As those words ended, their ringing echoes lingered over the vast, ancient wasteland of the twelfth floor.
Between heaven and earth, the wind abruptly stopped and the air grew still.
All clamor faded, and solemn silence settled over the world.
The last traces of hesitation, misgivings, and unease in everyone's eyes vanished completely.
In their place rose towering fighting spirit, pent up in their hearts through seven full years of secluded, arduous cultivation.
For seven years, they had lain low, honing their blades and concealing their edge.
Today, they emerged, and their swords would ring out!
Shiheng stood in the center of the wasteland with his hands behind his back, his bearing upright, untouched by dust or frost.
The top-tier Highgod Artifacts covering him had all withdrawn their radiance, appearing plain and unassuming, without the slightest outward show of power.
Yet only he knew that, after seven years of nurturing and honing them day and night, his physical foundation, soul strength, and attunement to his artifacts had already reached flawless perfection within his current realm, without a single weakness or opening.
Shiheng raised his eyes slightly, his profound gaze piercing layer upon layer of mist to reach the deepest part of the void.
There stretched a hazy boundary spanning the ancient heavens and earth, vast and ponderous, dividing yin from yang.
This was the age-old chasm that completely separated the thirteenth and Fourteenth Layer, and the true dividing line of the Tomb of the Gods' deeper reaches.
"Everyone, ready your gear. We're entering the Fourteenth Layer."
The command rang out, crisp, decisive, and forceful, without a trace of hesitation.
Every member of the team grew solemn, discarded all distracting thoughts, and rose to ready their gear.
Tarrossa held a top-tier Highgod defensive artifact, his divine beast bloodline lying deeply dormant