Chapter 2240: 2241: Lu Qiming, Once Again

Kong Jingyi naturally had a streak of pride in his heart. Watching that black‑robed figure of unknown identity pass him like that, how could he possibly feel good? After he increased his movements, although

sweat seeped out over his body, it still could not suppress Kong Jingyi's competitive heart.

Originally he had been shoulder to shoulder with Lin Chen, thinking only about when Lin Chen would collapse. But now there was a black‑robed man who seemed to easily throw him to the rear. His thoughts, naturally, shifted from Lin Chen to that black‑robed figure.

Lin Chen was also slightly startled at this moment, but while surprised, he did not harbor any hostility. He had never considered himself the strongest, so when he saw others with great strength, he did not have too strong a desire to compete.

He only sighed inwardly, lamenting that within the Green Ripple Sect, it was not all scum like the Azure Dragon Association.

Thinking this, Lin Chen's steps also quickened a bit. This was not out of a desire to win; it was just that seeing Kong Jingyi increase his speed, he simply stopped holding back. Whatever was up above these steps, the sooner he knew, the greater the advantage for him.

He turned his head, looking back at Chen Jie and Sun Tianming, who were struggling to climb up. His fists clenched, and a few veins bulged on the back of his hand.

...

In a burst of sprinting, on the last few layers of steps, that pressure actually turned into several hundred jin of weight. Even Lin Chen couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his knees bending. As he forced himself to stand up, the bones in his knees let out a series of crackling sounds.

He lifted his eyes to look ahead. The sweat on his forehead seeped through his eyelashes and fell into his eyes, so that when he looked elsewhere, a faint mist seemed to blur his vision.

"Just a few… more steps."

Looking at the spot only a few steps away, the hall's platform there was almost disappearing from Lin Chen's sight. The sudden increase in pressure meant that all he had left to move forward was the last thread of willpower carrying him upward.

Finally, within these few steps, after nearly half an hour, Lin Chen at last stepped up.

With one foot on the platform, that pressure suddenly lessened, as if his entire body relaxed. Under this relaxation, Lin Chen could no longer summon the slightest bit of strength.

He sprawled out carelessly on the mirror‑smooth floor of the platform. A cool sensation flowed into his body. He panted heavily, and at this moment, he didn't even want to move a finger; even the sweat on his forehead, he didn't lift a hand to wipe it away, letting it dry in the wind on its own.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, as Lin Chen lay on the ground, his gaze unconsciously shifted to the ceiling of the hall above. There was a slightly strange sight there that drew his attention.

Faint, thread‑fine Spiritual Energy was appearing and disappearing on the hall's ceiling, slowly flowing along what seemed like carved lines. As it flickered, it actually connected bit by bit at a point ahead, forming a mysterious sigil out of nothing.

"What is that thing?"

Lin Chen furrowed his brows. After he had rested a little, he sat up from the ground and raised his head to look up, his gaze following that aura as it roamed.

He did not dare to open the acupoints at his brow, so it was hard for him to see it clearly. But judging from the traces, it looked like a Formation that had existed here for a long time, waiting for the day someone would come to activate it.

Lin Chen had previously read some content about Formations, but those were far too superficial and not enough for him to understand all kinds of Formations. Even after carefully examining this one, he still couldn't figure out what it was.

At this moment, Kong Jingyi also climbed up while Lin Chen was distracted.

His waist was bent deeply, as if he could not muster the slightest strength. His arms drooped to the ground, pressing against the stone tiles of the hall's floor. His fingertips dug deep into the unsealed gaps of the rocks, and with this pulling force, he literally dragged himself up.

Like Lin Chen, just as he got up, he could no longer gather any strength and collapsed there, feeling as if the exhaustion was about to crush him.

"Let's go…"

At Lin Chen's side, a voice drifted over. It was that black‑robed man, his whole body hidden within his robes. Although he was facing Lin Chen, his voice seemed deliberately modulated, sometimes near, sometimes far, carrying a trace of strangeness.

Lin Chen's brows drew together slightly. He felt this voice in front of him was somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't recall who this person was.

"Or are you planning to act like a gentleman and wait until all of them get up here before going over there to take a look?"

Seeing Lin Chen remain silent, the black‑robed figure added another sentence, then raised a hand and pointed toward the scene on the distant platform, reminding Lin Chen.

Lin Chen followed the direction of the black‑robed man's pointing finger and looked.

About a hundred meters ahead of him was a grand chair raised a few inches above the ground, and on that chair there was a figure seated.

He sat upright and solemn, his eyes open, but there was not the slightest glimmer of light in his pupils, like a wax figure.

"That's… Lu Qiming?!"

Seeing this figure, Lin Chen's pupils shrank. Although there was some distance between them, his eyesight was still good enough. At this range, Lin Chen could see clearly.

But once he saw clearly, his expression changed. This figure was exactly the same as the Lu Qiming in the underground palace! The only difference, if one had to name one, was the clothes he wore and the hint of stern righteousness between his brows, far beyond what the figure underground could compare to.

"What in the world is going on?"

Right now Lin Chen's mind was left only with this confusion, unable to raise any other thoughts.

While Lin Chen was lost in thought, after saying several sentences and seeing Lin Chen still unresponsive, the black‑robed figure couldn't help but shake his head, then strode off toward the front on his own.

This time, there was none of the watery curtain scenes like on the layers below. With a slight movement, the black‑robed figure easily walked dozens of steps.

As he walked, the hall remained as calm as ever. In the vast hall, besides the sound of Kong Jingyi's heavy breathing, only the faint noise of the black‑robed figure's footsteps could be heard.

Under that sound, Lin Chen's thoughts were jolted back. He quickly came to his senses and stopped overthinking. After taking a deep breath, he called out and waved toward the black‑robed figure, then strode forward quickly.

With no more obstacles on this floor, and both of them recovering very fast, the two naturally closed the distance to the front of the hall—where Lu Qiming was—at high speed.

"Damn it! How are they recovering so fast?!"

Gritting his teeth, Kong Jingyi saw Lin Chen and the other man's actions and could not help but struggle to push himself up from the ground. Swinging his sore limbs, he slowly moved closer to Lin Chen and that black‑robed figure.