?


    "All right guys, we are moving out. Remember that this floor is different from the other floors we fought on earlier. Everyone is an enemy until we have proof we can trust them, especially people none of us know."


    Ken said as the team left the stone room behind them and ventured back into thebyrinth. ric told them everything they needed to know, and there was no reason to remain behind.


    "Team Leader, why are you always wearing masks?"


    They changed the way they addressed him under ric''s influence. ''Junior Brother'' hinted at being of lower authority, so it was an unfitting way of addressing the actual leader of the team.


    "I just like them. Do you want one too, Daisy? I have a pretty one of a fox."


    "Sure, I will try it on."


    It looked simr to the Japanese kitsune (A/N: = fox) mask from Ken''s previous world, so he purchased it despite preferring the menacing types.


    "Team Leader, I think it''s useless to hide your face when there are barely any people as small as you in thebyrinth."


    Bryce spoke out his thoughts, raising a valid point.


    "There are still some who are."


    Ken spoke with an irritated tone that suggested changing the topic. In his mind, he decided to rush some of his ns.


    ''It''s time to get rid of Bryce first.''


    Ken thought to himself as he opened another door in the corridor. Most of the rooms were cleared by others, so the exploration didn''t take as long as on the previous floors. Some rooms were still left uncleared for various reasons or the monsters inside were already recreated.


    "Team Leader, do you have a mask for me too?"


    ric asked with obvious hope in his voice. Ken felt like he received a different type of pup instead of the one he identally left behind.


    "Sure, I have a nk white mask."


    It was a in white mask that had two holes for the eyes, shaped as a curve with ck marks around them, and a smiley where the mouth should be. ric took the mask happily and wore it too. Unintentionally, Ken started a weird trend.


    Bryce soon felt peer pressure and asked for a mask too, and only the indifferent Tiara remained with her face revealed.


    "Be part of the group, Ice Sculpture, wear a mask too!"


    Daisy poked the other woman''s shoulder with her finger, sticking a new nickname for herpanion.


    "Fine."


    Tiara sighed and Ken handed her another mask from his collection, this time in the shape of a ck fox. They were all fifth-rank masks that could block Qi sensing and slightly distort the Qi emanating from the user to make him hard to recognize.


    "Guys, how close are you to the Nascent Soul Stage?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ve already torn a piece of my soul and I nurture it now in my core. I believe I''d need another year to break through to the next stage, maybe two because of my injury."


    ric was enthusiastic about answering any questions Ken asked. He was like a fanboy around his favorite idol. His core wasn''t perfectly healed yet, but it was strong enough to hold in a fight as long as it wasn''t for too long.


    Ken knew the general way of advancing to the fifth stage and was confident in sessfully doing it if he tried, but he wanted to collect more knowledge first.


    To give birth to a Nascent Soul, one had to tear off a piece of his soul and ce it in his core. Inside the core, they''d have to constantly nourish it with special Qi to give it the same attributes as their core.


    After nourishing it enough, it can be brought out of the core and assimted with the body like the normal soul. The process was dangerous for those without a powerful core since they couldn''t contain the soul in their cores without making it explode.


    For individuals without a powerful soul, there existed an additional risk; the act of tearing a fragment from it might prove fatal, jeopardizing their very survival. Ken''s subordinate, Maria, didn''t dare try breaking through to the next stage because both her soul and core were weak, and she would definitely fail had she tried.


    ''She should be in the fifth stage by now.''


    Ken thought to himself when he recalled the woman. He helped her improve her foundation, so she won''t be stuck in the fourth stage forever.


    "I sense a group of 6 peopleing toward us. Bryce, do you sense anything?"


    There were no formations in the corridor, but since Bryce was the formation master of their group, Ken didn''t mind letting him handle it and hide his formation mastery skills for now.


    "There are none ahead that I can sense. But we can just wait here for them to arrive."


    "Sure."


    They were the second group Ken ran into. They waited, and soon everyone sensed 6 blood tokens radiating the bloodlust from the BP. Not long after, the iing group appeared in their sight, a group of 6 cultivators wearing light green robes.


    "Evil cultivators, huh? Give us your BP and we will consider letting you live."


    The team leader said with a condescending voice.


    "Evil? Can''t you see we are wearing the Divine Sword Sect robes?"


    Daisy protested against his assumptions, forgetting the most probable reason he suspected them in the first ce.


    "I know you stole it from your victims. Other than evil cultivators nobody would wear such shady masks and hide their faces. Besides, if you decide to wear masks you should decide on a uniform mask for your team, it looks ridiculous."


    Ken was speechless. That guy wanted to give them tips about how to be good viins.


    "Everyone, prepare to engage in battle. We won''t give away our BP."


    Everyone ced their hands on the weapons'' hilts and charged at one another. This asion wasn''t rare, in fact, Ken''s team met plenty of people on the fourth floor, and they killed most of them.