Li Chen and Mao Yun reached the entrance of Bright Pearl Village, where they saw a crowd of young and old people frantically rushing into the village.
From this, they realized the news about the ruin was true. Exchanging glances, they urged their horses to move faster.
Five minutes later, they arrived at the northern part of the village, a sparse area with only a single hill in view.
Hundreds of people with expectant faces gathered in front of the hill. Some notable young men wore uniforms, signaling they were from martial halls.
Apart from academies, martial halls were the most common institutions in the world. To receive a complete martial inheritance, one had to enroll in either an academy or a martial hall.
Enrolling in a famous academy was extremely difficult, but to enter a martial hall, one only needed to pay a large fee.
Li Chen and Mao Yun watched the scene quietly without making any moves, listening to whispers from the crowd. They learned that the entrance to the ruin could only open periodically.
A new group of students from the famous Mystic Path Academy arrived as the crowd waited for the entrance to appear.
Leading them was a tall, bright girl with a face filled with confidence and pride. Behind her were four other young people.
They glanced at the crowd, snorted, and took a corner to wait.
An hour later, a powerful fluctuation came from the foot of the hill, and an entrance appeared.
"The entrance has opened!" a voice shouted.
Instantly, the crowd rushed toward the open entrance.
"Young Master, be careful," Mao Yun advised, watching as Li Chen joined the crowd, rushing into the ruin.
Inside, they arrived at a long, dark passage. Li Chen looked around, realizing the ruin was protected by a powerful array formation.
He clicked his tongue in fascination.
Throwing thoughts of the array out of his mind, he focused on the narrow passage.
He walked forward with long strides, ignoring the sounds of battles coming from the sides. The dark passage had many doors leading to other parts of the ruin, but those were not his target.
His goal was the deepest part of the ruin.
This was the ruin of a small ancient clan. No one knew why ruins from ancient times began to emerge one after another.
Arriving at the end of the passage, he found a small courtyard covered in dust, broken pillars, and a dried pond.
A dilapidated house with massive doors stood on the other side of the courtyard and a group of people gathered in front of it.
When Li Chen arrived, they looked at him momentarily before ignoring him.
"We need to break the formation," a tall young man said.
"I agree. Let's attack it together."
The dilapidated building was protected by a powerful formation that hadn't depleted.
Quickly, the group began attacking the formation with all their might. Li Chen stood back, watching quietly as they assaulted the building without joining in.
The protective formation shook violently, and cracks began to appear. Seeing the cracks, the group grew excited and increased their power.
Ten minutes later, the protective formation shattered.
"Finally!" The tall young man grinned evilly. "Thank you, everyone. You can leave now. This place belongs to my clan."
"What do you mean? Get out of the way!" a boy shouted.
He was the leader of the martial hall team, Yuan Lim.
Furious, Yuan Lim pointed his sword at the tall young man. "Step aside now, or else…"
"Or what?" the tall young man sneered.
From the crowd, ten young men stepped forward to stand behind the tall young man. They were all from the same clan—the Gu clan.
The tall man was Gu Cheng, the third young master of the Gu clan.
Yuan Lim and the few remaining people were furious when facing Gu Cheng and his clansmen.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "If you think you can intimidate us, you're wrong. Attack!"
Yuan Lim lunged at Gu Cheng, swinging his sword. Gu Cheng sneered and retaliated with a powerful fist strike.
The entrance of the dilapidated building was soon filled with the sounds of battle. Although the Gu clansmen were fewer in number, their fist technique was terrifying.
Only the disciples from the Verdant Blade Hall could fight toe-to-toe with them.
"Ahhh!"
A boy was sent flying, his chest punctured from a powerful fist strike. With one person dead, others quickly followed, and the scene grew more brutal.
All this had nothing to do with Li Chen, who watched the battle with fascination.
From the start, he had sensed the Gu clan's schemes and decided to observe how things unfolded. While he watched, another group arrived.
They were from the Mystic Path Academy.
The girl in the lead glanced at the calm Li Chen, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
"What a bunch of fools," a boy from the Mystic Path Academy said disdainfully.
His fellow students nodded in agreement. Why would they attack each other without knowing what was inside the dilapidated building?
The battle between Gu Cheng and Yuan Lim was fierce, but neither gained the upper hand.
"Enough!" Gu Cheng retreated, knowing that continuing to fight Yuan Lim, especially with the new arrivals, would be futile. "I'll allow everyone to enter—except for that bastard."
He pointed at Li Chen.
Looking at the calm Li Chen, the crowd, fighting moments before, turned their anger toward him.
"I agree," a disciple from the Verdant Blade Hall spat in anger.
While they had been fighting, this man stood by like a bystander, enjoying the show. As for the Mystic Path Academy students, they dared not provoke them.
The Mystic Path Academy students wore prideful expressions and marched toward the dilapidated building. Who would dare stop them?
The crowd sneered at Li Chen, preparing to enter the building when they saw him approaching.
"Stop!"
Li Chen ignored them and continued moving forward. Furious, Gu Cheng shouted, "Kill him!"
At the entrance of the dilapidated building, the Mystic Path Academy students paused to watch the fight.
Two Gu clansmen charged at Li Chen, throwing powerful punches, their faces filled with disdain.
Suddenly, the air swirled, and a powerful wind blade appeared before them.
"W-What…"
Bang!
The wind blade cleaved through their chests, killing them instantly. Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide in disbelief.
"W-What just happened?" a Gu clansman asked, heart pounding heavily.
They thought he was easy prey, but now they realize he is the hunter. Gu Cheng sucked in a breath and clenched his fists, realizing his miscalculation.
As for Li Chen, he didn't stop and continued toward the dilapidated building. This time, no one dared to stand in his way.
Watching him, the girl leading the Mystic Path Academy muttered, "Interesting…"
She entered the building, understanding that whatever they found inside would not be taken without a serious battle.