Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

Amidst the flying blood and flesh, a jade slip shot out and was caught by Lin Chen.

The jade slip was warm to the touch, and a line of small characters was engraved on its surface:

"Climb the ladder to heaven and witness the true nature of things. If you dare not come, you will be forever trapped here, decaying with chaos."

At the same time, the door to the second floor of the Heavenly Evolution Tower opened silently.

Lin Chen looked at the deep doorway, then at the jade slip in his hand, and suddenly smiled.

"It seems like this is a level-based game."

He turned to the two women: "How are you feeling? Can you continue?"

After Su Qingxue finished recuperating, the wound on her left shoulder had stopped worsening: "I can fight."

Ye Qingcheng flexed her wrists: "Just warming up."

"Alright." Lin Chen put away the jade slip and took the lead in walking towards the Heavenly Evolution Tower. "Then let's climb up layer by layer and see what tricks this Heavenly Dao Alliance Leader is playing."

The three stepped into the tower.

The first floor was empty except for a staircase suspended in the center, leading to the entrance to the second floor.

Beside the steps stood a stone tablet with inscriptions:

"The Heavenly Evolution has nine layers, each layer bringing a tribulation. Those who succeed live, those who fail perish."

"Nine floors?" Ye Qingcheng raised an eyebrow. "After defeating the old man on this floor, are there eight more floors above?"

Su Qingxue noticed another detail: "The inscription says 'one tribulation per level,' not 'one trial per level.' I'm afraid that each level's test isn't entirely about martial prowess."

Lin Chen stepped onto the stairs: "You'll find out what it is once you get up there."

The staircase is short, with only forty-nine steps.

As the three stepped onto the last step and entered the second level of space, the stairs behind them suddenly disappeared.

The sight before them stunned all three of them.

The second level has no enemies and no formations.

There is only one wall.

The walls were covered with... photos.

Yes, it's a photograph.

Modern, color photographs.

The photos show familiar faces—

A profile view of Su Qingxue presiding over a meeting at the Su Group.

Photos of Ye Qingcheng training at an extreme sports club;

A candid photo of Shen Qingqiu preparing medicine in the laboratory;

A moment of Qin Yurou reading in the library during her university years;

Chu Ling'er's silhouette as she sketches in the ancient town;

Mu Qingyao's smiling face as she teaches children to sing in Luoyue Town;

The scene shows Luo Yunyi discussing data with her father at the research institute...

There are even old photos of Lin Chen himself practicing boxing in Kunlun Mountain, and various fragments of his time with the seven women after waking up in Xiaoyao Valley.

All the photos, spanning several years and taken from natural angles, clearly indicate long-term surveillance and surreptitious filming.

"These..." Su Qingxue's fingertips were icy cold. "They've been spying on us, not just recently."

Ye Qingcheng slammed her fist against the wall, frost spreading across her face: "These bastards! They've been treating us like prey for a long time!"

Lin Chen stared silently at the photo wall.

His gaze eventually fell on the largest photograph in the center of the wall.

That wasn't a candid shot, but a reproduction of a faded old photograph.

In the photo, eight babies lie side by side, each with a faint birthmark on their chest or forehead—the mark of the Seven Stars and Nine Suns.

Below the photo, there is a line of handwritten text:

"On the seventh day of the seventh month of the Jiazi year, the seven stars gather and the nine yangs are born. The heavenly secrets have been revealed, and a great era is about to begin."

The year Jiazi was exactly twenty-four years ago.

The day they were born.

Lin Chen reached out and gently touched the baby photo.

The moment your fingertip touches the photo, all the photos on the wall light up simultaneously, turning into countless points of light that intertwine and recombine in the air, eventually coalescing into a phantom human figure.

The figure's face was obscured, only that it was a man, standing with his hands behind his back, his voice ethereal:

"Lin Chen, Su Qingxue, Ye Qingcheng... Welcome to the second tribulation."

"This calamity is called 'Cause and Effect'."

"Have you ever wondered why it is precisely the eight of you who possess this special constitution? Why were you born in the same era? Why has fate so cleverly linked you together?"

The figure raised a hand, and the light spots shifted again, transforming into a series of historical scenes:

At the turn of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, a female priest with the body of Xuan Yin sacrificed herself to the heavens, delaying the collapse of the dynasty;

During the Qin and Han dynasties, a general with the Nine Yang Physique died on the battlefield, and his soul suppressed the dragon vein.

During the transition from the Tang to the Song dynasties, the seven-star physique appeared in the world one after another, only to perish or disappear in quick succession...

Every era of change has its share of individuals with special physical characteristics.

"Special constitution is not a blessing, but a curse."

The figure's voice was calm, yet every word was piercing:

"You are the chosen 'firewood,' burning yourselves when every great era is about to collapse, maintaining the balance of heaven and earth."

"And this time, it's your turn."

"What the Heavenly Alliance did was simply to accelerate this process—to gather the scattered firewood, ignite it at the optimal moment, and at the lowest cost, allow the world to continue for another thousand years."

"We are saving the world."

The figure looked at Lin Chen:

"You think the Seed of Chaos is an opportunity? You're wrong. It's a mark, a shackle, a 'spark' destined to burn with you."

"You think fusing the seven stars' essence is a stroke of luck? You're wrong. It's just the process of gathering firewood."

"You think defeating the Netherworld Sect and breaking through the Void Restriction is victory? You're wrong. That's just... following the script we've set, step by step, towards the altar."

The air was deathly still.

Su Qingxue and Ye Qingcheng both began to breathe rapidly.

These words are so hurtful.

If everything is pre-planned, if their struggles, efforts, encounters, and fights side by side are just part of someone else's script.

What's the point then?

"Nonsense!"

Ye Qingcheng shouted sharply, pointing her Frost Soul Sword at the figure: "My life is none of your business to dictate!"

The figure chuckled lightly: "Is that so? Then how do you explain why the Heart-Locking Curse specifically targeted you? Why the Netherworld Sect specifically targeted the Ye family? And why Lin Chen happened to appear at that time and save you?"

"Coincidence? Fate? Or... a carefully orchestrated 'plot device'?"

Ye Qingcheng's hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

Su Qingxue stared intently at the figure with her icy blue eyes: "Even if what you say is true, so what? The ones standing here now are ourselves."

"We are the ones who make the choice."

"Oh?" The figure turned to her. "Then do you know why your grandfather, Su Zhenbang, was so strict with you from a young age, forcing you to cultivate the Profound Yin Technique?"

"Doesn't he know that cultivating the Profound Yin Body to its deepest level will sever all emotions and nature, leading to a lonely old age?"

"Because that's the only way to reduce the pain when you're 'burning'."

Su Qingxue swayed slightly.

Lin Chen finally spoke.

He remained calm throughout, and at this moment he simply asked:

"Are you done talking?"

The figure paused. "You don't believe me?"

"I believe part of it." Lin Chen nodded. "The emergence of special physiques may indeed follow some kind of pattern, and the Heavenly Dao Alliance may indeed be pulling the strings behind the scenes."

"Even our meeting might have been influenced by them."

"But you said it was all a script, and we were just puppets—"

"Then explain why you didn't stop me when I broke through to the Nascent Soul stage within the Void Restriction?"