Chapter 63: Inside the Tower Challenge

The three of them bowed once more to express their gratitude.

City Lord Tang explained earnestly, "The trials inside are divided into three stages. The illusions from the first to the eleventh floor are at the Core Formation realm, the twelfth to the twenty-second floor are at the Nascent Soul realm, and anything above the twenty-third floor is at the Soul Formation realm."

"Although everything inside the tower is an illusion, all attacks feel completely tangible while you are within. Only after leaving the tower will everything return to normal. You need not worry about other matters; simply do your utmost and try your best. If you encounter an opponent you cannot defeat, you may exit the trial tower at any time."

"However, in past years, the Dual Stars Academy has always determined scores based on the number of floors cleared. No one knows which floor the threshold will be set at this year, so naturally, the higher you clear, the better."

City Lord Tang held nothing back, explaining the situation inside the tower in detail to the trio. Finally, he looked at the geniuses and continued, "Without further ado, the three of you may enter the tower now."

"Thank you, City Lord Tang," the three said in unison.

At this moment, there were quite a few people outside the tower, and they were lined up in a long queue. Most of them were Core Formation cultivators, with an occasional Nascent Soul cultivator or two.

As the City Lord, naturally he could not be expected to wait in line with them; he led them straight to the front of the tower. The guards outside the tower immediately bowed and respectfully welcomed Feng Ting and the other two inside.

Qiu Ci glanced back at the long queue and felt somewhat grateful that she had sought out City Lord Tang, otherwise she had no idea how many months or years they would have had to wait. Just as she intended to follow them in, City Lord Tang suddenly stepped aside, made a polite gesture with a cheerful smile, and said, "It will take some time for your young friends to ascend the tower. I have ordered a pot of fine tea at a nearby teahouse. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Chu would honor me with her presence?"

"Ah, am I not going in?" she asked instinctively.

City Lord Tang was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Chu is joking. With your level of cultivation, this tower wouldn't be able to stop you anyway."

"..." So it turned out there was no Soul Formation-level exam paper in this mock test; she had even prepared to grind through some questions.

She felt somewhat deflated instantly and had no choice but to follow City Lord Tang to the nearby teahouse to sit and wait for the three youngsters to emerge.

Fortunately, City Lord Tang was a talkative and amiable fellow. The two of them drank tea and chatted, so it wasn't boring, and Qiu Ci took the opportunity to inquire about the situation in the Lanru Continent.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, but the three still hadn't emerged. It wasn't until nearly midday that a familiar figure finally appeared.

To everyone's surprise, the first one to come out was Zhen Yi. He seemed still unable to snap back to reality, standing dazed in the teleportation array for a good long while before reflexively touching his own hands and feet, finally letting out a long sigh of relief after quite a while.

"Hey, Zhen Yi, snap out of it. How did it go?" Qiu Ci, whose tea had long since lost its appeal, immediately hurried forward and patted his cat-like head, which no longer looked quite so much like a cat's.

"Elder Sister Xiao Ci..." Zhen Yi finally reacted, saying with lingering fear, "The illusions inside the tower are far too realistic. I genuinely thought my hands and feet had been hacked off. Good thing, good thing it was just an illusion."

"Then how many floors did you clear?" she asked directly.

Zhen Yi was startled, then shook his head and said, "I... I don't remember."

"You should have a clearance token on you," City Lord Tang reminded him promptly. "It records the number of floors you have cleared."

Zhen Yi felt around his person and sure enough found a wooden plaque inside his robe. Pulling it out to look, he saw two numbers written on it: eleven.

"Floor eleven! Not bad." City Lord Tang nodded in appreciation, smiling as he explained, "To be able to clear the eleventh floor proves that you already possess the strength to fight a late-stage Core Formation cultivator head-on. For a young friend at the early Core Formation stage, this is already quite impressive."

"Only the eleventh floor!" Zhen Yi was clearly somewhat discouraged. After all, while this result wasn't bad, it couldn't be considered outstanding. Elder Sister Xiao Ci had told him that the admission standards for the Dual Stars Academy were very high.

"It's fine, you've only just formed your core, just keep working hard!" Qiu Ci patted his shoulder. "We still have time." Although Yuanhai City had already entered the Lanru Continent, it would still take another two months to reach the port, and this time was more than enough for him to raise his strength a notch higher.

"Mm, I'll work hard." Zhen Yi was naturally an outgoing person, and he immediately regained his confidence.

The group did not leave and waited for quite a while longer in front of the tower. Zhen Yi and Feng Ting were both at the Core Formation stage; since Zhen Yi had come out, Feng Ting should be finishing up soon as well.

Yet strangely, they waited for ages without seeing her come out.

This didn't make sense. Could it be that Feng Ting had experienced a sudden burst of strength and cleared multiple floors in a row?

Qiu Ci had a vague feeling that something was amiss, but it was hardly appropriate to keep standing on the street, so the three returned to the teahouse. To their surprise, after waiting for another two hours or so, a familiar figure finally appeared on the tower's teleportation array.

Yet the one who emerged was none other than the socially anxious Jing. A trace of bewilderment flashed in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

"Elde—Elder Sister Xiao Ci," he called out, then promptly clamped his mouth shut, standing rigidly in place.

Qiu Ci was already accustomed to his trait of developing acute social anxiety the moment he stepped outside, and directly motioned, "Check the token in your robe."

The socially anxious Jing instinctively pulled it out to look, and saw the number twenty-three written on it.

"Floor twenty-three!" City Lord Tang exclaimed in astonishment. "The illusions on the twenty-third floor possess Soul Formation strength—you actually managed to challenge realms above your own!" His eyes were filled with amazement. Among all past generations of academy disciples, this was considered top-tier talent, destined to be admitted into the academy.

"This young friend has a boundless future." City Lord Tang looked at him earnestly; this junior brought by Fellow Daoist Chu was no ordinary individual.

"..." The socially anxious Jing, however, wore no expression on his face, his expression growing even more frosty. Only Qiu Ci caught the slight tremor in his hands.

"Why hasn't Feng Ting come out yet?" Qiu Ci quickly changed the subject, saying with growing concern, "Could something have happened to her?"

Of the three, the one she worried about most was this little girl Feng Ting. It wasn't that she doubted her strength, it was simply that... her courage was far too small. Usually, the slightest disturbance would startle her, and she had hardly ever engaged in combat with others.

When they had followed the group to the great battle against the Immortal Alliance previously, she had gone along, but hadn't even had the opportunity to step onto the battlefield. Her usual cultivation practice consisted solely of sparring a few times with Zhen Yi and the socially anxious Jing, leaving her combat experience virtually at zero. Since the tower featured a solo clearance mode, Qiu Ci was genuinely afraid that she might have simply fainted from fright the moment she went inside.

"This... Junior Sister Feng couldn't possibly take longer to clear than Senior Brother Jing, could she?" Zhen Yi grew worried as well.

"You need not fret, there is no threat to life within the tower," City Lord Tang reassured them, before remembering something and continuing, "If Fellow Daoist Chu is worried about that young friend, I happen to have a magic mirror that can display the scenes of everyone clearing the trials inside the tower. We can easily take a look at what is happening."

"Then I must trouble City Lord Tang to help us check on Feng Ting's situation," Qiu Ci agreed immediately as her anxiety mounted the more she thought about it.

True to his word, City Lord Tang produced a mirror, instantly formed a hand seal, and conjured up all the scenes of Feng Ting's trials from the moment she entered the tower to the present.