"Who would've thought that there was actually an inheritance here…" Feng Qing'er muttered to herself as she gazed up at the temple.
"Agreed. Plus, we definitely wouldn't have even noticed this one by ourselves." Qing Tan added.
It had been a total of three months since Damien entered his comatose state, and the deadline for Feng Qing'er and Qing Tan to find an inheritance site had long approached.
Unfortunately, two months wasn't nearly enough time to scour the entire realm from top to bottom. Even after tirelessly searching, neither of them made substantial progress.
"At most, I was able to find the ruins of already claimed inheritances from the previous openings." Feng Qing'er continued in vexation.
It would've been fine if she hadn't found anything at all, but finding ruins and suspected inheritance sites only for them to already be claimed was far worse. She was annoyed to no end.
Even Qing Tan was the same. She had found clues pointing to more than a few inheritance sites, but she didn't have the time to actually pinpoint their locations.
And when the two month deadline approached, the two of them dejectedly headed back to Darknorth.
But who would've thought that on their way back, they'd run into each other? Not only that, when they regrouped, they found yet another clue to an inheritance site.
Following said clue, they arrived at the spot that was currently occupied by a great temple. Only, it used to be flat land. If it wasn't for a mysterious greenish-white speck of light that briefly flashed from the ground, they wouldn't have noticed any abnormalities.
"I don't like this feeling of being led by a string." Qing Tan said. Only an idiot would chalk up the earlier series of events as a mere coincidence. Especially when it was these two girls who had seen that greenish-white light before.
"I can't argue with that. But still, the source of that light has always been helping us rather than trying to cause harm. First, it healed that bastard's body, and now it has helped us achieve our goal. At this point, we can only accept this help." Fang Qing'er sighed.
"Still, though!" Qing Tan huffed. "Forget it. Now that we have this location, what do we do?"
"Of course, we publicize it. Isn't that the only way to continue our plan from here?"
"True, but it's a shame to share this cake with others when we can swallow it ourselves."
"Don't think like that. We don't know what's inside this temple, so how can we say that we can digest it alone? It's better to be safe, especially with what happened to that guy."
"Right…" Feng Qing'er took one last look at the temple before flying into the air.
"Stay here and guard the place. We don't know if it'll disappear once we leave. I'll start spreading the information."
Leaving those words, she vanished into the distance. Qing Tan watched her receding figure as a small smile crept up her lips.
"Things are getting interesting now…I wonder if that guy has woken up already? This is the final event, after all! How can we proceed without our main character?"
"Well, it's fine~. After all, the hero always arrived last, right?"
Qing Tan's eyes became unfocused as she stared into the sky.
"But, I wonder how you'll act now? Nothing has gone your way ever since that guy decided to intervene. Even after you personally acted, he still remained alive. I'm sure you're feeling extra pissed off right now…ahh, if only I could see that expression, I could die happily."
As the smile on her face grew, Qing Tan's eyes became focused again. Soon after, she sat down in place and began cultivating. Now, she needed to pass the time until the involved parties all arrived.
***
A shocking piece of news soon spread through the Trial World. It was the emergence of an inheritance of unknown value. The only reliable information was the fact that it definitely belonged to an expert.
Everyone was riled up, even the mortals who resided in the Trial World all their lives knew the significance of an inheritance appearing. Only, they couldn't do anything but lament at their own powerlessness.
The Trial World's environment simply didn't give them the ability to become powerful.
However, it was a different story for others.
"Are you going?"
"Going where?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Hmph, I'm setting off right now! I don't care if you come along!"
"Wait, wait! I'm coming! How can I miss something so big?!"
Various similar conversations happened around the Trial World as the news spread. Many questioned its veracity, but upon learning that the news originated from Feng Qing'er, their doubts were immediately settled.
The Fire Phoenix Clan was well known throughout the 3000 Beast Mountain Range. Simply by relying on their name, they could get others to trust them. But the Phoenix clans were unique in that their sincerity and generosity were highlighted on many occasions.
As the Young Miss of the Fire Phoenix Clan, Feng Qing'er's words carried weight. She knew this, and it was the reason why she decided to spread the news instead of leaving it to Qing Tan, who was known to be cunning and untrustworthy.
The news spread like wildfire, proliferating through the 5 human cities and even reaching the ears of the geniuses who had secluded themselves in the wilderness to hunt. In this kind of situation, the demons in Acier naturally heard the news as well.
***
Within the pantheon in the fifth layer of Acier, the four remaining Apostles conversed about the news they just received.
"It could very well be another trap, but judging from the reaction of those outsiders, the news shouldn't be false."
The speaker was a lanky man whose body looked like it'd be swayed by the slightest of wind, but anyone who knew him was aware of the frightening power he hid in his small frame.
"Proto and Nali are dead as we expected. Getting rid of Proto was a good choice since he would inevitably ruin any plans we had in the future with his brashness, but losing Nali as well is a shame. Now that there's only four of us left, we need to take extra care with any moves we make."
A woman responded. She had a long cat-like tail and vertical slits for pupils. Everything about her screamed the word cunning.
"Regardless, we still must go. Most of us weren't alive when the previous batch of outsiders arrived in our domain, but we've seen the records from our predecessors. Any inheritance that has been found so far has been a great boost in the strength of the inheritor. If we let those outsiders get their hands on it, we are basically asking for death."
"Indeed. This is a matter that concerns the survival of our race and the continuation of our Lord's plans. We cannot fail this time no matter what."
"Alright." The final of the four spoke after listening to the rest's conversation. His voice was low, like the growl of a beast.
"We're going all out this time. Gather all of our remaining forces."
The other three looked at him with widened eyes.
"All of them? Doesn't that include…"
"There's no need to question it. I said what I said. Haven't you all realized it already? Every time we decide to preserve our forces, we end up eating a loss. Even if those Captains and Generals can't help us in combat, they are perfect meat shields and sacrifices to help us continue forward without wasting our energy. As for combat power…"
He didn't need to finish his sentence. They all understood his intent.
This time, they were mobilizing the Demon Kings.
