126 The Land of Inheritance

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Zhong Ling ran incredibly fast, and Li Yuan and I had to chase her for quite some time before we could match her pace.

The higher we climbed, the colder it became. The air grew thinner, while my mental strength continued to drain away. I estimated that I would not be able to hold out much longer.

Gao Ge and Jin Qiling eventually caught up as well, both of them looking thoroughly miserable. They trembled nonstop, evidently lacking any ability to withstand the cold.

After what had happened earlier, neither of them had the nerve to ask for my protection again.

All they could do was pray that we would find the entrance into the mountains as soon as possible.

We had already reached the summit of the Tianshan Mountains, where everything was buried beneath a vast expanse of white. Nothing could be seen anywhere.

The barren mountaintop was so flat that I could see all the way to the edge at a glance. Apart from snow, there were only a few small drifts.

Could it be that the entrance was not on the summit? If so, we would be in serious trouble. There was a real possibility that we would freeze to death here.

With no time to worry about anything else, the four of us began searching aimlessly, resorting to the most primitive method—a thorough sweep of the entire area.

We held our playing cards over the snow. If one of them reacted, that had to be the entrance.

The Tianshan Mountains were the inheritance ground of the Antiquities Faction. In theory, there should be some kind of protection in place, allowing only Spade-card contractors to enter.

Conversely, Spade-card contractors ought to have an easier time locating the entrance, thanks to the connection between their cards and the barrier sealing the passage.

As expected, we eventually found it.

It was hidden behind a small snowdrift, buried beneath layer upon layer of snow.

The four of us entered without difficulty, and a pitch-black passage appeared before us.

Jin Qiling volunteered to take the lead.

“Seven of Spades—Ancient Lantern!”

He activated his ability at once. His Seven of Spades playing card transformed into a streak of golden light, forming a spherical source of illumination in midair.

Guided by its glow, we began making our way deeper underground.

For the time being, Zhong Ling and the other two had reached a temporary truce. After all, everyone here belonged to the Spade suit, and letting the conflict become too serious would make matters difficult to resolve.

The temperature gradually rose until the cold vanished completely.

As we continued forward, the passage began to widen, and the walls on either side steadily receded.

Several enormous stone pillars stood along the passage, covered in obscure and incomprehensible carvings that seemed to record some ancient history.

Farther in, lights began to appear. It looked as though a colossal altar had been built within a vast chamber inside the mountain.

The immense altar towered like a pyramid. The only difference was that it had no apex; its summit was instead a broad, level platform.

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The passage split into two roads.

One was marked “Awakening Tower,” while the other read “Sacred Relic Plaza.”

The road to the Awakening Tower led to the very bottom of the gigantic structure, where a black door stood. The Sacred Relic Plaza, meanwhile, was reached by a staircase ascending toward the great platform at the top of the building.

“So this must be the inheritance ground prepared for us.”

Zhong Ling widened her eyes and gazed around, clutching her playing card tightly as she spoke with excitement.

As soon as she finished, she darted toward the Sacred Relic Plaza.

Since there should not be any danger within the inheritance ground of the Antiquities Faction, I let her go on ahead by herself.

What I had not expected was for the silent Li Yuan behind me to follow her as well.

Jin Qiling and Gao Ge exchanged a quiet glance and seemed to say a few words to each other. Then the two of them rushed straight into the Awakening Tower.

They did not even say goodbye to me before charging inside.

The moment they entered, the black door vanished.

I guessed that the Awakening Tower probably placed a limit on the number of people who could enter at one time. Since that was the case, I also headed toward the Sacred Relic Plaza.

However, as I climbed the stairs, the enormous murals covering the entire cavern caught my attention.

The murals depicted none other than the Thirteen Sacred Relics representing the Spade branch of the Antiquities Faction.

The ancient divine spear that had swept across countless battlefields, invincible against all foes; the Emperor’s treasure mirror, whose radiance illuminated the four corners of the world and repelled everything; the Prophecy Jade left behind by the Great Seer; the World Tree, said to possess an endlessly long life and survive for a thousand years; the True Brush, which stripped away the essence of all things; the Four-Duty Official Ruler, which controlled the flow of time; the Buddha’s Divine Lamp, said to be worshiped by the Buddhist faith; the Emperor Lord’s Treasure Pagoda, which possessed the power to restore the dead to life; the Heavenly Seal, which could divide into countless forms and whose true body had never been found; the Eastern Emperor’s Treasure Bell, which suppressed and sealed everything; the Eternal Scroll, an encyclopedia of every myth and legend; the Wind God’s Fan from Buddhist lore; and the ultimate cold gem—the Ice Prism Stone.

The murals differed in clarity.

Those depicting contractors who had already died were exceptionally clear. Next clearest were the images of contractors who had awakened their abilities. As for the murals corresponding to the five of us who had yet to awaken, they were especially blurred.

A thought occurred to me: could it be that once every mural became clear, the Spade-card ritual would be considered complete?

And once every suit had completed its ritual, perhaps the final Ritual of Heaven and Earth would also come to an end.

But things did not seem to be that simple.

Compared with a game that could end only after everyone was dead, I was much more inclined to find the Great and Little Ghost Kings.

By now, Gao Ge and Jin Qiling had formed one pair, while Li Yuan and Zhong Ling had formed another. That left me alone, completely isolated.

I knew that one of those four people had to possess a Joker card—but that was based on the assumption that what the dean, Madam Red, had told us was true.

I could not guarantee that Madam Red had not deliberately spread false information in order to make us kill one another.

The greatest disadvantage of being alone was that I had no one to consult. Now, I had no allies left at all.

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If they turned their suspicions toward me, I truly would have no way to explain myself.

To prevent that from happening, I hurried toward the Sacred Relic Plaza to reunite with Li Yuan and Zhong Ling.

Spending too much time alone made it easy for others to become suspicious, especially when there was a Joker among the group.

Meanwhile, in the ancient city of Fenghuang in western Hunan, a group of figures descended from the sky.

They crashed to the ground in all sorts of awkward positions. Chen Hao landed face-first, but had no time to brush the dirt from himself. He quickly scrambled up and caught Sun Xiaoxiao and Feng Qian as they fell.

The other five had not landed quite so badly, but they had still suffered a few scrapes.

Among those five was “Carbon Head,” who had once fought alongside us.

Carbon Head remained as cold and expressionless as ever, but Chen Hao took the initiative to greet him, even though Carbon Head did not spare him a glance.

Chen Hao, Feng Qian, and Sun Xiaoxiao naturally gathered together, while Carbon Head stepped aside on his own.

The remaining four did not appear to have formed alliances. Each kept a slight distance from the others.

Lin Xiayue, Hu Xing’er, and the other Heart-card contractors had been transported to some kind of ruin in River City. No one would ever have expected River City, known as the capital of talent shows, to be the location of the inheritance ground belonging to one of the four great suits—the Hearts.

The most secretive Club-card contractors, led by Jiang Linlin, had been sent to a place called Ghost City.

The contractors of the four great suits entered their respective inheritance grounds one after another.

Far away, in the presidential suite of the Huaxing Hotel in North City, Madam Red received several distinguished guests.

An old white-bearded man holding a horsetail whisk stroked his beard and said, “Madam Red, do you think your Antiquities Faction will win this time?”

Madam Red sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette. Her red lips looked especially alluring through the drifting smoke.

She replied softly, “Naturally, I have confidence. But your people are no less formidable. Isn’t that right, Madam Zhou?”

The woman Madam Red had addressed as Madam Zhou was an old lady with a head of graying hair. She leaned on a dragon-headed cane and snapped, “Are you implying something with those words, Madam Red?”

Madam Red gave a light laugh and said nothing more.

The last person in the room, hidden in the darkness, spoke coldly.

“Madam Zhou has wagered her own grandson this time. It seems she is determined to win.”

Madam Zhou gave a cold laugh.

“Hmph. Aren’t you doing the same?”

The room fell silent.

The four of them quietly watched the screens suspended in midair. Each screen displayed a scene from one of the inheritance grounds.

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