The Heaven-Piercing Tower.
A dazzling white light appeared on the Thirteenth Layer, while the light on the Twelfth Layer rapidly dimmed.
The entire Heaven-Piercing Plaza erupted in an uproar.
"He made it! Someone finally reached the Thirteenth Layer today."
"Qin Hao really is formidable. He actually reached the Thirteenth Layer."
"I bet Qin Hao won't stop there. The Thirteenth Layer is just the beginning; the Fifteenth Layer should be no problem..."
"The Fifteenth Layer? I'll wager a thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones that Qin Hao reaches the Sixteenth."
"Heh, the Sixteenth? Maybe not. The Fifteenth is as far as Qin Hao will get. Do you think the Heaven-Piercing Tower is that easy to climb?"
Voices clamored on every side.
Zhuang Han's head buzzed. He had thought that, despite losing on the Eleventh Layer, he had climbed higher than anyone else in the Heaven-Piercing Tower today.
He had never expected someone to reach the Twelfth Layer ahead of him, much less clear it and enter the Thirteenth.
"How is that possible?"
Zhuang Han still found it unbelievable. "The Tenth Layer was one thing—it only had a single Half-Step Venerable. But on the Eleventh Layer, you have to face three at once. Even among Ninth Layer of Saint Martial Realm Grandmasters, I'm above average, yet I had no hope of handling three Half-Step Venerables together."
"And the Twelfth Layer means facing a hundred Half-Step Venerables at once..."
Zhuang Han pictured himself facing a hundred Half-Step Venerables and shuddered involuntarily.
Three Half-Step Venerables had forced him into a long, bitter fight that ended in defeat. Against a hundred at once, there could be only one outcome...
Instant death!
"Wait. They said... his name is Qin Hao?"
Zhuang Han hurriedly turned toward the Jade Stone Plaque. Sure enough, Qin Hao's name blazed at the