Chapter 283: Guardians of the Royal Tomb

“How is this possible…?”
“There’s another level?!”
“I thought the忍 King King we fought earlier was the last monster.”
The disciples of the four major sects surrounded Happy as they reached the end of the first level of the royal tomb. Seeing the stairs leading downward, their expressions instantly changed—mostly to surprise.
The high difficulty of the royal tomb was well-known!
Completing the entire course so quickly left some feeling regretful and unsatisfied. The emergence of the second level gave them new goals and hopes, naturally hoping to further enrich their wallets.
Another reason was Happy’s status, which sparked greater expectations among many, who hoped for deeper understanding and connections. Facing such a supreme expert, most didn’t want to part right away.
“Actually, what I killed earlier was just a clone of the忍 King King. I found it strange at the time—I thought there must be a more powerful boss in the royal tomb: the real忍 King King!”
Happy’s reply made everyone gasp, and they could see the concern in each other’s eyes.
If even a clone of the忍 King King was this strong, the four major sects had no chance against the real one.
“So…”
Happy continued, “if anyone sees the忍 King King in golden armor, be extremely careful and don’t act rashly.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll inform you right away,” Ouyang Qing said wisely.
But this time he was wrong.
Happy smiled bitterly: “If it’s the real忍 King King, informing me might not help. It’s best if everyone stays cautious and avoids confrontation. If even a clone is this strong, the real one is surely a whole level above. Without reaching the Liberation Realm, none of us can defeat him—even together.”
“Ah!”
Everyone paled. They hadn’t expected Happy to fear the忍 King King so much. But since he said so, it couldn’t be a lie—after all, the four major sects truly lacked the strength to fight the忍 King King, so there was no need for him to lie.
“Remember, be very careful later,” he warned them.
Their gazes turned back to the stone stairs leading to the second level.
But this time, no one stepped in first.
The tragedy of the first level was still fresh in their minds—the deaths and injuries of over 200 people were unforgettable. No one could afford to get hurt, creating an awkward atmosphere.
“Yitong, come with me.”
Happy didn’t act too independently. After a moment’s thought, he deliberately asked Yitong to go down with him, instructing the others to follow later.
The members of the four major sects nodded in agreement.

With “Happy” and “Yitong” drawing the enemy’s fire, the pressure on them decreased significantly. Even in the most dangerous situations, they could now get some breathing room.
Let’s go!
Happy and Yitong exchanged a glance. Both activated their protective barriers and went all out to reach their peak performance!
Yitong, of course, appeared in the form of a fortress clad in dark qi armor, like a gate guardian. With Happy’s full effort, a vague golden bell slowly took shape, floating about half a foot away from his body under his will. Its golden light shone powerfully, smooth as steel, resembling the golden bells in ancient temples.
The two walked side by side down the stone stairs into the second level of the royal tomb.
The stairwell was pitch black and empty. Fortunately, it wasn’t long. Soon, light appeared ahead, revealing a small semicircular hall. There were no signs of ninjas inside.
On both sides of the semicircular hall on the second level, there were several old, moderately sized pottery jars. Next to them stood two stone statues of soldiers, holding long halberds and staring straight ahead, looking lifelike.
“…”
Glancing around, “Yitong” let out a sigh of relief, easing his earlier tension, and turned to call for the others to follow.
But at that moment, Happy stepped forward a few steps with a serious expression.
Creak!!
The two stone soldier guardians shifted slightly, their grayish stone skin rapidly losing its color.
Click!!
The two soldiers seemed to come to life as they turned their necks, emitting a crisp sound. Their cold gazes stared mercilessly at Happy, then they frowned as if pondering something, shifting their attention to Yitong behind him.
Hm?
Happy’s senses were extremely sharp. He immediately sensed that the murderous intent from the two soldier puppets had shifted from him to Yitong at the entrance. His eyes widened in shock.
Click!!
One of the soldier guardians suddenly exerted force, raising his halberd with a heavy sound.
The other raised his foot and mechanically stepped forward, thudding heavily on the ground and shaking off dust and debris.
The group that had entered the second level saw this scene as soon as they entered the semicircular hall!
“Yitong, be careful!”
With cold gazes, the two soldier guardians moved. To everyone’s surprise, instead of attacking the nearest Happy, they rushed at Yitong at lightning speed.
After giving the warning, Happy stood frozen, watching the group and the soldier guardians engage in battle, completely confused…

These puppet soldiers are powerful combat puppets with distinct features on the second floor of the royal tomb. Their bodies are made of hard mineral structures, even harder than ordinary metals, and their strength exceeds that of the stone giants in ancient tombs. Each puppet possesses formidable combat capabilities, nearing the peak of the Mysterious Realm. Yet, what’s most terrifying are their protective abilities and their fearless fighting spirit.

The protective capabilities of these soldier puppets reach the level of a master artisan, combined with an extreme fighting mindset, they will attack the nearest enemy without hesitation!

Just now, Kai Xin deliberately approached them in order to trigger the mechanisms of the soldier puppets before everyone filled the circular hall, so as to alert them.

But…

The special treatment given to these soldier puppets clearly left Kai Xin at a loss.

It was the first time Kai Xin had encountered such a situation—he was ignored by the puppets!

It wasn’t until others worked together to tear the two soldier puppets into pieces, finding only some silver coins from an earlier dynasty inside, that Kai Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“What’s going on?”

“Did they not attack you just now?”

Someone asked the question even earlier than Kai Xin.

Kai Xin spread his hands and shook his head with a wry smile, “I don’t know either…” After a pause, as if remembering something, he took out the small sachet prepared for him by the Murong family:

“Maybe it’s because of this.”

“Why?”

The crowd was even more puzzled.

Among them, Kai Xin wasn’t the only one who had this item. For example, Ouyang Qing, who also suffered attacks from the soldier puppets, possessed it as well. Moreover, this item only worked when passing through the Eight Trigrams Confusion Array—so what use could it have against the soldier puppets?

Faced with everyone’s questions, Kai Xin took a deep breath and confessed:

“This royal tomb is the burial site of the royal family of the former Great Yan Dynasty! The Murong family are descendants of the royal family of the Great Yan Dynasty… the guardians of this royal tomb!”
“…”