Resources Are More Important Than Talent

"The effects of cultivation on the third day had already dropped by around thirty percent. Looks like it was time to push for the third level."

Li Xingze slowly rose to his feet. There were still more than six days left. Even if the third level's effects were halved after six days, it would still be stronger than the current second level!

After making a few adjustments, Li Xingze began his push toward the third level of stairs.

The gravity on the third level was several times stronger than that of the second. The increasingly intense dizziness forced Li Xingze to slow down.

Li Xingze had originally planned to challenge the fourth level during the final two days, but judging by the situation, he could only try again next time.

The gravitational pressure inside the Three Step Tower differed from ordinary gravity outside. It was a kind of mental gravity, a dual torment of body and mind that was agonizing beyond measure!

The steps of the third level already gave Li Xingze a splitting headache. The fourth level would probably blow his head apart outright.

The instant he stepped onto the third level, the unbearable dizziness vanished, replaced by elemental density eighty times greater than normal. It felt as though he were immersed in an ocean of elements.

Li Xingze's Nebula Magic Tool granted him triple cultivation speed. Under this eightyfold elemental density, he could enjoy a cultivation speed two hundred and forty times faster than normal!

One day here was equivalent to more than half a year of cultivation for an ordinary person. The disparity left Li Xingze deeply moved!!

Besides the Three Step Tower, there were surely many similar sacred cultivation grounds, and quite a few were probably privately owned.

Take Song Feiyao of Xia Isle, for example. She had soared all the way to the peak of the Super Tier. How many people could only dream of such an opportunity?

Of course, it was not without drawbacks. With an unstable foundation, stepping into the Forbidden Curse realm would become even more difficult.

But the peak of the Super Tier was already a realm that countless people could pursue for a lifetime without ever touching. If one had to choose between resources and talent, resources were undoubtedly more important.

After adjusting his mindset slightly, Li Xingze swiftly entered a meditative cultivation state.

Within his spiritual world, the moon-white nebula and purple nebula echoed one another from afar, while a tiny green stardust cluster lay in the distance.

Since his Wind Element had not reached the Intermediate Tier, he still had not absorbed the Spirit Seed he had obtained from the auction house.

At two hundred and forty times the cultivation speed, Li Xingze took less than two days to cultivate his Summoning Element to the third level.

It had taken only a little over four days to achieve both goals, far beyond his expectations.

No wonder the competition at the Main Campus was so intense. A single chance to cultivate in the Three Step Tower could create a considerable gap.

The days spent in secluded cultivation always passed quickly. Li Xingze emerged from the Three Step Tower feeling refreshed and invigorated.

His Summoning Element was at Intermediate Tier Level Three, while both his Lightning Element and Wind Element were at Intermediate Tier Level One. On the final day, his Lightning Element had clearly already touched the bottleneck of Level Two.

Unfortunately, the third level's effect on the final day was less than forty percent. Otherwise, his Lightning Element would definitely have broken through to Intermediate Tier Level Two.

"Junior, how was it? Felt amazing in there, didn't it?"

When they saw Li Xingze emerge, the two senior students guarding the entrance came over with smiles.

Although they guarded this sacred cultivation ground, neither of them had ever truly entered the Three Step Tower—not even the first level.

They had only heard about the mysteries of the Three Step Tower secondhand. Many senior students had used it to break through a minor realm, and every time they heard about it, they grew restless with envy.

Li Xingze nodded and said, "Cultivating in the Three Step Tower once is worth a year of bitter cultivation. I was fortunate enough to break through a minor realm."

When they heard that Li Xingze had broken through a minor realm, the two senior students were filled with envy.

For Dean Xiao to make an exception for him, this junior's cultivation had to be at the Intermediate Tier. Advancing by a minor realm meant he had reached Intermediate Tier Level Two, didn't it?

They had spent two years at the Main Campus and had only barely cultivated one element to the second level. Yet this junior would not even enter the Main Campus until next year, meaning he had shortened the gap by three whole years.

Comparisons really could make people furious!

"Congratulations, Junior."

"I still have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."

Li Xingze waved his hand calmly and turned to leave without lingering.

It took half an hour to return from the Main Campus to the Green Campus. Unfortunately, Summoned Beasts could not be used for transportation on campus, or he could have arrived in two or three minutes.

As soon as Li Xingze returned to the dormitory, he saw Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan, both looking at him with puzzled expressions.

"Where have you been these past few days? Don't tell me you managed to hook up with some girl?"

As he spoke, Zhao Manyan waggled his eyebrows and flashed a lewd grin.

That single smile conveyed a thousand words.

It was around six in the evening. It was normal for Mo Fan to be staying in the dormitory, but why was Zhao Manyan here?

Rather than answer Zhao Manyan's question, Li Xingze asked, "It's almost evening already. What, no senior sister keeping you company today?"

"Cough, cough~" Zhao Manyan choked, his gaze turning evasive.

Mo Fan immediately exposed him. "This guy was having two or three gunfights every day for a while. His bullets were used up ages ago, and he's still on cooldown."

As someone from Blue Star, Mo Fan used gaming terminology with impeccable precision.

"Tsk~"

Li Xingze was utterly dumbfounded. He looked at Zhao Manyan while holding back a laugh.

"If you keep indulging yourself like this, I'm seriously worried you'll end up useless."

Zhao Manyan shot Mo Fan a glare. Now his mighty and heroic image was completely ruined.

But Zhao Manyan did not care in the slightest. At worst, he could just take more supplements later.

"Ze Ge, you still haven't answered my question." Zhao Manyan changed the subject.

To avoid that awkward topic, Zhao Manyan had even called him "Ze Ge."

Mo Fan usually called him "Old Li," while Zhao Manyan addressed him by his full name. "Ze Ge" was generally only used in jokes.

"I made a trip to the Three Step Tower," Li Xingze said, going along with the change of subject.

"The Three Step Tower?!" Zhao Manyan immediately wore an expression of shock and envy.

It was something countless aristocratic family disciples could only dream of. A single cultivation session in the Three Step Tower was worth more than an accumulation of who knew how many resources.

"What's the Three Step Tower? A magical artifact?" Mo Fan had no idea.

Zhao Manyan stared at Mo Fan in astonishment. "You came here to enroll without even knowing about the Three Step Tower?"

Mo Fan was an Undead Mage. Even at Imperial Capital Academy, he would have been highly sought after. Zhao Manyan had thought Mo Fan had chosen Pearl Institute because of the Three Step Tower.

"I came with Old Li," Mo Fan said casually.

Hearing that, Li Xingze smiled faintly and explained, "The Three Step Tower is like a cultivation treasure ground. The elemental concentration inside is dozens of times higher than outside. Cultivating there for one day is equivalent to cultivating normally for dozens of days."

Mo Fan had absorbed the Terra Sanctum Spring before, so he naturally understood how satisfying that kind of rapid cultivation progress felt. He instantly became deeply envious of Li Xingze.

"The Three Step Tower... With Ze Ge's current strength, I'm afraid most students from the Main Campus wouldn't be his match, right?" Zhao Manyan's eyes and tone were both filled with envy.

Based on Li Xingze's performance in the Beast Arena Competition, he had been more than capable of breaking into the top twenty of the Thunder Ranking.

Now that his cultivation had improved, he might already have reached the level of the top ten on the Thunder Ranking.

Li Xingze merely smiled without speaking. An increase in Summoning Element cultivation could not directly enhance one's strength; it could only speed up the growth of Summoned Beasts and Contract Beasts.

However, both the Goldflame Dragon Lion and the Abyssal Dragon possessed extremely high Bloodlines, and their growth rates were astonishing as well. Li Xingze's Summoning Element cultivation might actually become a burden holding them back.

If he wanted to avoid limiting the growth of the Goldflame Dragon Lion and the Abyssal Dragon, he had to raise his Summoning Element to the high tier as soon as possible!

Although his Summoning Element had already reached the third level of the intermediate tier, it was still a long way from completing the intermediate tier—far farther than the gap between the second and third levels of the intermediate tier.