Chapter 358: Chapter 358. Advancing Slowly

“Lin Mo, stop! You will be in big trouble if you harm him!” Sima Fang warned.

“Lin Mo… Don’t do it,” Huang San said.

Amon didn’t listen to them. He was squatting while looking down at Yan Long under his foot.

Yan Long wanted to look at Amon but couldn’t turn his head. He grabbed Amon’s foot and tried to remove it. It was like a steel clamp. It won’t budge.

Once Amon was sure Yan Long was aware and could hear him, he asked, “Have you ever wondered when you woke up today that this might be your last day of living?”

Yan Long felt the pressure in his head intensified. He panicked. He was hitting Amon’s foot with his hands frantically. He had felt from his mental link the death of his tamed beast. That knowledge increased the awareness of his mortality. Was he going to die today?

Sima Fang and Huang San continued to persuade Amon, but Amon didn’t show any sign that he heard them. The others just watched with blank faces. They didn’t know what to do.

“Lin Mo!” Wu Di’s voice thundered. “If you kill him, I will not let it be this time!”

Aside from Tuang Yin, Xin Wuming, and Yang Li, Wu Di believed Amon might truly proceed with this murder.

The same as the others, Amon didn’t give any response. He continued to stare at Yan Long. He even lowered his head so Yan Long could see his face.

Yan Long saw Amon’s eyes. The coldness in those eyes made him feel like he was an ant that could be squashed at any moment. The panic in him turned to helplessness and despair. He was just about to start begging for mercy when the pressure was suddenly gone.

Amon removed his foot. Yan Long stayed unmoving for a second before he quickly dragged himself away. He crawled on the floor before trying to get up but stumbled and fell.

“You… You… You, madman!” Yan Long finally spoke. “I… You… You will not get away from this…! My Yan Clan will get you! You watch your back…!!!”

Yan Long continued to rant. Amon ignored him. He walked away. He passed by Wu Di and paused beside him.

Amon said, “One day, we might have no choice but to face one another. At that time, you will regret it if you hold back.”

He continued walking. Wu Di didn’t respond. He just stared at Amon, who sat beside Tuang Yin and used his Nine Moon Restorative Mantra to help her recover.

Sima Fang came to Wu Di and asked, “Hey, Wu Di, I was wondering. Just now, you said, this time. What do you mean by that?”

“… Never mind that,” Wu Di answered and walked away.

Things cooled down. Everyone spent their time recuperating. Everyone stayed away from each other, and no one spoke. The situation became awkward.

After several hours of rest, Sima Fang said, “We should resume. Tuang Yin and Wuming, the two of you should take the portal and leave this place.”

“I am fine,” Xin Wuming said. Everyone was surprised when they saw him. The bruises on him were gone completely. His clothes were a mess, and traces of dried blood were still on him, but otherwise, he was as good as new.

“What recovery art did you use?” Wong Cou asked.

“A secret art,” Xin Wuming answered.

“You should leave,” Amon told Tuang Yin.

“I want to help,” Tuang Yin said.

“With your condition, you will just be a burden,” Amon replied.

“You are a real ass, you know,” Tuang Yin said. She sighed before standing up. “All right, I will wait for you all outside. Stay safe.”

She went and entered the portal that still hovered at the same spot.

Huang San said, “I wonder. If we start where the previous team left off, will the portal follow us once we move away from this hall?”

“We will find out soon. Let’s go,” Sima Fang said.

A hallway opened after they destroyed the battle puppets. They now entered this hallway.

“Xin Wuming, you take point,” Sima Fang ordered.

“… Why?” Xin Wuming asked.

“You have an incredibly potent secret healing art,” Sima Fang replied.

“…”

“Use your Iron Skin to lessen the damage if you hit a trap,” Sima Fang added.

“I will take point,” Amon said.

“Brother, no. Let me…”

“I’m not saying that to protect you. I should be able to spot a trap if there is any,” Amon cut Xin Wuming’s speech.

Amon moved slowly while surveying every single detail in the hallway. He regularly squatted to get a better look at the flooring. He also used some stones he stored inside his space ring to throw at spots he deemed suspicious. Their progress was extremely slow because of that, but no one complained. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“Weird… No trap,” Huang San remarked after they passed through the hallway and into another large hall.

“Yeah. The hallway before the portal we came out of was full of activated traps. I expected this hallway to be the same,” Wu Di said.

“Probably this pocket world gives us different challenges as we move along,” Wong Cou conjectured.

“Anyway, I was glad we don’t have to go through those traps,” Wu Di said as he walked forward. “This hall is empty. No battle puppets… It seems we must go that way.”

He pointed at an opening in the wall opposite where they entered.

Amon also walked forward. His eyes continued to survey the surroundings. The hallway might not have traps, but that didn’t mean it was the same for this hall. The others followed behind them.

When they were halfway to the opposite wall, the entire hall started shaking.

“What is that?!” Yan Long asked.

“Everyone, gather together!” Sima Fang commanded.

However, before they could move, the hall transformed. Walls came out of the floor, walls, and even ceiling. In a short instant, everyone was separated by a series of walls. The hall stopped shaking then.

Amon touched the wall. It felt hard. He channeled his energy and punched. His punch didn’t cause any dent. From the impact, he estimated the result would be the same even if he went all out. He stopped trying to break the wall and looked at the transformed environment.

He was not caged. The raised walls left one path open. The others should have called by now. If he didn’t hear anyone, that meant these walls were soundproof. He started walking along the path, which made him turn several times before encountering an intersection.

’A maze,’ he thought. The raised walls turned this empty hall into a giant maze.

He pictured in his mind the paths he had taken in reference to the opening on the opposite wall. He had an idea of which direction he should head. He took the turn that headed in that direction.

He met several other turns, which forced him to go further away from his destination. He didn’t feel good about that, so he doubled back to the intersection and took another path. This happened several times, but thanks to his excellent memory and spatial visualization, he never lost his sense of direction.

After hours of walking and backtracking, he finally arrived at the opening on the opposite wall. He saw no one there. The others were probably still trapped inside the maze. He was also separated from the Thunder Roc. His mental link with the Thunder Roc allowed him to gauge that it was still wandering around the maze. Too bad his mental link with his pet was not yet strong enough. Otherwise, he could link his senses with the spirit beast and help it navigate the maze.

He didn’t waste time waiting. He entered the hallway. He proceeded slowly while paying attention to possible traps. He didn’t encounter any after advancing for a while but chose not to be careless. He continued to scan for traps.

He stopped when he heard footsteps from behind. He turned around and readied his weapons.

Wong Cou came into sight.

“You get past the maze, too?” Wong Cou asked.

“Yes. How did you do it?” Amon asked.

“Me? Luck, I guess,” Wong Cou answered. “Should we wait for the others? I waited for ten minutes back there but decided to just scout ahead.”

“You can wait if you want. I will do the scouting,” Amon returned to checking for traps while advancing slowly.

Wong Cou thought for a bit but decided to follow Amon. There was only one path. If the others got past the maze, they would come here as well.

They walked silently for a while. Wong Cou finally made a conversation, “You know, I am very impressed with you. I might have been the one with the highest cultivation when we entered the academy, but that was thanks to my age. If compared to the nine of you, I admit I am not that special.”

“You remained in the top ten. That should prove something,” Amon said.

“Thanks… To be honest, there have been multiple times I considered joining Vicious.”

“Why didn’t you?” Amon asked.

“Probably because of my pride… But I think I will join once we complete this mission.”

“All right, but you will work from the bottom like any recruit,” Amon said.

Wong Cou chuckled. “I’m fine with that.”

“We have reached the end,” Amon said.

The hallway opened into a room which they weren’t sure how big it was. That was because the entire room was pitch black.

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