This strike was unleashed by Tao Yuyu, carrying the momentum of thunder. In the brief moment he appeared at this place, Tao Yuyu also sensed something different here. But despite the differences, this realm had fewer constraints than before.
This allowed Tao Yuyu to act without hesitation. He raised his hand, and from his fingertips burst a dense aura, creating a column-like offensive in the air, shimmering with a cold light.
In less than a breath's time, the attack was already rushing towards Lin Chen.
But although Lin Chen was in conversation, how could his reaction be slow? As the attack came close, Lin Chen was already prepared. He bent his knee, shifting from resisting the gravity transmitted from the ground to moving with it.
Taking advantage of this momentum, Lin Chen's body lowered from its original height, shifting from a standing posture to a half-crouch on the ground.
The attack then grazed past the top of Lin Chen's head, continuing behind him.
The beam was extremely powerful; even after Lin Chen dodged, the assault did not stop but continued surging forward.
This surge caused Sun Tianming and Chen Jie on the side to also move aside, not daring to confront it head-on.
"Humph."
Tao Yuyu let out a cold grunt; missing the strike, he did not pause but lifted his hand again. Suddenly, his hand halted.
His knee slowly pressed downward, and the suction from the ground was much stronger than before, while the air around him forcefully suppressed his body as if trying to crush him down.
Tao Yuyu grunted, the hand he had lifted drooped under the pressure, and the Spiritual Energy gathered in his hand dissipated into nothingness.
Tao Yuyu's expression was unsettled. Kneeling on one knee, he could barely withstand the pressure from before, but the sudden increase overwhelmed him, forcing him to kneel on one knee, one hand propped against it, his head laboriously raised, beads of sweat trickling from his forehead, evidencing the heavy burden he was under.
"Something's not right..."
Tao Yuyu's mind sank; when he glanced to the side, Lin Chen and the others seemed unaffected by such pressure—it only existed within his area, where the fearsome force was present.
This force made him unbearably uncomfortable, nearly to the point of collapse. Even with his profound cultivation, this pressure bore directly onto his physique, almost suffocating him.
Even though Tao Yuyu guarded himself with Spiritual Energy, this force, alongside his energy, only grew stronger.
"Could it be that here, any use of Spiritual Energy is forbidden?"
Suddenly, a shadow voiced a tone of surprise, noticing Tao Yuyu's situation and conjecturing aloud.
From previous events, this was not impossible. Like when the Spiritual Bodies became stronger with just a trace of Spiritual Energy.
Earlier, Tao Yuyu had attacked Lin Chen with Spiritual Energy; this could very well be the case given this situation.
When the voice echoed, Tao Yuyu was startled, rapidly withdrawing his Spiritual Energy, which caused him to drop to his knees suddenly.
The other knee, under the intense pressure, immediately hit the ground.
With a loud thud, the steps on the ground were forcibly dented by Tao Yuyu's kneeling!
Tao Yuyu's body without any Spiritual Energy wrapping it experienced immediate severe pain from this kneel, with fine dust on the steps stabbing into his knees, tearing the skin and oozing a touch of red.
Tao Yuyu gritted his teeth, his expression showing some pain; he nearly attempted to draw upon his Spiritual Energy but decided against it after some thought.
Fortunately, the pressure came and went quickly, and after this round, the pressure lightened somewhat, improving his complexion slightly.
"Heh, this is actually quite good; it looks like facing us here will be difficult indeed."
Seeing this, Sun Tianming laughed with a teasing tone. Tao Yuyu had tried multiple times to deal with Lin Chen and the others within, but the rules kept limiting him.
Seeing the enemy in distress was genuinely gratifying.
"Yes, if it weren't for him, if we accidentally used Spiritual Energy, we'd be in trouble."
Lin Chen chuckled and nodded slowly. Without Tao Yuyu's impulsiveness, they might not have known about these rules here.
Given these rules, it confirmed Lin Chen's earlier thoughts, that the test was naturally related to one's self.
Thinking of this, Lin Chen's smile widened.
Without relying on Spiritual Energy, purely competing with physical strength, there was truly no one here who could match him. Back on Earth, he had cultivated his body rather than Spiritual Energy, unlike those in the Spiritual Realm, who trained in energy from a young age, naturally falling short of Lin Chen.
With this in mind, he naturally had no fear of these people.
"Ha, I'll see how long you can keep showing off!"
Tao Yuyu slowly rose, looking somewhat disheveled, especially his knees, marked with injuries, seeping red blood.
When he looked at Sun Tianming, Lin Chen, and the others, his gaze was filled with coldness, eyes like sharp tools directed at them.
All the injuries on him were attributed to Lin Chen and the others, and given the chance, he would certainly seek revenge.
"Is that so? From the current situation, it seems this will take quite a while."
Lin Chen, unfazed, had already stood straight from the ground, pointing at the steps above, stretching upwards over a hundred meters.
Climbing it originally wouldn't be difficult, but now, unable to use Spiritual Energy, relying solely on physical strength made it challenging.
"Why bother arguing! Let's go!"
Sun Tianming glanced up, said no more, and his body began to move.
As he moved, the figures around also started progressing forward, although a few stayed behind, watching the others ascend, perhaps observing for any additional dangers above.
"No, the gravity seems to gradually increase as we go forward!"
Someone moving slowly furrowed their brow. Feeling the strangeness above as they ascended, each step weighed heavier, causing them great alarm.
The one most at ease with this had to be Lin Chen.
Chapter 2237: 2238: Pressure on the Steps
5 min read