To his surprise, Eastern Deity showed no trace of disdain at Ye Lin's words. Instead, he patted Ye Lin's shoulder with a face full of admiration.
"Brother, you don't know this, but when I first challenged the tower, I was careless too. I ended up stopping at the seventh floor and didn't even make it onto the Genius Ranking."
"Only after painstaking research before my second attempt did I barely clear the tenth floor. Even then, it took a full ten hours, and I ranked only somewhere in the four hundred-thousands."
"For you to reach the tenth floor right away truly opened my eyes. I, Eastern Deity, really did not misjudge you."
Eastern Deity patted Ye Lin's shoulder admiringly. He was genuinely delighted. Ye Lin was now his partner—the stronger Ye Lin became, the happier he was.
Dark Night, meanwhile, said nothing. He merely frowned at Ye Lin, as though pondering something.
"Alright, brother. Since we're done challenging the tower, let's go. We should head back and recuperate so we can visit the Ten Thousand Beast Garden in three days."
Eastern Deity patted Ye Lin's shoulder in consolation.
Back then, he had entered the Prodigy Tower brimming with confidence, only to stop at the seventh floor. After coming out, he had locked himself inside a cave for a full hundred years.
For those hundred years, he had shut himself away completely.
After all, anyone daring to challenge the Prodigy Tower considered themselves peerless geniuses. The blow dealt by reality was enormous as well, and he did not want Ye Lin to be discouraged.
Eastern Deity led Ye Lin into a mysterious little alley, then wound through several more alleyways.
Dark Night seemed to know exactly what Eastern Deity intended to do. He could only follow behind the two with a