"Hmph, so what!?"
"Only after the forty-third floor does the Hundred Refinements Tower's true trial begin!"
Xuan Zhou's chest heaved, but he still answered in a muffled voice.
Liu Yunxi's true advantage lay beyond the forty-third floor!
Buzz!
Before Xuan Zhou's voice had even faded, Ye Xuan's name had already reached the forty-fourth floor!
"What?"
Xuan Zhou froze. Was Ye Xuan slapping him in the face?
One had to know that on the forty-fourth floor, not only had the puppets' combat strength reached the mid-Myriad Manifestation Realm, but the entire floor was also filled with forbidden killing arrays!
Even someone with formidable combat strength might not be able to pass!
Yet Ye Xuan had cleared it in only a few breaths!?
Wasn't that a little too fast!?
But as soon as his voice fell, Ye Xuan's name flashed again, appearing on the forty-fifth floor!
He had officially surpassed Chu Wan'er and become the top freshman of Cloud Palace Academy!
For a moment, Xuan Zhou looked as though he had swallowed a dead fly, his face as gloomy as a freezing abyss.
Why!?
The forbidden killing arrays clearly appeared starting from the forty-third floor. Even Chu Wan'er's speed had slowed noticeably, yet Ye Xuan was completely unaffected!?
But under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Ye Xuan's name showed no sign of stopping.
The forty-sixth floor!
The forty-eighth floor!
The forty-ninth!
Each floor still took only a dozen or so breaths. In the blink of an eye, Ye Xuan had already reached the forty-ninth floor!
This floor not only set another freshman record for Cloud Palace Academy, but also tied Zhao Yan!
Zhao Yan had entered the Hundred Refinements Tower, yet to this day, he still had not broken through the forty-ninth floor!
"The forty-ninth floor! That should rank in the top five among the three academies, right?"
"That's right. Xie Hongyi of Danyang Academy and Xuan Zheng of Tinglei Academy, the strongest among them, are both currently on the fifty-third floor. Forty-nine ranks fifth!"
"Still, this is practically the limit. Once he enters the fiftieth floor, the difficulty will soar several times over!"
Beneath the Hundred Refinements Tower, everyone began discussing it animatedly.
Meanwhile, the top ten direct disciples who had originally been preparing to charge the tower all wore increasingly solemn expressions.
That was because Zhao Yan, the tenth-ranked direct disciple, was on the forty-ninth floor. Once Ye Xuan entered the fiftieth floor, he would surpass more than just them!
Moreover, the points from the fiftieth floor would cause Ye Xuan's total score to skyrocket.
When that happened, their rankings were destined to be replaced!
For a moment, these top direct disciples actually began to grow nervous.
Buzz!
But only a short while later, a heartbreaking scene appeared before the direct disciples.
Ye Xuan's name advanced another floor, reaching the fiftieth floor!
He had truly stepped into the ranks of the top direct disciples!
"Hiss!"
"He's still that fast?"
"Why does it feel as though this Hundred Refinements Tower poses no difficulty for him?"
Now, even the people beneath the Hundred Refinements Tower began to wonder.
This result was simply too outrageous. Even if Ye Xuan had the strength to crush Xie Binghan and the others, this was the fiftieth floor of the Hundred Refinements Tower!
Even without forbidden killing arrays, it shouldn't have been possible to move this quickly!
"Heh heh, frogs at the bottom of a well!"
Ji Ziyao sneered.
Not to mention the restrictions within this mere Hundred Refinements Tower—even an imperial array would be unable to trouble her husband!
At that moment, more and more academy cultivators arrived beneath the Hundred Refinements Tower.
The other tower masters had also all arrived.
When Tianquan Tower Master and the others saw Ye Xuan's name flashing on the fiftieth floor, their expressions immediately turned as dark as water!
After the incident at the Enlightenment Platform, Ye Xuan and Chu Wan'er had once again trampled all the freshmen beneath their feet!
But the Hundred Refinements Tower was different from the Enlightenment Platform!
This result would be recognized by all three academies!
Moreover, Ye Xuan was now charging toward a top-ten result among the first-generation direct disciples. Where would that leave their faces!?
"The fiftieth floor is the real test. The killing arrays and the puppets' combat strength will both be amplified several times over!"
Tianquan Tower Master wore a grave expression, but still spoke up.
"Tianquan Tower Master, judging by your tone, do you not wish for the freshmen of Cloud Palace Academy to achieve a good result?"
Yaoguang Tower Master raised an eyebrow.
"Heh heh, Yaoguang Tower Master, you've misunderstood me!"
Tianquan Tower Master restrained his expression and said indifferently, "I'm merely stating the facts and reminding everyone not to celebrate too soon!"
"The Hundred Refinements Tower is not the Enlightenment Platform. Ye Xuan has the Forbidden Body, but his combat strength still has its limits. If you're blindly optimistic, wouldn't that make Danyang Academy and Tinglei Academy laugh?"
"Reaching the fiftieth floor already counts as a stroke of good fortune. Advancing another floor is absolutely impossible!"
Buzz!
Before Tianquan Tower Master's voice had even faded, the Hundred Refinements Stele suddenly shook violently again!
Ye Xuan's name abruptly rose from the fiftieth floor to the fifty-first floor!
Tianquan Tower Master's expression instantly stiffened.
Ye Xuan had slapped him in the face this quickly!?
"Heh heh, Tianquan Tower Master, the fiftieth floor doesn't seem quite as frightening as you said, does it?"
Ji Xueyao could not help laughing.
"I..."
Tianquan Tower Master opened his mouth, but faced with Ye Xuan's result, he could not say a word.
Now, Ye Xuan's fifty-first-floor result had not only shattered all doubts, but had also truly made him the third-ranked freshman among the three academies!
His result was second only to Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng!
"Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng are only on the fifty-third floor..."
"But those two didn't enter the fiftieth floor nearly this quickly!"
The crowd exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.
One had to know that Ye Xuan's cultivation was only at the Heavenly Gang Realm, while Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng were both in the Myriad Manifestation Realm!
Xuan Zheng might even advance to Nirvana before the Peak Competition.
How had Ye Xuan charged upward so quickly!?
At the same time, within Danyang Academy.
A group of academy cultivators had also gathered beneath the Hundred Refinements Tower.
They had all come to witness the clash between Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng.
The Xie and Xuan families were both great clans. Although the Xuan Clan was the foremost clan, Xuan Zheng was only at the tail end of the Four Elites. The two had always been competing with each other.
This time, both of them had gone all out in the Hundred Refinements Tower.
It could be said that this was their final clash before the Peak Competition.
Hmm!?
Just as everyone focused on the two names side by side, another radiance suddenly shot up from below.
It was incredibly fast. At first, the crowd paid it no attention, but in the blink of an eye, that radiance had already reached beneath Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng!
"Ye Xuan!? Who's that?"
The people from Danyang Academy looked at one another, secretly wondering where this fellow had come from to have actually caught up to Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng.
The fifty-first floor—he was only two floors behind their results!?
And his speed was far too fast.
One had to know that Xie Hongyi had taken two days to reach the fifty-third floor, while Xuan Zheng had taken two and a half!
"Ye Xuan seems to be a freshman from Cloud Palace Academy!"
"I heard that he comprehended Cloud Palace Academy's Unique Dao Treasure and has astonishing comprehension!"
"But I also heard that he only has the Forbidden Body and cannot enter the Myriad Manifestation Realm!"
"Didn't Elder Zhao take people to Cloud Palace Academy to challenge them? How can this person still be charging the tower?"
The elders' faces were filled with confusion.
"This is bad!"
Just then, an academy cultivator rushed in from outside the academy and hurriedly arrived before the Hundred Refinements Tower.
"Elders, Elder Zhao lost the challenge at Cloud Palace Academy. The three freshmen, Xie Hanbing and the others, were all defeated by a single Cloud Palace freshman!"
The cultivator's face was filled with humiliation.
"What did you say? Xie Binghan was defeated by one person?"
"Who?"
The elders were all shocked.
The freshmen Elder Zhao had taken with him were all in the Myriad Manifestation Realm, while Cloud Palace Academy had yet to produce a single freshman in the Myriad Manifestation Realm. How could they have lost—and to the same person, no less!?
"Who did they lose to?"
At that moment, an old man at the Half-step King Realm asked coldly.
"Ye Xuan!"
The cultivator answered.
"What? Ye Xuan?"
The crowd froze at first, then all turned toward the Hundred Refinements Stele!
At that moment, Ye Xuan's name had already climbed to the fifty-second floor!
He was only one floor behind Xie Hongyi and Xuan Zheng!
Before you continue