147: Chapter 147 The Final Obstacle, the Star Beast King

The pit had no bottom.

It was an endless sensation of falling that defied all physical intuition, as if leading to another dimension.

When Lin Ye's foot landed for the thirteenth time, it touched a hard, warm surface—not rock, not metal, but "bone."

The bones of a giant beast.

A dark blue light rose from three hundred meters below, illuminating the crisscrossing energy conduction pathways on the inner walls of the pit, which looked like a network of blood vessels.

Each pathway pulsed at a frequency of once every 0.7 seconds, continuously pumping the boiling energy from the depths of the planetary core into the body of the ancient giant beast that was currently awakening.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Complete Form unfolding]

[Current Awakening Progress: 47%]

[Estimated Time to Full Awakening: 3 minutes 17 seconds]

Lin Ye did not wait.

He leaped from the edge of the pit wall. The gravity vacuum layer with a radius of 13 meters around him made him feel like a feather in this space where the Law was chaotic.

9.7x gravity → 0.5x gravity.

300-meter drop → 2.3-second fall.

The moment he landed, he slightly bent his right knee, channeling all the impact force into the bone layer beneath his feet.

The sound of bone cracking exploded in the silent bottom of the pit.

He did not stop.

The bottom of the pit was a circular platform over three hundred meters in diameter.

In the center of the platform, the giant beast, over forty meters long with seven irregular Star Core crystals growing on its spine, was slowly opening its first eye.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Guardian BOSS]

[Rank: Level 70 (Saint-Grade projection / incomplete form)]

[Health Points: 3,700,000 / 3,700,000]

[Star Core Shield Layers: 3/3 (80,000 points per layer)]

[Current Status: Awakening (137 seconds remaining)]

[Threat Rating: ★★★★★ (Fatal)]

[Note: This giant beast is a forbidden creation formed after the fall of a certain Saint from eons ago, where their residual soul fire fused with the energy of the Trial Ancient Star's core. Although it is only a Saint-Grade projection, under the augmentation of the Ancient Star's Law, its combat power is equivalent to a level 70 Saint projection of a human Cultivator.]

[Historical Battle Records:]

[Era Year 1147: Trial Taker squad "Beichen," 11 members, levels 68-72, fought for 3 hours and 17 minutes, achieved first kill at the cost of 9 deaths.]

[Era Year 1352: Trial Taker "Shuangyue," solo, level 71, battle lasted 47 minutes, zero deaths.]

[Era Year 1583: Trial Taker squad "Nameless One," 7 members, levels 69-73, battle lasted 22 minutes, zero deaths—set the fastest kill record, which remains unbroken to this day.]

[Your current team average Rank: Level 55]

[13 levels below the lowest historical challenge Rank]

[System Assessment: Win rate—incalculable]

The giant beast opened its second eye.

It was a compound eye positioned vertically in the center of its forehead, with a dark golden cross-shaped pupil.

Its gaze swept over the ten tiny figures at the bottom of the pit.

No anger.

No killing intent.

Not even a desire to "feed."

It was simply—Law.

It was the gatekeeper of this ancient star.

They were the Trial Takers.

Its mission was to block them.

Its very existence was the fairest and cruelest rule on this ancient path.

"Scatter!"

The moment Lin Ye's voice exploded in the team channel, the giant beast's first attack arrived.

Not a roar.

Not a claw strike.

Not any "skill" that could be defined by conventional understanding.

It was a "Gaze."

The dark golden cross pupil locked onto Lin Ye's figure, and a beam of pure Star Core energy, half a meter in diameter, shot out from the center of the pupil!

Wherever the beam passed, the air was ionized into blue-violet plasma, and the energy pathways on the pit walls, like spiderwebs scorched by fire, burst, disintegrated, and turned to ash in large swathes.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Skill: Annihilation Gaze]

[Damage Type: Pure Energy]

[Base Damage: 24,000-31,000]

[Effect: Targets hit cannot receive any healing effects for 10 seconds]

[Cooldown: 45 seconds]

Lin Ye did not dodge.

Void Step could not be precisely controlled in this space where the Law was chaotic, and the error rate for forced displacement exceeded 300%.

He did not tank it head-on either.

Just as the beam was about to touch his chest, he compressed his Chaos Domain to the extreme—collapsing it from a radius of 13 meters to 0.3 meters around his body.

Not defense.

It was "Erosion."

Chaos Power and Star Core energy met within that 0.3-meter space.

No explosion.

No shockwave.

There was only a brief "hiss," like fire being thrown into ice water.

The beam penetrated the outer layer of the Chaos Domain.

The beam penetrated the front shield of the Void battle armor.

The beam penetrated the thin layer of Chaos Divine Power coating the surface of his epic-grade armor chest piece.

And then, at a position 3.7 centimeters from Lin Ye's heart—

It was struck head-on by the phantom of the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo.

Hum—

That small cauldron, which had followed him since the first day of the server, had blocked the world-destroying purple lightning for him during the Four Extremities Heavenly Tribulation, had burned its Origin for him during the breakout battle at Purple Mountain, and was now covered in cracks with only 31% durability remaining—

Emitted an extremely faint hum, like a sigh.

The beam.

Extinguished.

[myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo · Passive: Protector]

[Damage Absorbed: 27,400 points]

[Current Durability: 31% → 24%]

[Warning: New cracks × 2 on the cauldron body]

"Boss!!!"

Chen Hao's roar and the explosion of the magnetic anchors on the soles of chaos unit no. 1 erupted simultaneously.

The silver-blue steel giant leaped down from the side wall of the pit, the two particle cannons on its shoulders, which had never been activated during the 47-hour forced march—

Charged simultaneously.

[Particle Cannon · Overclock Mode]

[Charging Progress: 97%]

[Estimated Damage: 8,700-11,200 × 2]

[Overheat Countdown: 4.7 seconds]

"Fire."

Chen Hao's voice was very soft.

Two beams shot out from the mecha's shoulders, accurately hitting the energy transmission node below the third ring on the giant beast's left forelimb.

[Weak Point Hit]

[Star Core Shield Layers: 3 → 2.7 (Not broken)]

[Damage Dealt: 6,300+5,800]

[Giant Beast Health: 3,700,000 → 3,687,900]

12,100 damage.

3.7 million health.

0.3%.

The giant beast didn't even look at him.

It just slowly, unhurriedly, raised the left forelimb that had been hit by thirty centimeters—

And then stomped down.

Boom—!!!

The entire pit trembled violently under this stomp.

The energy pathways on the pit walls broke in large swathes, and rubble fell like rain.

chaos unit no. 1 flew backward faster than it had rushed down, slamming heavily into the rock wall fifty meters away.

[chaos unit no. 1 · Severely Damaged]

[Left Shoulder Armor: 47% → 12%]

[Energy Shield: 100% → 0% (Overload Pierced)]

[Pilot Chen Hao: Health 81% → 43%]

[Warning: Mecha right knee joint hydraulic System leak]

"Black Tortoise Hall—Raise Shields!"

Zhou Tieshan's roar exploded in both the voice channel and reality.

The fine-grade iron shield in his hand—the one that had blocked the ramming of Star Skeleton Beasts, debris from the Crystallized Forest, and falling rocks during last night's ambush during the 47-hour forced march—was now inserted at a 45-degree angle between the giant beast and the fallen chaos unit no. 1.

His right arm.

That right arm, which had fractured during the bloody battle against the Gold-Devouring Ant swarm, had not healed in 47 hours, and had been strictly ordered by Yun Qianxue not to exert force for "24 hours"—

Was now bracing against the shield, veins bulging, muscles taut, and the bandages at the wound soaked through with blood.

[Zhou Tieshan · Current Status]

[Health: 47%]

[Divine Power: 22%]

[Right Arm Load: 430% (Far exceeding safety threshold)]

[Warning: Bone fracture has extended to the elbow joint]

He did not retreat.

Not even a step.

The giant beast's third eye was opening.

It was a giant main eye located in the center of the spine, surrounded by seven Star Core crystals, over a meter in diameter.

The main eye had not fully opened yet, but the pressure that had already begun to leak out had caused fine cracks to appear on the ground within a radius of one hundred meters.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Ultimate Skill Charging]

[Skill: Star Core Burst Flash]

[Effect: Deals 50,000 fixed damage to all targets on the screen, and inflicts "Blindness" and "Silence" for 15 seconds]

[Casting Time: 7 seconds]

[Cooldown: 180 seconds]

[Current Casting Progress: 13%]

"Interrupt it!"

Chu Yunxi's voice and her figure disappeared from the spot simultaneously.

She had no bow.

Her backup bow had been sliced by a crystal thread thinner than a hair when passing through the last crystal web in the Crystallized Forest 17 minutes ago—breaking into two pieces.

What she held in her hand now was that backup fine iron dagger.

The dagger was 37 centimeters long, weighed 2.1 kilograms, and was of rare quality.

It was only worth 3000 Spirit Stones in the Big Dipper Star Field.

She used this dagger to leap onto the giant beast's spine.

[Chu Yunxi · Current Status]

[Health: 61%]

[Divine Power: 33%]

[Stamina: 19%]

[Body Temperature: 39.7℃ (Wound infection worsening)]

Her dagger stabbed into the thinnest energy pathway 3 centimeters below the main eye.

—Not an attack.

It was a "Short Circuit."

The metal material of the dagger melted into molten iron within 0.3 seconds under the high-pressure influx of Star Core energy.

From the web of Chu Yunxi's right hand to her wrist, three scorched marks deep enough to see bone were burned by the splattered molten iron.

But the opening progress of the main eye, from 23%—

Stagnated.

[Star Core Burst Flash · Casting Interrupted]

[Next Available: 180 seconds later]

The giant beast made a sound for the first time.

It was not a roar.

It was an extremely low hum, like tectonic movement.

Its first eye, second eye, and the third main eye that had been forcibly interrupted from opening—

Turned toward Chu Yunxi simultaneously.

[Aggro Reset]

[Current Primary Aggro Target: Chu Yunxi]

Chu Yunxi fell from the giant beast's spine.

She flipped her body in mid-air, attempting to use the dagger to stab into the rock wall to cushion the fall.

The dagger snapped the moment it stabbed into the rock wall.

She continued to fall.

And then—

A hand caught her.

Shi Potian.

He used his left arm.

That left arm, which had compensated for the loss of function in his right arm after returning from the Ancestral Star, had been used in the bloody battle against the Gold-Devouring Ant swarm, and had never lowered its guard during the 47-hour forced march.

It was now wrapping around Chu Yunxi's waist, placing her steadily on the ground.

Then he looked up.

Looking at the giant beast's eyes that were turning toward him, all three open simultaneously.

"You rest," he said.

"My turn."

[Shi Potian · Current Status]

[Health: 67%]

[Hegemon Blood Concentration: 31%]

[Right Arm: Three open fractures · Closed · Unhealed (Current usable combat power 37%)]

[Left Arm: Intact]

He drew the [Hegemon Blade] from his waist, which had followed him for five months, had endured a punch from the Ancestor alongside him during the Ninefold Trial of the Ancestral Star, and whose blade was covered in cracks.

The blade was 1.1 meters long and weighed 37 kilograms.

The wrapping on the hilt had been soaked in body fluids during the bloody battle against the Gold-Devouring Ants, and had hardened like iron after drying.

He gripped it tightly.

[Hegemon Blood Boiling · Limit Combustion]

[Consumption: 70% of current Hegemon Blood concentration]

[Effect: Enters the "Hegemon Boundless · Remnant" state for 15 seconds]

[All Attributes +120%]

[Movement Speed +80%]

[Attack Speed +70%]

[Immune to all control effects]

[After the duration ends, Hegemon Blood concentration is forcibly reduced to 1%, entering the 48-hour "Hegemon Blood Depletion" state]

He did not hesitate.

31% × 70% = 21.7%.

Hegemon Blood concentration dropped from 31% to 9.3%.

Dark golden, almost transparent flames ignited around his body.

He took a step forward.

This step crushed the rock layer three meters in diameter beneath his feet.

This step compressed the distance between him and the giant beast's head from 47 meters to 3 meters.

This step—

The cracked Hegemon Blade stabbed into the center of the giant beast's first eye pupil.

[Damage Dealt: 47,300]

[Weak Point Attack · Eye]

[Star Core Shield Layers: 2.7 → 2.3]

[Giant Beast Health: 3,687,900 → 3,640,600]

[Aggro Reset]

[Current Primary Aggro Target: Shi Potian]

The giant beast moved for the first time.

It was not an attack.

It was "Standing up."

Its four giant legs, like the trunks of ancient trees, simultaneously supported its body.

Its height rose from 3 meters to 7 meters.

The seven Star Core crystals on its spine simultaneously lit up with blinding blue light.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Phase Shift]

[Health Remaining: 98.4%]

[Next Phase: Berserk Warming Up]

[All Attributes +15%]

[Attack Speed +20%]

[Unlock Skill: Star Core Storm]

Shi Potian pulled the Hegemon Blade out of the giant beast's eye.

As the blade was pulled out, it was caught by the giant beast's subconsciously closing eyelid—and snapped.

The front half of the blade remained embedded deep in the giant beast's eye socket.

He only had half a broken blade left in his hand.

He looked down at the half-blade, looking at the fine, spiderweb-like cracks at the broken section.

He said nothing.

He just sheathed it back into the scabbard at his waist.

Then he clenched his fist.

His left fist.

"Again."

The third minute.

The giant beast's Star Core shield was reduced from three layers to one under Su Qingyue's seventh focused Ice Spike attack.

[Current Shield Layers: 1/3]

[Shield Value: 23,000 / 80,000]

Su Qingyue lowered her hand.

Her Ice Soul Sword had already broken during the backlash of the second Vast Cold Descent.

What she held in her hand now was that backup fine-grade longsword—the blade was 2 millimeters thinner than the Ice Soul Sword, and its spiritual power conduction efficiency was 30% lower.

But it was still very cold.

[Su Qingyue · Current Status]

[Health: 52%]

[Divine Power: 11%]

[Extreme Cold Backlash: 23 minutes remaining]

[Status: All Attributes -50%]

Her sword tip pointed at the area below the third ring of the giant beast's abdominal segment—the energy transmission node that had been struck by Chen Hao's particle cannon, scorched by Chu Yunxi's dagger, and slashed three times by Shi Potian's broken blade.

[Node damage level: 47%]

[Estimated damage still needed: 53,000 points]

She gripped the sword hilt tightly.

---

Fifth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 81%.

The last layer of the star core shield was shattered at the cost of Zhou Tieshan hard-blocking the giant beast's forelimb with his shield face.

[Star Core Shield: 0/3]

[Giant beast physical defense -30%]

[Giant beast damage taken +20%]

Zhou Tieshan knelt on the ground.

The fine-grade iron shield now had a 30-centimeter-diameter penetrating dent in the center of its face.

That was left by the giant beast's forelimb stomping down head-on.

He could no longer lift his right arm.

A bone fracture extended from the elbow joint to the shoulder blade.

He could only use his left hand to support himself on the ground, preventing himself from falling.

---

Seventh minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 67%.

It released [Geological Resonance] for the first time.

A full-screen earthquake occurred.

Everyone—including Lin Ye—was knocked down.

During that 3-second knockdown state, Yun Qianxue used her remaining 4% Divine Power to cast a group Rejuvenation spell for the entire team.

[Group Rejuvenation · Limit Casting]

[Cost: 4% Divine Power (Insufficient) -> Difference deducted from HP]

[Yun Qianxue HP: 47% -> 31%]

[Team average HP recovery: +1,700 points]

She didn't speak.

She simply swallowed the Divine Recovery Pill she had been holding under her tongue for forty minutes.

[Divine Recovery Pill · High Grade]

[Divine Power recovery: +30%]

[Current Divine Power: 4% -> 34%]

---

Ninth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 53%.

Lin Ye consumed the eighth bottle of Chaos Essence fluid.

[Meridian load: 530% -> 590%]

[Meridian rupture countdown: 7 minutes]

The gravity vacuum layer with a 13-meter radius around him had already expanded to a 15-meter radius.

0.5x gravity.

Team movement speed +70%.

Team attack speed +50%.

He walked at the very front of the team.

Not as a tank.

But as the main attacker.

---

Twelfth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 41%.

It released [Geological Resonance] for the second time.

During that 3-second knockdown state, Lu Xinghe used the edge of that shattered star compass to carve a Formation on the ground with forty-seven extremely sloppy, extremely incomplete, and some runes even only half-carved—yet it still lit up with a faint glow.

[Solid Defense Formation · Incomplete]

[Effect: Reduces team area damage taken by 30%]

[Duration: 12 seconds]

[Formation caster: Lu Xinghe]

[Current state: Mental sea backlash · Moderate]

[Casting success rate: 7%]

[This casting: Success]

When he finished carving the last rune, blood gushed from his mouth and nose simultaneously.

He didn't wipe it away.

He just lay on the ground, looking at that purple sky, gasping for air.

---

Fifteenth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 28%.

It began to go berserk.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Phase Transition]

[Remaining HP: 28%]

[Current phase: Dying Berserk · Warm-up]

[All attributes +30%]

[Attack speed +50%]

[Unlocked skill: Star Core Self-Destruct (Triggers when HP is below 5%)]

Those seven star core crystals on its back were pulsating wildly, like seven miniature stars about to erupt.

The dark blue light illuminated the entire pit as if it were broad daylight.

---

Seventeenth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 19%.

Lin Ye consumed the ninth bottle of Chaos Essence fluid.

[Meridian load: 590% -> 650%]

[Meridian rupture countdown: 3 minutes]

The gravity vacuum layer around him had already expanded to a 18-meter radius.

0.3x gravity.

Team movement speed +90%.

Team attack speed +70%.

He stood before the giant beast.

In his hand, he held that fine iron longsword, which had been dulled in the bloody battle against the Gold-Devouring Ant swarm, broken in half during the Star Beast raid, and was now covered in nicks, yet remained sharp.

The sword was 1.1 meters long.

The distance to the dark golden cross pupil in the very center of the giant beast's forehead—0.7 meters.

---

Nineteenth minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 11%.

Chen Hao's chaos unit no. 1 stood up from the wreckage of the rock wall.

The hydraulic System of the right knee joint had completely failed.

He knelt on his left knee, aiming the two particle cannons on his shoulders—which had long since cooled down from overheating—at the scarred energy transmission node below the third ring of the giant beast's abdominal segment.

[Particle Cannon · Extreme Overclocking]

[Charge progress: 113% (Far exceeding safety threshold)]

[Estimated damage: 14,000-18,000 × 2]

[Cannon barrel failure probability: 87%]

[Backlash damage taken by pilot: 3,200-4,700]

He pulled the trigger.

---

Two beams of light.

One hit the node.

One deflected by 2 degrees, striking the giant beast's abdominal armor.

[Node damage level: 47% -> 100%]

[Star core energy transmission interrupted]

[Geological Resonance · Permanently disabled]

Both particle cannons of the chaos unit no. 1 exploded simultaneously.

Chen Hao was thrown from the cockpit by the shockwave, his back hitting the rock wall, sliding down, and kneeling.

His HP: 19%.

He did not pass out.

He just looked up at the giant beast that was still standing, gasping for air.

---

Twenty-first minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 7%.

It began to attack frantically regardless of the cost.

Forelimbs, tail strikes, annihilation gaze, star core storms—all skills no longer had any cooldown.

Before these last 7% of HP were depleted, it wanted to tear these ten ants before it—completely to shreds.

---

Shi Potian knelt on the ground.

His Hegemon Blood concentration had dropped to 1% 21 minutes ago, and the 48-hour Hegemon Blood depletion state had been forcibly applied.

All attributes -80%.

He used his left arm to support himself on the ground, preventing himself from falling.

The three closed open fractures on his right arm had reopened when he blocked the giant beast's tail strike for Zhou Tieshan just now.

White bone shards pierced through his skin, gleaming with an ominous luster under the purple cold light.

He didn't look.

He just used his left hand to press the protruding bone shard back into his flesh.

Then he wrapped it three times with bandages.

---

Chu Yunxi lay under the rock wall.

Her body temperature had risen to 40.3°C.

Her vision began to blur.

She looked at the giant beast, looked at the seven star core crystals on its back that were pulsating more and more violently, and looked at the figure still standing straight before the giant beast.

She opened her mouth.

No sound came out.

---

Zhou Tieshan's left knee was on the ground.

The iron shield was completely ruined, the penetrating dent in the center of the shield face having snapped the entire shield into two pieces.

He used his left hand to support himself on the ground.

His right arm hung by his side, completely devoid of any sensation.

He had not fallen.

---

Qin Ruoxue appeared from the shadows.

Her thousand faces cloak had been torn into seventeen rags during the continuous fighting, and now draped over her shoulders like a tattered battle flag.

The backup dagger in her hand pointed its tip at the most hidden nerve ganglion on the giant beast's hind neck.

This was the only fatal weak point she had found after lurking for a full twenty minutes that was not covered by star core energy.

[Weak point: Gap between the third and fourth vertebrae of the hind neck]

[Defense: 0]

[Instant death probability on hit: 3.7%]

She gripped the dagger tightly.

---

Twenty-third minute.

The giant beast's HP dropped to 5%.

The seven star core crystals on its back simultaneously erupted with blue light so blinding that it was impossible to look directly at.

[Star Core Giant Beast · Ultimate Skill]

[Star Core Self-Destruct · Activation]

[Countdown: 30 seconds]

[Explosion range: 500-meter radius]

[Base damage: 150,000 points (Ignores defense)]

[During casting, the giant beast cannot move, cannot attack, and damage taken +100%]

---

Lin Ye stood before the giant beast.

The tip of the fine iron longsword in his hand pressed against the dark golden cross pupil in the very center of the giant beast's forehead.

His meridian rupture countdown: 47 seconds.

His HP: 23%.

His Divine Power: 100% (overflow from the ninth bottle of Chaos Essence fluid).

Behind him were nine people.

Of the nine people, not one could still stand.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly.

---

"Chapter 147 ends here; that should be enough," Lin Ye said softly.

He didn't know who he was speaking to.

Then he pushed the sword forward by three fen.

The sword tip pierced into the very center of the dark golden cross pupil.

[Weak point attack · Vital organ]

[Damage dealt: 1,700,000]

[Star Core Giant Beast HP: 5% -> 0%]

---

The giant beast did not wail.

It simply lowered its head, using that dissipating dark golden cross pupil to look at the tiny human before it.

For a long time.

Then its body began to disintegrate.

It was not an explosion.

It was a "return."

The seven star core crystals on its back, one after another, went from pulsating to still, from blazing blue to ash-white, from solid to dust.

The crisscrossing energy veins on its torso, one after another, went from glowing to dim, from taut to relaxed, from scarred to... calm.

Finally, there was that eye.

The dark golden cross pupil, under the tip of Lin Ye's sword, slowly closed.

As if falling asleep.

---

[You have killed "Star Core Giant Beast" (Level 70 Saint-Grade Projection)]

[First Kill Achievement · Unlocked]

[Global Announcement · Generating]

[Battle duration: 23 minutes 47 seconds]

[Lower than the historical fastest record of 22 minutes by "Nameless One" —]

[Difference: 1 minute 47 seconds]

---

Lin Ye pulled out his sword.

As the sword body exited the giant beast's eye socket, it brought out a wisp of extremely thin, extremely faint, almost transparent light thread.

The light thread did not dissipate.

Instead, it wrapped around his sword blade, slowly seeping into the interior of the sword body, and—with that dulled, notched, and cracked sword body—fused into one.

[You have obtained: Star Core Remnant Consciousness · Echo of the Nameless One]

[Type: Plot Item / Legacy Fragment]

[Grade: Legendary (Unique)]

[Description: 814 years ago, that Trial Taker who set the 1-day 7-hour clearance record under the name "Nameless One" left a wisp of soul fire inside this giant beast. He seems to be waiting for something.]

[Current state: Activated]

[Message in tablet · New:]

["You were 1 minute and 47 seconds slower than I imagined."]

["But the road is still long."]

["I am waiting for you at the seventh level."]

---

Lin Ye looked at that line of text.

Silence.

For a long time.

Then he sheathed his sword.

He turned around.

Behind him, nine people, nine pairs of eyes.

Shi Potian knelt on the ground, his right arm hanging down, his left arm supporting him on the ground.

He opened his mouth.

"...Did we... break it?"

Lin Ye looked at him.

Three seconds.

"...Off by 1 minute and 47 seconds."

Shi Potian was silent for a moment.

Then he tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Next time... we'll make it up."

Lin Ye did not answer.

He simply took the tenth bottle of Chaos Essence fluid from Zhao Wuji's hand.

He didn't drink it.

He just held it in his palm.

Then he looked up, watching the purple sky above the pit that was slowly contracting.

[Current time elapsed: 2 days 14 hours 23 minutes]

[Remaining objective: Reach the teleportation Formation]

[Remaining distance: 16 kilometers]

[Remaining time: 16 hours 37 minutes (based on the record-breaking goal of 1 day 7 hours)]

[Record-breaking condition: Reach the teleportation Formation within the remaining time, and total time elapsed ≤ 31 hours]

[Current total time elapsed: 62 hours 23 minutes]

[Need to compress the time for the remaining 16 kilometers to...]

[0 minutes.]

---

Lin Ye did not say "It's impossible for us."

He just put the bottle of Chaos Essence fluid into his bosom.

Then he took a step, walking toward the last 16 kilometers leading to the teleportation Formation at the edge of the pit.

Behind him, nine people stood up at the same time.

Nine sets of footsteps overlapped into one in the silent pit.

---

At the edge of the pit.

That black-and-gold insect tide still remained stagnant 300 meters away.

The ant queen still watched from afar the figure walking toward the teleportation Formation.

It did not attack.

Not because of fear.

Not because of mercy.

It was because—it was waiting.

Waiting for that man to rewrite this eternal star tablet record—with his own hands.

Then, at the moment that record was carved—it would lead three thousand soldier ants to offer him the final, grandest farewell of this expedition.

---

In the distance.

The star tablet still stood quietly.

The light threads inside the tablet were still flowing slowly.

In the 1st place column, the Nameless One's record remained unshaken.

In the 998th place column, Night Emperor's name was moving up at an extremely, extremely slow speed—one spot.

One spot.

And another spot.

997th place.

996th place.

995th place.

...

The light threads pulsed.

Like a heartbeat.

Like waiting.

Like that look back cast by the Nameless One 814 years ago, at the last moment of his life, toward some never-before-met challenger eight thousand years later.

— "You were 1 minute and 47 seconds slower than I imagined."

— "But the road is still long."

— "I am waiting for you at the seventh level."

---

[Current time elapsed: 2 days 14 hours 24 minutes]

[Remaining distance: 16 kilometers]

[Remaining time: 16 hours 36 minutes]

[Record-breaking condition: Walk 16 kilometers in 0 minutes]

---

Lin Ye walked at the very front.

His back remained straight.

His hand remained pressed on the sword hilt.

His footsteps still did not stop.

Even though he knew—16 kilometers.

0 minutes.

Impossible.

But he was still walking.

Because behind him were nine people.

Because on that dark golden ancestral star, there was a promise he had made.

Because this ancient road, unbroken for 814 years, must have someone to continue walking it.

---

[Chapter 147 · End]