In the end, it still took Lu Yi the better part of half a day to reach the outer perimeter of the village, even with his enhanced physique. During this period, he also found a few Unawakened. He killed those who attacked him and ignored those who ran away.

  The sun hung high and merciless in a sky of faded blue when the familiar, ramshackle outlines of the starting village came into view. A faint, unexpected wave of nostalgia touched him, the familiar structures evoking memories of his first moments in this game.

  He chose a random high building's roof as a vantage point and climbed to the top. The vantage point offered a sweeping panorama.

  The destruction of the realm was clearly visible from there, it was a grand apocalypse, a spectacle of annihilation that stole the breath from his lungs. It looked as if the whole realm was just a floating island, there was nothing below the island except the same sky that stretched overhead.

  The cracks had slowly crept all the way closer to the village and remained there. The next time the destruction starts again, these cracks would all be turned to dust.

  Lu Yi was appreciating this terrible beauty when an arrow suddenly whistled toward his face, aimed directly between his eyes.

  He tilted his head slightly, and the arrow missed completely.

  The next second, he manifested a crossbow with an arrow still attached to it. It took two seconds for it to materialize, but he wasn't exactly in any hurry. He knew exactly where the arrow came from, so he swung the crossbow. Or at least that's what it looked like from the outside.

  Thok!

  Somewhere inside a building, the arrow found its mark.

  [Ding! You have…]

  'It actually struck someone in the head?!' The thought occurred to him, as he immediately jumped backward, this time two arrows shooting through the exact point he was standing earlier.

  'Didn't expect there to be so many.'

  He fell backward off the roof, back facing the ground three stories below, the wind whipping at his clothes. One hand remained casually in his pocket; the other still held the crossbow. At the last possible moment, he tossed the crossbow straight up into the air, twisted his body in a fluid mid-air flip, and landed in a deep, silent crouch on the ground below.

  Immediately, he started running—the crossbow fell down, he was about to catch it—but another arrow hit it, hurling it far away.

  Lu Yi stood there for a moment, assessing the situation. 'That requires some good skills.' He ignored the crossbow and moved directly toward their location.

  The inhabitants panicked for a moment, before deciding to run.

  "I told you we should not take the risk! You idiot!" One of them shouted, his voice cracking with fear and accusation. "If I don't make it to the top 50, I'll kill you for real."

  'It isn't even my fault! Damn you, Cui Wen!' The other assailant cursed internally, while guiding his teammate to safety.

  They burst out of one building, darted across an exposed courtyard, and moved into another structure. Their plan was to keep running through the houses and the building, then enter the forest and move toward the central area.

  They exited one building and entered the next through a broken doorway—

  Thud. The companion collided into him from behind.

  "What happ—" He looked ahead, and there it stood. The monster.

  Being this close to him, both lost their voice. Beads of sweat rolling through their necks, as the sharp sound of haggard breath broke the silence.

  They were so close that they could even see the faint shimmers on his pitch-black face, the void-like surface catching the light in ways that seemed to defy understanding.

  A paralyzing fear gripped them, until the 'monster' moved his hand. There was just a single arrow in his hand, and soon it might be in the face of the youth in the front; he had to move.

  He tried to punch and swing wildly—all while trying to find a way to run—but his hand was punched right at the joint, followed by a punch to the liver and another to the chin, finalized with the arrow piercing the eye and brain, causing him to die on the spot.

  "Hwaaaa—" The other Unawakened fell back. "Wait, wait, don't kill me, my father is an official working directly for the clan, he is rich, he will give you whatever you want—"

  Lu Yi advanced with the same blood-slicked arrow still gripped in his hand. The terrified Unawakened witnessed this approach and immediately reached for his satchel with trembling fingers, pulling a flask with some desperate plan in mind.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  But it was kicked out of his hand, flying upward as Lu Yi killed him the same way as earlier, then easily catching the flask and storing it with Massless.

  Both bodies had already turned into chests, he quickly took everything they had, and then moved toward the one he had previously killed.

  Overall, what they had were bows, arrows, small weapons, a few explosives, food, water, and a few healing pills, along with two more items that caught his attention.

  One was a scroll, Lu Yi focused on the scroll:

  [Advance Archery Skill: Teaches the learner the skill of archery at advanced levels. Tear the scroll to learn.]

  It wasn't his first encounter with such skills in the game, when he was staying in the temple, he had already seen many such skill scrolls. He even used one, and it was useless. His existing proficiency in all such skills already far exceeded even the best of what these scrolls provided.

  The second was a ring; the one with the rich father was wearing it:

  [Ring of Agath: Grants the wearer's attacks a minor electric effect.]

  He already had a ring similar to it, but out of any artifacts in the game, this was the only one that almost felt like a scam.

  The issue was that although it said that it grants the wearer's attack a minor effect, it didn't specify that the attacks need to be physical, and the small pearl on the top must touch the enemy to take any effect. Which meant that only if the wearer punches someone will it give any effect. And you also had to be careful about not letting the pearl touch yourself or your equipment lest you damage yourself. Even after all that—as if it was still not enough—the pearl was so weak that a few good punches easily destroyed it.

  Lu Zhiheng had first-hand experience on that because he had already destroyed his Tensheng's common ring.

  What he currently had was the one he took from the Unawakened who attacked the temple near the mountains.

  Absorbing everything into Massless, he continued toward the forest, his silhouette disappearing into the tree line as the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon.

  …

  The temple had already reached its designated destination.

  Now, regardless of how aggressively they attempted to advance, further progress toward the center proved impossible. This was as close as the floating fortress could approach.

  Cai Hong stood at the gigantic gate and gazed far into the distance; his eyes fixated on something. The temple was currently at rest in the air, it just floated there.

  In front of the temple was a large plain—there were a few large houses and trees—but most of it was empty, the terrain flat and exposed, offering little cover for those who sought to hide. The only thing giving it some beauty was a stream flowing right through the middle, the water catching the light like a ribbon of silver stretched across the land.

  Xu Qin walked in front of him: "What happened? Is the news about Lu Zhiheng bothering you? I know you two were friends."

  He didn't answer immediately, instead continuing to stare with narrowing eyes, his mouth opening slightly as though struggling to process what he was seeing.

  "Fine, if you don't want to say anything—"

  "What's that? Is that another temple?" Cai Hong interrupted. Xu Qin turned back to follow his gaze, and sure enough, far into the horizon was a small dot floating in the sky, barely visible.

  "It—it indeed looks like one." She instantly went in to report the finding. In a few moments, everyone was outside, their faces turned toward the distant shape that grew slightly larger with each passing moment.

  Fortunately, the entire central area was plain, thus they were able to easily notice it. Though they were still very distant to actually make something out of it, all of them had a slight feeling that the other side had also noticed.

  "I wonder who's the guardian of the other temple." Hua Yong mused aloud, directing his observation toward Xia Sahui.

  She continued staring at the small dot that was now slightly more visible than before, confirming its identity as another temple, twin to the one they currently occupied. She looked at the map—but it didn't show anything—indicating that the route of the temples was set in such a way that they would not interfere with each other.

  "Whatever…" Hua Yong continued despite receiving no response to his previous question. "I'll go and check their strength. If it's possible, we might even be able to get another temple." He paused. "Hu Jian will follow me, but I need more."

  Hearing his words, everyone flinched visibly and immediately started praying. They knew it wasn't safe at all, and anyone who goes with Hua Yong might die in case a battle occurs, the risks were too big.

  "You can go if you want, but if you want my subordinates, the answer is not now. First, we'll wait till the survivor count drops to fifty, only then will you take them with you."

  Xia Sahui’s reply was like ice on a burning wound, all of them relieved immediately. Their respect for Xia Sahui as a leader went even more up; she was a leader who cared for the people around, that would capture anyone's heart.

  "Fine with me." Hua Yong's voice carried a note of acceptance, though his eyes glittered with unspoken plans. "But have you thought about what if the destruction reaches us and we don't have enough time?" He paused. "What about the monster? Are you not going to vie for the last survivor? That gives 100 fragment points. The survivor count also needs to be below 50 before destruction reaches the temple, or we don't know what will happen. You can't take everything, you know."

  "The survivor count will easily reach below fifty before the destruction reaches the temple, there is no chance fifty people can hide in these open plains. So, most of them should still be outside, and anyone who enters now will easily be spotted by either us or the other temple." Another pause, longer this time. "But you are right, we don't have enough time for everything…" She contemplated for a long minute before continuing.

  "Take Yao Ming and Chen brothers with you. You aren't allowed to go to the other temple. Go and check those houses, there might be some hiding there."

  Just as she finished, a weak sound like some firecracker, reached her ear. She moved her focus toward the sound.

  Out in the distance—near the other temple—a few houses were burning with dancing flames, the black smoke painting the clear sky in shades of grey and orange.

  She immediately opened the survivor count:

  [112/500]

  …

  [110/500]

  …

  A few more pops sounded, and she realized what the other side was doing. The other side was clearing their side of the area. They were throwing explosives directly onto the houses, which would either straight up kill anyone inhabiting or force them to come outside, and then without any cover, they would be as good as dead. The temple had a great advantage because of the high point, while those inside the houses near the temple were basically naked.

  This strategy forced them to come out and move even further toward the center. The ones right in the center were still safe—for now.