NOVPUB"Now that you have entered the Tower of Heavenly Dao, there are no rules to speak of.
You may kill each other or help one another. As long as you can reach the fifth floor, you will have passed the first challenge."
The white-haired elder sitting at the front spoke loudly.
"If you can reach even higher levels, the score will multiply with each additional floor."
"Understood, students," over a hundred people replied in unison.
The next moment, with a wave of the white-haired elder’s hand, the first level’s grand doors of the Tower of Heavenly Dao slowly opened.
One hundred people strode into the tower with great momentum.
As soon as they entered, they felt an incredibly strong suppressive force and a rebounding force.
Some hadn’t even had the chance to resist before they were repelled by the force.
"A hundredfold gravity," Xu Zimei said, feeling his own condition and speaking calmly.
This gravity is set according to each individual’s cultivation talent.
No matter how powerful you are, you cannot escape this force.
Everyone present felt as though their legs were filled with lead, extraordinarily heavy.
"Let’s not think about private fights for now," a man in a blue robe stepped out from the remaining crowd.
He said, "Let’s work together to reach the fifth level before anything else. My name is Zhang Chou, the Saint Heir of the Sect of the Seven Emotions."
"So it is the Love Sage," someone murmured in a low voice, admiringly.
"Although we have not met, the deeds of the Love Sage are as loud as thunder to my ears.
It is said that when the Love Sage plays his Sorrowful Departure, all beings between heaven and earth cannot help but feel desolate.
I propose that the Love Sage temporarily act as our leader, until we reach the fifth level."
People began to suggest around him.
"By chance, I have some understanding of this Tower of Heavenly Dao. If you are willing, I shall not shirk the responsibility," Zhang Chou replied with a smile.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a part of the people agreed with him.
Others, proud and aloof by nature, naturally did not wish to bow down to him. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
"The difference between each floor of the Tower of Heavenly Dao is vast, as if climbing to the heavens."
Zhang Chou continued.
"The first floor has a hundredfold gravity, as you have already felt.
Now let’s go to the second floor, where the True Sunfire exists."
The crowd, half doubting, eventually made their way to the second floor with some difficulty under the suppression of hundredfold gravity.
Xu Zimei, however, did not find it difficult.
He took a deliberate look at a young man in grey.
They had entered together, and it seemed that the other had walked up comfortably.
Completely unaffected by the gravity.
As soon as they passed through the Spatial Gate to the second floor,
A scorching heat hit them in the face.
And this heat was not merely ordinary warmth; it was the intensity that could burn one’s Divine Soul.
Looking around, the entire second floor was engulfed in raging True Sunfire.
It was an unnerving sight.
To pass the second level, one must venture through the True Sunfire.
Failure would probably mean being reduced to ashes in an instant.
"Legend has it that the Ancestral Master of Divine Flames of Heavenly Dao Academy, while cultivating the Great Sun Golden Curse, attracted the True Sunfire.
And thus, it descended into the Tower of Heavenly Dao, unique in this world," said Zhang Chou.
"Everyone must assess their own capacity; it’s best not to enter if you’re not confident, lest you lose your life."
As he finished speaking, the young man in the grey robe stepped into the second floor’s True Sunfire alone.
He had no aura emanating from him, walking in like an ordinary commoner.
The Blazing Flame burned all around him.
Yet, as if oblivious, he walked on without uttering a word.
"This guy," Da Zhi the monk said from the side.
"How do you see it?"
"Difficult to say, easy to say, not so hard," Xu Zimei smiled and then followed by walking in.
When the others around saw Xu Zimei enter and come out unscathed, they also tentatively stepped in.
The next moment, he didn’t even have time to scream before his entire figure vanished into smoke and ash.
Disappearing right before their eyes as if he had never existed.
"These flames are not real flames, but flames of the Divine Soul," Xu Zimei said, looking towards Da Zhi the monk.
"If you are not afraid of it, and your heart is filled with boundless courage, pressing forward relentlessly, naturally it won’t burn you.
If there is even a trace of hesitation or fear in your heart, your Divine Soul will be burned to ashes."
"This brother speaks the truth," Zhang Chou said with a smile from the side.
"If you cannot press forward relentlessly, you’ll have to use other means."
He took out a pill he had prepared in advance from his Storage Ring.
The pill was a dark blue color, only the size of a longan fruit, and it emitted strands of cold air.
"This is a Cleansing Soul Pill I bought for a hefty price, which can keep my Divine Soul immaculate and avoid the burning of this True Sunfire."
Zhang Chou said with a smile, "Although the trials within the Tower of Heavenly Dao are harsh, they all have traceable patterns. You all should be careful too."
He swallowed the pill directly, and a layer of dark blue Spiritual Energy enveloped his body.
He then walked in under everyone’s watchful eyes.
"Brother Zhang, do you have any more Cleansing Soul Pills? I am willing to pay a high price for them," someone immediately asked from the side.
"I happen to have ten more on me. I’m not one to be unreasonable; how about the highest bidder takes them?"
Zhang Chou said with a smile, "Or we could trade items for it."
Xu Zimei watched amused from the side; it seemed this guy knew about the examination in advance and wanted to make a sizable profit from it.
Some people immediately started to scramble for the pills.
However, everyone present was a chosen child of heaven.
Some were already sitting cross-legged, stabilizing their minds.
Then a large number of people started to walk into the True Sunfire.
Some passed; naturally, some vanished into nothing.
Out of a hundred who entered this place, by the time they reached the second layer, nearly half had disappeared.
It should be noted that those who could come to participate in this competition were truly chosen children of heaven, and not every talent could compare.
...
When the remaining people reached the third layer, they only saw chaos all around.
Grey gas filled the air.
Three ancient statues stood at the forefront.
In the middle of these three statues was one of the Buddha Ancestors holding a Buddhist gesture with a single hand.
On each side were two Arhats.
The two Arhats had gold-red capes draped behind them, standing on both sides.
The statue of the Buddha Ancestor was made of pure gold with a plump and content face, long ear lobes, and a large belly, exemplifying an expression that was always smiling.
"What’s the deal with this third layer?" someone asked, looking towards Zhang Chou with urgency.
"Ghost Buddha, two sides, clear heart, true nature," Zhang Chou said gravely.
"This trial is about whether you can clearly understand your own true intentions.
Whether it is to take on Destiny and become a Great Emperor or to remain an ordinary cultivator.
Can you understand the path that you wish to walk?"
"Is it really that simple?" someone asked, puzzled.
Every person here wanted to become a Great Emperor; otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered coming to the Heavenly Dao Academy.
"You’ll understand once you try," Zhang Chou said with a mysterious smile.
If only the tests of the Heavenly Dao Academy were that simple.
This time, before the others could say anything more, the young man in grey stepped forward once again, the first to proceed.
