Entering the Tower

At his words, Luo Heng tilted his head and looked over.

A young man in a blue brocade robe, a Silver Badge pinned at his waist, was strolling toward them.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with fair features and a hint of arrogance between his brows. His gaze lingered on Luo Heng for a moment, and a half-smile curled across his lips.

"Senior Brother Mu Feng." Zi Yue's brows furrowed slightly, her cool voice carrying a trace of distance.

Mu Feng seemed not to notice. Walking closer, he sized up Luo Heng and said with deliberately exaggerated surprise, "I heard that the Symbol Master Association had recruited a gifted new core disciple. That would be this junior brother, I presume? At sixteen, your Spiritual Power is already comparable to Three Seal... Tsk, tsk, the young truly surpass the old."

Though he spoke those words, the contempt and probing in his eyes were completely undisguised.

Mu Feng himself was an outstanding Two-Seal Symbol Master, roughly at the middle stage. Among the younger generation of the Symbol Master Association, he ranked near the top and had always been proud and arrogant.

Seeing Master Yan place such importance on a newcomer, even arranging for him to live next door to Zi Yue, naturally left him feeling somewhat displeased.

Luo Heng remained calm and replied indifferently, "Senior Brother Mu Feng overpraises me. It was merely luck."

"Luck?"

Mu Feng chuckled, turning his gaze toward the Symbol Master Tower. His tone became somewhat meaningful as he said, "Is Junior Brother planning to enter the tower for the first time? The Symbol Master Tower is not a place one can explore easily with Spiritual Power alone. The spiritual pressure within rises level by level. If one's control over Spiritual Power is not refined enough, rashly venturing too deep could damage one's foundation."

Though his words sounded like a warning, they carried more than a hint of admonishment and doubt. Great Spiritual Power did not necessarily mean great combat ability or skill in wielding it.

Zi Yue's brows drew together even more tightly. Just as she was about to speak, Luo Heng beat her to it. "Thank you for the reminder. I will act within my limits."

His tone remained calm. Mu Feng was still not enough to stir even the slightest emotion in Luo Heng.

A flash of displeasure passed through Mu Feng's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and smiled. "In that case, I won't say more. But Junior Brother, since this is your first time entering the tower, which floor do you intend to reach? With your 'strength,' perhaps the third floor is possible. But the fourth floor... heh, even many Two-Seal Symbol Masters are stopped there."

Luo Heng looked at Mu Feng with bored eyes. He had no desire to compete for superiority, but if someone insisted on provoking him, he did not mind letting them recognize reality.

"I'll go as far as I can. Why care about it?" Luo Heng spoke casually, but his gaze had already shifted to the tower gate. "Since you want to watch, then watch. Let's start from the first floor and see it one floor at a time."

With that, he ignored Mu Feng, gave Zi Yue a slight nod, and strode toward the tightly shut black stone doors of the Symbol Master Tower.

"Hmph, arrogant." Mu Feng snorted softly, though curiosity also flashed through his eyes.

He wanted to see just how far this youth, in whom Master Yan had placed such high hopes, could go.

Zi Yue watched Luo Heng's retreating figure. A trace of concern flickered through her cool eyes, but there was even more anticipation.

She had always been proud, yet she respected those with true ability. Luo Heng's composure and confidence, far beyond his age, made her faintly feel that this youth might truly bring a surprise.

The other disciples gathered before the Symbol Master Tower also held their breath, their gazes fixed on Luo Heng. A newly promoted core disciple's first tower challenge was always particularly eye-catching.

"Creak..."

As Luo Heng approached, the heavy stone doors automatically opened inward.

Luo Heng said nothing and simply stepped inside.

The scene within the tower was entirely different from the outside. The first floor was quite spacious, carved with simple silver Talisman Runes that emitted a faint glow.

The air seemed to grow thicker, and an invisible pressure enveloped his body, making the circulation of Spiritual Power slightly sluggish.

But to Luo Heng, this bit of pressure was almost negligible.

Within his Niwan Palace, the Myriad Law Seal floated silently, emitting a faint golden glow as it effortlessly dissolved the spiritual pressure from outside.

He did not linger and headed straight for the spiral stone stairs leading to the second floor.

Outside the tower, a silver point of light lit up at the position corresponding to the first floor of the Symbol Master Tower, signifying that someone had entered.

But only moments later, the point of light moved upward into the second floor area.

"He reached the second floor that quickly?" a disciple cried out in surprise.

"The first floor has the weakest pressure. For someone with strong Spiritual Power, it truly isn't much," another said.

Mu Feng folded his arms, his expression unchanged. It was only the second floor. He had also passed it on his first time entering the tower.

Inside the tower, Luo Heng had already stepped onto the second floor.

The spiritual pressure here was clearly stronger, making his movements feel somewhat heavier.

The flow of Spiritual Power within his Niwan Palace had also slowed by the slightest bit, but only by the slightest bit.

Luo Heng sensed it briefly, yet still did not stop and continued upward.

Third floor, fourth floor...

Outside the tower, the point of light moved upward at a steady pace, lingering for an extremely short time on every floor.

When the point of light entered the fourth floor, the observing disciples outside had already begun whispering among themselves.

"He's already on the fourth floor! How long has it been? Has even a quarter of an hour passed?"

"What a fast pace! When Senior Sister Ziyue first entered the tower after reaching Two Seal, it took her nearly half an hour to go from the first floor to the fourth floor, didn't it?"

"As expected of a genius whose Spiritual Power has reached the Three Seal level..."

Mu Feng's expression had already turned rather unpleasant. When he first entered the tower after reaching Two Seal, he had remained on the fourth floor for a long time before adapting. In the end, he had stopped at the peak of the fourth floor, unable to enter the Fifth Floor.

Yet Luo Heng had broken through four floors in succession so effortlessly. Such speed was simply inconceivable.

The strange light in Zi Yue's eyes grew brighter as she murmured softly, "It seems his control over Spiritual Power is far more exquisite than we imagined."

Inside the tower, on the fourth floor.

The spiritual pressure here was already quite formidable. Every step required the expenditure of some Spiritual Power, and the Talisman Runes on the surrounding walls were more complex, flickering with uncertain light.

An ordinary First Seal Rune Master would likely find it difficult to move even a single step here. Even Two-Seal Symbol Masters needed to focus completely to steady their minds.

Yet Luo Heng remained composed as the Myriad Law Seal rotated slightly.

The mysteries of the Great Devouring Art began to reveal their domineering side in an environment like the Symbol Master Tower, where Spiritual Power was so abundant.

He did not hurry upward. Instead, he sat cross-legged in the center of the fourth floor, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.

Outside the tower, the point of light representing Luo Heng stopped on the fourth floor and no longer moved.

"He stopped? Is he adapting to the pressure on the fourth floor?"

"Probably. The fourth floor to the Fifth Floor is a threshold. The spiritual pressure will increase drastically, so he may need time to adjust."

"Reaching the fourth floor in one breath is already impressive. For a first entry into the tower, steady progress is the proper path."

Seeing this, Mu Feng felt somewhat relieved and thought, As expected, he still needs time to adapt upon reaching the fourth floor. The Fifth Floor won't be so easy to enter.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred inside the tower.

A ring of invisible spiritual ripples suddenly spread from Luo Heng, who was seated on the fourth floor!

Within his Niwan Palace, the Spiritual Power he had accumulated for so long, under the command of the Myriad Law Seal, began violently assaulting the realm barrier that had long since loosened!

He had already reached the peak of the First Seal Rune Master realm, and the strength of his Spiritual Power far exceeded that of others at the same level. Breaking through to Two Seal had always been a natural matter; he had only deliberately suppressed it before to temper his foundation.

Now, stimulated by the spiritual pressure of the fourth floor, coupled with the Great Devouring Art continuously refining and absorbing the pure Spiritual Power within the tower, the opportunity for a breakthrough naturally arrived.

"Buzz!"

Centered on Luo Heng, a powerful spiritual fluctuation erupted with a thunderous boom! The spiritual pressure within the fourth floor was actually pushed aside by that fluctuation, briefly creating a vacuum zone!

Outside the tower, the point of light corresponding to the fourth floor of the Symbol Master Tower suddenly became incomparably bright, with a faint golden radiance even shining through!

"Is that... the aura of a breakthrough?!" Master Yan had arrived outside the tower at some point. Looking at that abnormally bright point of light, his aged face was filled with shock and delight.

"This kid is actually directly attempting to break through to Two-Seal Symbol Master inside the tower?!"

Zi Yue's beautiful eyes widened, her red lips parting slightly. For the first time, obvious emotion appeared on her cool face. Breaking through while bearing the spiritual pressure inside the Symbol Master Tower? What kind of confidence and control was that?!

Mu Feng froze completely. The arrogance on his face instantly collapsed, replaced by incredulous horror.

Under spiritual pressure of that intensity on the fourth floor, not only did Luo Heng show no discomfort, he even used it to break through? This utterly overturned Mu Feng's understanding!