Gold-Patterned Black Cloak

Under Ye Chen's surprised gaze, a ring of light suddenly shimmered in the center of the pitch-black cloak engraved with golden patterns.

The next moment, a slender beam of light diffracted from the ring, shining directly onto Ye Chen's chest.

The moment he made contact with this radiance, Ye Chen immediately sensed the Auling Power throughout his entire body beginning to surge actively.

It was as if the cloak were attempting to establish a connection with his spirit, and the Auling Power within Ye Chen was responding to this request with eager anticipation.

Shocked, the young man did not obstruct the changes within him. Instead, following his intuition, he allowed his body's energy to build a bridge with the strange cloak, letting his internal Auling Power meet and merge smoothly with the beam of light emitted by the garment.

A few minutes later, the beam of light gradually dissipated.

The Auling Power radiating from Ye Chen seemed to have gained the cloak's approval, causing it to fly over his head of its own accord, settling steadily onto his shoulders and back, actively draping itself over his body.

As soon as he donned the strange cloak, a sense of softness and warmth washed over Ye Chen's heart.

Then, an unfamiliar name was transmitted into his mind by the Auling Power.

Gold-Patterned Black Cloak.

"Is this... its name?"

Ye Chen mused to himself. Full of curiosity and excitement, he grabbed a corner of the cloak and rubbed it between his fingertips, fully experiencing the light, breathable, and strange texture of the fabric.

After fiddling with it for a good while, the young man walked out of his room to report his progress to Lyle in the Prayer Hall.

"Hmm, since you have already put on this cloak, it means you have mastered both 'Space Storage' and 'Relic Contract', the two universal Spirit Arts."

Lyle glanced at the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak on Ye Chen, then nodded in satisfaction.

Ye Chen scratched his head, trying to organize his thoughts.

The "Space Storage" his teacher mentioned was likely a spatial transformation technique that used Auling Power and corresponding runes, utilizing small items like handkerchiefs as a medium to compress and store large objects inside them.

As for the "Relic Contract", it was presumably the process he had just gone through to establish a connection with the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak.

"Remember the pattern of the runes on the handkerchief, and remember the force you used the moment you successfully retrieved the cloak from it. Once you master these two factors, you won't need to carry bags of equipment during your future hunts. The 'Space Storage' technique is extremely convenient and vital for a hunter's career."

Lyle calmly finished his guidance on the first universal Spirit Art, then began to speak about the origin of the cloak on Ye Chen's shoulders.

It turned out that the Auling Labyrinth was full of wonders, and among them existed a category of items that Nightmare Sensors like Ye Chen and Lyle could use, known as "Labyrinth Relics".

These items were scattered throughout the Auling Labyrinth in countless numbers, encompassing various categories such as weapons, armor, and accessories. However, they were not ordinary equipment; they were ancient artifacts imbued with the laws of the Auling Labyrinth, possessing various strange effects and powerful abilities.

If a Nightmare Sensor encountered these relics in the labyrinth and wished to use them, they had to establish a mental connection and sign a contract with them first.

Relics were divided into six tiers based on the difficulty of their contracts, and the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak Ye Chen was now wearing was a Tier 1 defensive relic that Lyle had used in the past.

However, Lyle had terminated the contract and severed his connection with it long ago, and now he had passed it on to Ye Chen.

Precisely because the contract threshold for this cloak was low, a sensor like Ye Chen, who had only experienced one nightmare, was qualified to successfully establish a connection with it and become its new master.

So this cloak used to be the teacher's equipment.

As Ye Chen examined the corner of the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak, he sighed inwardly, then asked Lyle: "Teacher, what would happen if a sensor who wasn't qualified tried to forcibly sign a contract with a high-tier relic?"

"Then their sanity would be destroyed, their will would fall into madness, and they would eventually be enslaved by the labyrinth, becoming deranged lunatics—much like those failures whose wills were crushed by the 'nightmare', becoming another form of 'The Fallen'."

Lyle rested his cheek on his hand, his deep eyes flashing with memories of his past career.

"Such overconfident people are countless in the labyrinth. Many of my past companions met this end because they coveted power. And most of them... were executed by my own hands."

Lyle was expressionless as he said this.

Ye Chen, standing to the side, couldn't help but gulp.

So "Labyrinth Relics" were such terrifying existences. It seemed that if he discovered other relics in the labyrinth in the future, he must never accept them as rashly as he had just now, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

"By the way, Teacher, what is the special function of this 'Gold-Patterned Black Cloak'?"

Ye Chen flicked the cloak on his body and couldn't help but ask.

However, he never expected that after hearing his question, Lyle would immediately demand that Ye Chen hand over the revolver at his waist.

A bad premonition flooded Ye Chen's heart, but he still complied.

Lyle took the silver revolver, glanced at the loaded cylinder, and then pointed the muzzle at the nervous Ye Chen, pulling the trigger toward his side, which was covered by the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak.

Bang!

The piercing gunshot echoed throughout the Prayer Hall, but to Ye Chen's surprise, after taking a bullet at close range, he only stumbled back two steps and showed no signs of falling over.

He looked down at the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak on his body and found that not only had the bullet failed to penetrate it, but the projectile itself had bounced off onto the floor.

Although the spot where the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak was hit had a shallow indentation from the bullet, it was slowly recovering under the shifting of the surrounding fabric, as if it possessed a powerful self-healing ability.

Just as Ye Chen was feeling amazed and excited, Lyle had appeared behind him before he knew it, pulled the long blade from Ye Chen's waist with one hand, and thrust it toward his back.

Clack.

With a dull thud, the tip of Lyle's blade, condensed with powerful Auling energy, immediately knocked the unprepared young man to the ground.

A slight stinging sensation arose on Ye Chen's back. He stood up, feeling aggrieved, and touched his back, finding that even a thrust condensed with Auling Power had failed to pierce the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak, leaving only a dent on its surface that was already recovering on its own.

"This cloak can significantly cushion any damage you receive. Whether the opponent uses Auling Power or Abyssal Power, it will be effective. It is considered a rare treasure among Tier 1 relics."

Lyle commented, then suddenly flicked his blade, leaving a bloodstain on Ye Chen's arm before he could react.

"Next, you will learn how to use Auling Power to quickly stop bleeding. This is the content of the third universal Spirit Art, 'Self-Healing'. For a sensor like you who needs to fight while bleeding frequently, this universal Spirit Art is the most indispensable self-healing technique."

"I will give you three days to practice and integrate these new skills. Three days later, the final trial will begin immediately."

After Lyle finished speaking, he rotated the hilt, fluidly and elegantly sheathing the straight blade back into the scabbard at Ye Chen's waist, then sat back on the bench in front of the broken statue, closing his eyes to rest as usual.

The young man nodded, walked back to his room, and stared down at the bleeding wound on his arm. Then, with full concentration, he manipulated the flow of his Auling Power, carefully controlling it to knit the edges of his skin back together step by step.