Disciple Trial Tower, Trial Ranking

Another ten days passed after Opening the Mountain to Accept Disciples.

Everything in Azure Cloud Sect was running in an orderly fashion.

The disciples all cultivated desperately, hoping to break into the top ten once the rankings were finalized in two months, so they could take another step forward within the sect.

When Feng Qingyang noticed this, he exclaimed that the sect's internal competition was far too severe!

Unlike him, who could only fish and stroll around with his birds...

Cultivation...? Cultivate my ass!

"Come on, hurry up."

"The elders have allowed us to enter the Trial Tower for training."

"Really?!"

"You go first. I'll get Junior Brother Zheng Wuyu."

Beneath the Disciple Trial Tower, quite a few disciples had already gathered.

The hundred-story Trial Tower soared straight into the clouds.

Standing before it, they could only feel an immense pressure bearing down on them.

"Great, we can finally enter the Trial Tower to train!"

After cultivating relentlessly day and night for more than ten days, they could finally test their results.

On their very first day here, they had been drawn to this iconic structure of the sect, all curiously guessing what this towering pagoda was used for.

Later, after the elders explained it to them,

they learned that this tower was specifically for disciples to undergo trials, and that they would not truly die inside.

This was truly a great place to improve their strength!

Only through life-and-death battles could one endlessly improve their strength and combat experience.

However, the elders had told them at the time that they could not use the tower yet. They first had to become proficient in their cultivation techniques and martial skills before they could put them into practice more effectively.

After ten days of grueling cultivation, they could finally give it a try.

Everyone grew impatient.

They just wondered which brave warrior would go in first to scout the way.

With the experience of the first attempt, they could perform better afterward.

They just did not know whether they should enter through the back door or the front door.

"I, Zheng Wuyu, will scout the way for everyone first!"

A man dressed in Outer Sect attire stepped before the crowd. After shouting those words, he entered the Trial Tower.

"Good luck, Junior Brother Wuyu!"

The two disciples who had come with him cheered him on when they saw their junior brother rush in first.

Two and a half minutes later, Zheng Wuyu was transmitted back down in a sorry state.

His name also appeared on the ranking board outside the Trial Tower.

Trial Ranking, First Place: Zheng Wuyu, Floor Twelve.

What a glorious moment!

Zheng Wuyu was so excited he nearly jumped up. Though he had only cleared twelve floors, he was first!

Though he knew he would soon be knocked off the ranking,

so what? He was still someone who had taken first place before. He would have something to brag about when he went out.

"How was it inside, Junior Brother Wuyu?" the disciples crowded around and asked.

"Hehe, you'll know once you go in yourselves. It's insanely exciting!"

Zheng Wuyu deliberately kept them in suspense.

The disciples then entered one after another.

Before long.

"Damn! Once you get past the twentieth floor, it's practically hell-level difficulty!"

A disciple who had been transmitted back down complained.

"Haha, that's what makes it challenging."

"If you could clear it easily, what kind of trial would that be?!"

The Trial Ranking had also been updated.

First Place: Lu Renjia, Floor Twenty.

Second Place: Luo Botou, Floor Twenty.

Third Place: Zeng Xiao, Floor Twenty.

By this point, even the highest-ranked first place had only made it to the twenty-first floor.

No wonder that disciple had complained that everything after the twentieth floor was hell-level difficulty.

"Senior Brother Qin Han and Senior Brother Ning Yan are here."

Though the Outer Sect Ranking had not yet been activated, the senior brother status of these two was acknowledged by all the disciples.

Great Emperor Potential—did they think that was a joke?

Qin Han and Ning Yan approached from ahead.

Neither of them lingered. They entered the Trial Tower directly.

On the first floor of the Trial Tower, the first thing Qin Han saw was another version of himself.

"Another illusion."

Qin Han thought to himself, then threw a punch and killed himself.

Well, the other himself.

The two progressed at an astonishing pace, charging straight to the tenth floor in one breath.

They basically defeated every opponent with a single punch.

Outside the tower, as the light of the tenth floor lit up, the disciples were stunned by how quickly the two had cleared the stages.

"The two senior brothers are so fast!"

"Yeah, this... they only just went in, didn't they?!"

"As expected, the world of geniuses is beyond our understanding!"

"I've been deeply struck by this. I'm going to cultivate bitterly with my junior brothers for a month, day and night without rest!"

"Damn it! Senior Brother, your fighting spirit is overflowing—don't drag us into it! We haven't closed our eyes for ten damn days!"

In the distance, off to one side.

"Elder Mu, how many floors do you think these two can clear?"

Inner Sect Elder Luo Chen, Mu Shuixian, Law Enforcement Hall Elder Luo Wudao, and Technique Hall Elder Nie Hailong—the four great elders had gathered together.

Since they had only recently entered the world, they were all still commanders without troops beneath them.

Thus, they were quite free at the moment and had come to the Outer Sect area to observe the Outer Sect Disciples.

"I'm not sure. But these two are highly talented and strong. Though it's their first trial, I estimate they won't clear too few floors," Mu Shuixian said after thinking for a moment.

She had heard of these two as well: geniuses who had caused nine cauldrons to ring eight times, possessing Great Emperor Potential and destined to become Great Emperors in the future.

She herself had been in the Great Emperor Realm in her previous life, so she naturally understood just how high their talent and strength were.

She was simply puzzled. Since when had Great Emperor Potential become so cheap—buy one, get one free? Two had appeared during this Opening the Mountain to Accept Disciples.

Could it be... the great age of contention had arrived!

"It seems these two are certain to enter the Inner Sect in two months."

"It seems this elder must also select some disciples for the Law Enforcement Hall."

Law Enforcement Hall Elder Luo Wudao said.

The Law Enforcement Hall was an important department, tasked with maintaining sect order and restraining the disciples' improper behavior.

At present, aside from Luo Wudao himself, the Law Enforcement Hall was completely empty.

Inside the Trial Tower, Qin Han had already broken through the twentieth floor and reached the twenty-first.

To his surprise, the person on the twenty-first floor gave him a "pleasant surprise."

"Lin Yao!"

This floor was a dividing line. Once one broke through it, the path to the thirtieth floor would be smooth sailing.

It was precisely this floor that had stopped every disciple who had attempted the trial before.

This illusion was formed from the obsession in one's heart. Though its strength matched that of the challenger, the deeper one's obsession, the stronger it became!

"Lin Yao, you vicious woman! This Emperor will kill you!"

Though Qin Han knew this was all created by an illusion, as long as one's heart was made of flesh, there was no way to remain calm.

As the saying went, when enemies met, their eyes turned especially red!

From beloved to betrayal, from being together day and night to personally killing him—how could he ever let go of something so bone-deep and unforgettable!

Seeing that he had taken the bait, the illusory Lin Yao opposite him

revealed a cold sneer at the corner of her lips.