Chapter 396: The Thunder God’s Musical Nightmare

Damian and Cassandra spent several minutes carefully examining the chamber.

Most of the walls were covered in faded carvings, ancient symbols, and strange lines that meant absolutely nothing to Cassandra.

Damian, however, eventually stopped in front of one particular section of the wall and examined the markings more closely.

His eyes suddenly widened in recognition. "Wait a minute... Aren’t these musical notes?"

Cassandra stared at the strange markings before turning toward him in surprise. "You can read those?"

Damian nodded confidently. "Of course!"

After all, one of the talents he had obtained long ago was a Musician Talent, which allowed him to play practically any musical instrument.

More importantly, the moment Damian focused on the markings, he immediately began recognizing the musical notes, and the rhythm they represented gradually became clear to him.

He then turned his attention back toward the enormous drum. "It seems that one of the tests requires me to play this drum according to these musical notes."

Hearing his words, Cassandra immediately took a few steps backward.

Damian raised an eyebrow and frowned. "What the hell? Why are you backing away from me?!"

Cassandra simply smiled as blood slowly gathered around her fingertips. "I’m just standing guard, darling. You never know what might come out once you start playing."

Damian’s mouth twitched in annoyance. "How comforting. It would be even more reassuring if you weren’t standing so far away from me."

Cassandra merely smiled sweetly at his complaint, showing absolutely no intention of moving closer.

In the end, Damian could only sigh helplessly before turning around and walking toward the massive ancient drum.

He picked up the two drumsticks resting beside the enormous drum and began playing, carefully following the exact rhythm carved into the wall.

DUM! DUM! DUM!

However, the moment he started playing, something unexpected happened.

BOOOOM!

With every beat of the drum, powerful bolts of lightning suddenly struck down from above, crashing into the ground around him.

Damian nearly had a heart attack when the first bolt struck right beside him.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouted in panic, nearly dropping the drumsticks.

Meanwhile, Cassandra immediately distanced herself even further, clearly having no intention of getting caught in the sudden lightning storm.

However, just as Damian was about to stop, he suddenly noticed something strange.

Although the lightning continued raining down around him, none of the bolts actually struck his body.

It was almost as if the lightning was deliberately avoiding him.

Realizing this, Damian quickly understood that the lightning was likely part of the drum’s mechanism rather than an actual attack.

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the drumsticks. "Damn it! So you’re just trying to scare me?!"

Without hesitation, he continued playing the drum according to the musical notes carved into the wall.

DUM! DUM! DUM!

BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

More lightning descended from above, striking the ground around him with terrifying force.

Thankfully, just as he had suspected, not a single bolt touched him.

Seeing this, Damian gradually regained his confidence and continued beating the drum until he finally completed the entire rhythm.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Damian frowned as he stared at the enormous drum. "Huh? Did I play the notes incorrectly? I’m pretty sure I followed everything exactly."

However, before he could think any further, another thundercloud suddenly appeared above the chamber.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive bolt of lightning descended from above, heading straight toward the enormous drum!

Damian’s eyes widened in horror, and he immediately jumped backward, desperately trying to avoid the incoming lightning.

"WHAT THE HELL?! AGAIN?!"

Thankfully, the lightning struck only the drum, leaving Damian completely unharmed.

CRAAAAACK!

Under the tremendous impact, the enormous ancient drum suddenly split apart, revealing something hidden inside.

To Damian’s surprise, a small jade talisman slowly emerged from the shattered drum and floated toward him.

Damian cautiously reached out and grabbed it, wondering what kind of treasure he had obtained.

However, the moment he examined the information contained within the jade talisman, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Because what he discovered inside was none other than the inheritance of the Thunder God himself, Raijin!

Damian immediately smacked his forehead. "Goddamn... This... To think the inheritance was actually a cultivation art!"

That’s right!

Contrary to what Ren and Aiko had told him, the inheritance wasn’t some legendary weapon left behind by Raijin.

Instead, it was a cultivation art! And it wasn’t just any ordinary cultivation art, either.

The inheritance contained a Supreme King Grade Cultivation Art known as [Raijin Tenrai Taiko Kyo], or in simpler terms, [Raijin’s Heavenly Thunder Drum Scripture].

Cassandra finally stepped closer once the lightning disappeared.

She glanced at the jade talisman in Damian’s hand. "So? What did you get?"

Damian was still staring at the information contained within it. "A cultivation art."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A cultivation art? Could it be Raijin’s cultivation art?"

Damian nodded slightly. "I think so. After all, this cultivation art is actually Supreme King Grade."

Hearing this, Cassandra’s eyes widened in shock. "Goddamn! Supreme King Grade?! Darling, you’re seriously lucky!"

A second later, however, she frowned and looked around the now-empty chamber. "Wait a minute. Isn’t this inheritance a little too simple?"

Damian shrugged casually. "Simple? At first, maybe. But now that I think about it... not really."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain.

Damian pointed toward the shattered drum. "First, you had to figure out the hidden teleportation rhythm outside. Then you needed to recognize the musical notation carved into these walls."

He raised another finger and continued. "After that, you had to know how to play the damn drum correctly while lightning was crashing down all around you."

Damian suddenly grinned. "And according to Ren, people have been searching this place for hundreds of years without even managing to get inside."

Cassandra thought about his explanation for a moment before nodding in realization. "Oh, right... Not many people even know how to play the drums in the first place."

Damian casually stored the jade talisman away before chuckling proudly. "Exactly! This inheritance was actually quite difficult. It’s just that I happen to be the perfect person for it."

Cassandra simply rolled her eyes at his shameless boasting before suddenly asking, "Anyway, darling, how do we get out of here now?"

Damian immediately paused, his confident expression disappearing. "Uh... I have no idea."

Cassandra stared at him in disbelief, while Damian simply stared back at her with an awkward smile.

However, before either of them could say anything else, something unexpected happened.

WHOOSH!

Both of them suddenly vanished from the stone chamber without any warning!

A second later, they reappeared right beside the circular carving outside the chamber, exactly where they had entered earlier.

Damian and Cassandra blinked in surprise, looking around in confusion before realizing they were already back outside.

Even more surprisingly, the rest of their group was right there, staring at their sudden return.