A quiet beat passed between the two.
Then White Fur's voice shifted, gentler, touched by sothing deeper.
"I still think… you went too far. With what you said to earlier."
Midas turned to her, his voice low.
"I'm sorry."
He hesitated.
"I saw you cut your own tails off to survive. I never forgot that. But now—they're back. How?"
White Fur was silent for a long mont.
She glanced at Liu i's fading silhouette.
Then, far beyond her, as if through mory itself.
Finally, she turned to Midas with a small, wistful smile.
"It's a secret."
Midas smiled at the respond.
"At least we managed to break the fifth floor's rules with our little scuffle," Midas said, brushing dust from his robes as he gazed at the aftermath of their battle.
White Fur, still in her massive fox form, sat quietly beside him, her tails slowly swaying. Her eyes followed Liu i and Shan Yifeng as they climbed.
"Luck or planned," she murmured. "Either way, I'm just glad it worked and finished. I honestly thought you were insane when you first suggested it."
Midas snorted, a hint of smugness creeping into his voice. "Hey, give so credit—I'm a majestic dragon, not so reckless brute. I've been trapped in this artifact for aeons. I'd be a useless bum if I didn't know how to exploit every crack in its rules."
White Fur didn't reply. Her gaze remained fixed on Liu i, the silence between them deepening with aning.
Liu i and Shan Yifeng ascended the glowing staircase, each step humming with power.
As they climbed higher into the unknown, Shan Yifeng glanced around, then muttered under his breath,
"Strange… unlike the last trial, I think I could actually run all the way to the peak. What do you say, Liu i?"
Liu i didn't respond. Not with words, at least.
She didn't say yes but she also didn't say no either.
She simply kept moving, her steps quiet and steady, eyes locked forward like a predator stalking the summit.
The silence between them was almost comforting... most.
anwhile, just two floors below—
"Ninety-nine... and a hundred…"
Ace exhaled sharply as the last spirit tiger collapsed at his feet, its body fading into mist. Blood—so his, mostly not—splattered across his sleeves, streaking his face with crimson sars.
His foot nudged the fading corpse, just to be sure. The tiger gave no final roar not enuo twitch. Gone.
Ace wiped his blade clean with a flick, the tal hissing faintly as it cooled. Then, with a grunt, he dropped onto a nearby stone, slumping like a man who'd just fought his way through a war—because, frankly, he had.
"This is absolutely insane…" he muttered, dragging a blood-slick hand down his face. "What kind of maniac designs a place where every floor tries to kill you with style?"
A stray claw clattered near him. He didn't flinch.
His clothes were torn. His aura was dimming. His patience had long since packed up and left.
He took a mont to catch his breath, then flicked his hand. A translucent screen appeared in the air before him.
"Now, let's see how my two disciples are doing…" he said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.
His fingers hovered for a second before he tapped Shan Yifeng's na—his face slightly grim.
The last ti he checked, Shan Yifeng had been on the brink. If the boy wasn't still puking up blood or coughing out his soul, he'd be shocked.
The system interface blinked, then displayed:
[2nd Disciple: Shan Yifeng]
[Health Status: Very Healthy]
Ace stared.
He blinked.
"…Very… Healthy?"
He leaned closer, as if the words might change if he squinted hard enough.
"…HUH?!"
He swiped at the screen like a man trying to unstick a glitch.
"Wait wait wait—very healthy?!" he repeated, scandalized. "I saw his condition! He was supposed to be one nudge away from becoming a tragic backstory!"
He opened the diagnostic window again, just to be sure.
Still:
[Very Healthy]
Ace looked up at the endless staircase above him, a look of sheer betrayal crossing his face.
Ace wiped his bloodstained hands on a scrap of cloth, then opened Shan Yifeng's full profile with a flick of his will.
[2nd Disciple: Shan Yifeng]
[Talent: Heavenly Grade]
[Rank: Major Dark Gold Rank]
[Bloodline: Crimson Dragonic Barbarian (Unique)]
Ace raised a brow.
"A new bloodline, huh? And Crimson Dragon…?" he muttered.
He paused.
"Wait a minute—wasn't that dragon girl inside my system space nad Angie? Also a Crimson Dragon?" He blinked, then chuckled to himself. "What a funny little coincidence…"
He scratched his head, smiling wryly. "So Shan got the 'Crimson Dragon' title during the Dragon and Phoenix Tournant, and now this? At this rate, if Liu i runs into an Azure Sky Dragon, I'm going to start checking if the heavens are writing my script."
He glanced further down.
Shan Yifeng's bond beast was still undergoing an upgrade, its icon flickering faintly. Vulnerable indeed.
"He's strong—but without a soul bond, he's still got limits. He can only handle weaker opponents in his current state…" Ace murmured, then exhaled a long sigh. "Good thing Liu i's with him."
His expression darkened slightly.
"I don't want to make her responsible for anything. Especially not for Shan yifeng…"
He glanced at the profile again, lips twitching as he muttered under his breath, "Frankly, I'd still rather have Shan Yifeng protect Liu i, not the other way around."
A beat of silence passed.
"Yeah, I know, he's weaker, emotionally constipated, and is currently in a weaker state but at least he won't start a war because soone looked at her peach wrong."
Just then, the space in front of him shimred, rippling like disturbed water. A portal slowly unfolded mid-air, swirling with light and pressure.
Ace straightened, coat fluttering in the growing wind.
"So this is the path to Floor Four, huh?" he muttered.
He took one last glance at the status screens and then he entered the portal.
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