When it was Ji Ning Clone's turn to enter, he, like those before him, gave the burly man on the stone platform a slight bow.
He then walked to the entrance and slowly reached out with his left hand to touch the door.
An electronic voice rang out in his mind. "One-star Gan Wu practitioner Ji Ning, do you wish to enter the Gan Wu Tower?"
"Yes." He replied with a thought, and in the next instant, Ji Ning Clone was teleported into the Gan Wu Tower.
This was the depths of a desolate desert. Yellow sand filled the sky, obscuring the setting sun, while fierce winds carried the endless sand onward, eroding everything in their path.
Amid the yellow sand, the bones of animals and remnants of trees could vaguely be seen. Looking closer, one could find insects such as scorpions and ants nesting within those skeletal remains.
After a ripple passed through space, Ji Ning Clone appeared amid the endless sand. His combat boots pressed into the ground, leaving deep footprints behind.
At the same time, information regarding the Gan Wu Tower's reward system was sent to his Virtual Universe account.
After briefly browsing through it, he saw that aside from monetary rewards, there were also Contribution Points.
In the Gan Wu Secret Realm, some items could not be bought with money alone. One also needed to reach a certain contribution rank.
Therefore, Contribution Points were an even more important hard currency than money within the Gan Wu Secret Realm. With enough Contribution Points, one could even have an immortal personally teach them!
Yellow sand struck Ji Ning Clone's face like tiny blades, yet it failed to leave behind even the slightest mark.
"One-leaf Gan Wu practitioner Ji Ning, please choose your profession, protective suit, and weapon." The electronic voice echoed through the empty desert.
"Martial Artist..." Ji Ning made his choice without hesitation.
On top of a sand dune ahead, countless Light Spots gathered together. In the blink of an eye, they condensed into a golden figure.
The golden radiance slowly faded. The figure was roughly the same size as Ji Ning and wore the same protective suit and sword-shaped weapon he had chosen, though the colors differed slightly. Its entire body, including its face, was covered by an obsidian-black protective suit.
"Newcomer, make your move!" A cold voice carried over.
Bang.
The moment the words fell, the pitch-black figure was sent flying by a single strike from Ji Ning Clone's sword. To distinguish himself from his true body, he had chosen a sword as his weapon. After all, using the same weapon and techniques would greatly increase the chances of being recognized.
He did not intend to hide from everyone, but he could not let people recognize him at a glance either!
The obsidian-black figure skipped across the yellow sand like a stone over water, flying far away before crashing into a massive sand dune in the distance.
Since he wanted to test the strength of the first-floor obsidian-black figure, Ji Ning Clone had not used his full strength. It had merely been an ordinary strike supplemented with a little force-amplification technique.
Suddenly, the several-hundred-meter-tall sand dune exploded. Yellow sand scattered in every direction, blocking his vision.
Taking advantage of the cover of sand, the obsidian-black figure turned into an afterimage and instantly closed to within a hundred meters of Ji Ning.
Ji Ning stood still, sword in hand, waiting for the obsidian-black figure to reveal his strength.
The figure that had charged within a hundred meters did not stop. He swung his sword at Ji Ning, aiming straight for his throat.
At the same time, an invisible pressure descended upon Ji Ning Clone.
"First level of the Earth Domain. Is that all?" The corner of his mouth lifted. The instant he felt the domain's pressure, he discerned the opponent's domain level.
Now that he knew the opponent's strength, he had no reason to continue testing him.
"Gazing at the Mountains." This was a sword technique from the Meteor Star Martial Artist inheritance. In his hands, it became a streak of light that crossed past the opponent's figure.
He came to a stop behind the obsidian-black figure and sheathed his sword. In that instant, he had already slit the opponent's throat.
He had not even used his domain, relying only on an extremely advanced force-amplification technique.
Turning around, he watched the figure dissolve into Light Spots and vanish, while another electronic prompt sounded beside his ear.
"One-leaf Gan Wu practitioner Ji Ning, congratulations on passing the first floor of the Gan Wu Tower. You have received 10,000 Gan Wu Coins and one Contribution Point." After reading the message, he decisively chose to continue to the second floor.
Unlike the desert setting of the first floor, the second floor was a lush green grassland.
Just like on the first floor, Light Spots gathered again and formed an obsidian-black figure.
"It has been a long time since I encountered such a powerful newcomer. How far will you be able to go?" There was anticipation in his voice.
"Haha, just wait and see!" There was no further exchange. The two figures collided at once.
It was still an unremarkable sword strike, yet in the blink of an eye, it pierced through the obsidian-black figure's chest.
"How is that possible?" His voice was filled with disbelief.
This time, he had unleashed his own second level of the Earth Domain from the very beginning, yet he had still been killed in a single blow.
After that, Ji Ning Clone experienced a series of different environments.
Third floor, ice plains. One strike kill.
Fourth floor, deep ocean. The obsidian-black figure withstood the first sword strike, but after Ji Ning Clone used his domain, his chest was pierced through.
Fifth floor, sea of lava...
In the blink of an eye, he reached the ninth floor. The obsidian-black figure slowly dissolved into Light Spots, and Ji Ning Clone chose to proceed to the next floor.
"Following this pattern, the next floor's opponent should be someone who has comprehended the laws." Though the figure had vanished, his murmur lingered in the space.
Ji Ning Clone felt his body sink as terrifying pressure bore down on him.
This was a white dwarf star. Coldness and desolation dominated its surface, and its gravity was several hundred thousand times that of Earth.
However, it had little effect on Ji Ning Clone, who was at Universe Level Nine. An invisible force emanated from the black hole formed within his body when he broke through to the Universe Level, offsetting the white dwarf's terrifying gravity.
"For someone at the Universe Level to reach this point, even in the Gan Wu Secret Realm, you can be considered a true genius. But this is as far as you go. The difference between this floor and the last is as vast as heaven and earth."
"Haha, now this is something to look forward to." Ji Ning's interest was piqued by those words.
At the entrance to the Gan Wu Tower's Universe Level passage, the black-armored guard named Tian He frowned. This challenger seemed to have remained inside for rather a long time.
Normally, he did not pay attention to the challenge footage of those entering the Gan Wu Tower. He had seen too much of it. Unless they were juniors he knew or geniuses, he would not bother watching.
A thread of his consciousness entered the Gan Wu Tower and communicated with its Intelligent Life, learning all the information regarding Ji Ning Clone's entry into the tower.
A look of astonishment instantly appeared on his face, followed by wild delight. This rich succession of expressions left the crowd waiting to enter utterly baffled.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he decided to observe Ji Ning Clone's subsequent performance before making a decision.
The opponent simulated on the Gan Wu Tower's tenth floor was an existence that had comprehended an Origin Law. There were only a few Universe Level beings at this level even in the Gan Wu Secret Realm. They were absolute genius-level figures.
Yet the obsidian-black figure simulated by the Gan Wu Tower was currently being completely suppressed by Ji Ning. After so many battles, this gatekeeper felt exceedingly stifled.
Although he was a figure simulated by the Virtual Universe, after the passage of endless years, he had long since developed intelligence and become an Intelligent Life.
After discovering that Ji Ning Clone was extremely strong, he brought out the utmost power he could display on every floor. Within the Gan Wu Tower's rules, he had truly exhausted every method at his disposal.
His opponent was like a bottomless pit, still calmly trading blows with him. The feeling of striking cotton after pouring out all his strength left him deeply frustrated.
The contract had been signed. Please recommend, bookmark, and keep reading.