Kael's eyes gleamed as he and Arjun stepped forward, taking in the full sight of the Water Dragon's Armory.
As the name suggested, this vault housed only the finest weapons and magical artifacts—curated by the Water Dragon himself. Every piece here was a masterpiece among masterpieces.
The armory towered over them, over ten meters high, its interior shimmering with an eerie glow. The massive doors stood already open, meaning someone had breached it before them.
Kael and Arjun exchanged a glance—they were ready to charge in.
But then—
The entire city shook violently.
"What the hell?!"
The tremor was so intense it felt like the ground itself was splitting apart. Kael staggered, his body swaying uncontrollably. This wasn't just a minor quake—it was a cataclysmic upheaval.
"Is this… a battle between tenth-rank experts?!"
"Damn it, what's happening?!"
Panic erupted. Most of the cultivators here were far from top-tier, and the sheer force of the tremor sent them into a frenzy. The city's violent shaking had triggered raw terror.
Kael's heart tightened. Could this really be the work of a tenth-rank powerhouse? A disturbance of this magnitude suggested something even beyond tenth-rank—something monstrous.
The earth trembled violently, sending waves of dust and debris surging into the air. Cracks spiderwebbed across the city's foundations, splitting the ground apart.
"The entire city is tilting!" Kael's blood ran cold as he felt the mountain-shattering quake. The ancient metropolis, left behind by the Water Dragon itself, was now lurching sideways under the force of the upheaval.
"No… This can't just be a battle between experts." Kael shook his head. Even high-tier clashes were destructive, but nothing this apocalyptic.
The colossal city—a relic of the Water Dragon's era—was buckling under an incomprehensible force.
"Look! By the gods—what is that?!"
A scream tore through the crowd, raw with terror.
"Gods above… That's—"
Every head turned. Every breath stilled.
Kael's instincts screamed danger. He whirled around—
And witnessed a sight he would never forget.
A deafening, bestial roar shook the heavens. Beyond the city walls loomed a creature of unimaginable scale.
It was the largest beast Kael had ever seen since arriving on the Southern Jialu Continent—if it could even be called a mere "magical beast."
The monster's guttural bellow struck like thunder, reverberating through bones and minds alike.
Its sheer size defied comprehension. From where Kael stood, only its head was visible—a head so massive it blotted out the sky.
The creature's features were nightmarish: a grotesque fusion of the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols, yet crowned with a golden horn and lined with rows of serrated teeth that glinted like daggers.
Its amber eyes burned with primordial menace.
Then—BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The ground quaked with each footfall, each step like a continent shifting.
"Something's wrong… Why can we only see its head? Where's the rest of it?!" Arjun stammered, equal parts terrified and bewildered.
If the head alone was this colossal, the full body would be unfathomable. And a beast of this size… its power would be beyond reckoning.
Everyone had laid eyes on the terrifying, legendary beast, and gasps of shock rippled through the crowd. Inevitably, a trace of panic flickered across their faces.
Hearing Arjun's words, Kael sighed and said in a low voice, "Haven't you realized it yet?"
"Realized what?" Arjun was still reeling from the sight, his mind struggling to process how such a monstrous creature could exist within the Water Dragon's Secret Realm.
Kael exhaled, his voice barely above a whisper. "The reason we can only see its head and not its body is simple—because we're standing on it."
"What?!" Arjun's voice shot up in disbelief.
"Why do you think the city is tilting and shaking? Right now, we're on this beast's back. The entire city was built upon it." Kael's expression was grim—even he found it hard to believe, but the evidence was undeniable.
"You're saying… this city is on its back, and it's carrying us?" Arjun's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Kael nodded, his gaze shifting back to the colossal creature.
As if to confirm his words, the city suddenly lurched again, and the sky beyond transformed dramatically, the scenery shifting in an impossible manner.
"This is insane…" Arjun muttered, his heart pounding.
"I've heard legends that the Water Dragon once had a contracted beast—an ancient variant of the Black Tortoise. This must be it," Kael said, suppressing his own astonishment.
"I've heard of it too. Damn it… An ancient Black Tortoise—a creature said to rival the power of a Divine Mage! To think we'd see one here. They're born with divine strength, capable of swallowing the sun and moon—okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea. And their lifespans… they can live for millennia." Arjun let out a long, shaky breath. He had always assumed the Black Tortoise was just a myth—never did he expect to encounter one in the flesh.
Though Arjun could hardly believe it, he had no choice but to accept the truth. The Black Tortoise was known for its deep slumber—likely dormant for centuries until the cultivators' frenzied looting in the city had jolted it awake.
"This tortoise was the Water Dragon's contracted beast. Even after the Water Dragon's death, it remained here—it must be at least five or six thousand years old. To witness such a creature… it's almost worth it," Kael murmured, awestruck.
The city continued to tremble. More and more people realized the horrifying reality, their faces paling as they grasped their own insignificance.
Chaos spread like wildfire.
Seizing the moment, Kael shot Arjun a meaningful glance. "While they're distracted by the tortoise, let's move. The armory—now."
Arjun's eyes lit up. "Right! Who gives a damn about that overgrown turtle? Our prize is in that vault! Grab the goods first, then we'll worry about escaping."
Kael nodded and slipped inside.
The armory was vast, its treasures staggering in both quantity and quality. Yet Kael only needed a single sweeping glance to decide: "Deeper in. The best loot's further inside."
Having inherited The Book of Immortality, Kael possessed unmatched insight into enchantments and inscriptions. With each breakthrough, more of the book's knowledge unlocked within his spiritual sea.
Though he couldn't instantly appraise every weapon here, he could read the tiers of their enchantments—and thus, their true value.
The outer relics were impressive, but the real prizes lay ahead.
"Got it!" Arjun trusted Kael's judgment implicitly. He ducked after him, plunging deeper into the vault.
But as they advanced, Kael suddenly stiffened, throwing up a hand to halt Arjun. "Movement."
"Huh?"
"Damn it—someone beat us here. Fighting up ahead." Kael's voice was a razor-thin whisper. His gaze sharpened as he peered into the shadows.
There—three figures clashed, their silhouettes flickering in the dim light.
And behind them…
A radiant glow pulsed—the unmistakable sheen of a supreme treasure.
Just as Kael predicted: the armory's heart held its greatest secret.