131: Chapter 130 The Treasure Hunt Ends Abruptly

Having jumped through the door, Zhang Mu had no idea what was happening between the Adventurer Groups and the City Lord.

As soon as he landed, he took a quick glance at his surroundings and immediately dashed forward along the flagstone path.

They had all sorts of concerns, but Zhang Mu had none.

Losing his life to a magic trap?

If he died, he died; he had been tormented by the magical beasts of the Silent Forest countless times over the past few days anyway.

After running for several hours, Zhang Mu passed several intersections.

Compared to the main road beneath his feet, the side paths to the left and right were nearly half as narrow.

Driven by curiosity, he randomly picked a path and ran to its end, finding a room floating in the void with all its doors locked.

He guessed it was a room for storing treasures.

Zhang Mu didn't try to pick the lock.

Regardless of whether he could open it, he didn't care even if the Adventurer Groups and the City Lord behind him hauled away all the treasures.

The most important thing was to get his hands on the "World."

Thus, he didn't let himself get distracted again, continuously swallowing potions to replenish his mana while sprinting forward at full speed.

After running for about three hours and passing over thirty intersections, there was still no end in sight.

Even Zhang Mu, a Professional with the actual strength of a Beginner Magician, was getting exhausted from running.

If he could learn Mihe's Haste Technique, traveling would be much more convenient.

However, given the harsh social environment of the Saul Continent, he wasn't sure if Mihe would be willing to teach him.

Lying on the flagstones and taking a moment to catch his breath, Zhang Mu pondered that he could try to strike a deal with Mihe once they were out, offering something Mihe wanted in exchange.

Having finished his thoughts, Zhang Mu scrambled up and continued running.

Surrounded by an unchanging void that seemed to twinkle with starlight, he lost track of how long he had been running as time slipped away.

All he remembered was downing more than ten bottles of magic potion, more than he had used two months ago while searching for the oil rats's nest in the Syria Desert.

Finally, just as Zhang Mu—despite possessing supernatural power—was running himself into a daze and felt like he might faint at any moment, the flagstone road reached its end.

It was a light gate the size of a normal room door.

Zhang Mu didn't care if there was danger behind the door; he only wanted to end this Other World marathon as quickly as possible and stepped through.

"Shit!" After running through darkness the whole way, he hadn't expected the inside to be flooded with light, nearly blinding him.

He instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, and after a long while, once he felt he had adapted to the light, he slowly lowered it.

This was a vast, white space with no visible boundaries, save for an ordinary crystal ball floating in mid-air not far away.

He walked closer and circled the crystal ball, but couldn't see anything special about it.

Drawing on his limited treasure-hunting experience in the Other World, Zhang Mu placed both hands against the surface of the crystal ball and attempted to communicate with it using his Mental Energy.

...

The City Lord walked along the flagstone path, his expression exceptionally grim.

He hadn't expected that after facing off on the landing platform for several days, the Adventurer Groups—who had long been dissatisfied with him monopolizing the position closest to the pillar of light—would actually unite against him.

They forced him to set out first.

Taken individually, the City Lord, with his Magister-level strength, feared none of the Adventurer Groups.

But united...

After all, they were all Professionals at the level of Magister or Great Knight, only slightly lower than him, not to mention their sheer numbers.

As for making threats to cause trouble later, it was of little significance.

Most of the Adventurer Groups in the Silent Forest were citizens of neighboring countries, and even those from his own country could simply flee to distant lands.

Left with no choice, the City Lord led his own Professionals to scout the way ahead.

Fortunately, after walking for a while, they hadn't triggered any magic traps. Otherwise, if there were too many casualties, the City Lord had no doubt those Adventurer Groups behind him would actually dare to kill him.

"Lord City Lord! Look!"

Suddenly, a subordinate pointed ahead. The City Lord looked up and saw an intersection.

Leading the team closer, he glanced around briefly and chose to turn right.

This path wasn't long; they reached the end in about ten minutes. Looking at the stone door before him, the City Lord's stifled frustration eased slightly.

There were indeed benefits to being in the lead.

"Open the door," the City Lord commanded after pushing the door and finding it wouldn't budge.

"I'll do it." The head of the personal guards, a Great Knight, raised his spear. "Charge!"

He shot forward like an arrow from a bow, leaving an afterimage as he slammed into the stone door. With a loud explosion, stone fragments flew everywhere, and a thin layer of dust filled the air.

The door was blasted apart by the spear, revealing a mountain of herbs inside and magic weapons arranged on wooden racks in the corner.

"Good." The City Lord nodded with satisfaction. "Collect everything."

Everyone immediately grabbed the Storage Pouchs hanging at their waists and prepared to step inside.

Just as the Great Knight who had broken the door stepped over the threshold, the surrounding space suddenly warped.

"Watch out!" Thinking he had stepped into a magic trap, he shouted a warning.

But they weren't attacked; they only felt their vision become incredibly blurry until it went completely dark.

When their vision returned, they found themselves back in the forest clearing, bewildered.

The Adventurer Groups that had set out later were also scattered around, looking at their surroundings in confusion.

"What happened?" After a moment of confusion, the City Lord realized that someone had taken control of the "World" and teleported them out.

"Damn it..." He stopped mid-curse, frowning in deep thought.

I was in the lead and never saw anyone pass me, let alone enter the Core located in the deepest part of this world.

It's impossible for anyone to be in the Core room, so why were we expelled?

This was a mystery he wouldn't be solving anytime soon.

Zhang Mu was weaving through the trees, a ring of ancient design on the ring finger of his right hand.

Massive trees zipped past him; his legs moved like lightning, and he covered several miles in just a few minutes.

"None of the gear I prepared was used; what a waste of two months spent being monster fodder!"

After a quick curse, Zhang Mu didn't slow down, his mind already turning toward the matter of establishing the sect and the school.

Naturally, things weren't finished just because he had obtained the "World."

Since it was to be a Cultivation Sect and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a complex of buildings strongly reflecting both styles had to be constructed.

He couldn't just put up some random apartment buildings and call it a Cultivation Sect; that would be too ridiculous.

As for how to go about it, combining the "World" information transmitted by the Core, Zhang Mu soon had a general direction in mind.

He had to find people to build it, and they definitely couldn't be construction companies from Blue Star; that went without saying.

Even if the houses were built entirely in the style of the Other World, humans from Blue Star could still detect anomalies through subtle traces, such as the techniques and materials used.

When the time came, someone would touch the walls and wonder why this Cultivation Sect with a ten-thousand-year heritage used modern technology and materials to build its houses.

Then the lie would be impossible to maintain.

Therefore, he had to find people in the Other World to do the construction.

Hiss...

Zhang Mu had a bit of a headache.

He remembered Avril mentioning it to him once back in Kas Town.

Except for areas where administrative personnel were dispatched, the construction of any buildings or roads elsewhere required the kingdom's permission.

In other words, only building houses in villages didn't require an application.

So where was he going to find craftsmen?

"I'll go to Gur City tomorrow to scout... Huh, Mihe?"

As he was running, Zhang Mu caught a glimpse of Mihe hiding behind a tree to his left.

What was he doing here?

After running several hundred meters in the opposite direction, he deactivated the Shadow Technique and returned. "Mr. Mi He, what are you doing?"

"Zhang Mu?" Seeing him, Mihe was momentarily stunned, then shouted, "Run, quickly! I'll hold off the enemies!"