NOVPUBXu Zimei clenched his right hand, and endless Demonic Qi gathered in his palm.
The other self across from him was making the same movement.
Yet at that moment, Xu Zimei’s figure disappeared on the spot.
The next moment, a loud "boom" was heard as the phantom across from him was thoroughly penetrated through the chest.
That other self looked at Xu Zimei with some surprise.
Then it slowly dissipated in midair.
Xu Zimei dusted off his hands; this copy of himself was indeed impressive.
But any copy has its limits; if one’s own strength is too strong, then it cannot be replicated.
Just like placing a Great Emperor here, it’s doubtful that even a shadow could be replicated, let alone copying skills.
As the phantom dissipated, the space around Xu Zimei also vanished, revealing a long pathway of green clouds in front of him.
Xu Zimei walked straight toward the pathway.
When he reached the Spatial Gate leading to the fifth level, Xu Zimei found that someone had already arrived ahead of him.
It was the gray-shirted youth from earlier.
Both were slightly surprised upon seeing each other.
"How should I address you, young sir?" the gray-shirted youth asked, looking at Xu Zimei.
After introducing himself, Xu Zimei smiled and asked, "And you?"
"My name is Mo Tianming," the gray-shirted youth replied with a smile.
"Out of the hundred who entered the Tower of Heavenly Dao this time, only Brother Xu caught my eye."
Xu Zimei merely smiled and did not say much.
At this moment, among the dozen or so people who had entered the fourth level, apart from Xu Zimei and Mo Tianming, only two others had passed through and come out.
One of them was the monk Da Zhi.
When he came out, he was spitting blood, his whole body on the brink of death, with his Divine Soul severely damaged.
But fortunately, he had passed the test.
The other was the youth named Zhang Chou.
The four stood in front of the fourth level’s Void Gate.
Xu Zimei looked at Da Zhi and asked, "How did you end up like this?"
"I was divining with my other self," Da Zhi replied, chuckling bloodily.
"Later, I used a Forbidden Technique, saw his true nature, and defeated him."
"You suffered the backlash of the Forbidden Technique," Xu Zimei observed.
"It doesn’t matter," Da Zhi shook his head.
"Anyway, I have already passed the assessment."
When the few of them passed through the fourth level’s Void Gate to the fifth level, they found themselves in complete darkness.
Apart from the darkness, there were four meditation cushions laid out in front of them.
They saw an old man in green clothes, hunched over and holding a walking stick, slowly emerging from the darkness.
He looked at the four young men and chuckled, "This fifth challenge is no different.
You just need to stay on these meditation cushions for another thousand years, without leaving them, to pass."
Hearing the old man’s words, Da Zhi slightly frowned.
"What kind of assessment is this?"
"Martial Peak is solitude, loneliness,
A long search, and the chilling heights of solitary success,"
Zhang Chou added with a chuckle.
"This challenge tests whether you can endure solitude. A thousand years, just meditating on these cushions, how many people can withstand that?"
"Of course, should you choose to give up, you are already considered having passed the Tower of Heavenly Dao’s assessments," the old man in green continued with a smile.
"But the higher you climb, the more points you’ll earn."
"I quit," Zhang Chou declared without hesitation.
Understanding his own limitations, he did not want to waste time.
"I’ll give it a try," Da Zhi stated, somewhat unwillingly.
"Don’t worry; the flow of time here is different from the outside world," the old man in green explained.
"Time here is still; however long you stay won’t affect the outside."
The three nodded and then sat down one by one on the nearest meditation cushions.
Loneliness is the most fearsome thing in this world.
If you were locked in a small, closed space for a period of time, most people would probably go mad.
Time passed little by little.
Xu Zimei was relatively fine. Not to mention that his Divine Soul could enter the Divine Continent at any time,
His Taoist Heart was immensely strong, unwavering even after tens of thousands of years.
At that moment, he was sorting through his own body.
Having reached its peak in terms of Power Vortex, but with the Divine Continent entering the Great Era of Immortal Cultivation,
His body had undergone another transformation, capable of condensing more Heaven-shaking Power Vortexes.
Also, the Extraordinary Meridian Manual could now open ten Extraordinary Meridians, almost completing them all.
He continued to cultivate and polish his Taoist Heart.
Darkness enveloped them like a giant beast, silently roaring around them.
One year, two years... Time flowed slowly.
As time wore on, Da Zhi was the first to break.
He stood up from the darkness, breathing in a suffocated manner.
He was the first to leave this thousand-year meditation.
Only those who had truly experienced it understood its terror.
.......
One hundred years, two hundred years…
Eventually, they lost track of the years.
The best way to eradicate loneliness is to embrace it.
Xu Zimei felt his own strength climbing another ladder after such a prolonged tempering.
His situation was akin to accumulating slowly to burst forth intermittently—now, the accumulations were for the exponential rise when it came time to become an emperor.
Eventually, everything fell into place.
Sudden bell tolls rang out from the darkness,
Breaking the millennium of silence.
"A thousand years have passed," the voice of the old man in green resounded.
Xu Zimei then slowly opened his eyes.
A wisp of black mist flashed through his eyes.
He stood up, and with him, the gray-shirted youth, Mo Tianming, also rose.
The two exchanged glances.
"Shall we proceed to the sixth challenge?" Mo Tianming asked with a smile.
"Yes," Xu Zimei nodded calmly.
The old man in green beside them chuckled and added, "Just a reminder.
Starting from the sixth challenge, it’s not just about assessments anymore.
While the first five challenges tested your Taoist Heart, Divine Soul, and temperament,
From the sixth challenge on, you’ll need to rely purely on personal strength to advance. There are no shortcuts."
...…
Meanwhile, outside the Tower of Heavenly Dao, several candidates were being assessed; a man in white robes chuckled, "It seems that this year we still have many promising talents."
"We’re not only looking for promising talents but also those with the real potential to carry the Destiny," another person replied.
"It’s unknown if anyone will reach the tenth level."
"It’s very difficult," the man in white robes slightly shook his head.
"Since the establishment of the Tower of Heavenly Dao, from the era of Wild Desolation to present, only a handful have passed the tenth level."
"Have you heard that the Saint Heir of the Slaying Immortal Sect is coming to our Heavenly Dao Academy?" the white-robed man continued.
"That old man Qing Wei even specifically mentioned it to me," another old man replied, shaking his head.
"I heard that this generation has both a Saint Heir and a Saintess.
They plan to have the Saint Heir trained at the Heavenly Dao Academy while training the Saintess themselves.
Ultimately together, they’ll undertake the Destiny."
