Arrival at the Ruins

The Starry Sky Temple's teleportation array erupted with blinding blue light, and over a hundred human geniuses vanished from the plaza at once.

When he opened his eyes again,

Jiang Chuan found himself standing on a vast gray wasteland.

There were no sun, moon, or stars in the sky. Only a pale purple curtain of light shrouded the entire space, casting everything in an eerie hue.

This was the first floor of the Starry Sky Temple.

"Move!"

"Keep up! Don't fall behind!"

The surrounding crowd quickly stirred into motion, and the teams formed earlier in the plaza began moving one after another.

The descendants of great families each held a set of notes left behind by their predecessors.

Their objectives were clear.

Without hesitation, they sped off in their chosen directions.

The team led by Chu Minghui headed east, the blue-robed youth's team went west, while Li Chenfeng's team went straight north.

Jiang Chuan remained where he was, holding a set of notes as well.

Qin Tianheng had personally handed them to him before departure.

The cover was so worn it was nearly unrecognizable, and every page inside was crammed with annotations—experience paid for in blood by generations of predecessors.

"There are over a dozen mapped ruins on the first floor, and the highest-level inheritances inside are only S-rank." Jiang Chuan rapidly flipped through the notes. "Nothing we need."

Ling Aoshuang stood at his side, her cold eyes sweeping over the surroundings. "Going straight to the second floor?"

"Yes."

Jiang Chuan closed the notes and looked north. "But to reach the second floor, we first need to retrieve the key that opens the door from one of the ruins."

After saying that, he glanced in the direction Li Chenfeng and the others had gone.

He could not help shaking his head.

"It can't be that much of a coincidence. We can't be heading for the same ruin, can we?"

The two headed north side by side.

Their pace was neither too fast nor too slow.

Before they had gone far, a team appeared ahead on the wasteland. It was none other than Li Chenfeng's group.

Walking at the rear of the team, Wang Tong was the first to notice Jiang Chuan and Ling Aoshuang following them.

An expression of disgust immediately appeared on his face.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey! What's with you two? Didn't you say you weren't interested in us? Why are you following us again?"

At his shout, everyone in the team turned around.

Li Chenfeng stopped, his gaze lingering on Jiang Chuan for a moment.

Then it naturally shifted to Ling Aoshuang, and a trace of undisguised amazement flashed deep in his eyes.

The plaza had been crowded and noisy earlier.

He had only glanced at her from afar, yet he had already felt that both her figure and bearing were exceptional.

Now that he was closer, her cool, devastatingly beautiful face seemed sculpted from cold jade, while those crystalline blue eyes possessed a chilling allure that could seize one's soul.

He straightened his collar and assumed a refined, gentlemanly manner. He first gave Ling Aoshuang a slight nod before looking at Jiang Chuan.

His tone was calm, yet carried the condescension of an interrogation. "This fellow student, Wang Tong's words may have been somewhat unpleasant just now, but his question was not wrong. Since you rejected my invitation, why are you following us now?"

Jiang Chuan told the truth in an even tone. "We're going to the second floor. We need a key, and it's in the ruin you're heading to."

Before he could finish,

A burst of laughter erupted from the team.

"The second floor? Did he just say he was going to the second floor?" A youth carrying a greatsword laughed so hard he doubled over. "Did I hear that right? Even Young Master Li doesn't dare descend to the second floor lightly. Who does he think he is?"

Wang Tong laughed until tears nearly came out. "Keep pretending! You acted so high and mighty in the plaza, saying you weren't interested. So in the end, you just want to mooch off our team!"

He turned to Li Chenfeng with a fawning expression. "Young Master Li, don't believe his nonsense. Going to the second floor to get a key? That's clearly bullshit! This brat just wants an excuse to follow us so he can get a share of the spoils later!"

Li Chenfeng ignored Wang Tong and turned his gaze toward Ling Aoshuang, his voice so gentle it was almost considerate. "Miss, forgive me for speaking frankly, but the second floor is indeed extraordinarily dangerous. Even I must consider it carefully. Either your companion is boasting, or he simply has no idea how terrifying the second floor is."

He stepped forward half a pace and elegantly extended his hand. "How about this? Join my team, and I guarantee that you will obtain a complete S-rank inheritance. As for this friend who is full of empty boasts, I think we should let him go get his 'key' himself."

Wang Tong immediately joined in, jeering, "That's right, that's right! Young Master Li values talent. Miss, following him will be ten thousand times better than following this braggart!"

Everyone's gaze fell on Ling Aoshuang, waiting to see what she would choose.

Ling Aoshuang did not even raise her eyelids. Her thin lips parted, and she uttered only two icy words. "No need."

Li Chenfeng's smile instantly froze on his face.

Wang Tong's face flushed red, as though he had been slapped in public. He shrieked, "You don't know what's good for you! Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! I think you two are just—"

"Enough."

Li Chenfeng raised a hand to cut him off. His expression had already returned to calm, but a trace of gloom flashed deep in his eyes.

He gave Jiang Chuan a long look and said lightly, "Since you two insist on following us, then follow. But let me make this clear first: whatever is inside the ruin will be claimed by ability. Don't expect us to share anything with you."

He turned around, but a cold smile curled across his lips.

The ruins were filled with traps. Letting these two ignorant fools walk ahead would save him the trouble of sending people to scout the way.

As for that icy beauty, once she experienced the dangers within the ruin, she would naturally know whom she should bow her head to.

Jiang Chuan seemed completely unaware of his intentions and simply followed at an unhurried pace behind the team.

About half an hour later,

A cluster of ruined buildings finally emerged on the horizon ahead.

It was a ruin that had existed for untold ages.

Gray-white stone pillars leaned in every direction beneath the pale purple curtain of light. The broken walls were covered in black patterns of unknown material, like dried-up blood vessels.

The entire ruin was shrouded in a faint gray mist. From time to time, eerie winds blew from deep within the rubble, carrying a whimpering sound that made one's teeth ache.

Li Chenfeng stopped at the outskirts of the ruin and took out a parchment map from his robes.

After pretending to study it for a few moments, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

He turned around and looked at Jiang Chuan. His tone remained gentle, yet held an indescribable undertone. "Student Jiang, you said earlier that you were going to the second floor. If I remember correctly, the key leading to the second floor is hidden in the deepest part of this ruin."

Jiang Chuan nodded without responding.

Li Chenfeng smiled slightly and continued, "Since our goals are the same, why don't we split up? This ruin has a front and rear entrance. After reviewing the notes left by my family's predecessors, I found that this is the most efficient way to explore it, and it will also prevent our two teams from interfering with each other inside."

He raised a hand and pointed at the half-collapsed archway directly in front of the ruin, his tone growing increasingly frank. "The front entrance is relatively intact, so my team will explore it. As for the rear entrance..."

He turned toward another direction, where a low, narrow crack could vaguely be seen, like a pitch-black maw embedded among the broken walls. The black patterns around it were far denser than those near the front entrance.

"I'll leave that to you two."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people in the team who understood such matters quickly exchanged glances.

Jiang Chuan gave Li Chenfeng a deep look.

Then he nodded. "Fine."

With that, he took Ling Aoshuang by the hand and turned away without the slightest hesitation. They soon disappeared into the pile of rubble at the side of the ruin.

Once the two had completely vanished from sight, Wang Tong immediately burst out laughing.

"Young Master Li, that was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

He raised a thumb with a fawning grin. "That brat probably has no idea that the area around the rear entrance is the most dangerous part of this ruin. It's practically a death trap!"

The refined smile finally faded from Li Chenfeng's face, replaced by an undisguised chill. "Since he dared to say in front of me that he was going to the second floor, he must have some ability. In that case, isn't it only reasonable for him to shoulder some of the risk for us?"

A chorus of agreeing laughter rose from the team.

He said with a faint smile, "It won't be long before he encounters that thing at the rear entrance and comes crawling back to beg me for help. When that happens..."

He did not finish the sentence, but his gaze subtly flicked toward the direction Jiang Chuan and Ling Aoshuang had left.

A trace of barely perceptible greed flashed in his eyes.

By then,

That brat would no longer have the right to bargain.

And the icy beauty beside him would have to obediently bow her head to him as well.

Su Yao remained in the group, watching the entire scene clearly.

She opened her mouth.

Wanting to say something.

But she forcibly swallowed the words back down.

What was she supposed to say? That Jiang Chuan had an SSS-rank talent, and that even Shen Zhiyi, an eighth-rank expert from Stellar Crown Academy, had to escort him the entire way?

That the seemingly ordinary youth could crush everyone present with a casual gesture?

Without any proof, who would believe her?

If she told the truth, Li Chenfeng would likely think she was belittling him and looking down on him instead. If she displeased him, the little connection she had worked so hard to establish in the imperial capital would be completely ruined.

Forget it.

Su Yao lowered her head and buried her face in the shadow of her hood.

From beginning to end, she had pretended not to know Jiang Chuan. There was no need for her to speak up now.

With Jiang Chuan's strength, let alone a rear entrance, even turning the entire ruin upside down would not harm him in the slightest.

The one who should truly be worried was probably Li Chenfeng himself.

Unfortunately,

He still thought he was clever.