The Innkeeper

Chapter 1198  A little tough

”Is he usually like that? Is he really so strong?” Moon asked as she looked up at the screen and ate a burrito. Much like the two had watched Lex in Loverʼs Island, they were watching him partake in the tournament, although Moon had to admit that the impression he gave off was vastly different this time around.

The way he stood there, high up in the air, looking down upon a burning world like a sovereign, Lex was almost completely unrecognizable. She could hardly believe this was the same Lex she knew. After all, during their childhood, Lex was not much of a fighter.

”Donʼt let him fool you,” Z said with a knowing tone that only an employee could have towards their boss. ”Heʼs actually probably much stronger. He just likes to look cool while he does anything. One moment youʼll think heʼll be at the end of his rope, fighting to barely hold on, yet if a stronger enemy would show up he would still defeat them, and somehow make it look just as difficult, as if he was truly at the end of his rope this time. Iʼve never actually seen him lose a fight. Iʼm completely convinced that heʼs secretly a much higher cultivation realm and just pretending to be weak.”

Moon marveled as she looked up at her brother, and her understanding of him changed once more. *****

”You do not need to worry at all,” Lex said very calmly to the figures sitting in front of him. ”The very reason we had this meeting inside the Inn was because of the security and protection it affords. Nobody can divine our meeting. Nobody will know of our agreement until it is too late.”

”Very well. That is reassuring to hear. Just so that I know, at the critical time, will the Innkeeper be making a move as well?”

Lexʼs expression did not change, nor did he suffer any fluctuations when asked this question. It was one he had answered many times already by now.

”If the Innkeeper were making a move, then all of this external aid would not be required. The Innkeeper has urged me to rely on myself instead of him to resolve my personal issues.”

”Very well,” one of the figures responded, before leaving the Inn.

Lex sighed. There were many things that the Inn did that he took for granted, he knew, but the ability to sit face to face with someone with a much higher cultivation level without feeling any suppression was absolutely broken.

He looked at the time, then teleported back to the hotel from where he was participating in the tournament. Yet as he walked out this time, the hotel was much emptier than last time. It was because most people were still finishing their previous trials.

”This is the last one, right?” Lex asked the receptionist.

He looked at the time, then teleported back to the hotel from where he was participating in the tournament. Yet as he walked out this time, the hotel was much emptier than last time. It was because most people were still finishing their previous trials.

”This is the last one, right?” Lex asked the receptionist.

”Indeed, it is. Itʼs divided into two parts. You will be sent to the boundary of a vast maze. You must make your way through the maze towards the center, thatʼs the first part of the trial. The second part begins once you reach the center of the maze, where you will find a tall tower. You merely need to enter the tower and pass the first floor of it to complete the trial, although your ranking in the preliminary tournament will be based on what level of the tower you reach.”

Lex narrowed his eyes. Once again a tower, with levels he needed to clear. The tower of providence was powerful and mysterious, and did not require him to clear levels but each time he would enter he needed to complete a quest. Having said that, within the Inn, inside a Minor realm, there was a tower that the Jotun empire was protecting as a training ground for the human race.

He himself had only visited it once, but the benefits it offered were genuine. More importantly, apparently emperor Jotun himself had once gained a great harvest from such a tower.

There was too much of a theme going on for it to be a coincidence, yet Lex had no idea what the truth behind this could be. It might really just end up being a genuine coincidence, considering a tower was not exactly an abstract shape, and perfectly fit the requisite of having many levels.

He didnʼt say anything, and just walked through the door that brought him to a jungle. He looked around and found nothing similar to a maze, so he momentarily considered that this might be a different kind of maze using some kind of esoteric laws or techniques. But almost immediately he noticed the anomaly. He rose up into the sky and saw, many thousands of miles away on two of his sides walls that seemed to rise beyond his ability to see or comprehend.

Moreover, there was no space up above him. The sky seemed to extend for eternity, alongside the walls.

Lex spread his spirit sense apart to its absolute limit, but was not even able to touch the walls. Moreover, when he looked down the corridor on both sides, he could not see where they led.

The size of this maze was… Lex tried not to think about it. He tried using his spatial laws, and was relieved to discover that they worked. At least heʼd be able to traverse large distances easily. The only problem was that the space here felt oddly different, as if he was no longer inside the Origin realm.

Moreover, there were clearly defined borders to what he could sense.

He began teleporting towards the wall, which wasnʼt too hard. The problem arose when he came close to the wall. Not only could he not teleport beyond the wall, as it blocked his ability to sense or control space, he almost couldnʼt use his powers near it at all. The closer he came to the wall, the more he was deprived of energy until all that was left was the physical power in his body.

Lex sighed. It was going to be a little tough to speed through this one.