Chapter 85

Zhang Ruochen truly knew nothing about the Wu Tower, and naturally, he had no idea how many levels or stages he could pass.

Liu Chengfeng, who was sitting cross-legged beside him, appeared very excited and said in a low voice, "Let me tell you a secret. Before the academy exam, I went to the Wu Tower to cultivate three times."

"With my current martial realm, I have a hundred percent confidence in passing the three stages of the first level of the Wu Tower. As for the second level, I should be able to pass one or two stages."

"According to the performance of previous candidates, as long as one can pass the three stages of the first level of the Wu Tower, they can stand out and become an outer palace student of the Western Academy."

"As for those who can pass the three stages of the second level, they are very rare, with only one or two per year. Sometimes, there are none at all." Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, "With my talent and experience, I have a chance to be among the top ten."

The martial artists from Yunwu County were all moved and looked at Liu Chengfeng with envy.

"Liu Sir, tell us about the situation inside the Wu Tower! We need to be prepared. Here are eight spirit crystals, take them." A male martial artist handed eight spirit crystals to Liu Chengfeng.

"Liu Sir, we are all martial artists from Yunwu County. If we enter the Wu Market Academy, we can support each other in the future. Tell us about the Wu Tower! Here are five spirit crystals, take them!" Another martial artist, somewhat reluctantly, took out five spirit crystals and handed them to Liu Chengfeng.

Everyone took out spirit crystals and gave them to Liu Chengfeng, wanting to learn more about the Wu Tower in advance.

After a while, Liu Chengfeng had collected a small pile of spirit crystals, and his smile became even brighter. He cleared his throat and said, "Telling you a bit about the Wu Tower isn't a big deal. First, the Wu Tower has seven levels, and each level has three stages."

"When I entered the Wu Tower to cultivate, I was only at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm. The first time, I didn't even pass the first stage of the first level. The second time, I passed the first stage of the first level but failed at the second stage. The third time, I passed the second stage of the first level but failed at the third stage."

A martial artist asked, "What do the three stages of the first level test?"

Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, "I can't reveal too much, but I can tell you that the first stage tests combat skills; the second stage tests agility and speed; the third stage tests mental strength and willpower."

Liu Chengfeng was vague, and the crowd still had a limited understanding of the Wu Tower, not knowing what they would face.

While the martial artists were discussing the Wu Tower, the two beautiful women sitting on the stone platform were also talking.

The woman surnamed Huang scanned the crowd below and said coldly, "This year's new students have quite good cultivation. There are fifteen martial artists at the Lesser Extreme of the Mystic Extreme Realm, and forty-seven at the later stages of the Mystic Extreme Realm. If there are no surprises, this year's top ten new students will come from these sixty-two people."

The girl surnamed Duanmu, with long and curled eyelashes, smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. Passing the stages in the Wu Tower tests a martial artist's talent, combat skills, willpower, and mental strength. It's possible that a small genius at the early or middle stages of the Mystic Extreme Realm might appear."

The woman surnamed Huang said, "Although the Wu Tower tests a martial artist's talent, higher cultivation still gives an advantage. We'll see if a genius can pass the three stages of the second level this year!"

"New students passing the three stages of the second level? That's too difficult!"

The girl surnamed Duanmu said, "However, there are three people who have a chance. The 'Prince Huoxing' from Sifang County, the 'Chiminghai' from Huolong County, and the 'Yaoyintong' from Jingyue County. Originally, there was also Qingyou from Sifang County, who could have been on par with these three, but unfortunately, he was killed during the first round of the academy exam!"

The corner of the woman surnamed Huang's mouth curled up, "Then the new student who killed Qingyou must be even more powerful?"

The girl surnamed Duanmu's eyes lit up, "That's right! Who could it be?"

The girl surnamed Duanmu's eyes searched among the four hundred young martial artists below. Whoever could kill Qingyou was definitely very powerful among the new students.

The woman surnamed Huang closed her eyes again and said, "Since you're so curious, let's go to the Wu Tower tomorrow and see what kind of geniuses are in this batch of new students."

"Great! Great!"

The girl surnamed Duanmu was excited, looking forward to the Wu Tower challenge the next day.

In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the Western Academy of the Wu Market Academy, under the leadership of nine elders, four hundred and sixty-eight young martial artists arrived at the base of the Wu Tower.

The Wu Tower was seven levels high. The entire tower emitted a metallic luster, looking more like a complete True Martial Treasure than a constructed tower.

Not only the nine elders, but also many outer palace students of the Wu Market Academy came to the Wu Tower to watch, eager to see what kind of geniuses would emerge among this year's new students.

The Wu Market Academy only admitted new students once a year, so it was a significant event.

Three days ago, most of the outer palace students who escorted Zhang Ruochen and others to Tianmo Ridge for the first round of the academy exam were male students.

But today was different. More than seventy percent were female students, and male students only made up thirty percent.

The female students all wore white robes, and several of them were extremely beautiful, like beauties from a painting.

Zhang Ruochen stood at the base of the Wu Tower and asked Liu Chengfeng, "Why are there so many female outer palace students today?"

Liu Chengfeng said, "In the Western Academy of the Wu Market Academy, there are more women than men. Female students have much more influence than male students. For example, escorting us to Tianmo Ridge and patrolling Tianmo Ridge, all the hard and tiring work is done by male martial artists."

Zhang Ruochen said, "That's too unfair!"

"Right! But who dares to resist? Who dares to challenge them? If you oppose them, you will definitely suffer a terrible fate. Especially the three female demons in the Western Academy, each one is more ruthless than the last. If we become outer palace students of the Western Academy, we must avoid them in the future." Liu Chengfeng shook his head and sighed.

Zhang Ruochen just smiled faintly and didn't take Liu Chengfeng's words to heart. As long as he was strong enough, he wouldn't be oppressed by women.

At this moment, the "Wu Tower Challenge" had already begun, with ten people entering the Wu Tower at a time.

Elder Situ stood outside the Wu Tower's entrance, read out the names of the first ten people to enter the Wu Tower, and the crowd continued to wait.

About three minutes later, the first martial artist who failed the challenge came out of the Wu Tower. There was a bloody hole in his chest, and he was bleeding heavily, clearly injured.

The crowd was shocked, "That person was at the early stage of the Mystic Extreme Realm, and he failed the challenge in just three minutes."

The martial artist who failed the challenge had a dejected look on his face, "I failed at the second stage of the first level. A moment of carelessness, and I was hit by a..."

He was about to describe his experience in the Wu Tower when an elder standing far away coldly snorted, and an invisible sound wave from his mouth made the young martial artist's face turn pale, and he immediately swallowed his words.

In just a quarter of an hour, the first ten martial artists who entered the Wu Tower gradually came out.

Among them, three passed the third stage of the first level, five passed the second stage of the first level, and two only passed the first stage of the first level.

None of the first ten people passed the first stage of the second level.

The three who passed the third stage of the first level had a good chance of passing the exam and becoming outer palace students of the Wu Market Academy. Of course, the final ranking would depend on their specific performance in the Wu Tower.

Next, the second group of ten people entered the Wu Tower.

Among these ten people, a genius appeared, who actually passed the second stage of the second level and almost passed the third stage of the second level.

Someone recognized the genius as Chiminghai from Huolong County, who had reached the Lesser Extreme of the Mystic Extreme Realm at the age of twenty-two.

An elder with a jade gourd hanging from his waist sighed lightly, "What a pity, just a little more, and he would have passed the third stage of the second level."

Elder Xie said, "As a new student, that's already quite impressive. Based on his performance in the Wu Tower, he will definitely be in the top five, and possibly even the top three."

Another elder laughed, "If no one passes the third stage of the second level this year, wouldn't he be the top new student?"

Elder Situ looked at Prince Huoxing standing in the crowd and smiled faintly, "This year, someone will definitely pass the third stage of the second level, just wait and see!"

Elder Situ was very optimistic about Prince Huoxing. With Prince Huoxing's current cultivation at the Lesser Extreme of the Mystic Extreme Realm, passing the third stage of the second level was not difficult, and he might even pass the first stage of the third level.

The Wu Tower challenge continued, and it was soon Prince Huoxing's turn.

In just ten minutes, the light on the second level of the Wu Tower lit up, indicating that Prince Huoxing had reached the second level of the Wu Tower.

"Reaching the second level of the Wu Tower in just ten minutes, Prince Huoxing is indeed not simple. He is worthy of being a young genius from Sifang County. It's said that he is also a talented beast tamer. With his talent, he will definitely pass the third stage of the second level. This year's top new student will likely be him!" A beautiful outer palace female student's eyes shone with admiration.

"Hu Xiuxiu, are you thinking of becoming a princess?" Another female student laughed.

The outer palace student named Hu Xiuxiu said, "So what if I am? Prince Huoxing is not only a prince but also a genius. Any woman would want to marry him."

"Wow!"

After half an hour, the light on the third level of the Wu Tower lit up.

This meant that Prince Huoxing had reached the third level of the Wu Tower!

All the martial artists below the Wu Tower were shocked.