"What? What did you just say?"
Austin may have spoken normally, but his words were like rumbling thunder in the monks' ears.
They all stopped dead, standing motionless and staring at Austin at the same time.
Every face that looked at him wore a mask of utter disbelief.
"Sir, forgive me. What did you say?
Can you say it again?"
the old monk asked Austin slowly.
"I said that if you want to get out of this valley, I can help you at any time. I can break this array pretty
effortlessly,"
Austin replied, speaking a little louder this time.
He knew what was running through these monks' minds. They had been here for so long that they no
longer thought it possible to ever leave. The sudden revelation that they might have their freedom back
was naturally hard to believe and had shaken them at their core.
"Sir, do not play such jokes on us."
The old monk seemed to have a glimmer of hope when Austin had spoken.
But now, when he looked him up and down, he shook his head bitterly, feeling he could not possibly be
telling the truth.
After all, all of the monks trapped in this valley were at the level of gods of chaos.
They had consumed a tremendous amount of time and energy, using all the methods they had over the
years, trying everything they could to break free from their imprisonment. But they simply could not do
it.
They had resigned to accepting their fate that they'd be here forever. Now some young governing god
came along and told them he could help them escape whenever they wanted, and that the array was
nothing to him.
How could they believe him?
"Ah, young man, quit making such cruel jokes. It is not funny."
The other monks seemed to come to snap out of their daze as well, shaking their heads dejectedly.
They did not believe Austin one bit.
They were displeased with him now and started referring to him as "young man" rather than "sir".
"I understand your feelings, young man. You have just come into this valley and now you're trapped. It's
going to take you a while to accept that you're stuck here. But you will have to get used to it. You're
going to have to stay here and live with us. Perhaps we will find a way out in the future," the old monk
said to Austin after thinking a while.
He thought Austin was having difficulty coming to terms with that fact that he was trapped in the valley
underneath the array.
"All right then, young man. Help yourself. We have to go back to our cultivation."
The other monks gave Austin a slight nod and turned back to their small worlds where they cultivated in
seclusion.
"I'm telling the truth. I swear. If you want to get out of here, I can take you,"
Austin said with a smile, looking around at the monks trudging away.
"Young man, please stop. We can't take such japes.
Let me open a small world for you. You can go in and get a good rest. Perhaps time will calm you
down,"
said the old monk kindly.
He stretched his hand out to a clearing nearby and gently scratched the air. With that, a small world
was created on the spot.
As for the other monks, they thought Austin was spewing nonsense and did not want to give him any
more attention. They went back to their small worlds and began cultivating in seclusion.
"Sir, if you don't believe me, then I will show you and prove it,"
Austin said, smiling proudly.
He could sympathize with their feelings and so could not blame them for their suspicion.
"Show me?
Young man, I advise you to take a rest right away and calm yourself first before saying anything else,"
suggested the old monk through a furrowed brow.
He seemed to be losing his patience.
"Now, please watch."
He then turned around and walked towards the edge of the valley.
"Is he losing his mind? Is he really having such a hard time accepting the truth?"
the old monk remarked, frowning at Austin's strange behavior.
He soon arrived at the array's edge, and the valley's exit.
With the absolutely astounded gaze of the old monk watching him, Austin walked out of the array and
stood outside the valley.
"Austin, you're out!
What did you say to the old monks in there?
Were they difficult? Did they do anything to you?"
Anakin, Cayden and the water source beast rushed to his side and hounded him with questions the
second he came out of the valley.
Due to the isolation effect of the array, they had not been able to hear what was going on inside.
"Don't worry. The monks didn't make things difficult for me. They're not our enemies. They're actually
on our side.
I'm fine. I really am,"
Austin replied casually.
"On our side?"
His three companions were stunned by his words.
At the same time, those in the valley were getting restless.
"How can this be?"
Seeing Austin walk out so easily had stunned the old monk. He stood there, staring blankly ahead
where Austin stood.
"It's... It's impossible!
It can't be!
It must be some kind of illusion!"
The old monk could not find it in himself to accept what he had witnessed.
They were gods of chaos, had been here such a long time, and put in so much effort and energy, and
yet they were still unable to escape. They had seen this array as an unbreakable force.
And somehow, the young man in front of him had walked out so easily, as if it were a joke to him.
This was all too embarrassing for the old monk.
The only explanation that seemed plausible to him was that he was seeing some kind of illusion, some
trick of the eye.
The other monks who had gone back into their small worlds were about to begin cultivating. That was
until they saw what Austin had done.
Now though, their eyes were as big and wide as an ostrich's eggs, staring at Austin in total disbelief.
"How is that possible?"
Every monk was murmuring the same thing to themselves, as if their souls were lost to them and
nothing in their lives made sense anymore.
Austin then leisurely strolled back into the array.
"Now do you believe me, sir?
This array is not difficult to take care of.
If you want to leave, I can help you do that,"
Austin said, making his way back to the old monk's side.
It did not take long for things to get a little out of hand.
The small worlds all gathered, the monks charging out as fast they could, almost trampling over each
other in the rush.
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred monks had come to Austin's side at an astonishing speed,
packing tight around and surrounding him.
Every one of them was beaming with excitement, their eyes shining with a bright light of joy and relief.
Their bodies even began trembling as they struggled to contain their elation.
They seemed to be overwhelmed with happiness.
The old monk was no different.
"We can finally get out of this wretched place!" he said slowly, his voice still distant and only now
gradually coming around to believing.
It took a while, but he had finally come to his senses.
The other monks all nodded vigorously when they heard him eventually speak.
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