On the empty Path of Inheritance, Qin Ruqing suddenly leapt up, cautiously surveying her surroundings.

Scattered around were many “corpses,” or more accurately, bodies whose consciousness had left them.

Qin Ruqing’s awakening seemed to trigger something, as these bodies began to stir until everyone was fully awake.

“We’ve left the sea of consciousness.”

“Finally! That method really worked!”

The Path of Inheritance gradually became noisy again, but it felt even more desolate than before.

These outstanding individuals keenly noticed that something seemed to be missing from the path.

Qin Ruqing’s eyes narrowed as she immediately realized it was the rules!

The once-complex and overwhelming rule power on the Path of Inheritance had been completely exhausted.

Now the Path was empty, with no more obstacles.

This meant…

Qin Ruqing instantly looked up at the six pillars of light in front of her, realizing for the first time how close they were.

Clearly, the others had noticed too.

“The rules have disappeared!”

“The Path of Inheritance is no longer endless!”

“Does this mean we can directly go to receive the inheritance?!”

There was a brief murmur of voices, which then suddenly fell silent, so quiet that it seemed everyone could hear each other’s heartbeats.

Previously, they had taken their time, busy with resisting the tests of the rules, sabotaging their opponents, fighting… all because they knew that no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t reach the pillars of light in a short time.

The six pillars of light had always maintained a fixed distance from them, impossible to approach.

But now, the pillars were right in front of them.

All the outstanding individuals received the same message in their minds:

“The most critical moment has arrived! Before, there was no race; now, every second counts!”

In an instant, everyone moved.

Feng Mingyue tossed her ribbon, gracefully leaping onto it, her toes tapping on the ribbon as she vanished like the wind.

Fifth Youlin stepped on his sword, a green flash, and he disappeared.

Tang Zifeng stood calmly on top of a bell.

Although the bell moved slowly, none of his competitors from the same Dao lineage dared to race against him.

Lu Wei also took her time, serenely summoning her alchemy furnace.

Qi Rong scratched his head, initially planning to summon his giant gauntlets, but suddenly remembered that he ran faster with his legs, so he just took off running, each stride covering ten feet.

…

The crowd surged forward, but there were only two people heading towards the golden pillar representing the Qinglian(Azure Lutos) Dao lineage.

Qin Ruqing and Fifth Lingyu.

They dashed out simultaneously, ahead of everyone else, without a word, and Qin Ruqing didn’t even glance at Fifth Lingyu.

From the moment the invisible horn was sounded, Qin Ruqing had only one goal.

That was to obtain the true, complete inheritance that belonged to her alone!!

With her feet on the small lotus, Qin Ruqing activated it with spiritual energy, even adding her life force fire.

When Tang Zofeng initially crafted the small lotus for her, he had added attributes for critical strikes and speed.

Now, with the speed maxed out, Qin Ruqing shot forward, leaving behind a trail of golden-red afterimages.

Qin Ruqing was satisfied with her speed but soon noticed someone closely following her, just one position behind.

Turning her head, she saw Fifth Lingyu’s wide sleeves fluttering in the wind.

Her gaze fell on his clothes, and she asked somewhat out of the blue:

“Director, why haven’t I seen you wear bright clothes since we entered the Immortal Tomb?”

Before, this show-off used to wear such bright colors—highly saturated royal blue, gold with large embroidered patterns, and even flamboyant purple.

But after entering the Immortal Tomb, he was dressed entirely in black.

Fifth Lingyu’s upturned eyes glanced at Qin Ruqing:

“What, is there a problem?”

“Heh, no problem, no problem, just curious. But Qingqing still thinks you look better in bright colors.”

This was an honest truth.

With his striking looks, he could pull off those bold colors.

Although he looked good in gray and black, it inevitably took away from his unique flair.

Fifth Lingyu’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t continue the conversation.

The golden pillar of light, symbolizing the green lotus, was getting closer.

Qin Ruqing channeled her spiritual energy to its maximum, pushing her speed even further.

But then, in her peripheral vision, a figure flashed past—it was Fifth Lingyu!

He was actually faster than her and had overtaken her on the curve!

His personal weapon, that golden ring, whatever its level, spun even faster than her small lotus.

Qin Ruqing inwardly gnashed her teeth.

No wonder he was a celestial-grade individual; he had so many good things.

Her small lotus was a semi-divine artifact, but looking at it now, Fifth Lingyu’s golden ring was definitely no less than her small lotus.

In such a situation, Qin Ruqing couldn’t help but feel conflicted about whether to catch up.

Her speed… with some sacrifice, she could increase it.

However, the inheritance trial hadn’t even started yet.

Who knew what other challenges lay ahead?

If she exhausted her energy now, what would she do later?

The key point was that Qin Ruqing didn’t believe that such a high-level inheritance would be a first-come, first-served affair.

So, after a moment of inner struggle, Qin Ruqing calmly maintained her original speed.

Even though Fifth Lingyu overtook her, she didn’t force herself to speed up.

Fifth Lingyu was the first to reach the barrier of the green lotus pillar of light.

As he felt the energy waves emanating from within, a complex emotion swirled in his eyes.

It seemed like excitement, but not just excitement.

Without wasting time, Fifth Lingyu intended to enter.

His whole body submerged into the barrier, and the golden pillar of light flashed brilliantly, sending out ripples.

Not long after, it actually “spat” Fifth Lingyu back out.

Fifth Lingyu’s eyes narrowed, and Qin Ruqing, who was still a distance away, was shocked.

What the heck!

How did he get bounced back out!

Does the green lotus pillar not allow entry?

Fifth Lingyu first frowned, then seemed to understand something, and his expression darkened, his distinct fingers unconsciously clenching into a fist.

Suddenly, he turned to look back in the direction he came from, just as Qin Ruqing arrived at the spot.

Their eyes met.

Qin Ruqing’s heart skipped a beat and suddenly flipped.

Her body spun vertically 180 degrees in the air, her hands quickly forming seals, and a golden lotus appeared in her palm.

She directly hurled it towards the person below.

Fifth Lingyu’s golden ring had somehow straightened into a golden spear.

The killing intent from the spear was terrifying, and its slashing force distorted the space.

Failing to land a hit, it turned upwards.

A spear and a lotus clashed fiercely in mid-air, then separated like lightning.

In just the span of a single breath, the two had seemingly agreed to strike simultaneously, each aiming for the other’s fatal point—a deadly move.

Qin Ruqing landed on the ground, pulling back to create some distance, before turning to gaze intently at Fifth Lingyu.

Qin Ruqing’s black eyes remained calm, as if she wasn’t at all surprised by Fifth Lingyu’s sudden attack.

She even smiled and called out cheerfully, “Director, why the sudden attack? You gave Qingqing quite a scare!”

Fifth Lingyu lightly brushed the shaft of his halberd with his right hand, lifting his gaze to respond indifferently, “A scare? It doesn’t seem that way. You reacted quite quickly.”

Her demeanor, more suited to someone about to blow up than someone scared, didn’t show any sign of fear.

Qin Ruqing chuckled, “What can I say? When dealing with the Director, Qingqing always has her guard up, especially in Penglai. I was constantly worried that one day you’d wake up in the middle of the night and slit Qingqing’s throat. So, I had no choice but to practice countermeasures in my mind over and over. That’s the only reason I could react like this today.”

Fifth Lingyu’s lips twitched slightly. “You were already on guard back in Penglai? What, did I not treat you well there? I provided you with so many resources, and even the Heaven-level rewards for passing the Four Hells—those cost the very foundation of the Four Hells. And that made you wary of me? That really breaks my heart…”

His tone was tender, but it didn’t stop him from sliding his fingers down the halberd, gripping it tightly midway, then flipping his wrist.

A flash of cold light reflected the killing intent in his eyes.

He attacked again!

Qin Ruqing met his strike head-on, cursing inwardly while simultaneously countering with lethal force.

But her tone remained light, “Tch, even when raising pigs, you use the best feed, fatten them up, and then kill them. Who doesn’t understand that logic?”

Ever since she realized that Fifth Lingyu harbored some ulterior motives for using her, Qin Ruqing never hesitated to take anything from the Fifth family.

After all, the danger was always there; if she didn’t take it, she might end up with nothing when her life was on the line.

But if she took it, the tangible benefits were in her hands, and those might even help her withstand future risks.

So, while everyone else was rushing toward the pillars of light, which were flickering more frequently, Qin Ruqing and Fifth Lingyu were locked in a life-and-death battle right at the entrance to the inheritance.

Tang Zifeng, unconcerned with speed, had just reached the pillar of light representing the Five Elements Dao lineage.

Just as he was about to enter, he sensed something and turned to look in a certain direction.

Tang Zifeng had sensed the fluctuations of the little lotus flower.

Such intense reactions… could something have happened to Qingqing?

Frowning, he was about to turn back, but the light from the pillar behind him suddenly flared, pulling him in directly.