Chapter 159: Chapter 154: Entering the Tower
"Children, congratulations! You have all passed this life-and-death trial! You are the most outstanding students I have ever seen!" An old man’s voice, filled with a joy he hadn’t felt in a long ti, rang out from beyond the gate. This elder was none other than the dean of the outer circle, Di Cang.
"The future awaits you!"
With Di Cang’s loud cry, the gates of the Demon Beast Prison clicked open. Thirty-four figures slowly erged, their confident and resilient faces revealed in the sunlight. These were all the students from the Demon Castle who had participated in the life-and-death trial. As they ca into view, it was clear they were in a wretched state. Everyone was disheveled and grimy, their brand-new student uniforms from two days ago now tattered and torn. On closer inspection, almost everyone was stained crimson, with ghastly scars covering their chests, backs, arms, and thighs. One could only imagine that this life-and-death trial had been no joke—it was a true brush with death.
Although all thirty-four of them looked exhausted, the elation and confidence in their eyes were plain to see. This trial had shown them a much broader future. Their previous, rigid cultivation thods seed as light as a feather in comparison. Now, they even viewed the world from a different perspective. Indeed, this single trial had matured them greatly, especially their ntal fortitude.
At the rear of the group, four youths walked side by side. They too bore nurous scars, though theirs were fewer compared to the others.
"Phew... Sister Mo Qing, just look at the state you’re in! Haha..." Ye Shuangshuang laughed, pointing at Mo Qing in a most unladylike fashion.
Mo Qing sighed helplessly. She was indeed in a sorry state. Her silky, beautiful hair was a ss, her flawless cheeks were smudged with dirt, and her neat, ink-purple dress was torn in several places, revealing glimpses of stunningly fair skin. Fortunately, while she had claw marks, they weren’t severe and likely wouldn’t leave scars. Even so, it did nothing to diminish her devastating beauty or her gentle, elegant aura. The phrase ’like a lotus rising from the mud, unstained’ was a perfect description of her.
"It’s not like a certain soone is much better off."
Beside them, Qing Lei’s gaze was cold, his deadpan face devoid of expression. He was a Dark Attribute Martial Artist. For this trial, the academy had sohow found another Dark Attribute Magical Beast, one even stronger than him. The psychological pressure of their battle had been imnse. His enemy was always hidden in the shadows, and he could only rely on experience, powerful ntal fortitude, and precise Insight to observe his surroundings. Every corner was a potential hiding spot for the Magical Beast, aning no place was truly safe.
This high-intensity psychological battle rapidly drained Qing Lei’s Spiritual Power. The Dark Attribute Magical Beast surpassed him in both strength and stamina, forcing Qing Lei onto the defensive in the early stages. He was frequently gashed by the beast’s claws as it appeared out of nowhere.
The blood loss created a deadly crisis for Qing Lei. Once a person loses too much blood, their Spiritual Power, stamina, and overall mobility weaken. Under these circumstances, he was cornered in a hopeless situation. But with his great vengeance still unfulfilled, how could he so easily give up his life? Finally, just this morning, the Magical Beast exposed itself, lunging with its claws aid at his neck, trying to finish him off while he was weak. But at that exact mont, Qing Lei moved. He erupted with all his strength, plunging a dagger into the Magical Beast’s eye. With a twist of his wrist, the sharp blade shredded the creature’s skull.
Having held back for so long, Qing Lei finally unleashed his astonishing latent potential. He had learned so much from this single battle. While his power level hadn’t increased enough to break through to the next rank like so of the others, his practical combat ability and tactical skill had risen to a whole new level. This was the true appeal of a life-and-death trial.
Ye Shuangshuang glanced at Qing Lei, about to make a sarcastic comnt, but stopped when she saw how pale he was from blood loss. She suddenly didn’t have the heart to tease him. Still too proud to back down completely, she settled for glaring at him and saying huffily, "Seeing as you’re so badly hurt, I’ll let you off the hook today. I’ll make fun of you after you’ve recovered. Hmph."
Qing Lei pursed his lips but said nothing. Little Tiger, on the other hand, rubbed his stomach and grinned. "Sister Mo Qing, Sister Shuangshuang, Brother Qing Lei, I’m getting hungry. I really want so of Brother Mu Chen’s roasted Demon Beast at. I even brought back the Magical Beast I killed! Its at is super tasty."
"Oh, really?" Ye Shuangshuang exclaid, her face lighting up. "That’s great! I’m starving, too!"
Mo Qing shook her head and said softly, "If I rember correctly, today is the day Mu Chen challenges the Tower of Calamity. He’s probably still inside, so we might not be getting any roasted at."
"Huh? Is that right?" Little Tiger and Ye Shuangshuang asked in unison.
"Yes. Word just ca. There’s only one person ahead of Mu Chen at the Tower of Calamity. So, do you want to go watch?"
It wasn’t Mo Qing who answered them, but Lingyun, who had just erged from the Demon Beast Prison. Behind her, Di Cang was watching everyone with a smile.
"Vice Dean! Instructor Lingyun!" The students at the front turned at the sound of her voice. Realizing who it was, they bowed respectfully.
Di Cang waved his hand with a smile. "Since the life-and-death trial is over, I was wondering if you would all be willing to accompany
to the Tower of Calamity and see how the genius of our outer circle fares in his challenge."
As he finished speaking, the thirty-four students exchanged uncertain glances. Soone suddenly asked, "Can we go? Isn’t that the Holy Hall’s territory?"
Di Cang chuckled. "The Holy Hall? So what? You are all from the Demon Castle. When it cos to status within the Imperial Academy, you are in no way inferior to them. So don’t sell yourselves short. Believe in yourselves. Before long, you will surely surpass the Holy Hall and beco the pillars of the Imperial Academy. I’ll ask one more ti: are you willing to go?"
"We are!"
Di Cang’s words ignited a fire in the hearts of the thirty-four students from the Demon Castle. They had always carried a dream: to surpass the Holy Hall and beco stronger than any of its students. Today was the Demon Castle’s first move. They would enter the Holy Hall’s domain, set foot on their territory, and send a clear ssage: in the future, the Demon Castle would crush them underfoot!
Supporting one another, the thirty-four students from the Demon Castle dragged their blood-soaked bodies, their expressions composed and confident, as they followed Di Cang and Lingyun toward the Tower of Calamity. From a distance, they looked like a troop of triumphant warriors returning from battle, their presence overwhelming!
「At the Tower of Calamity」
Six people had already entered the tower, and only one person remained ahead of Mu Chen. The person who had just gone inside was the fifth challenger, the formidable-looking Huo Yu.
’Huo Yu’s clearance record is the highest among the first six to enter; he’s already reached the fourth floor. This ans his strength should be above the Martial Spirit realm. However, judging from his earlier interaction with ng Bao, his power is likely sowhere between a One-Ring and a Three-Ring Martial Spirit. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let ng Bao cut in line.’
"Huo Yu. Fifth Floor. Challenge successful!"
Suddenly, the fifth floor of the Tower of Calamity erupted in a dazzling blue light. The dispassionate voice announced that Huo Yu had set a new personal record. He had done it in only five minutes, earning him a scroll containing a Profound-level Interdiate Combat Skill—the most valuable reward given out so far.
’From this, I can deduce the criteria for rewards,’ Mu Chen thought. ’First, you have to clear the floor. Second, the quality of the reward is determined by your ti. The faster you are, the better the reward; the slower you are, the worse it is. So, the key to getting a special reward is speed! I have to clear the floors as fast as humanly possible!’
"Huo Yu. Sixth Floor. Challenge failed!"
With a WHOOSH, Huo Yu’s figure appeared outside the tower. Strangely, he hadn’t been thrown out; he’d been teleported.
"Congratulations, Huo Yu!"
"Congrats!"
A chorus of congratulations rose from behind him. Mu Chen was a bit puzzled. He turned to find that dozens of people had gathered behind him at so point. Every one of them was offering Huo Yu a warm smile. ’It seems this Huo Yu commands a lot of respect in the Holy Hall.’
"You all should do your best, too," Huo Yu said with a smile, cupping his fist. He was thrilled; obtaining a Profound-level Interdiate Combat Skill was completely unexpected. In a place like the Xuanling Empire, even Profound-level Advanced Combat Skills were rare, which just went to show how imnsely valuable his reward was.
Instead of leaving, the victorious Huo Yu stepped to the side and gave Mu Chen a profound look. He wanted to see just how powerful this youth from the outer circle truly was. The punch that had sent a One-Ring Martial Spirit flying wasn’t enough to make a judgnt, because Mu Chen hadn’t used a shred of Primordial Power. This made him intensely curious to see how far Mu Chen could actually get.
The arrogant youth ahead of Mu Chen had already entered the Tower of Calamity. His record was only the first floor, marking him as a novice challenger. Judging by his age, he was likely a new student. The blue light on the second floor flickered for a long ti. Mu Chen watched the tower body. Ten minutes passed, and still, the arrogant youth had not cleared the floor. Ti ticked away. Finally, at the fifteen-minute mark, the tower flared with a brilliant blue light, signaling that he had successfully advanced to the third floor.
"Zhang Heng. Second Floor. Challenge successful." The dispassionate words had barely faded when Zhang Heng’s body was ejected from the tower.
"Zhang Heng. Third Floor. Challenge failed."
The two announcents ca less than a second apart, aning Zhang Heng had been instantly defeated the mont he entered the third floor. Still, Zhang Heng seed excited about successfully clearing the second floor. He was only a second-year, and achieving this much already made him one of the elites. He could already see a glorious path unfolding before him.
Zhang Heng scanned the crowd with a scornful look as a green dicine bottle appeared in his hand. Mu Chen recognized the pill inside at a glance—it was a Martial Power Pill, a low-grade Profound-level elixir. ’I’ve still got a hundred of those in my ring,’ he recalled. ’Mu Gu Tian made
take them before I left. Even if I can’t use them, I can always sell them for Elental Crystals if I need money.’
Mu Chen shifted his gaze from Zhang Heng to the Tower of Calamity. A faint blue light emanated from the entrance, where a slot was carved into the center of the gate. With a flip of his wrist, a Jade Token appeared in his hand. Behind him, ng Bao’s eye twitched at the sight of the token, but he sneered, "Let’s see what you’re really made of."
Without even turning his head, Mu Chen felt a smirk play on his lips as he prepared to step through the gate. But at that exact mont, a group of over thirty people descended the stairs to the left of the Tower of Calamity. Each one was dressed in rags and covered in wounds, yet their presence was overwhelming. They stood ramrod straight, and every step they took was incredibly steady.
"Leader!" A unified shout pulled Mu Chen’s attention away from the tower gate.
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