Shatter This Floor, Outer Sect Ranking

"This Emperor will kill you!"

Qin Han charged forward in an instant.

Violent spiritual energy bombarded Lin Yao like a raging storm.

The manifested Lin Yao merely sneered.

She launched an attack as well.

"With your strength, you want to kill me? What gives you the right?"

Spiritual energy filled the twenty-first floor, crisscrossing through the air as the two fought to a standstill.

The angrier Qin Han became, the stronger the illusion before him grew.

Elsewhere.

Ning Yan also arrived at the twenty-first floor.

He encountered someone he would never forget for the rest of his life.

"Xuan... Xuan'er."

"Why are you here? Weren't you headed to the Cent—"

"Ning Yan Gege, I couldn't bear to leave you. Come over quickly, Xuan'er has something to tell you."

A young girl dressed in green, her face as lovely as a peach blossom, appeared not far away.

She beckoned Ning Yan toward her.

"It's an illusion, Yan'er! Break it quickly! Only by breaking it can you clear this floor!"

Seeing Ning Yan hesitate, the old man within the necklace spoke up to remind him.

"I know, Master, but I... I can't bring myself to do it..."

Xiao Xuan'er was his childhood sweetheart. She had merely been taken by her family to the Central Domain three years ago.

The moment he saw Xiao Xuan'er within the illusion, the longing he had buried away surged forth like a flood of savage beasts!

He could no longer suppress it.

So what if she was fake? If he could look at her a little longer, what did death matter?

That was also why disciples would all get stuck on the twenty-first floor.

This floor of the Trial Tower pierced straight through one's heart, manifesting the deepest obsessions within.

And the deeper one's obsession, the stronger it became.

Some held a beloved woman in their hearts; some had enemies they hated to the bone; some had people they had wronged; some had past regrets; and some had their Heart Demon.

Only by breaking one's obsession and holding firm to one's true heart could one clear this floor.

Outside the tower.

Just as the disciples had expected.

Even geniuses like the two senior brothers, who had bulldozed through the floors like tigers, were stuck at the twenty-first floor.

Those who had experienced it knew what awaited them on the twenty-first floor.

Especially the disciple who had complained that the difficulty after the twentieth floor was like hell itself. At this moment, he felt it deeply.

On the twenty-first floor, he had encountered the person he never wished to see again in this life. He also understood that this was where his obsession lay.

If he could not cross this hurdle, then there would be no great accomplishments on his path of cultivation in this lifetime.

Qin Han gradually calmed down as the battle continued.

After all, the state of mind of his Great Emperor Realm was there. Earlier, upon suddenly seeing that vicious woman, even though he knew it was an illusion, he simply could not hold himself back.

When a person was pushed to their limit, they had to vent their madness somehow.

"Hm? Keep coming. Is that all you've got?"

"Didn't you want to kill me? With those little tricks of yours, it'll never happen in this lifetime. Come on, keep going!"

Seeing him gradually calm down, the manifested Lin Yao began provoking him with her words.

"Hmph, a mere illusion thinks it can trap This Emperor?"

"Watch This Emperor shatter you!"

"Lin Yao, just wait. One day, I'll tear you apart as viciously as I tear apart this illusion!"

After saying that, Qin Han activated the Azure Cloud Immortal Technique.

Azure spiritual energy surged forth madly, visible to the naked eye.

"Azure Cloud Rushing Thunder Palm!"

A palm strike swift as startled thunder and drifting like azure clouds blasted toward Lin Yao.

Following a thunderous boom, the manifested Lin Yao was shattered, and the illusion on the twenty-first floor broke apart in response.

Qin Han then arrived on the twenty-second floor.

"Look, look!"

"The light on the twenty-second floor is lit!"

"Tsk! Terrifying indeed!"

"I just wonder whether Senior Brother Qin or Senior Brother Ning cleared it."

The disciples watching outside suddenly noticed that the light on the twenty-second floor had lit up.

They could not help but marvel. Senior brothers truly were senior brothers!

Even a floor as difficult as the twenty-first could not hold them back.

Elsewhere, with Ning Yan.

Under the lure of the manifested Xiao Xuan'er, he walked toward her step by step.

He only stopped once he stood before the girl in green.

He raised a hand and brushed aside a lock of Xiao Xuan'er's silky hair.

"Xuan'er, do you know? I miss you terribly."

"I think of you every day. I think about how, once I achieve success in cultivation and gain enough strength, I'll go to the Central Domain to see you."

"I think about how, once I become strong enough that even the Xiao Family cannot look down on me, I'll take you as my wife."

"I now have a powerful master, and I've joined a powerful sect. Xuan'er, don't worry. I won't make you wait too long."

"I know, Ning Yan Gege. I miss you too."

Xiao Xuan'er cut off Ning Yan before he could continue, stepping forward to throw her arms around him.

Hearing those words, Ning Yan smiled happily. No matter how much hardship he suffered along the path of cultivation, those words alone were enough.

Xiao Xuan'er secretly drew out a sharp dagger and was about to stab it into Ning Yan's heart from behind.

But Ning Yan, who had long been prepared, seized her hand and gripped her arm tightly.

"Ning Yan Gege, you..."

"Shut up! You are not her."

"No matter how perfectly you imitate her, Xuan'er is one of a kind in my eyes."

What he had just done was merely to express the longing he had felt for Xuan'er over the past three years.

There was nothing wrong with speaking to the obsession in his heart, was there?

"I will not allow anyone to imitate her. Not even an illusion!"

He closed his eyes. His hand rose, and his sword fell.

The twenty-first floor shattered in response.

After clearing the twenty-first floor, both Qin Han and Ning Yan continued climbing all the way upward.

Before long.

The two emerged from the Trial Tower one after the other.

The Trial Ranking was updated immediately afterward.

Trial Ranking, First Place: Qin Han — Forty-first Floor

Trial Ranking, Second Place: Ning Yan — Fortieth Floor

The disciples watching outside were all dumbfounded!

The two senior brothers were far too fierce! After clearing the twenty-first floor, they had charged up another full twenty floors before stopping?

Sorry, Senior Brothers.

I admit I spoke a little too loudly just now. I take back what I said.

It should have been: they bulldozed through the floors like tigers, and one look at the rankings showed them in first place.

Upon seeing the rankings, Ning Yan glanced in Qin Han's direction.

He thought that Qin Han would likely be his strongest rival on the future Outer Sect Ranking.

Unless something unexpected happened, the future position of Outer Sect Eldest Senior Brother would be decided between the two of them.

He knew full well how terrifying the fortieth floor was. That was where he had met defeat, yet Qin Han had actually passed it.

No, I have to hurry up and cultivate.

Ning Yan thought to himself, then resolutely headed toward the Cultivation Room.

"Senior Brother has such high talent, yet he still cultivates so diligently!"

"What excuse do we have to slack off?"

"Come on, to the Cultivation Room! Let's fight for a month!"

"Nooo! Senior Brother!"

The disciples were all inspired by Ning Yan's actions. If Senior Brother worked this hard, then they absolutely could not fall behind.

Thus, a new wave of fierce competition swept through all the miserable disciples.

Even the Servant Disciple Ji Ni Tai Mei, who was sleeping, was kicked off his bed.

Sleeping? What sleep? We have to compete, then shock everyone senseless!

The next day.

The disciples of the entire Azure Cloud Sect were in an uproar.

At the sacred instruction of Sect Master Feng Qingyang, the Outer Sect Ranking and the Servant Disciple Ranking were launched with great fanfare.

The disciples eagerly participated. This was their only path to advancement within the sect.

Want resources? Want the sect to value you? Want your name to resound throughout the Eastern Domain? Want to stand atop the pinnacle of life?

Then show your strength!