Steps Halted by Confusion

At last, the forty-eighth cycle had ended.

Liu Xiaoxiao's vision went black, then quickly brightened again.

This time, however, Liu Xiaoxiao did not reappear in a bathroom. Instead, he found himself atop a small hill.

The sky was still dim, but a hint of red was slowly rising at the edge of the horizon.

Liu Xiaoxiao looked around and saw Zhang Shiwen standing beside him, gently gathering up her loose hair.

"Rest for a while," Zhang Shiwen said. "Breaking through this endless cycle won't be as simple as you think. If you want to succeed, you need to come up with a strategy."

Liu Xiaoxiao nodded and sat down with his arms around his knees. Zhang Shiwen sat beside him, resting her head against his shoulder and nestling close to him.

The rising sun slowly climbed into the sky, dyeing half the heavens gold. Before long, the entire sky had turned blue.

With one arm around Zhang Shiwen, Liu Xiaoxiao asked softly, "Where are we?"

"Douluo Continent twenty thousand years ago," Zhang Shiwen replied. "This is a mountaintop near the eastern coast of Douluo Continent, where the sun rises first."

Liu Xiaoxiao looked at her. The Zhang Shiwen before him possessed the beauty and figure she had borne through several lifetimes; calling her perfect would not have been an exaggeration.

Yet he could see a faint sorrow in Zhang Shiwen's eyes.

Of course, he understood. Zhang Shiwen felt sorry for him and did not want him to keep challenging that trial over and over. After all, the agony of death was difficult for anyone to endure.

But could he really stop?

His companions had always believed that he could bring Zhang Shiwen back, and they had been waiting for him all along.

Although time passed differently in this dream than