188: The Key to the Ruins: Was I really a nepotism hire?

"Slay?"

Lin Yuan stood atop the ruins, not only unafraid but also switching hands with the battle saber resting on his shoulder.

"Old man, that's quite a boast."

"The last person who spoke to me like that has grave grass two meters high."

The mummy did not respond, its body leaning slightly forward.

Boom!

The figure that was originally sitting cross-legged in the shadow of the broken sword vanished into thin air.

Lin Yuan's scalp tingled.

So fast!

"Thunderstorm!"

Lin Yuan instinctively released the Thunder Falcon Wings' energy indiscriminately outwards, attempting to construct a lightning barrier.

Crack.

A withered hand, ignoring the high-voltage electric field, directly pierced through the lightning.

It struck Lin Yuan's chest.

"Pfft—!"

Lin Yuan was directly blasted away.

He crashed through the wreckage of a warship behind him, smashing into a pile of rusty containers.

Dust flew everywhere.

"Cough, cough..."

Lin Yuan pushed away the steel plate pressing on him and crawled out of the ruins.

His chest burned with pain.

"I was careless."

He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.

This was not some ordinary gate-keeping monster at all.

This force, this speed, at least a B-rank Peak ancient Martial Artist.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

The "Scarface Qiang" disguise that had covered him completely disintegrated under this blow.

The dark skin receded, revealing his original fair complexion.

The image of the fierce, burly man dissipated, reverting to his original youthful appearance.

Only the silver-white mask remained on his face.

"Disguise Technique?"

The mummy reappeared beneath the broken sword, maintaining its punching posture.

"Flashy but useless."

Lin Yuan touched the mask on his face.

Fortunately, the mask didn't fall off.

Otherwise, if this handsome face were damaged, that would be the real loss.

"Alright."

Lin Yuan spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and casually tossed aside the alloy battle saber in his hand, which was already chipped.

"Since you don't want to talk reason, then let's talk physics."

He flipped his wrist.

The thunderfall battle staff appeared in his hand.

"Again!"

Lightning exploded under Lin Yuan's feet.

This time, he didn't defend.

The Thunder Falcon Wings spread behind him, propelling his speed to break the sound barrier.

The battle staff was raised high, carrying immense thunder, and smashed down directly at the mummy!

"Shatter!!!"

The mummy looked up.

The ghostly flame in its eye sockets flickered.

It raised its withered hand, fingers pressed together, and casually waved it at the descending battle staff.

Clang————!!!

The sound of metal clashing caused ripples in the surrounding seawater.

The shockwave leveled a layer of this steel corpse mountain.

Lin Yuan only felt his tiger's mouth split open, and his entire right arm lost sensation.

But he did not retreat.

Instead, using the recoil force, he twisted his waist, and the battle staff drew a semicircle in the air, sweeping horizontally again!

"Second strike!"

The mummy still stood in place, blocking with one hand.

Clang!

"Third strike!"

Clang!

Lin Yuan was like a madman, each strike faster and heavier than the last.

A sky full of staff shadows enveloped the mummy.

But the mummy was like a reef that had stood here for thousands of years.

Unmoved by wind and waves.

"Too weak."

The mummy suddenly spoke.

It spotted an opening and seized the swinging battle staff.

Sizzle—!

Lightning surged along the battle staff towards the mummy, but failed to cause it any harm.

"Is this your limit?"

The mummy flicked its wrist.

A tremendous force came through.

Lin Yuan, along with his staff, was flung into mid-air.

Before he could adjust his posture, the mummy's figure had already appeared above him.

It stomped down.

Directly hitting his face.

"Get back."

Bang!

Lin Yuan once again crashed into the steel corpse mountain.

This time, the commotion was even greater.

The entire mountain, made of piled-up shipwrecks, split open down the middle.

Lin Yuan lay at the bottom of the crack, feeling as if all the bones in his body were about to fall apart.

"Crack."

A crisp sound rang in his ear.

Lin Yuan subconsciously touched his face.

The abyssal mithril mask had cracked under that kick.

An obscure, ancient fluctuation, carrying the Aura of the abyss, leaked from inside the mask.

It was the Aura of the core, sealed within the mask.

The mummy, which was preparing to pursue and finish him off, paused.

"This Aura..."

The mummy retracted its foot and landed on a nearby steel beam.

It stared intently at the mask on Lin Yuan's face, its voice tinged with surprise and doubt.

"Key to the Ruins?"

Lin Yuan lay in a pile of scrap metal, gasping for breath.

"What key?"

He propped himself up with the battle staff, shakily standing.

He touched the crack on his face, feeling a pang of heartache.

This was an A-rank item, it broke after only a few uses. Who could he complain to?

"Don't play dumb."

The mummy pointed at the mask on his face.

"Sealed within it is the 'Guide's' token."

"Without it, no one can find this place in the Great Fog."

The ghostly flame in the mummy's eyes flickered, seemingly re-evaluating the young man's worth.

"Whose descendant are you?"

"Why do you carry such an evil object, yet cultivate the most rigid and pure thunder techniques?"

Lin Yuan was utterly confused by what he heard.

But he grasped the main point.

This old man seemed very wary of this mask, or rather... very reverent?

"Whose descendant I am isn't important."

Lin Yuan planted the battle staff on the ground, straightened his back, and though still coughing blood, his Aura could not be lost.

"What's important is, since I have the key, does that mean..."

He pointed to the broken sword behind the mummy, and the even deeper sea beyond the broken sword.

"I'm qualified to go in?"

The mummy fell silent.

He looked at Lin Yuan, who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

After a long while.

"This is the Gate of the Ruins."

His voice became low, carrying a sense of vicissitude.

"The living stop, the dead return home."

"Beyond this gate is the place where all things end."

He raised his hand and pointed at the steel corpse mountain beneath his feet.

"All the ships here, all the people, are living beings who have strayed here over thousands of years."

"They couldn't go in, and could only turn to dust here."

"I am the gatekeeper of this place, an ordinary soldier from ancient times—Zhao Polu."

"I have guarded here for over two thousand years, only to prevent the living from mistakenly entering, and to prevent things from inside from coming out."

Zhao Polu looked at Lin Yuan.

"You have the key, which means you have a connection to this place."

"But your strength..."

He shook his head, his tone disdainful.

"Too weak."

"You can't even take one of my moves; going in is just seeking death."

Lin Yuan was choked by this blunt truth.

But his greatest strength was listening to advice, and his greatest weakness was not believing in evil.

"How will I know if I don't try?"

Lin Yuan took a step forward.

"Besides, I have a tough life."

"King Yama himself has me on a list; he said he's too busy to collect me."

Zhao Polu did not stop him.

He turned sideways, clearing the path to the area behind the broken sword.

"Since you wish to die, then go."

"Perfect, there's still a spot to fill down there."