Kael gripped Arjun's shoulder and blinked into the sky with Skywalk Technique, soaring at breakneck speed.
Arjun watched in awe, his voice tinged with reverence: **"Idris, you've mastered the Skywalk Technique?! That's a lost art!"**
His amazement was genuine. Not only did Kael command Skywalk Technique, but he also wielded lightning magic—a combination unheard of across the Three Continents. Arjun's admiration for Kael skyrocketed.
A wild theory sprouted in his mind.
Leaning in cautiously, he whispered, **"Brother Idris… are you, by chance, some reclusive grandmaster from the older generation? Skywalk Technique, lightning magic…"**
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. His eyes gleamed as he stared at Kael, barely containing his excitement:
"You're actually a Sage Magician—no, a Legendary Magician! You're just weakened from some catastrophic injury, right?!"
Kael broke into a cold sweat. This guy's imagination is something else.
But Arjun, oblivious to Kael's expression, barreled on:
"Or—wait! Did you seek me out because you recognized my prodigious talent? Planning to pass down your Skywalk Technique and lightning magic to a worthy successor like me?"
Kael was at a loss for words. Arjun's gaze burned with anticipation, as if willing Kael to nod and anoint him the chosen disciple.
A long silence followed. Yet Arjun's hopeful stare never wavered, making Kael's sweat multiply.
"Brother Arjun… you're overthinking this," Kael said softly.
Arjun deflated with a sigh, muttering under his breath: **"Won't even teach me Skywalk Technique or lightning magic. So stingy. And here I was, ready to worship you as a peerless master…"**
The man was truly a character—his motor-mouth running nonstop until Kael threatened to drop him from the sky, forcing a grudging silence.
As Kael soared higher, the world below shrank to insignificant specks. The wind howled past them, and Arjun couldn't help another surge of admiration.
"The Aqua Drake's Secret Realm has drawn so many..." Kael observed clearly, noticing numerous figures moving through the realm, scouring every corner for treasures.
After all, this was the Aqua Drake's Secret Realm—a place brimming with countless treasures.
Nearly everyone who could enter was a formidable expert, and all shared the same plundering mentality. The outer regions of the realm were especially chaotic, with frenzied competition over spoils.
Few dared venture into the innermost depths of the realm; most settled for picking at the fringes.
"Heh, Brother Kael, we've still made quite the haul this time," Arjun remarked, now thoroughly convinced of Kael's capabilities. His tone carried a hint of deference, as if ready to follow Kael's lead.
Kael nodded. Once they reached a safe area, he descended swiftly, bringing Arjun down with him.
As they landed, Arjun couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous nature of Skywalk Technique, his envy obvious. Of course, he knew this was Kael's exclusive skill—no chance of learning it. Admiration would have to suffice.
"We really did strike gold this time," Kael said with a faint smile, retrieving the spatial ring.
Despite the near-death encounter with the Venomscale Earthcrawler, the rewards were undeniable. Bill's spatial ring was now theirs—and inside it, the Dragonfrost Orchid.
Truly, risk and opportunity walked hand in hand in the Aqua Drake's Secret Realm.
Kael opened the ring, revealing a trove of treasures—Bill had clearly been busy looting.
But what truly mattered was the Dragonfrost Orchid.
A master-tier spirit herb, the orchid was a deep gray yet translucent, resembling crystalline ash. Its leaves were broad, each the size of a human palm.
"Dragonfrost Orchid—and so much of it?!" Kael was stunned. Beside him, Arjun gaped in equal disbelief. Before them lay over a dozen leaves of the precious herb.
A single leaf of Dragonfrost Orchid was worth tens of thousands of gold coins—the key ingredient for **"Frostspring Elixir,"** a potion coveted by water-aligned mages and warriors.
But even more valuable was the Ancient Moss—a material capable of brewing top-tier healing potions, even those rumored to reverse death itself. Brew **"Water of Life,"** and you'd essentially gain a second life.
Ancient Moss was a symbiotic herb of the Dragonfrost Orchid—far rarer and nearly identical in appearance, differing only in the subtlest variations of leaf shape.
This distinction was so minute that even master alchemists could miss it. But Kael, a Grandmaster Alchemist, recognized it instantly.
With practiced ease, he separated the Dragonfrost Orchid from the Ancient Moss.
Among the dozen or so orchid leaves, four were actually Ancient Moss—enough to brew a small vial of Water of Life.
And though the quantity seemed modest, a single drop of this elixir could snatch a mortally wounded soul back from death's doorstep.
Kael's eyes gleamed. This was unbelievable luck—finding four Ancient Moss leaves amidst the harvest defied all odds. Normally, not even a hundred Dragonfrost Orchids would yield one such specimen. He couldn't help but marvel at the fortune.
With these four leaves, the risks they'd taken were more than justified.
A faint smile touched his lips as he divided the spoils: ordinary Dragonfrost Orchid for Arjun, while he kept all the Ancient Moss for himself.
The rest of Bill's spatial ring contents were likewise split between them.
Arjun, clutching his share, let out a giddy whoop, eyes sparkling like a child's: **"This trip's been worth every second! Idris, you're a damn legend!"**
In mere hours, Kael and Arjun had amassed a fortune nearing a million gold coins.
But wealth paled next to the true prizes: the Earth Drake's Horn and, above all, the Ancient Moss. While the horn was valuable, the moss was a continent-level rarity—something even the Three Continents might struggle to produce again in a lifetime.
"Idris, we're rich! Hahahaha!" Arjun's eyes sparkled with unrestrained glee.
"Keep it down—there are plenty of eyes around," Kael warned, though inwardly, he shared the exhilaration. His tone remained measured.
"Relax, relax! I know what I'm doing!" Arjun chuckled, glancing around only to notice several onlookers eyeing them with interest. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"So, where to now?" he asked, still grinning.
"Deeper into the Aqua Drake's Secret Realm, of course," Kael replied matter-of-factly.
"Right! If the outskirts have treasures like this, imagine what's hidden in the heart of the realm! Just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!" Arjun's voice trembled with excitement.
Kael nodded. Arjun wasn't wrong—the periphery alone had been this rewarding, let alone the uncharted depths.
The Aqua Drake's Secret Realm far surpassed ancient ruins in value and preservation. Within it lay incalculable wealth.
But what truly gripped Kael was Vesper the Lecher's claim—that the realm might hold the Aqua Drake's Legacy.
Securing that legacy would smooth his path to mastery, for the Aqua Drake had been a step from godhood in magic!
"Move. Every moment we linger is wasted," Kael urged.
Arjun bobbed his head eagerly. Though thrilled with their haul, the promise of greater spoils ahead set his heart racing.
"Hah! Let's go, Brother Idris! Together, we're unstoppable!" Matching Kael's stride, he hurried after him.