Ishida curled his lip and said, "Because not only was he disobedient, he betrayed the organization for his own ends. It was the Master's mercy not to kill him; handing him over to you was letting him off lightly."

He paused, then added, "However, whether you save his life is your affair."

With that, the four of them turned around simultaneously, as if by prior arrangement, ready to leave.

I quickly told Nie Chuan to watch Da Xiong and Xie Yuting, rushing forward in two or three strides to call out to the four of them, "What is the meaning of this! I shouldn't even be here; this was all arranged by Xie Yuting. I suppose this is part of your so-called Master's plan? Since he brought me here, and I've successfully reached the final step, why won't you let me have the answer!"

Seeing me shouting behind them, the four turned back to face me.

Noticing their expressions were impassive, I continued, "From beginning to end, I was manipulated by him without complaint, but now that I'm in this game, I deserve an explanation!"

Ishida was silent for a moment, then said, "Shouting at me is useless; I’m just another pawn who knows nothing. I really want to help you, but I'm powerless right now. Today's order is to stop you here; the reason why isn't important."

Seeing my face contort in anger, Ishida added, "Oh, right, the Master asked me to tell you that if you're willing to trade ten years of peace for the secret, you can enter, but she guarantees you'll be dead within a few days."

I froze, thinking this was an *outright threat. My life is tougher than that, not so easily taken.

Just as I was about to say I was willing to trade ten years for an answer, Ishida cut me off again, saying, "The Master says those ten years aren't just yours; they belong to all of you."

When I saw him point at Da Xiong and Nie Chuan, my heart sank, and my composure faltered.

I looked back at the two of them, my gaze filled with hesitation.

But Da Xiong and Nie Chuan's eyes were resolute, and they spoke almost simultaneously, "We want the answer."

For some reason, hearing them say that warmed my heart, and I, too, looked firmly at the four figures ahead.

Ishida sighed and said, "Fine, this is your own choice."

After speaking, the four of them cleared a path for us to pass.

I glanced again at Da Xiong and Nie Chuan, beginning to regret my impulsiveness.

Yet, the two of them were smiling, as if to comfort me.

To uncover secrets always comes at a price; I figured they had long prepared themselves mentally, which is why they appeared so composed.

Under the gaze of the four, we dragged Xie Yuting toward the depths of the corridor.

The four remained standing where they were, silently watching us until we turned a corner.

For some reason, being watched by those four put an invisible pressure on me; when I escaped their sight, it felt like a kind of release.

But just as I caught my breath, Da Xiong suddenly cried out, "Isn't that... Boss?"

I looked up and indeed saw a tall, slender figure standing in the middle of the corridor, his posture ramrod straight, like a tree.

His dark face, somewhat resembling Louis Koo's, looked at us indifferently.

The three of us remained silent, and the other party seemed equally disinclined to speak, merely watching us.

I thought, could this be the Master the other four mentioned?

Just as the thought formed, the figure spoke.

He seemed hesitant, taking two full seconds after opening his mouth before saying, "Fourth Brother... is dead, right?"

At his words, my heart clenched. The scene of Fourth Brother being devoured by flesh-eating birds flashed in my mind, causing a wave of sorrow.

In the end, I couldn't utter a word, only nodding.

The Boss, who resembled Louis Koo, opened his mouth, hesitated for a few more seconds, and then asked, "Then, Third Brother?"

"Dead too..." I spat out the words through gritted teeth. Although their deaths weren't directly my fault, being asked now brought a wave of guilt.

After all, I felt I might have had a slim chance to save them.

The Boss fell silent upon hearing this, speaking no further.

I didn't know what he was thinking; it was as if he couldn't face me, so I hurried past him.

Unexpectedly, just as I passed, he said, "Heaven's will... it's all Heaven's will. The brothers gave their lives, but still couldn't let Boss Xie's plan succeed. It seems there's no point in me staying here."

Hearing the finality in his voice, I quickly spun around just in time to see him leap from the balcony.

I stretched out my hand, trying to use my psychic power to pull him back, but it was too late.

By the time I reached the balcony railing, he was gone, likely having fallen through the gap into the black abyss below, smashed to pieces.

I slammed my fist hard against the balcony, filled with absolute rage.

The boisterousness of our arrival echoed in my mind, causing a sharp pain.

Looking at Xie Yuting, whose eyes were tightly shut, I felt an urge to pull him up and beat him.

This man was always executing his plans, believing he was doing great things, refusing to go with the flow, but how many people close to him had he killed?

Seeing me raise my fist to strike Xie Yuting, Nie Chuan rushed over and grabbed my arm, saying, "Don't be rash, this bastard only has a breath left!"

I lowered my hand and said, "When he gets better, I'll put him through severe torture."

Nie Chuan said, "Enough, damn it, we have important business. We still have to get him to the hospital; otherwise, if he dies now, who will you take your anger out on?"

I nodded, dragging the sack containing Xie Yuting, and led the other two forward.

In a short while, we saw the corridor ahead blocked by a massive bronze door covered in incredibly complex patterns. Looking at the details one by one made the eyes ache immediately.

The patterns looked like countless intertwined venomous snakes, or countless stars revolving in the cosmos, or perhaps a diagram of wisdom containing all mysteries.

"Same material, same markings, same ancient history—how many bronze doors have we seen like this?" I asked Nie Chuan.

Nie Chuan hesitated for a moment before replying, "I don't know, but I have a feeling this will be the last bronze door we see."

I glanced at him, unsure of what to say.

He looked back at me, wordless.

I sighed, setting the sack holding Xie Yuting against the bronze door, then pulled out a glow stick and twisted it on.

With my other hand, I tried to push the bronze door, but no matter how hard I strained, it wouldn't budge.

So, I thought of using my psychic power to open it, but the moment I tried to activate it, I realized I couldn't use it at all, as if my body had never possessed such a thing.

I jumped back in shock, stepping back a pace before feeling the psychic energy slowly return to my body.

Looking at my hands, I wondered what was happening. Could this bronze door dissipate the psychic energy within me?

Nie Chuan and Da Xiong huddled closer, asking me what happened.

I felt incapable of explaining, so I said nothing, instead standing still and slowly pushing my psychic power toward the bronze door.

After a moment, sure enough, I heard the bronze door emit a dull creak as it slowly opened a crack.

I immediately threw the glow stick I was holding inside, pulled out my flashlight, switched it on, and darted in.

Da Xiong and Nie Chuan followed right after, but just then, as I was ahead, a sharp pain shot through my head, and the Jindouyun (Somersault Cloud) beneath Da Xiong suddenly vanished with a whoosh.

Seeing Da Xiong about to crash down hard, I frantically tried to use my psychic power, but realized I truly couldn't use it.

Da Xiong slammed onto the ground with a painful yell.

At that moment, I distinctly felt something in the darkness being disturbed by us, making rustling sounds.

I couldn't tell Da Xiong to quiet down, as he was injured, and a fall would surely aggravate his wounds; it was impossible for him not to cry out.

So, I quickly rushed over and helped him up, asking, "Are you okay?"

Da Xiong had clearly heard the noise too, waved his hand, and said, "I'm fine, I thought I heard something just now."

I swept my gaze around and realized my ability to see psychic energy seemed to have regressed; I couldn't even see the psychic energy around Da Xiong and Nie Chuan, let alone things further away.

I said to Da Xiong, "Be careful, it seems this place can make our psychic energy disappear."

Da Xiong clenched his fists and said, "Don't worry, even with just my fists, maybe I don't necessarily..."

He trailed off halfway through, making a grimace.

I saw blood seeping from his wound; clearly, the loss of psychic energy had stripped him of his self-protection ability. If this continued, he could face a life-threatening situation due to excessive blood loss.

So, I said to him, "Don't force yourself; staying alive is most important. It's too dangerous for you to stay here. Go out first; we'll tell you everything we see in here later."

Da Xiong insisted on staying, but in the end, Nie Chuan and I threw him back out.

After settling him, the two of us re-entered the bronze door.

The moment we stepped inside this time, a voice suddenly spoke to us, "Two Nie Chuans, you've both arrived. That's excellent; it seems I can save some effort and destroy you all from now on."

I was shocked, momentarily unable to speak.

Because the other party clearly knew I was impersonating him, which was illogical.

"Two Nie Chuans? You mean..." Nie Chuan's reaction was clearly stronger than mine; he looked at me with a strange expression.

Just as I was about to explain to him, I suddenly saw a mass of black mist drifting toward us in the darkness—a sensation incredibly familiar to me.

After a moment's thought, I remembered: this was the same mass of dark energy I encountered earlier at the Tongue-Extraction Hell watchtower!