At the mention of a true expert, some people could not help glancing at Master Yi.
Without question, he was widely acknowledged as the strongest person present.
As for someone who had comprehended intent, that clearly referred to those who had mastered concepts such as Sword Intent or Saber Intent.
When Master Yi showed no sign of moving, several people could no longer restrain themselves and decided to try.
"I'll give it a shot."
The saber wielder stepped forward first and approached the statue. He raised a hand and touched the massive sword, then closed his eyes and concentrated, attempting to resonate with it.
However, after a long while, nothing happened.
"No good. There wasn't any reaction at all."
The saber wielder opened his eyes and withdrew helplessly.
"Let me try!"
Another person quickly stepped forward, but the result was the same.
Many of those present were particularly concerned about the phrase true expert. If they could resonate with the statue, would that not prove they were true experts?
Moreover, everyone was curious about the core of Mistfall guarded by the statue. They had rarely heard anything about it before.
One person after another stepped forward to try, but even after a long time, no one managed to resonate with the statue.
Several of them had even comprehended Sword Intent or Saber Intent, yet they still failed.
That discouraged many others who had been considering an attempt.
Akali and Wukong also gave it a try, but neither of them managed to resonate with the statue. They were not discouraged, however, since they knew they still had a long way to go before becoming true experts.
For a moment, countless gazes turned toward Master Yi. If anyone was capable of resonating with the statue, it could only be him.
Linju also looked over at him. "Master, perhaps you could give it a try."
"I may not succeed, but I will do my best."
Master Yi did not particularly care about the trial, but he knew everyone had placed their expectations on him.
He slowly stepped forward and arrived before the statue. It was more than thirty feet tall, with a broad, imposing frame that made it appear truly enormous.
Master Yi could sense that the statue had stood guard here for many years.
He calmed his mind and placed his hand against the massive sword.
In an instant, dark green light appeared along the patterns carved into the weapon and spread upward. The glow continued until the statue's eyes opened as well, making it seem as though it had come alive.
No one had expected the effect to be so immediate.
Linju's eyes flashed at the sight. A surge of irrepressible excitement rose within her, though she concealed it well.
The next second, clouds of dust fell from the statue as its massive body began to move.
Master Yi retreated several steps. The statue raised its huge sword, gathered its strength, and swung it violently down against the stone wall behind it.
Boom!
A thunderous crash rang out as sword energy surged from the enormous blade. The solid stone wall was split open, revealing a passage that extended deep into the mountain.
"It opened!"
"There's actually another area inside!"
"Is this the core of Mistfall?"
"How many precious weapons must be in there?"
The surrounding discussions immediately became deafening. Everyone stared into the passage with burning eyes.
Mistfall's core had to be a place where priceless weapons were hidden.
After completing its task, the statue returned to its original position and closed its eyes, as though its only purpose was to open the entrance.
Linju spoke. "Everyone, since this master has opened the gate to Mistfall's core, it means everyone present shares some connection with this place. You may all enter and take a look. However, the weapons inside cannot be easily taken away by just anyone."
In other words, although the entrance had been opened, whether they could take anything away would depend on their own strength and luck.
Even so, their enthusiasm remained undiminished. Everyone who passed Master Yi bowed to him before quickening their pace and rushing into the passage.
Fewer than a hundred people remained in the area, and in the blink of an eye, most of them had entered the core.
"Let's go in too."
Luke and the others approached, then entered alongside Master Yi.
After passing through the road opened by the statue, they arrived in the core region. Small hills resembling burial mounds rose throughout the area, each one holding weapons of extraordinary quality. Several massive scars that looked as though they had been carved into the mountain walls by weapons remained visible, though no one knew how long they had existed.
An indescribably oppressive atmosphere hung over the entire core.
The moment Ahri entered, she felt a chill spread across her entire body. It was as though the temperature had suddenly plummeted, making her shudder despite herself.
Noticing Ahri's expression, Akali asked, "What's wrong?"
"This place gives me a very bad feeling."
Ahri looked around, a strange heaviness settling over her heart.
"The source of the ominous presence is here. I can feel it as well," Master Yi said as he observed their surroundings. "This place is more than merely a graveyard for weapons."
Those who had entered ahead of them noticed none of this. They were all excitedly searching for suitable weapons.
Every weapon here was an entire tier above those outside.
The sword left behind by the hunched ape could not even compare with them.
However, just as Linju had said, the weapons here were not easy to take away.
Although they were embedded in the small hills, they were extremely difficult to pull free. No matter how hard many people tried, the weapons did not budge in the slightest.
Others were fortunate, or perhaps they found weapons with which they shared an affinity. With only a little force, they were able to pull them out.
"It looks like the weapons here are choosing their owners too."
Akali leaped onto one of the small hills, grabbed the hilt of a broad saber embedded in it, and pulled with all her strength.
The broad saber remained completely motionless, as though it were part of the hill itself.
She struggled with it for quite a while before finally giving up.
Wukong jumped up and tried as well, but he met with the same result.
"You try."
Akali looked at Luke.
Luke leaped onto the hill and casually grasped the hilt. He was about to pull hard, but the saber came free immediately with a metallic ring.
Akali and Wukong stared at him with wide eyes.
Neither of them had been pretending earlier, so they were naturally astonished to see Luke pull it out so easily.
Luke examined the broad saber. Its quality was indeed impressive, and judging from its appearance, it was also enchanted. Even so, it was not good enough to catch his interest.
He inserted it back into the hill and jumped down.
Akali's eyes shifted thoughtfully. She jumped up again and tried to pull it free, but it would no longer move.
This proved that the place truly possessed a certain spirituality. While people chose their weapons, the weapons were also choosing their owners.
"Damn it."
Discouraged, Akali returned to Luke's side.
Luke began looking around for the luminous longsword. Many others had the same idea and were searching for it as well.
The weapons in the core were already excellent, but compared with that sword, they still seemed slightly inferior.
There might have been others of the same caliber, but the luminous longsword had naturally left the strongest impression.
There was also something else they needed to do, locate the source of the ominous presence.
"It seems more complicated than we thought. This entire area is making me uneasy," Master Yi said softly beside Luke.
He still did not know the reason, only that some dangerous force that had to be contained was definitely hidden here.
For now, however, he had no leads.
Luke studied their surroundings. He had begun to form a vague theory about this ancient battlefield, but he was not yet certain.
The group spread out across a relatively small area, searching for anything abnormal within Mistfall.
Akali scanned the surroundings, hoping to find a hooked sickle or similar weapon. The one she currently carried was already of excellent quality, but there might be something even better here.
After passing one weapon-covered hill after another, Akali's gaze was suddenly drawn to an inconspicuous pair of sawlike sickles.
Compared with the surrounding weapons, they stood unobtrusively in the ground. Chains were wrapped around their ends, while rings of bony spikes covered their surfaces.
They did not look particularly impressive, yet they inexplicably attracted Akali, filling her with the urge to step forward and pull them free.
"This…"
She walked forward one step at a time and reached toward the bone saws.
Just before she could touch them, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
Akali turned and found Linju standing beside her, though she had no idea when the woman had arrived.
"Why are you stopping me?"
Linju stared at the pair of bone saws, barely able to contain the excitement in her eyes. "This weapon closely resembles the one once wielded by my ancestor. We have searched for it for a very long time, so I became somewhat excited."
"Oh."
Akali nodded, freed her arm, and stepped back. "In that case, you can have it."
"Thank you."
Linju gave her a grateful look.
At least in Akali's impression, the leader of the Ancient Sword School was a decent person.
She turned to leave, only to see Master Yi and Wukong approaching. She was about to greet them when she noticed that both were staring behind her.
Master Yi immediately shouted, "Get away from that weapon!"
His warning was clearly directed at Linju.
"Finally. I finally found it…"
Linju seemed not to hear him. She muttered to herself as she stepped forward and wrapped both hands around the grips of the bone saws.
In an instant, it was as though something had awakened.
An ominous aura erupted into the sky, mixed with countless surging waves of negative energy that formed a terrifying shock wave.
Linju screamed in agony. Veins bulged across her forehead, and every muscle in her body tensed as though she were desperately fighting to seize control of something.
However, only an instant later, she lost.
At the same time, the surrounding area was filled with terrifying hostility. An oppressive force brimming with despair and making it difficult to breathe poured from Linju's body.
Sensing that something was wrong, Akali quickly retreated and joined Master Yi and Wukong.
"What's happening?"
In her eyes, Linju was now surrounded by a dark crimson aura filled with deathly stillness, a sight that sent chills down her spine.
Linju's body was also changing. She grew much taller, a pair of corrupted wings emerged from her back, and hard armor began spreading across her body.
"Master, did you find the weapon?"
Several disciples of the Ancient Sword School hurried over from the distance, their faces filled with delight.
"Master?"
Linju glanced at them with terrifying blood-red eyes, unleashing a horrifying pressure as she laughed wildly. Her voice then became cold.
"My name is Xolaani now."
Her deathly, emotionless gaze rose toward a place far in the distance.
"Aatrox… Mount Targon…"
Muttering to herself, she spread the incompletely formed wings on her back, seemingly intending to leave.
One of the disciples stepped forward to stop her and asked in confusion, "Master, now that you have obtained this new power, it is time to complete that matter."
Xolaani ignored him completely and rose into the air.
"It is hardly appropriate for you to occupy Linju's body. Please leave her."
Master Yi stepped forward, his presence suddenly surging.
The aura of a powerful warrior finally attracted Xolaani's attention. She looked at him and spoke indifferently.
"Linju? Is that the name of this body? That person no longer exists. I originally wanted to seize a different vessel. Her potential was much greater, but unfortunately…"
Her crimson eyes glanced at Akali.
It was only a single glance, yet a chill immediately rose in Akali's heart. Her limbs stiffened, leaving her unable to move.
She was not foolish. She understood that the person before her was no longer Linju.
Had Akali originally been her target?
Who was this being?
Why had Linju suddenly transformed like this?
Akali could not understand the current situation at all.
The surrounding disciples of the Ancient Sword School were equally stunned.
After several of them recovered, they immediately moved forward and surrounded Xolaani. The disciple leading them spoke coldly.
"Whoever you are, leave our master's body. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise?"
A trace of pity appeared in Xolaani's eyes. Her expression remained blank as she said, "Insignificant mortals. I have no desire to waste my time here."
As she spoke, she suddenly hurled one of the bone saws with a sweep of her arm.
Master Yi surged forward in an instant and drew his weapon, Youmuu's Ghostblade, blocking the attack.
The next second, a wave of scarlet energy erupted in every direction, instantly blasting the disciples of the Ancient Sword School away.
"I told you, I have no desire to waste time."
Xolaani glanced at Master Yi, her voice cold and merciless. She hurled the other bone saw, sending it down toward his back.
Master Yi spun and blocked the attack with his sword before disappearing from where he stood. He landed lightly atop one of the small hills.
"I do not know why you possess such overwhelming malice, but no matter the reason, I will not allow you to leave Mistfall."
He did not know what kind of existence Xolaani was, but he had a premonition that allowing her to leave would bring disaster upon the outside world.
"You cannot stop me."
Xolaani looked at Master Yi indifferently. She did not seem to regard him as a threat at all, her entire demeanor radiating contempt for humanity.
"Enough boasting! Take a strike from my staff first!"
At that moment, Wukong suddenly rushed forward. Golden light erupted from his enchanted staff as he brought it down viciously toward Xolaani.
Xolaani remained where she stood without even glancing at him. One of the bone saws flew out, not only blocking his strike but releasing an even greater force that sent Wukong hurtling away.
He slammed hard into the ground.
Wukong climbed back to his feet, aching all over. "She's really strong…"
Xolaani gave him a second glance, seemingly surprised that someone weaker than Master Yi had remained relatively unharmed after taking one of her attacks.
"Monkey… Weren't you going to smash every monster and demon out of existence, body and soul?"
Akali glanced at him.
Wukong rose defiantly. "That was an accident. Let me try again!"
He was about to charge forward once more when an arm stopped him. Luke had arrived without anyone noticing.
Luke drew the Snowglance Blade and entered a combat stance. "We can discuss the details later. You two take Ahri and get farther away."
He had been searching for the luminous longsword in the distance when he noticed the commotion and immediately rushed over.
Looking at Linju, who no longer resembled a human being, his expression grew grave.
The source of the ominous presence Master Yi had sensed truly was her.
A powerful Darkin, Xolaani.
Seeing Luke's expression, Akali froze slightly. Even she had never seen him look so serious.
She immediately understood that the situation might be far more severe than she had imagined.
What kind of being could make two experts like Luke and Master Yi act so cautiously?
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