Chapter 9 of 10

Chapter 9

18 min read4,462 words

Four hours

After Chen Xi chose to enter a portal, he was indeed restructured within it as expected. Chen Xi could clearly perceive that his physical body had become much stronger. It turned out that the so-called Destiny Altering Tower's refinement did not take place in those portals, but on these stone steps.

When he walked out of the portal, the sky had already begun to turn light.

This time, Chen Xi did not immediately walk towards the stone steps.

He looked at the stone steps leading from the second floor to the first floor, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Then, he actually walked towards the steps, not to climb to the third floor, but to go down!

"What is he doing?!"

Ding Mei's face immediately changed, and she couldn't help but exclaim.

"Perhaps he can't hold on and is preparing to leave the tower?"

Zhan Qing, who had returned in the morning, tentatively answered, but he knew that his answer was meaningless. If Chen Xi felt he didn't have the ability to challenge the third floor, he didn't need to come out; he could stay on the second floor and cultivate for two months.

He would surely reach a new realm when he came out after two months.

After all, cultivating for two months on the second floor was equivalent to cultivating for several years outside.

"I think he just wants to draw attention."

Shi Xueling, who had been almost inseparable from Zhan Qing, said somewhat sourly, "Chen Xi is just a lowly servant. He has already attracted enough attention. As long as he comes out, he can immediately become an inner disciple. Why not? After enduring so much humiliation, anyone would want to turn things around as soon as possible."

"Hmph!"

After hearing Shi Xueling, Zhan Qing coldly snorted and ignored her.

Shi Xueling was used to Zhan Qing's coldness and seemed to never get angry with this man.

"He actually went down to the first floor!"

Ding Mei's heart was in turmoil!

Back Mountain

Purple Qi Pavilion

The white-robed, white-bearded sect master was enjoying his breakfast very seriously. As he slowly lifted the spoon, the thick but distinct grains of rice porridge hadn't even reached his lips when his hand holding the spoon paused slightly. He raised his head and looked forward, unable to help but frown slightly.

"Has he given up?"

He muttered to himself, "If so, this boy's temperament is too restless, and he is not fit for great tasks."

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but let out a low exclamation, "What is he doing? Did he come down from the second floor just to pick up his broken pole?"

Indeed,

Chen Xi had risked the danger of being burned again by the flames to come down from the second floor, just to pick up his broken pole. At that moment, only the white-robed elder in the Purple Qi Pavilion saw through the situation instantly.

"So that's it!"

The sect master couldn't help but put down his bowl and spoon, his figure flashing and disappearing.

Chen Xi came down from the second floor, picked up his broken pole used for carrying water, and held it as if it were a priceless treasure. He had used this pole for over three hundred days and was very familiar with it. But at that moment, it was as if he was seeing the pole for the first time.

He examined it so carefully, with such fondness in his eyes.

The pole was still a pole.

There was no change at all.

But this was precisely why Chen Xi had risked coming down. His cultivation was already at the Ninth Rank of Foundation Establishment, yet he couldn't withstand the flames of the Body Testing Steps. When he reached the second floor, he was left with only half a skull. But the pole that had fallen on the steps was undamaged, still as old and worn as before.

This pole, if left on the street, wouldn't attract anyone's attention. At most, someone might pick it up to break it for firewood.

Chen Xi lowered his head and observed the pole seriously, trying to see its extraordinary qualities.

There was nothing special about the pole.

First, Chen Xi confirmed one thing. There were twenty-eight steps from the first floor to the second floor. When his left foot stepped on the first step, the steps turned into floating fiery stones. This was not an illusion but a real phenomenon. If it were an illusion, the illusion would have disappeared after Chen Xi reached the second floor.

If it was real, why was the ordinary pole undamaged?

Chen Xi remembered that after his ankle was burned off, he fell, and the pole dropped from his hand. The pole then slid down the fiery stones. Chen Xi thought the pole would turn to ashes like his straw shoes, but when he recovered and came out of the second floor, he saw the pole lying on the first floor.

Without hesitation, Chen Xi came down from the second floor.

...

Another torment.

But this time, it was much better.

Chen Xi climbed the steps for the second time, and the steps turned into fiery stones again. It seemed that the steps had a directional setting; there was no change when coming down, but as soon as he climbed, the test was triggered.

But this time, Chen Xi held the pole tightly in his right hand.

As before, his ankle was burned off halfway, and he fell, but he didn't let go. Even though his body had become much stronger after being restructured on the second floor, he still couldn't withstand the flames. Moreover, Chen Xi clearly felt that his body was stronger, but the flames were even more intense.

The miracle was that after falling, his right hand holding the pole was unscathed. Not just his right hand, but his entire right arm and half of his body were unscathed.

After reaching the second floor, Chen Xi chose the portal closest to the steps. This time, he recovered in less than three hours and then began to climb to the third floor.

Still holding the pole tightly, Chen Xi took a deep breath and exhaled.

Still his left foot, stepping on the step.

At this moment, the outside of the Destiny Altering Tower was already surrounded by a crowd. Hearing that the luck-defying servant boy had challenged the third floor again, the entire outer sect of the six academies was in an uproar. Everyone came, and the open space outside the Destiny Altering Tower couldn't accommodate so many people. Roofs, trees, and any place where one could stand were filled with people. This was the most extraordinary event in the history of the Qingwu Academy, and even in the history of the Xiaoman Heavenly Sect.

A lowly servant boy, carrying his broken pole.

Challenging the Destiny Altering Tower, which countless noble descendants dared not challenge.

The head of the Phoenix and Phoenix Academy, Su Xiaoxu, and her most valued disciple, Liu Xichen, also came again.

"Strange fellow."

Su Xiaoxu muttered. She was a beautiful woman whose age was hard to guess. If she said she was in her twenties, no one would doubt it, but she had a mature charm that only a true woman could possess. It was a strange aura, elegant and noble yet down-to-earth. Her every move was graceful.

Liu Xichen's shoulders trembled slightly, perhaps due to the strong wind, or perhaps... out of excitement. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Chen Xi as he stepped onto the steps, and his steps seemed to excite her. Only Su Xiaoxu understood her disciple, knowing that Liu Xichen was looking forward to a true opponent.

"Is that pole... some kind of divine artifact?"

Someone raised a question.

Greed appeared in some people's eyes.

"Hmph."

Su Xiaoxu raised an eyebrow and coldly snorted, "Even if it is a divine artifact, it will recognize its master. Others without the right opportunity cannot obtain it. Only that young man has this opportunity, and this is what heaven has decided. If you have thoughts of seizing it, don't act in the Xiaoman Heavenly Sect, or the sect rules will be waiting for you."

With the head of one of the six academies speaking, the disciples, even if greedy, dared not show it.

At this moment, Chen Xi faced a different kind of difficulty. This time, the steps did not turn into flames, and there was no change; they were still steps. But... this time, the danger was even more terrifying than the flames. Chen Xi's body had become stronger after being restructured on the second floor, and this was the second time.

With the mysterious pole in his hand, Chen Xi's confidence increased.

But as soon as he took a step, he knew he had to give it his all.

This was a sword net passage.

Dense sword qi shot out from unpredictable places. Because the steps were not very wide, the time from the appearance of the sword qi to reaching Chen Xi was almost negligible. With the density of the sword qi, it was impossible for Chen Xi to avoid all of it.

So he chose to fight.

He held the pole with both hands and began to block the sword qi.

Chen Xi had the cultivation of the Ninth Rank of Foundation Establishment and extraordinary talent, so dealing with ordinary dangers was no problem. But facing dozens of sword qi attacks per second in such a narrow space, his cultivation was hard-pressed.

The pole moved like a curtain in front of him.

But Chen Xi didn't move it randomly; he tried to block each sword qi one by one. His pole moved like a nodding phoenix, each shake deflecting a sword qi. The most troublesome thing was the path under his feet. The steps seemed to have a magical power, and he had to stay on each step for at least a few seconds before lifting his foot. This slowed him down, and he had to face hundreds of sword qi attacks on each step.

Even an iron man would be exhausted by continuously swinging his arms. Chen Xi showed no hesitation or retreat, having just come out of the sea of fire, he now faced the mountain of swords.

The higher he went, the denser the sword qi became.

From a few sword qi per second at the beginning, to dozens, and by the twentieth step, Chen Xi had to face at least three hundred sword qi attacks per second. In fact, by the fifteenth step, he could no longer block all the sword qi.

But even though he was bleeding profusely and staggering,

The naked Chen Xi still steadily climbed upward. The sword qi that he missed cut his body into pieces, and blood flowed down the steps, forming a small stream. Blood footprints increased, and he moved forward like a beast that didn't care about its life, focusing only on the path ahead.

Upward

Even in such a state, Chen Xi gritted his teeth to stay conscious. He still made purposeful attacks and blocked the sword qi. If it were anyone else, they would have lost their composure and swung the pole randomly. But he didn't; each time he struck the pole, he accurately deflected a sword qi.

"What's going on? How can the sword qi be so dense? At this intensity, even a Ninth Rank of Void Breaking person couldn't handle it. When Fu Jinglun climbed the third floor, the sword qi he faced was at least five times less dense than what Chen Xi is facing."

Zhou Juzhi, standing at the window of the third floor of the Qingwu Academy's library, watching the Destiny Altering Tower, his face changed.

He asked what was going on.

The answer came from the sect master of the Xiaoman Heavenly Sect, the white-robed, white-bearded elder: "I said before, the Body Testing Steps become stronger when faced with a stronger person. This young man is indeed a gem you found. His talent is truly impressive... The fiery steps test one's willpower, and the sword qi steps test one's reaction. From these two points, this young man is at least several times stronger than your Qingwu Academy's most outstanding disciple, Fu Jinglun."

"He only missed seven hundred and sixty sword qi."

Zhou Juzhi sighed, "Even if Ding Mei faced the sword qi he is facing now, she would probably miss at least a thousand."

Zhou Juzhi had another thought he didn't dare to express... So far, Chen Xi hadn't used the Seven Yang Valley cultivation method, which he was most proficient in, but relied on pure internal strength to climb.

"This is not important."

The sect master slowly shook his head, "What's important is that despite the immense pain, he can still remain absolutely clear-headed. Each of his strikes is not blind, which is quite remarkable."

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