"Suit yourselves!"

Shi Lin remained indifferent, then continued to walk upwards.

As Chen Xuan passed the two, he nodded slightly at Zhang Qiu.

"What did you mean by what you just said? Being kicked off the Holy Mountain means no more chances?"

Chen Xuan asked.

"You can only enter the Holy Mountain once. If you're kicked off for overestimating yourself, you'll have no chance this lifetime."

Shi Lin didn't hide the truth from him, then glanced at him from the corner of her eye, cautioning, "If you feel you can't bear it, let me know immediately!"

"Got it."

She showed concern for him once again, making Chen Xuan increasingly feel something was off.

Afraid he'd fall... with no one left to breed with her?

I suppose that explains it!

But why does today's Shi Lin feel different from before?

The two continued to ascend, gradually encountering more and more members of the Stone Race.

When they reached the ten thousand meter mark on the Holy Mountain, only less than thirty percent of the Stone Race remained.

At this moment, Shi Lin's brow furrowed tightly, then suddenly two figures began retreating rapidly from ahead.

"Save me!"

A man and a woman looked panicked, their hands flailing in the air comically.

"Hm!"

Shi Lin scoffed coldly, "Waste!"

But although she cursed them, as members of the Royal Family, she still intervened.

The Crystal Stone on her chest emitted two white beams of light, enveloping the pair, stopping them immediately, though they lay flat on the ground, not daring to move.

They only stood up slowly when Shi Lin reached them.

"Thank you, Miss Shi Lin, for rescuing us!"

"Mm!"

Shi Lin nodded slightly, then spoke softly, "Act within your limits; don't lose the only opportunity over minor setbacks!"

After speaking, she continued forward.

Chen Xuan, on the other hand, felt a bit surprised. She seemed cold but treated the Royal Family differently than Zhang Qiu earlier.

"This must be what they mean by 'different races, different hearts'!"

Even within one race, it's like this, not to mention different races.

After they left.

"Let's choose this stone cave here."

"Mm!"

The woman nodded, then the two headed directly towards a stone cave.

At around two thousand meters on the Holy Mountain.

Zhang Qiu and the woman were nearly crawling.

"Brother Qiu, should we just stop here?"

The woman's face was a bit pale; she was truly struggling to hold on.

But Zhang Qiu shook his head in refusal.

"If we're kicked off the Holy Mountain, the hard-earned opportunity will be gone!"

The woman advised.

Her heart was anxious; this was the Holy Land of the Stone Race Royal Family, and even for the three major surnames entering here was an impossible task.

If it weren't for the Zhang surname achieving great merit over the years, the Third Ancestor wouldn't have given them the opportunity.

Zhang Qiu slightly lifted his head to look forward, then around at nearby caves; a mere two thousand-meter spot wouldn't yield any good Crystal Stones.He then stiffened his expression!

Taking out a bright red stone from his arms.

When this stone appeared, the woman's expression changed drastically, "Brother Qiu... You!"

"Blood Burning Stone!"

Zhang Qiu muttered as he looked at the stone in his hand.

Its function is to enhance the purity of the Crystal Stone on the chest, but just as its name implies, it requires blood to activate.

"Brother Qiu, this is too dangerous and... might harm your foundation!"

The woman looked at him with a worried expression.

"I'll take the gamble, the hard-earned opportunity is right here, I won't give up!"

Zhang Qiu said in a somber tone, his expression turning fierce.

The Royal Family possesses over ninety percent of the Stone Race's resources, with the top-tier ones virtually entirely controlled by the Royal Family.

Not to mention the ordinary surnames; even the three major surnames can only scavenge for leftovers behind them.

But in the battle against the Human Race, the three major surnames of the Stone Race were the main force, suffering the highest casualties.

Thus he felt discontent.

But he dared not share these thoughts with anyone.

Those in his clan had zero objections to this, even believing this is how it should be.

He was puzzled!

Why do they think this way!

So he aims to become strong, surpassing everyone in the clan, at least becoming the foremost figure among the Zhang surname Stone Race.

As for... the Royal Family..."Hm!"

In his heart, Zhang Qiu scoffed coldly.

He has a secret that no one knows: he isn't suppressed when facing the Stone Race!

"Are you really going to do this?"

The woman continued trying to persuade him.

But Zhang Qiu directly demonstrated his resolve through actions, blood surged into the Blood Burning Stone, instantly a red light shot into his Crystal Stone, and suddenly the pressure of the Holy Mountain lessened, almost vanishing.

"Let's go!"

Zhang Qiu grabbed the woman and rushed madly upwards.

All along, there were no Royal Family members encountered, precisely as he planned.

Otherwise, an outsider would attract too much attention, and... those Royal Family members might even attack him!

Meanwhile, under Shi Lin's lead, they'd reached over forty thousand meters in altitude, and now no one was ahead of them.

"How are you holding up?"

Shi Lin stopped, taking a deep breath.

At forty thousand meters, even she felt tremendous pressure, needing to stop and catch her breath.

"I can manage!"

Chen Xuan's face was pale, breathing heavily.

Of course, he did this intentionally because if even Shi Lin felt such pressure and he looked relaxed, then it would raise a lot of questions!

But the discomfort he felt was not sensing anything amiss, let alone any trace of Spiritual Liquid.

"Where could it be hidden?"

"Not on the Holy Mountain?"

Chen Xuan speculated silently.

If it's not on the Holy Mountain, finding it would be tough.

"Come!"

Seeing his appearance, Shi Lin thought he was reaching his limit, so she extended her fair jade hand towards him.