External Spiritual Root! Tower in the Clouds!

Boom—!

Thunder cracked, and the chill of approaching night blew against his face with the wind, jolting the drowsy Wu Yu awake.

Taking advantage of a fleeting flash of lightning, he saw the tower hanging high in the firmament.

At the boundary between dusk and night, the Bronze Tower hovered in the sky. The dim light that had yet to fade cast a reflection on one side of the tower, its golden hue strikingly conspicuous.

"A tower?!"

Wu Yu looked around. There were quite a few people at the entrance of the Black House, yet no one seemed to find anything unusual.

Many looked up at the sky, but only to complain about the weather as night fell.

The streetlights had not yet turned on, leaving the streets somewhat dim. However, the advertising screens beneath the lamps were already active, flashing news and advertisements one after another.

"Ascension Pharmaceuticals is recruiting test subjects. Top salary for martial artists; cyborgs may apply for Tier 2 contracts!"

"Captain Liu of the Inspection Bureau shows peerless courage, capturing three more rogue cultivators! They have been locked away in the Abyssal Prison!"

"Mayor Gao urges citizens to be cautious with injections. This year, over ten thousand people have broken through to become martial artists via the Nine Dragons' Might, and the relevant departments can no longer afford the high welfare costs."

"Inspection Bureau notice! A small rift has appeared in the wilderness outside the city, and a large number of twisted monsters have emerged. Please, federal citizens, be careful when going out!"

Boom—!

Another peal of thunder rang out, and cold rain, carried by the gale, smashed fiercely against Wu Yu's face.

The rain... was getting heavier.

Dark clouds ruthlessly obscured the last of the sunlight, and the tower in the sky gradually blurred into the pitch-black void.

Wu Yu narrowed his eyes, certain he hadn't misread the sight.

Between those dark, heavy seas of clouds, a Bronze Tower truly stood tall!

"Why can no one else see it?"

He was filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

Was it a Transcendent holding a bronze tower high in the sky, or was it a massive virtual projection?

Night fell, and the rainstorm arrived.

In the harsh environment, the people quietly queuing outside the Black House did not leave, choosing instead to brave the rain and continue waiting.

Wu Yu was the same, silently pulling his clothes tighter around himself.

The tower hung in the sky, yet only he could see it...

The rain fell harder and harder. As the gale blew, droplets of water trickled down his neck, the bone-chilling cold spreading throughout his entire body.

Wu Yu shivered and hurriedly looked toward the Black House.

Suddenly, the door opened.

A person wearing a Black Crow mask pointed at Wu Yu, signaling for him to enter.

Wu Yu took a deep breath and strode into the Black House.

The Black House was very small. Under the dim light, there was only a table. Another person wearing a Black Crow mask sat on the other side, slowly lowering their black leather-gloved hands as a hoarse voice drifted over.

"I won't repeat the rules of the Black Crow."

"I know."

Wu Yu nodded and took a card from his pocket. The words "Deep Space Bank" were engraved on it, along with a line of code.

"The Black Crow likes smart people." The Black Crow masked figure placed a machine down.

Wu Yu took the card and scanned it across the machine.

"Beep—! Deep Space Bank at your service!"

After a facial scan, Wu Yu pressed a few buttons, transferring all the money inside to the other party's account.

"Happy trading!"

The Black Crow masked figure clasped their hands together and smiled. "Here is what you wanted."

As the words fell, another Black Crow masked figure walked over and placed a box on the table.

Behind him, a pale-faced youth clenched his fists tightly, as if waiting for something.

Wu Yu opened the box. Inside was a rhombic crystal and a headband.

"The latest external Heavenly Spiritual Root chip from Ascension Technologies, plus a Mobius T2 Life Headband as a gift."

The Black Crow masked figure smiled, their tone indifferent.

"You're lucky; a youth happened to come by to trade a Heavenly Spiritual Root, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to request new stock from Ascension Technologies."

As the words fell, the pale-faced youth interrupted the Black Crow masked figure, urgently saying, "Since the Heavenly Spiritual Root trade is complete, can I have the potions I asked for?"

"Of course." The Black Crow masked figure took out another box.

Upon opening it, inside were exactly nine small vials of potion.

"Nine units of the new Nine Dragons' Might."

The masked figure of Black Crow spoke indifferently.

"Wasn't it ten? We already agreed on the price for my Heavenly Spirit Root!"

The youth was somewhat shocked and angry.

"Fool! Don't you know the price of Nine Dragons' Might has gone up?"

"Do you think the mayor's advertisements were free? This is the price set by Spirit Mountain Technology. Do you really think the Black Crow Society would bother swindling you out of this pittance?!"

The masked figure of Black Crow let out a cold snort.

Ignoring the argument inside the dark room, Wu Yu quickened his pace, clutching his coat as he walked toward home.

Not long after, he returned to his house.

It was an 80-square-meter apartment located in the Commoner District of River City, the standard living arrangement for most commoners in the Zhu Xia Federation.

Arriving at the door, he took out his key and inserted it into the lock.

"Click!"

The old security door opened, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled outside once more, and a dark shadow flashed across the room.

Wu Yu's body stiffened, his muscles tensing instantly.

Amidst the howling wind outside, sounds of varying intensity drifted from within the room.

It was the distinct sound of footsteps on old, dilapidated floorboards...

Did Black Crow break the rules... or is it the Spirit Cultivation Association from the academy?

Wu Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he lunged backward!

At the same time, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out!

A sharp blade swung out from a dark corner, hacking viciously toward the doorway where he stood!

A notch was carved into the wooden door frame, the blade sinking halfway in.

It was a machete about thirty centimeters long, held by a hand covered in rough calluses.

In the shadows, a burly man wearing animal skins tugged hard on the handle, the muscles of his thick arms bulging.

As the blade was pulled free, the door frame was torn open.

He raised his head, his bloodshot, scarlet eyes locked onto Wu Yu.

A chill ran through Wu Yu, and he retreated another step behind the door.

Seeing him try to escape, the man in animal skins let out a strange cry, spitting out words that were completely unrecognizable, and raised the blade to strike again.

In this moment of crisis, Wu Yu kicked the security door!

Bang!

The rust-covered door slammed forward with force.

The man in animal skins had only just leaned half his body out when he was sent stumbling by the impact, his head slamming against the jagged edge of the door frame.

In an instant,

a bloody gash was torn into his skull by a sharp wooden splinter.

The burly man let out a miserable shriek and fell to the ground, the machete dropping beside his feet.

Wu Yu, who had been about to turn and run, saw this and felt a surge of vicious intent rise in his heart.

"Chance!"

As soon as this thought surfaced, Wu Yu's face flushed red, and he quickly lunged forward to grab the machete.

Immediately,

he raised the blade high!

"Guwa!"

The man in animal skins let out a strange cry, enduring the excruciating pain as he tried to crawl up,

but the next moment, the machete slammed down onto his head!

The man wailed and collapsed again,

but Wu Yu remained silent, summoning all his strength to lift the blade once more and hack down viciously!

Thwack!

This time, the blow landed directly on the neck. The man's scarlet eyes bulged, and his body shuddered.

Yet Wu Yu did not stop, hacking away repeatedly as if he had lost his mind!

Third slash!

Fourth slash!

Fifth slash!

He did not know how many times he had struck, but only when he could no longer swing did Wu Yu finally calm down.

He subconsciously glanced at the cleaver; the blade had actually curled.

The next second, sharp pain radiated throughout Wu Yu's body, his arms in particular twitching uncontrollably.

The strength in his limbs seemed to dissipate in that instant.

Collapsing onto the floor, he began to gasp for air.

Boom—!

Thunder roared outside once more, and the gale, carrying rain, lashed against the house, whipping up the scent of blood to stain the security door red.

"I've killed someone..."

"I am not a Transcendent; the Federation's sentencing... but this was self-defense, there should be room to maneuver."

Wu Yu stared at the corpse, momentarily dazed.

"This isn't my past life; I need to consider how to dispose of the body."

He shook his head, his mindset gradually stabilizing.

For some reason, sitting beside the corpse, Wu Yu felt no anxiety at all; only the scarlet stench of blood was slightly nauseating, making him feel a little sick.

But... it was also completely different from the descriptions in the novels he had read in his past life.

Killing for the first time, there was no pain, no fear, no vomiting, and no self-reproach.

"This person's identity is a mystery; seeking help would only bring more danger. I have to do this myself."

Wu Yu calmed down and began to consider the subsequent trouble.

However, before he could think of a solution, a layer of red light rippled across the surface of the corpse!

A voice, impartial and ruthless, neither male nor female, echoed in his mind.

"Qualification obtained!"

"Arrival countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7..."

Wu Yu's expression froze instantly as the corpse turned into fly ash inch by inch within the red light, leaving only a single card behind.

At the same time, a rudimentary panel appeared on the card.

[Bronze Token]

Usage count: 1/1

"What is this? An attribute panel?"

Wu Yu looked on in astonishment.

But the countdown in his mind continued to chime. With a sudden impulse, he decisively reached out to grab the card!

Before he could touch it, the card transformed into a streak of light and flew into Wu Yu's body.

The next instant, his vision went black!

"Hoo—! Hoo—!"

Taking a few sharp breaths, Wu Yu regained his vision. He was actually standing on an ancient Bronze Stairway.

He raised his head. Under the dim Dark Night, the body of the bronze Tower was close at hand, like a giant beast crouching before him, ready to devour anyone in its path.

"Is this... that Tower?"

Wu Yu turned his head immediately, his heart skipping a beat.

He was actually high in the sky, with an endless sea of clouds beneath his feet.

The night gale blew over, causing his clothes to billow and snap loudly.

Looking down, the steel jungle that usually towered into the clouds had become mere specks of dust, the city's silhouette collapsing into geometric color blocks from this high-altitude perspective.

Wu Yu, who had always been somewhat afraid of heights, felt his heart jump. He hurriedly took a step back, pressing himself against the gate of the Tower.

Creak—!

The ancient Bronze Gate opened slowly. Wu Yu subconsciously grabbed the edge of the door with his hand, struggling to stand upright.

The Bronze Gate only opened a crack. Wu Yu peered inside, but could only see a patch of darkness; it seemed as if there was nothing at all within the Tower.

"How did I end up here?"

"Was it that voice from just a moment ago... the countdown to arrival?"

A cold wind brushed against his face, yet the torrential rain steered far clear of the Tower.

Wu Yu calmed himself and looked toward the Bronze Gate.

"The mysterious brute who broke into my home with a blade, turning into a card after death, and now this Bronze Tower standing in the firmament..."

Recalling the scattered bits of information, Wu Yu understood.

"I have no choice."

He took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the Bronze Gate.

The massive Bronze Gate yielded to his force, and Wu Yu felt no significant resistance.

Inside the Tower, there was, surprisingly, a bright little room.

It was a hall of about a hundred square meters, illuminated by a brilliant light from an unknown source.

In the hall stood a square table and chairs. The table was large, and the number of chairs was asymmetrical, totaling nine.

"Stone table, stone chairs."

Wu Yu walked over and touched the table and chairs.

The moment he made contact with a chair, his entire body suddenly relaxed; the soreness and exhaustion vanished in an instant.

"This chair..."

Wu Yu immediately sat down on the stone chair.

Soon, wisps of warmth began to flow through his body.

The sensation was incredibly comfortable. His aching arms returned to normal within a few breaths, the chill in his body was dispelled, and every ailment seemed to be completely cured in the blink of an eye.

He clenched his fist, and his joints no longer felt swollen or painful. He pressed against his chest, and the familiar, lingering sense of frailty had dissipated entirely.

"My Anemic Deficiency Syndrome is cured, too."

Wu Yu was somewhat astonished.

The rules of River City Advanced Academy were cold and cruel; if you lacked a spiritual root but wanted to cultivate immortality, you had to draw blood!

It even had a pleasant-sounding name: "Eternal Life Tuition."

Yet, after sitting on this stone chair for only a moment, all of Wu Yu's various ailments had vanished without a trace, returning him to the state of a healthy, normal person.

"Could this be the handiwork of those Transcendent beings? Martial artists, cultivators, or cyborgs?"

"Perhaps I have encountered a miraculous opportunity from ancient texts and legends, just like in the novels I used to read."

A flurry of thoughts raced through Wu Yu's mind, and a measure of anxiety took root in his heart.

The mysterious Bronze Tower was situated tens of thousands of feet in the air; there was absolutely no possibility of escape.

"The way back to the ground might lie with that mysterious voice and that card from earlier."

The moment this thought crossed his mind, a panel suddenly appeared before his eyes!

[Wu Yu]

Race: Zhuxia Human Race.

Talent: [Nameless Chaos]

Inventory: [Bronze Token]