"I'm Watching You"

Taxisis had read biographies in the archives of those who had successfully completed the Dragon-Climbing Road and leapt from ordinary Magic-Users to Dragonborn. According to them, the challenges seemed to vary from person to person, with no fixed method for clearing them. Even their descriptions of the space within the tower differed.

But one thing she could be certain of was that completing the Dragon-Climbing Tower was by no means easy. The challengers had ranged from strong to weak, yet all had suffered considerable injuries. Not one had completed the Dragon-Climbing Road unscathed. Considering how many had failed and died, she estimated that, with her spellcasting abilities sealed, she too would have to endure a bitter fight.

Perhaps this was precisely the "punishment" approved by the upper ranks and ordinary believers alike.

No matter what, this outcome was far better than she had expected.

Even if she could not pass the Dragon-Climbing Tower and died halfway through, it would still be better than some punishments of extreme humiliation.

After all, she was a woman.

No matter how resolute her will was, if she truly had to undergo those punishments carried out before countless watching eyes, she would still feel a trace of fear.

Taxisis lay back down on the bed and stared up at the pitch-black ceiling—by now, it should have been nighttime, the hour when the Sun God temporarily departed from the world. For some reason, Xia Fan's description of the sun's path suddenly came to mind. According to him, the sun never went far from anyone; it merely appeared on the other side of the world, providing light and warmth to the living beings beyond the Endless Sea.

Even the moon itself was merely a faint gleam reflected from the sun.

If that claim was true, then what