There was no more pain. He could feel his body softening and his wounds healing. Slowly, he brought his hand to his ear. When he touched it, he could feel not only his hand but also the flesh of his ear.
"How much longer until you are satisfied with your healing?"
At that moment, a woman's voice drifted down from above. Ulam opened his eyes, finding himself lying face down. All he could see was a purple aura, a thick layer of mist. He couldn't even see the ground beneath him. He was resting on something soft—softer than anything he had ever felt—a layer of mist whose very existence seemed uncertain. It was a cold, strange mist that made him shiver. He felt himself blending into it, slowly becoming part of the vapor.
Ulam wasn't sure what to ask. His last memory was of the inheritance trial, trapped in the freezing cold before passing out. Was he... dead?
His eyes snapped open in panic. He suddenly raised his head to look at the figure addressing him.
The figure was a humanoid shape formed of mist, with subtle and detailed features. It had to be a woman; there was no one else in this small chamber of purple haze.
"Who are you? And I... how... where am I?"
He knew he was facing a woman, or at least a female silhouette. He could have sworn she was smiling at him.
"Isn't one question actually the answer to everything? How did you pass the inheritance test?"
Ulam paused, sitting back on the mist. Had he truly passed the trial? He had no idea how he had succeeded, just as he had no answers for his other questions.
Still, as he stared at the woman made of mist, he sensed something was wrong. Though her form was blurred, he could tell she was a beautiful woman with hair that reached her neck or was perhaps gathered there. But the False Dragon was a man—a legendary figure. If this woman claimed to be the False Dragon, Ulam wouldn't have believed her. So he asked again.
"Who are you?"
If he had passed the trial, then where was he? If this wasn't the False Dragon's inheritance, then whose was it?
The woman smiled. She sat in mid-air as if on an invisible chair and crossed her legs. As she rested her chin on her hand and smiled sweetly at Ulam, her beauty was undeniable even through the mist, yet Ulam felt his hair stand on end for no reason.
"I am Lana Kalis. This is my inheritance."
Lana Kalis. Upon hearing those words, Ulam's body trembled. He unconsciously pushed himself back against the wall of mist.
"You are the Transcendent Devil! But... but how?"
Lana lifted her hand from her chin and waved it dismissively.
"Actually, this was Karsus's inheritance from the beginning, and he entrusted its safety to me. I knew my own death was not far off, so I used Karsus's legacy to hide my own from the greedy nobles."
Karsus. Karsus Kalis was the original name of the False Dragon.
"But why would you hide your legacy from them?"
"Because my legacy would grant them immense power—a cultivation speed that no one else could possess. The curse that comes with it wouldn't matter to them. It didn't matter to me either, but I didn't want to give this legacy to someone who already had everything. I wanted to change the fate of someone unfortunate, just as the one before me changed mine."
Lana fell silent for a moment. Ulam felt a surge of empathy, but also a growing excitement. He knew the legends of the Transcendent Devil—a unique figure even among the Transcendents. Lana was long dead, but her power remained here.
"What about the curse?"
The words had not escaped his notice. Lana smiled again.
"My legacy will steal things of great value from you when you least expect it. You will pay a heavy price, and in return, you will rise to the peak of the Meridian Realm, the summit of Transcendents, faster than anyone before you. Under these conditions, do you accept?"
Ulam knew he was facing the fruit of all his risks. He had gambled his life for this single, small chance. His heartbeat quickened. Somehow, he had succeeded. In his excitement, he failed to notice the pity in Lana's eyes.
"My father always said that a cultivator must take risks. Otherwise, what difference is there between us and mortals who accept limited lives? You must pay a price to ascend to the heavens. What we lose during the ascent allows us to rise as new people."
These words were exactly what the Transcendent Devil wanted to hear.
"You couldn't have said it better."
Ulam smiled. "I accept the inheritance."
Then Lana, in her mist form, merged with the room. With a single breath, Ulam sucked the entire chamber into himself.
The sun was rising over the Red Road Forest. Ten days had passed since the youths entered the trial. That morning, the five doors of the inheritance, which looked as if they had descended from the heavens, slowly began to crack.
CRACK!!!
Those slow fractures suddenly converged, and all five doors shattered simultaneously. Various figures emerged from the debris. From the first door stepped a gray-haired man. Though covered in blood, it wasn't just the gore that had changed; his entire aura was different. He was stronger.
He had made progress in the Sage Realm.
"I'm coming, Yukimura!"
He vanished instantly. Even though he caught the scent of a corpse, he didn't care who it belonged to.
Mais and the twins emerged from the second door. Mais was now in the 4th stage of the Sage Realm, a clear upgrade from the inheritance. Similarly, the twins had reached the 7th stage of the Core Realm, their eyes sparkling with new enlightenment. Among them, only the Immortal White had not skipped a stage, but she too had gained her own enlightenment. She slipped into Mais's clothes and slept quietly.
From the third door, only Ulam and Evra emerged. Ulam looked jubilant, but Evra appeared weary and miserable. Evra scanned his surroundings carefully, sword in hand, his gaze freezing as he looked around. Soon, Ulam's joy faded as well. He realized that only he and Evra had made it out, allowing him to guess the fate of the others.
The scene before them gave them little reason to celebrate—at least for Evra. Both had reached the 7th stage of the Core Realm.
Kasuur and Maria emerged from the fourth gate. Kasuur looked exhausted, caressing a brand-new sword in its sheath. The scabbard was marked with blue stripes and glowed faintly, radiating incredible power even while sheathed. He had also become a 4th stage Sage.
HOFF...
On the other hand, Maria collapsed to her knees the moment she stepped out. Her hair was disheveled, and her long dress was in tatters. She bowed her head, her eyes bloodshot. She clutched the earth as if to scream, but only a few ragged coughs escaped her.
"Maria?"
Kasuur hadn't seen anyone in the inheritance for a long time, and seeing her excited him, but Maria did not respond. She covered her mouth with her hands. Kasuur, confused, reached out to her shoulder.
"MMMMMHHĞĞ!!!"
Kasuur jumped back in fear. Maria's cry of pain momentarily broke his focus, and then he remembered the nature of the trial. He realized Maria had been trapped in the Horizonless World much longer than he had. Maria had also reached the 3rd stage of the Sage Realm.
Two people emerged from the fifth door. The first turned into a black cloud and vanished like a bolt of lightning. The other was unrecognizable from the man who had entered. His white hair was a mess, covered in dirt and rust. Most notably, one of his eyes was wrapped in black cloth. His remaining eye was yellow. Some of his previously wrinkled skin had smoothed out, though traces remained.
Daniel Gama had emerged with only one eye. He was the sole survivor of Malehit's group, now at the 2nd stage of the Sage Realm. He raised his head and glanced toward the corpses. Though there were only trees before him, he smiled as if he could see far beyond them.
"Things took quite an unexpected turn."
Daniel began walking toward the third door.