Dark Moon Era

The voice was calm and somewhat cold. While it sounded charming, it also had an indescribable sense of grimness.

The round pancake called Shorty 20 flew into Kun’s back like a saucer and never appeared. It was then that the person from the beam of light emerged dressed in a black tuxedo coupled with silver medieval patterns from the Light Continent around the sleeves and a pair of silver wings at the collar. Under the suit was a white shirt with the same medieval patterns from the Light Continent although they were a lot more inconspicuous. Sapphire buttons were added as embellishments at the collar.

Ya was sitting on a wide red sofa with a velvet cushion. He crossed his legs elegantly and supported his chin with one hand as he looked at Kun with a rather interested gaze.

The sleeve that was revealed also had a sapphire button though it was less shiny than the ones at the collar. On his little finger was a very unique cat’s eye ring and as the light shone on it, the stone moved like a real cat’s eye.

Judging from his apparel, Ya was a man that paid attention to detail and was a man with good taste. Above all, he was afraid of sharing the same look as Kun.

His golden hair was a little messy with his long bangs simply combed aside and the lingering hair added a sense of wildness to his solemn look. His skin was fair, making his deep blue eyes appear abysmal like the sea blanketed with moonlight. His red lips made him look like Count Dracula who had feasted on blood. His nose was tall and delicate while his firm brows and high brow ridge made his facial features a lot more pronounced.

He looked like a typical handsome man from the Light Continent with a slightly medieval feel. His dressing was totally different from Kun’s Eastern style.

Where did Shorty 20 get the courage to call him Ugly Ya?

A servant was a reflection of his master. When Kun saw Ya, he frowned in disgust. “Tsk tsk, still chasing after the colorful gemstones? How cheap. No matter how long it has been, you’ll never learn to admire the reserved beauty of the East.”

“Like you? Is growing flowers all over your body the representation of the reserved Eastern beauty?” Ya raised a brow before he waved his hand and a glass of ruby-red wine appeared.

“I tend to be one with the scenery that I’m in. The garden is about spring, so wearing a creamy pink to go along with the season blends in well. But with the arrival of spring and the end of winter, wintersweet is used to reminiscence winter, so that it isn’t lost when the new season arrives. Do you even understand the artistic meaning of this?” Kun coldly looked asquint at Ya. He waved his long robe in the air and a wide old-fashioned wooden chair in red flew over. Kun lazily leaned on it and waved again. Instantly, an antique teacup with a lid appeared in his hand and the fragrance of tea emanated in the air.

Ya ignored Kun and sipped his own wine. “It’s rich. The floral fragrance inside embraces the passion of early summer.”

Also ignoring Ya, Kun took a sip of hot tea with a clink of the lid. “The tea leaves are moistened by the rain around April. After the drying and light frying process, only this much is produced each year. The refreshing taste as I sip on it reminds me of the willows of East Lake.”

Shorty 20 sneezed all of a sudden. It had enough of the squabbles between Kun and Ya. They two of them would act in front of each other every time they met like they were professional actors, yet they ignored each other’s performance.

Had it been so long that boredom drove the two of them to this state? Did they have to act to kill time now?

Shorty 20’s sneeze brought the two of them back to the present. Ya raised his hand and the glass of wine vanished. At the same time, Kun waved his sleeve and his teacup disappeared.

“Let’s talk business,” said the two of them at the same time.

“Someone got the access to the secret land. Do you know who is it?” Ya was the first to ask.

“I haven’t even started looking, but you’ve already arrived at my doorstep.” Kun was not in the mood for chatter either.

“The first folded space has appeared. It’s one of my territories, so I got the news first, but I haven’t found out who got the access,” Ya said. His elegance seemed to have been replaced by frustration as he stood up from his chair and pocketed his hands. He walked around, seemingly troubled by the fact.

“Hmph.” Kun chuckled before he calmly said, “If you can’t find out who it is, it must be one of mine that got the access.” He raised his hand as he talked, and a transparent screen appeared in his hand. He single-handedly keyed in some complicated commands with a single wave. Then, the footage appeared.

There was the temple in the Raqir Plains, and Tang Ling holding the energy key, then him searching for the golden halo on the cave wall…

It was a replay of what had happened. Who knew how his actions had been recorded?

However, Kun did not stare at the footage for long. A quick glimpse later, he switched it off and put the screen away. He could not reveal a lot to Ya, but while he kept the monitor, he still had to reveal a suitable amount of information. “One of mine: a Dream Seed.”

“What a lucky kid.”

Kun lazily replied, “If he’s just a lucky kid, how do you think he created a Level 1 access key with his current power level? After all, he isn’t even a Purple Moon Warrior yet.

Ya was rendered speechless by Kun’s words, which was rare. He leaned back in his chair while he supported his cheek single-handedly and the slender fingers on his other hand tapped the arm of the chair.

Kun was not in a hurry either, so his lazy posture on the chair never changed.

“The kid really did well this time, but I believe one of mine will get into the forbidden land soon,” said Ya.

“I’m not interested in your people at all. Do you know why?” Kun said with half-squinted eyes.

Ya crossed his hands on his knee as he looked at Kun with a profound gaze in silence.

“I believe you know what I am talking about. There can be many generals and even more than one marshal but only one king.” Kun suddenly smiled. His smile was more charming than the myriad of flowers in the garden.

“A king? Judging from history, those who seize the advantage first might not be king. The king might even be the one that enters the picture at a later stage or an inconspicuous one that joins halfway.” Ya also smiled. Coupled with his deep, attractive eyes, he flaunted the purity of youth.

With a wave of his hand, a butterfly flew over. It landed on the tip of Kun’s finger, flapping its wings, but it did not fly away. “You’re right, but we shall wait and see.”

“Of course, but are you worried?” Ya frowned slightly.

Kun raised a confused brow. “Worried about the folded space appearing too soon? Were those…released too soon? And then things will come one after another, won’t they?”

“Hmm, are you not worried at all?” Ya returned to his calm demeanor.

Kun stretched his body and said, “The sky rains, the daughter marries, none of which is a choice, so what is there to worry about?” He suddenly looked stern. It added a hellish chilliness to his appearance. “If I cannot save before someone else destroys, I will destroy it with my own hands than give it away.”

Ya was not at all surprised by Kun’s sudden change of personality, so he showed a sinister smile. “Hmm, not bad since it’s cleaner that way.”

…

Be it the quake a few hundred kilometers away and the icy lake that appeared out of thin air or the conversation between Kun and Ya at some mysterious garden, Tang Ling knew about none of them.

He frowned as he put his hand on the newly appeared stone door. His palm was sweaty, not because of nervousness but because of excitement. If there was another temple beyond this door, he would be in for a harvest!

With that in mind, he fearlessly pushed the stone door open with a bang.

However, of course, due to his excitement, he did not pay attention to the red symbol on the entrance or on the stone door that appeared. After he opened the stone door, he found a crude-looking passage, but when the passage appeared, the large map that was saved in his mind appeared and a clear route lit up.

Tang Ling pouted. It’s a one-way route. What’s the map for?

Out of the three passages in the temple, Tang Ling noticed that the left one was connected to the furthest part of the map. If the location of the temple had been a little dot on the dragon’s claw, then the passage would have led them to the tip of the claw.

If he were to explore, he would never start with a complicated place. Let’s check out the tip of the claw first!

He headed down the passage and found that the distance was far longer than he expected. The ground that he tread on started to turn wet and he started to hear the murmuring of water.

The murmurs scared Tang Ling a little since he had also been calculating the distance. Even if he was an idiot, he would be able to figure out that he could be heading to the bottom of the Goddess Tear Lake.

His Precise Instinct calculation was never wrong. He had descended for 620 meters until now including the 100-meter temple space, so what kind of lake was more than 500 meters deep?

As the thought came into his mind, a turn finally appeared in the passage. He eagerly took it and saw dim light ahead.

After the turn, the passage no longer descended. Instead, there was a straight path ahead that was only 20 meters long. However, in the short 20-meter path, one side of the wall was transparent like a giant bubble wall!

The water murmuring came from outside the bubble wall, and the endless waves molded the bullet into different shapes. Because it felt like it was going to burst at any moment, he felt unsafe in front of it.

The dim light came from the other side of the path which was a normal wall with a huge bronze statue of a strange-looking fish hanging over it. In its mouth was an eternal lamp that burned indefinitely.

What is all this? Why are all the sculptures and statues about animals?

Although Tang Ling felt uneasy, at the same time, he also felt anticipation, so he continued down the path.

As he stepped forward, he was shocked by what he found. He seemed to be underwater, but not just the bottom of a lake. He was in a large underwater rock group. The rock group had various heights and sharpness. Unfortunately, the dim light from the eternal lamp was not enough to shed light on the mysterious terrain.

What shocked him other than the underwater cave was that when he looked up, he was able to see the bottom of a lake. Between the underwater cave and the bottom of the lake was a transparent partition that separated each section apart. It felt like an underwater theme park from the old civilization where people could see the underwater world through a thick panel of glass.

Tang Ling was able to spot a dozen huge shadows swimming under the lake. Despite the distance, the intimidating presence was pressuring.

What are those? Are they the Arto red armored fish that Valencia talked about?

The fish looked very scary. It seemed like a shark from the old civilization though it was a lot scarier. Its body with red scales made it look like it was a swimming blob of blood.

What do they eat to grow so big? Is the lake that rich in aquatic creatures to act as food for them? If they are on the surface, what level are they? 

Tang Ling was thinking about all the trivial questions as he sized up the groups. It was impossible for him to believe that there was only a single path here. Somewhere, there must be some hidden paths.

Indeed, he really noticed something noteworthy after searching around for a while. A huge rock was hidden behind the large group of smaller ones. Compared to the other bald rocks, this particular one had many transparent bubbles at its bottom, but a closer look revealed that they were not natural bubbles. Instead, there were many black spots inside.

Other than that, with the dim light source, Tang Ling was able to vaguely spot carvings on the rock and an entrance, suggesting that that particular rock had been hollowed out. The secret of the dragon claw must be inside.

However, how should he get there? Must he get out from the temple and jump into the Goddess Tear Lake?

Tang Ling would never have taken up such a stupid idea. He placed his hand over the transparent, bubbly wall. It felt soft to the touch but had high tenacity. It enveloped Tang Ling’s hand, and as he pushed his hand further into the water, the bubble remained over his hand.

Am I supposed to push the bubble toward that hollowed big rock?

The thought popped into his mind and he decided to carry it. He stuck his body to the wall of the bubble and pushed himself through the water.

However, to his surprise, the bubble did not expand infinitely until it reached the hollowed rock. As he pushed himself further forward, the bubble burst, propelling him into the water, and the tremendous water pressure almost suffocated him!

Green eyes lit up among the irregular group of rocks, and the transparent barrier between the lake and the underwater cave broke following the burst of the bubble.

The Arto red armored fishes swam downwards madly as if they were commanded by something.

Their target was Tang Ling!