Chapter 868 - 868: House Of Betrayal

The supervisor took the token, turning it over in his fingers. His eyes traced the characters, noting the wear patterns and the authentication marks pressed into the metal during its creation.

These tokens were part of the entrance examination process. Every participant received two identical tokens when they first lined up to join the Demonic Cult.

One was surrendered to the gatekeeper upon entry, kept in the cult's records. The other remained with the participant as proof of identity.

There was nothing special about the token besides some specific identification codes hidden in the edges. Just from the touch, he could tell this token was genuine. Which also meant that the body was almost certainly Kai Kai's.

Supervisor Gui examined the token for several long seconds, his expression unreadable. Noah stood waiting, his posture relaxed, showing no signs of nervousness or concern about the scrutiny.

Finally, the supervisor looked up at him, his eyes narrowed to thin slits. The silence stretched between them. Supervisor stayed silent as if he were contemplating something, but after a long while, he seemed to have given up.

Then, slowly, the sly smile returned to Supervisor Gui's scarred face.

"Impressive," he said, tucking the token into his robes. "Most participants would take at least a few days to track down and kill their target. You managed it in under two hours."

He gestured dismissively at the headless corpse. "The body will be disposed of. With this, I count your task as complete—"

He paused mid-sentence as the sound of footsteps echoed from the mansion entrance.

Both Noah and Supervisor Gui turned their heads towards the main gate. Another figure was walking into the courtyard, also carrying something wrapped in blood-soaked cloth over their shoulder.

Seeing this man, the eyes of the supervisor widened sharply. The reason he reacted in such a way was because the man was none other than Yuan Ming.

He walked with steady steps, his expression carefully neutral, showing no reaction to finding Noah already there. His clothes were riddled with traces of fresh blood, and there was a huge slash mark on the chest portion of his robes.

He stopped a respectful distance from Supervisor Gui and let the wrapped bundle slide from his shoulder. The body hit the ground with the same wet, heavy sound Noah's had made.

Seeing the body, realization finally flashed through Supervisor Gui's eyes. 'So that's how it is. To think they managed to get the true nature of the test in such a short time and produced results.'

Yuan Ming unwrapped the rug, and another headless corpse rolled out onto the courtyard floor.

It was another young man who had seemingly lost their head. The body was dressed in simple black cultivator robes, eerily similar to the ones Noah was wearing.

But the difference was that the robes of this body were torn and bloodied from many places.

The smile returned to Supervisor Gui's face. 'Looks like they will have a very bright future at the sect."

His eyes moved from one headless corpse to the other with an expression that showed that he was aware of what scheme Noah and Yuan Ming were cooking, but he was enjoying it to the fullest.

"Fang Yuan," Yuan Ming said, his voice steady. "My assigned target."

He crouched down and retrieved a metal token from the corpse's robes, holding it up so Supervisor Gui could see the name engraved on its surface.

FANG YUAN

This time the supervisor casually took the token and threw it back on the body without even checking it. 'Of course it will be correct, since they are both genuine tokens.'

"So you are saying this is Kai Kai." He glanced at Noah while pointing at the body he presented. Seeing Noah nod in confirmation, he turned to Yuan Ming and asked the same question, "and you are saying that this is Fang Yuan."

Seeing the boy nod as well, the smile on his face widened as he asked, "Then who are you two?"

"I am sure you would have your name tokens."

As if they were waiting for this question, both Noah and Yuan Ming simultaneously pulled out two new tokens from their robes and presented them to the man.

On Yuan Ming's token, the name Hei Tu was carved, and on Noah's token, it was Sheng Ying.

"Haha!!!" Seeing this, the elder exploded in laughter. He won't for a while before wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. "Forgive me, I have not seen something so amusing in a long time."

"Is there something wrong?" Noah asked calmly, as if he did not even understand why the man was laughing.

The supervisor laughed once more and shook his head. "No, there is nothing wrong. Everything is in order; welcome to the Heavenly Demon Cult, Disciple Sheng Ying and Disciple Hei Tu."

He stood from his chair and walked toward the back of his courtyard, gesturing for them to follow. "Come. Your trials in the cave are complete. It's time to leave this place behind."

Noah and Yuan Ming exchanged a brief glance before following the supervisor deeper into the mansion grounds.

They passed through a small garden filled with plants and arrived at the back of the mansion.

At the far end of the garden stood what appeared to be an ordinary rock formation. Large boulders stacked in a natural-looking arrangement, covered in moss and lichen.

Supervisor Gui approached the rocks and placed his palm against the largest boulder. His qi flared as he channeled it through the stone.

CRACK.

The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed through the garden as the rock formation began to shift. The boulders rotated, revealing a hidden passage behind them. Behind the rocks, there was a tunnel carved into the cave wall, leading upward at a steep incline.

Torches flickered to life along the passage walls, illuminating the "steps.

"This passage leads directly to the surface," Supervisor Gui explained, his hand still resting on the boulder. "It will lead you directly out of the caves and into the innermost section of the heavenly cult."

He stepped aside, gesturing toward the tunnel entrance.

"Go. Follow the steps up. At the top, you'll find robes and supplies waiting for you. Change out of those blood-soaked rags and make your way to the compound. Someone will also help you get out of those burdens." While saying that he pointed at the metal rings wrapped around the wrists of both boys.

They were the weight rings everyone got at the start of the trial, and now it was finally time to get rid of them.

Supervisor Gui smiled that terrible smile one last time. "And congratulations, disciples. You've survived what most do not. Use that strength wisely in the days to come."