Chapter 144: The coffin

Ethan didn’t go find Laira right away.

Leaving the training room, he walked straight to the pond where QingLian usually stayed. Only when he stood before the floating stone path across the water did Ethan realize he’d chosen this place almost on instinct.

He didn’t normally like sharing secrets, especially anything related to the Abyss Tower. But QingLian had never pressured him to talk about the Eye of Truth, nor had she interrogated him about what he’d obtained each time he came back from that place. She’d saved him from Marcus, prepared resources for him, knew the Void was watching him yet still let him decide the Partner path on his own.

Perhaps that was why Ethan trusted her more than he’d realized.

The pond’s surface rippled. Stone slabs slowly rose, linking together into a path leading to the pavilion at the center.

QingLian was sitting at the tea table. She looked up as Ethan approached, her eyes resting on him for a moment.

"Something wrong?"

Ethan sat down across from her.

"I’m about to leave for a while."

QingLian didn’t ask immediately. She poured another cup of tea, her voice calm.

"How long?"

"Not sure exactly."

"Where?"

Ethan paused for a beat, then answered: "There’s a trial space I entered before. I left an anchor point there, and when the time limit is up, it forcibly pulls me back."

QingLian only looked at him. She didn’t ask who created that place, didn’t ask what he’d been through, and certainly didn’t ask how many secrets he was keeping.

"How much time is left?"

"Just over twenty minutes."

QingLian set her teacup down.

"Come with me."

...

The place she brought Ethan to lay behind a low peak. It was a bare stone courtyard, no training dummies, no weapon racks, just a few wind-worn stone pillars standing at the four corners.

QingLian stopped in the middle.

"Put the gun away."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Boundary Breaker?"

"Yes."

He stored the gun inside the Primordial Armor.

"Cataclysmic Thunder Gate?"

"Don’t use it."

"Items?"

"No."

Ethan looked at her, somewhat helpless. "You want me going into the Abyss Tower empty-handed?"

"I want you to understand something." QingLian turned around. "If one day none of those things can be used, what will you do?"

Ethan didn’t answer.

"The Primordial Armor is part of your body. Keep it." She said. "Everything else goes."

For the next fifteen minutes, QingLian didn’t teach him a single powerful technique.

She just struck.

Ethan tried to dodge.

Smack!

The first time, he was knocked flat onto the stone.

"You watched my hands too long."

He’d barely gotten up before QingLian closed in again.

Smack!

The second time, Ethan went down again.

"You’re only looking at where you want to counterattack. You’re not observing the opponent’s full body."

The third time, Ethan activated Thunder Wing, trying to slide past her flank. QingLian shifted only half a step, her hand catching his collar and pulling hard.

CRASH!

Ethan lay on the stone floor, staring at the sky above.

"Thunder Wing makes you faster," QingLian said. "It doesn’t tell you where you should go."

Ethan lay still for two seconds, then got up and dusted off his shoulders.

"I’m starting to think you’re just looking for excuses to hit me."

"That’s also learning."

"I’m beginning to prefer how QingZhu trains Laira."

"QingZhu hits her too."

Ethan couldn’t argue with that.

The next time, he didn’t try to counterattack. Ethan kept his distance, watching QingLian’s shoulders, hips, and the rhythm of her steps instead of focusing only on her hands. When she changed direction, he used a fraction of Thunder Wing to glide diagonally, not bolting straight away but circling behind a stone pillar, forcing her to adjust her angle of approach.

QingLian stopped.

"Better."

Ethan exhaled. "Should I be grateful for the compliment?"

"No need."

The countdown notification sounded.

[60 seconds.]

QingLian lowered her hand. Mountain wind swept through her black hair, and those eyes that were always calm seemed to darken just slightly.

"Remember one thing."

Ethan looked at her.

"If you can’t win, survive first."

He nodded. "I’m very good at that."

"I know."

...

Laira and Ruo Yan were already waiting outside the courtyard.

The moment Laira spotted the stone dust on Ethan’s clothes, she frowned.

"QingLian hit you?"

"Training." Ethan brushed off his shoulder.

Laira looked toward QingLian in the middle of the courtyard. She was quiet for a few seconds, and in the end only gave a soft huff, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.

Ruo Yan stood beside Ethan, her voice brief.

"Almost time?"

"Yeah."

Light began appearing beneath his feet. Laira immediately grabbed Ethan’s right arm, and Ruo Yan also moved in close. The three stood within the circle of light, while QingLian remained at the courtyard’s edge, watching them in silence.

[10.]

[9.]

[8.]

Ethan turned to her.

"I’ll be back before the Trial Gate opens."

QingLian only nodded.

[3.]

[2.]

[1.]

White light erupted, swallowing all three.

The courtyard was instantly empty.

QingLian stood still for a while longer. A female voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"He still doesn’t remember you?"

QingLian didn’t turn around.

QingZhu stepped out from behind a tree, wearing her familiar curious smile. She looked at her senior sister, waiting for an answer.

QingLian was silent for a very long time, then shook her head slightly.

"No."

Just one word.

She turned and walked away, her slender silhouette quickly disappearing behind the mountain path.

QingZhu sat down on the stone steps, propping her chin in her hands as she watched her go. After a moment, she shook her head and laughed very softly.

"People in love are such a hassle."

The smile at the corner of her mouth deepened.

"But also quite interesting."

...

The smell of damp mold hit Ethan’s face the moment he opened his eyes.

Then came the scent of old bone.

Before him was a stone corridor stretching endlessly ahead. The ceiling was very low, and both walls were lined with burial niches, the skeletons inside long turned grayish-black. Many stone coffins had been thrown open, their lids lying askew on the ground, while a few skeletons still held poses as though they’d been trying to crawl out.

Laira appeared to his right, Ruo Yan to his left.

Laira looked around once, her expression clearly displeased.

"I hate this place more than the desert."

Ruo Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. "At least there’s no sand."

"There’s bones."

"You’ve eaten monsters before."

"Different."

Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. Right then, a notification appeared before him.

[Floor 19.]

[Bone Dragon Catacombs.]

BOOM!

The stone door at the end of the corridor shook violently.

Laira immediately stepped forward. "Don’t attack."

Ethan looked at her. "What?"

She rolled her wrist, crimson-violet Thunder Flame gradually flaring in her palm. "Let me show you what I learned."

Ruo Yan didn’t compete. She simply shifted to stand beside Ethan, her hand already slightly raised.

"I’d like to see too."

BOOM!

The stone door shattered.

A dragon skull made of bone slowly pushed through, followed by a long neck, a massive body, and two skeletal wings scraping against the catacomb ceiling, sending debris raining down. In the two empty eye sockets, green soul fire blazed to life.

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

’A Bone Dragon?’

He’d encountered a similar one at the Anomaly Coordinates. The one before him was smaller, but the bone structure and deathly aura were nearly identical.

The Bone Dragon raised its head, jaws gaping wide.

ROAR!

Laira raised her hand.

The Thunder Flame didn’t fire outward. Instead, it stretched and condensed into a crimson-violet longspear. She gripped the shaft, lowered her center of gravity, then vanished from her position.

BOOM!

Laira didn’t charge straight at the Bone Dragon’s head like before. She cut diagonally to the side, using the Thunder Wing on her dragon wings to change direction midair, appearing directly beneath its jaw.

THRUST!

The longspear pierced through the jawbone.

The Bone Dragon jerked violently, but Laira didn’t stop. She twisted her body, using the spear shaft as a pivot point to wrench the massive head downward, then drove her right foot into the top of its skull.

CRASH!

The entire Bone Dragon lost its balance, toppling sideways onto the catacomb floor. The soul core at the base of its neck was instantly exposed.

Laira withdrew the spear and thrust a second time.

BOOM!

The green soul fire exploded. The entire colossal skeleton lost its power and crashed onto the stone floor.

Silence held for several seconds.

Laira landed, planted the longspear beside her, and turned back to look at Ethan. Her red hair swayed gently, the grin on her face full of pride.

"How was that?"

Ethan nodded. "Really different."

Laira wasn’t just stronger. Every movement she made now had a clear purpose. She no longer relied on brute force to crush everything head-on. She knew how to create angles, how to force openings from her opponent, and how to end a fight with the least amount of energy.

Ruo Yan looked at the Bone Dragon’s remains and gave a slight nod.

"At least this time she didn’t destroy the entire catacomb."

Laira immediately turned. "I heard that."

"I meant for you to hear it."

Ethan laughed.

The door leading down to Floor 20 had already opened, but he didn’t proceed immediately. Ethan sat down beside the Bone Dragon’s remains and took an Energy Crystal from the Primordial Armor.

Laira looked at him. "Not going?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

Ethan placed the Energy Crystal in his palm, his gaze growing pensive.

"Something just occurred to me."

Time inside the Abyss Tower didn’t flow the same as outside. In previous visits, he’d spent a very long time inside, but when sent back, barely a day had passed on the outside.

This place was essentially a massive training chamber.

More importantly, the Trial Gate QingLian wanted him to enter only permitted those below Diamond. Between Gold and Diamond there was still Platinum. That meant the strongest geniuses eligible to enter the gate had very likely all reached Platinum tier ten.

And he was only Gold tier five.

The gap was too wide.

"I want to use the time in here to level up." Ethan said.

Ruo Yan understood immediately. "Before the Trial Gate opens?"

"Yeah."

"How far do you want to go?"

Ethan thought, then answered: "At least into Platinum. If possible, Platinum tier ten."

Laira didn’t say another word. She sat down right beside him.

"Then cultivate."

Ruo Yan also sat down on his other side.

The three stayed on Floor 19.

On the first day, Energy Crystals continuously crumbled to dust. By the second day, Ethan’s aura had pushed to the edge of a threshold. On the third day, the energy in his body surged, sweeping through every meridian.

Gold tier six.

Laira and Ruo Yan simultaneously felt the growth through their Partner bond. Ethan was about to take out more Crystals when a notification appeared.

[Warning.]

[Maximum stay duration on Floor 19 has been reached.]

[Participant must proceed to the next floor.]

[Failure to leave the current floor within 10 minutes will result in forced expulsion from the Abyss Tower.]

Ethan looked at the text.

"Three days."

Ruo Yan opened her eyes. "Each floor has a limit?"

"Seems like it."

Ethan stood up. He wasn’t disappointed. Three days was already a very long stretch of time. If every floor allowed a three-day stay, he still had a significant opportunity to push his strength higher.

"Let’s go."

Floor 20 was an underground city overrun with Corpse Demons. Laira charged in first, while Ethan and Ruo Yan handled the ones trying to close in from both sides.

Floor 21, a six-armed humanoid monster was held in place by the Necromancer. Ruo Yan’s Soul Threads locked its joints, creating a brief opening for Laira to drive a Thunder Flame longspear through its core.

Floor 22, Ethan drew Boundary Breaker for the first time. He amplified the energy only threefold, and the lightning round pierced straight through the weak point on the Boss’s forehead.

Floor 23, opponents began learning to dodge. Ethan had to use Thunder Wing to force firing angles.

Floor 24, all three were forced to fight together for the first time just to clear the floor.

Floor 25, Laira’s shoulder was torn open by a razor-sharp claw.

Floor 26, the Necromancer lost nearly half its body before Ruo Yan managed to recall it.

Each floor gave them only three days.

Clear it, cultivate, stabilize, then continue climbing.

The higher they went, the more Energy Crystals were consumed, and the pace of leveling gradually slowed. Going from Gold tier six to tier seven didn’t take too long, but tier eight was noticeably harder. By the time he touched tier nine, Ethan had to burn through many times the resources he’d needed before, while a portion of the energy was still being continuously shared with Laira and Ruo Yan.

QingLian had been right.

The Partner path was very powerful, but the resource cost was staggering.

When the door to Floor 27 opened, Ethan had reached Gold tier nine.

He stepped through first, Laira and Ruo Yan close behind.

No roars.

No monsters charging at them.

Before them was an enormous, pitch-black great hall. Stone pillars on either side rose so high their tops were completely lost in darkness. Across the walls, countless deep crimson patterns glowed on their own, bathing the entire hall in a faint blood-red hue.

Ethan stopped.

At the center of the great hall was a very large coffin.

Black.

Its lid was covered in characters he’d never seen before. Dozens of chains as thick as a wrist coiled around the coffin’s body, pulled taut to eight stone pillars surrounding it.

Laira immediately dropped her smile. Ruo Yan raised her hand, Soul Threads appearing between her fingers.

Ethan looked at the chains.

They weren’t slack at all.

They were straining, as though whatever was inside was still ceaselessly pushing outward.

All three stood motionless.

After a moment...

Knock.

The sound came from inside the coffin.

Laira lowered her center of gravity. Ethan narrowed his eyes, and the Soul Threads between Ruo Yan’s fingers tightened.

A few seconds passed.

Knock.

The second one was clearer.

Whatever lay inside the coffin was knocking from within.