The blood-red passage, the blood-red gates, filled with an aura of deathly silence.
"How do I escape? How can I possibly escape?" Lin Lei was beside himself with anxiety. Three powerful beings were guarding him, and inside those gates lurked a 'Castle Lord' of even more terrifying strength. He feared that even if he used the power of a Chief God, slipping away would be nearly impossible.
"Calm down. Calm down!"
Lin Lei desperately searched for any opening to flee, but after racking his brains, he could see only one possibility.
"My only hope now lies with Romio. He's been on guard all along — perhaps he can fight for his life. If he battles the 'Castle Lord' hard enough to draw those three's attention, I might be able to slip away in the confusion."
But Lin Lei knew full well that the Castle Lord had allowed Romio to enter precisely because he was confident he could easily defeat and subdue him. If it really was that effortless... then even this one slim chance of escape would vanish.
Though anxious, Lin Lei kept his eyes peeled for any opening, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
"Lin Lei, getting nervous?" Ulay said with a smile. "Don't rush. Romio's gone to the first secret chamber to view those phantom images — that'll take some time. Your turn will come soon."
"My turn soon?" Lin Lei found Ulay's smile increasingly sinister. The man knew full well it was a scam, a trap, yet he was still lying through his teeth.
"Boom!" Suddenly the entire ground heaved violently. Even the gates before them shuddered, and cracks spread across the surrounding walls, sending chunks of stone clattering down into the passage. Lin Lei and the others staggered, startled.
"Good." Lin Lei rejoiced inwardly. Romio hadn't disappointed — he'd truly caused a massive disturbance.
"Hm?" Ulay and the other two were stunned. They exchanged glances. With the Castle Lord's strength, how could such a tremendous commotion occur? Despite their alarm, all three kept their eyes on Lin Lei.
Lin Lei feigned confusion. "Mr. Ulay, what's happening inside?"
"I'm not sure," Ulay said mildly. "Perhaps Romio was watching the phantom recordings of those peerless experts battling and got inspired — maybe he's testing out some moves. By the way, Lin Lei, once you enter the secret chamber, be sure not to go practicing any techniques haphazardly."
"Understood, understood." Lin Lei had to admit — Ulay was remarkably good at keeping up a lie.
Just then— "RRRUMBLE~~~" It was as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had split open. A devastating explosion billowed outward, and the entire passage and gates cracked apart before bursting into flying rubble. Every fragment crackled with bolts of lightning.
Chaos erupted!
Ulay and the other two's faces changed drastically. They never imagined that Romio, right in front of their master, could cause such a disturbance. Despite their shock, all three kept their focus squarely on Lin Lei.
Lin Lei put on a puzzled look. "Mr. Ulay, what's going on in there?"
"I don't know," Ulay replied, his tone light. "Perhaps Romio was watching the phantom recordings of those supreme experts clashing and got carried away — he might be trying out some techniques. Oh, and Lin Lei, when you enter the secret chamber, don't practice any moves recklessly."
"Got it, got it." Lin Lei couldn't help but acknowledge — the man was damn good at spinning a cover story.
Right at that moment— "RRRUMBLE~~~" It was as though the heavens had crumbled and the earth had been torn asunder. A terrifying explosion swept outward, cracking apart the entire passage and gates before they shattered into fragments, every last chunk crackling with the power of lightning.
Total disarray!
Ulay and the others' expressions shifted violently. They never would have thought that Romio, standing right before their teacher, could produce such devastation.
"Good." Lin Lei was elated. "Now's the chance." Just as he prepared to use Earth Movement to escape— "Whoosh!"
Ulay and the other three instantly shifted, forming a triangle that boxed Lin Lei in at the center. Ulay smiled calmly. "Lin Lei, don't be hasty. Perhaps Romio did something to anger the master."
Lin Lei looked at the three surrounding him, brow furrowed.
"Haha... kid, I underestimated you." A deep, resonant voice boomed across the skies of Handisay Castle. Lin Lei couldn't help but look up.
Above the crumbling ruins, Romio stood with his blood-stained black cloak billowing in the wind. He gripped a black war blade, crackling bolts of lightning serpenting across his entire body. Between the opening and closing of his eyes, lightning erupted forth — he looked like a God of Lightning himself.
Facing Romio stood a figure nearly two and a half meters tall, with steel-bristle-like red hair cropped short, wearing an ancient style of sleeveless armor. His massive arms had a bronze sheen, radiating raw power. And in his right hand, he gripped a huge black hammer!
"So that's the Castle Lord? The one in charge?" Lin Lei thought to himself. But immediately, he stopped watching the scene above and instead focused on the three around him, searching for any lapse in their guard.
Romio's voice rang out once more from the sky— "Hmph, I should thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have broken through again. If you want to kill me — you're still far from enough!"
"You three — watch Lin Lei." The red-haired giant with the hammer spoke flatly.
"Yes, Teacher (Master)!" Ulay and the other two answered in unison.
"As I suspected." Lin Lei grew more certain. "They actually call him Master — I never expected that two of these three were under the Castle Lord's control." Alarmed though he was, Lin Lei kept scanning for an escape route.
Lin Lei's expression shifted.
"Ulay, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded angrily.
Ulay smiled. "The teacher wants you to stay here — so you can visit the first secret chamber later."
"Why do they call him Master?" Lin Lei pressed.
"We followed the master since we were Lowgods," the silver-haired woman among the two said coolly. Lin Lei sneered inwardly — choosing two subordinates while still at the Lowgod stage, and both had become Seven Star Demons?
"Bring everything you've got!" Romio declared with boundless valor.
In midair, the red-haired giant with the hammer laughed heartily. "You took a few of my strikes — not bad. Now let's see if you can take my hammer." The red-haired giant casually raised the massive black hammer.
Without a sound— The hammer descended, and strange, rippling waves emanated outward from its center in all directions. Everywhere the waves touched, rubble from the buildings was ground to fine powder. The hammer fell with such eerie silence.
It appeared slow, yet in an instant it had reached the space above Romio.
"Boom!" A thunderclap exploded out of nowhere.
Amid the deafening roar of thunder, a blade's shadow collided with the hammer.
"Hum~~" The hammer trembled gently, as though striking water and sending ripples cascading outward. Romio's war blade trembled violently as well — and then shattered completely into fine dust.
One hammer strike, silent and soundless.
Yet Romio's weapon had been utterly destroyed.
Lin Lei stared upward, his mind consumed by that silent, seemingly weightless yet incomprehvably heavy hammer — its profound, mysterious arc shook him to his very soul.
Lin Lei had never been able to grasp the descriptions of the 'Force' profound mystery within the Law of Earth. Only now did he begin to feel it...
It was as though a seed buried deep in his mind had cracked open and begun to sprout.
"Force — endless, heavy, unfathomable..."
Lin Lei had toiled endlessly in his cultivation of the 'Force' profound mystery without ever finding the threshold. Now, through this 'Castle Lord's' single hammer strike, he had glimpsed a sliver of its truth. In truth, the Castle Lord followed the Path of Destruction.
But every path shared something in common.
The Law of Lightning and the Law of Light both contained the concept of speed — the velocity of lightning and the mystery of light's speed were interconnected in certain ways.
"Impossible!" Romio lay crumpled among the distant ruins, his face filled with disbelief. He had just broken through, believing himself capable of fighting an Asura. Yet with all that newfound power, he still couldn't withstand a single hammer strike.