Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

Zachary's face cracked into a smirk as he watched the clone gradually split into two parts and slowly take shape. One part became the real body, and the other was the physical embodiment of energy circulation. Fortunately, this allowed Zachary to see through the clone's energy circulation in the nick of time.

Just as the clone charged at Zachary, ready to tear him apart, he pulled out two Ice Needles in the blink of an eye and thrust them into the clone's reddened ghostly hands, quickly transforming them into human ones.

When Zachary fell from the air, the clone, not knowing what else to do, threw a punch at his opponent, forming a huge shock wave that almost engulfed Zachary's body.

In a last-ditch attempt to save himself, Zachary launched an Ice Needle, using it to cut through the force and destroying it with an explosion. He followed up his attack by shooting two additional Ice Needles at the clone's feet, rendering it immobile and incapable of fighting back.

However, the clone wasn't going to give up without a fight. He immediately tried to summon the Lady Swordsmanship and Ghost Palm, but both were broken by Zachary.

After he showered the clone's body with a few more Ice Needles, Zachary eventually gained full control of the clone.

"I don't want to kill you, but only one of us can make it out of here alive and it's not going to be you!" With one clean strike, Zachary beheaded his opponent without even using his martial energy.

However, as soon as he separated the clone's head from the body, it turned into a shadow and vanished into the air like the wind.

"Congratulations! You have passed the test of the Pilgrimage Space. You deserve to be chosen by the system," said Shadow, floating in the middle of the area.

"Didn't you say that the arena would change? How come I didn't notice any changes?" Zachary asked Shadow.

"You were getting your ass kicked out there, and that was why I didn't think there was any need to change the arena. To be honest, I don't think you would have survived if I had changed the arena. Besides, this was just a trial run, something to help you gather some experience. You'll have plenty of time to learn about the horrors of the Death Arena in the future," answered Shadow.

"So, I guess I should thank you." Zachary smiled, expressing his gratitude. There was som

tial energy with elements. It will be very difficult for you to reach the second grade, because you will have to cultivate it through actual combat. The bigger problem is finding a warrior who possesses martial energy with elements as there are only a handful of such warriors around. Cultivating the next grade is going to be much more difficult than it was with the first."

"All right. It sounds like I will have to take my time with this one," Zachary said.

"Now that the Pilgrimage Space is open, why don't you make some preparations and go inside to see what you can cultivate?" Anne continued.

"Master Anne, aren't you going to give me some sort of treasure for protection? After all, the Pilgrimage Space sounds like a dangerous place." Zachary had no intentions of going back empty-handed.

"I knew you would say that." Anne took out a sachet and gave it to Zachary. "Here are some protective articles I've made just for you. They should be enough to keep you safe from anything inside the Pilgrimage Space."

A sense of relief came over Zachary as he gladly took the sachet.

However, Anne wasn't quite done yet as she took out a golden token from her sleeve.

"Once you enter the Pilgrimage Space, you will have to spend quite a long time there. Keep this Summoning Token with you at all times. If you are in danger and can't come out, use it to summon me. I will come to your aid as fast as I can, but it will only work once, so don't use it unless you have no other choice," Anne explained, expressing her words with the utmost eagerness.