As for the two unlucky souls, one had been knocked unconscious by rocks fifty times and forced offline, while the other's unlimited endurance had left them wrapped in bandages, looking every bit like a mummy.
Kaitis sighed, reached out, and patted Kou Ying's face.
"Hey, wake up. Your friends have all completed their Rank Advancement. Aren't you anxious?"
Kou Ying's eyes snapped open, waking as though rising from the dead, and a hand reached out shakily.
"Help me up. I can advance!"
Before the hand could rise, it suddenly dropped.
Kaitis grabbed Kou Ying's shoulders and shook them frantically.
"Hey, don't die! At least get up and advance before you sleep. You've absorbed enough energy. You're just one final step away."
Kou Ying extended a finger. A speck of darkness at the fingertip gradually expanded into something like a balloon, enveloping Kou Ying.
Kaitis and the other two backed away, watching the swollen mass of dark shadow bounce a few times, round and smooth, like pitch-black herbal jelly.
Then layers of dark shadow peeled away, like a black lotus of death blooming. The falling shadow petals merged into the ground and vanished completely, and Kou Ying quietly entered the seventh tier.
Kaitis struck his right palm with his left fist, suddenly seeing the light.
"Oh, this is a bit like that legend from Great Xia. Lotus Root Body Formation!"
Gerard snorted. "It's obviously different, all right?"
Kaitis clicked his tongue. "You really have something to say about everything, foul-mouthed knight. Going on a mission with you was my rotten luck."
Gerard did not even bother looking at him.
"Likewise. I have no desire to see you either, you famously graceless fool."
Morkov covered his ears helplessly. Here those two went again. When could he go back?
At this very moment,