The sky above them was a bruised violet, like twilight frozen in time. Low clouds drifted slowly, crackling with faint arcs of lightning.
The ground was solid obsidian rock, cracked and scorched in places, as if it had once suffered a massive battle or explosion.
Jagged mountains rose in the distance, their peaks twisting unnaturally as if warped by some ancient power.
All around them, ruined temples and half-buried statues of long-forgotten deities littered the land.
Massive stone slabs, torn banners, shattered weapons—this was clearly a battlefield from some distant era, not just a relic site.
A faint red mist clung to the air. It wasn’t thick enough to block vision, but it left a metallic taste on the tongue.
Although they had been teleported to such a strange place, it wasn’t exactly unique.
There were many sub-worlds like this, created and hidden by peerless experts.
And with the Ancient Ruins’ owner capable of creating Grade-8 or higher Formations, it was no surprise that he had also forged a subdomain to preserve his inheritance.
Bai Jian looked around, frowning.
They weren’t alone.
He could see dozens of figures scattered across the terrain, some still struggling to get their bearings, others already scanning their surroundings for threats—or treasures.
To the north, a group of robed disciples from the Heaven Sword Sect regrouped around Bai Xueqing and Chu Ziyan.
To the west, Yu Wenzhao and the disciples of the Heaven Suppression Pavilion were calmly forming a perimeter.
To the south, the demonic qi in the air had thickened—Mo Tianji’s team.
The bastard was laughing like a maniac, probably thrilled by the chaos and the bloodshed to come.
There were already two dead bodies near him—likely his latest victims, since there was no one here to restrain him.
And of course, there were also members of the Li and Zhao Clans, glaring as they appeared.
They were all standing there as if waiting for them.
“Hehe… I can’t believe the Bai Clan even sent out trash like you, Bai Zihan!”
Li Feng mocked. The same Li Feng who had been humiliated by Bai Zihan during the engagement ceremony.
Well, Li Feng obviously still believed it was because he had suppressed his cultivation to match Bai Zihan’s.
If he hadn’t done that, he was convinced he would’ve won easily with his superior cultivation.
Bai Zihan glanced at him, but didn’t get angry.
If he got pissed every time someone insulted him, then after 16 years of ridicule, he’d have died of high blood pressure.
“Oh, I was wondering who was barking. It’s the loser from the Li Clan who got beat up like a dog, isn’t it?”
Bai Jian and the others laughed at Bai Zihan’s jab.
The Li Clan was their bitter enemy, and having their genius humiliated was something they’d remember for life—especially since it was their hailed genius who got racked.
Not to mention, Bai Zihan had even gotten a Heaven-Grade Artifact from the Zhao Clan as part of a bet, making a solid dent in their power.
“YOU!”
Li Feng snapped, unable to hide his rage.
He hadn’t forgotten a single moment of that humiliation—the looks, the whispers, the mocking.
He had gone from being hailed as a genius to being the laughingstock of his Clan.
Even when he returned to Sect, other disciples who once feared and revered him had mocked him.
The fear and awe once attached to his name were gone.
His father didn’t even want to see his face after that disaster.
But now—now he had a chance.
If he could gain the inheritance from this Ancient Ruin, he could reverse everything.
What he hadn’t expected was Bai Zihan showing up here too.
But that only made it more exciting.
A perfect chance to get revenge.
“Hmph! You, Bai Zihan, are certainly insidious. I’ll admit I fell for your trap,” Li Feng said, surprisingly honest.
“But this is different. I will have my revenge.”
Bai Zihan didn’t respond. He didn’t feel the need to.
Li Feng didn’t deserve his attention then, and it was even more true now.
“Bai Zihan, you actually came?”
Zhao Chen stepped forward—the one who had suffered the most from the fallout of the Bai-Zhao-Li clash.
After all, it was his artifact that had been lost in that bet.
A Heaven-Grade Artifact—gone just like that.
The punishment he had endured wasn’t something that needed to be said aloud.
But he was still a valued figure in the Zhao Clan, and they had high hopes for his future.
Now, there is was an opportunity to get back what is lost.
“Good. I thought you’d be too much of a coward to come,” Zhao Chen said, no longer bothering to hide his hostility.
“Bai Clan—who’s your leader?”
“You’re looking at him!”
Bai Ming said, clearing indicating at Bai Zihan who was in front of the Bai Clan.
“You? Bai Zihan?”
Zhao Chen looked like he’d just heard the punchline to a bad joke.
“Haha… Bai Clan, did you really lose your mind?”
To him, choosing a leader meant choosing the one who might become the strongest in the entire empire if they got the inheritance.
And they’d pick Bai Zihan?
The so-called “arrogant brat” whose entire reputation was built on scheming and causing trouble?
Others from Zhao and Li Clan also laughed along with Zhao Chen.
No matter how spoiled Bai Zihan was, it didn’t mean that Bai Tianheng, as the clan leader, should indulge his whim—especially when it could risk losing the Inheritance.
The Bai Clan members didn’t get angry at Zhao Chen’s mocking.
If anything, they felt a bit of pity.
(Poor bastard still had no idea who he was dealing with.)
They weren’t about to explain it either.
But when the time came, they were really looking forward to seeing the expression on Zhao Chen’s face.
“Anyway, it’s good that you, Bai Zihan, are the leader.”
Zhao Chen’s eyes gleamed with cold arrogance as he stepped forward, flanked by several inner disciples from the Zhao Clan—and a few others clearly allied with them.
Some from the Li Clan, some from minor sects desperate to curry favor.
“I’m going to offer you a deal. Simple, really. Hand over the Heaven-Grade Artifact you took during that little farce of a bet. Give it back now, and I’ll consider the matter settled.”
His tone turned razor-sharp.
“No grudges. No retaliation. We’ll even let you walk away and promise not to interfere with you inside the Ancient Ruin.”
A few chuckles came from the Zhao and Li Clan participants behind him.
“But if you don’t…”
Zhao Chen’s eyes narrowed.
“Then don’t blame me for what happens next. The Zhao Clan, the Li Clan—and all our allies—we will act. You think you’re strong enough to handle all of us?”
