Rise of The Demon General

After all fifty finalists arrived, several White Cloud staff came in bringing several red cloths and a long rope. These staff asked the youths to not move as they blindfolded the youths using the red cloths one by one.

Everyone complied. Amon found this blindfolding was natural. This should be meant to keep the entry location of the secret dimension a secret.

After everyone was blindfolded, they were asked to stand up and hold the rope. When the rope was pulled, they started walking following the direction where the rope was pulled.

They turned numerous times. Went out to the outdoor, then indoor, then outdoor again. Climb up slopes, going down slopes. It was a very long walk. Most were wondering if they were still within the White Cloud Estate. Several of the youths started complaining, but they continued to walk.

After what felt like a whole day of walking, they finally stopped. Their blindfolds were removed. Almost all blinked as they tried to adjust their visions.

They were in a very large spherical hall. There were carvings all over its spherical walls. Amon recognized those carvings as words of power. They also sometimes emitted odd glows. Those must be engravings, but this was the first time Amon had seen such a large-scale one.

At the center of the hall was a strange stone formation. Several people were circling this stone formation. Amon saw Pai Kuan amongst them. On the other side was another batch of fifty youths. Those should be White Cloud's top fifty youths who were still below fifteen years of age.

Those White Cloud youths were eyeing Amon's group with disdain. They were the young generation of the ruler sect of the city. Of course, they were superior compared to the youths from the other clans or sects. Such were their beliefs. They never considered the youths from the other clans as competitors. These outsiders were only here because the sect master tried to honor their ancestors' pacts with the clans.

Amon, of course, ignored those condescending stares. Such a childlike attitude was beneath him. He was more interested in the stone formation and the engravings. The glowing on the engravings became more frequent. Considering they were brought here, this place should be where the entrance to the secret dimension was located.

"Attention!" Pai Kuan called out. Everyone turned to him at once.

"Most of you should have learned by now about this final, but let me say it again. We will soon open the gateway to a secret dimension. One hundred of you that have gathered here, will enter this secret dimension. We know not who or what created this dimension, or its purpose. We assume that it might be a pocket dimension created by a powerful cultivator that stored a portion of the ancient world.

"Whatever it is, know that it contains many treasures inside. The gateway can only be opened every ten years and can only be entered by a hundred youths who were fifteen years of age or below. That's where you all come in. Your task is to collect as many treasures as you can find. Gather them and bring them back here to us. You will be given points based on the treasures you find.

"Do not try to keep the treasures for yourself. If we find you do so, you will receive punishment, the treasures confiscated, and no points will be given to you. Everyone has to submit their space ring for us to check before going in. We will record the list of goods you possessed before you enter. We will not touch those goods. After you come out, you will give us your space ring for checking again. We will take anything that is not on your list. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Good! Now we will start checking your space ring. Please get into line orderly."

They were lined up into ten groups, each consisting of ten youths. Ten inspectors checked the head of the line. Even the youths from the White Cloud sects were getting checked. Amon stood at the last of the line.

When it was his turn, he took off the space ring on his finger and gave it to the inspector. The inspector looked inside the ring and wrote down the things inside. When he gave the ring back to Amon, he asked, "What about that ring?"

"It was a normal ring from my grandfather," Amon answered. It was his black space ring. He wore it on his finger this time because he intentionally wanted it to be seen.

"Give it to me," the inspector ordered.

Amon complied.

The inspector received the ring and started inspecting it. He turned the ring a few times. He grunted before giving it back to Amon.

"Why bring rubbish here?" He said.

"It is a memento from my grandfather. I carry it with me to always remember him by," Amon said as he extended his arm to take back the ring.

"Wait!" A voice suddenly called out.

It was Pai Kuan. He had come to Amon's side. He glanced at Amon briefly before saying to the inspector. "Let me see that ring."

"It is just a common ring, master," the inspector said, but he still handed the ring to Pai Kuan.

Pai Kuan held the ring in his hand. He turned it around as the inspector had done. He then frowned.

"This is not a usual ring," he uttered and gave Amon a hard stare.

"What do you mean, sir? I don't understand," Amon feinted a confused expression. He forced his heart rate to beat steadily. Powerful cultivators had strong enough senses to detect another's heart rates.

"I injected a large amount of aether into it. If this is a normal ring, it would have crumbled into dust," Pai Kuan said.

"I'm sorry, sir. This ring is given to me by my grandfather. I always thought it is just a simple ring. Perhaps it is made from a very strong material?" Amon said.

"Hm…" Pai Kuan rolled the black ring in his fingers. "Although I can't break it, I don't see anything special nor does it react to my aether."

He gave the ring back to Amon.

"Thank you, sir," Amon said politely. He wore the black ring back onto his finger, right next to the normal space ring.

Everyone else had finished with their inspections. Pai Kuan then announced, "All right. Everyone, listen! Although this secret dimension is filled with treasures, dangers also abound. You are on your own inside. No one will come to your rescue. There have been cases where participants who went in didn't come back again. Proceed with caution! Fighting between each other is prohibited. If we find out you do so, you will be punished. Your main objective is to collect treasures, focus on that!

"Another thing to note. When you enter the dimension, you will be thrown to a random place. The size of this secret dimension is unknown. Even until now, we have not yet scoured its entire space. So whatever you've learned from your clan people, they might be useful or they might not. You might end up at a place where none of the others before you have ventured before.

"Anyway, you will have three months inside this secret dimension. After three months pass, you will be forcefully thrown back out here, providing that you are still alive by then."

Someone lifted a hand and asked, "What if we are not?"

"Then your body will stay inside that dimension forever. Only the living ones are repelled by that dimension after three months," Pai Kuan answered.

After giving his explanation, Pai Kuan asked the youths to stand back as they got to work.

Half of the White Cloud adults started to channel their aether into the engravings on the wall. The glows became even more frantic now. The other half which include Pai Kuan was standing encircling the stone formation. They performed what Amon perceived as ritualistic motion.

All Amon saw was just senseless movements at first, but then he saw words of power appear in the air surrounding the stone formation. These floating words of power became even more tangible when the entire engravings on the walls glowed brightly.

A bright pillar of light suddenly came down from the top of the ceiling pouring directly on top of the stone formation. The stone formation broke into several floating stones. Each of the words of power conjured by Pai Kuan and the rest entered these stones.

These stones then revolved around the pillar of light. Their speed increased by the seconds until they abruptly stopped and formed what looked to be the outline of a gate. Bright light filled the center of this gate, no one could see what was behind it.

"All right, you can start to enter now," Pai Kuan declared.

Everyone looked uncertain. Even the youths from the White Cloud sect. None of them had ever done this, after all. This was an experience of a lifetime. You only got to do it once. Once your age increased, you were no longer eligible.

One youth came out without hesitation and walked towards the gate of light. He was Lei San. He stopped in front of the gate and turned to Pai Kuan who stood beside the gate. Pai Kuan gave him a nod. Lei San then stepped into the light. His body was swallowed by the intense light and vanished.