The air became cooler as the sun sank lower in the sky. Yuan and his companions were still galloping forward after escaping from the raiders' camp. As they rode forward, they saw the ruins of a city before them. It looked as if once it had known great prosperity, but now the thousands of houses they could see, although large in scale, were all in various stages of ruin and collapse.

"We should head into the ruins," Aaren said. "It is late and we will need a place to spend the night. The city looks abandoned, so we will not face any hurdles."

"I agree," Almar concurred. "I also sense... power. There is a strange aura in this place. We should be careful."

"How is there such a majestic city in the midst of the desert?" Harald wondered.

"Elder R-" Yuan was about to say 'Elder Rong' but remembered that now he was Cheng Yuan, not Yang Jing, and thus his words would make no sense. "An Elder once told me a legend. Tens of thousands of years ago, this place was fertile and home to an advanced civilization. The inhabitants, however, lived a decadent lifestyle and the rulers were renown for their debauchery. The Jade Emperor, enraged by their conduct, turned the entire region into a desert. This city must a remnant of that old civilization."

Yuan and the others then rode into the city. Inside not a sound was to be heard, not even the twittering of a single bird. That place was the most magnificent and the most terrible Yuan had ever seen. They reached the courtyard of what once must have been a palace. The building before them was crumbling. Remains of a tower were scattered upside-down in the center of the courtyard. What once must have been a majestic sight inspiring awe now was a sight of decline, a testimony both to the ingenuity of humans and the destructive power of nature.

They all hopped off their horses and walked into the courtyard.

"That is a nice place to spend the night," Yuan said.

Yuan suddenly felt an aura of power. He noticed that the medallion in his belt was gleaming. He took it into his hands and saw the bright redness gleaming off the medallion's stone. It was as if the medallion was sending him a message.

"Why is it gleaming like that?" Yuan asked.

"It seems to have something to do with this place," Almar replied. "The feeling of power that I sensed earlier is stronger here. It seems to be coming from the ruins of the palace."

"We should head inside," Aaren said. "Whatever is inside the ruins, it calls for the medallion and the medallion calls for it. It cannot be ignored."

"Shouldn't we be more careful?" Hua interjected. "What is inside emanates an aura of great power."

"Indeed... We don't know though if it is an enemy or an ally, a gift or a curse. It is up to Yuan to decide; he is the holder of the medallion."

Yuan remained silent for a moment. He closed his eyes and felt a call. Something was calling for him. The medallion's stone became brighter and Yuan could feel a sense of warmth. He finally opened his eyes. "We should go inside."

"Good. I will remain here," Ping said. "Someone needs to look after the horses."

"I will remain here too," Harald told. "That bastard might run off with the horses if he is left alone."

"You insult me! Do you really believe I am so dishonorable?"

"You are a thief; of course you are dishonorable!"

Yuan sighed. "Fine... you two remain outside."

Yuan, Hua, Almar, and Aaren headed inside the ruins of the palace. They became engulfed in chilling blackness as there was no light. The whole place looked rotter and its walls seemed as if they would crumble. Spiders laced the walls with cobwebs of intricate beauty. Whatever splendors this palace once had, they had all faded by now. There was a stairway that once must have led to an upper floor, but that floor had collapsed and remnants were scattered all over the floor. The stairway itself looked as if it was about to crumble. On the other hand, there was a pathway leading below the palace. They followed this path and descended into an underground passageway. The medallion's red stone gleamed ever brighter as they followed the path. There, they found themselves having two options; there was a corridor to their left and a corridor to their right.

"Which one should we follow?" Yuan wondered.

"I say that we split," Almar replied. "You and Hua can follow the corridor on the right while I and Aaren will follow the corridor to the left."

"That is fine by me."

"Be careful," Aaren said. "Remember, if you face any danger you must clear your mind of all thoughts and focus; allow yourself to use the internal energy inside you."

Yuan nodded in agreement. He and Hua then headed to the right corridor while Aaren and Almar followed the left corridor.

Yao, Xiao, and Nuan were galloping forward towards Zhongqihar, the coastal town where the headquarters of the Demonic Cult were located. They rode under the starry night sky. This town, unlike the great White City metropolis, had no walls or fortifications. As such, the three riders could enter the city without being checked by any guards. They headed to the port, where most of the fishermen and sailors lived. They finally reached a small wooden house. The Kunlun disciples hopped off their horses and approached it. Yao knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" an elderly male voice asked.

"Qing Yao."

A moment of silence ensued. Then, the door opened and a grizzled old man greeted them. "Hello. Please, come inside."

Yao walked inside and Xiao and Nuan followed closely behind.

"Who is he?" Xiao whispered. He had no idea why Yao brought them to that old man.

"He is Tao Guanting. He knows everything that is going on in this town," Yao replied. "Last time I came to this town, I paid him a visit to find some information about a fugitive. I am sure he will be useful in revealing to us the exact location of the Demonic Cult headquarters in this town."

Guanting smiled. "Well, what brings you to my humble home?"

"We've learned that the Demonic Cult is based on this town," Yao said. "I want to know the exact location of their headquarters."

The old man grinned. "I do have the information you seek but, as you know, I do not give up information for free. There is a price that must be paid."

"How much do you want?" Xiao interjected.

"A hundred gold ingots."

Xiao laughed for a brief moment before realizing that the old man wasn't joking. "Really?"

Guanting nodded his head. "Really. I am not in the mood for joking."

"That is too much!"

"The more valuable an information is, the higher is its price."

"Can we pay you in some other way?" Yao asked.

Guanting thought for a moment. "Yes, I do believe you can. I want you to kill someone."

"We are Kunlun disciples, not hired killers," Nuan protested.

Guanting smiled. "No worries, the one I want you to kill is a scumbag. You would be doing the world a favor by getting rid of him. There is a bounty on his head by the imperial court for murdering the family of a leading official. His name is Yin Shuren and he is a renowned assassin. He has butchered his way to the top and his services are highly sought after. This time though, he made a mistake of accepting the job of massacring the family of one of Chancellor Cao's most trusted officials, so now he has the imperial court asking for his head."

"Why would you want him dead?" Nuan asked.

Guanting chuckled. "For the money, of course. The bounty the court put up is more than three hundred gold ingots."

"Where is he?" Yao asked.

"He is at 'Shark Inn'. He is most likely drinking wine."

"Since you know where he is, why haven't you tried apprehending him yourself?" Xiao wondered.

Guanting sighed. "I would if only I knew martial arts... So? What are you waiting for? Go, go!"

"All right," Yao said. "That Shuren is a despicable person, so ridding the world of him would be a good deed. I expect you to keep your part of the deal though."

"Of course I will; I am a businessman. I cannot be in this business if I do not have a good reputation."

Harald and Ping were waiting in the courtyard. Although only a few minutes had passed since the others headed into the ruins of the palace, Harald was already getting bored.

"If it wasn't for you, I would have gone to the ruins," Harald said. "I don't know why brother Yuan insists on you following us. It's not like you have offered any insights since we left behind the forest."

"He probably thinks I am smart, cunning and valuable for his mission," Ping replied with a wide smile on his face.

"You are dumb, so we can exclude that scenario." Harald sighed. "Most likely he thinks he can turn you towards the path of righteousness..."

Yuan and Hua were walking almost in the dark. Only the brightness emanating from the medallion allowed them to see where they were going. As they headed further into the corridor, they could see a glimpse of light coming from a room. The room was illuminated by a torch placed upon a wooden chest. The torch created a flickering orange glow. Beside it was the corpse of a man.

"It seems that he was killed only recently," Yuan said as he observed from some distance the body. "He must have been trying to find a way to open the chest before getting himself killed. There are darts on his neck."

As Yuan stepped forward, he suddenly noticed that the room's floor was made up of stone tiles. 'Oh no!' he thought as he stepped onto a tile. A 'click' sound was heard. At once darts were fired from both sides of the room.

"Look out!" Hua said as she rushed forward and pushed Yuan to the ground. They barely dodged the darts that flew right over them. "Idiot. You should be looking where you are stepping."

"Thanks," Yuan said as he let out a sigh of relief.

They both quickly got up. They approached the wooden chest. Yuan grabbed the torch and gave it to Hua. "Hold it," he said. Hua took hold of the torch while Yuan tried to open the chest. It was locked but Yuan broke the lock and forced it open; the only things he could see inside the chest were some dusty old papers.

"That man got himself killed for a chest that contains only some old papers..." Yuan sighed.

"Look," Hua said pointing at the left corner of the room, "there's a door."

They walked there and opened the door. The sight they stared at was terrifying; there were dozens of skeletons scattered around the room. The skeletons were armored; those men were warriors who had died defending something. At the right side of the room, they saw a wooden door. It suddenly opened. Yuan and Hua both unsheathed their swords only to find out that the ones that opened the door were Almar and Aaren.

"Thankfully it's you!" Yuan exclaimed.

"It seems that both corridors lead to this room," Aaren said. "Those skeletons must be of the men that once guarded this place."

Yuan saw that there was a wooden chest beside the skeletons. As he approached it, the brightness emanating from the medallion's stone became dazzling. "Whatever is inside this chest, it calls for the medallion."

"Hopefully this chest will contain something more important than dusty paperwork..." Hua commented.

Yuan opened the chest and saw that inside was an armor and a helmet. The iron helmet was dome-shaped and its exterior decorated with beaded jewels. The brocade armor was inlaid with gold, silver, and jewelry. The figures of two dragons were carved upon the armor. Yuan gaped in awe at the splendid sight laid before him.

"What is the connection between the Flaming Medallion and this armor?" he wondered.

Almar looked closer at the armor and exclaimed, "impossible! That is the armor of the God of War!"

"God of War?"

"That is indeed the God of War Ma Yuan's armor," Aaren interjected. "He wore this armor when he slayed the Demonic Deity a million years ago. He then gave it to the Jade Emperor before dying due to the wounds inflicted upon him during that terrible duel. Two hundred thousand years later, when the hero Yi Hong emerged as the only one who could stop the Dark Lord, the Jade Emperor gifted him this armor. After he defeated the Dark Lord in a duel that lasted six days, Yi Hong disappeared. No one had seen this armor since then. Now, eight hundred thousand years after Yi Hong's disappearance, the armor has been found."

"Ma Yuan was the one who forged the Flaming Medallion. Yi Hong also made use of the medallion to defeat the Dark Lord," Almar said. "So it is only natural that the Flaming Medallion was attracted to the armor of its two previous owners."

"Does this armor have powers?" Yuan asked.

"According to legend, it is the strongest armor in the entire world," Aaren replied. "It was forged by the God of War himself. It is said to be able to withstand any attacks. But, just like the Flaming Medallion, it cannot be used by anyone. Since we haven't been able to unlock the secrets of the medallion and learn how to use its terrible powers, I doubt that we will be able to use the armor's mythical powers. Nevertheless, even if it cannot be used to its full extent, the armor can be useful in combat."

Yuan then noticed that alongside the helmet and the armor was a stone, much like the one that Almar had given to him. Strange hieroglyphics were carved upon it. As Yuan grabbed the armor and the helmet, at once the hieroglyphics on the stone glowed brightly.

"What is this stone?" Yuan wondered.

Almar gaped in awe. "That... that is an ancient magic stone. I thought that only the ancient Elders of the Elves could forge such magic artifacts. No! This stone is calling for a beast of the underworld. It was a trap set for those who dared to open the chest. We must leave!"

"What?"

"There is no time to explain!"

A flash of light encompassed the entire room and momentarily blinded all of them. As they opened their eyes, they could hear a terrible growl. They turned around and saw a gigantic beast standing over ten feet tall with bright red skin and enormous horns on its head. With each step it took, the entire room shook as if there was an earthquake.

"What is this...?" Yuan asked, his face pale white.

"A beast called from the Realm of the Dead. It rose up thanks to that magic stone," Almar replied. "Run!"

They all began running when the beast grabbed a skeleton and threw it at Yuan. It hit his back and he slipped, falling on the ground. The armor and the helmet fell from his hands and rolled on the ground. The beast approached him. Yuan trembled in fear. He could feel the cold sweat on his forehead. He froze as he was too terrified to make a move. The beast was about to crush him beneath his gargantuan fist when Almar and Aaren directed lightning at it. The lightning pulsed through it but it only made the beast more furious as it growled in rage. Yuan found the chance to quickly get up. He grabbed the armor but had to leave behind the helmet as it was too near to the beast.

Almar vomited some blood. "I have used too much internal energy today... We... must go..."

They rushed to the previous room. In their hurry, they forgot about the traps. Upon stepping onto the tiles, tens of darts were thrown at them. Aaren just in time used her internal energy to create an energy shield around them but a dart got through stabbed her back. It wasn't a serious injury but she bled and, just like Almar, her internal energy was being depleted. The beast followed closely behind, the darts being only a minor nuisance to it.

Yuan and his companions sprinted through the corridor. The walls shook and seemed as if they would crumble. The roof was certainly crumbling as bits of it were falling onto the ground, threatening to hit the companions who were barely able to dodge them. As everything was crumbling before them, they managed to get out of the underground passageway and emerge onto the surface. "Get onto the horses!" Yuan barked at Harald and Ping as he and his other companions rushed out of the palace.

"Why?" Ping asked. "What happened inside the pal-" Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the beast emerging from the ruins of the palace. "Oh! That happened..."

They all hopped onto their horses and galloped away. The beast was sprinting towards them, its movements shaking the earth and demolishing crumbling buildings, but it could not keep up with their pace. Seeing the intruders getting away, it could only growl and roar.

"So much for getting some sleep..." Ping commented as they rode away from the city.

Yao, Xiao and Nuan walked into 'Shark Inn'. As it was late at night, the place was almost empty. Only one person was awake, sitting at a table and drinking wine from a jar. He was bearded and scruffy looking, wearing a long dark poncho. Seeing them looking at him, the man got up and barked, "what do you want?!"

"You are Yin Shuren?" Yao asked.

The man laughed. "So, you are bounty hunters, eh? Well, you certainly don't look your part."

"We ain't bounty hunters," Xiao said. "We are Kunlun disciples."

"Oh, I see! You think that because you are disciples of an Orthodox Sect you can mess with me? Think again! I am not known as the 'Blade of Death' for no reason. I have massacred hundreds of people."

Shuren revealed his weapon, a broadsword with a revolving handle.

"Leave him to me," Xiao said to Yao. "You've had your fun already with that young master."

Xiao unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Shuren. "I've heard that you are a good fighter. Hopefully, you will not disappoint me."

Xiao sprinted forward and struck at Shuren. His movement was swift like the wind. Shuren jumped up, dodging Xiao's blade, and struck at him from above. Xiao retreated by a few steps. "Good moves!" he said. He then slashed again, furiously and with almost superhuman speed. Shuren leaped backward, grabbed a table and threw it at Xiao. Xiao slashed the table in two. Shuren roared as he charged with his blade. Xiao dodged his slash but was struck hard by a kick to the chest; he slid backward from the attack.

"You are indeed good..." Xiao admitted.

"Ha! I am not famous for nothing!"

Shuren lunged forward, swinging his sword. Xiao ducked low, avoiding the strike, and then leaped over Shuren's head, attacking him with a powerful slash. Shuren managed to block the attack and attempted to counter with an upward slash. Xiao quickly rolled back to avoid this slash. He then advanced speedily, aiming his blade at Shuren's neck. Shuren moved his blade upward to block the incoming attack but Xiao hastily changed the direction of his blade and instead struck at Shuren's shoulder. The sword was stabbed deep into Shuren's shoulder. He let out a cry and instinctively kicked Xiao's chest. Xiao was pushed back and spit a mouthful of blood.

Nuan gasped. "Are you alright, teacher?" she asked.

Xiao nodded. "Yes. It's nothing."

He lunged forward and struck with even greater speed. As Shuren's hand was less steady due to the stabbing, he wasn't able to block Xiao's attack and the Kunlun disciple's sword stabbed his chest. Shuren clutched his wound and coughed. He tried to kick Xiao but this time the Kunlun disciple blocked the kick with his elbow. Shuren vomited blood and cursed Xiao before collapsing onto the floor, dead.

"Now we can get him to Guanting and learn where exactly are the headquarters of the Demonic Cult," Yao said.

"Who will carry the body to his house?" Xiao asked.

"You of course," Yao said with a grin on his face. "You killed him, so he is your responsibility."

Xiao simply sighed.