Chapter 3: The City of Ancients

After Nathan and the others entered the smaller tunnel, they followed it and traveled deeper underground. The walls were lit with torches with mysterious blue flames. Strangely, they emitted no heat and did not burn Nathan's hand as he ran his hand through the flames. When they exited the tunnel, they arrived at the top of a cliff overlooking a city made of white marble stone. It looked like an ancient city from a fantasy novel.

The buildings were separated by streets and roads with four rivers connecting to a giant fountain with a large tower built above it. Atop the tower was a giant crystal shaped into a formation array. At the back of the city was a giant waterfall which stretched to a mile. The  fourth river was the biggest, connecting the bottom of the waterfall to the fountain. At the ends of those rivers was a giant abyss. It was as if the floor of the area was destroyed, the city appearing as if floating in midair from the front.

"What kind of city is this?" Nathan asked.

"This is the City of Ancients. If you are in the rivers, and only the rivers; you are mysteriously teleported to the top of that giant waterfall at the bottom of wherever the rivers go to over the ledge. Soldiers are in the houses with red formation arrays glowing on the roof. All you need to do is go to the rooftop of those houses to enter the safe zone. Naturally, doing so means to fail the trial. Here are your jade talismans. When time is up, they shatter and you appear back at the platform where the first trial took place. Good luck," the soldier said as he saw them appear.

"How do we get there?" Toshio asked.

"You jump. From this distance, there is no way you don't land where the river falls into the ledge. Of course, that is assuming you jump far enough," the soldier smiled.

"Do you have any advice on where to start looking for magical beasts and treasures?" Nathan asked.

"You're asking for my advice?" the man gasped, surprised and saw the four seriously stare at him. "Wow. Most people are just greedy and jump right away. Well, that large tower is the most obvious, right? Don't go there. There are three devils at the seventh layer there. it is a trap to weed out the greedy. So long as you don't get to the center of the fountain and ascend the stairs inside the tower, they cannot come out to kill you. When you appear at the top of the waterfall, do not fight it and let it carry you deep down. There is an underwater tunnel beneath the city. That's a good place to start but is also very dangerous as well."

"Whoa. You know so much?" Toshio and Wei gasped in unison.

"Of course, the soldiers are the ones who planted the magical treasures that were donated, the magical beasts, and the three devils. We are allowed to tell you if you ask. No one ever asks. Sometimes, respect and manners pays off. Remember that," the soldier said and left them alone.

"I suggest we run and jump as far as we can," Nathan said as Toshio was about to jump over the cliff.

"I, I don't want to jump. I'm afraid of heights," Wei laughed nervously.

"You want me to carry you?" Qing asked.

"She's shy?" Nathan asked incredulously.

"To strangers. Okay, I suggest we all hold tie a rope around each other. That way we land on the water together and teleport with the person who touches it first," Toshio said, the couple looking at him.

"With us so close together, the collective weight also makes us dive deeper," Nathan agreed.

"I got the rope," Wei said and they all tied small ropes around their waists with a larger rope connecting them together as they tied the smaller ropes tied even tighter around it. Wei counted and they all jumped, screaming as they hit the falling river and crashed before the top of the waterfall as a group.

"Prepare for the fall and hold your breaths!" Nathan roared as they gasped as their heads burst out the water's surface.

"Use your spirit energy to protect your bodies from the impact!" Toshio added as they fell down the waterfall, the force of the water accelerating their dive. They all tightly shut their eyes and focused the spirit energy to spread throughout their bodies. They were within the waters as it crashed onto the river's surface and were pushed to the bottom of the riverbed. They opened their eyes and quickly swam to a tunnel they saw that was beneath the surface of the city by the river's edge.

"Land!" Qing cried as she was the first to breath in the underground tunnel as they followed the underwater tunnel to the surface.

"It does not seem connected to the sewers, yet the city should have sewers at this depth," Wei noted.

"Perhaps this City of the Ancients did not have sewers, using chamber pots instead," Toshio pondered aloud. "The soldier also said this place was dangerous."

"There's also the same torches from the tunnels we traveled in before," Nathan added as he pointed ahead. "The floor is actually made of the same white marble as the city. This tunnel was built for a reason, not made by the soldiers."

"That only means treasure. I'll take the lead and scout ahead. You're the melee fighters, so protect my girl" Wei said as he took out a bow, a bag of arrows appearing at his hip.

"Alright," Nathan agreed as it allowed his to store his spirit energy in the Gold Sword Fiend Bracelet. Not only could it store an infinite amount, he could also replenish his spirit energy as well. That was what made bone steel the best material for talismans. No matter how much spirit energy was imbued, the bone steel was still indestructible.

"Bone steel talisman? Those are good," Toshio approved. "I have some too, but they are more like utilities to augment my speed, strength, and reflexes."

"His bone steel talisman is for assault. Judging by the gold runes, whoever made it was a very powerful smith cultivator," Qing said.

"I can use it to create gold swords. How did you know its uses?" Nathan asked as they walked down the tunnel.

"Wei plans to be a bone steel smith. As a result, he has to learn rune inscriptions. Mages learn formation arrays and most knowledge on arrays are from runes excavated from ruins," Qing said, no longer feeling shy of him.

"Speaking of smiths, you should collect Heaven Series metal to further improve your sword," Toshio advised. "There is a magic book which holds the records of the top one hundred weapons of the Heaven Series. It does not depict the strength of the wielder, but the weapons' powers speak for themselves. My katana, Frost Fang, is ranked 86. I'm definitely the weakest cultivator, but my sword is one of the top one hundred. I think I have a copy of that magic book somewhere in my storage ring. I have three cuz I might lose one. Haha."

"I see. Thanks," Nathan said and indeed saw a hundred weapons in ranks ranging from one to one hundred, one being the top. The book contained over one hundred pages and included a current image of the weapon. He looked up Toshio's weapon and indeed saw the exact image of the hilt and guard of the katana. He did not know what the blade looked like as he never saw Toshio wield his katana.

"What is this book?" Nathan said after a moment.

"Mysterious, isn't it? I don't even need the book as my sword is among the top 80. I automatically have the information and images in my head. Those who wield one of the top one hundred weapons are granted an ability from the Heavens. In other words, you gain a weapon technique from the weapon itself! Your sword, is it heavy?" Toshio asked.

"Yeah," Nathan answered.

"Whoever first made the sword must have first made it as a dagger. Daggers are thicker and sturdier than swords. It must have been improved as it passed countless owners. Bonding with a Heaven Series actually affects your soul. It will be able to manifest in the original image of the weapon and further enhances by the modifications up to the present. In other words, improving the Heaven Series weapon also improves your soul. Of course, our soul is not in our Spirit Realm yet as we are in the Tempered Body Stage. The older the weapon, the higher the chances it was modified, and the more your soul in enhanced. You can even materialize it as a soul weapon!" Toshio grinned.

"You know a lot," Nathan said.

"Of course. I aim to wield both a katana and a wakizashi of the Heaven Series. A wakizashi is a smaller version of a katana in simplistic words. Dual wielding is not ideal, but martial arts constantly improves. It is no longer a bad option for a martial arts style. I just need to increase my strength," Toshio said. "I will be the best swordsman under the heavens. You'll have to forgive me if I want to spar against you. Seeing your sword skills and courage, I was ashamed I did not face those guys with my sixth layer cultivation. I recognize you as my rival!"

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"Not good. He persists until he wins," Qing warned. "He's a sword maniac."

"I can tell," Nathan nodded as they walked past dead bodies of magical beasts and saw Toshio's reaction.

"Hey! I just realized what Wei is up to. How dare he steal all the fun! I'm going ahead," Toshio roared and ran forward.

"We better go after them," Qing said and Nathan also ran behind Toshio with Qing.

"You're here! Good. I kind of pissed them off," Wei laughed nervously as the trio arrived at a large clearing, a field of wolves shaped magical beasts in front of Wei. However, their fur and flesh appeared to be made of stone. Toshio cursed as he saw them. The clearing was a thirty foot drop, but the wolves blocked the path to the connecting tunnel.

"I've been picking them off with my arrows, but they began to act smart and stayed out of range," Wei said. "Their entire body is made of stone. Their weakness is their eyes and the area where their legs connect to their body. The stone fur is thinner there or they would be as immobile a as statues. The ones we really have to be afraid of are the four black stone wolves and the lone red stone wolf. The black four stone wolves are alphas of the four packs, and the red wolf is like the alpha of those alphas. It could be considered their king."

"Rock Fur Wolves, Class 2 magical beasts. It seems we really did arrive in a great place. Look, there are even cameras in the ceiling. I don't see any wolves without Wei's arrows, so I assume we are the only ones who entered the underwater tunnel by the waterfall," Qing analyzed.

"Class 2?" Nathan asked.

"Right. Magical treasures and magical beasts are given ranks based on how lethal and how combat efficient they are. Talismans also count, but not those made with bone steel. There are ten grades from 1 to 10. Your Death Repulse and Toshio's Frost Fang are considered Class 10 due to their indestructibility akin to bone steel and their immense potential to gift their own cultivator techniques and possess unique effects. I heard most monsters of the third trials in the past were Class 1 and Class 2. If we encountered Class 2 magical beasts here, we can expect Class 1 or 2 magical beasts to guard the treasures," Qing answered.

"Class 10 weapons usually cost three to four dozen green spirit coins. Too expensive. Not only that, they must have affinities for their wielders. Your sword, for example, has a skull forged onto it. That means the sword would only desire someone with strong killing intent or killed many people in the past. You possessed it before the Spirit Awakening Ritual, so it did not chose you for cultivating death qi. Everyone saw your affinities, so it can only be the first or second option," Wei said, stunning Nathan.

Nathan paid seventy, meaning his sword must have been extremely valuable. He also possessed a little over six hundred and fifty green spirit coins left. He assumed it was a small number. Now he truly realized the power of his father's clan. If he stole a third of their wealth, just how powerful were they?

"The minute we go down, they will descend on us like rabid dogs," Toshio murmured.

"Wei and Qing can stay here. If I what I read about magic is true, fire balls are wide-area attacks and Wei can shoot specific targets. You and I will descend as we are the melee fighters. We will draw their attention and those two can provide assistant and lower the numbers," Nathan suggested.

"That's good! Let's see who can kill the most wolves. I'm betting you are also eager to test out your power. Qing, you are a mage. That means you have high spiritual awareness. Can you tell what cultivation they are?"

"The regular wolves are at the first and second Tempered Body layers. The black are at the fifth layer and the red is at the sixth," Qing calculated. "There are over three hundred in total."

"For regular wolves, we are lucky. Our strength can handle the numbers," Wei sighed with relief.

"I'll kill the red one and you kill the four black ones?" Nathan asked.

"Deal! That's four magical cores I can exchange for spirit pills or use for cultivation," Toshio nodded and drew Frost Fang, the blade shining the color of snow with a crisp blue aura radiating from the blade. "Let's do this!"

Nathan drew Death Repulse, the sword sending shivers down Qing and Wei's spines. Death qi seemed to emanate from the sword, black tendrils of qi moving along the blade. Heaven Series weapons were truly different, even from other Grade 10 weapons. The two swordsmen jumped down to the clearing grounds, not even feeling pain from the landing due to the physique of a cultivator of the Tempered Body Stage.

"Wei should already have five kills, judging from the bodies we passed in the tunnel. Let's first stay near them for Qing and Wei to kill most of them to preserve our strength and allow her five kills," Nathan advised as the wolves noticed their presence, their eyes turning bloodshot as some wolves howled.

Nathan waited for the wolves to come before charging. He only used spirit energy in small, short bursts. He moved as little as possible, slashing at their legs with utmost precision. With his immense strength and the weight of his sword, he was able to cut off the heads of the wolves as well as their legs. The necks also had to have thinner stone fur or the wolf could not move its head.

Overhead, seething hot balls of fire crashed and exploded ahead of Nathan. Toshio's movements were swift and strong, Wei being the only support as QIng's fireballs could accidentally kill him. Furthermore, the wolves started to cluster more tightly in their assault against Nathan. It was more efficient for her to support Nathan who seemed like a slaughter fortress. Occasionally, gold swords the size of daggers would fly from his left hand and pierce through a wolf's skull.

Toshio was the first to rush ahead, drawing attention from the black wolves. The red wolf also moved towards Nathan as Nathan was killing way too many wolves with Qing's support. It was intelligent and knew the other two above had no choice but to come down eventually. With Nathan and Toshio dead, the wolves would only suffer minimal casualties to kill the other two.

As the red wolf approached Nathan, it started to stand on two feet and enlarge. Its stone fur began to smooth and it appeared to be a towering giant at twenty feet with a humanoid physique. And eight foot long sword appeared in its right hand and its roar was like a shock wave, blasting back the wolves and forcing them to charge against Toshio. The red wolf rushed past Nathan and slammed the wall of the ledge beneath Qing and  Wei. The wall crumbled and Wie and QIng were slapped by the red wolf as they fell. They crashed on the ground, coughing blood as Toshio rushed back to help them.

"Fuck, that's no Class 2 Rock Flesh Wolf! That's a fucking Class 3 Stone Fur Wolf Behemoth! A fucking Class 3 magical beast!" Wei gasped, wiping the blood from his chin. Class 3 magical beasts were incomparably superior to Class 2 magical beasts of the same cultivation. It was even at the Tempered Body sixth layer. Too difficult for Nathan, but Toshio was busy being attacked by the four black wolves!

"We need to help Nathan!" Qing cried but saw they were surrounded by the stone wolves and the four black wolves.

"There must be some places for you to grab hold of. Climb the wall and help me destroy these wolves first so I can help Nathan!" Toshio ordered, the two nodding grimly and began to search the wall for places to grab to reach the top.

The red wolf howled and faced Nathan, baring its fangs. Nathan stared back at the wolf, brandishing Death Repulse. THe wolf was bigger and stronger than him. Nathan was confident he could deflect its swords, but was wary that it could use its free left paw and tail as a weapon. He had killed tigers before, but they did not have the advantage of a bipedal body. Their movements could be easier to predict as their front legs were responsible for movement changes as their hind legs were support and increased their velocity.

Furthermore, the wolf was clearly intelligent, knocking and slapping Qing and Wei from the top of the wall to destroy the advantage of long range assault from the high ground. Its fur was also different. It had an elegant sheen and did not appear in the shape of a wolf carved out of stone. The individual hairs of its fur was the color of stone but many times more durable. The fur also did not seem heavy was flexible as the wolf was able to run with ease.

"A worthy opponent. One of us will die today!" Nathan roared and charged at the behemoth.