Chapter 105: Damn, I’m Stuck!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Half an hour later, Xu Que’s wooden tile was floating at the sixth level. Everyone outside of the Tower of Soul was staring at the tile without feeling the slightest boredom. Instead, they were filled with anticipation and even a tinge of nervousness.
"That guy is tough! Half an hour had already passed but he is still holding his ground at the sixth level."
"This is already considered a big accomplishment. No matter how much more he’s able to endure, he has already broken records amongst all geniuses and prodigies from the Five Nations!"
"That's right. From what I've heard, there was a Nine Star Weapon Forger who cultivated to the Golden Core Stage Full Foundation at a young age and had reached the sixth level of the Tower of Soul. Upon stepping into the sixth level, he was immediately expelled by the tower. Despite that, he was still the top record holder amongst the Five Nations who had came for the trial."
"Who knew that this record would be broken by a Golden Core Full Foundation Stager from our Fire Nation. Apart from just reaching the sixth floor, he is currently still holding his own after half an hour. It is definitely an honor to our Nation!"
"How long more do you all think he can endure?"
"Maybe soon. After all, it's already been half an hour."
"No matter how much of a talent he is, I reckon that he will be out within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"That's right. Pushing oneself in the tower will injure one’s soul. This injury is irreversible and can cause one to be handicapped for life. It's not worth it."
Everybody was discussing among themselves. They all felt that Xu Que will be expelled very soon.
However, the Seventh Elder was sweating in his palms and feeling very anxious. His eyes were focused on the tower, even though he couldn't see what was happening.
"Who knew that the Sky Incense Valley would be blessed with such fortune. A hundred years ago, we had a genius who possessed the Ice Element Spiritual Qi, who had since become the Water Nation’s Empress. And now, we’re on the verge of having someone who would become at least a Nine Star Alchemist!" The Elder was absolutely excited. Being able to endure the sixth level for half an hour at the Golden Core Stage showed that his Soul Strength was very powerful. If he joined the Sky Incense Valley and took on the path of alchemy, the Sect could become the chief Sect of the East Continent within a hundred years!
"Whoosh!"
At this time, the wooden tile looming the tower suddenly moved!
Everybody looked up and immediately opened their mouths with shock. They were at a loss for words.
"How is that possible?"
"Damn!"
"Am I dreaming?"
Everybody could not take it and started to spew vulgarities to vent their overwhelming disbelief and shock.
The Seventh Elder heard the commotion. He lifted his head and looked towards the Tower of Soul with a blank expression
"Eh? Where’s the wooden tile at the sixth floor?"
He immediately looked up a little and was dumbfounded.
"Seve-seventh level?!" The Seventh Elder let out a scream. His voice cracked and he felt like his heart had exploded.
For a Golden Core Stage Cultivator to reach the seventh level, how was this possible?
"No, no, this is impossible. Throughout my entire life, I’ve been on the path of Alchemy. I’ve consumed countless of medicines which nourished my Soul Strength. Even then, I was only able to barely reach the seventh level of the Tower of Soul. This black robed young man is only in his teens. It isn’t possible for him to be reaching this point." The Elder was astonished and his voice started to tremble in shock.
The few Sky Incense Valley disciples at the side were also stunned and their minds went blank.
Moments ago, they were just trying to guess how much longer could Xu Que could stay at the sixth level. However, before they knew it, that lad had already reached the seventh level.
Without any warning or preparation for this test, he was effortlessly reaching for the heavens!
"El-elder, he… he has already reached the seventh level."
"Eh?... Ah! Yes! I saw it."
"No, Elder, the Water Empress is currently meditating on the eighth level. If he…"
"Hmm…" The Elder was stunned for a moment and then shook his head and replied, "Rest assured. The seventh level will be his limit. Even if it’s not, the entrance of the eighth level has already been sealed. He won’t be able to pass through it."
...
"Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 50 act tough points!"
"Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 60 act tough points!"
"Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is 80 act tough points!"
At this time, a chain of system beeps sounded in Xu Que’s head.
However, he was too busy to bother with the beeps. The reason he couldn't care less was because his entire body was flat on the ground of the seventh floor, with his face sticking to the ground like glue.
It was fortunate that nobody was around to witness him in this sorry state. If not, he would be a huge laughing stock.
The soul power was now thick to the point where a fog was loomed overhead, completely suppressing Xu Que. He felt that his Spirit had already been crushed like shattered glass.
However, he grit his teeth and allowed the system to start its auto tempering function.
If he endured for just another half an hour, his soul strength would strengthen by 80% which was a whole 30% higher than when he was at the sixth level!
"Bring it on. Crush me if you dare. If not, when I reach the top, I’ll definitely piss on the whole lot of you!" Xu Que grit his teeth and cursed. His voice was rather hoarse as the pressure had affected his throat.
At this point, Xu Que was separated from the eighth level by a mere single ceiling.
A lady who looked graceful and a beauty to die for, was seated there. Her surroundings were evidently sealed off and she was in a state of cultivation. The air around her body was filled with an air of austerity and emits a bone chilling aura.
As if detecting a sudden movement, the lady abruptly opened her eyes.
Her pair of eyes had a certain depth, with pupils dark as night. It looked as if her eyes were all-encompassing and contained the entire universe. One could even say that her eyes embraced the revolving sun, the moon and the stars. It was both mysterious and attractive at the same time!
"That sound just now. Could it be… my Heart’s Demons?" The lady creased her brows slightly and thought to herself. She proceeded to close her eyes again and did not move the slightest after.
Before long, half an hour had elapsed.
Xu Que emerged victorious once again as he increased his soul strength by another 80%. In an instant, he jumped up from the ground. He tilted his head upwards slightly, looking proud and aloof.
With a look of despise, he disdainfully glanced at the thin "misty clouds" and sneered, "You are not qualified to touch even a strand of my hair. How naive of you!"
Finishing his sentence, he patted the dust off his chest area and advanced towards the staircase to the eighth level.
With the way he walked, one could say that he looked especially arrogant. It was as if there was the characters "I am unrivalled in this world" written on his forehead and he had completely forgotten about the fact that he had been forced to the ground by the "misty clouds", for half an hour.
Luckily, those "misty clouds" had no intellect. If not, they would have charged towards him and give his smug face a thorough thrashing, followed by a reply of "Screw your tough acting!"
However, as Xu Que strutted and reached the staircase, he felt an invisible wall preventing him from walking further.
With a loud "bang" sound, he unknowingly slammed into the wall. A sharp pain enveloped his entire face, particularly his nose.
"What the hell? What a despicable trick to set up a barrier here!" Xu Que rubbed his nose and stared at the stairs in suspicion.
He had already confirmed that there was somebody at the eighth floor. Although he could only feel it faintly previously, he was able to fully sense the presence now with his current soul strength.
"But, if there is somebody inside, why would there be restrictions set up?" Xu Que touched his chin and started to ponder.
In the end, he came up with two conclusions. One was that a person was being confined within. The other was… that there were many valuable treasures hidden in the next level!
"I choose the second conclusion. The barrier seems so secretive, which means there must be something good hidden upstairs. I also want to continue upwards to continually increase my soul strength." Xu Que thus decided to check it out and was insistent on his decision.
He stretched out his hand and touched the barrier. He pushed lightly and immediately felt an opposing force on the other end.
"This looks like the lever theory, the more power I use, the stronger the opposing force. What if I use all my power?" Xu Que thought for a moment. He took a firm stance, closed his eyes at the same time and gathered all his soul strength within his body.
Whoosh!
A boundless wave of spiritual energy condensed into one. A shape of what looked like giant and formless palm immediately appeared before Xu Que.
He chanted in his head and used the formless soul strength to slowly push against the restrictive barrier!
Unsurprisingly, the barrier caved inwards and did not return back to its previous position.
"Hehe… trying to play such tricks with me. You’ve found the wrong person to do it." Xu Que laughed coldly. He slowly pushed inwards with his soul strength.
It was as if his entire being was in a rubber band and he was pushing against it slowly. The further in he advanced, the stronger resistance he felt on his soul!
However, hard efforts would never fail. Xu Que used his tremendous soul strength to push the barrier inwards and tried to climb up to the eighth floor.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, an explosion could be heard. The barrier was broken. Xu Que was being pushed into the eighth floor by an overwhelming force.
"Huh?"
Within layers of the hazy clouds of mist, two faint sounds could be heard.
One was from Xu Que and another was from a blurry figure within the clouds of mist.
Xu Que saw the figure and started to fly forward towards it along with the tremendous pressure stacked on him. However, he did not stop charging ahead.
After inching close to the figure, when he was close enough to touch it, Xu Que realized that there was an ice wall blocking. And… his entire body crashed into it head-on.
"Bang!"
Another loud noise followed. Xu Que crashed through and emerged, landing right in front of the figure. He was just less than a dozen centimeters away, but he noticed that his entire body was unable to move. As if there was an invisible force pushing against him from all sides, he was stuck at the very spot he was at!
"Damn, I’m stuck!" Xu Que cursed in his head and looked over his back, taking a look at the person seated right in front of him.
The both of them were practically looking at one another eye to eye. At the next moment, both of the were stumped.
Xu Que’s heart felt like it was being hammered aggressively and almost exploded out of his mouth!
In front of him was a lady, who had cream-like texture skin and has a beauty that was out of this world.
What was more important was that, this out-of-this-world beauty, was currently naked and didn’t wear a single article of cloth on her body. She was seated on the ground and also stared back at Xu Que in astonishment.
At this moment, Xu Que’s mind was blank. Ever since he entered this realm, he had seen many pretty women. For example, Xiao Rou, Su Yun Lan and also the Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan.
But, this lady’s complexion and demeanor had totally won and was far superior to all the rest of the women he had ever seen.
She was extremely gorgeous to the point that a thought appeared in Xu Que’s mind: "This woman can only be fucked by a Saint"!
At the same time, facing this flawless body, Xu Que’s lower body naturally and politely hardened expressing his utmost respect and admiration from the depths of his heart!