Chapter 66: Return

Drawing out the Twisted Spine of Leif, Liu Zhi’s grip loosened instantly, and the sword fell to the ground once more. He realized it wasn’t his injured right hand that made it impossible to wield the weapon—rather, the sword was simply too heavy for him to use at all.

As Liu Zhi stared in exasperation, Vidnina drifted over, casually picked up the longsword, and offered it to him. Liu Zhi glanced at her, helplessly saying, “I can’t use it right now. Why don’t you take it for now?” Vidnina shook her head. “I… can’t… use… it… either… It… rejects… me…”

Liu Zhi paused, then understood: this must be player equipment. Even though Vidnina was self-aware, she wasn’t a player, and so she could not use gear meant for players. With a resigned look at the Twisted Spine of Leif—clearly a valuable sword—Liu Zhi could only stash it away in his twenty-slot pack.

To wield this longsword, he’d need to raise his strength to at least 6.4. Glancing at his current stat of 3.2, Liu Zhi felt this was no easy task.

Just then, Vidnina spoke again: “Your… hand.”

Only then did Liu Zhi notice that his right hand still hadn’t recovered. Supporting it with his left, he said casually, “It’s fine. I’ll head up and find some herbs to patch it up. Give it a few days and it’ll be all right. By the way, I want to check out the Underworld Palace. Something seemed to have happened there just now.”

Pressing his hand to the altar of the Underworld Palace, he was prepared to force his way in, but after a moment’s thought, he abandoned the idea and retraced his steps upward along the path he’d come.

In Liu Zhi’s mind, having defeated the demon Leif and gained a sword he couldn’t use, he wondered if the people above might have left behind something useful as well.

Previously, pressed for time, he hadn’t searched thoroughly. Now, with a bit more leisure, he naturally wanted to see if there was anything else to be gained.

But as he climbed, he found only rotting corpses and decaying plants. Yet beneath the traces of decay, he noticed some murals previously hidden from view.

The murals did not recount the tale of the demon Leif, nor the methods used to subdue him; rather, they depicted the resources and means used in the building of the Golden City.

It never occurred to Liu Zhi that the valley before him was not a natural formation, but had been forcibly carved out by the three great empires using countless slaves.

Many spells and curses had been laid upon the city from the very moment excavation began.

Daily downpours to feed the serpents were minor compared to some enchantments: spells inscribed on the cliffs forbade flight, so that eagles could only enter or exit through a handful of narrow passes, never soaring over the precipice—who could have imagined such a thing?

Other curses had been laid upon the cliffs as well. Should anyone attempt to descend on ropes from the edge, they would get no further than ten meters before their bodies would be sliced to pieces by various forces.

Liu Zhi also noticed that the valley had once possessed a great gate—so massive that an entire legion could march through side by side.

The gate was only sealed after the demon’s suppression, leaving behind just a few perilous footpaths or serpent trails.

The waterway Liu Zhi used to enter was one such path; the forest trail where those people had ambushed him was another.

As he traveled upward, Liu Zhi’s understanding of the Golden City deepened. He realized that during its construction, there must have been a leader of exceptional strength and will.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to unite the three empires and complete such a massive project within a decade.

This leader clearly had his own vision for city-building, knowing precisely what he wanted and what should be built first or left for later.

Studying these arrangements, Liu Zhi seemed to grasp something. He felt his own Underworld Palace needed similar planning; he couldn’t just pile on whatever he had at the moment.

Thus he walked, observed, and pondered, analyzing as he went.

When Liu Zhi reached the top of the pyramid, his eyes suddenly lit up.

[Ding! Through diligent study, you have mastered Basic Knowledge—Architecture Level 1, and Advanced Knowledge—Urban Planning Level 1.]

[Architecture Level 1 (0/500): You have acquired the ability to build, can personally construct houses, and guarantee their stability.]

[Note: Architecture is a deeply systematic and complex discipline; simply stacking up walls does not make a building. To make your houses beautiful, you must work even harder.]

[Urban Planning Level 1 (0/5000): You have acquired the ability to plan cities, allowing you to design and organize the overall layout of an urban area.]

[Note: Normally, to master Advanced Knowledge—Urban Planning, you must meet the following prerequisites: Architecture Level 4, Coordination Level 3, Management Level 3.]

A swelling sensation filled Liu Zhi’s mind. Looking around, he found that even his perspective on the world had changed. Standing atop the pyramid, he could now discern the reasoning and logic behind the original division of the city into four sectors.

He could even reconstruct the original appearance of buildings from the faint traces they’d left behind.

In Liu Zhi’s eyes, the Golden City was no longer a ruin swallowed by forest but a magnificent and powerful metropolis.

“This place is truly beautiful,” he breathed.

But as he blinked, the vision faded, and the city returned to its current, ruined state.

Nonetheless, Liu Zhi now understood where his own shortcomings lay. He turned to Vidnina and asked, “Don’t you think our Underworld Palace should have a unified style?”

Vidnina, a swordswoman by nature, knew nothing of architectural styles. At Liu Zhi’s question, she simply looked at him in silence.

Realizing she wouldn’t have an answer, Liu Zhi sat himself down atop the pyramid, gazed out over the landscape, and asked another question.

“Vidnina, what do you think of this pyramid style? How about if I rebuild a pyramid like this in the Underworld Palace?”

Images flashed before Liu Zhi’s eyes: a city centered on an Incan-style pyramid, its interior divided into multiple tiers, the city map gradually taking shape in his mind.

Data surged through his thoughts, design concepts evolving, the map of the Underworld Palace appearing vividly in his mind.

Countless plans were proposed and discarded, until finally everything converged on a single style.

Liu Zhi lifted his head. “Let’s call it Nazmir.”