pagoda, Bai Zemin finally understood what King Kang meant by the fourth pagoda being the final trial and only serving as a key to activate the magic circles of the fifth.
“So, that’s where the real treasure brother Kang left behind rests…”
Bai Zemin had to forcefully resist the urge to charge toward the fifth pagoda. He still remembered what Kang Guiying had told him before he left this world forever.
Kang Guiying knew how strong Bai Zemin was, therefore, for him to say that unless he completely recovered he should not enter the fifth ruin since the enemies there were really difficult for even him to deal with…. What kind of beings inhabited down there then?
Could it be another Fourth Order existence?
