High regard?!
Suspecting that one of the Ten Divine Artifacts was being held by a High Rank mage?
If that were the case, then they had indeed "thought too highly" of him.
But now...
Morpheus and the others froze in place, their pupils trembling slightly and their mouths hanging half-open unconsciously.
The lingering echoes of the spectral demons' shrieks and the wind pressure cannon's roar still seemed to ring in their ears.
Their minds were buzzing, repeatedly chewing over Lin Gui's casual words.
Every single word was like a heavy hammer, smashing their perception until it wobbled.
You didn't rely on a divine artifact?
With just this speed... you forcibly bored your way through the Wailing Corridor?!
How many Legendary experts had met their end there? How many Epics had failed? Even that High-tier Epic Apex Demon King who once attempted to cross was buried here.
This deadland that had swallowed countless experts...
Had actually been "conquered" by you in such a manner?
So, who exactly... had thought too highly of whom?!
This fact brought a shock that was a hundred, a thousand times more intense than if Lin Gui truly possessed a divine artifact!
The flying vessel finally came to a stable halt in a relatively flat open space within the ruins of Blackwater City.
Sshhk!
Hugh's fingertips emitted a wisp of protective qi, precisely slicing the steel-wrapped cords binding him.
The moment the ropes loosened.
"Ugh—blegh!!!"
Ruger was the first to give in.
His massive frame pitched forward, one hand bracing himself against half a broken stone wall.
His other hand clutched his stomach as he dry-heaved violently, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Hugh's steps wavered slightly as he landed.
His face was terrifyingly pale, his thin lips pressed into a straight line as he tried his best to maintain his composure.
However, the hand hanging by his side was trembling slightly, his knuckles white from clenching.
Kilian leaned on his staff, using the leverage to steady himself.
This usually composed foxkin Sage was visibly panting now, his Adam's apple bobbing several times.
He barely managed to suppress the sourness rising in his throat.
Even Eve frowned and quickly walked to the side.
Beside a long-dried flower stand filled with withered weeds, she bent over and gagged lightly.
Lin Gui put away the dagger he had used to check the vessel and simply gave a knowing smile at the scene.
He was already accustomed to such reactions.
But when he looked up and met the gazes of those several Legendary experts...
Those looks had completely changed.
Suspicion, daze, disbelief, and a trace of indiscernible... horror.
It was as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
No, it was worse than that.
Even when Lord Gusion himself led a team back and forth between Blackwater City and Avalon.
He had to constantly rely on the faint sensation from the Demon King Pillar to carefully plan every circuitous route.
To avoid those terrifying existences, they often had to take extremely long detours.
The time spent was never less than a full day.
Sometimes, they would even encounter Epic demons migrating their territories.
Then they would have to find a place to hide and wait for days until the other party had completely "relocated" before daring to continue forward.
But what about Lin Gui?
Ten minutes!
From the moment the wind pressure cannon started to this very moment of landing, it hadn't even been ten minutes!
He had just...
Charged straight through!
One moment, they were at the edge of Avalon, nervously calculating how to evade those "Apexes" that could only be vaguely sensed by the Demon King Pillar.
The next moment, this young mage was piloting this seemingly crude flying vessel.
Carrying them, he had crashed into the perception domains of those existences in a straight, barbaric, and almost arrogant manner!
No thick barrier protection.
No solid armor plating.
He hadn't even activated concealment magic!
Just like that, completely exposed.
Right in "front" of countless terrifying demons.
He had streaked past!
Shadow Blade Lynn, the High-tier Epic assassin whose speed was unrivaled on the continent.
An existence hailed as the incarnation of extreme velocity.
Even she could never have done it!
It was absolutely impossible to perfectly traverse the entire Wailing Corridor relying solely on speed!
Yet this person before them...
This squishy little mage who was only at the High-tier High Rank.
He had done it.
After a long time.
Ruger's heavy breathing gradually steadied.
Hugh relaxed his clenched fists, and though his face was still pale, he steadied his breath.
Kilian slowly let out a long breath, wiping the cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
Eve also walked back silently, standing quietly by Lin Gui's side.
No one spoke.
Among the ruins, there was only the whimpering of the wind as it passed through broken pillars and streets.
They just remained silent, focusing their gazes—a mixture of shock, scrutiny, and a trace of bewildered confusion—on the gray-robed mage who was currently bending over to carefully check the wear and tear on the vessel's edges.
The deathly wind of Blackwater City stirred up dust, sweeping over the ruins.
Yet it could not blow away the heavy sense of absurdity and awe that permeated their hearts.
"Wait!"
Kilian, the Sage, finally couldn't help himself. He took a step forward, his elderly fox face full of conflict and perplexity.
"Then what was that... concealment method you used just now that none of us could detect at all?"
Lin Gui was checking the wind pressure cannon port at the rear of the vessel. Hearing the question, he turned his head, his face showing a timely hint of "confusion."
"Oh, that."
He smiled, his tone as light as if he were discussing the weather.
"I specialize in concealment magic. In that regard... I just have a small personal achievement, that's all."
"..."
A small... personal achievement?
The several Legendary experts, including Morpheus, instantly fell into an even deeper state of bewilderment.
The air solidified for several seconds.
Ruger dug at his ear, wondering if he had vomited so hard that he was hallucinating.
Morpheus's lips twitched. He wanted to say something but swallowed it back down.
Hugh, the Mid-tier Legendary assassin, finally couldn't help but reach up and brace his own forehead.
He let out a low mutter that sounded like a soul-searching interrogation, his voice filled with a rare sense of daze:
"It's been ten years..."
"I've been in Avalon for a full ten years..."
"Has the outside world... already become this ridiculous?"
"Are High Rank mages today... all like this?"
Standing beside Lin Gui, Eve watched these Legendary experts, who were usually high and mighty but were now collectively doubting their lives.
She couldn't help but lower her head, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly as she pursed her lips to hold back a laugh.
If they knew...
If they knew about Lin Gui's miraculous "Levitation" that was worthy of being recorded in history books.
If they knew about his "Eyes of the Netherworld" that could peer into souls and intimidate demons.
If they knew about the "Clarity" spell that was extremely rare even among soul magics and could resist the mist of the Wall of Sighs...
She wondered what kind of wonderful expressions they would make.
However, what Eve did not know was that although the heaven-defying abilities of Levitation, Eyes of the Netherworld, and Clarity were incredibly powerful, they were ultimately bestowed by the "System."
Only "Shroud of the Gloomy Night."
This spell—from conception to perfection, from theory to practice...
Was something Lin Gui had created entirely on his own.
During countless dangerous nights.
Guided by his will to survive in desperate situations and a touch of obsession, he had slowly fumbled, failed, and polished this High Rank concealment magic into existence.
This was the true creation that belonged solely to him, a miracle capable of overturning the existing system of concealment magic.
It was also his greatest trump card for traversing countless terrifying wildernesses along this journey.
In terms of importance, Shroud of the Gloomy Night even surpassed Levitation.
Lin Gui had never publicized this magic.
Even though doing so would allow him to settle in the City of a Thousand Towers.
He could have become a Master of Magic Theory, respected by all.
He could have even seen the name Lin Gui engraved on a page of magical history as a "pioneer."
But Lin Gui did not do so.
He remained solitary and empty-handed, returning to the dilapidated and small New Covenant City.
Because Lin Gui knew very well that if this magic fell into the hands of those with ill intentions...
It would lead to a terrifying catastrophe.
The morality of the City-State Era was already broken.
Rate on N.U.
