The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

People dressed in various costumes gathered together and began to build a city, their faces bearing the same fanaticism as the three leaders.

The scene features towering spires, enormous temples, and metal structures floating in the air.

A glorious civilization rose from the ground at an astonishing speed in that era that was erased.

However, beneath the surface of prosperity, shadows also begin to emerge.

In one corner of the mural, traces of war began to appear.

Armies wielding different weapons clashed in battle, cities burned, and mountains of corpses piled up.

"Are they fighting amongst themselves?" Long Ao looked at the images, somewhat puzzled.

"No, look at their enemies." An Changqing pointed to a spot in the painting.

Fighting the human soldiers were a group of monsters of various shapes and sizes. Some of them looked like evil ghosts, while others resembled ferocious beasts, all of them surrounded by ominous black mist.

"What is this?" Long Ao's eyes widened.

If this isn't an abstract painting, then it's a new creature they've never seen before.

San Tai stopped in her tracks. Instead of looking at the murals, she turned to the side, almost side by side with Chen Guan, who was following behind her.

Her voice was low, her breath almost brushing past his ear, the volume precisely controlled to be audible only to the two of them.

"Little one, have you been here before?"

Chen Guan's eyelids twitched.

He didn't turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the mural. "No, the first time."

San Tai glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

But the curve of her lips and the look in her eyes clearly said that she didn't believe a single word.

A gaze fell upon him from ahead, and Chen Guan knew who it was without even looking.

He immediately moved half a step to the side, creating a distance of one body length from the three figures, and pretended to be focused on studying the details on the wall again.

[A battleground! It's a battleground!]

[Hilarious! An Changqing's radar has gone off! Coffin Bro, explain yourself!]

[San Tai: Teasing Little Xuanwu. An Changqing: Something's not right between you two. Long Ao: What the hell is this drawing?]

[Hilarious! You guys weren't even looking at the painting; only the world where Long Ao is injured has been completed.]

An Changqing withdrew his gaze, seemingly thinking that he was just overthinking things.

The line continued downwards.

At the end of the stairs, a second stone door appeared.

This door is much smaller than the one above, but the door frame is covered with even more intricate runes.

The runes seemed alive, slowly flowing in the firelight, emitting a tremor that made one's skin tingle slightly.

The three tables leaned against the door frame.

The gaze sweeps across the shimmering light on the stone gate, as if examining an ornament in a shop window.

She turned her head and raised her chin at the three people behind her.

"The restrictions on this door are much more sophisticated than the one outside; you can't break it by brute force."

Her gaze fell on Long Ao's clenched fists.

"That kid who uses his fists, you're done for this time."

An Changqing took two steps forward, sword in hand, and carefully examined the intricate patterns.

After looking at it for a while, he sighed.

"I've never seen these rune structures before. The energy is in a closed loop inside, and I can't find a way in. This one isn't broken; it's still working."

"No wonder he's a top student; he can even see the energy loop."

San Tai clapped his hands twice with an air of seriousness: "Then can you figure out how to solve it?"

An Changqing shook his head and admitted that he couldn't tell.

"I knew it, it all comes down to my sister."

Santai brushed the dust off his hands and stood up straight.

She walked to the door, skipping the step of examining it, and simply stretched out her index finger and scribbled randomly in the air.

No radiance was seen emanating from the fingertips; the lines were drawn entirely from the air.

The dormant light patterns on the stone gate were stimulated and began to flicker wildly.

Chen Guan leaned against the shadows, gathering his breath.

Within the mental perception network, the fingertips of the three figures were traversing an extremely tricky path.

She bypassed all the defensive centers, targeting the most vulnerable energy nodes to sever them. Her technique was skillful; she must have done this many times before.

In about ten seconds, the three of them nonchalantly withdrew their hands.

The light from the entire stone door went out at the same time, fading into a lifeless stone carving.

With a soft thud, the heavy stone door popped open a crack inward.

"All done." Santai turned around: "I told you, knowledge is power."

An Changqing tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

This woman's strength is unfathomable; even her mastery of ancient runes is terrifyingly absurd.

This level of skill would make him an absolute talent anywhere, yet An Changqing had never heard of this name before.

Long Ao stepped forward and pushed open the heavy door.

This is a circular inner hall that has shrunk by more than half its original size.

The four walls were bare, and all the space was used to accommodate the dense engravings on the floor tiles.

These characters share the same origin as the restrictions outside the door, with complex and oppressive strokes.

"What do these scribbles say?"

Long Ao raised the fireball high, looking down at the floor tiles covered with writing.

"You're in luck." San Tai strode into the hall.

The leather boots clicked as they stepped on the ancient characters.

"This place is worth much more than those shabby paintings outside."

She walked to the center of the hall and squatted down on her own.

Fingertips slid along the cold, carved grooves in the stone, and a string of strange, awkward syllables escaped from between his lips.

That pronunciation method does not belong to any language known in the world at that time.

An Changqing and Long Ao were completely confused.

Chen Guan stood by the door without saying a word.

Language barriers do not hinder the capture of spiritual power.

Those difficult syllables caused subtle vibrations in the air, and each syllable seemed to be subtly influenced by some invisible rule.

Holy crap, these three tech giants even speak foreign languages.

What language is this? Is it Cthulhu?

[The knowledge-based student was terrified; while others were still describing the pictures, she was already doing reading comprehension.]

[This is a true academic genius. An Changqing is just a one-trick pony compared to her. It's a pity Su isn't here this time. I'm quite curious who is more knowledgeable between the two of them.]

Several minutes passed before San Tai finally stood up.

The nonchalance on his face faded considerably, replaced by an unusual seriousness, mixed with a hint of surprise.

"What does it say on it?"

An Changqing broke the silence and humbly sought advice.

San Tai let out a long breath.

His gaze swept over the three people, finally lingering on Long Ao for an extra second.

"This is not a proper historical record." She cleared her dry throat. "It is a contract, or more precisely, a prayer."

San Tai pointed to the stone carvings covering the ground: "They mention that a certain civilization was on its last legs, and three leaders of different faiths stepped forward."

Her gaze returned to the engravings.

"They believe that conventional methods cannot save the world, and that to preserve the flame in the apocalypse, an extremely heavy price must be paid."

"So they gathered here and prayed to a great being whom they called Lord."

The three platforms paused for a moment.

"They offered up the most precious resources of that era as a sacrifice in exchange for the power to turn the tide and carry out their salvation plan."

The only sound in the empty hall was the crackling of the fireball burning in Long Ao's palm.