Outside World.

In the midst of a heated argument, a True Man of a small family cupped his hands and anxiously pleaded, "Old Jin, hesitation will lead to change, please make your move!"

Their family's talent was almost at the back, already not far from the gradually spreading space fracture.

If delayed any longer, someone will truly die!

Old Jin slightly lowered his eyes, the golden flames within them burning more intensely. He slowly raised his hand, and the roots entangled on Celestial Ladder Mountain began to glow.

The phantom of the Golden Birch Tree began to cover this magnificent Celestial Ladder Mountain.

Suddenly, Old Jin's arm slightly trembled, but paused, and the tree shadow gradually faded away.

"Huh?"

Along with Zhao Qin's Spiritual Power Fluctuation, the True Men also noticed changes within the Secret Realm.

Lin Guang... started moving again?

At a moment when everyone else was almost at a standstill, his movements became glaringly conspicuous.

Especially as his body was far more shattered compared to others.

He surpassed Du Qing ahead, and was still advancing.

"He's capable of setting off again?"

"Aside from him, no one could continue after a pause."

Jiang Wencha's expression was unpleasant, yet he rarely spoke a fair word: "How does it help if he starts moving? He'll die if he keeps going, unable to reach the mountain peak to seize the Inheritance and reshape his body!"

"The illness on his body is extremely troublesome, and he has never summoned a Spirit Beast from beginning to end, enduring completely by himself."

"..."

Kaiwen remained silent, her emerald green eyes fixed on Lin Guang, almost losing composure.

Except for the only intact head, the normal flesh and blood on the boy's body diminished further with each assault.

Only the Source Stone Crystal on his body, though wiped off a little with each step, continued to grow back at a visible pace, seemingly nourished by the energy supply from the entire Secret Realm.

It gradually changed from black to dark gold.

That's... the color exhibited when the Source Stone begins to activate.

"Has he gone mad?"

"Why not summon a Spirit Beast? Even a little respite would help!"

"Undying Will means he won't die, but it doesn't mean Will can truly be undying! How long can he sustain this?"

"This is seeking his own doom."

The words of the True Men instantaneously echoed densely in the link.

But...

Suddenly, a True Man spoke, "Why can he maintain a blank expression all the time?"

Everyone was suddenly silenced.

Indeed.

Except for Lin Guang, other inheritors while traversing the last segment were either tormented or in agony, driven to madness, or plunged into despair.

Why did Lin Guang always maintain a blank expression?

The True Men varied in their expressions, but none offered an answer.

...

Two hundred and ten zhang from the mountain peak.

Watching Lin Guang's back, the Heaven-slaying Demon took a deep breath.

Except for the head, it was practically just a skeleton.

A skeleton devoid of flesh and organs, pale white, covered in translucent spike-like dark gold Crystal Stones, a phantom of a dark gold heart throbbing within the chest, echoing like thunderous pulses.

Crystal Stones were repeatedly sliced by invisible blades, yet absorbed energy from unknown sources, regrowing and spreading across the body.

"Damn it..."

"How can he be so cool, so pompous!"

A trace of ultimate unwillingness swept across Heaven-slaying Demon's face, as he exerted himself to take another step, only to kneel on the ground as if struck by lightning once more.

Despair accompanied by excruciating pain overwhelmed him, negative emotions engulfing him: "But even if he shows off like this, how many people really see it?"

"Without an audience, what's the point of showing off..."

Heaven-slaying Demon's eyes gradually blurred.

Yet his gaze refused to leave Lin Guang, as if seeing the ideal version of himself.

"But... if I truly were to die..."

"Even if there are few spectators, I'd like to give my all to show off once..."

...

One hundred fifty zhang.

Zhao Yue also saw Lin Guang's figure.

She stared at Lin Guang who approached, her eyes bulged, unable to utter a single word.

"You..."

She barely managed to force out a syllable, realizing her Status was too poor to complete her sentence.

...…

Seventy-five zhang.

Zuo Qingtian paused before a cyan stone.

The Netherworld King Snake and Ghost King were already severely injured, and he was nearing his limit.

Contrary to what many thought.

He wasn't pampered from birth.

In truth... he was an abandoned infant in the Wilderness.

He crawled out of his deceased mother's womb himself, had he not been born with two Dao Marks, he wouldn't have even survived.

Before the age of ten, he lived with the beasts in the Wilderness, surviving primitively, he even taught himself human language by observing gatherings of Wilderness people.

The Southern Saint Sect found him, and named him Zuo Qingtian.

According to the secret technique deductions, he is the most suitable person in this world to cultivate the ten inheritances of the Southern Saint Sect, specifically the "Ghost Eye Netherworld Heaven".

It is said that this was the name left by the first Sect Leader of the Mirage Sect, seemingly for someone unforgettable to them, with one character changed to apply to him.

Having lived in the wilderness since childhood, alongside wild men and magical beasts, he believed in the law of the jungle where the weak are prey for the strong. No unnecessary dignity, any means can be used to survive, and even humanity itself is faint in him.

But... it is precisely because of this that his rationality knows how high his value is.

Stop maintaining this status.

Proceeding further carries a high probability of death, but if there is still rescue possible, the Southern Saint Sect would not abandon him.

However, at the moment he saw Lin Guang surpassing him, he still revealed a look of disbelief.

......

Looking toward the peak thirty zhang away, Jiang Nalan stopped and chose to give up.

His legs were already down to the bare bones, the same for his hands, and his body was in tatters.

But...

At this moment, the extreme pain on his face also vanished, becoming utterly calm, as if the bare bones were not his legs.

Endless emotions from Liu Cheyi washed over him, finally revealing his true face.

Those azure eyes were not arrogant, impulsive, or cold, but empty and void.

The Talent ranked 249, "Water Shadow Heart", could reflect everything like a mirror.

Should a mirror have emotions of its own?

People always pay attention to the things reflected in the mirror.

While the mirror itself is just a container, a tool.

He doesn't understand what persistence is, nor what giving up means, nor what pain entails.

Logically, he indeed seems to be the one most likely to transcend despair and emptiness, standing on the peak.

However...

Under the endless wash of despair, he lost the personality given by the Jiang Family, created in the image of the Jiang Family ancestor, Jiang Buxi.

So he lost his motivation.

Then, let him stay here.

Yet soon Lin Guang appeared beside him.

In the eyes of the outside world, it appeared as though two irreconcilable individuals glanced at each other, yet there was nothing akin to hostility.

At this moment, the demeanor of the two seemed strikingly alike.

One was a rising commoner prodigy, the other a family inheritor; both looked to have impaired bodies, yet their expressions were utterly serene.

Only one continued to move forward, while the other had already halted.

And at this moment, Jiang Nalan suddenly had an inexplicable intuition.

The reason why the spirit pattern inscription of the first trial could contend with him to such an extent might actually be because Lin Guang and he, Jiang Nalan, were the same type of person.

Lin Guang himself, perhaps, is in essence a kind of "container", a mirror-like existence recording and replicating external information.

This once cold-faced next patriarch of the Jiang Family now looked expressionlessly at Lin Guang, but within those blue eyes, ripples finally appeared.

If observed closely, one might discern a hint of... confusion.

— Is it worth it? To go to such lengths? Great Xia should not abandon your talent.

— Where does your motivation come from?

— How far can you go?

The two who were similar yet undoubtedly different thus parted ways.

Lin Guang took a step forward, surpassing Jiang Nalan, reaching the forefront of the group.

Simultaneously, Celestial Ladder Mountain also rose with his movement.

......

Step by step, time passed.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes...

Celestial Ladder Mountain rose endlessly, seemingly without end.

It's an indescribable despair.

Yet Lin Guang never stopped, as if indifferent, or perhaps entirely unaffected by the restriction.

If Celestial Ladder Mountain rose by one zhang, he advanced one zhang.

Looking at Lin Guang's figure, not one of the inheritors who could still lift their heads didn't feel a sense of absurdity, incredulity, and shock.

The True Men observing silently from the outside had nothing to say.

How is this possible?

Everyone else was eliminated, beaten down by Celestial Ladder Mountain to lose the will to climb, yet how is he still moving forward, even maintaining some degree of energy?!

As Celestial Ladder Mountain continuously rose, the restriction should only grow stronger.

All the True Men present were linked spiritually with Zhao Qin, naturally aware of the intensity of these negative emotions.

As long as one retains humanity, there will be weaknesses.

Even True Men are no exception, let alone this immature boy.

The only ones truly unaffected by the restriction would be inanimate objects without a heart, or anomalies completely devoid of empathy with the outside world.

If he were indeed as emotionally detached to such an extent, he should have stopped just like Jiang Nalan!

Although all the True Men present, if they truly participated, could pass this trial.

It's said to be the despair and pain experienced by Liu Cheyi, the Tier Seven peak power, but not brought over entirely as it is.

Furthermore, the True Men possess the True Intent intertwined with their powers, protecting their humanity from distortion; and this trial, after all, just a Tier Three ultimate Secret Realm, cannot affect them significantly.

But precisely because of this, Lin Guang's persistence seems so baffling.

The True Men, who have the True Intent, are moved by such a level of pain; why is Lin Guang persisting, even appearing as if he still has energy?

Why him?

Why is it him!

Could it be...

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