Silence!
A silence Zhou Heng could not even describe. Though he had lived two lives, though he had once sought out places of tranquility, he had never experienced such stillness. Even his footsteps on the stairs made not the slightest sound. He could not even hear his own breathing.
There was nothing unusual about the entire ascending stairway in the darkness. Apart from the absence of sound, everything was exquisite. Zhou Heng held his breath and focused, suspecting this was some kind of trial. He steadied himself as he walked upward. Suddenly, he heard a sound...
"Already forty. Why have you not advanced?" The sudden voice made Zhou Heng's heart tighten. Without hesitation, he answered firmly, "I don't have a Fourth-Turn Credential."
The Longevity Family maintained an iron grip on class advancement certificates. Wild monsters could not possibly drop them. This was something Zhou Heng had always wondered about: just what methods had the Longevity Family used to restrict resource drops and increase wild monsters' attributes? Class advancement certificates were one example, and the wild monsters with abnormal attributes in the Land of Longevity were another.
"It has been a very, very long time since I last saw... a human..."
"Come see me in the depths... I look forward to your... arrival... I have little... strength left..."
As the deep, resonant voice faded, the path that had consisted of a single White Staircase instantly expanded, spreading throughout the dark space in staggering numbers. Zhou Heng did not know what this was for. Suddenly, a trial panel appeared before him.
Grand Trial · One Detected that you hold 18 "Star Sways." Find 982 "Star Sways," find the one correct path, and hang all 1,000 "Star Sways" high. Trial duration: 3 years
The instant Zhou Heng saw the trial duration,