As he stepped into the ninth floor, Chen Feng still felt both solemn and expectant.
According to his earlier guess, there should have been a peak third-rank demon on this ninth floor.
Before this, he had already slain a peak third-rank wolf demon.
So he had not been overly worried.
Yet he had never expected that the ninth floor would be completely quiet.
There were no demonic roars at all, nor were there any illusions attacking him.
The ninth floor was silent and still.
The floor was paved with white jade.
Only at the center stood a white jade platform. It was about two meters long, and roughly one meter in both height and width.
Three white jade slips were placed atop the platform, arranged from left to right.
A small formation covered the jade slips.
"Are these cultivation techniques?"
Surprise flickered in Chen Feng's eyes as he murmured softly.
This scene was much like when he had chosen cultivation techniques in the Scripture Pavilion.
Except now, there were only these three jade slips on this floor.
That left him somewhat astonished.
He had no idea what was going on.
Now, he somewhat regretted not learning more about the Wind and Cloud Small Tower's trial information while he was still outside the tower.
It was clearly different from what he had expected!
Just as he was still puzzled, a ripple suddenly flickered above the stone platform.
Then, a figure like a pillar of light emerged, taking the form of an old man dressed in coarse linen robes.
His hair was entirely gray, and a gentle smile rested on his face.
Looking at Chen Feng, he said with a laugh, "I never expected the one worthy of attention to be a warrior of the Lower Three Ranks."
The gentle old man said with a smile.
Chen Feng's expression turned solemn. He took a step back and looked at the person before him, shock rising in his heart.
Although he knew this was a fantasy world, this was still the first time he had seen someone condense an illusory white figure directly out of thin air.
Though the old man formed from that condensation appeared harmless to man and beast.
The other party's illusory form alone was enough to fill Chen Feng with shock and wariness.
Naturally, he did not dare entertain any other thoughts. He simply clasped his hands and said, "This student is Chen Feng. Greetings, Senior."
No matter what this was, inside the Wind and Cloud Tower, it should be connected to the Demon Patrol Guard, right?
The fact that it had not attacked him outright was good news.
The illusory old man saw through Chen Feng's thoughts as well and said with a smile, "This old man is the Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit. I am very pleased to see our human race produce another new genius."
"If you have any questions, you may ask them now."
Shock filled Chen Feng's eyes. "Tower Spirit?"
"The spirit of this tower?"
The illusory old man smiled. "Naturally, I am the spirit of this tower."
Chen Feng let out a breath of relief.
In a fantasy world like this, he had also read some information about such things.
Once weapons in this world reached a certain level, it was possible for them to give birth to Weapon Spirits.
It was perfectly normal for a Weapon Spirit to appear here.
However, at this moment, the illusory Tower Spirit continued with a smile, "Not only this tower. Every affiliated academy of the Demon Patrol Division throughout the Great Gan Dynasty has two Wind and Cloud Towers."
"This old man is the Tower Spirit of all those Wind and Cloud Towers."
The Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit said smilingly, the smile still on his face.
Meanwhile, Chen Feng was utterly stunned. "What? Senior, you are the Tower Spirit of every Wind and Cloud Tower?"
Chen Feng was truly shocked!
According to the information he currently knew, the Great Gan Dynasty possessed the territory of the Thirty-six prefectures of the Nine Provinces.
And Black Stone City, where he was now, was merely one of the County Towns in Nanshan Prefecture, Yun Province.
There were at least dozens of County Towns like this within a single prefecture.
A single province had at least several hundred academies.
Across the Nine Provinces, that meant over a thousand academies!
And all of them shared this one Weapon Spirit?
The Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit smiled. "Naturally. The Wind and Cloud Ranking is a top-tier Dao artifact of the Demon Patrol Division. This old man has merely divided off several thousand incarnations."
"Each incarnation guards a subsidiary tower. Under normal circumstances, this old man does not appear."
"This time, I appeared only because I sensed how quickly you cleared the trials and wished to see what your talent was like."
Chen Feng relaxed inwardly and smiled. "So that was it."
"May I ask how this talent is assessed?"
He was still somewhat puzzled, unsure what the Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit meant.
The Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit then walked to the stone platform behind him and said with a smile, "Here are three High-grade Profound martial skills. According to the previous testing procedure, comprehending one of these martial skills to the introductory level within a day counts as passing the assessment."
"However, your trial-clearing speed was very fast, and I believe you can have a better choice."
"I can make the decision to exchange these three Profound-grade martial skills for three Earth-grade cultivation techniques. You may choose any one of them to cultivate. If you reach the introductory level within a day, you will have successfully passed."
"Of course, you may also choose the Profound-grade martial skills."
Surprise appeared on Chen Feng's face, followed by delight. "There is such a reward?"
This truly exceeded his expectations!
The reason he had entered the Wind and Cloud Tower this time was to obtain points.
Then he could exchange them for cultivation resources, including new cultivation techniques.
Yet he had never expected that the Wind and Cloud Tower would also have a talent assessment.
But cultivating martial skills posed no difficulty whatsoever for him. With his panel proficiency, he only needed to practice a martial skill once to record it.
That way, it would not take a full day at all.
After only a brief moment of thought, Chen Feng said, "Naturally, I choose the Earth-grade martial skills."
Then he asked in confusion, "Senior Tower Spirit, can I only cultivate one? Can I not cultivate all three?"
The Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit laughed. "Haha, naturally you can. But for warriors, both talent and energy are limited. Earth-grade cultivation techniques can even be used all the way to the Grandmaster realm."
"For techniques of this rank, cultivating even one is enough to bring an earth-shaking transformation to your combat strength."
"Trying to swallow too much will only leave you unable to digest it."
As he spoke, the Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit's eyes held a hint of persuasion.
As the Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit, he had seen far too many geniuses over the years.
He had offered upgrades to Earth-grade cultivation techniques and martial skills before, even Heaven-grade martial skills.
Yet in the end, there were still far too few prodigious warriors who could truly rise.
Although this Chen Feng before him was decent, clearing eight floors at once and doing so quickly enough to draw his attention.
Among the prodigies he knew, however, Chen Feng was not yet among the absolute pinnacle.
On the contrary, Chen Feng's words just now—that he wanted to cultivate all three Earth-grade martial skills at once—made him somewhat displeased.
Chen Feng merely smiled and said, "May I ask what standard Senior can offer?"
"This junior can give it a try."
Earth-grade martial skills!
He had only seen a few of them in the Scripture Pavilion.
Moreover, their exchange prices were extraordinarily steep.
Since such a good opportunity had presented itself this time, he truly did not wish to give it up so easily.
Hearing this, the Wind and Cloud Tower Spirit looked at Chen Feng, a trace of displeasure in his heart. "Since that is the case, I will give you an opportunity."
Before you continue