"Damn it!"
Xuefeng's curses were growing stronger with each step as he struggled to place even one. Once he broke through the nine hundred and fiftith floor, the pressure increase was just too much.
'The Dragon Tower spirit is targeting you again!' Ming announced annoyed. 'The pressure shouldn't be this strong compared to the other floors.'
'Ugh! Help me fight it!' Xuefeng grunted, finally collapsing onto his knees. Even though he was on the stairs, they seemed so comfortable to lay down on.
Too bad, he knew that once he stops, he won't be able to get up again.
'We can't help you else this bish Spirit will kick you out of the tower,' Ling reminded. 'You need to use your physical strength to fight it.'
"Fuck!" Xuefeng cursed again through his tightened teeth.
His whole body was in horrible pain as the Titan Bloodline was running on fumes. The moment his fuel ends, the pressure will crush him.
He continued to climb on his four limbs despite his palms and knees hurting like a bitch when Ming suddenly exclaimed in his mind.
'Wait! I got an idea!'
Those were the words he wanted to hear.
'We can try burning your Titan Blood to create a burst of energy that can help you break through the last fifty floors. The only disadvantage is you will lose your Titan Bloodline,' Ming explained but Xuefeng didn't hesitate in his response.
'Do it!'
He didn't climb so far just to give up right at the very end.
Ba-dum!
Just as he shouted, his heart gave the loudest beat ever, pumping blood like mad. Juices of energy flowed through his veins as his body exploded with power.
'First drop!'
"Aaargh!!!" Xuefeng yelled on top of his lungs as he pounced forward like a tiger. Climbing the stairs like never before.
First...
Second...
Ninth…
Xuefeng reached another Cursed Fragment door which he smashed like an ape, both hands slamming it into oblivion. He seized the Fragment and continued, using the momentum to cross as much as he could.
'Second drop!'
After twenty-five floors, Ming cried out again. Another wave of energy filled his body, pushing him to the limits. He noticed the efficiency was much lower but he didn't pay it any attention, breaking through one floor after another.
'Third drop! It's the last one! You can do it! Only ten floors left!'
Despite her cheering, Ming's voice was filled with pain. She could feel how horrible the condition of Xuefeng was.
He wasn't blinded either, the pain keeping his mind awake.
"Cough! Cough!"
Xuefeng spat out blood as he ran, his eyes all red and muscles trembling. There was a limit to how much one could take.
'Yiren…'
His legs moved on their own as a picture of his lovely Yiren appeared in his mind.
How much pain was he causing her? Was this artefact worthy of his wife's pain?
Thud!
At the nine hundred ninety-ninth floor, Xuefeng finally collapsed. His sight was blurry, Titan Blood burned completely and his body pressed firmly against the ground. The force didn't even let him lift his finger.
He just wanted to rest. He wanted to rest so badly.
'Xuefeng!'
A soft voice resounded in his mind but he was too weak to even think of a response.
'Baby, are you okay? Talk to us!'
His wives' voices filled his mind but there was nothing he could do. His body was half-destroyed with his muscles raptured and blood slowly spilling onto the floor.
'Don't move for a moment. I will stop the bleeding first,' Ling ordered, doing everything in her power to regenerate his body and keep him alive.
'Damn, it's all my fault…' Ming admitted with guilt. 'I thought we can make it and then focus on recovery… The burning of Bloodline drops can bring marvelous power but the side effects are unpredictable.'
'Will he be okay?' Wuying questioned worriedly and they all received good news.
'His condition is stable. I stopped the bleeding and started the recovery of his muscles,' Ling reported before sighing. 'Unfortunately, that will take me at least a day to patch up and the time will only extend further the more he stays in the Dragon Tower. The pressure is ripping his muscles as soon as I repair them.'
'We almost made it… So close to the top...' Princess Shan muttered. 'Is there really no other… Nevermind.'
She didn't finish her sentence but everyone knew what she wanted to say. It was the pain to reach the very top and fail right at the end but Xuefeng's life was their priority.
'Is Yiren okay…?' Xuefeng finally spoke, recovering enough to form sentences in his mind.
'Mhmm, I'm okay. Lisa was next to me the whole time,' Yiren assured softly. 'Don't worry about me. I didn't feel any pain at all.'
'I'm glad… Cough!' Xuefeng replied, coughing madly as he found it hard to breathe. 'I'm sorry. I failed you all.'
'No! Don't say that! You did your best,' Yiren scolded. 'That's all that matters.'
'I didn't try hard enough… I was too laid back…' Xuefeng self-reflected before asking seriously, finishing Shan's question. 'Is there really no other way? We just need one more floor.'
'Even if we find a way…' Ming replied with a pause. 'Your body might not handle it. You already broke the limits by multi-fold.'
'Then what do you expect me to do? Get down and give up?' Xuefeng asked but his question brought a silence until the wife who stayed silent this whole time spoke up.
'Stop babying him. He can still do it,' Nuwa announced, awakening a wave of criticism from the rest.
'Nuwa! His body can't take it! He will—' Ming cried out, but Nuwa cut her off.
'Shut up! I know he can! I didn't marry a pussy!' Nuwa called out angrily before she cursed at him. 'Get up you bitch! Are you going to lay down on the ground forever?! You only have one floor to go! Get up and get to the top!'
'I know what you are doing but it won't work…' Xuefeng replied calmly. 'I can't—'
'Bullshit! You are just searching for excuses! Is this really the man I married?!' Nuwa yelled. 'What happened to Xuefeng that would laugh the death in the eyes?!'
Even though Xuefeng would rarely get angry, Nuwa was going overboard. 'Nuwa—'
'Don't speak my name! My Xuefeng would get up no matter what happened and achieve his goals! I don't recognize you! Where did you hide my man?!' Nuwa questioned madly, pushing Xuefeng's ego.
'I'm trying!' Xuefeng cried out as he tried to get up but the pain paralyzed his body again, bringing him back down. The muscles that Ling patched up ripped once again.
'You are not trying! If you were, you wouldn't let Yiren suffer so much! You would use the power stored deep within you and defeat this stupid tower!' Nuwa shouted, putting Xuefeng in shock. 'That's right! She lied to you! Her body is wiggling in pain this whole time! The more time you lay there, the more pain you give her!'
'Yiren!' Xuefeng cried out, imagining Yiren in the same situation as him.
'I'm sorry… I'm not strong enough… Ahhh!' Yiren wail reached his mind, finally crushing him.
'Yiren!!! Hang in there! It's not your fault!' Xuefeng shouted as his body cracked. Who knows where he found the power to get up onto his knees.
"Aaaaaarrghh!!! Move!!!" Xuefeng screamed on top of his lungs as he crawled forward, using the power of his will to ignore the pain. His eyes were brightening with white light but he still fell a few meters further.
"I can do it!!" Xuefeng lifted himself again but his will could only push him so much.
Crack!
His arm broke in half and he tripped again, faceplanting into the stone floor. When he tried to use his other arm, it broke as well.
"Fuuuuuck!!" Xuefeng cursed, hopelessness and anger filling his mind.
He was angry at himself for being too weak. Too weak to protect and care.
'Please… Make it stop… It hurts….' Yiren begged, breaking the last bit of sanity in him.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Xuefeng let out a reverberating scream as his eyes turned white and mind blank, yet his body exploded with Hidden Power.
'He is using it!' Ming cried out in shock as Xuefeng rose from the floor and ran through the passage. 'He is using his Elvish Bloodline!'
Xuefeng reached the end and climbed the last set of stairs, leading into a Heavenly space filled with endless white light. He wasn't conscious when he finally crossed the last step and fell on the white cloud-like floor with all the pressure gone.
'He did it…'