Chapter 175: Chapter 170: An Astonishing Guess
"A Martial Saint expert... could of course use their power to break through by force, but... that wouldn’t be a ’breakthrough.’ That would be ’destruction.’" Di Cang’s expression was a little unnatural as he spoke.
Wu Kui picked up where Di Cang left off. "Old Cang is right. The Extre Martial Continent has countless Ancient Ruins. These ruins might be buried underground, float in the sky, or stand upon all sorts of terrain. So of the even older ones require opening a spatial tunnel just to get in. Furthermore, the entry requirents vary wildly. But from all the texts passed down from ancient tis, one thing is certain: no ruin will ever allow a Martial Artist at the Martial Emperor Level or higher to enter. Do you know why?"
Mu Chen mused for a mont before answering, "Is it because of their durability? In other words, Martial Artists at the Martial Emperor Realm and above are so powerful that any conflict between them would destroy the Ancient Ruins."
At his words, the eyes of Wu Kui, Xuan Yin, Wu Changqing, and the others filled with admiration. They all turned to Di Cang and chuckled. "Old Cang, I’m starting to get jealous of you."
Di Cang couldn’t hide the pride in his eyes. He laughed, "It’s all about character. You can only look on in worship."
Wu Kui shot Di Cang a look before turning back to Mu Chen. "You’re spot on. So think about it: if even a Martial Emperor could accidentally destroy an Ancient Ruin, could it possibly withstand the power of a Martial Saint? The mont an Ancient Ruin is destroyed, everything preserved inside vanishes from this world forever. No one would let that happen. That’s why every High-Level Ancient Ruin is guarded by one, or even several, extrely powerful factions."
"So that’s how it is." Mu Chen had a flash of insight, then asked another question. "The Tower of Calamity is an Ancient Ruin, too. What exactly is sealed inside it? And what grade of Ancient Ruin is it?"
"There’s no one you could ask who knows more about that than ." A new voice spoke up from in front of Mu Chen and the others.
Di Cang looked toward the sound of the voice and saw the newcor was an old man in a white robe with white hair, white eyebrows, and a white beard. The elder was youthful despite his white hair, and from the sleep lines creasing his face, it was obvious he had just woken up.
"Elder Mu, what brings you here?" Di Cang and Wu Kui bowed in unison.
Mu Chen stared at the white-haired old man in surprise. Of course, he recognized him—it was the elderly administrator from the Library Tower who spent all day sleeping on the counter. What shocked him was Di Cang and Wu Kui’s deference to the old man.
The white-haired elder known as Elder Mu looked at Mu Chen and chuckled mischievously. "What are you looking at? Don’t you recognize ? Don’t think I don’t know you sneak peeks at
while I’m sleeping every day." The mont he spoke, Di Cang, Wu Changqing, Xuan Yin, and Lingyun all turned to stare at Mu Chen with bizarre expressions.
"..." Mu Chen had never exchanged a single word with this elder, yet he never expected the man’s opening line to be so outrageous.
Di Cang broke out in a nervous sweat. "Elder Mu, aren’t you always at the Library Tower? What brings you here today?"
Elder Mu chuckled. "I heard soone perfectly cleared the Tower of Calamity, so I thought I’d co have a look. If I’m not mistaken, this young man here is the one who did it, right?"
Di Cang nodded. Elder Mu continued, "Excellent. You’re the first person in our academy in nearly a thousand years to perfectly clear the Tower of Calamity. I was just passing by when I heard you discussing Ancient Ruins, so I decided to pop in."
Mu Chen might not have known it, but Di Cang and Wu Kui knew this Elder Mu was unfathomably profound. Even though Di Cang was acknowledged as the academy’s strongest expert, he wouldn’t dare show the slightest disrespect to Elder Mu. If for no other reason, it was because when they were Mu Chen’s age, Elder Mu was already the administrator of the academy’s Library Tower. Over eighty years had passed, yet Elder Mu was still Elder Mu. His appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Wu Kui’s face was completely serious, not a trace of his usual laziness remaining. "If we’re talking about who in this entire academy knows the most about Ancient Ruins," he stated with conviction, "it has to be Elder Mu. He single-handedly organized every book in the Library Tower. In fact, he personally transcribed the vast majority of them. His wealth of knowledge is beyond anything we could imagine."
Di Cang nodded as well. "Indeed. In that case, we’ll have to ask Elder Mu to enlighten this young man about the Tower of Calamity."
"Of course. It’s not like I do anything besides sleep all day. I quite enjoy telling stories to the kids." Elder Mu shook his head slowly and said in a relaxed tone, "As for the Tower of Calamity, it’s actually just a sub-grade Ancient Ruin."
"A sub-grade Ancient Ruin?" Di Cang and Wu Kui blurted out. Mu Chen just looked baffled.
Elder Mu nodded. "If we’re classifying them by geographical location, then yes, the Tower of Calamity is a sub-grade Ancient Ruin. From top to bottom, the grades are: supre, high, middle, low, and sub-grade. The Tower of Calamity falls into that last category."
"Why is the Tower of Calamity graded so low? I thought its trials were extrely difficult," Mu Chen said.
"Heh heh, don’t be so hasty, young man. Didn’t I just tell you? That’s *if* we classify them by geographical location," Elder Mu said.
"Geographical location?" Di Cang and Wu Kui exchanged glances. In all their years, this was the first ti they had ever heard the Tower of Calamity called a sub-grade ruin. They had always assud it was a middle-grade ruin at the very least.
Elder Mu stroked his beard. "Correct. Geographical location is judged by whether it’s in outer space, on the seabed, in the air, underground, or on the surface. The surface is then divided into rugged terrain and plains. The corresponding grades are supre, high, middle, low, and sub-grade. And the Xuanling Empire is situated on the plains. Now you understand why, by this classification, the Tower of Calamity is only a sub-grade ruin, don’t you?"
Mu Chen nodded, then asked, "So does that an its grade would be higher under a different classification system?"
Elder Mu shook his head. "No, it’s still a sub-grade ruin. Otherwise, do you think soone wouldn’t have already laid claim to this tower?"
"And why is that?" Mu Chen was getting impatient.
"Because the conditions to challenge the Tower of Calamity are too strict. So strict, in fact, that no one under the age of twenty has ever passed the twentieth floor. The tower has thirty-three floors in total: the top three are the Saint Dao, the bottom ten are the Phantom Dao, and the middle twenty are the Puppet Dao and Beast Spirit Dao. Each floor has its own Guardian. In ruin classification, this type is known as a ’gauntlet ruin,’ which is a relatively low-grade type. They usually don’t have anything particularly valuable sealed inside."
"Furthermore, the low-grade items sealed in this kind of ruin are finite. For example, the pills, dicinal Herbs, Combat Skills, and Cultivation Techniques that Holy Hall Students receive as rewards for clearing floors—these are just trinkets sealed inside by the ruin’s creator. Every one that’s taken is one less that remains. Over ti, a sub-grade ruin like the Tower of Calamity loses its practical value and eventually becos nothing more than a historical site for people to look at."
Elder Mu paused. He looked down and saw Mu Chen’s brow knitted in thought. A small smile touched the corners of his lips. "You look puzzled. If you have a question, just ask it."
Mu Chen looked up, a hint of bewildernt in his eyes. ’My question is about the perfect clear... and its reward. Can even Primordial Power be sealed in an Ancient Ruin for people to absorb? But everyone’s Dantian is a different size. How would the Tower of Calamity know how to distribute the Primordial Power sealed inside to raise a challenger’s realm? Is the tower... sentient?’
When he finished, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Elder Mu and the other Elder-Level figures. Elder Mu laughed. "Good! An excellent question! This is precisely why I look down on those who judge Ancient Ruins by appearances alone. To them, the Tower of Calamity is, without a doubt, a sub-grade ruin. But after so many years of observing the tower’s phenona, I’ve finally found a breakthrough... in you."
"Huh?" Mu Chen was taken aback. "In ?"
"That’s right! Because before you, no one had ever accumulated so many perfect clears in a row. The elders of the Xuanling Empire all know a certain rumor—a rumor about the Tower of Calamity." Elder Mu glanced at the others before continuing, "When a challenger achieves a perfect clear in the Tower of Calamity, their future potential is foretold. The first ti, their potential is, at minimum, to reach the Martial King Realm. The second ti, the Martial Sect Realm. And so on and so forth."
Wu Changqing quickly interjected. He had been the first to bring up the rumor, so he saw a major contradiction between it and the number of perfect clears Mu Chen had.
"Elder Mu!" Wu Changqing called out.
Elder Mu smiled. "Changqing, I know what you’re about to ask. Think carefully about the last part of the rumor."
Wu Changqing froze, then recited subconsciously, "If a challenger accumulates fifteen perfect clears, or clears the entire Tower of Calamity, they will receive an ancient inheritance..."
"’Accumulates fifteen perfect clears... an ancient inheritance?’" Wu Changqing’s expression suddenly shifted, and he asked in shock, "Are you saying... what’s sealed in the Tower of Calamity is... the inheritance of a Martial Emperor?!"
Everyone was stunned by this revelation. Elder Mu coughed twice and said peevishly, "I never said that. *He* did." As he spoke, he pointed a finger at the wildly excited Wu Changqing.
Lines of exasperation appeared on everyone’s faces. ’Sure enough, the older they get, the more childish they beco.’ Mu Chen asked, "Then what does that an?"
Elder Mu grunted in affirmation. "It’s very likely a Martial Emperor’s inheritance. At worst, it would be a Martial Saint’s. Otherwise, there’s no reward that could directly raise a Martial Artist’s realm."
"So, Changqing’s guess wasn’t wrong. The reasoning is that a sixth perfect clear proves the challenger’s potential will reach the Martial Emperor Realm at a minimum. However, Martial Emperors no longer exist in this world... or perhaps, they have left the Extre Martial Continent!"
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