Promoted Yet Again

"Ha ha!"

"Finally..."

"I've advanced to the Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm!"

Feeling the spiritual energy surge through his body like a rushing current, Lu Yun was beside himself with excitement.

With his current strength, once he left the tower, he could at least rank among the top three of the entire human race.

"Then let's see exactly what's different about the Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm!"

Lu Yun smiled faintly and once more unleashed the twelfth form of the Thousand Mountains Sword Technique:

Storms from All Directions!!!

He stepped through the Eight Trigrams Footwork, crossing a thousand meters in an instant!

His speed was as swift as a ghost!

In the blink of an eye, he had appeared before the six men in black.

"Die!"

He slashed down with his saber!

Splat!

The six men in black were instantly reduced to drifting ash.

A flicker of excitement flashed through Lu Yun's eyes. "My cultivation has finally risen another level. Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm... I'm only half a step away from the Star-Gathering Peak Realm."

"Next..."

"Finally, it's time for the fifth floor!"

"It was said that among all those who had challenged the tower over the years, aside from Martial God Baili Yuchen, only one other martial artist had ever reached this floor."

"And that martial artist ultimately failed the challenge."

"In other words, if I break through this floor today, I'll rank second in history."

Lu Yun took a deep breath.

Even he was stunned by that thought.

But on second thought, even with the critical-hit boosts he gained during battle, reaching this floor had been so difficult.

Yet the previous two challengers had made it here relying solely on their own talent. They could truly be called peerless geniuses of the martial path.

With that, he quickly came to terms with it.

"Enough thinking! I'll try it first and see."

"But on the fourth floor, the number of men in black suddenly rose to six. I wonder how many more there'll be this time?"

By now, Lu Yun no longer dared to use common sense to judge the tower spirit.

He had a feeling...

No matter how many men in black appeared on the fifth floor, he would not be surprised.

However...

That guess did not last long.

Very soon, waves of extraordinarily intense fluctuations spread through the area around him.

Immediately afterward.

Men in black stepped out of the void one after another.

One.

Two.

Three.

Eighteen.

This time, there were fully twice as many men in black as on the fourth floor.

"Damn!"

"No wonder that guy ranked second in history had no choice but to return in defeat after reaching this floor."

"With such an insane challenge difficulty, no normal person could possibly pass."

Lu Yun shook his head with a bitter smile.

Just a second ago, he had already sensed that every one of the eighteen men in black radiated the aura of the Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm.

That meant he had to deal with eighteen opponents of equal strength at the same time before he could have a chance of advancing.

This difficulty was simply hell-level.

If, on the fourth floor, Lu Yun could still retreat in order to advance and search for opportunities during battle—

Then after reaching the fifth floor, it would be difficult for him to use the same method again.

The reason was simple.

Eighteen Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm martial artists could essentially launch attacks from every direction with no blind spots in an instant.

They would not give him even a moment to catch his breath.

And that meant he could no longer take advantage of a time gap to advance.

"What should I do?"

Lu Yun's mind raced. He knew that if he could not find a solution soon, the men in black would launch their attack.

If it truly came to that...

He would undoubtedly lose!

"I can currently use two martial techniques against them."

"There are too many of these men in black. The Thousand Mountains Saber Technique is undoubtedly the best choice, but while the saber technique has speed to spare, its power is lacking."

"If I use the Primordial Unity Fist, power won't be an issue, and I can even use the thirty-threefold boost, but its speed is much weaker."

"If only I could apply the principle behind the Primordial Unity Fist's amplification to the Thousand Mountains Saber Technique, then both speed and power could reach an almost perfect state."

"But..."

"How can I fuse these two martial techniques?"

At that thought, Lu Yun entered a state of complete self-forgetfulness.

To him, this process of contemplation seemed to have lasted a long time.

However.

To the men in black outside, no more than a few seconds had passed.

Just as Lu Yun sank into that profound mental state, a familiar voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host is creating a martial technique...]

[Martial technique experience +10]

[Congratulations, host! Triggered a 1000x critical hit. All martial technique experience +10000]

[Ding! Detected that the host is creating a martial technique...]

[Martial technique experience +10]

[Congratulations, host! Triggered a 1000x critical hit. All martial technique experience +10000]

Amid the string of crisp, pleasant system notifications, Lu Yun suddenly discovered that his cultivation was rising in terrifying leaps at an unimaginable speed.

Originally.

From the Late-Stage Star-Gathering Realm to the Star-Gathering Peak Realm, no matter how talented one was, it required a long period of accumulation.

But at his current rate of growth, in only a brief moment, Lu Yun could clearly feel that his dantian's sea of qi had undergone an immense transformation.

If his original sea of qi had been compared to a lake.

Then now.

That lake had become a vast ocean.

Moreover...

Because his spiritual energy was increasing far too quickly, even after reaching the Star-Gathering Peak Realm, its growth did not slow in the slightest. Instead, as Lu Yun's understanding of martial techniques deepened, it continued to surge wildly.

Finally, when Lu Yun felt that his earlier moment of enlightenment was about to fade, the explosive growth of spiritual energy gradually weakened.

When he opened his status panel with his consciousness, the values displayed upon it had already undergone earth-shaking changes.

System unlocked Phase Five: 2000x Critical Hit Amplification

Host: Lu Yun

Martial Techniques: Thousand Mountains Saber Technique (lv200 100%), Primordial Unity Fist (lv200 100%)

Strength Level: Star-Gathering Complete Realm (One Star)

"So this is the legendary enlightenment?"

"In only a few seconds, I actually... skipped past the Star-Gathering Peak Realm and directly advanced to the Star-Gathering Complete Realm."

Lu Yun felt as though he had awakened from a great dream, only to discover that all of it was real.

He closed his eyes again and sensed the seemingly inexhaustible spiritual energy within him. He knew that he now possessed enough strength to contend against any expert below the Star-Gathering Complete Realm.

No matter how many opponents there were, the result would not change in the slightest.

It could be said...

After reaching the Star-Gathering Complete Realm, a fist-sized star had already condensed within his sea of qi and dantian.

And for a martial artist...

Once a star condensed within the body, it meant that their combat power would soar in a straight line.

But how could condensing a star be so easy?

Up to this point.

Across the entire Sky Net Star, aside from Martial God Baili Yuchen, no second person had ever been heard of accomplishing it.

Of course.

Now Lu Yun had finally reached this step as well.

Next...

All that remained for him was to deal with the eighteen men in black not far away.