"It's still not dead!"
Xu Yang clenched his fist and punched out. The strike blasted straight through the gatekeeper's body, leaving it riddled with cracks.
The gatekeeper stiffened. A moment later, it shattered with a BANG, turning into a torrent that converged toward the center and reformed into its original state.
At the same time, the passage leading to the second floor appeared beside Xu Yang.
He muttered to himself, "I have to hold back my strength. I can't clear the floors too fast."
He had already formulated a plan: he would clear the Seventh Layer, enter the eighth, and then immediately concede. This would ensure he made it onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List, placing just a bit behind Sun Tao. His rank couldn't be too low, though. Positions like ninety-eighth or ninety-ninth could easily be overtaken by others.
