Chapter 863: The Gaze

The wind and snow raged on.

The group trudged through the deep snow, the howling wind the only sound echoing in their ears.

About twenty minutes had passed since they entered the Ancient Imperial Treasury, and besides the endless blizzard, they hadn't seen a single soul...

The biting cold gnawed at everyone's nerves, leaving their cheeks flushed red. Combined with the hunger from their long trek, they felt as though their bodies weighed a thousand pounds... both their physical and mental states were nearing their limits.

In the end, even the tallest and strongest among them, Zhu Zhong, could barely hold on.

"There are a few trees ahead that can block some of the wind... Let's rest there for a while."

Without a word, he claimed the thickest tree and sat down, as it offered the most protection from the wind. The others, naturally, dared not challenge Zhu Zhong for his spot and scrambled to claim the smaller trees, with some even coming to blows over them.

In the midst of the fighting, some froze, staring into the void as if something were there.

Girls who were relatively frail, like Wu Qiong, couldn't compete with them and could only stand to the side, shivering uncontrollably.

"If we huddle together with our backs facing outward, we can block some of the wind and snow," Wu Qiong said, walking over to them.

Under Wu Qiong's organization, the marginalized group who dared not fight for trees huddled together. Dozens of bodies pressed against one another, using their backs to shield against the wind, and the space between them grew significantly warmer.

The boy in hempen clothes had no intention of fighting Zhu Zhong for a tree, so he brought Ah Qian and joined the group.

"What exactly are you looking at?" the boy asked, frowning as he saw Wu Qiong staring blankly ahead again.

Wu Qiong gave him a deep look, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"You... perhaps you need to be more proactive. Once you take the initiative to do certain things, you will see it too..."

The boy's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Give it to me... I told you to give it to me!!" A shout of conflict erupted nearby.

Zhu Zhong kicked a boy to the ground and grabbed him by the collar, seemingly trying to snatch something away. The boy clutched half a piece of unfinished flatbread, struggling desperately.

"This is mine!"

"You're so weak, eating it is a waste! You'd better let me have it! I'm strong! I can help us escape!"

"No!! It's mine!!"

"You're courting death!!"

Seeing the boy wouldn't let go, Zhu Zhong flew into a rage and kicked him hard in the head, crushing his nose and causing blood to stream down his face, even knocking out a few teeth.

The force of the kick was immense. The boy's mind went blank, but his hands remained locked onto the bread, as if they had already frozen stiff.

"I told you to let go! I told you to let go!! You piece of trash!! You wretch!!"

Zhu Zhong showed no sign of stopping, frantically kicking the boy's head and stomach with a savage, twisted expression!

The others watched, their hearts in their throats. At the end of the day, they were just children, and they were too terrified to step in... besides, they had all seen Zhu Zhong's strength and brutality; who would dare to stop him?

Not far away, the boy in hempen clothes furrowed his brows tightly...

He looked at the tall, burly Zhu Zhong, then at the other children who feared him, a faint glimmer flickering in his eyes as he pondered something.

Zhu Zhong's kicks grew heavier, and the boy stopped responding. Just as the blood was about to stain the earth, a figure appeared before him.

"That's enough!" the boy in hempen clothes said in a low voice.

Zhu Zhong paused, his angry eyes glaring at the boy.

"Who the hell are you? You think you can tell me when it's enough?!"

"If you keep hitting him, you're going to kill him." The boy's gaze was cold and sharp.

"Don't forget that we're all watching. If you kill him, someone will report you once we reach the Heavenly Pivot Domain... Either you kill him and then kill all of us, or you can wait to rot in a prison in the Heavenly Pivot Domain!"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhong clearly hesitated.

No matter how naive he was, he knew what a prison meant... He glanced back at the other children, who all lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze as if they dared not look at him.

Zhu Zhong remained silent for a long time before snorting and pulling his foot back.

"You're pretty cocky," Zhu Zhong narrowed his eyes. "Want to fight me?"

"Do you think your strength is so great?" The boy in hempen clothes was unfazed. "I can drag hundreds of pounds of 'Holy Remains,' and I can smash your head in with one punch... Do you want to try me?"

Zhu Zhong seemed intimidated by the boy's aura. Recalling how he had indeed dragged the Holy Remains alone, a hint of wariness appeared on his face.

Hunger gnawed at his body, and Zhu Zhong didn't want to get into a brawl with the boy right now. He just glared at him viciously.

"You just wait."

He turned and walked off into the wind and snow.

After Zhu Zhong left, the others breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the boy in hempen clothes with a newfound sense of awe...

At the same time,

a string of golden text floated before the boy's eyes:

【Two Emperors cast their gaze upon you】.

The boy stood frozen in place.

……

"Is this the entrance to the Ancient Imperial Treasury..."

Chen Ling and his two companions crossed the desolate land and finally arrived at the location of the Ancient Imperial Treasury. They drifted down before the stone gate, looking around in surprise.

"It's really quite dilapidated," Jian Changsheng shrugged.

"It has been abandoned for so many years, after all. Most of the areas inside should have already lost their function," Sun Bumian pointed to the very top of the Ancient Imperial Treasury, where a golden spire radiated imperial might. "That is the core of the entire treasury."

"That high? Once we get in, we won't have to climb stairs, will we?" Jian Changsheng said, displeased.

Sun Bumian: ...

"If you want to 'climb stairs,' you have to be qualified to enter first," Sun Bumian turned to Chen Ling. "I'll say it again: the Ancient Imperial Treasury isn't a place just anyone can enter... If you can't open the door in a moment, don't blame me for not warning you."

Chen Ling didn't answer. He walked straight to the magnificent stone gate and slowly pressed his hands against its surface...

One second,

two seconds,

three seconds...

Seeing that the Ancient Imperial Treasury remained unresponsive, Sun Bumian wore an "I told you so" expression and was about to say something when a thunderous roar erupted from behind the door!

BOOM—!!!

A golden hurricane swept out from the widening gap in the stone gate. The overwhelming imperial might whipped their clothes about, and Chen Ling's bright red opera robe looked as vivid as blood amidst the gold!

"This... how is this possible? You aren't an [Emperor], how can you open the door?!" Sun Bumian exclaimed in shock while shielding himself from the gale.

In the midst of the golden hurricane, a line of text suddenly flashed before Chen Ling's eyes:

【Four hundred and ninety-four Emperors cast their gaze upon you】