Zarthos

117 - The Depths of Corruption

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A sickly middle-aged man sporting long black-trimmed green robes walked down a hall. A thin mist of water vapour condensed on his skin,...

116 - Setbacks and Regrets

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Qin Yun looked at the envoy with interest, only to be ignored. The man pressed a single palm onto the shimmering blue barrier, only to b...

035 - The Whims of Fate

“Does this happen often?” Ning Shan said as they travelled further within a bleak corridor, only a dim light covering them from the level above.

The bustling mercantile street had been replaced with peace and quiet, almost as if they had entered another world entirely, despite the fact that they weren't alone. Other hunters, dressed in full battle gear, were coming and going alongside them, some showing battle scars or even carrying ...

115 - To Improvise a Scheme

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The rubble of a destroyed stone house shifted slightly as a soft breeze floated over it, only for an explosion to occur soon after. The e...

034 - To Step into the Abyss

Ning Shan's journey toward the nearest elevator was uneventful. Nathan regretted having to leave abruptly, yet he had no choice. Some matters required his attention, and he couldn't afford to stay any longer now that his location was known to the broader world.

There were no teary-eyed goodbyes, however. Nathan merely invited Ning Shan to join him on the 20th level, even promising to hire him as his personal bodyguard, something Ning Sha...

114 - Stepping into Darkness

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Silence hung over the world as if time stood still. None of the countless individuals within the crowd dared to move as sweat poured ...

033 - Conspiracy Brewing In the Dark

High above the ninth level was a large room close to the outside world. On one wall was an array of monitors, showing countless video feeds of the various levels of the Cradle. Facing them was a single chair with a young woman seated upon it.

Her hair was as red as a flame reaching the crux of her back. Her features were youthful, barely in her early twenties, yet appearances were misleading. She wore a tight bodysuit that accentuated th...

113 - Preaching to the Choir

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Despite the storm raging on either side, the sky over the Frontier was clear. No cloud was in sight, only a warm breeze rustling over the...

112 - Playing With Fire

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Almost all the Moonlight Sword Palace's disciples gathered in a secluded area of the city where an inauspicious small building resided. The...

032 - Forced Resolution

The woman with a child in her arms clung to Nathan's sleeve. She expressed her gratitude with tears in her eyes, only for Nathan to do his best to clumsily try and calm her down. By his side, his wife looked at her man with a gentle smile, looking pleased at the crowd's reception.

Most were surprised to learn of his identity, looking upon him with reverence. Even Sera looked taken aback yet chose not to approach him. Instead, she sneakil...

111 - The Eve of a Festival

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Zou Lan remained silent, observing the intricate token in her hand. Despite her aloof outward appearance, her thoughts seemed lost in a ...

031 - Revelation

The four drones buzzed slightly as they hovered midair. The crowd held their breaths; some even chose to look away. While most were rugged individuals, having spent most of their lives on the ninth level, they knew better than to pick a fight with the government. If given a choice, they would rather be thrown into the depths than be taken away by the yellow light.

For generations, stories of what happened when the yellow light shined on ...

030 - A Welcomed Intervention

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” the man Ning Shan was newly acquainted with said as his wife clung to his arm. He seemed much more relaxed than the other resident, almost as if he was intimately familiar with the hovering yellow drones—something that couldn’t help but draw Ning Shan’s interest.

Still, it was now his turn.

He took a few steps forward, standing between the drones, only to notice Sera looking like a ner...

029 - The Price of Defiance

A silent uproar rose from the crowd, yet none dared to offer any objections—none except for a single fool. A rugged woman with a large tattoo spanning half her face tried to hold her companion back, yet the fool took a few steps toward the assembled drones, striking away her hold.

The man was large; his shoulders easily doubled Ning Shan's width. His muscles easily bulged out of his clothes, preventing his vest from fully closing up an...

110 - The Alliance's Token

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“Vice Patriarch of the Soaring Dragon Sect?" Zou Lan mumbled, her eyes narrowed as she calmed herself.

Something didn't feel right. That ...

109 - Waking the Dragon

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“How long is your mistress intending to make us wait?" an old man said, his expression grim as he looked at the young woman serving him ...

028 - Concealed Stratagems

Looking out of a nearby window, Ning Shan saw small floating objects swiftly closing in. Not unlike birds, their approach was silent, cutting through the darkness without difficulty, yet he couldn't find any evidence of wings. If anything, they resembled the combat drone he encountered a day prior, yet they were much smaller in size.

They were spherical, and, unlike the combat drone, they possessed multiple eye-like apparatus that glowed...

108 - Meeting in a Ruined Garden

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“I must say, I didn't expect things to end this way," Zou Lan sighed as she stood in a devastated garden.

The luscious greens that use...

027 - A Breakthrough's Aftermath

Sera was bewildered by the sight before her. Never had she seen the concentration of red dust so high as to be visible to the naked eye. The only instances she could remember were when strong Dustborns were slain, and the red dust within their bodies spilled into the atmosphere. It only lasted for a moment before completely disappearing. Obviously, such a thing had never happened within the confines of the Cradle.

Ning Shan was immobile ...

107 - Confrontation at World's End

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“What do you have to say for yourself?”

The ethereal image of a man stood within a devastated world disconnected from the mai...

106 - Birth of the New Guardian

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A flash of blue light spread within the underground chamber, bathing the world in its embrace. The disciples had no choice but to once ag...

026 - To Bathe in Dust

“Sir! I’ve done as you asked.”

Marquez sat within his team's compound on the tenth level. Before him was a large metallic table with many similar chairs spanning its circumference. In the centre was a dimly glowing orb that projected a small hologram onto the air itself. It was a rendition of a small Charles Baxter quietly sitting at his own desk, perusing the various reports strewn on it. He barely raised his head as he addressed ...

025 - Welcome to a New Home

The doors opened, revealing a mystical sight that Ning Shan had never once witnessed. At least, that was what he foolishly expected, yet he was sadly disappointed by the grim reality.

The streets of the ninth level weren’t unlike those of the cities of his previous world, except that the populace was scarce, and those he could see weren’t what he was expecting.

From the corner of distant alleys, Ning Shan noticed ladies with ba...

105 - A Cultivator's Worth

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Blood flowed from nonexistent wounds yet dissipated into ashes as soon as it came into contact with the blue flame, but even the ashes va...

024 - A Goal to Strive For

“What the hell just happened?" Sera frantically said, still shaken from having countless muzzles pointed in her general direction. "Ever since I met you, it's been nothing but hazards on my life!"

She couldn't help but hold her arms, still shivering at the thought of what might have happened to them should they have failed the second scan. After all, the border guards were known for how draconian they could be toward those who posed a ...

104 - Birth of a Pseudo Sword Domain

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Her gaze was one of steel as she pushed his hand aside. The sharpness of her domain permeated the room, prompting everyone else to stop ...

023 - Where Everything Began

Armed soldiers spilled out of the entryway as if floodgates had opened, only to leave the group stunned. They all turned toward Ning Shan in unison, only to see him shrug. Of course, he had no idea why they would seek to arrest him, seeing as this was the first time he ever set foot in this place, yet he also knew he was the most likely culprit. After all, he was the one different from the rest. Still, he remained calm and waited for the oppor...

103 - An Impossible Choice

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“I hope you’ll forgive me for my state of undress,” Qin Yun said as he turned to see a beautiful woman in a white dress emerge from ...

022 - A Lighthouse in the Darkness

“Sir! Are you sure this is wise? We know next to nothing about him.”

Charles Baxter stood in his office. Before him was a large glass pane that provided an unobstructed view of the world outside. His office consisted of a spacious room with many different seating arrangements and a rare mahogany desk that had survived through untold ages, only to be preserved to this day, making it a priceless artifact of a bygone era.

While it...

102 - A Bittersweet Victory

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Zou Lan hovered over the battlefield, her feet softly resting on her sword. She watched the outsiders' troops slowly recede into the distance...