## Liam's Perspective
Soren Ashworth lunged at , fists glowing with condensed spiritual energy. His movents were fluid and precise—the mark of soone who'd trained under the best masters money could buy.
I didn't move. I'd faced far deadlier opponents.
"Enough!" Erson Hols stepped between us, grabbing Soren's wrist mid-strike. "I said no, Soren!"
Soren struggled against Hols's grip. "Let go! This dog needs to learn his place!"
"You're under my authority here." Hols's voice had that dangerous edge that even Soren couldn't ignore. "Your father entrusted you to . I won't allow you to engage recklessly."
Soren wrenched his arm free, glaring daggers at . "Soon, Knight. Very soon."
I studied him with detached interest. Talented, yes. Powerful for his age, certainly. But he lacked what only experience could teach—the instinct that cos from fighting for your life rather than in controlled training sessions.
"You have no idea what real battle is, boy," I said quietly. "When you're bleeding out and your fancy techniques won't save you—that's when you learn what matters."
"Save your wisdom," Soren spat. "I don't need lessons from the likes of you."
Hols gestured toward the path ahead. "We're wasting ti. The Dragon Veins await."
Our unlikely group moved forward—Hols and his Guild mbers, Soren seething with barely contained rage, the Knightwood siblings keeping their distance, and the Man with the Mustache, who had mysteriously reappeared, trailing behind us all.
"Knight," the mustached man whispered, falling into step beside . "This doesn't feel right. Dragon Veins should be teeming with energy. I sense nothing."
I nodded. "Sothing's off. Stay alert."
The path led us through a narrow mountain pass that opened into a vast clearing. According to legend, this should have been a paradise of spiritual energy—a place where rare herbs grew in abundance and the very air nourished one's cultivation.
Instead, we found barren rock and withered vegetation.
"What is this?" Soren demanded. "Where are the treasures? The herbal paradise?"
Hols frowned, consulting a weathered map. "This is the correct location. The information ca from reliable sources."
I knelt, pressing my palm against the ground. Nothing. Not even a trace of the energy that should be flowing through Dragon Veins.
"It's been drained," I said, rising to my feet. "Or the information was wrong from the start."
Hols refused to accept this. "Spread out! Search the entire area!"
As the others dispersed, I wandered toward the center of the clearing. Sothing caught my eye—a flat stone tablet, half-buried in the ground. Brushing away the dirt, I discovered ancient inscriptions carved into its surface.
These weren't just any inscriptions. I recognized them imdiately—cultivation stages. The sa stages detailed in my jade pendant's knowledge. This was no coincidence.
"Found sothing interesting?" The Man with the Mustache appeared at my side, eyeing the tablet curiously.
"Very," I replied, tracing the symbols with my finger. "These are cultivation stages from an ancient system. Body Refining, Energy Gathering, Foundation Building, Golden Core Formation..."
"The standard cultivation path," he nodded.
"Yes, but look here." I pointed to additional inscriptions. "Dao Heart Tempering, Immortal Ascension—these aren't common knowledge. These are the final stages that most cultivators don't even know exist."
Hols approached, his interest piqued. "What have you found?"
Before I could answer, Soren pushed past , examining the tablet himself. "Just so old writings. What's the significance?"
I stepped back, letting Hols take a closer look. His expression changed as he studied the inscriptions.
"This is..." Hols's voice trailed off, his fingers tracing the ancient characters. "My information ntioned this. The treasure isn't the Dragon Veins themselves."
He straightened, a gleam in his eyes. "The real treasure is hidden beneath this tablet."
The Man with the Mustache tugged at his facial hair nervously. "Beneath? As in, we need to dig?"
"Not dig," Hols replied. "The tablet itself is the key. It's a seal, concealing what we truly seek."
Soren's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You knew this all along? Why didn't you say sothing earlier?"
"I wasn't certain until now," Hols admitted. "The Guild's intelligence suggested a hidden chamber containing five-thousand-year-old herbs and possibly ancient cultivation techniques."
My interest sharpened. Five-thousand-year-old herbs were exactly what I needed for my next breakthrough. Мy Virtuаl Librаry Еmpirе (М|V|L0ЕМРYR) hоsts thе оriginаl.
"How do we open it?" I asked.
Soren scoffed. "We? There is no 'we' here, Knight. This is Guild business."
"Yet here I am," I replied calmly.
Hols ignored our exchange, reaching into his spatial ring. He withdrew eight gleaming daggers—each one radiating the unmistakable aura of a Martial Marquis Weapon.
"Eight Formation-Breaking Daggers," the Man with the Mustache whispered, eyes wide. "Each worth a small fortune!"
Hols arranged the daggers in a precise pattern around the stone tablet. "Stand back, all of you. This will be... explosive."
We retreated to a safe distance as Hols activated the formation. The daggers began to glow with blinding light, pulsing in perfect synchronization.
"Those daggers could buy a small kingdom," the mustached man muttered. "The Guild's resources are truly terrifying."
I watched silently, gauging the situation. Hols was willing to use extrely valuable artifacts just to break this seal—whatever lay beneath must be worth it.
The ground began to tremble as cracks spread across the stone tablet's surface. With each passing second, the cracks widened, golden light spilling through.
"It's working!" Soren exclaid, his earlier hostility temporarily forgotten in the excitent.
The trembling intensified until, with a deafening crack, the stone tablet shattered completely. The eight daggers shot upward before returning to Hols's waiting hand.
Where the tablet had been, there was now a gaping hole—a pit descending deep into the earth.
"By the heavens," the Man with the Mustache breathed, peering into the darkness. "It's massive!"
Even Soren looked impressed. "What's down there?"
Hols's face broke into a satisfied smile. "The real Dragon Vein. The stone tablet was rely concealing it from unworthy eyes."
I stepped closer to the edge, feeling a distinct change in the air. Unlike the barren clearing above, the pit radiated potent spiritual energy.
"I can sense it now," I said, inhaling deeply. "Rich spiritual energy, concentrated and pure."
Hols nodded. "According to the Guild's records, this hidden realm contains treasures beyond imagination—herbs that haven't seen sunlight in five thousand years, minerals saturated with primordial energy, possibly even ancient cultivation manuals."
The Man with the Mustache rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Well! What are we waiting for? Treasures await!"
Soren shot a challenging look. "Rember your place, Knight. The best treasures belong to the Guild and the Ashworth family."
I t his gaze steadily. "We'll see about that."
Hols stepped to the edge of the pit, looking down into the darkness. "Prepare yourselves. What lies below may not just be treasures—there could be dangers as well. Ancient formations, guardian beasts... perhaps even the remnants of whoever sealed this place."
As we stood on the precipice of discovery, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing sothing important. The stone tablet's inscriptions, identical to my jade pendant's knowledge... this couldn't be re coincidence.
"Who's going first?" the Man with the Mustache asked, looking considerably less eager now that dangers had been ntioned.
Hols gestured toward the pit. "After you, Knight. Since you're so eager to join our expedition."
Soren smirked, clearly hoping I'd encounter any traps first.
I stepped forward without hesitation, peering into the darkness below. Sothing waited for down there—I could feel it calling. Sothing connected to my past, perhaps even to my father.
Without another word, I jumped into the unknown darkness.
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