Life Transformation Rune Array

"Look, someone's entered the eighth floor!" Among the crowd gathered around the Symbol Master Tower, several Symbol Masters pointed at the eighth floor and cried out in shock.

At that, the Symbol Masters immediately looked up. On the eighth floor of the Symbol Master Tower, a speck of light flickered with a faint glow. Though the glow was weak, it was extremely conspicuous. Every Symbol Master's mouth fell open, too shocked to speak. The older Symbol Masters wore complicated expressions as well, their faces filled with emotion.

"We're old now. These little fellows these days really are something. So young, yet their attainments on the path of Symbol Masters have already surpassed an old man like me, who's spent his whole life immersed in it. Truly, the waves behind drive on those before." An old man from Flame City's Symbol Master Association sighed ruefully, his eyes full of envy.

"That's right. We may stop here in this lifetime, with no chance to witness the grander scenery along the Symbol Master path. But their futures hold infinite possibilities. Back when I first stepped onto this path, I aspired to become a Spirit Symbol Master, you know? Sigh, but now..." The old man stroked his beard, his face filled with feeling.

"Haha, you can't put it that way. Though we are old, the passion we old fellows have for the Symbol Master path has never faded. And I believe these youngsters will definitely go farther than us, to explore unknown scenery on our behalf." Master Yan spoke up in comfort, his expression open-minded.

The younger Symbol Masters did not share such sentiments. "Hey, who do you think climbed to the eighth floor of the Symbol Master Tower?" The crowd immediately grew noisy, all guessing who the person who had reached the eighth floor might be.

"Do you even need to ask? It must be Senior Brother Zhou Tong. He's the strongest among the younger generation of Symbol Masters in Tian Huo City." A Symbol Master from Tian Huo City looked proud, as though simply being from the same city as Zhou Tong was a glory. Han Yun, beside him, had his brows tightly furrowed, his right eyelid twitching nonstop as a bad thought rose in his heart. "No, Zhou Tong won't lose." Han Yun shook his head, as if trying to cast off the unease within him.

Symbol Master Tower, eighth floor.

In the center of the spacious hall stood a stone tablet roughly ten feet tall. A strange fluctuation radiated from the tablet. Jia Lie Jun carefully controlled his Spiritual Power to come into contact with it. The instant they touched, the stone tablet trembled, and streams of Spiritual Power continuously surged out from within it, condensing in the air into lines of Spiritual Power text. The words were colorless and transparent. To see them clearly required no shallow attainment in Spiritual Power.

Jia Lie Jun focused and looked over. His Spiritual Power swept out, wrapping around the Spiritual Power text, and the words immediately poured into Jia Lie Jun's mind like a tide. He then sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut, carefully savoring the mysteries within the text. About two hours later, Jia Lie Jun suddenly sprang to his feet. With a thought, strands of Spiritual Power surged out from his Mud Pill Palace. The Spiritual Power that broke free from his body landed in different positions, appearing rather particular and profound. Jia Lie Jun formed seals with both hands and shouted softly, "Life Transformation Rune Array, rise for me." At once, Spiritual Power Barriers rose from the ground one after another, constantly shifting and changing positions.

"Disperse." Jia Lie Jun gave a soft shout, panting heavily, his head covered in sweat. He looked extremely exhausted.

"This Qi Grade Spiritual Secret Skill is extraordinary after all, but the consumption is too great. With my current strength, using it is still a little forced. Looks like if I want to use this Life Transformation Rune Array freely, I'll need the cultivation of a Three-Seal Rune Master at the very least." Once he thought of it, Jia Lie Jun did it. He immediately sat cross-legged and cultivated. In his Mud Pill Palace, the vortex formed from two Natal Spirit Talismans was now spinning rapidly, dragging the dense Spiritual Power in the air into the vortex thread by thread. Each thread it pulled in made Jia Lie Jun feel his Spiritual Power grow a little stronger.

In the blink of an eye, six days flashed by.

Outside the Symbol Master Tower, everyone looked anxious, pacing back and forth nonstop. The people on both sides had their brows tightly furrowed, worry filling their hearts. Though the Symbol Masters from Tian Huo City had quite a bit of confidence in Zhou Tong, they still felt a faint unease. Before the result was settled, anything was possible.

The people of Flame City were also staring fixedly at the faint speck of light on the eighth floor of the Symbol Master Tower. Their hands were clenched tight, their palms full of sweat, even more nervous than the people of Tian Huo City. This Tower Battle concerned whether the Symbol Master Tower would stay or go. If they lost, not only would they be unable to keep the Symbol Master Tower, but Flame City's Symbol Master Association would also become a laughingstock.

"Sigh, these little fellows really have kept us old men waiting. They're cultivating peacefully inside, while we can't even get a proper night's sleep. Still, it should be soon. The Spiritual Power pressure inside the Symbol Master Tower grows stronger by the day, and this is already the sixth day. I imagine this should be the limit of what they can endure." Master Yan smiled bitterly.

No sooner had his words fallen than a rumbling sound came from the stone doors as they slowly opened. The crowd immediately burst into commotion, jostling to squeeze to the very front. The sound of footsteps grew clearer and clearer, and several figures slowly appeared before everyone. Though they looked rather bedraggled, they seemed quite spirited. It appeared their gains within the Symbol Master Tower these past days had been considerable. Afterward, people continued walking out of the Symbol Master Tower one after another, and the specks of light on the tower gradually decreased, until in the end only three specks remained in the entire Symbol Master Tower.

However, those three specks of light tugged tightly at everyone's hearts. Suddenly, the previously clamorous crowd fell quiet and looked toward the Symbol Master Tower. They saw the speck of light on the sixth floor slowly move downward. Everyone stared at the stone doors without blinking. A young girl in a purple dress, pretty in appearance, slowly appeared before their eyes. This girl was none other than Zi Yue.

"Master, Zi Yue has embarrassed you this time. I only reached the sixth floor of the Symbol Master Tower." Zi Yue walked up to Master Yan, her face full of dejection. She was not satisfied with this result.

"It's all right. As long as you worked hard, that's enough. The result isn't important. Besides, the final outcome is still unknown." Master Yan patted Zi Yue on the shoulder and comforted her, his gaze fixed on the Symbol Master Tower.

Zi Yue raised her head and looked over. Her previously dejected pretty face was instantly covered in shock. Her eyes widened slightly, and she pointed a slender jade finger toward the speck of light on the eighth floor, crying out in surprise, "Someone actually climbed to the eighth floor! Master, do you know who it is?"

"I do not know either. We can only wait slowly." Master Yan shook his head.

"Look, the person on the seventh floor is coming down." At that, the crowd all turned toward the seventh floor of the Symbol Master Tower in unison, their gazes following the speck of light as it continued moving downward. Each floor the speck descended made the crowd's hearts tighten. In the end, that speck of light reached the first floor. The sound of "tap, tap" footsteps came from within the Symbol Master Tower. Everyone clenched their hands tight, not daring to even breathe loudly, their eyes fixed hard on the stone doors. Even those weathered old men were the same.

The "tap, tap" of footsteps drew closer and closer. Everyone's hearts pounded wildly, as if every step were landing on their hearts. Finally, a figure appeared before everyone. The scene froze for a moment. Then, the Symbol Masters of Flame City erupted into waves of cheers, so happy they danced for joy. Some people's eyes even turned red with excitement.

"Master, we won." Zi Yue said in a trembling voice.

"Yes, we won." Master Yan's face was full of excitement, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.