Kael and Rue dressed in silence.
Rue adjusted her combat attire, her cheeks still carrying a faint pink flush. Her tails swayed lazily—swish, swish—and she kept stealing glances at Kael.
"I'm going up," Kael said, nodding toward the stairway to the eighth floor. "See what I can find there."
Rue perked up. "I'll come along."
They walked to the stairway. Kael took the first step.
WHUUUM!
A strong pressure crashed down onto his body. He paused, letting his Early Tier 5 Void Body absorb the impact. It was heavy—heavier than the seventh floor by a significant margin. The pressure tested his bones, his muscles, his organs—everything.
He took the second step. WHUUUM. The pressure intensified. Then the third. WHUUUM.
He stopped. The pressure was undeniably at the Tier 5 level. If he hadn't broken through to Early Tier 5 just hours ago, climbing this stairway would have been nearly very difficult. He would have likely been forced back like the cultivators on the floors below.
