Is That A Wisp?

Having deactivated the Cloud Whale, Krune and Feifei joined the crowd, inciting numerous stares their way. 

After all, demon beasts were rare among them. In the Mortal Realm, demon beasts with intelligence on par with humans were rare, almost none. Only after a certain stage in cultivation did they obtain sufficient intelligence. 

Moreover, Krune's wisp form was unique, something none of the humans in the place had ever seen. So, they were curious. 

One of the people among the crowd, a girl in her early teens curiously extended her hand, intending to touch Krune when Feifei blocked her, glaring in return. "You should respect one's privacy."

"I…just wanted to touch it." The girl pouted, turning around as she walked away, unable to endure Feifei's glare. She instinctively realized that getting on the bad side of Feifei spelled doom. 

Even though Feifei had retracted her presence, just her mere glare was enough to suffocate most, causing the crowd around her to slightly part ways, creating a clearance where she and Krune were alone. 

Snorting, she didn't mind it, calmly walking forward as she noticed the opening in the mountain range come closer and closer. The entrance barely spanned three meters in width. It wasn't much for the crowd of people that constantly streamed in. 

After all, they had to crowd in through the narrow entrance and enter the Alacatra Ruins. Feifei tried to probe inside the ruins, but noticed that a faint veil of mist blocked her from seeing through. The case was the same for even her detection methods. 

Left with no other choice, she could only proceed forward slowly, grudgingly moving at a snail's pace. "At this rate, it might take us a couple of weeks just to enter it."

She then looked at Krune, realizing that both of them had the same opinion. Smirking, their figures disappeared. Suddenly, an intense gust of winds was created in the plateau as the people were alarmed, hurriedly protecting themselves. 

And before anyone noticed, a certain bulky man that was closer to the entrance vanished, having been transported by Feifei. And, replacing him was Feifei, carrying Krune in her arms. 

As for the man that had been transported away, he looked around in alarm, shouting, "What the heck? How did I end up here?"

He then ran towards the entrance in a fluster, being blocked by the people standing before him as they shouted, "Damn you, don't cut the line!"

"If you're that impatient to die, we don't mind sending you to your death early!"

Hearing the string of abuses, the man had no other choice but to control himself, staring at the entrance that was almost 7-8 kilometers away, almost tearing up. "But, I had been waiting for a month to reach there."

'Most, if not all of you, would die anyway. I'm helping you prolong your life.' Feifei made a blatant excuse for her action, watching the entrance come closer and closer. 

Her heart thumped in trepidation as she looked at Krune. "Be safe."

"You too," Krune replied as they entered through the layer of mist.

…

"Dammit, where the hell am I?" Krune groaned the moment he regained consciousness, looking around to see he was within a chamber of sorts whose walls were adorned by a mysterious mural depicting a scene of carnage.

It seemed to be like a humanoid lion of sorts that had been caged, eating what seemed to be another lion. The second mural showed the lion that devoured its brethren being freed from the cage, allowed to walk freely after that. 

The moment he made a sweeping glance of the place, Krune shuddered, knowing just what the concept of the place was.

Death Battle!

'Dammit, just as Old Peun had written, my strength has vanished.' Krune grunted, realizing that he had returned to his state as a regular wisp. He didn't have his active or passive abilities to use. He also didn't have his Mental Energy to use. Of course, he couldn't use Spiritual Energy whatsoever.

But right as he had thought so, Krune felt the Soul Needle still present in his Wisp Core. 'Why is it still here?'

As he thought about it, he recalled the feeling he obtained from it at the start. 'It did feel odd that this treasure integrated itself into my Wisp Core. Now, it seems that it has very well become a functioning part of my being.'

His present state was no different from when he was born, only possessing the bare minimum energy that formed the functional makeup of his body. He didn't even have a level of cultivation, fully suppressed to his mortal self. 

However, contrary to what was normal, the Soul Needle had integrated into himself to such an extent that it was as if he had been born with it. That's how it still remained with him. 

"I had prepared myself to return to my roots. But still, this feeling of helplessness is something I hate." Sighing, Krune looked around, quickly hiding behind a pillar in the corner. His tiny body allowed him to hide in safety as he noticed another figure spawn in the chamber. 

It was a human man, spanning a height of seven feet, possessing a hulking physique. The moment he appeared, he was startled to find that his cultivation had vanished. Fortunately for the man, his equipment remained with him, allowing him to eventually regain his composure. 

In regular intervals, more and more people arrived in the chamber, causing it to become noisy soon enough. Eventually, when twelve people, including Krune, were present in the chamber, a mechanical voice resounded through the place. 

"First mission." The voice was cold and unfeeling but contained a mysterious authority to it that prevented people from disobeying it. "In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, kill everyone."

"The survivor will obtain the qualifications to proceed towards the second stage." The moment the voice finished talking, the mural on one side morphed, sporting the inscription of an incense stick that was burning. 

And as time passed, the incense was being burned more and more as its length continued to decrease. The people in the chamber looked at each other warily as they noticed the scene depicted in the murals. 

It was unknown as to who started it, but within a couple of seconds, everyone brandished their weapons.