Chapter 60. Walking Into No Man's Land, Recruited by the Ice Fairy (2)

The terracotta soldiers were all returning to the holes in the ground and were reverting to their original appearances. Those that had resurrected after being destroyed no longer moved, eliciting gasps of surprise from everyone.

"Does that mean we passed the first trial?" asked the Ice Fairy. Her voice sounded gentle and warm, which was in stark contrast to her image.

"That must be it." The Northern Emperor nodded. "We probably triggered something, as we ended up killing two-thirds of them."

Unlike his brutish appearance, the Northern Emperor had a meticulous mind.

"It might be because of that sword," Asura remarked. He glanced at the blood-red saber in his hand. His saber was actually a good weapon, but it clearly couldn't compare to the sword in Lu Yuan's hand.

He felt somewhat regretful at the fact that he wielded sabers, not swords.

"Can we go in now?"

Everyone snapped back to reality. The terracotta soldiers were no longer attacking them, so the path ahead had no obstacles at all.

When they looked at Lu Yuan, their faces looked a bit weird. A problem the Five Supremes couldn't resolve was resolved by Lu Yuan all by himself.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion interrupted everyone's thoughts. Immediately afterward, a violent tremor ran across Mount Li followed by a wave of pressure. The "dragon" above the mountain was starting to become restless as well.

Afraid that something dangerous was about to happen, everyone retreated, but they were mistaken. Instead, the massive gateway opened wide, and the white jade staircase emanated a radiant light, forcing everyone to narrow their eyes.

When the light dissipated, the staircase was no more, replaced by small bronze doors. There were ninety-nine of them in total; each about three meters tall. They were all open, but it was pitch black inside, so no one could see what was in there.

"The Mausoleum is probably beyond those doors, is it not?"

"Yeah, I think you're right. Otherwise, this won't make sense at all."

"Should we go in?"

The crowd whispered among themselves. They all guessed that the resting place of the Primordial Dragon was behind those doors. However, the majority of them hesitated, afraid that there was something dangerous behind the doors.

They dared not proceed harshly. After all, perhaps only one of those ninety-nine doors was the correct one. If they ended up choosing the wrong path, wouldn't that mean dying a meaningless death?

With that in mind, many remained silent.

No one dared to go; they all chose to observe.

"My brothers were just killed. If I don't go in, won't this trip be for nothing?" a bold Awakened said. Then, he rushed forward. Indeed, there were no more obstacles, and he walked through one of the ninety-nine doors.

Everyone stared intently, wanting to see whether there would be any changes.

Five minutes later, the door disappeared, leaving only ninety-eight doors.

"Oh no, once someone has walked through the door, it will eventually disappear after some time!" someone exclaimed in realization. One less door meant one less opportunity!

After brief hesitation, many of the Awakened stepped forward to pick a door, some entering alone, others crowding the same door, believing it to be the correct one.

Thus, the doors leading into the Mausoleum steadily decreased. Even the major forces couldn't sit still; whether right or wrong, they would lose their chance if they were to refuse to go, so they picked a door to walk through as well.

Three trials must be completed to enter the Mausoleum, and this is the first trial. This is the true first test, and it is ten times harder than fighting those terracotta soldiers.

Lu Yuan remained silent at the sight.

It appeared like he had helped everyone clear the obstacles on their way to the Mausoleum, but the truth was that the terracotta soldiers were just the prologue.

The true beginning was right here. If the Primordial Dragon's resting place had just one trial, it would be far too easy to reach, hardly worth such long planning on Lu Yuan's end.

Meanwhile, the Great Luo Sword Embryo had just devoured to its heart's content, becoming even stronger as a result.

Lu Yuan put it away, knowing it would soon evolve. Fortunately, the process was not going to be that long.

Just as Lu Yuan got ready to walk toward the doors like everyone else, a gentle voice echoed from the side.

"Mr. Lu, which door do you think is correct?"

The voice belonged to Ice Fairy. She took the initiative and approached Lu Yuan with a gentle smile, which contrasted with her cold aura. "My Polaris Biotech is hoping to cooperate with you. How about we enter the tomb together?"

Lu Yuan's performance was so eye-catching that he was already on the radar of the major forces. However, Polaris Biotech was more decisive than them and was clearly one step ahead of everyone else.

Moreover, the Ice Fairy herself had made a move. In addition to being one of the Five Supremes, the Ice Fairy also represented the entire Polaris Biotech.

"Many people have their eyes on your sword, Mr. Lu. They might scheme against you to obtain it for themselves," Ice Fairy muttered, lowering her head.

Even though she hadn't said it outright, she had practically promised that they could protect Lu Yuan's safety.

Ice Fairy's attempt to recruit Lu Yuan was obvious. She was a beautiful woman with an extraordinary bearing and demeanor. If Lu Yuan were an ordinary person, he would still consider her offer, even if he wouldn't accept it.

Even Zhou Yunqiong looked over upon realizing what was going on.

"They're not that strong." Lu Yuan shook his head. "Besides, I'm used to being alone. Goodbye."

With that, he decisively walked toward the bronze doors. He chose one of them and walked into the Mausoleum.

"People from Skygod Technologies and Longevity Genetics have all gone in," reported someone from Polaris Biotech. Their voice was soft and calm as they walked up to Ice Fairy's side.

Despite their facade of calmness, however, they were clearly nervous as the number of available bronze doors was decreasing rapidly.

Ice Fairy watched as the Southern Sovereign, the Northern Emperor, and even the Winged Celestial God chose a door for themselves.

"Even if we don't end up obtaining the great opportunity inside the Mausoleum, I want you to keep paying attention to that Lu Yuan," Ice Fairy remarked. Then, she pondered for a moment before adding, "He is an extraordinary individual. We ought to show goodwill by supporting him at key moments."

Ice Fairy saw Lu Yuan's earlier clash with the Wuzhou Group, and she believed that they had a great opportunity to recruit him. As for that sword, Polaris Biotech had some powerful divine artifacts; there was no need for them to be greedy.

The Global Awakening had just begun, and they needed more experts to join them for the sake of expanding their organization.

In truth, the Aurora Academy and some other forces had the same idea as Polaris Biotech. Lu Yuan was just too dazzling; he even suppressed the Five Supremes all by himself.

In the future, Lu Yuan could have his own foothold in the new era. He was a talent that couldn't be overlooked. Of course, all that would wait until after this endeavor in the Mausoleum.

Once she was done with her orders, Ice Fairy led her people inside.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Awakened started losing their patience. They could no longer stand by and watch. Since there were so many doors, finding the right one was nearly impossible—better to simply choose and enter.

On the Aurora Academy's side, Dean Zheng led some teachers forward, letting Zhu Qingyu and other students wait outside and wait for news. No one knew when they would come out, after all.

In just half an hour, there were no more small bronze doors. The number of Awakened before the Mausoleum had also decreased by around ninety-nine percent.

Most chose to enter, while some valued their lives more and gave up.

Upon walking through one of the doors, Lu Yuan found himself in a space devoid of light. It was so dark that one couldn't see one's own hand. Even he couldn't see clearly in this space.

Still, he discovered that he was in a passage that led somewhere.

"The world believes the Primordial Dragon's resting place is underground, but who could have known that it's actually in a self-contained world? If not for the world's changes, no one would have known the Mausoleum's secret," Lu Yuan murmured to himself upon being reminded of his previous life.

The truth was that the Mausoleum was in another world, which could be considered a self-contained world that manifested only after the Global Awakening.

Actually, behind each small bronze door was an independent space that couldn't intersect with the spaces behind every other bronze door.

More importantly, all ninety-nine doors were correct; it didn't matter which door one had chosen to walk through.

Naturally, there were small boons inside each door, and obtaining them meant earning benefits for oneself. However, one needed to pay a price in exchange for those boons, and sometimes, the price to pay was one's life.

This could be considered punishment for the trespassers on the Mausoleum.

If one wanted to reach the final destination, the journey there wouldn't be so easy. In addition, the key was absolutely necessary. More importantly, there was only one chance. If one missed it, that would be it—no second chances.

The reason Lu Yuan could freely choose a door was that they were all the same to him. After all, the key to the final destination was already in his hands.

Shaking his head, he emptied his mind and took a deep breath. Then, he slowly traversed the darkness. An unknown amount of time later, Lu Yuan saw a white light in the distance.

And of course, Lu Yuan decisively stepped into it!