As Jiang Kai went deeper and deeper into the tunnel, the gravity grew stronger and stronger.
At this point, the gravity had already reached sixteen times normal gravity!
Jiang Kai could barely move his feet.
However, the little guy reported that those three people were still right behind him.
"These people are so determined to kill me. They must be Huang Jianguo's men." Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes. "There's a good chance they're also weird profession users!"
Last time, Jiang Kai had already defeated two fifth-tier weird profession users. Huang Jianguo would've learned his lesson by now, so the three coming this time must be much stronger.
"They might even be sixth-tier!"
However, Jiang Kai himself could no longer endure the current gravity. If he kept moving forward, he might get crushed to death under it. But if he turned back, that would also be a dead end.
Right now, he was caught between a rock and a hard place!
That gambler senior really was a damned con man!
No matter what, Jiang Kai couldn't stop now. Even under sixteen times gravity, he had to keep moving forward.
After walking for a bit, he found that the tunnel ahead split into three separate paths.
Seeing the three-way fork, Jiang Kai's mind flickered — this fork might just be his chance!
He made some fake traces on the other two paths, then went down the third one.
After going further in, the gravity kept increasing rapidly, and soon it had reached nineteen times normal gravity.
The little guy reported that the three enemies had split into three directions, with the old man now following behind him.
But in Jiang Kai's current condition, any fight — win or lose — would mean his death!
Besides, any sounds of battle here would surely draw the other two over as well.
Jiang Kai dragged his heavy body, breathing hard and fast, as he continued to move forward.
When the gravity finally reached twenty times, he suddenly saw a faint light coming from the end of the tunnel.
By now, the overwhelming gravity had far exceeded his limits. Jiang Kai had already collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
But that faint light in front of him gave him a final shred of hope. He crawled toward the brightness with all his strength.
At the end of the light stood a building.
Jiang Kai crawled up to it and raised his eyes to the plaque above the front gate.
"Seven-Tier Pagoda!"
The building indeed had seven levels. Jiang Kai didn't care what kind of place it was — he crawled straight inside.
Inside the pagoda, the crushing gravity still remained at that terrifying twentyfold level. As soon as he entered, the massive doors shut tightly behind him.
Then, the system voice rang out suddenly:
> [Congratulations on entering the cultivation ruin — Seven-Tier Pagoda.
As the first to enter, you may cultivate here alone for seven hours.]
Jiang Kai's eyes widened. This was a cultivation ruin?
And the key point — he could cultivate here for seven hours!
"No, wait… with this kind of gravity, can I even last seven hours?" Jiang Kai grew anxious.
He had come to find an exit, not a cultivation ground! It was like a man dying of thirst being handed a loaf of bread...
Once he left here, that would probably be the day he died!
"Wait... if I can break through to the fifth tier, I should be able to handle this gravity!" Jiang Kai furrowed his brows. "Since this is a cultivation ruin, maybe the effects will be enhanced — it could help me break through!"
Thinking that, Jiang Kai stopped hesitating and pulled out the Heaven's Wrath class change material.
He opened the metal cap and drank it all in one go.
Then he sat down and entered meditation.
As the class-change material flowed into his body, Jiang Kai immediately felt something was wrong.
Normally, when taking cultivation materials, a warm current would flow through his body first, then his flesh would heat up as the materials began to remodel him.
But this time, the moment he drank the potion, his whole body burned with intense, unbearable heat!
He didn't know if it was because of the extreme gravity, or because this was a transformation from a mortal to a transcendent class.
"So hot!" Jiang Kai tore off his clothes, but the burning sensation didn't lessen at all.
Now it felt like his internal organs were about to be scorched to ashes!
He had already been on the brink of collapse before this — and under these conditions, the pain of class changing was magnified several times over. Blood poured from all seven of his orifices as Jiang Kai nearly lost consciousness!
But his last thread of reason kept screaming at him — if he passed out here, he'd really die!
"No… can't die here… so hot… it hurts… I can't… take it…"
His consciousness was fading. If he lost it during the transformation, dying or disconnecting would be the least of his worries — the class change itself might fail!
After holding on for nearly an hour, his mind was nearly gone. What kept him going now was sheer instinct.
"Jiang Kai… hold on… hold on… don't let them win… you have to surpass the mortal limits… or else… big brother, Yingzi, everyone…"
Even being able to endure this far was already a miracle — his willpower was monstrous. But after another two hours, Jiang Kai finally collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"Little guy… run… I might be… dying…" Those were Jiang Kai's last words.
He had no chance to see what the Seven-Tier Pagoda looked like. On the empty first floor, Jiang Kai lay sideways on the ground.
The floor beneath him was already dyed red with his blood.
Just then, a small black mouse darted to his side. It first licked at the blood on the ground, then looked up at the man lying there.
The first time they met was back in the Newbie Trial Zone — that man had taken it away from that cursed place where it could never escape.
The second time, the man had saved it from someone cruel and sinister.
And this was their third meeting.
Three times, this human had always treated it kindly, never once hurting it — only helping it again and again.
Thinking of this, the little creature came to Jiang Kai's face and gently touched his cheek with its tiny paw.
It had once tried to save a human — but that human caught it in return. Yet this time, it knew — this human was worth saving.
The little one stuck out its tongue and gently licked Jiang Kai's face…
———————
Outside the Seven-Tier Pagoda, an old man appeared before the gates, walking with heavy steps.
"Seven-Tier Pagoda? A cultivation ruin?" he snorted coldly. "So that woman, Heart-Eater, was right — Ghost Star is full of strange opportunities indeed."
"Still… how many ruins does Ghost Star even have?"
"Humans are so insignificant. Huaxia, Earth — they should've given up long ago and embraced Ghost Star's will!"
Muttering, the old man reached out to push open the door of the pagoda — but just then, he received a system alert.
> [The first discoverer is currently cultivating. Remaining time: 5 hours 2 minutes. Please wait patiently.]
"Heh heh… Jiang Kai, Jiang Kai. You sure found yourself quite the hiding spot. But with gravity this high — even I find it tough. You, a mere fourth-tier class, lasting this long is impressive already. Think you can last a few more hours?"
"I just hope you don't actually die in there. We need you alive, after all."
"Oh well. I'll just wait out here. Gives me time to adapt to the gravity myself."
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