The sensation was fleeting yet sharp—a sudden and terrifying void where my past should have been. A beautiful face I once loved... now just grains of sand slipping through my fingers.

All I had left was my name: Clark.
This oblivion was nothing like sleep; it was drowning. I had just broken the surface, gasping for air. My head throbbed with a dull ache. I wore rusty armor, heavy and cold. I forced my eyes open to a small campsite—and the first thing I saw was him. A man. Something deep in my gut twisted with unease.

He sat beside a faint fire, staring at the stars. A cold breeze rustled through the trees, but it couldn't mask the pungent smell hanging in the air: blood. Beside me lay a corpse—mutilated, unrecognizable. Friend or foe? I didn't know.

The man glanced toward me. His voice was disturbingly calm:
"Don't bother reaching for that sword. I didn't kill him. Found him like this with an empty bottle."

Ignoring the dizziness, I pushed myself up, my hand still gripping the sword's hilt. My voice came out as a harsh rasp:
"Who are you? What is this place?"

He didn't even flinch:
"Name's Jin. I woke up in a field of corpses. You were the only other thing still breathing. So I dragged you here."
He paused, his cool demeanor cracking for a moment:
"I was hoping you'd have answers. About me. About any of this."

His words froze me:
"What do you mean, 'about you'?"

He looked down, weighed down by the words:
"I don't know. I've lost... everything. All I have left is instinct. The need to survive. That's it."

I hesitated, then slowly sat near the fire, keeping my distance:
"I don't trust you. But... I'm in the same damned situation. I don't know who I am either."

Enjoy reading it!

Chapter: The Third Subterranean Level and the Truth of the Cave


The Mountain of the Ruthless Demon King was massive—extremely massive.


It was also known that the Mountain of the Ruthless Demon King was once the place of a Quasi-Venerable in his time.


He competed with the domineering Spectral Demon King Venerable.


But naturally, the Spectral King emerged victorious and became the Venerable.


The "Wu" clan found the place a long time later. Due to the Wu clan's weakness—it hadn't become what it once was—it shared the place with other clans.


And it became a cultivation site for the three clans.


The place was guarded by a number of youths from the Wu clan.


Clark met one of the officials: Wu Ling.


• "Hello! You are Lord Jin and Zhao Long, correct?"


It was a vast land stretching as far as the eye could see, resembling an underground forest, semi-arid and full of Celestial Beasts.


Chapter 88 - the Truth of the Cave!!