Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

Just as Zachary finished speaking, two beautiful girls came out of hiding and walked up to him. One came from his left and one came from his right. They were Alisa and Sara. When they were at a safe distance, they paused in their tracks.

Their presence didn't surprise Zachary. Calmly, he asked the girls, "Girls, are you going to fight me together, or will you challenge me one by one?"

"I can't believe that you got your hands on the imperial amulet. Master Katrina was right. Now that you have it, I don't see any point in fighting you. I quit!" Sara snapped. Karina had talked to her before they set off. She'd told her she should drop out of the contest if Zachary got hold of the imperial amulet. Although she was unwilling, she knew that Katrina had her reasons. It was thanks to Katrina's guidance that she'd gotten to where she was today. Therefore, she would never defy the woman.

Confusion overwhelmed the audience.

Celestial College's big shots were more so than the rest. They had placed great hopes on Sara, expecting her to win the contest. It never occurred to them that she would quit halfway.

"What's going on? Why would Sara give up just like that?" Barney murmured to himself with a frown. "Master Katrina, do you know why she would do that?" he asked with a skeptical look at Katrina. He suspected that Katrina had something to do with it.

"It was my idea. I asked her to give up," Katrina replied frankly.

Her words rendered the big shot of Celestial College silent. They couldn't believe that Katrina would let Sara, who they'd had high hopes of for the championship, give up the contest. But since Katrina was a Holy Level warrior, none of them dared blame her. Even Barney wore a long face and didn't know what to say.

"Why did you ask her to give up?" Barney asked calmly after hesitating for a while.

"Because she is no match for him," Katrina replied bluntly.

"What makes you so sure about that? Although Harley

start then!" Alisa tightened her grip on the Spiritual Cloud Fan, ready to fight.

"But I don't have the heart to lay a hand on you," Zachary said with a self-mocking smile. Once they engaged, he would have to go all out. If he didn't fight with full strength, it would imply he didn't respect her. 'Alisa is eager to battle, but what if I ended up hurting her? What would I do then?' he thought to himself.

"What are you talking about? I'm your opponent. If you want to win the championship, you must defeat me!" Alisa said with a displeased snort.

"You are right, of course. But you are more than an opponent to me," Zachary replied affectionately, as he looked Alisa in the eye.

"What do you mean?" Alisa asked with arched eyebrows. She knew that Zachary's words had a hidden meaning.

"I don't want to fight you for the same reason you took a hit from Nathan for me," Zachary answered earnestly.

Alisa was speechless for a moment. She still didn't understand why she'd taken that blow for him. This question had been haunting her. But now Zachary was telling her he couldn't bear to hurt her for the same reason, she was more confused. Blurry images flashed in her mind again. Ever since her injury, those images had popped into her mind frequently as if trying to remind her of something.