Damn you, damn me.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling didn't have anything left for them on this floor, they didn't store any of their items in the house and they had already scoured the various markets for items that could be useful to them. Because of this, they could immediately head to the center of the floor and find the square metal house that contained the spatial array that would send them up to the third floor.

The two entered the house and were greeted by a man from the White Orchid race who was already standing at the center of the room, calmly waiting for them. It seemed like the news of them winning 10 battles and heading over here had already been sent over to this man, allowing him to prepare in advance. The man took a step to the side, giving a graceful bow and beckoning towards the spot next to him, which was already starting to light up with golden runes.

The two stepped onto the golden runes, space around them forming a cocoon and sending them up to the third floor. When the cocoon vanished, they were standing in a room practically identical to the one they had just left, except for the fact that the one overseeing this room was a woman from the Undead race. She gave both of them a courteous bow upon seeing them, greeting them politely.

"I am Luo Wenliu, I welcome you to the third floor, Scourge King, Wolf Queen. May you have luck in your battles."

The two nodded their heads at the woman and then stepped past her, leaving the house and giving their surroundings a quick sweep. The third floor seemed far more organized than the previous two, the buildings were neatly lined up, the ones closest to the center of the floor being larger than the ones further out. There were signs all around the area that pointed to the various markets and arenas, the ground of the entire floor covered in a thin layer of surprisingly soft stone.

There were quite a few people walking around, heading to the various arenas or markets, most of the people being either at the late stage of the Heaven's Gate realm or the early stage of the Soaring Immortal realm. This was the last floor where one could just enter the arena as they pleased, from the next floor and onward, one had to send out or receive a challenge declaration if they wanted to enter the arena and battle.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling walked around a bit, reading the signs and memorizing the locations of the arenas and the markets before picking out an empty house and entering it. These houses had signs out front that one could insert a bit of their Qi into, causing them to light up and signify that someone was living there.

This house was closer to the outer parts of the floor so it was rather small, only containing a single bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom with a large tub. It seemed like the one who had originally built this house had placed more importance on the bathroom than any other room, as the bathroom was almost twice as large as the other rooms, the bathtub so large it could easily house at least four people at once.

Yan Ling immediately headed for the bedroom, which contained a double bed, a large wooden closet, a circular table surrounded by four chairs, and a human-sized mirror made of crystal. She jumped onto the bed, burying herself in the silken sheets with a content expression.

"Ahhh, the bed, my second home. Do your thing, send me off to wonderland."

Yan Ling closed her eyes after talking, quickly drifting off to sleep. Liang Chen let out a chuckle and moved over to the circular table, sitting down on one of the chairs and taking out a gourd of spiced wine. He was just about to take his first sip when Yan Ling suddenly sat up in the bed, her eyes still half-closed as she had just forced herself to wake up.

"Ah, don't think that you're off the hook! Once I properly wake up I'll make sure you uphold your end of the bargain and give me the reward of my choosing! But first, eh, eh."

She ended her half-awake sentence by pointing at the spot on the bed right next to her, tilting her head towards it to indicate what she meant. Liang Chen let out another chuckle, taking a sip of the wine and then storing the gourd into his interspatial ring. He stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down in a kneeling position in the spot that Yan Ling had pointed at, presenting his thighs.

Yan Ling nodded her head with a content expression and then rested her head on his thighs, adjusting the position of her body so that she could lie comfortably, quickly falling asleep. Liang Chen took out the gourd of wine again, holding it with his left hand and taking an occasional sip while using his right hand to gently stroke Yan Ling's hair, the hours passing in a quiet peace one would think was unbefitting a couple titled the Scourge King and the Wolf Queen.

The afternoon had only just begun when the two of them arrived on the third floor, Yan Ling only went to bed because she was tired after exerting a lot of energy in the previous battle. Liang Chen didn't know if she was just that tired or if it was because she loved sleeping, but Yan Ling didn't wake up until it was late afternoon the next day, sleeping for a little over a day. She slowly sat up, her hair a mess as she slurred out a few words.

"Freak...me...hunger...fast..."

Despite sleeping for over a day, Yan Ling was still absolutely terrible with waking up, her words not even forming a coherent sentence. But Liang Chen had been with her for long enough to know what she meant so he stood up and walked towards the kitchen with a leisurely gait.

"Ai ai, captain, I'll have breakfast done in a jiffy."

Liang Chen entered the kitchen, Yumao jumping out from his dantian and helping him pick out a few things he could use to prepare food for the three of them. Liang Chen wanted to comment on the amount of meat Yumao brought out, but seeing his shimmering eyes he decided that there was no problem with indulging him like this from time to time.

Yan Ling entered the kitchen after a quarter of an hour, sitting down at the square dining table and taking out the interspatial rings the two had picked up in the previous battle. Liang Chen had handed her one of the rings right after the battle, giving her the other one while they were making their way to the teleportation array. Her hair was somewhat damp, prompting Liang Chen to guess that she had used her law of water to give herself a quick shower before coming to the kitchen.

She went through the contents of the rings, organizing them based on how useful they were to them, occasionally taking out an item or two and giving it a closer inspection. Liang Chen finished the food after a few more minutes, Yumao helping him bring it to the table and then shrinking down to a size where he could coil up on one side of the table, picking out the cuts of meat he wanted to eat. Yan Ling and Liang Chen also started eating, Yan Ling reporting on what she had found in the interspatial rings.

"Seems like the two of them had been bullies for quite some time, their rings were absolutely stacked. Most of their resources are related to strengthening the soul or the body, not too terribly useful to us, but they should be able to fetch a decent price. Shi Longyu did have one interesting item, a map of this planet. It was signed with the name Qian Liao and Shi Tengriu, I guess they're the ones who got him the map."

She took out the map while speaking, a circular disk made from a strange type of brown metal. She put some Qi into it, causing it to project the image of a faintly pear-shaped planet in the air above it. The three great cities containing the three towers were clearly marked on the map, allowing the two of them to learn that they were located close to the middle part of the planet. There were quite a few different markings on the planet, Yan Ling pointing to one that was a bit away from their tower.

"This is the interesting part that caught my eye. 'Rot Dragon Nest, male returned in 1892 ASC, female showed unusual signs of voraciousness in 1895 ASC. Confirmed pregnant by Xu Peng in 1896 ASC. Should give birth in 1900-1901 ASC, head out to deal with the weakened male, the weakened female, and pick up the litter as quickly as possible, before anyone else learns of them. Bring Kong Luxi?"

The two of them had spent some time on this planet by now, so they knew a little more about it. ASC was their measurement of years, meaning After Sun Cailin, showing how many years she had been the Tripartite Slayer. Each year lasted about 500 days, quite a bit longer than the years on Liang Chen's own planet. The current year was 1900 ASC, the new year starting in about 70 days. Liang Chen gave the information a quick read over, guessing at what Yan Ling wanted.

"I see, you want us to go over there and see if we can pick up anything useful. Since it has Dragon in its name, this Rot Dragon might actually have the bloodline of a true dragon, it would be very useful for awakening your own bloodline."

The bloodline of a true dragon was an extremely potent thing, it would surely be able to rouse Yan Ling's Star God bloodline and increase her strength. This map was owned by Shi Longyu, meaning that the notes were likely made by him as well. If Shi Longyu and Kong Luxi were strong enough to deal with the Rot Dragon, then Liang Chen and Yan Ling should be able to as well. Yan Ling nodded her head, casting a sideways glance at the still eating Yumao.

"I thought that we might also be able to pick up another companion like him, I'm sure that Yumao must be getting lonely."

Despite her words, Liang Chen could see that she was averting her eyes slightly. Clearly, she simply wanted to get a Demonic beast companion of her own since she was jealous that Liang Chen had one. Liang Chen gave the notes on the map another read over before leaning back in his chair.

"I don't have anything to say against going there, we just have to make sure to be careful. We still have about 70 days before the year ends, do you want to head out there early to keep an eye on the area? No telling who else Shi Longyu told after all."

There was no problem with them leaving the tower, they just had to make sure they returned within a set amount of time, otherwise, they would have to start their climb from scratch again. It might even make for a nice change of pace, it would be like they were back on their own planet, heading out to complete a mission for the Storm Wolf sect. Yan Ling shook her head in response to Liang Chen's question, her expression turned deathly serious as she took a deep breath and spoke up.

"No, there is something I want to do before we leave, I want to receive my promised reward. I want you to cut and stab me, not enough to kill me, but seriously enough that I'll feel it. I'd prefer if you could start right now and keep going until we have to leave."

Liang Chen nearly fell over when he heard her words, looking at her with a dumbfounded expression. He thought that she was joking at first, but seeing her serious expression he had no choice but to admit that she was completely serious. He immediately shook his head, strongly rejecting it.

"No. No, there is no way I'm doing that, I completely refuse. Why would you even want me to do that, what need is there for something as stupi..."

There was no way Liang Chen could harm Yan Ling. Joking and sparring were fine, but actually using his spear to stab and slice her was completely out of the question, it would make him feel utterly horrible. He wanted to ask her why she wanted to do something so stupid but was interrupted by a loud shout before he could finish his question.

"It's not stupid!"

Yan Ling looked at Liang Chen with eyes that were not only serious, but they also contained faint hints of desperation and worry. Clearly, whatever had sparked this question was very serious to her. Liang Chen closed his mouth, waiting for Yan Ling to explain herself.

"I want to walk alongside you. No matter where you go, I want to stand right at your side and face all the adversity with you, just like I know you will do for me. Right now, I can do just that, my talent allows me to do that. After studying the Storm King's Fist, I was able to gain a bit of insight into the crushing pressure used to perfect the attack, giving me a rudimentary control over the law of pressure and the law of crushing."

Yan Ling had something that Liang Chen didn't have, extraordinary talent. When she actually focused on her cultivation and on gaining insight, she would progress with a terrifying rate, at least in the early portions. This was one of the reasons she had such great strength, able to fight people above her realms. Liang Chen, on the other hand, used his natural gifts, his law of time and his ability to absorb lightning, poison, and now wind, to cultivate. Yan Ling took a deep breath, continuing her explanation.

"But that's just for now, what about in the future? Your law of time will only grow stronger and stronger, at some point you'll be able to cultivate for several years in just the blink of an eye, no amount of talent will be able to keep up with you at that point. If I want to continue walking at your side, without holding you down, I need to prepare as much as possible, I need to become as perfect as possible."

The law of time was one of the top four laws in existence, on par with space and just below creation and destruction, just holding it was enough to overshadow any talent most other people had. Even if he used his law of time on her in the future, it would never be as effective as when he used it on himself, so she would still continue to lag behind him. Liang Chen could somewhat start to guess at what Yan Ling wanted, but he still stayed silent, waiting for her to talk.

"Just my law of wind and water are not enough. Even once I deepen my understanding of the laws of pressure and crushing, adding them to my own, it won't be enough to keep up with a Freak like you, not even a supreme technique like the Chaos King Technique can do that. But if I were to gain insight into the law of piercing and the law of slicing as well, fusing it with my law of crushing and my law of pressure to create a law of attack unique to me, and then fuse that with my two other laws, my own bloodline, and the Chaos King technique, then I will become just as freakish as you, I'll be able to walk at your side without holding you back."

Yan Ling could not stand the thought of being abandoned, the thought of only being able to stand behind Liang Chen and watch as he bore all the danger for her. She would not allow things to reach that point, even if she had to suffer. After all, Liang Chen had suffered quite a bit in his cultivation, he still suffered even now when he cultivated, enduring the pain of shattering and replacing his own bones. If she wasn't prepared to suffer as he did, she would never even deserve to walk at his side. Yan Ling stretched out her arms, grabbing a hold of Liang Chen's hands and looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Just using a sword to slice and pierce others or the air isn't enough, I need to feel the sensation of getting sliced and stabbed if I want to have any hopes of gaining insight into those two laws. Please, Chen'er, I am begging you, please help me."

Liang Chen's expression twisted as he looked at Yan Ling and her pleading eyes. Despite her pleading look, she had such a determined light in her eyes, the same light that shone from her when she faced the heavens, the same light that had first entrance and charmed him.

Yan Ling didn't say anything else, waiting for him to respond. She knew that asking him to cut and stab her would pain Liang Chen as much as it pained her. But she still had to ask, she still had to put him through it, all for her selfish wish to stay at his side and watch his calm face and that faint smile that he never seemed to notice that he wore. Liang Chen's expression continued to twist as he observed her eyes, his expression eventually becoming a grimace.

"Asking me like that is just cheating, calling me that name is just cheating."

Liang Chen stood up from the chair, his expression still a grimace as he looked at Yan Ling. He swiped his interspatial ring, his golden spear appearing in his grasp, his hands trembling.

"Damn you for asking me to do this, Ling'er. Damn you for making me do this. And damn me for loving you so much that I can't say no to you when you look at me like that and call me that."

He could tell. He himself had that look in his eyes at times so he could tell what she was thinking. Even if he said no, she would end up finding a way. She might do it herself when she was alone, or she might let one or two attacks land on her while they were engaging in a battle, neither were as safe as Liang Chen doing it. In that case, he would do it himself, no matter how much it hurt him. All so that he could fulfill her wish. Yan Ling also stood up, her face blooming into a brilliant smile.

"Thank you, Chen'er, I knew I could count on you."