Rise of the Demon God

"You were right; I missed entering. I was a little late. Why didn't any of you wait for me?" The Phoenix Representative asked, sighing.

"Are we supposed to wait for you? Why should we?" Long Hu lazily said. "We don't have enough time to waste here. If you can't be on time, then you don't have any right to blame us."

"Heck, even the daughter of your queen wouldn't have dared to talk to us like that. Meanwhile, a mere Elder's daughter wants us to wait for her?" Baihu Yang rolled his eyes. "Dreaming is good, but keep your dreams realistic."

"You!" The red-haired girl's face turned red in embarrassment as she heard the subtle insult coming from Long Hu.

She knew who the guy was. He was the leader of the Last Tournament between heirs and undoubtedly a very strong person. In contrast, she wasn't even a direct heir of the Phoenix Clan. She wasn't even qualified to face the others.  Her position was lower.

She could feel it. Not a single person here was looking at her with the respect they would've given to the girl whose place she took in this exploration.

Long Hu didn't bother a single second looking at her. He already had what he needed. He didn't need to stay here anymore. He started flying away.

Baihu Yang also left after making sure that the tomb had closed. The keys were lost again.

Bai Gu and Zhu Chang were the last ones to stay behind, glancing at the door.

"Yui Ling didn't come out. Did she leave before us?" Bai Gu enquired.

"Most probably." Zhu Chang nodded. He turned to Long Chen. "Did you see Yui Ling inside?"

The clone of Long Chen shook his head.

"As expected, she didn't even reach the end. I guess she left before us."

"We should leave as well, but where is the exit?" he asked Bai Gu. He wasn't told to come here. Similarly, he wasn't told the way to leave either. It was his first time here.

"You need to go to the same spot where you first appeared here. That's where the exit will be. Since you're done with the exploration, you'll be sent back as soon as you go there." Bai Gu told Zhu Chang.

"Anyway, it was good to go on a journey with you. I need to leave as well. I'll see you in the tournament. Expect fierce competition from me this time."

"I can't wait." Zhu Chang smiled, watching Bai Gu leave.

He also turned to leave, only to find the Phoenix blocking his path.

"What?"

"You entered with everyone else. Can you at least tell me what you found inside? What information did you get? I can't go back without anything. It's my first mission. Please help."

"What did we find? I'm sorry, but I can't give that information. We promised to not tell it to anyone other than our fathers. Please forgive me." Zhu Chang refused.

He turned his back on the girl and left with Long Chen and Snake Monarch.

The clone of Long Chen kept following Zhu Chang blankly. As the temple was sealed again, its connection with Long Chen was gone. The clone started getting weaker and weaker. His hands started turning see-through.

Before long, Zhu Chang reached the spot where they had first arrived. As soon as he landed there with Long Chen and Snake Monarch, a formation appeared on the ground. A blinding light surrounded everyone.

By the time the light stopped, everyone had disappeared.

Zhu Chang appeared back inside the Tomb of his ancestor.

He stretched his arms, yawning. "Well, that was certainly a trip I didn't expect. Anyway, I'm sure you're curious about what we saw inside. I wasn't able to tell you before because everyone was there, but now there are no restrictions."

"You can't believe what we saw there," Zhu Chang said, smiling.

"Huh? What happened to you?!" Snake Monarch exclaimed, noticing Long Chen looking like a ghost. It was clear to see-through his body.

Hearing Snake Monarch's call, even Zhu Chang turned around, stunned at what he saw.

Even the last speck of Long Chen disappeared right before his eyes.

"This... This wasn't Long Chen! This was his temporary clone! Did that guy really trick us?" Zhu Chang let out, frowning.

"If it's the clone, then the real one..." Snake Monarch muttered, frowning.

"That idiot! He was left behind. Why would he do something like this?" Zhu Chang asked, frowning.

"I can't believe he fooled me as well," Snake Monarch exclaimed. "We need to go back!"

"I know, but how? I didn't even know how we ended up there in the first place. We just entered these doors. However, there's no door now. I don't know how to go back," Zhu Chang muttered, looking at the wall.

It was the same for the most part, except the fact that it was missing the door they entered from.

...

Long Chen kept hitting the barrier, damaging his hand. The bones in his fingers became visible as his skin kept getting destroyed.

"Stop! It's not going to work! You are strong, but you can't pass through with just strength!" Xun chimed in to stop Long Chen, worried for her safety; however, just as she finished speaking, she heard a loud sound.

The barrier actually shattered. A dark mist was visible around Long Chen's hand that seemed to have made some kind of a glove, covering his hand.

Long Chen could also feel his body filled with incredible power as if his body was just filled with destructive energy suddenly.

The energy didn't come alone, though. It came with its own side effects. His entire body was aching badly. His head was thumping like it was going to explode.

"Are you alright?" Xun asked, noticing Long Chen holding his head.

"I am fine. It's nothing," Long Chen let out, shaking his head.

Ignoring the headache, he stepped inside the room to find Little Snow.

As he entered the room, the first thing he did was pick up his Sword of Time. The sword also started oscillating as soon as Long Chen grasped the sword.

Within seconds, the sword calmed down and returned to normal.

Long Chen looked to the left where Little Snow had run.

"She just had to make things messy. If she had brought the sword back, we could've left. But now we're sealed in the Temple. Not only do we need to find a way out, but also..."

He shook his head, sighing. "Zhu Chang must've known by now that I'm stuck here. I wonder if he'll find a way to open the temple again."