Chapter 86: Spoils of the Fallen
Lian and Elara moved like ghosts through the shattered remains of the district.
The dust had thinned enough to reveal the true scale of the catastrophe. Half the city block had been erased. Towering buildings lay split and crumbled like broken toys. The ground was a nightmare of deep fissures, craters, and twisted rebar. Fires burned in scattered pockets, sending thick black smoke curling into the fractured sky. The air reeked of charred flesh, melted metal, and blood. Bodies were everywhere — some crushed beneath collapsed structures, others torn apart by shockwaves, a few burned beyond recognition. Distant screams and the groan of failing buildings echoed through the ruins like the dying breaths of the city itself.
Lian’s expression was cold and focused. Shock had passed. Now only calculation remained.
This was a battlefield. A graveyard overflowing with treasures that no one would claim.
He crouched beside the first corpse — a richly dressed merchant whose body had been bisected by flying debris. Blood soaked his fine robes. Lian searched the man’s fingers and found a storage ring. He pulled it off without hesitation and slipped it onto his own finger. He didn’t check its contents yet. Time was limited. He moved on.
Elara followed a few steps behind, keeping watch. She didn’t help with the looting, but she no longer protested. She had accepted this path.
They continued deeper into the devastation.
Lian found another storage ring on a mid-level cultivator still clutching a broken sword. The man’s eyes were wide open in eternal terror. Lian took the ring, then searched the body for anything else useful — a small pouch of credits, three high-grade healing pills, and a decent defensive talisman. He took them all.
Further ahead, they came across a group of syndicate enforcers who had been caught in the crossfire. Their black uniforms were torn and bloody. Lian searched each one methodically. Three more storage rings. Weapons. A few encrypted communication devices. One even had a small vial of rare Qi-enhancing liquid. He claimed everything of value, adding the rings to the growing collection he wore or stored safely.
His hands moved with ruthless efficiency. No emotion. No hesitation. In his mind, the dead had no claim to these items anymore. The strong took. The weak lost everything — even in death. This was the natural order.
Elara remained quiet, occasionally pointing out a body he might have missed or watching for any survivors or incoming enforcers. The cool night wind carried ash across their path as they moved from street to ruined street.
Lian’s collection grew steadily. One ring contained a small fortune in credits. Another held several rare Qi crystals and cultivation herbs. A third had a set of mid-grade technique manuals. He took weapons that weren’t too damaged, defensive artifacts, and anything that could be sold or used later. Every item brought him one step closer to the strength he needed for the rift in six years.
They pressed on through the rubble.
As they approached what used to be a major intersection — now a massive crater filled with debris — Lian spotted something half-buried under a pile of rubble and thick gray dust. He moved closer, kicking aside broken concrete and twisted metal beams.
There it was.
The Mindweaver Crown.
It lay partially covered in dust, its sleek crystalline structure and silver filaments still faintly glowing with ancient power. The very artifact that had caused the massive bidding war at the auction. The one that could connect to the Eternal Archive and allow its user to fight masters and inherit legacies. Something Lian had desired deeply but never thought he would actually possess.
He froze.
His breath caught in his throat. For several long seconds, he simply stared at it in shock. This was beyond anything he had expected to find tonight. A treasure he believed was far beyond his reach, now lying in the dirt at his feet like it had been waiting for him.
His hand trembled slightly as he reached down and picked it up. The crown felt surprisingly light, yet heavy with potential. He brushed the dust off gently, revealing its full form under the flickering firelight. A surge of dark greed and burning ambition flooded through him. With this, his training speed could increase dramatically. He could simulate battles against experts far above his level. He could prepare properly for the dangers ahead.
He looked around quickly. The area was still shrouded in dust and chaos. No one was nearby. Elara stood a few meters away, keeping watch.
Without a word, Lian quietly slipped the Mindweaver Crown into the storage ring he wore on his finger — the one he had been using to store all the other rings and valuables he had collected. The crown disappeared safely into the spatial space.
Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)
Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.
Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.
Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.
Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.
Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc
Power Scale Reminder
Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.
Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle
Keep it as reminders
