341 Hades's Door

Miller wanted to speak but hesitated.

Baro grabbed Ye Qingxuan's shoulder. "Don't go. Who knows what they're planning?"

"Don't worry." Ye Qingxuan glanced at Colt and smiled. "Mr. Colt isn't like that, right?"

Colt smiled without replying. Coldness was hidden inside his emerald eyes.

"Stay here. I'll be back soon," Ye Qingxuan said to Sam. "If there are any problems, don't worry about me. Kill Colt first."

Sam nodded.

Putting down his bags, Ye Qingxuan walked toward the five musicians. Colt watched as he moved forward step-by-step with an unchanging expression. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan's footsteps suddenly stopped. He stared at Colt; Colt stared back at him. They exchanged meaningful gazes.

In the short pause, faint animosity appeared in everyone's eyes and the atmosphere tensed. However, Ye Qingxuan's smile did not change in that suffocating moment. In the end, Colt sighed regretfully and took a step back. There was a faint sound in the air as if something had disappeared.

Ye Qingxuan continued forward as if nothing had happened. He walked past the two musicians with challenging gazes without a care in the world.

"What a pity," he whispered as he walked past Colt. "If I were you and was fifty percent sure, I'd act."

"Revelations musicians never gamble." Colt's expression was still cold. "Ye Qingxuan, you still lack too much."

"No, what I meant was that a fifty percent chance becomes success in my hands." Ye Qingxuan smiled and looked away. "But not for you."

Colt seemed to not have heard anything. He did not look back at the youth either. However, his lips pursed and veins bulged on the hand that gripped the cane. His emerald eyes were still cold.

Fearless against those cold eyes, Ye Qingxuan gazed the door behind him. The Eye of Silence scanned every inch. He trailed a finger down the veins of the door. As if studying a precious treasure, he did not overlook any detail. After a long while, he rose and went back.

The three did not relax until Ye Qingxuan returned to the range of Sam's sound of heart.

"What's the situation?" Sam asked.

Ye Qingxuan pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the dust on his hands. He looked up and said, "There's trouble."

-

Ten minutes later, Ye Qingxuan said, "So basically, there's only one road ahead of us now. According to the trend of this underground palace, all the tunnels will reach here. In a while, after everyone else is here, it'll be even more fun before the door.

"The problem we'll all face is that, compared to the poor civilians and soldiers, the ones behind the door are probably rich and powerful nobles. They won't be buried so simply, you know?"

Miller reacted first. "Is it an enchantment or a seal?"

"The problem is that it's both." Ye Qingxuan jutted his chin at the large stone door. "In Romulusian legends, there's something called the Hades' Door. It's over-reaching like an enchantment and independent like a seal. It should be the specialty of some school. There are signs of at least five Abstinence musicians working together."

"Can you do it?"

"No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely. "I might have some chance if I reach the Scepter level. Colt probably can't either. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here."

"Should we try digging a hole?"

"Do you really want to dig a hole on an active volcano?" Ye Qingxuan used a metaphor. "If you dig a hole without undoing the alchemy array, you won't be better off than that guy. Remember the Romulusian formation? That was just an appetizer. Once Hades' Door is activated, it'll activate all the protective measures in the first floor too. Then the main course will come…" Ye Qingxuan gazed at the vast palace. It was enough for hundreds of people to come out and fight. He said with a mocking smile, "Let's not look too far but how many clay puppets do you think can fit here?"

Baro's face twitched and he cursed. "I knew it was bad news for Romulusians to make such a big place!"

"So what do we do now?"

"Eat some food?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "There are three solutions. One, we stay here and see if anyone else can figure out a plan. That'll waste time though. Two, we go up and try another path. It probably won't work though…"

"What about three?"

"Three?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Checking his watch, he said, "It's getting late and there's no point in waiting. Why don't we go back, sleep, and come back when we're refreshed?"

Everyone thought that he was joking, but seeing his serious expression, they did not know what to say. In the end, the three were convinced. They packed their bags to leave.

The group on the other side seemed panicked. Shock flashed past Colt's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but saw the mockery in Ye Qingxuan's eyes.

Boom! Ye Qingxuan slammed his cane on the ground, tipped his hat, bowed politely, and got the h*ll out of there. He did not know what Colt had planned, but he would not fall into any traps if he did unpredictable things. After all, the relic would stay there for a while. If they wanted to stay there, they could. Ye Qingxuan's group would go sleep. The four of them actually left just like that.

However, Baro suddenly froze while climbing the steps and grabbed Ye Qingxuan. His eyes had turned into the beastly vertical pupils at some point. The hair on his hands stood straight up like a beast about to go wild. His aura was already wild as if he had met his natural enemy.

"Something crazy's coming." Gritting his teeth, he stared into the distance. "Really strong beastly nature, really strong…"

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. How strong must the beastly nature be for the inheritor of the School of Dragon Rock to be so affected? Ye Qingxuan had become desensitized to phantom beasts after seeing the great king earthworm. It was hard to imagine something even more shocking.

Footsteps quickly sounded on the spiral staircase. There were two pairs of feet, one after another. Whenever the person in front took a step, the person behind him would step as well. It was orderly as if the latter was earnestly stepping into the former's footprints.

"Casper…Casper Hauser." Baro gouged the wall with his sharp fingernails; sand fell to the ground. His body tensed. "It's the Hauser brothers. Torre Haiser and his freak brother."

Just as he finished, a gray and a black shadow appeared before them. The one clad in gray stood up straight. His features were coldly handsome and serious. In the dimness, his eyes were like amber.

The slouched figure behind him was like a monkey. His old black clothes were dirty and ragged. His features were unclear because his face was covered with cloth. His greasy waist-length hair was stuck together into locks like a wild beast. For some reason, his eyes did not contain the beastly nature representative of Summoning musicians. They were just blank.

Casper. Casper Hauser. This was the legendary musician raised by Summoning musicians according to the optimization theory. He was the beast of beasts.

The atmosphere stagnated when the two parties met. Then the elder brother, Torres, nodded slightly. Without giving a greeting, he moved aside. After a short pause, they 'brushed shoulders' against each other on the not-very-narrow staircase.

The stairs were at least five meters wide but right now, it felt too, too narrow. It was narrow to the point of suffocating. When he passed by, Ye Qingxuan's peripheral vision fell onto the faint designs on Casper's black poncho. The design was faded from the years of wear and tear. It was the emblem of a black hound. It hid in the darkness of the long robe, its silhouette faintly revealed. It was grinding its teeth and drinking blood, preparing to kill.

-

It was a fleeting interaction but Ye Qingxuan could still hear Baro's pounding heart after they had walked for a while. He was panting heavily as if they had fought a war. Baro's eyes were dark. He chewed on his nails subconsciously, making annoyed cracking sounds.

"Is the rumor true?" Miller asked. "He completed the inheritance of the beastly nature?"

"Most likely," Baro muttered. "I was doubtful before I saw him but now I'm pretty sure it's true. Compared to that kind of result, the research of my school has fallen behind."

"Inheritance of the beastly nature? What's that?"

"Heresy!" Baro spat and looked back at Ye Qingxuan. "You know how the hound was created?"

How was the breed of the hound created? Of course it was done by looking through thousands of dogs and choosing the most aggressive, most violent, fastest, and strongest one. Then, by interbreeding the best bloodlines, they would observe the children and choose the strongest to continue training, developing, strengthening, and breeding. Finally, the bloodlines of countless strong ancestors would be joined in one powerful hound. Aggressive, strong, fast, violent yet obedient…all the positive traits were combined, creating a new hound.

"Some schools believe that we can breed hounds like that, so why not Summoning musicians? After all, aren't humans just a more advanced type of beast?" Here, Baro stopped talking.

After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked into the darkness behind him. The darkness shook as if a large black hound had once walked past it. This was a Summoning musician created by Summoning musicians. A beast of beasts.

"I see."