The Ruins

At that moment, in Chen Tianxin's office atop the Number 98 building,

the Grandmasters of Jiangnan, along with Liu Feng and Yang Chen, were all gathered there.

Yang Chen had already changed into a fresh set of clothes. The ones Liu Zihan had torn apart earlier had been thrown away.

He still felt a little reluctant to part with them, but now he had money!

No need to worry!

Now that he was rich, he could afford to be extravagant—even if the clothes were freeloaded from Number 98!

As long as he wasn't the one paying for something, Yang Chen was perfectly happy to use it.

He didn't have to worry about wasting anything, either!

Liu Feng and the Grandmasters were seated on the sofa. Yang Chen had arrived later, so he found himself a seat as well.

Once everyone had arrived, Liu Feng cleared his throat and said, "I came to Jiangnan this time for more than just Yang Chen. There's something even more important!"

The other Grandmasters seemed to know what Liu Feng was about to say, and their expressions grew serious.

Only Yang Chen, the clueless one, had no idea what was going on. He looked utterly bewildered.

Yang Chen scratched his head and asked, "What is it?"

Even Liu Feng froze for a moment at Yang Chen's question. Then he smiled and said, "I forgot—you're not a Grandmaster yet, so there are some things you don't know. Let me explain."

Liu Feng slowly rose from the sofa, perfectly composed. "The Spiritual Energy Recovery is the return of the spiritual energy that existed on Earth in ancient times. Back then, cultivators appeared—though these days, we call them ability users. But there was a period when spiritual energy was scarce, and Earth entered an era of declining cultivation. No ability users appeared during that time."

Yang Chen nodded. He had heard about this before from White Tiger.

But what did it have to do with what came next?

Liu Feng continued, "The return of spiritual energy isn't the only thing happening."

"What else is there?"

"The ruins are returning, too!"

"Ruins?"

Yang Chen was even more confused.

He felt like he couldn't understand a single thing they were talking about today. He felt like an idiot.

Liu Feng didn't seem annoyed by all of Yang Chen's questions. He continued explaining, "The so-called ruins are places left behind by ancient cultivators. You should know that spiritual energy was incredibly abundant in ancient times, and cultivators back then reached astounding levels of power!"

"Even the Grandmasters of today would have ranked no higher than the lower-middle tier back then!"

"Damn!"

Yang Chen sucked in a sharp breath.

He knew exactly what it meant to be a Grandmaster. In the world today, Grandmasters stood at the very peak!

A single Grandmaster could give an entire nation a huge boost in confidence!

And yet, in ancient times, Grandmasters had only been in the lower-middle tier! Just how powerful had cultivators become at the height of ancient civilization?

Yang Chen could barely imagine it!

Elder Wang, Chen Tianxin, and the others were already aware of the situation, so they weren't surprised, much less discouraged.

So what if they would have ranked in the lower-middle tier in ancient times?

In today's world, they were still among the very best!

They only needed to compete with their own era. Ancient times? That was an era that had already been left behind.

This was their era!

"One of my main reasons for coming to Jiangnan this time is that a ruin is about to appear here," Liu Feng said with a smile.

He made it sound as though ruins were nothing out of the ordinary.

Only then did Yang Chen begin to show some interest.

These were relics from ancient times! Surely every ability user would be fascinated by them!

What Yang Chen failed to notice was that the Grandmasters, including Chen Tianxin, had all grown rather serious.

Ruins weren't easy to explore!

Yang Chen just didn't know that yet.

Liu Feng saw the excitement on Yang Chen's face and spoke gravely. "Ruins do contain many rare treasures that we don't have today, and they can even produce many powerful experts. But I have to warn you: there are dangers inside the ruins, too. Even Grandmasters could easily perish in there!"

Liu Feng's words struck Yang Chen like a blow to the head, snuffing out his excitement in an instant.

"So there's danger?"

Only then did Yang Chen notice the expressions on the Grandmasters' faces. His own expression gradually turned serious.

It seemed even the Grandmasters thought these ruins were dangerous!

This trip into the ruins wasn't going to be easy!

Yang Chen had been thinking he could go into the ruins and grab some treasures. Now it seemed that along with opportunity came endless danger!

"What, do you still think things just fall into your lap?" Liu Feng said with a smile, looking at Yang Chen.

For some reason, he really enjoyed seeing Yang Chen get flustered.

"Uh..." Yang Chen awkwardly scratched his head.

Had he really made his thoughts that obvious?

"And the most difficult part isn't the danger inside the ruins!"

Liu Feng continued without giving Yang Chen a chance to recover.

"Then what is?"

Yang Chen fell into thought.

If the danger inside the ruins wasn't the most difficult part, then what was?

Could it be...

A few words suddenly surfaced in Yang Chen's mind.

Northern Europe. North America!

Could the appearance of the ruins have drawn Northern Europe and North America here to grab a share of the spoils?

"Master, could it be—"

Yang Chen raised his head and looked intently at Liu Feng, as if seeking confirmation.

Liu Feng nodded slightly. "You guessed right. When the ruins open, Northern Europe and North America will come to Jiangnan to claim a share, too! By then, you'll have to watch out not only for dangers inside the ruins, but also for attacks from those two powers!"

Yang Chen's expression turned grave.

If that was the case, then the ruins really would be difficult to explore!

The dangers inside alone were enough to kill a Grandmaster. And now they would also have to guard against attacks from those two powers. This trip into the ruins was going to be a real headache!

"Then, Master, where are the ruins?"

Yang Chen stopped dwelling on the earlier matters and asked Liu Feng.

Liu Feng looked at Yang Chen, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile.

"You should know the place very well!"

"Could it be..."

Yang Chen's soul trembled as a long-forgotten name surfaced in his mind.

"That's right. It's Hancheng!"

To be continued!