Han Wu and Qin Shuang followed the magic map to the edge of a cliff. According to its markings, ruins lay hidden somewhere nearby. They spent half an hour combing the rocky terrain before discovering a narrow cave whose entrance was slick with black oil.
They had no idea what dangers awaited them, so Han Wu proposed scouting the area first with his units. Qin Shuang agreed. Han Wu stepped inside and was instantly transported to a vast arena perched atop a mountain.
Han Wu frowned when he noticed all his units had vanished. A sense of unease crept in. The place felt strange, and he suspected the black oil had polluted it.
As he tried to anticipate what would come next, a whisper slipped into his ear. “Welcome to my ruins, my dear guest from the Divine Civilization.”
His heart skipped a beat. The Will of the Ruins shouldn’t have known where he was from. He scanned his surroundings cautiously. “Who are you?”
“Do not worry. I come bearing a proposal,” the voice replied, echoing from every direction. “The era of the Warring Kingdom Civilization has ended. This old, corrupted world should have faded away, yet the life it nurtured remains stubborn and resilient. It is a waste of time. None of them understand the true strength of my master. Only my master can grant them eternal power.”
Han Wu’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. The voice sounded like a zealot preaching the gospel of some dark cult. As an upright youth, Han Wu refused to trust such words.
“Dear sir from the Divine Civilization, you wield the powers of the Nine Martial Castes alongside your own,” the voice continued smoothly. “Everything would be simple if you aided me in completing the invasion. Do not worry. Should you succeed, a great reward will be yours.”
Han Wu scoffed. “What kind of reward could you possibly offer?”
The voice paused for only three seconds to consider before replying, “I could give you the entire Warring Kingdom Continent. You would become the sole emperor of the land, earning the admiration of all its life forms. With their faith, you could quickly grow and become a God in no time.”
Han Wu chuckled. The other party clearly knew how to manipulate, but he wasn’t buying it. No one would hand over the Warring Kingdom Continent to a mere Demigod. That territory covered nearly a quarter of the civilization’s landmass—enough to start a war among Major Gods.
He was only a Demigod. When would he ever have the chance to claim such wealth and power?
The other party detected his doubt. “What’s wrong? Don’t you believe me?”
Han Wu didn’t bother to lie. “Oops, you caught me. Fine, I’ll just say it outright. Could you at least try to fool someone properly? I might’ve bought it if you’d offered me an island or something. But an entire continent? Do I look like an idiot? I’ve been in this civilization long enough to know how things work. You really think I’d fall for something that ridiculous?”
The other party pressed on, “I’m telling the truth. If you cooperate, I’ll hand the continent over. We can sign a contract.”
“Contract, my ass! The Warring Kingdom Civilization isn’t yours to give away. Since when do you have the authority to use it as you please? Besides, the Divine Civilization maintains good relations with the Warring Kingdom. They would never forgive me if I teamed up with you against our allies.” Han Wu’s mind was crystal clear as he refuted every claim from the bodiless speaker.
The other party grew distressed and embarrassed that a mere Demigod would scold them. “I thought you were smart, but it seems you are corrupted to the core as well. Since you refuse to work with me, I will kill you. I will torture you to death!”
Something tore through the air, and a massive figure slick with black oil plummeted from the sky and crashed onto the arena floor. Han Wu studied the giant closely as he readied himself for battle. The giant stood nearly three meters tall. Though its body dripped with black oil, Han Wu could still make out thick hair covering its frame and a large beard across its face. The black oil’s spread made it clear that it had tainted the life form.
The giant snarled, reached behind its back, and drew two large black axes. With a roar, it charged at Han Wu, swinging the weapons in wide arcs.
Han Wu dodged each slash with nimble precision, but inwardly, he was taken aback. The giant possessed formidable strength and had reached the threshold of a High Lord. Even his Giga Osteomancer would have shattered into fragments within two hours against such a foe.
Nevertheless, Han Wu was at the threshold of a King life form, so the black giant was comparatively weak before him. He tapped into the Nine Martial Castes’ powers, transformed into a Fulgur Half-Dragon, and raised his lance to parry the giant’s blows.
Lightning crackled along the lance with every strike, sending jolts of electricity coursing through the black oil that covered the giant. Each clash elicited a pained howl as the giant struggled to shake off the numbness creeping through its arms.
Han Wu unleashed a relentless storm of lightning, blurring the giant’s vision. Finally, he drove his lance deep into the giant’s chest. The lightning surged violently, detonating inside the giant and bursting its chest open.
As the black giant collapsed, the black oil covering its body receded slowly and sank into the earth beneath. With the oil gone, Han Wu could now clearly see the giant’s true form—a copper-skinned, hairy man with a thick beard.
A stream of information appeared as he inspected the corpse.
[Soul General: Li Kui, Lord life form. Skills: Whirlwind Axe, Superstrength, Dense Skin, Four Evil Tigers. Liang Shanpo’s 22nd Spirit General. Liang Shanpo’s 22nd Spirit General. His courage was unmatched, and no one could stand in his path.]
Han Wu froze as he studied the data because this was a ruin for Spirit Generals! That explained why it was different from the usual ruins. Still, he had no idea who Liang Shanpo was or why Li Kui ranked 22nd.
If the 22nd Spirit General already wielded such overwhelming power, Han Wu shuddered at the thought of how formidable the first one would look after being corrupted by the black oil. The thought made him uneasy, but it also stirred a spark of anticipation.
The ruins quickly reclaimed Li Kui’s body, and a new notification flashed before Han Wu’s eyes.
[First level cleared. Please choose one of the rewards below.]
[Reward 1: A pair of metal axes. The weapons of Spirit General Li Kui. Razor-sharp and deadly.]
[Reward 2: Four Evil Tigers. A skill of Spirit General Li Kui. It summons four malevolent tiger spirits to attack enemies. It can also fuse with the user to boost their physical power.]
[Reward 3: Accumulate and snowball rewards.]
Han Wu dismissed the first two options because they held no value for him. Instead, he selected the third, intrigued to see how his rewards would snowball over time.