Ascension Spirit Platform

Everyone in the hall was still waiting for what would happen next.

After a long while, Ze Ping could not help asking, "Boss, do you think the Spirit Pagoda people forgot about us? If they were only asking their superiors for instructions, isn't this taking far too long?"

Tang Chenfeng replied, "Probably not. The Church of Life's standing is right there for all to see. They wouldn't simply ignore us."

As he spoke, one of the doors in the hall opened. Two people emerged: one was the Spirit Transmitter from before, while the other was an elderly man. Judging by his clothing, his status was clearly much higher than that Spirit Transmitter's. And... he felt very powerful.

The moment he came out, the deputy tower master saw them. His brows furrowed slightly. Though he had already heard the Spirit Transmitter's report, the five people before him seemed even more ordinary than he had imagined. Of the five, only three were Soul Masters: one had Two Rings, one had one ring, and one did not even have a Soul Ring. He could not help doubting his earlier judgment.

The elderly man looked at them and walked straight over. At the same time, he took out the Sect Master Token and said, "Esteemed guests, I am the deputy tower master of the Spirit Pagoda's Haitian City branch. May I ask whose this is?"

This deputy tower master did not give his name, which showed that he did not trust the people before him and did not regard them as equals.

Ling Wei did not hesitate. She walked straight over and said, "Hello, that belongs to me." At the same time, she reached out to take back the Sect Master Token.

But the instant Ling Wei gripped the Sect Master Token, a tyrannical surge of Soul Power suddenly erupted from the deputy tower master before her and swept directly toward everyone present.

Affected by that Soul Power, the three siblings almost instinctively released their Martial Souls. One Black Soul Ring and two green-gold Soul Rings appeared around the siblings, barely blocking the impact of the Soul Power.

Ze Ping had it the worst. Since his Martial Soul had no Soul Ring attached to it yet, he could only take it head-on. He was sent flying by the Soul Power, while Ze Ya was knocked unconscious.

Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling's true Soul Rings only appeared for a brief instant, but the deputy tower master still caught sight of them easily. His first reaction was shock. A black first ring meant a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, while he had never even heard of green-gold Soul Rings.

That shock quickly turned into a sense of danger—not from anyone else, but from the woman before him, the one he had initially sensed no Soul Power from. At the same time, a tremendous force viciously seized the hand he had extended earlier.

"What are you—doing?!" Ling Wei's tone was fierce and filled with rage.

At the same time, another immensely powerful surge of Soul Power burst from Ling Wei and charged straight at the deputy tower master.

"My hand... I can't pull it free." The deputy tower master's Martial Soul belonged to the control type, and he was not strong physically. He wanted to pull his hand back to defend himself, but his opponent's strength was far greater than his. Worse still, his Soul Power was actually being suppressed by hers.

"Her cultivation is far above mine. How is that possible?" the deputy tower master thought. At the same time, he released his Martial Soul and Soul Rings to defend himself, then forcibly broke free from Ling Wei's iron grip.

The deputy tower master's Soul Ring configuration was two yellow, three purple, and four black—a standard nine-ring Soul Douluo. Yet in terms of strength, he was no match for her.

"You dared to hurt my family. Deputy Tower Master, we have a lot to talk about now." Along with Ling Wei's furious words, her Martial Soul and Soul Rings appeared.

First, five pairs of pure white angel wings emerged from Ling Wei's back, radiating astonishing life energy. Then, a white-hot sword appeared in her hand. The life energy instantly transformed into blazing flames infused with life force. Her emerald-green hair, once symbolic of life, turned red-gold, while her nine Soul Rings—four purple, four black, and one red—added even more majesty to her presence.

The deputy tower master said in shock, "I know you. Blazing Spirit Douluo, Ling Wei! Didn't you and Nine Dragons Douluo disappear together long ago?!"

This deputy tower master was nearly a hundred years old. When he had been young, Ye Jiulong and Ling Wei had been the most eye-catching duo of their era. Though not many people knew of them now, this deputy tower master was definitely one of those who did.

"Since you know, there's no need for me to explain." Ling Wei held her sword horizontally and pointed it directly at the deputy tower master.

However, facing Ling Wei's sword, the deputy tower master merely put away his Martial Soul and said respectfully, "I am Zhou Liehong. This junior was disrespectful. I was merely testing you earlier and had no ulterior motives. I beg Blazing Spirit Douluo for forgiveness. After all, Tower Climbing is not something just anyone can undertake. Please withdraw your divine abilities, Your Highness."

Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling had already recovered. Other than Ze Ping and his mother being unconscious, no one else present had suffered any harm.

After considering it for a while, Ling Wei finally withdrew her Martial Soul and Soul Rings.

At that moment, Tang Chenfeng and his sister were undoubtedly the most shocked people there.

"At home, Grandpa always said never to make Grandma angry. So this was what he meant. She's really terrifying."

Thus, in the Spirit Pagoda hall that still retained a trace of warmth from the blazing flames, the siblings silently placed "never make Grandma Ling angry" at the very top of their priorities.

"Boss, how exactly did I faint? I have no memory of it at all," Ze Ping asked in confusion.

Tang Chenfeng teased, "You're better off not knowing."

Once matters in the hall had been settled, the three of them immediately woke Ze Ping and his mother. Fortunately, they were unharmed. It seemed that the sudden incident had merely caused temporary memory loss. Naturally, Tang Chenfeng and the others also thought it would be best not to tell them what had happened. Thankfully, Ze Ping did not ask further.

Now, the five of them were riding an elevator that appeared to be heading down beneath the Spirit Pagoda.

The elevator had already descended for two minutes, and the faint sensation of weightlessness told them that it was still dropping rapidly. None of them knew where it was leading.

After riding the elevator for a full four minutes, everyone finally felt it come to a stop.

Outside the elevator was an enormous passageway made entirely of metal structures, with many staff members waiting outside.

One of them stepped forward without saying anything. He simply made a welcoming gesture and led them deeper into the passageway.

The passageway was very long, and metal structures lined the entire route. It was not a place anyone could really like.

"Mom, where exactly are we going next?" Ye Hongling asked.

Ling Wei replied, "We should go to the Ascension Spirit Platform first, then use the Spirit Platform for Tower Climbing."

At that moment, Ze Ping asked from the side, "Um, I've been wanting to ask since earlier. What is the Tower Climbing Auntie Ling Wei mentioned? And what exactly is this Spirit Platform?"

Ling Wei explained, "Let's talk about the Spirit Platform first. The Spirit Platform is a training ground created entirely by the Spirit Pagoda for Soul Masters. It is a place used to improve a Soul Master's personal strength."

"When Soul Masters enter the Ascension Spirit Platform, it is like entering another space. However, they are protected by the Ascension Spirit Platform itself, so the danger is not too great. Inside, they can battle Soul Beasts formed from Spirit Souls and improve their combat experience. Some particularly lucky Soul Masters can even perfect their Spirit Souls within the Ascension Spirit Platform, increasing the age of their Soul Rings and achieving an effect known as Spirit Ascension."

"Through the Spirit Pagoda's research, the Spirit Platform has also developed many other functions. One special area is called the Soul Spirit Tower. It was originally established to provide Spirit Souls and trials for the Spirit Pagoda's own members, as well as certain special groups. Each time you advance one floor, you encounter a Soul Beast formed from a Spirit Soul. Defeat it, and you can choose whether to absorb that Spirit Soul. Although it was later opened to the public, it is still limited to major factions. The Church of Life is one of them."

"Soul Spirit Towers operate independently and are set up according to the scale of the local Spirit Pagoda. Haitian City's should have only around thirty-six floors at most. The higher the floor, the better the quality of the Spirit Souls. The higher you climb, the more likely you are to encounter rare Spirit Souls. The greatest advantage of Tower Climbing is that it gives discounts on Spirit Souls. The higher you climb, the bigger the discount. If you are lucky, not only Hundred-Year Soul Spirits—even Thousand-Year Soul Spirits may be affordable."

"I see," Ye Hongling said in sudden realization.

"In other words, as long as we climb the tower together, challenge the Spirit Souls in the Soul Spirit Tower, and climb as high as possible, we can find a suitable Spirit Soul for Ze Ping while also getting him a good price."

Ling Wei praised her, "That's right. Exactly."

"Boss, you're all too good to me. I really have no way to repay this kindness." With tears and snot streaming down his face, Ze Ping lunged straight at Tang Chenfeng.

Tang Chenfeng pushed Ze Ping away with one hand. "Calm down first. Even if you want to celebrate, wait until after we climb the tower."

Thus, amid laughter and cheerful chatter, everyone reached the end of the passageway and entered a circular room.

The walls of the room were covered in enormous screens. The images on them showed a vast expanse of green, seemingly an ancient forest.

The staff member turned around and said, "Tower Climbing provides you with three slots in total. The Spirit Pagoda has a rule that the gap between team members cannot exceed thirty levels, so please wait outside." Those words were clearly directed at Ling Wei. It was easy to understand why: if someone far stronger than the rest of the team led them in Tower Climbing and drove down the prices of Spirit Souls, the Spirit Pagoda would have gone bankrupt long ago.

The staff member then took out three wristbands, each with a conspicuous transparent red component.

The staff member said, "These are Distress Signal Devices. If you encounter an irresistible danger in the Spirit Platform, press it. It will forcibly remove you from the Spirit Platform and return you to reality."