It was still the same rift valley, but now there were many figures moving about. More than two hundred martial artists were saying goodbye to each other, and every now and then someone would leap up and enter the Seventh Heaven Gate.

After Qu Bai bid farewell to Shen Qian, he had already left the stone pillar, leaving it empty.

Lin Sanmo was the first to enter the Seventh Heaven Gate. After exchanging for the full amount of Nine Heaven Tokens, the others on the Nine Heavens Ranking, Cao Yi, Mu Ziyan, Bai Fei, and Shen Qian, also entered the Seventh Heaven.

Zhao Keyi and the others were making the most of their last moments of cultivation on the high platform. Since the Seven Heavens Gate had been fully opened, all the spiritual energy surges had been weakening, and anyone could see that the spiritual energy in this rift valley was about to be exhausted.

Shen Qian casually sat on the edge of the high platform, the surrounding spiritual energy surging towards him as he was passively absorbed, but his eyes were somewhat dazed, as if he was thinking about something.

"Is something on your mind?"

Suddenly, a clear and pleasant voice rang in my ears.

"Why did you stop cultivating?"

Shen Qian turned his head and saw that Ding Yi had already jumped down from the stone pillar, and couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"I've reached a bottleneck; further cultivation is useless now," Ding Yi said, shaking his head.

He understood before he went down.

He himself is a special case, with almost no bottlenecks, and the multi-attribute spiritual energy here is a perfect match for him. So theoretically, Shen Qian can cultivate here all the way to the peak of the high-level martial artist.

But not everyone is like that.

Like Qu Bai and others before them, although they could also quickly improve their strength with the help of the spiritual energy fountain, they had to remove the chaotic energy of other attributes, which required an extra effort.

Moreover, after absorbing a certain amount, a bottleneck will naturally appear, and it will take some time to digest before it can continue.

Therefore, when the Seven Heavenly Gates opened, everyone left without any hesitation.

"What are you thinking about?" Ding Yi asked again when Shen Qian didn't speak.

"Is it that obvious?" Shen Qian smiled.

Ding nodded, but kept her eyes fixed on Chen Qian.

Shen Qian thought for a moment and then said, "I've been having a strange feeling lately..."

Shen Qian said something and then fell silent. Ding Yi didn't urge him, but just waited quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Qian let out a long breath and continued, "I don't know how to describe it. It's like you weren't originally heading in this direction, or rather, you didn't know where you were going, but suddenly you find yourself on a path you never imagined, and you've already gone very far, with no way to turn back..."

Shen Qian's words were somewhat cryptic, but after a moment's thought, Ding Yi seemed to understand something.

"You mean...the things you did?"

Ding Yi spoke rather subtly, but her eyes glanced at the still-dry bloodstains on the platform.

Ning Zhaoyi's body had already been taken away by several martial artists, and Shen Qian did not stop them.

He showed no mercy when he killed, but he wasn't ruthless to this extent.

Although Shen Qian knew that from the perspective of Tianning Gong or many others, there was actually no difference.

"Yes, but it's not just because of these things. I always feel that there are things waiting for me that are beyond my expectations, or rather, responsibilities that are beyond my expectations."

For a moment, there was a look of confusion in Shen Qian's eyes. "Actually, this feeling started after I became the national martial arts champion."

"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, when those halos or honors are bestowed upon me, they really do influence me in an invisible way!"

"Hey, do you know what I wanted to do most on the day I became the top martial arts champion, when the whole city was watching?"

"What?" Ding Yi asked cooperatively.

"What I really wanted to do was call up Lao Wang and a few others, go to a VR arcade for the whole night, and after that, go get a foot massage... uh, the proper kind, and then I'd fall asleep while getting the massage, and when I woke up, we'd go sing karaoke and eat some skewers... In short, I just wanted to play for three days and three nights straight!"

He spoke with great enthusiasm, but soon became somewhat dejected.

"But the first thing I did was to be summoned to the Tower of Babel to make tea... The people who came to offer their congratulations were all kings and nobles, so I couldn't be negligent."

"I was finally free, and as soon as I got home, I was thinking of taking out my smart bracelet to search for a place to soak my feet when fireworks went off everywhere outside the window, and people were calling my name..."

"It was at that moment that I suddenly realized I had nowhere left to soak my feet."

Shen Qian's words were funny, but Ding Yi didn't laugh. She simply moved closer to Shen Qian, took his hand, and looked at him with rare tenderness in her eyes.

"There's no going back."

"The moment I really felt this way was when I suddenly realized that I hadn't been in contact with Wang Yangming for two months. It was just... outrageous."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh before sinking.

Do you remember that old foreign movie, Spider-Man, that we watched together during its re-release?

"I even said back then, 'With great power comes great responsibility,' what nonsense. If I were that capable, I would definitely become that bank robber, Sand Demon, and rob a few million first. Shouldn't people make sure they can live a good life first?"

"But people always end up contradicting themselves, and the contradictions only get worse... Initially, I really just wanted to be an ordinary person who pretended to work very hard..."

"Later I realized that there are many things that may be many people's business, but they are also my business."

"Do you think... I acted impulsively?"

After a pause, Shen Qian looked up at the bloodstains and spoke in a very low voice, as if asking Ding Yi, or perhaps asking himself.

“I knew the teacher wasn’t there, and I knew the Duke of Tianning wouldn’t let this go. I wasn’t sure if Minister Wu would protect me, but… I still killed him.”

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