Chapter 594: Chapter 376: Difficulty

Although the Battle Tower could accommodate three challengers simultaneously, no one else entered after Qi Ning, the rank one Spirit Bone Celestial Pride on the Lingyun List. It seemed everyone wanted to see how many layers this top-tier genius could conquer.

Jin Yu did not rush them.

After roughly another breath of time, the text on the ancient stele warped, indicating Qi Ning had reached the Third Layer. He spent a bit more time on the Third Layer, taking about three breaths before advancing to the Fourth Layer.

From then on, the time he took grew increasingly longer. By the time he was on the Ninth Layer, it took him roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea to break through to the tenth.

"He’s reached the tenth layer!"

"Terrifying. To think he could fight his way into the tenth layer in such a short time."

"Qi Ning’s talent is fearsome. He might just push straight into the eleventh layer on his first attempt."

Xu Yang and the other new students didn’t know what the tenth layer signified, but the veterans knew all too well and instantly couldn’t sit still.

"To reach the tenth layer, even if he fails, Qi Ning will at least rank in the top seventy of the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List. If he can break into the eleventh layer, he’ll make it into the top forty," Jiang Fan said, a trace of shock in his tone.

To achieve such a result on his first tower run meant Qi Ning’s talent was frightening, and his Combat Power was terrifyingly high.

"With talent like Qi Ning’s, he might only rank around fortieth?" Lu Ren revealed a look of disbelief.

Qi Ning was undeniably the absolute best among the basic-level students. How could he not break into the top ten of the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List?

Jiang Fan shot him a glance and ignored the capricious hypocrite, leaving Lu Ren in a bout of awkwardness.

"Brother Jiang, how does the difficulty change between the layers of this Battle Tower?" Sun Tao looked at Jiang Fan curiously.

Jiang Fan smiled. "On the First Layer of the Battle Tower, you face an enemy with the exact same Cultivation Realm as yours. Defeat this enemy, and you can enter the Second Layer, where you face two enemies of the same Realm.

"This continues all the way up to the Ninth Layer, where you simultaneously face nine perfectly coordinated enemies at your Realm."

Hearing that they would have to simultaneously face nine perfectly coordinated enemies of the same tier, Wenshan, Qiu He, and the others nearby couldn’t help but gasp.

For an ordinary person facing enemies of the same Cultivation Realm, being able to defeat one was already good enough, let alone nine. Even though they were all geniuses among geniuses, hearing that they had to face nine enemies still made them feel it would be extremely tricky.

"What about the tenth layer?" Sun Tao asked.

Qi Ning had been fighting in the tenth layer for quite some time now and was still stuck. The difficulty of the tenth layer was probably far beyond imagination.

"On the tenth layer, you no longer face enemies at your Realm, but rather an enemy one Realm above yours. On the eleventh layer, you face two enemies that are one Realm above yours."

Hearing the difficulty of the tenth and eleventh layers, not to mention geniuses like Qiu He and Wenshan, even the likes of Tu Gang and Lu Wei suffered drastic changes in expression.

This wasn’t just fighting above one’s level; it was killing enemies above one’s level. Facing an enemy a whole Realm higher, just being able to hold their ground would be a feat. Facing two, they felt that being beaten to death was the only possible outcome.

"He won, he won! Qi Ning made it into the eleventh layer!"

Someone suddenly shouted. Xu Yang turned to look and saw the number behind Qi Ning’s name change to "eleven."

"He defeated an enemy at the Celestial Essence Third Layer..."

The hearts of many new students trembled with shock. A Spirit Bone Celestial Pride was indeed frightening.

Not far away, Ye Qiuling’s beautiful eyes shone with vibrant light. Her goal had always been the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, but unfortunately, these individuals were too arrogant, and she had never found an opportunity to get to know them.

"Not defeated, killed," Jiang Fan corrected.

Defeating and killing were two entirely different concepts.

Time flowed on. More than fifteen minutes later, the light at the entrance of the Battle Tower flashed. Looking somewhat battered, Qi Ning fell out of the tower. Parts of his robes were shredded, and his face was pale.

Qi Ning, the rank one Spirit Bone Celestial Pride on the Lingyun List, was stopped at the eleventh layer of the Battle Tower.

Everyone turned to look at the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List. The last name on the ancient stele vanished, and after a distortion in the middle section, Qi Ning’s name appeared.

[Qi Ning, 41]

Qi Ning’s final ranking on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List was forty-first. He shook his head repeatedly, seemingly unsatisfied with this rank.

"To reach the eleventh layer on your first attempt is already very good. Once you cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body to the Second Layer, you will easily crush the eleventh layer. Do not be discouraged," Jin Yu said calmly.

The Azure Dragon Dominating Body was divided into Ninefold layers, corresponding to the Celestial Essence Ninth Layer. Even for a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride like Qi Ning, his Azure Dragon Dominating Body was currently only at the Second Layer.

"This student understands!"

Qi Ning cupped his hands, sat cross-legged to the side, and began meditating to recover. He also knew that his current Realm was not yet at the peak of the Celestial Essence Second Layer.

At the same time, Leng Qiuyue stepped into the Battle Tower without a word. Taking roughly the same amount of time as Qi Ning, she quickly fought her way into the eleventh layer.

As rank two on the Lingyun List, although she was a woman, she was clearly not just a pretty face. Even without cultivating the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, her Combat Power did not seem much weaker than Qi Ning’s. She possessed the same ability to kill enemies above her level.

However, she lasted a slightly shorter time on the eleventh layer than Qi Ning before her figure appeared at the tower entrance. Unlike Qi Ning, she seemed to have forfeited on her own accord, so she wasn’t injured. She still maintained her ethereal, otherworldly appearance, untainted by the mundane world.

The radiance she exuded was so brilliant that some didn’t even dare to look her in the eyes.

"Junior Sister Leng’s Combat Power is truly outstanding and admirable," Li Xun said with a smile as he went up to greet her.

Leng Qiuyue gave a faint nod. "Brother Li flatters me."

With that, she stood quietly to the side and did not continue speaking with Li Xun.

Xu Yang looked at the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List and noticed that although Leng Qiuyue had also reached the eleventh layer, her rank was only forty-fourth, three places lower than Qi Ning. Simultaneously, another genius originally on the list was pushed off.

Li Xun soon entered the Battle Tower as well. About thirty minutes later, he too reached the eleventh layer, lasting slightly longer than Leng Qiuyue. He ultimately ranked forty-second on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List, causing Leng Qiuyue to drop another place to forty-fifth.

Following that, the other Spirit Bone Celestial Prides entered according to their rank order.

Zhang Bo finally ranked forty-third, pushing Leng Qiuyue down yet another spot. Xiao Yun ranked forty-seventh, and the last Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, Duan Ming, ranked forty-eighth. Their rankings were all quite close.

Several of the veteran students wore extremely ugly expressions. They were the ones who had been pushed off the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List after Leng Qiuyue and the others made the rankings.

"Brother Lu, it’s your turn!"

After Duan Ming emerged from the Battle Tower, everyone looked toward Lu Wei, who was ranked seventh. As the seventh on the Lingyun List, he was the closest to the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides. Everyone could see just how massive the gap was between them and the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides by watching his performance.

"I’ll set an example for everyone!"

Lu Wei took a deep breath and strode toward the Battle Tower. With a flash of faint light, he vanished from everyone’s sight. The Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List blurred, and Lu Wei’s name quickly appeared on it.

Two breaths later, he reached the Second Layer.

Everyone’s expressions soured slightly. The time Lu Wei spent on the First Layer was clearly longer than those Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, and the time he took for the subsequent layers grew increasingly longer as well.

They knew this wasn’t because Lu Wei was weak, but because those Spirit Bone Celestial Prides were simply too strong.

Time passed, and Lu Wei fought his way to the tenth layer.

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Wei tumbled out of the Battle Tower with disheveled hair and shredded clothes, his flesh torn in multiple places. In the end, he failed to reach the eleventh layer. It seemed he was only one layer behind the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, but the tenth layer was a watershed in its own right.

"Lu Wei actually doesn’t have the strength to fight above his Realm."

"He cultivates a powerful Cultivation Technique comparable to a Spirit Bone Technique. How could he not defeat a Celestial Essence Third Layer opponent?"

The crowd was in an uproar. Did even Lu Wei lack the strength to fight above his level?

Yang Ao, who had the best relationship with Lu Wei, stepped forward. He took out an Elixir, fed it to Lu Wei, and helped him up. He looked incredibly battered and seemed to lack even the strength to stand.

"You have only just begun cultivating the True Martial Demon-Vanquishing Technique and have yet to reach a profound level. If you want to fight above your level, you will need to refine it for at least a few more months," Jin Yu said.

Whether it was the True Martial Demon-Vanquishing Technique or the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique, although these Cultivation Techniques were comparable to Spirit Bone Techniques, they unlocked one’s potential slowly. They weren’t something that would let a person reach the heavens in a single bound right after entry level.

"Although the Battle Tower won’t kill you, you can still get injured. If you are outmatched, do not fight to the death," Jin Yu said, sweeping his gaze across the crowd.

Lu Wei had clearly fought desperately to the bitter end, vainly attempting to reach the eleventh layer, which was why he ended up in such a miserable state.

Xu Yang looked at the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List and saw that Lu Wei’s final rank was sixty-ninth.

"If I go all out, I wonder if I can break into the eleventh layer," Xu Yang pondered.

He wasn’t sure if his strength was enough to reach the eleventh layer. He was likely the strongest beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, but a gap still existed between him and them. Whether it was their Spirit Bone Techniques or the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, these people had started cultivating earlier than him, and even broke through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer earlier. He didn’t think his Combat Power was on par with theirs; he would likely be stopped at the tenth layer as well.

Next, it was Tu Gang’s turn to enter. He was also stopped at the tenth layer, lasting an even shorter time than Lu Wei. When he emerged, he was similarly heavily injured with cracked skin and flesh, finally ranking seventy-first on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List.

Yang Ao, ranked ninth on the Lingyun List, soon entered the Battle Tower. He too reached the tenth layer and ranked seventy-third on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List.

The tenth layer had become a watershed, separating the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides from everyone else.

Gu Qingfeng also reached the tenth layer, ranking seventy-fifth on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List. Wu Xiuyuan was ranked seventy-seventh, and Li Yunfei seventy-ninth. Both of them also reached the tenth layer, though the time they lasted varied.

"It’s Huo Xiaochen’s turn!"

"Huo Xiaochen has cultivated the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. I bet he can break into the eleventh layer."

"His rank should surpass Lu Wei’s."

Everyone’s gaze gathered on Huo Xiaochen, holding great expectations for him. Outside of the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, he was the only person dual-cultivating two top-tier Cultivation Techniques.

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