Novel Full Chapter 387 - 388
Chapter 387 - 388
Kyrian used his dexterity and strength to climb the Great Volcano.
His hands found natural platforms in the black rock, narrow ledges, cracks where he could dig in his fingers, and irregular edges that served as temporary footholds.
Every movement was perfect and efficient, he had already calculated exactly where to grip and where to step.
The heat no longer affected him.
The hot air rising from the depths of the crater, which had once scorched his lungs and made his skin tingle, was now nothing more than a warm breeze against his face. The magma bubbling below, which had once been a mortal threat, was now insignificant.
His body had changed. The Heaven Bone had changed it.
After some time, Kyrian did not count the minutes, lost in the rhythm of the climb, he finally leaped out of the volcano’s mouth.
His feet landed on the solid ground of the outer rim. The rock was hot beneath his feet, but he barely noticed.
Kyrian raised his eyes to the sky above the crater.
For the first time in many hours, he could see daylight again.
The sun was high, or whatever passed for a sun beneath the gray clouds of the Great Volcano.
A diffuse reddish glow spread across the horizon, painting everything in shades of orange and gray.
The wind passed through his hair.
Kyrian remained standing on the inner edge of the Great Volcano for a long moment, simply feeling. The wind. The heat. The Qi around him.
His body was alive. His meridians pulsed. His cores rotated.
He had never felt so... complete.
Then, something changed.
Kyrian caught something approaching him at high speed in his peripheral vision.
His instincts screamed before his eyes could even process the image.
A shadow appeared to his right.
Fast. Violent.
It was a kick.
Kyrian reacted almost instantly.
His arms crossed in front of his abdomen at the very last possible second. There was no time for anything else, neither to dodge nor counterattack.
Only defense.
’BOOOOM!’
The impact exploded like thunder.
The shockwave spread in every direction, raising a cloud of ash and dust. The sound echoed through the surrounding mountains, reverberating off the rocky walls like a furious roar.
The ground beneath his feet cracked immediately. Deep fissures opened around him, spreading outward like spiderwebs.
His body was launched backward like a stone fired from a catapult.
Traveling dozens of meters.
Rocks exploded as he bounced across the volcanic terrain, first colliding with a rocky formation that split in half, then violently sliding across the rough ground that tore his robe, then suffering two more impacts before finally losing momentum.
Only after sliding several more meters and carving a deep trench into the ground did Kyrian manage to stop.
Silence lasted for an instant.
Kyrian remained kneeling.
One hand pressed against the earth, the other still crossed over his chest from the defensive stance.
Then he slowly raised his head.
He felt a slight pain in his forearms, a dull, superficial ache, like a bruise after an intense training session. His muscles were tense, but nothing more.
No broken bones. No serious injuries. No internal damage.
Nothing.
Kyrian’s orange eyes narrowed.
He immediately recognized the man who had attacked him.
An old man.
Short gray hair slicked back with oil. A face covered in scars, some old, some not so old. Sharp eyes like blades that seemed capable of piercing flesh itself.
The eldest leader of the Red Smoke City forces.
The same man he had seen before when the group gathered in the Intermediate Area. The same one who had led the four experts toward the Inner Area.
Before Kyrian could even speak...
Three more presences appeared.
’Whoosh!’
’Whoosh!’
’Whoosh!’
Three figures landed around him, moving with terrifying speed.
Completely sealing off every escape route.
North. South. East. West.
Four cultivators.
Four leaders.
Four Spiritual Awakening Realm experts.
Kyrian recognized all of them. They were there with the same robes, the same weapons, and the same oppressive aura he had sensed from afar during his ascent.
And immediately he understood the situation.
During his climb through the volcano and while descending the endless staircase, he had heard their battles in the distance. The crashes, the explosions, the roars of the guardian spirit beasts.
They had attempted to advance toward Ming Hai’s tomb.
But they had been stopped by the creatures guarding the Inner Area.
Now...
The battle had clearly ended.
And they were here.
Watching him.
With obvious hostility.
"What does this mean?"
Kyrian asked calmly, still kneeling.
His gaze remained fixed on the old man, the same man who had just attacked him without warning, without a single word, without giving him any chance to defend himself.
The question was not about the attack.
It was about their stance. The encirclement. The hostility.
The old man did not answer immediately.
He merely observed him.
Analyzing.
His eyes traveled from head to toe over Kyrian’s body, the torn clothes, the absence of serious injuries, and the upright posture despite the impact.
Finally, he spoke.
"Boy."
His voice was cold. Calculating.
"You’d better not lie to us."
The spiritual pressure around him slowly increased, not as a violent wave but as a gradual rise, like water filling a sealed room.
"Tell us."
"What are you doing here?"
"How did you get this far?"
"How did you survive?"
He placed one hand behind his back in a gesture that attempted to appear casual. But his eyes never wavered.
"Depending on your answer..."
"I might allow you to leave alive."
Kyrian remained silent.
Inside, however, his mind was already working rapidly.
’They wouldn’t believe in coincidences anyway,’ Kyrian thought.
There was no naivety in his thoughts.
He knew exactly what was happening.
They did not want answers. They wanted treasures. They wanted the inheritance.
They wanted any benefit he might have obtained inside the Great Volcano.
’My survival here is already suspicious,’ Kyrian continued.
’My cultivation advanced three stages in a matter of hours. My physical resilience is abnormal.’
’To them, I must be living proof that the inheritance exists.’
’And that I took it. Especially after emerging from the volcano completely unharmed.’
His silence only confirmed their suspicions.
One of the other leaders let out a rough laugh devoid of humor.
"Is there even anything left to ask?"
His voice echoed across the mountain, filled with certainty.
"It’s obvious."
He pointed directly at Kyrian with a clenched fist.
"This bastard came here for Ming Hai’s tomb."
"While we fought those beasts, while we risked our lives in the Inner Area, he slipped inside unnoticed."
"Then stole the inheritance."
Another leader immediately nodded, his eyes narrowing.
"Now everything makes sense."
His gaze darkened with suspicion.
"When we found this boy near the corpse of the Five-Horned Lava Lizard, I already thought it was strange."
"A first-stage Core Formation cultivator alone in that region?"
"Surviving a beast that even powerful elders fear?"
"It was far too suspicious."
He carefully observed Kyrian’s arms where the robe had torn, exposing the skin beneath. There were no marks. No burns. No bruises.
"Besides..."
"He took a direct attack from a Spiritual Awakening expert."
"With no active defense."
"With no Qi barriers."
"And he’s still practically unharmed."
The eyes of the other three leaders grew even colder.
They had noticed it as well.
The physical resilience displayed by Kyrian was absurd.
Far beyond normal.
Far beyond what a fourth-stage Core Formation cultivator should possess.
Then the final leader spoke.
"You’re all ignoring the most important thing."
Everyone looked at him.
The man smiled slowly, a smile that never reached his eyes.
Then he pointed directly at Kyrian.
"His cultivation."
Their expressions immediately changed.
"When we first met him in the Intermediate Area, near the cave, the boy was only at the first stage of Core Formation."
Silence.
The sound of the wind filled the empty space between the words.
"But look at him now."
"He’s at the fourth stage."
"Three entire breakthroughs."
"In just a few hours."
He slowly withdrew a double-bladed axe from his spatial ring. The weapon was imposing, each blade the size of a forearm, the handle wrapped in beast leather, and runes engraved into the metal.
The axe reflected sunlight with a deadly gleam.
"Judging by the fact that he’s emerging from the Great Volcano..."
"By the absurd increase in cultivation..."
"And by the equally absurd physical resilience..."
His voice became low, heavy with barely concealed greed.
"I think we all know exactly what happened."