The Stairs of Solitude were now incredibly empty.
Time flowed silently, each second seeming to be drawn out.
Fewer than a thousand figures were still able to trudge onward up the stairs.
They were divided into several clearly distinct echelons.
The lead echelon at the very front was now extremely small.
Ling Xuzi still occupied the top spot.
However, he too now seemed to be crushed by an invisible weight.
Every step he took seemed abnormally heavy, and he lingered longer and longer on each stair.
Not far behind him were several other top geniuses, such as Time Shadow of the Time-Light Holy Land and Illusory of the Mimeng Dynasty.
Their pace had also grown sluggish as they fought against the increasingly turbulent tide of solitude welling up from the stairs.
And there, in the middle of the lead echelon, was Li Wen.
He had long since surpassed Barton, his rank quietly climbing into the fifties.
His expression was taut, and his breathing was much heavier than usual.
