As the 285 crystal shards came together into one image, everyone who saw the completed picture fell into silent astonishment, their eyes fixed in disbelief upon it.
What appeared on the puzzle was the painted image of a human figure, and not just anyone, a woman.
The woman wore a tight, flame-forged suit of armor, a blazing sword burning in her hand, long hair flowing freely, her legs pale and slender, her skin fair and flawless, her gaze clear and radiant.
The painting was so vivid, so vivid it looked as if a living person was sealed inside, as though at any moment she might step out of the picture itself.
Most crucial of all, the figure in the painting was stunning beyond words.
["So beautiful…"]
Even Ning Tiantian, watching the screen, couldn't help widening her eyes at the girl in the painting, speaking in awe from the heart.
When men think a woman is beautiful, it can be subjective. But when even a woman says it, then that girl must truly be breathtaking.
Even Chen Zijin's gaze froze slightly, ["She's really… so beautiful…"]
On the scene itself, as soon as Cherry finished assembling the painting, the next moment—
Whoosh!
Streams of starlight flowed from the image, and right in front of Zhang Yue, they condensed into two light screens, one red, one blue.
Zhang Yue stood up, staring at the two glowing veils before him.
He was just wondering why there were two portals this time instead of one, when suddenly, a system message popped up before him.
["Ding~ Please choose: [End] or [Restart]!"]
'Restart?'
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
Everyone looked blankly at the screen.
At that moment, Zhang Yue suddenly thought of something important.
From the first to the seventh floor, he had cleared every level of the Divine Tomb, yet he hadn't gained anything that actually increased his strength or any notable reward.
Right now, his power was still the same as when he first entered the Divine Tomb. Not a single change.
But wasn't the entire point of coming here to grow stronger?
Just as Zhang Yue was thinking that, the panel in front of him refreshed.
["Ding~ If you choose [End], you will finish this challenge, leave the Divine Tomb secret realm, and the secret realm will vanish permanently, unable to be re-entered. You will receive the Divine Tomb's first-tier reward."]
["Ding~ If you choose [Restart], the Divine Tomb will reset, its difficulty will double, and you will begin again from the first floor. You will receive the first-tier reward, and if you clear it again, you will also gain the second-tier reward!"]
["Ding~ Please note: Once the Divine Tomb is restarted, you cannot exit until you clear the secret realm!"]
Seeing that message, Zhang Yue understood immediately.
If he chose to leave now, he would only receive the lowest-tier reward. But if he continued, the rewards would stack.
No wonder Ouyang Linger had said earlier that the power boost one could obtain in the Divine Tomb depended on the challenger's own strength.
The stronger the person, the greater the boost they could gain.
At this moment, Chen Zijin hurriedly spoke, ["Zhang Yue, that's enough, come out! It's fine to take the first-level reward, don't take any more risks!"]
Ouyang Linger, Liyue, and the others also joined in urging him, ["She's right, let's stop here. If you restart, the difficulty doubles instantly. You already barely made it through this time. If it doubles again, how could you possibly survive that?"]
["The biggest problem is, once you restart, you can't quit midway. That means there are only two outcomes: either clear it completely, or die inside!"]
Chen Zijin was clearly the most worried of all, ["Come out, Zhang Yue. You don't have a resurrection. If you die inside, you're gone for good!"]
Zhang Yue looked at the twin light screens before him, one red, one blue, his gaze firm. "But if it's just a first-tier reward, how is that any different from not coming at all?"
He had entered the Divine Tomb for one reason, to multiply his combat power tenfold.
Only with maximum growth could he hope to defeat the eight emperor-class bosses waiting outside the tomb to hunt him.
If he quit now, all of this would be meaningless.
So Zhang Yue ignored their pleas. Between End and Restart, he resolutely chose the latter.
"Restart."
The moment he made his choice—
Whoosh!
The blue light screen representing End vanished.
Only the red one remained.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yue stepped into it.
Seeing this, Ouyang Linger sighed helplessly, ["I knew it. With his personality, there's no way the Guild Leader would listen to us!"]
["Just like how I warned him not to enter the Divine Tomb in the first place, even knowing that without resurrection, dying means true, permanent death, he still went in… He's too stubborn!"]
Chen Zijin said nothing, her eyes full of pain.
["But… I can't help you at all…"]
Then, as Zhang Yue stepped through the red light, his vision shifted, and once again, he found himself inside a vast burial chamber.
All around him, those familiar God Apostles appeared again.
This was clearly the first floor of the Divine Tomb.
The God Apostles, still the same ones, except now, their ranks had evolved.
What had been level-300 lord monsters before, were now 58-star level-300 bosses.
["My god! If I'm not mistaken, when the Guild Leader first entered the Divine Tomb, all these God Apostles were just lord-class monsters, right?"]
Liyue said in disbelief, ["Now every single one of them has turned into a 58-star boss?"]
["The difficulty's increased that much all at once!"]
["And this is only the first floor!"]
Ouyang Linger said, ["The system already warned us back on the seventh floor. Choosing restart doubles the difficulty."]
["With how hard the last round was, and now that everything's been upgraded to boss-class God Apostles, how's he supposed to clear this?"]
Everyone watching through the screen couldn't help showing deep concern.
Then, suddenly, Ouyang Linger's eyes lit up, ["Wait, maybe not necessarily!"]
["Sure, the difficulty's doubled, but the Guild Leader's strength has gone up too!"]
Ning Tiantian blinked blankly, ["How has it gone up? He didn't get any rewards, did he?"]
Just as she said that, Zhang Yue suddenly received a new system message.
["Ding~ Congratulations! You have cleared the first round of the Divine Tomb challenge and obtained the first-tier reward: [Divine Scroll] ×1!"]
As the message chimed, a golden scroll appeared before Zhang Yue.
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