Rejecting the Shortcut, Ascending to the Pinnacle

Su Changge was somewhat stunned as well. He withdrew his fist, still steaming white, and stared blankly at the huge hole before him.

"Sky Peak Tower is this fragile?"

"Fragile?" Some disciples were so enraged they nearly coughed up blood. Listen to that—was that even something a human would say?

Only now did the Feather Robe Man on the tenth floor of Sky Peak Tower recover his senses. The eighth floor had shattered just like that?

"Changge, I told you to climb Sky Peak Tower. Were you planning to tear down the tower too?" A streak of light descended before Su Changge. Po Jun Ancestor stood suspended in the distance.

The sight of Sky Peak Tower's miserable state made his heart bleed!

Sky Peak Tower allowed at most those in the Purple Mansion Realm to enter, yet the power Su Changge had unleashed had far surpassed the Purple Mansion Realm!

The force erupting from within had effortlessly shattered Sky Peak Tower!

Su Changge looked awkward and scratched his head sheepishly. This really could not be blamed on him!

"Ancestor, listen to my explanation. I think there's something wrong with Sky Peak Tower!"

"Something wrong?" Po Jun Ancestor furrowed his brow deeply.

Su Changge nodded slightly. "I sensed a trace of human interference inside. It felt as though someone was deliberately targeting me."

"Human interference? Targeting you?"

His expression changed drastically when he thought of that lord. The only one who could manipulate Sky Peak Tower by human means was that lord, wasn't it?

Before he could speak, Sky Peak Tower emitted an unfathomably strange aura.

"Hahaha, little fellow, you're quite interesting. I never expected you to notice." A voice rang out from within the tower, eerie enough that it seemed to echo in everyone's minds!

Upon hearing that voice, not only did Po Jun Ancestor's expression change drastically, but so did those of the many ancestors in the ancestral grounds.

"So we really did alarm that lord?"

"It has already been several thousand years, hasn't it?"

Po Jun Ancestor hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed. "Greetings, my lord!"

"Changge, don't just stand there. This lord is an immortal—"

"No need for formalities. I would like to meet this young friend. What do you say?"

"This..." Po Jun Ancestor was somewhat troubled. Changge was the apple of his eye. If the other party were to blame Su Changge, he would protect him no matter what!

"Rest assured. Sky Peak Tower is under my control. Repairing it would take no more than a thought. Would I really make things difficult for a junior over this?"

As his words fell, a radiant Great Dao appeared at the summit of Sky Peak Tower, extending toward Su Changge.

Its end seemed to lead into an unknown space.

"Come up, little fellow. Once you step onto this Great Dao, you can reach where I am—the tenth floor of Sky Peak Tower."

"The legendary tenth floor of Sky Peak Tower really exists!"

"My horizons have been broadened! If not for the Divine Son, I'm afraid I would never see the tenth floor in my lifetime!"

Everyone's faces were filled with envy. The tenth floor of Sky Peak Tower—the land of legend!

Never mind what great opportunities it might contain; simply ascending it would make one's reputation soar!

Yet what happened next was something no one had expected!

"Senior, I appreciate your kindness, but I refuse to use this Great Dao to reach the tenth floor."

Su Changge spoke calmly.

At that moment, even the space seemed to fall silent. Everyone wondered whether they had misheard him. He was refusing to enter a legendary land?

"Oh? What do you mean?" The Feather Robe Youth was somewhat surprised as well. This kid certainly had character.

"This junior wishes to ascend to the tenth floor through my own strength!"

Su Changge was helpless too. The system had said he had to reach the tenth floor himself. If outside assistance did not count toward the reward, would he not be taking a bloody loss? After all that effort, he would not even get a single hair!

"Cough, cough."

Su Changge deliberately coughed twice, then clasped his hands again. "The Great Dao of cultivation relies on advancing step by step, each footprint firm upon the ground. This junior has absolute confidence in my own strength! I ask Senior to grant my request!"

At that moment, everyone was dumbfounded once more!

They merely stared blankly at that White-Clad Figure. In that instant, he seemed eternal and everlasting!

"The Divine Son is mighty!"

As someone shouted, the entire holy land erupted in an uproar!

"The Divine Son is our role model!"

"We are in awe of the Divine Son's bearing!"

All kinds of cries surged and rolled like tidal waves, reaching a magnificent crescendo!

Such talent, such courage, such a Divine Son—what more could one ask for?

Anyone else would surely have agreed at once. They would have been able to enter a legendary land and leave their name in history!

Yet Su Changge had resolutely refused, choosing instead to ascend to the tenth floor through his own strength!

This was not merely courage—it was absolute confidence in his own power!

"Changge..." Po Jun Ancestor was incomparably gratified.

With such a disposition, why worry that he would not become an immortal?

"Hahahaha! Good, good, good! You brat truly have not disappointed me!"

"Then I shall await your arrival on the tenth floor!"

Su Changge let out a long breath. Fortunately, he had given speeches at school in his previous life. This time, not only had he put on a good show, he had also harvested a wave of goodwill!

A bloody profit!

"Still, this feeling really isn't bad!" Su Changge finally understood why the protagonists of those fantasy novels loved showing off!

This feeling was awesome!

Out of a hundred points, he would only give himself ninety-nine. Why not a hundred? He was afraid he would become too proud!

Su Changge stepped toward the ninth floor once more. This floor was very strange, as though he stood within a chaos-filled expanse.

Rumble!

The scenery around him continually twisted and changed, while space rippled like water!

As his vision gradually cleared,

Su Changge felt himself standing within an ancient battlefield!

Bronze pillars rose one after another, weathered and covered in rust, emanating an ancient, desolate aura. Scattered bloodstains still marked their surfaces!

As though washed by the passage of countless years, the blood had turned black. Its intense stench had transformed into Baleful Intent that permeated the air, making one's heart tremble!

"Spatial transfer, or an illusion?" Su Changge did not dare let down his guard. He warily surveyed his surroundings. The ninth floor of Sky Peak Tower was surely an extraordinarily special place, and he could not afford carelessness.

Clatter, clatter!

The sound of chains dragging across the ground came unexpectedly from the darkness!

Even the ground trembled faintly!

As the commotion grew louder and louder, a massive figure emerged from the darkness!

It was a towering giant wearing a ferocious mask, dozens of meters tall!

It appeared to be bound by bronze chains. Although its aura was suppressed to some degree, it remained terrifying beyond measure!

Its aura vaguely reached the Venerable Realm!

Its surging blood energy even shook the surrounding space!

Yet Su Changge was not flustered in the slightest. A faint smile rested on his lips as rosy light curled around him, Dao resonance rose, and mysterious Dao laws blossomed from his body.

He was like the sun itself, dazzling and resplendent!

Roar!

The giant let out an enraged roar, its blood energy churning violently! Even the void twisted slightly! Its enormous palm came crashing down upon Su Changge in an instant!

The spatial storm stirred by that blow alone would likely have swept away a vast crowd!

"Impressive momentum, but still lacking."

Watching the enormous palm descend upon him with overwhelming force, he merely spoke softly.

He formed a sword sign with his right hand, and vast magical power burst forth!

Godslaying Sword Intent descended from the void in an instant!

With a single thought, Gods and Devils stirred; sword intent reached the divine!

Interweaving Dao and sword, it swallowed heaven, earth, sun, and moon, seeking to suppress the cosmos and the void!

Godslaying Sword Intent drove the Yin Yang Sword Qi to its utmost limit!

Crack!

The pitch-black giant palm collided with the Yin Yang Sword Qi, making heaven and earth tremble in an instant!

Yet like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun, the black palm shattered at once, turning into smoke and dust that scattered away!

The might of the Godslaying Sword Intent did not diminish! Like an ancient divine sun, it pressed down!

The giant released a shriek! The blood energy around its body roared once more as it tried to fight with all its strength!

But before that terrifying sword qi, everything was futile.

The giant's body was swiftly annihilated by the sword qi that pierced the heavens!

A heaven-shaking explosion rang out!

The darkness was dispersed, replaced by a blinding white radiance!

It was as though everything had returned to blankness!