Bertha Vermi immediately took out her longbow, intending to attack Lu Yuan.
Just then, the black-furred kobold beside her pressed down Bertha Vermi's hand.
"Third Miss, wait!"
Bertha Vermi turned to the black-furred kobold, her face filled with rage.
"Jing Ba! What are you doing?! How dare you stop me?!"
Jing Ba's brows twitched.
"Third Miss, it isn't that I want to stop you. Something isn't right."
Bertha Vermi frowned and looked at Jing Ba.
"What isn't right? If you can't give me a reason, I'll tell my father!"
Jing Ba took a deep breath, unable to keep a flicker of anger from appearing in his eyes.
But she was his Third Miss, so he could only suppress his anger helplessly.
"Third Miss, look at the human young man beside that person, the one chatting and laughing with him."
Bertha turned to look at Liu Xi beside Lu Yuan.
She frowned. "What's the problem?"
Jing Ba smiled bitterly. "Of course there's a problem. That human is Liu Xi, the person in charge of Tianfu Conglomerate in Sandstone City. He's very powerful, about as strong as I am. Moreover, Tianfu Conglomerate is even stronger than our Vimi Conglomerate."
"What?! Stronger than our conglomerate?"
Bertha couldn't help frowning.
Although she hated Lu Yuan, she wasn't stupid. Lu Yuan was chatting and laughing with the Tianfu Conglomerate's representative, and they appeared close. If she attacked Lu Yuan now, it would clearly provoke Tianfu Conglomerate's retaliation.
Anger filled Bertha's eyes as she looked at Lu Yuan in the distance, unable to stop herself from clenching her fists.
Jing Ba spoke from beside her.
"Third Miss, we can't act now. If we provoke Tianfu Conglomerate's retaliation, it will have a considerable impact on Vimi Conglomerate's development. When the boss holds us accountable, even you may be reprimanded, Third Miss."
"Hmph! I know that without you telling me!"
Bertha said coldly.
She looked at Lu Yuan once more, put away her longbow, and said,
"Then we'll let him go for now. But... why is this human here?! Shouldn't he be in Graystone Forest? How did he appear in the inner area of Sandstone Dungeon in such a short time?"
Jing Ba looked at Lu Yuan, equally puzzled.
He frowned slightly. "Third Miss, we've been searching the Graystone Forest region this whole time. It seems normal now that we couldn't find him."
Bertha nodded. "Send someone to investigate when this human came to Sandstone Dungeon! No wonder he kept escaping our searches!"
"Understood, Third Miss. Let's head over first."
The group walked toward the kobolds' area.
As soon as they reached the kobolds' area, a kobold with brown and black fur walked over and said with a smile,
"Jing Ba, you came after all. Greetings, Miss Bertha."
Bertha nodded with a cold expression.
The kobold froze briefly, then smiled. "What's wrong, Miss Bertha? Did someone make you angry? Do you need help? Moon Bone Conglomerate and Vimi Conglomerate are the best of partners. If you need anything, just say the word."
Jing Ba smiled bitterly and said,
"A human offended Third Miss. That human seems to have an unusual relationship with Tianfu Conglomerate, so we can't deal with him."
"A human? Tianfu Conglomerate?"
The kobold froze and looked toward Tianfu Conglomerate, where he saw Liu Xi talking to Lu Yuan.
His expression turned a little strange as he said,
"The person Miss Bertha is talking about... wouldn't happen to be the human speaking with Liu Xi?"
Bertha and Jing Ba were both taken aback by his words.
Jing Ba asked, "Mao Si, you know him?"
"I know of him. 'Black Knight' Lu Yuan has gained quite a bit of fame in this region recently. I didn't expect him to offend Miss Bertha. He really doesn't know his place!"
"'Black Knight' Lu Yuan?"
Jing Ba frowned. "He's already made a name for himself? How is that possible?"
"Why wouldn't it be? That human can kill Black-Striped Snakes now, so he's fairly capable. Of course, his strength isn't the key. The most important thing is that he kills several hundred ferocious beasts every day. That's how people came to know him."
"Several hundred ferocious beasts every day?! In Sandstone Dungeon?! That's impossible!"
Bertha immediately objected, "He was still in Graystone Forest just a few days ago! How could he be killing several hundred ferocious beasts every day in Sandstone Dungeon after such a short time?!"
"He was in Graystone Forest just a few days ago?"
Mao Si narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Lu Yuan.
"People had been guessing that Lu Yuan improved very quickly and might have only recently awakened. After hearing Miss Bertha's words, it can practically be confirmed. This human is probably an exceptionally talented genius."
"An exceptionally talented genius?!"
Hearing this, Bertha glared at Lu Yuan through gritted teeth, her face icy.
Hearing that her enemy had better talent than she did made her especially displeased.
Seeing Bertha's expression, Mao Si's eyes flickered as he smiled.
"Miss Bertha, Lu Yuan is close to Liu Xi right now, so it's inconvenient to act. But once the relic ends, he'll leave. It won't be too late to make a move then."
Jing Ba frowned slightly. "What about Tianfu Conglomerate?"
"Don't worry. I saw that he didn't come with Tianfu Conglomerate's people, but with several ordinary human Gene Warriors. They probably won't leave together then."
Bertha's eyes lit up at those words, and she smiled.
"Good! It's settled, then! He dared attack me—I have to kill him!"
Lu Yuan and Liu Xi hadn't chatted for long when streaks of white light suddenly appeared along the patterns on the Bronze Gate.
Everyone was alerted by the change in the Bronze Gate.
They looked toward the gate.
The smile vanished from Liu Xi's face, replaced by a grave expression.
"The relic is about to open."
A heavy sword appeared in Lu Yuan's hand. Green tightened his grip on his greatshield, while Zhuo Ming swallowed, his face tense as he gripped his longsword.
Everyone was on high alert.
For a moment, the previously noisy voices vanished, and the atmosphere became deathly quiet.
The white light on the Bronze Gate flowed along its patterns, as if an invisible hand were drawing a complex design upon it.
Before long, it covered the patterns across the entire gate.
With a click.
The Bronze Gate opened inward on its own.
Beyond the gate lay a stretch of gray rocky ground.
The land extended into the distance without end, and a gray-white stone tower stood upon it.
It was the only structure on that flat expanse of rocky land.
Seeing the stone tower through the gate, many people widened their eyes and held their breath.
Liu Xi revealed a delighted smile and said,
"I didn't expect it to be a trial-type relic!"
"A Trial Relic?"
Lu Yuan didn't know much about relics.
"There are several types of relics: exploration-type relics, trial-type relics, slaughter-type relics, and so on. Among all relics, trial-type relics are the safest! In other types, you might encounter opponents far beyond your ability. But in Trial Relics, the opponents you encounter are determined by your strength. Look at that stone tower inside the gate. That should be a trial tower. A trial tower is the hallmark of a trial-type relic. We're quite lucky."
Liu Xi's face was full of joy.
After hearing Liu Xi's explanation, Lu Yuan was delighted as well.
That meant the chances of obtaining treasures had increased considerably.
It wasn't just Lu Yuan and the others; nearly everyone revealed delighted expressions.
"We hit the jackpot this time!"
"Go in! Start the trial!"
One Gene Warrior after another charged through the gate.
Liu Xi said, "Brother Lu Yuan! Come on, let's go in too."
Lu Yuan nodded and entered the relic gate with the others.
He looked around.
Other than the stone tower, there were no other structures. The gray land stretched into the distance, and there was no telling how vast this space was.
Yet from the relic gate outside, it was impossible to tell that such a huge space existed within.
That was the wonder of relics.
Everyone arrived beneath the stone tower. Its door stood open, white light flickering within and obscuring the interior.
Everyone looked at the stone door flashing with white light, somewhat hesitant.
At that moment, a kobold carrying a massive axe sneered and said,
"If no one dares go in, I'll be the first!"
He took down his massive axe and stepped through the stone door.
Watching the kobold enter, Liu Xi said,
"That is 'Iron Axe' Kaman. He's very strong. I heard that in reality, he's an introductory instructor for the kobold military, a hardliner who has always been hostile toward us humans. Brother Lu Yuan, you're a genius. This kobold will probably target you."
Lu Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing that.
He had sensed hostility from that kobold before.
So that was why?
"If he targets me, he targets me. I'm not that easy to deal with either."
Lu Yuan smiled.
"Hahaha, if you join Tianfu Conglomerate, we'll all help you."
Even now, Liu Xi hadn't forgotten to recruit Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan smiled and declined.
After Kaman entered without any mishap, the others also stepped through the stone door one after another.
"Brother Lu Yuan, I'm going in too!"
Liu Xi smiled and spoke to Lu Yuan before entering the stone door.
"Brother Yuan, let's go in too!"
Zhuo Ming wore an eager expression, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Lu Yuan smiled. "All right. Do your best."
He also stepped into the trial stone tower.
Before you continue