Maximilian cracked his neck as Justinian joined him. They took a bit longer than they planned to allow Justinian to gain a level. Maximilian wasn't convinced that the single level would make a difference, but he decided not to complain. He was more than ready to get a move on. When Justinian confirmed that he was ready, Maximilian formed a platform of wind, and the two headed toward the closest gate. Maximilian kept his eyes peeled for any signs of movement as they moved. The run took them less than twenty minutes. During which they encountered no one. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. He had no idea how many people were in the trial at the start let alone how many were still present. He hoped that everyone without the strength or will to stand in the next stage had left but that was all he could offer them. He surrounded himself in his Dao fields as they reached the massive gate. The door made him think of the kind of thing you'd see in fantasy castles or in cities ruled by giants. He wasn't sure why it would need something so big. It was as tall as some of the smaller skyscrapers on Earth. Only the stone felt much more durable As if the world could end before the gates fell. He was about to ask Justinian if he had any ideas when the stone groaned. Maximilian raised an eyebrow as a ray of light peered in between the two sides. His question died on his lips as they watched the doors part.

  Maximilian half expected a half-mad king to rush out at them. Or for some knight or other fantasy staple to appear. He wasn't sure if that thought was him being childish or if it was reasonable. He had seen more fantastical things in the last few months than he had ever thought possible. He was certain that it would continue as he moved forward. As he got stronger. He smothered the errant thoughts as the doors finished opening. He waited another moment in case the Network added something. When nothing happened, he nodded to Justinian and the two ran forward. They had returned to the ground by now, so Maximilian could save his energy. When they reached the other side of the gate, Maximilian paused. The innermost region of Nystal was beautiful. The energy density alone exceeded everything on Earth except the tomb. Part of him wanted to take a seat and just absorb the energy. The area was most natural so far. With what he could only describe as a massive garden situated in the very center. He had assumed they were about to enter a city center, but it was more accurate to call the place a palace. One that would have made the richest kings of old Earth green with jealousy. It was also painfully clear that the trial wasn't over. He could see four gates at the four cardinal directions. He wasn't sure how many of those gates had someone close enough to enter. Either way, he was certain that the palace was the final battleground.

  "Well, I suppose we have to make a choice. We could stick together and split the loot or we could split up and take our chances?" Maximilian asked. His eyes hadn't left the palace. As if he was worried it would all disappear the moment he looked away.

  "Let's split up. I imagine that the final battle will be unavoidable. I have no interest in competing with you for whatever exists in there."

  Maximilian smiled to himself. He could hear the excitement in the other man's voice. He decided not to mention that he had done an almost 180 on his earlier thoughts. He had to admit that he felt the same way. He didn't want to risk competing for something valuable, nor did he want the temptation of attacking the man. They discussed it for a few moments before they made their choices. They would split up here and now. Justinian would go west and search for a different door to enter, while Maximilian would stay here. He decided to wait until Justinian left his view before he made he stepped forward. It was time for the final stage of the trial to get started, and he couldn't be any more excited. Without further ado, he charged forward. As soon as he was within the bounds of the garden, he was inundated with spiritual energy. He wondered for a moment why this place was so well preserved. He learned the answer to that question a short while later. The arrays were still going strong. He wasn't sure if the arrays here were just higher quality or if the Network had work to keep it going. Either way, he decided not to worry about it too much. His attention was pulled in by a heavenly scent. The scent was a cross between citrus and cinnamon and made his entire body ache.

  He had to take a moment to calm down before he followed. He wanted to take whatever treasures he could, but he knew better. This was a trial zone, and this might have been some sort of trap. Or a monster that hunts by ambush. He released his Dao for defense only to quickly retract it. Even that temporary display had caused the plants to shiver. It was as if he had disturbed the carefully manicured peace. He wasn't sure what would happen if he destroyed the environment with his presence, but he wasn't in the mood to find out. At least not until he harvested all he could. It didn't take long for him to find what he had come for. There was a tree with three fruits hanging from its branches. The fruits looked like a cross between coconuts and oranges. He could tell that the things were chalk full of energy, which made him nervous. He looked around, expecting some creature to come forward. Or another puppet to attack him. When nothing happened, he shrugged and formed a stream of wind. He was pleased to see that the display hadn't disturbed the place. He sent his spun thread of wind forward until he claimed one of the fruits. A moment later, he held it in the palm of his hand. It was heavier than he expected. It reminded him a bit of baseball. It wasn't enough to be a weapon, but it was still amusing. He brought the fruit to his mouth and prepared himself. He wasn't sure how well his dao would fight off poison, but he was ready to find out.

  The moment he bit into the fruit, he was inundated with spiritual energy. It felt like he had swallowed a miniature star. Only the energy was neutral. He wasn't sure how it worked, but it was like the fruit shifted to be what he needed. What he wanted it to be. The energy flooded into his dantian with every bite. All too soon the fruit was gone, and he was left wanting more. Without thinking about he had reached for the others. He stopped himself and took stock of his situation. He felt fine, but he wasn't about to leave it at that. He surveyed both his body and mind before he was satisfied. He felt a bit ridiculous when he realized it was just a good fruit and not some addictive power. He still wanted the other two, so he reached out and collected both of them. Now that he had them, he hesitated. Part of him wanted to take both fruits right away. Only a smaller part of him said he shouldn't. That he could put the fruits away and give them to Farrell or someone else back on Earth. He oscillated between the two options before he placed the fruits in the bag. It was annoying, but he wasn't too upset about the situation. One fruit had been enough to make up the ground to level 32. He doubted more would help him overly much. He mentally compared the amount of power he got from the first fruit to the amount of power he would need to get to level 33. It wasn't comparable. He would need ten or so to get the same benefit. Even if that assumed the fruits kept their potency through eating more of them.

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  There was another reason for his choice. One that only grew now that he stored the other fruits. The smell was gone, but it had been replaced with another pull. His treasure sense told him he wasn't done yet. That he would find more treasures if he kept going. He smiled and cracked his neck. He still hadn't seen any signs of other participants, but he doubted that would last much longer. He would need to enjoy the peace of the garden for as long as he could before it was time to go. He continued forward, his eyes moving along every bush, vine, or tree branch he could see. He found several more fruits, most of which weren't the kind he could eat. He wasn't sure, but his best guess was that some of the things in the garden were materials. Or rather ingredients. He wasn't sure he could use those for anything, but he figured he could trade them to his alchemy hall for a nice profit. The second group he found was much more interesting. There were only three of them, but they were the most valuable by far. They were attribute boosting fruits. He hoped to find one for each attribute, but that proved impossible. He hadn't searched the whole garden, and he wasn't going to. The place was massive, and he was certain the palace was where the real treasures would be. All that said, the three fruits he had found were more than worth it. He consumed all three. Even though a small part of him felt he could have saved two of them. As much as he wanted to help other people, there were times he needed to be guilty. The three fruits provided five points each to his Luck, Constitution, and Strength. Of the three, the Luck was one by far the best. It had also been the reason he ate the other two. If those two had also boosted luck, he would have been tempted to scour the place for more fruits.

  Even now, the temptation was present, but he ultimately decided against it. The passive pull of his treasure sense had weakened by now, which meant he would need to travel. Instead, he made his way toward the palace. He had grabbed enough benefits. It was time to move on to the final stage. He had no idea how he was doing in terms of the trial, but he figured he had to be in the top ten. Depending on how things work, he would move into the top five soon. Either way, he had made his choice. There was nothing more to do but see it through to the end.

  Yao Wei wiped the blood from his lips as he got to his feet. His body ached, and he was certain he had broken several bones. He wasn't sure what he had done to bring this calamity on his head, but there was little he could do now. He had already accomplished his goal. The Wei Clan's people escaped, which meant the clan hadn't lost anything major. He hadn't saved everyone, which was a thorn in his side. Yet, there was little he could do about it now. His eyes focused on the men who attacked him, or rather, the man. The warrior had the same dark skin as the other,s though his armor was much more ornate. It was a dark silver color with the crest of a large avian creature that Yao didn't recognize. In his left hand, he held a spear while his right was covered in a metal gauntlet. Yao had thought that encountering the mysterious king would give him a chance to advance. That he could turn it into providence for his future advancement. Now he felt he was lucky to get away with his life.

  "Your strength is impressive for someone at Early Foundation. Especially when one takes into account your age." The king began. "I don't understand why you won't take the offered hand. Surely you understand by now that you aren't my match. Your defensive treasure is expended, and your people have gone."

  Yao shook his head. "I aimed at the peak. I only regret that I did not get to test myself against that person." Yao nodded as he stared at his opponent. He wasn't sure who would win between the king and the strongest person on Earth. They felt completely different from one another. There were a few more things he could try. He had one more skill but he doubted it would work. Further, it would put him in a bad position. No, his journey had come to its end. He pulled out his token. The small circular piece of stone was odd. He wasn't sure how something so small could be so important. Part of him felt like he could learn a lot if he sat down to study it, but that wasn't his path. He had far too many other things to worry about. "Good luck. I will make this my exit." He crushed the token and locked eyes with the king until he was pulled away. His transport took both too much time and too little. The blinding white light seared his eyes for a moment before he once again stood in front of his personal quarters. The Forbidden City. Part of him found it amusing that they had found this place. As if fate itself worked to secure this piece of China's history.

  It wasn't just preservation either; the building was stronger than before. Strong enough to withstand the ravages of the new world. Yao was just about to head back when he hesitated. The bag he got from the tutorial hadn't disappeared. Just as he was about to reach into it, the Network spoke. The message was short and simple. They had a few minutes to open and empty the bags before the Network would take them. It was novel, but he had enough time to move. Yao glanced up at the sun and sighed. He regretted not being able to stick around and watch how the final battle played out. He let himself suffer for a moment before he moved on. Life was a marathon, not a sprint.

  King Memneth stared at the fading man with disinterest. The otherworlder was strong, but there was nothing truly lost. He would need to raise new generals when they returned. It would be annoying, but it wouldn't stall his progress. He had already found several treasures that more than made up for the trip. When the man had fully disappeared, a small beam of light shot toward him and into his bag. He wasn't sure how many tokens the man had collected, but it should be quite impressive. Memneth turned his attention to the walls of the inner city. There was some wisdom in waiting a day or two. He had used more energy than he intended. The puppets were growing as time went on. He still had several hours before nightfall. He also knew that the heavens weighed risk with reward. It was possible that staying here would hurt him more than he could recover.

  "Your majesty." A soldier, Memneth, didn't recognize stepped forward and knelt on one knee. "We are ready to move when you are."

  Memneth nodded and shifted his attention. "We will rest for an hour. After that, we continue to the end of the trial. Send word to my son. Notify him that he is free to make his own choices." Memneth held little love for his descendants. He fostered their ambition. An ambition that had become a sword aimed at him. It was worth it. At least it had been. Losing one of his children was not in his calculation. He could have another, but that would be a long-term gain. His mind drifted to the other two people in the trial. The other spear user would make a great descendant, but he doubted it would work. He had already offered him the chance, and the warrior refused. He wasn't sure if they were both fools or if this other world was more powerful than his. He leaned toward the former. So far, every other person he encountered was disappointing. He had killed several, and even more had been defeated by puppets. He was curious about the "Heavenly Warrior". No matter how much he questioned his soldiers, they all described him the same way. Powerful and arrogant. He would have to do something about his softness, but that was something that could be dealt with. That assumed his recruitment attempt worked. If it didn't, he would turn the man into fuel for his own advancement. He had a few more hours before he returned to his base of operations.