Absolute Cheater-Chapter 238: Adventures

The courtyard slowly emptied after their gathering, the younger ones returning to their duties or studies. Night thickened over the mansion, veiling it in calm, but inside the grand dining hall, a quiet conversation lingered over a late meal.

Asher and Valeris sat at the long table, plates of spirit beast meat and fruits before them, though they were more preoccupied with each other's presence than the food. A warm breeze drifted in through the open balcony doors, carrying the scent of night jasmine from the garden.

That was when Liam entered.

He was one of the older youths among the nine, nearing seventeen now. Once a thin, fearful thing barely able to speak above a whisper, he now carried himself with practiced grace and a sharp mind. His clothing was modest but clean, and in his hands, he held a carefully sealed scroll tied with a waxed insignia that shimmered faintly with protective formations.

He bowed low. "Forgive the interruption, Master, Mistress. This came by encrypted hawk today. I thought… you'd want to see it immediately."

Asher raised a brow and extended a hand. The scroll flew into his palm.

"From where?" he asked, breaking the seal.

Liam straightened slightly, eyes sharp behind his calm demeanor. "The Jade Concord sect's outer agents. One of our merchant fronts in the Cloudmirror Basin intercepted it. It was meant for the Golden Lotus Pavilion, but it circulated farther than intended."

Valeris leaned closer as Asher unrolled the scroll. Her rainbow-hued eyes scanned the delicate calligraphy alongside him.

Heaven's Rift has opened.

A spatial rift of ancient origin has torn open in the skies above the Forgotten Maze. It is believed to be the mouth of an undiscovered realm—one dormant since the Mythic Age.

Entry is unstable but passable. All major sects are mobilizing.

Confirmed participants: Azure Sword Sect, Crimson Seal Monastery, the Thunderwing Hall, Pale Moon Pavilion… even delegations from the Central Empire have been seen.

Treasures of unknown rank and lost cultivation arts are suspected to lie within.

Estimated duration before closure: 3 months.

Entry permitted only by token.

Warning: Realm shows signs of autonomous will. All who enter must beware.

Asher's expression didn't shift, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Valeris smiled faintly. "A realm that chooses who may enter? How poetic."

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"And dangerous," Asher murmured. "Realms like this… they're not dead. They dream. Some even hunger."

He set the scroll down, fingers drumming once against the table.

"What do you want to do?" Valeris asked, already knowing the answer.

Asher looked up at her, red eyes gleaming. "Its another adventure what else."

She laughed softly, then nodded. "Then we'll need tokens."

Liam stepped forward. "I can arrange it. One of our informants says the Crimson Seal Monastery is trading entry tokens for rare spirit crystals… or favors."

"Favors?" Valeris asked, amused.

Liam smiled, faint but proud. "They're desperate. Even a whisper that you two are interested will shift the balance."

Asher leaned back in his chair, his grin razor-thin. "Then whisper it."

Liam bowed. "It will be done."

As he turned to leave, Asher glanced down at the scroll one last time.

"Beware, for the realm possesses will…"

He smiled.

"Let's see what kind of will dares to face ours."

"I am more interested in Treasures there" She said as Asher chuckled as they both ate their food while Liam and others arranged for token.

The days that followed were filled with movement—not rushed or chaotic, but the steady momentum of well-oiled preparation. There was no war council, no rallying of armies. Just a quiet understanding between two souls who had long since decided to face the world on their own terms.

Asher and Valeris spent their mornings training in silence, refining the flow of their Astral Soul Hearts with calm precision. The afternoons were often spent in the mansion's gardens or open halls, listening as the younger ones—Liam especially—brought updates on the realm, tokens, and the movements of sects.

They didn't announce their plans.

They didn't need to.

Unlike the great sects that treated such realms as battlegrounds for legacy and domination, Asher and Valeris approached this for what it truly was: a journey. A chapter in a story not yet written.

They weren't here to conquer.

They were here to explore.

To discover.

To challenge themselves against the unknown not out of pride—but out of curiosity.

The day of departure came swiftly. By then, the necessary tokens had been acquired—gracefully bartered through Liam's efforts and the mere implication of the couple's interest. No threats. No bloodshed.

The world had begun to understand: you didn't need to fear the Young Dragon and White Phoenix… unless you gave them a reason.

Their travel was light. No entourage, no banners. Just the two of them, cloaked in modest robes, walking along a winding path that shimmered faintly with spatial qi—one of the known routes that would lead to the Forgotten Maze, where the Heaven's Rift had opened.

As they traveled, they passed other cultivators—some in awe, others unaware. But even those who didn't recognize them felt it: the aura that rippled around them like wind over still water. It wasn't oppressive. It wasn't arrogant.

It was steady.

Unshakable.

"Are you hoping for a fight?" Valeris asked one evening as they made camp beneath a canopy of blueleaf trees.

Asher looked up from the fire he'd just lit, his red eyes catching the flame. "No. But if one comes, I won't avoid it."

She smiled, curling up beside him. "I hope we find something unexpected in there. Not just artifacts or techniques… but something strange. Something forgotten."

"You want a mystery," he said with a small laugh.

"I want wonder," she replied. "That's why we're doing this, isn't it? Not to be feared. Not to be famous. Just to… know what's out there."

Asher looked to the stars overhead. "Yeah," he murmured. "To know."

***

The night before their arrival, the sky grew restless.

Far ahead, beyond a sea of violet hills and the twisted remnants of ancient battlegrounds, the Heaven's Rift pulsed with an unnatural glow. Not simply light—it shimmered like a wound in the world, a jagged tear suspended in the air, its edges lined with what looked like falling starlight.

And the Rift watched.

It didn't roar or tremble like many unstable domains. No, it was still—eerily so. As though it was waiting. Sensing. Choosing.

By the time Asher and Valeris arrived at the outer edge of the Forgotten Maze, they were no longer alone.

Hundreds of cultivators had gathered.

Tents lined the shattered stone paths. Flying ships floated lazily above. Battle auras mingled in the air, tense but contained. This wasn't a battlefield yet—but it could become one at a moment's notice. Representatives from all the great sects had come, dressed in their proud silks and armored robes. Some of them wore masks. Others glared openly, eyes sharp and measuring.

They all wanted the same thing: access.

Access to a realm lost since the Mythic Age.

And yet, even among this sea of power and arrogance, silence fell when Asher and Valeris approached.

They didn't walk with guards. They didn't wear sect colors. But the moment their feet touched the carved stone leading toward the rift, space itself seemed to shift.

Not violently—but gently, like a door being opened.

All eyes turned.

Whispers rose like smoke.

"Is that…"

"The Young Dragon…"

"And the White Phoenix…"

"They came after all…"

But unlike the others who had arrived with bluster and pride, Asher and Valeris simply nodded to the few watching cultivators they recognized and walked past. No intimidation. No challenge.

Just presence.

The guards from the Thunderwing Hall stepped aside without being asked. The delegation from Crimson Seal offered a respectful nod. Even the aloof elders from the Central Empire's envoy lowered their heads ever so slightly, recognizing not status, but weight.

Asher looked up at the rift.

It shimmered, almost in response, and for a moment, its outer edge peeled open just slightly—like it recognized him.

Valeris stood beside him, eyes narrowed in subtle thought. "It's open now," she said, and Asher nodded. Then, with a flash of their tokens, the two stepped into the realm.

"Phew… they actually went in," muttered one of the scouts nearby, who had been observing from a hidden perch. Even though Asher and Valeris hadn't tried to show off or release their aura, the pressure of their presence alone had marked them as anything but ordinary.

To seasoned cultivators, their power was unmistakable—at least at the peak of the Saint King Realm, if not something beyond. And while they had no intention of making enemies needlessly, everyone knew… if provoked, they could bring ruin with a thought.

As much as many hoped to test their strength, most wisely chose not to. They weren't just powerful—they were purposeful. They didn't crush people for fun, but when Asher did release his power… entire sects fell silent.

It was best, everyone agreed, to simply stay out of their way.

"Don't engage them in the Secret Realm, either," many elders warned their disciples and younger sect members, their voices firm with rare seriousness.

"They're not like the others."

Though Asher and Valeris hadn't declared their strength openly, those with sharp eyes and sharper senses understood: they were dangerous—and not the kind of dangerous that shouted, but the kind that ended things silently.