The shocked expression on Sullivan's face said it all. With the knife against his neck, he didn't dare to struggle, or even gulp. He stood stock still, not able to move a muscle.
"Well James?" Zacharias Smith sneered. He pressed his short knife right into Sullivan's neck, the blade resting against his skin.
In response, the flames around Harry's body grew twice as large. Plumes of it brushed against the ceiling, and the temperature in the arena shot up to scorching levels. Beneath his foot, Firenze howled as tongues of flame licked his body. But Harry didn't pay any attention to the beast, because he was staring at Zacharias in intense rage.
True, he didn't know Sullivan that well. They only met briefly, and the two of them couldn't be considered friends. They were barely acquaintances. If Sullivan died, it really had nothing to do with him. Yet, Zacharias Smith managed to piss Harry off all the same.
The temperature in the room was getting dangerously hot, as the fire emanating from Harry's body only got larger and larger. Fire Qi was literally pouring out his body. The spectators stared at James warily, but most of all Draco Malfoy, who looked at his own Heaven Grade flame uncertainly. He spent months and months of effort just to gain a basic mastery of the flame – so why did it seem like James gained complete control of it in just a few minutes?
"Zacharias, I've never seen such a despicable act," Harry spat.
"The despicable one is you!" Zacharias shot back.
Even though Zacharias Smith was out of the competition, and had no chance of getting Ravenclaw's inheritance himself, he didn't care. He just didn't want James to win. He hated James to the marrow of his bones, hated him so badly that he'd do anything to prevent James from winning. No matter how low he had to sink, he would do anything.
"You may have convinced the others, but I'm still not convinced! I know you cheated on the staircase! And you cheated earlier with your ring by stealing the Wood Qi away! You don't get to talk about being despicable!"
Of everyone in the room... Zacharias Smith was the only one to still believe Harry cheated during the test of the staircase. Harry wasn't in the mood to argue over this, and he knew nothing he said would convince Zacharias.
"This is a fight between Draco, Felix, Firenze, Selwyn, and I. Sullivan has nothing to do with it, so let him go."
"If you're concerned about his life, then forfeit!" Zacharias' eyes glinted in victory. Finally, he found James' weakness!
"That won't work!" Sullivan suddenly exclaimed. "We may know each other, but we don't have any close relationship. It's useless to take me as a hostage!"
"That's true. We only met James for like 10 minutes, then we went in opposite directions. The three of us aren't friends. There's no point in taking Sullivan hostage, since it won't affect James. So let him go," Daniel said with a threatening tone. The room was rapidly becoming chilly, and cold Qi was pouring out his body.
Nearby, Anthony Goldstein and the two other men shifted uneasily. It seemed Daniel was a stronger opponent than they initially expected.
"Actually, it does affect me," Harry flatly stated.
Daniel and Sullivan both looked at Harry with stupefied looks. Was... was he trying to get them killed?
"Zacharias, I suggest you release Sullivan immediately."
"Or what?" Zacharias sneered. "You going to come over here and stop me?"
"Well, no."
"If you want to see this guy alive, then forfeit immediately!"
"Don't worry about me, James!" Sullivan said, despite the knife against his throat. "My aunt is actually a super powerful cultivator! If he kills me, my aunt will erase his entire clan!"
"Your aunt?" Zacharias sneered, and pressed the knife in deeper. A thin line of blood dripped down Sullivan's neck.
"Your aunt wouldn't dare to touch my Goldstein Sacred Clan! We rule a third of the Yellow Hero City! We're untouchable! Do you think your empty threats scare me?"
"James, I'll give you three seconds to forfeit!"
"One!"
"I'll make you regret this one day," Harry threatened. Though it was true he wasn't friends with Sullivan, that wasn't important. What was important was that Zacharias had done something that Harry viewed as unforgivable. His sense of justice wouldn't just let him ignore it.
"Two!"
"Very well."
There wasn't much Harry could do here. Though he wanted to, it wasn't like he could break down these barriers and attack Zacharias Smith. Even if he could, by the time he got there, Sullivan would already be dead. He considered other possibilities, like Heavens Asunder, but he wasn't completely sure it would work in the Room of Requirement. And even if it did... by the time it activated, Sullivan would also be dead.
Everyone thought either James would forfeit, or ignore the threat. Many expected him to place his hand on the barrier and allow Zacharias to kill Sullivan.
But Harry wasn't willing to accept either option.
Harry had always had a talent for finding his way out of sticky situations. When it seemed like he was faced with certain death, he always found a way to escape. When it seemed like there were just two paths in front of him, he could always carve out a third.
And now, Harry chose the third option.
Harry took his foot off Firenze's neck. Zacharias relaxed and let out a satisfied smirk, thinking he had won. But before he could gloat, or congratulate himself –
Chop!
The blade in Harry's hand swung downward in a streak of silver. Before anyone even reacted, Harry had already struck. There was the sound of a butcher knife hitting a chopping block... and then Firenze's head rolled off his neck.
A geyser of blood spurted out the stump, painting the floor a harsh red. Firenze's shocked expression, locked forever onto his ugly face, lifelessly stared back at Harry.
"All other contestants were eliminated. You may take my third inheritance."
Rowena Ravenclaw's voice echoed across the Room of Requirement, signalling the end of the competition. At the same time, Firenze's body and head vanished, then reappeared amidst the centaurs. The barrier around the central pedestal also disappeared.
There was a stunned silence in the Room of Requirement, suddenly broken by the centaur's howling.
"FIRENZE!"
"JAMES, HOW DARE YOU!"
"THAT – THAT HUMAN BASTARD ACTUALLY KILLED HIM!"
"JAMES, YOU'RE DEAD! MY CENTAUR CLAN WILL RAZE THE EMPIRE TO FIND YOU!"
"WE'LL KILL YOU, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR CLAN, EVERYONE WITH ANY RELATION TO YOU!"
The centaurs were all frothing at the mouth, eyes flickering between James and the dead Firenze. Parts of their mind were still in disbelief, still unwilling to accept that the greatest talent of their clan was killed like that.
But Harry paid no attention at all to the centaur's threats. Ever since he heard of the Star Scrying Centaur Clan, he planned to get revenge and kill off their clan eventually. And after experiencing Firenze's attitude towards him during the entire competition, "eventually" just happened to start today.
Instead, Harry gave a taunting smile to Zacharias Smith, a smile that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Never, ever, ever in Zacharias' wildest imagination would he have believed James dared to kill Firenze!
He was so shocked he even forgot he was holding Sullivan. The knife was held weakly in his hands, while he stared at James with a gaping mouth.
And across the room, Harry was met with similar stares. Shocked, horrified, appalled, overwhelmed, stupefied, numb, a whole medley of faces looked back at him. Firenze... the proud centaur of the Star Scrying Centaur Clan... died just like that!
Even in his last moments, Firenze never imagined James would kill him. He thought James would just let Sullivan die. Or perhaps, he foolishly allowed himself to hope, James would forfeit and he'd get the treasure. Or maybe Zacharias would lose the nerve to follow through on his threat. But as for being killed – that thought never crossed his mind.
Killing him was tantamount to declaring war against the Star Scrying Centaur Clan. Not even the Malfoy, Rosier, or Selwyn Sacred Clans would be willing to do that – so of course, James wouldn't either. Unfortunately for Firenze, he was wrong.
Both Zacharias and Ernest let go of Sullivan. Obviously, there was no point in killing him now.
"Y-y-you – do you know what's going to happen to you?" Ernest yelled.
"You're – you're dead! HAHA, James, you're dead!" Zacharias suddenly let out a loud burst of laughter.
"James, you're definitely dead!"
He looked overjoyed, like treasure had fallen out of the sky. After he got over the initial shock, he realized that James had just signed his own death sentence.
Ignoring the centaur's furious glares, Zacharias threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahaha! The centaurs will kill you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA –"
BONK!
An echoing sound rang across the Room of Requirement.
His laughter was abruptly interrupted. Faster than Harry could believe, Sullivan whipped around, his movements a blur, something huge and long appeared in his hands, and he brought that something down upon Zacharias Smith's head.
Hard.
In Sullivan's hands was a bone, pale and grey, like a human thigh bone but far larger. The entire thing was almost as tall as Sullivan, and as wide as a man's torso. If it had once belonged to a human, then that human must have been 20, maybe 30 feet tall. Sullivan wielded it like how one would wield a sledgehammer.
The condyle struck Zacharias Smith over the head. There was a dull sound, perhaps an indication the fellow's head was empty, and then Zacharias' eyes rolled to the back of their sockets, and he toppled over, unconscious.
Cursing, Ernest Macmillan backed up and tried to draw out his weapon –
BONK!
The bone weapon was so long that Sullivan didn't even need to move. Sporting a large lump on his head, Ernest Macmillan toppled to the ground, right next to Zacharias Smith.
There was utter silence in the Room of Requirement as everyone looked towards Sullivan.
'That – what was that?' Harry gaped at Sullivan's attack. Hitting people over the head with a big bone – could that also be considered fighting?
But more than that, a cultivator's body was naturally tough. Just being hit in the head wouldn't cause someone to faint, especially not those two, the Young Masters of a Sacred Clan. At worst they should have just felt dizzy or had a headache for a while.
There must have been something special about that bone, Harry realized. It wasn't as simple as it appeared.
"Wait, hold on! Hold on!" Anthony Goldstein backed up, and held his hands up.
"That was Zacharias' idea! We had nothing to do with it!"
"You five are jackals of the same liar," Daniel sneered. A howling and cold wind whipped out of his body, like a wintery icy gale, and shot towards the three men. They tried to defend themselves, but couldn't due to the limited space. The icy wind around Daniel surrounded them on all sides, then when the wind died and disappeared, their three bodies were frozen stiff, collapsed on the ground.
Seconds after the fight began, only Daniel and Sullivan remained standing.
"Well, that was easy!" Sullivan remarked.
"The least they could have done was put up a fight," Daniel snorted.
"See James? You didn't have to worry about us! So just go on and take the treasure!"
Harry nodded, then walked over to the center pedestal. With the massive puddles of blood splashed all around the floor, and him holding the sword still fresh with Firenze's blood and flesh, Harry looked more like a monster than the harmless rogue cultivator he initially came off as.
With solemn silence, the entire room could only watch as James took the treasure.
Back when they first entered the Room of Requirement, and before the competition started, they all just saw James as some ignorant fool who managed to stumble upon Rowena Ravenclaw's last inheritance platform. He was just at the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm, and a rogue cultivator to boot. In other words, he wasn't worth paying attention to.
At that time, there was no one who thought the final treasure would end up with James. They thought he'd be eliminated first, and started strategizing how to defeat the others. But now, after witnessing James' ferocious fighting style and cold-blooded actions, there was no one who didn't feel a deep sense of fear. James... he was terrifying!
"James, this isn't over!" Draco growled. "We'll –"
Harry's hand grasped the wooden box, and whatever else Draco was going to say was cut off. Once his hand contacted the box, the world went still.
He was still in the arena, the spectators still standing in the outer ring, but their poses were all frozen, in mid-speech or mid-stride. It was almost like time had stopped, though Harry found he could still move his body.
There was one other change though – across the table, a chair appeared. And on the chair was a woman, staring at him with an intense expression.
"Hello?" Harry half-greeted, half-asked the woman.
"So, you are the one who obtained my final inheritance," the woman stated.
"Your inheritance? Wait – you're Rowena Ravenclaw?" Harry blurted out. But now that he realized it, it was obvious. This woman was identical to the one he had seen in the memory in the Snowy Owl Clan, just up close.
"I am a –"
"Didn't you die?" Harry interjected.
The woman's face twitched, and she glared at Harry with an aggravated look.
"Boy, watch your words. Even dead, my creator still has the power to end you."
"Er, excuse me. Please continue."
"As I was saying, I am a construct, left behind by Rowena Ravenclaw to oversee her inheritance test. Though I am modeled after my creator, I am not her. She passed on long ago."
"So... you're a formation?"
The woman's face twitched again. Somehow, Harry got the feeling he said something wrong again.
"Look, I'm not just a formation. I am the formation spirit of the Room of Requirement. I'm an incredibly complex construct created from countless runes and tied to seven other formations – you know what, forget it. An idiot like you wouldn't understand."
"You got that right," Harry agreed. He knew nothing about formations.
"So, why am I here?"
"I wanted to see and speak to you face to face – you, the impossible cultivator got the final inheritance. I have seen some of the greatest geniuses to grace this empire in the last 1000 years – including the outrageous genius from the last round, and you are just as outrageous as he. I'm sure that my creator can rest easy, knowing the empire has birthed someone like you."
"Haha, thank you for the praise," Harry managed to laugh.
"You seemed to recognize that block of wood, am I right?"
"I did – wait, can the others hear us?" Harry gestured towards the frozen spectators.
"No, they cannot. I've isolated the two of us, and will return everyone back to their respective stone platforms when our conversation is over. Feel free to speak your mind."
Harry nodded, then explained how he had seen a similar block of wood once before.
"I see. Then that must mean, at least another of the Founders' inheritance tests have been passed."
"You mean..." Harry came to a realization.
"That's right," Rowena Ravenclaw confirmed Harry's thoughts before he could say them out loud.
"Each of the Four Founders left behind an inheritance test, and each one had three treasures for their rewards. As a construct, I don't know what the others set as their first two treasures, but I know that the third and final treasures were all the same. Each of them left the same block of wood for a future inheritor to find."
"So, what you're saying is, there are four of these in all? But to get them, I have to pass each of the tests of the Four Founders?"
"That is correct."
Harry let out a sigh. He thought these complicated treasure hunts only happened in novels.
"Well, I don't know if I need all four blocks. Since these are from a tree at the Profound Grade, just two or even one are enough for me."
"You know it's from the Profound Grade?" Rowena Ravenclaw looked at Harry with surprise.
"Yes, I know it was carved from a willow tree that reached the Profound Grade," Harry responded.
"Boy, you really do have some skills then. But, the reason I wanted to talk to you was precisely to ask you to retrieve all four blocks."
"Why?"
"You should have noticed – the block of wood is hollow, right?"
"Right, I did," Harry said while rattling the box. Just like Slughorn's box, it was hollow, and there was something inside.
"Although the four blocks of wood are treasures in their own right, that is not all they are. Within each block of wood is a quarter of a much larger treasure. Well, more accurately, it is a quarter of an item that will lead you to a much larger treasure, one that not even the Four Founders could obtain."
"A much larger treasure?" Harry suddenly grew interested. "What is it?"
"Unfortunately, I do not know. Remember, I am just a construct with some of my creator's memories. But I am willing to tell you what I do know about these blocks of wood, and how the Four Founders got their hands on them."
Harry eagerly nodded, wanting to hear this story. As long as there was treasure, he was interested.
"These blocks of wood have an amazing origin – you will not find them anywhere in our world. They also have a long history, much longer than you may imagine. In fact, the tree they were carved from predates even the Four Founders by millennia."
"1,000 years ago, the Four Founders rose to power. With their strength, they were unparalleled and undefeated. They swept through the world in all directions, proving their strength time and time again. In the end... there were none who could challenge their might. You could even say, our world was too small to hold the Four Founders."
"In their long and vast travels, the Four Founders even visited another world. As a construct, I do not know the specifics. But I know that it was in this other world where the Four Founders stumbled upon this supreme treasure."
'Another world?' Harry thought in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? If this wasn't Rowena Ravenclaw telling him this, he might not even believe it.
"This other world was inhabited, and the inhabitants didn't take kindly to the intruders. But the Four Founders weren't so easily deterred. Once they showed their strength, there was no one who dared to resist. The four of them explored the world, eventually reaching the center, where they found a tree growing. Of course, I am referring to the tree these blocks of wood were carved from."
"This was a tree at the Profound Grade! You cannot possibly have seen such a tree. But you should know, for most Magic Plants, and especially trees, the higher their grade, the larger they are."
Harry nodded, well familiar with that.
"And the Profound Grade – there is no comparison I can make. The tree was simply enormous, the largest thing the Four Founders had ever seen. With just a glance, they knew it was incredibly powerful. After questioning the inhabitants, the Four Founders learned its history. It was planted millennia ago, as a deterrent of sorts. And to explain just why it was planted, I have to step back a few millennia into the past."
"Ever since that world has existed, there was a forbidden area. In the depths of the forbidden area was a peerless treasure, one that could be said to be out of the world – both our world and theirs. However, the treasure had a guardian. Ever since antiquity, the most powerful cultivators of the other world would challenge the guardian to obtain the treasure – only to be killed. Without exception, all of them died in their attempts. Eventually, the cultivators of the world decided to seal the entrance to the forbidden area, and prevent future generations from needlessly losing their lives. They planted the tree over the entrance and nourished it to the Profound Grade. It took root and prevented anyone from entering."
"Of course, the Four Founders decided to challenge the treasure. With their combined strength, they had never faced an opponent they could not defeat. Together, they fought against the tree."
"Wait – they fought a tree?" Harry's confusion clearly showed on his face. He expected to hear that the Four Founders chopped it down – not that they fought it.
"Yes, that is right. Once a Magic Plant reaches the Spirit Grade, it becomes sentient. Of course, this tree was no exception, and would viciously attack any trespassers – which was the reason it had been planted in the first place. It had successfully guarded the entrance to the forbidden area for millennia, defeating even the strongest cultivators in the history of their world. It took all the strength of the Four Founders to overcome it."
"Then they were able to enter the secret realm, where they laid eyes upon the supreme treasure. Again, I do not know what the treasure was. But what I do know is – the treasure could only be described as irresistible. If the Four Founders were able to use it, then their strength would soar to even further heights."
"Just as the stories said, the treasure had a guardian – a giant that held the keys to opening it. The Four Founders engaged the giant in combat, to wrestle away the keys to the treasure. And the result was... the Four Founders lost."
"In fact, it is not just that they lost. What I tell you is not to leave this room, or perhaps, the reputation of the Four Founders shall be damaged forever. But, it's not just that the Four Founders couldn't get past the giant. The giant did not even deign to fight them. Instead, the Four Founders lost against the giant's pet dog."
Harry's mouth dropped open.
The Four Founders, defeated by a pet dog?
"But – but..." Harry was a loss for words. He would never forget that magnificent scene of the whole world bowing to the Four Founders, never in his whole life. How could beings like that lose to a pet dog?
"The giant set his dog upon the Four Founders, and the Four Founders were forced to flee for their lives. Luckily, they were able to leave alive. Though they realized they could not obtain the treasure, they hoped someone would be able to in the future. They left instructions for how to reach the treasure, which they split into four pieces and sealed within the four blocks of wood – blocks of wood carved out of the same tree that once guarded the forbidden area. If you can get all four blocks, and combine the treasures inside, then you can attempt and hopefully succeed where the Four Founders failed."
"It was the dream of the Four Founders to claim that supreme treasure, but they were unable to. Before they passed on, they hoped that one day, a descendant of the empire would succeed."
"After seeing your strength, and your performance on the staircase... I feel that you may be able to do it. That is why I told you so much."
"I understand. Thank you for telling me," Harry nodded. The treasure that not even the Four Founders could get – just what could it be?
"I will be sending you and everyone else back now. As for the rest of the Founder's inheritances, I wish you the best of luck."
"Wait!" Harry spoke up.
"What is it?"
"It's about Daniel and Sullivan – I'm worried when they get out, they'll be attacked or detained by the rulers of Yellow Hero City. Could you send them out through a different exit, or something?"
Harry wasn't quite sure why he made this request. But he didn't want to see them captured by Zacharias Smith's clan, and it didn't hurt to ask.
"Daniel and Sullivan... these two?" Ravenclaw pointed at their frozen forms.
"Yes, those two. Is that possible?"
"Very well, I can do that. I'll send them with you."
"Thank you," Harry gratefully thanked Rowena Ravenclaw.
"However, I will warn you those two are not who they appear."
"Wait, what?" Harry blurted out. Surely Ravenclaw wasn't saying, the two of them were dangerous?
"Much like how you are not who you appear... your mask may have fooled others, but it did not fool me."
With that, Rowena Ravenclaw gave a parting smile, and the Room of Requirement faded away.