The Cockroach-like Girl Is My Beast

The next moment, an inheritor whose status was still decent exerted force under his feet, attempting to rush towards the mountain summit.

However, just after taking a couple of steps, the young man's face suddenly changed, as if struck on the forehead by an invisible giant hammer, and he flew straight back, tumbling several times over the rocky terrain.

At the last moment, he reacted, grabbing a large stone with his hand, thus preventing himself from completely falling off the mountain.

This change caused everyone to halt, cautiously assessing their surroundings.

This challenge indeed wasn't just simple climbing.

Lin Guang also took a step.

Whoosh—

An invisible repulsive force assaulted him head-on, trying to fling him away.

This repulsive force seemed to act simultaneously on the spirit and the body, requiring him to concentrate his Spiritual Power and exert force under his feet to break through.

He forced himself to stabilize his footing, pinning his body in place, accomplishing this step forward.

Yet with the breakthrough of the repulsive force… a shallow wound suddenly appeared on his cheek, from which a trickle of bright red Blood Pearl emerged.

"..."

A faint sense of pain emerged, not only from the wound on his face but also a slight burning sensation radiating from his consciousness and soul.

Advancing against this layer of repulsion incurs defensive attacks?

Lin Guang's gaze flickered.

— Physical injury leading to mental injury? Or is it the other way around?

— No, in this situation, there is no difference between the two; any mental damage reflects onto the body, and vice versa.

Moreover, after leaving the starting point, just standing still would bring a faint repulsive force, requiring concentrated attention to withstand it.

This means…

Lin Guang murmured, "Not even allowing meditation on the spot."

Is this forcing someone to sprint directly to the summit?

But if not even meditation is allowed, those trial takers with poor condition at the back, how long can their Spiritual Power hold out?

Is there any supply left from the first hurdle?

But… there's no more time to think.

Without any hesitation, Lin Guang retrieved an elixir that could heal the body, a reward from the first trial he had saved until now, and put it into his mouth, thereafter Spiritual Power surged, the shattered heart in his Sea of Spirit began to shine brightly like a great sun.

Dark golden Spiritual Power started to spread throughout his body.

In an instant, the impact of the repulsive force on Lin Guang diminished considerably.

He began to climb with a relatively normal speed, akin to race walking.

Trace by trace of blood scars appeared on Lin Guang's body, yet they healed at an abnormal speed.

Almost at the same time, various phenomena appeared on the bodies of others.

Zuo Qingtian's entire body turned black, as if rapidly devouring the surrounding light.

Jiang Nalan's entire body seemed to reflect surrounding light, becoming shimmering.

Du Qing was surrounded by Holy Light.

Zhao Yue began phasing.

Patches of black scales started to appear on the skin of Heaven-slaying Demon, as if wearing armor.

Everyone immediately reacted, and following suit, various lights burst forth from their bodies.

Almost everyone simultaneously endured the secret realm's assault, commencing their forward march step by step.

— Almost at the same time, everyone understood how to pass this challenge.

The damage sustained with each step seemed irresistible, directly affecting their bodies.

Yet this didn't mean the trial takers' abilities were nullified.

Quite the contrary, what should be done now is to use one's abilities as much as possible to protect the spirit, reduce the damage taken, heal bodily injuries with the elixirs left from the first challenge, or rely on self-healing abilities, climbing up toughly.

But…

This also made the reserves of elixirs for recovery status crucial.

During the second challenge, many had been forced to rely on medications to endure the punishment, delaying time inside hoping for True Man rescue or for someone to win inheritance; their status was already poor, completely lacking rest or supply, initially able to briefly rally due to the opening of the third trial.

But just ten minutes later, they clearly showed signs of fatigue, having to slow down to avoid being flung away by the repulsive force and falling off the unknown height of the Celestial Ladder Mountain.

The climbers were already clearly divided into three groups.

The leading six almost undoubtedly passed the second challenge, being those who earned recovery rights.

While the dozen or so in the middle could still maintain their speed, considered the second group.

Those at the back seemed to be falling behind, getting further from those in front.

In just over ten minutes, the leading six widened the height gap by forty to fifty meters from the last few.

The last young man suddenly halted.

Breathing heavily a few times, his eyes bloodshot, his entire status severely off, clearly on the verge of collapsing.

Climbing and resisting the repulsive force already consumed Spiritual Power, let alone having to endure injuries.

His complexion varied for a few seconds, then suddenly he took out the Inheritance Compass, with his right hand's back glowing with Spirit Patterns, a massive, scar-ridden figure of a Bone-winged Dragon appeared behind him.

Stepping forward, no wounds appeared on the young man's body; instead, scratches began appearing on the Bone-winged Dragon behind him.

Revived in spirit, he moved more lightly and rapidly in climbing this high mountain.

But after just a few minutes, a crisp "crack" sound echoed.

— His rear, the Bone-winged Dragon's already tattered bone wings were forcibly broken by an invisible force.

The phantasmal figure of the Bone-winged Dragon raised its head and let out a long, painful wail.

Clearly, this is just as mentioned in the earlier transmission—using the Spirit Beast to bear the constraints.

This is also the real damage that Spirit Beasts cannot resist with Ether!

Moreover, this damage clearly continues the characteristics of the second trial; if the Trial Taker transfers the injury, then the Spirit Beast will be hurt even more!

But...

Some people no longer care about all that.

The last few Inheritors have already taken out their Inheritance Compasses, summoned their Spirit Beast phantoms, and quickly began ascending.

Swish—

Invisible blades cut into the Spirit Beast's body, causing blood or bodily fluids to flow, bringing pain, yet the physical strength of Spirit Beasts is far superior to Spirit Masters, so it's not too damaging in the short term.

With the help of the Spirit Beast's power, the trailing few barely caught up with the majority.

However, as the ascent continued, the steep mountain itself became a hindrance.

The slope of this mountain had already exceeded 55 degrees, with jagged rocks everywhere.

The physical quality of Three-Star Spirit Masters far surpasses that of ordinary people, but under various extra pressures, climbing such a slope is also a torment, and a slight misstep could lead to a fall.

Thirty minutes after the third trial began.

Jiang Nalan, in first place, was nearly a hundred meters ahead of the last person.

Everyone was approaching silence.

The trial had reached a point far beyond mere inheritance acquisition.

Under the constant pain and burning sensation, most people were thinking about... how to hold on and survive.

Some Trial Takers even began to harbor resentment toward the True Men outside for their inaction.

After all, they were swept into this inexplicable life-and-death crisis, now reduced to fighting for their lives. The responsibility for this lies completely with the True Men outside.

And on this isolated Celestial Ladder Mountain, apart from the sound of wind, footsteps, and heartbeats, all that remained were heavy breaths and curses that only they themselves could hear.

Only a few could maintain calm.

[Let me take the burden for a while, you should rest a bit.]

At this moment, Lin Guang heard Chelina's voice in his mind as he climbed: [I can feel that as you gain more permissions, the restrictions on recovery speed here are lessening. If it's just this level, I should be fine.]

Lin Guang grabbed a rock beside him, used his arm to pull himself up.

Meanwhile, a bloodstain suddenly appeared on his neck, and the burning sensation again echoed in the Sea of Spirit.

Yet even so, his movements remained incredibly stable, seemingly unaffected, like the most precise machine, with the fluctuation of Spiritual Power resounding in his mind: [No need, I can still endure.]

[I already hold 15% of the core authority, equivalent to one-seventh of the entire inheritance, but even so, your regeneration still requires consuming several times the Ether, and the recovery speed is only a fraction of the outside world.]

[Even for me, it's like this; not to mention the others.]

[The Secret Realm Master's intention to exhaust everyone's Spirit Beast status is all too obvious.]

Chelina wanted to say something: [But—]

Lin Guang gently interrupted, with an unyielding tone simulated through Spiritual Power: [It's not time yet.]

[Even if I really need you to take the burden, it won't be now.]

[This is a life-and-death crisis.]

[If I wish to keep you alive, I must seize every opportunity and not waste it.]

Just like Lin Guang said, most of the front and middle-ranked Inheritors had not summoned their Spirit Beasts, relying on their bodies and Spiritual Power to climb step by step, enduring damage, clearly with similar thoughts in mind.

Upon hearing these words, Vishdair in the Sea of Spirit pursed her lips.

Though she was still displeased with Lin Guang's stubbornness, she was too exhausted due to Ether depletion and slow recovery to say anything that might interfere with Lin Guang's climbing.

However.

Because the Spirit Beasts in the Sea of Spirit can only share vision and hearing, and Lin Guang seemed to never have his gaze on himself,

The three girls didn't see it.

The wounds on Lin Guang's body that appeared and healed, the blood seeping at this moment, was no longer simply bright red.

But…

It began to carry speckles of dark-gold glow, similar to the color of his Spiritual Power.

And in the boy's breathing, some sounds seemed different from before, as if a muddled noise echoed in his chest cavity.

Like... there was a foreign object.

In his deep and dignified dark-gold pupils, the diamond-shaped phantasmal figure lingered.

[Heart of Terra (Purple)]

[Evolution Level: 26% → 27%]

[Status: Ore Disease (Mild) → (Moderate)]

......…

A few minutes ago.

Outside the Inheritance Secret Realm.

Celestial Ladder Mountain Secret Realm.

At this moment, doomsday-like scenes began to descend upon this Tier Seven Secret Realm.

The Ether storm continued to intensify.

The swirling Ether particles formed shapes resembling accretion discs or large funnels, spread across hundreds of kilometers, nearly occupying the center of Celestial Ladder Mountain.

```