Gan Wu Tower

The entire human territory was divided into 1008 Universe Nations, and the Gan Wu Universe Country was one of the exceptionally ancient nations among them.

Within the Gan Wu Universe Country, the most powerful force was undoubtedly the Royal Family under the Gan Wu Country Lord.

Any force needed to recruit countless powerhouses while taking in and nurturing large numbers of geniuses, constantly renewing itself.

Setting aside humanity's five supreme transcendent powers, the most prosperous and sacred place in the Gan Wu Universe Country was its Imperial Capital Star—Gan Wu Star. And the most talked-about landmark there was the Gan Wu Tower.

For no other reason than that it was a true tower reaching the heavens. There were no limits on challenges; as long as one cleared different challenges, one could receive different benefits.

And the Gan Wu Tower was not a single tower, but Twin Towers. One was a challenge tower for those below Universe level, while the other was a challenge tower for Universe level warriors.

As one of humanity's oldest major nations, the Gan Wu Country Lord had long been part of the Virtual Universe Company's management. However, countless eras of debt had left him deeply indebted, forcing him to set aside his affairs and focus wholeheartedly on nurturing talent to earn contribution points and repay his debts.

These two towers were used to select Stellar level and Universe level geniuses, and were also preparations for the Universe Peak Genius Battle and Universe Peak Strongest Battle hosted by the Virtual Universe Company.

Jin Yu's destination at this moment was the Gan Wu Tower.

"Whoa, it really is spectacular. What imposing grandeur." Jin Yu looked at the tower before him with a sigh.

Its peak was nowhere in sight. It had to be at least a million kilometers tall, while its width was at least over two hundred thousand kilometers.

Earth's highest mountain was nowhere near ten thousand meters tall—not even ten kilometers. Yet a height one hundred thousand times greater stood before him. It was simply impossible to imagine such majesty.

Earth's diameter was only a little over ten thousand kilometers. Placed inside this tower, it would be like a one-centimeter marble dropped into a jar over twenty centimeters wide and more than a meter tall.

It could not be said to be negligible, but it would still be utterly inconspicuous.

"Babata, why did the Gan Wu Country Lord build a tower in the imperial capital? With the Virtual Universe being so advanced, isn't this redundant and a waste of manpower and resources?" Jin Yu was quite puzzled.

Theoretically, where could be more convenient and safer than the Virtual Universe for selecting geniuses? Why insist on doing it in reality?

"Tch, you don't know anything about this." Babata spoke disdainfully, then began explaining with the air of a teacher. "I looked into it when I came here with Master back then. This is a measure that benefits both the country and its people."

Seeing Jin Yu's puzzled expression, Babata became even more smug within the virtual core space.

"The Gan Wu Universe Country's Royal Family is the strongest force, so all kinds of geniuses they recruit enter the secret realm opened by the Gan Wu Country Lord to cultivate. It is said that the Universe Energy there is extraordinarily dense, allowing cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds." Babata could not help feeling emotional as he said this.

If his master had joined the Royal Family back then, he would not have ended up dead.

After steadying his emotions, Babata continued, "But not every genius is willing to join the Gan Wu Universe Country. Some may have loftier ambitions or greater aspirations, while others may have concerns or desires of their own. This tower is their Path to the Heavens."

"As long as they clear the corresponding level of this tower, they can obtain part of its inheritance."

"And as long as they clear the first ten floors, they can directly join the Royal Family and be nurtured as core members."

"If they are powerful enough to clear the entire tower, the Gan Wu Country Lord will personally take them in as Personal Disciples and train them."

"In short, as long as you are talented enough and clear the required number of floors, everything you desire will be yours." As Babata spoke, he could not help but feel expectant.

"No matter who your enemy is, no matter what concerns you have, or whatever you seek, the Royal Family, as the true ruler of the Gan Wu Universe Country, will grant it. Of course, the prerequisite is that you are talented enough!"

"Back then, the Gan Wu Universe Country Lord personally decreed that all conflict was forbidden within the Gan Wu Tower's bounds. Those who defied the order would die! It is said that a King Immortal once pursued an enemy here, ignored the decree, and stubbornly pressed on. In the end, he was killed by the Country Lord."

Babata looked blank and somewhat grief-stricken. "If Master had been willing to join an organization back then, he would not have met such an end. But his past experiences of joining organizations had hurt him too deeply."

Babata grieved alone, recalling Hu Yanbo's past.

"Joining the Royal Family wouldn't be a bad thing." Jin Yu rubbed his chin and thought it over. "Luo Feng and the others are concerned about their freedom, but I have a clone, so I don't have such concerns. At most, this clone just won't have freedom."

"Besides, what kind of perspective do they have? The Genius Battle will be here in just a few years. That is the greatest opportunity. If I don't make preparations in advance, how will I stand out?"

Of course, the real reason he said this was that Jin Yu did not want the esteemed readers to keep seeing the same plot. Genius Battles and the like were far too cliché. It was good to have something different once in a while and change things up.

Otherwise, with his talent, he was confident that he could surpass everyone of his generation by cultivating step by step. If he wanted, he could lie flat all the way to becoming the strongest.

"So if I join an organization, cultivate quietly, and lie flat until the end of time, wouldn't that be nice?" Jin Yu muttered to himself.

However, he did not notice that he was currently staring at the words on the tower with a fascinated expression, as though he had lost his mind.

This was an illusion!

Inside Jin Yu's World Ring, a massive black mountain range slowly rose to its feet.

For a Stellar level Golden Horned Beast, the optimal metal combination for devouring consisted of 325 types of B-Class metals with a purity close to 100%! Moreover, these 325 pure metals had precise proportions.

Devouring such a combination in one go could raise Evolution Efficiency by eighty-nine times!

For the Golden Horned Beast, advancing from Universe level first order to third order required fifteen years. From Fourth Order to sixth order required twenty years per order, sixty years in total. Seventh, eighth, and ninth order each required one hundred and twenty years. As for crossing from Universe level ninth order into Domain Lord, that required five hundred years!

Under normal circumstances, the entire Universe level process generally lasted nearly a thousand years.

However, paying the price to use metal combinations could greatly shorten the time needed for evolution.

By now, the time Jin Yu had spent traveling, combined with the Life-and-Death Battles at the Giant Axe Arena, had amounted to nearly two months.

An eighty-ninefold evolution boost from the metal combination was comparable to nearly fifteen years of normal evolution. The Golden Horned Beast clone was already about to reach Universe level third order.

Standing nearly three kilometers tall and almost five kilometers long, it would be an unimaginably terrifying existence if placed on Earth.

"What is happening? It actually affected my clone's soul." The Golden Horned Beast clearly sensed that his Human Clone had fallen into a boundless illusion and could not break free.

"It silently affected my Soul Perception. If I had encountered this in battle, I would already be dead!"

"But you think this is enough to trap me in an illusion? Dream on! This world is so dazzling and wonderful—how could I possibly muddle through it like this? This is not what I want!"

At that moment, Jin Yu, who had been wearing a fascinated expression, suddenly snapped awake. He stared at the distant tower with a wary look. Countless words floated across it, and the originally incomparably radiant character for "illusion" in his eyes slowly dimmed.