Soul Emperor Awakening

This was his first time on the Eighth Layer of the Cyan Cloud Tower. The sensation was profound, but it was also within his expectations. He could already feel a difference of severalfold between the First and Third Layers, so it wasn’t impossible for the Eighth Layer to be more than ten times stronger.

Just as he entered, he saw that the spacious Cultivation Chamber already held a few people. They were all vaguely familiar faces. He didn’t know any of them personally, but judging by their Cultivation, they were surely ranked in the top ten. All of them were at the Sixth or Seventh Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage or higher. Only his Cultivation was the lowest, at a mere Third Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage.

Normally, those with Low Cultivation wouldn’t dare to come directly to the Eighth Layer. It wasn’t that they were forbidden, but that at a lower Cultivation, every aspect of one’s ability was weaker than those with higher Cultivation. For instance, their absorption speed and their ability to regulate the berserk Elemental Power were nowhere near as fast.

Especially since it was so much more intense than the upper layers, it was impossible to completely subdue this Elemental Power without formidable Control Power.

On top of that, there were all sorts of Illusions. The slightest lapse in concentration could lead to an invasion by these Illusions, which could easily cause a cultivator to go berserk. In severe cases, one’s Cultivation could regress drastically—an outcome nobody wished to see. The longer one spent cultivating, the stronger the Illusions would become, which was why the Steward had been dumbfounded when Lin Xuan requested so many days.

If his Cultivation were high, they would have had nothing to say. The problem was that Lin Xuan’s Cultivation wasn’t high, yet he dared to cultivate on the lowest layer. This was a bit too much confidence, wasn’t it? And to top it off, he had boasted he would stay for fifteen days. He really had some nerve.

"Not bad. This place truly is a sacred ground for Cultivation."

Lin Xuan glanced around, then walked over to a corner and sat down to begin his Cultivation. His arrival had attracted everyone’s attention. Many of them recognized him; after making such a name for himself, who wouldn’t? But since they didn’t know him well, no one approached him to chat. Besides, this was a Cultivation Chamber, not a common room.

The Steward on guard watched Lin Xuan walk in so easily and was left speechless. An ordinary person would have needed a long time to break through the Illusion. Yet Lin Xuan did it in a matter of breaths and was able to move freely within the Cultivation Chamber. The Steward had been ready to rescue him at a moment’s notice, but it now seemed that wouldn’t be necessary.

Ling Tian squinted, sizing up Lin Xuan for a moment before he, too, found a spot to sit and cultivate. ’He’s fine for now, but what about in a few days? Or in over ten days?’

After sitting down in meditation, Lin Xuan took out a Spirit Refining Pill from his Storage Space. It was a Cultivation Elixir used during the Spirit Refining Stage. He hadn’t bought these pills; he had obtained them from Fang Qingyu and Fang Shi. Both of them had been carrying a Storage Ring, which he had stripped off after dealing with them.

The contents were quite bountiful, with a good number of Primordial Stones and Elixir Pills. The Elixir Pills in Fang Shi’s Storage Ring weren’t very suitable for him, while Fang Qingyu’s were. After all, Fang Shi was at the Essence Pill Stage Level and had almost no Elixir Pills for the Spirit Refining Stage. Fang Qingyu, however, was in the same Cultivation Realm as Lin Xuan, so of course he had more pills that were useful to him.

It wasn’t a staggering amount, but it wasn’t insignificant either; at the very least, his wealth had increased considerably. As for the Martial Arts manuals he found, he didn’t give them a second glance. They were all rather mediocre, and more importantly, they couldn’t see the light of day—they were all Fang Family Martial Arts, which he certainly couldn’t learn.

Never mind learning them, he couldn’t even sell the weapons he found. It would be extremely troublesome if he were found out. Although Fang Feng would certainly suspect him, he couldn’t be sure, so Lin Xuan could at least buy some time.

He immediately popped the Spirit Refining Pill into his mouth and began to cultivate. His foundation was stable enough now; he would advance as quickly as he could.

As the Spirit Refining Pill dissolved, a surge of Elemental Power poured into him. When it combined with the frenzied external Elemental Power, it began to rampage wildly within his body.

"Soul Possession!"

Without hesitation, Lin Xuan activated Soul Possession, letting Qing Liuyun’s soul take over to increase his Control Power over the Elemental Power. With this, he had nothing left to worry about. No one else here would dare to consume Elixir Pills while cultivating. Their Control Power wasn’t nearly as formidable as his; just being able to absorb the ambient Elemental Power was already an achievement for them, let alone handling an Elixir Pill on top of it.

「Outside the Cyan Cloud Tower.」

"Lin Yunlong went straight to the Eighth Layer of the Cyan Cloud Tower! He’s crazy! He’s only at the Third Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage, and he went down there. I wouldn’t even dare!"

"I heard he plans on staying down there for fifteen days. Is that true? I can only last four or five days on the Sixth Layer. How could he stay on the eighth for fifteen?"

"Damn it, I don’t believe for a second he can last fifteen days down there! Even Ling Tian wouldn’t dare stay for fifteen days. If he actually pulls it off, he’ll be breaking a record."

...

The news that Lin Xuan planned to stay on the bottom layer of the Cyan Cloud Tower for fifteen days spread like wildfire. Everyone soon knew about his fifteen-day goal, and they all thought he was insane. They figured he was either being forced into it or, in his desperation to defeat Chen Yun, felt he had no choice but to increase his Cultivation this way. But to push himself like this... if he went berserk, the potential gains wouldn’t be worth the devastating cost.

"What? Lin Yunlong is staying on the bottom layer of the Cyan Cloud Tower for fifteen days?" Qing Liuyun exclaimed in shock. "Has he gone mad? Even if he’s desperate to break through, he can’t push himself like this!"

He added, with a hint of exasperation, "Fine, let him stay down there. If anything goes wrong, someone will pull him out. One shouldn’t be so stubborn. I know he has excellent talent, but the Eighth Layer is not a place to be trifled with."

When word of this reached Chen Yun and Wan Ning, they both scoffed, convinced Lin Xuan was just putting on a brave front.

"It seems he’s trying to force a breakthrough in the Cyan Cloud Tower to have a chance of winning against you," Wan Ning said, amused.

"Does he really think he’s a Core Disciple now? If he can last fifteen days on the lowest layer, I’ll start walking backward for the rest of my life!" Chen Yun sneered. "I bet he’ll collapse in the Cyan Cloud Tower. He won’t last five days. Then he’ll be a laughingstock. Fifteen days? As if!"

While the outside world remained pessimistic, Lin Xuan cultivated on the Eighth Layer without a shred of pressure. Possessing immense Spiritual Power, he found it easy to keep the Illusions at bay.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five days had passed. The Illusions were growing progressively stronger. It was no wonder people needed to take Mystery Heart Grass; even those with formidable Spiritual Power would eventually grow fatigued.

For Lin Xuan, however, it wasn’t a difficult task. With his level of Spiritual Power, he could still endure.

The fact that he hadn’t emerged after five days dropped another bombshell on the disciples outside, leaving them all stunned. Lin Xuan had actually managed to last five days. Those who had bet against him now had to eat their words.

Ten days!

Ten days passed. The other cultivators in the chamber had long since been unable to endure and had left. Before they departed, each one glanced at Lin Xuan, their eyes filled with shock. If they couldn’t still sense the aura of life from him, they would have assumed he was already dead.

The Steward outside the door kept a constant watch on Lin Xuan. To his surprise, Lin Xuan’s aura remained remarkably stable, while Ling Tian’s, in contrast, was starting to fluctuate!

’Someone at the Third Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage has lasted ten days in here... Am I seeing things?’ The Steward had already stepped inside from his post at the door.

Ling Tian slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Lin Xuan completely still, the shock in his heart was beyond description. He truly hadn’t expected Lin Xuan to last for ten days.

He hurriedly adjusted the Elemental Power within his body and focused his mind, pushing himself for a final sprint. He had to hold on, even if it killed him—at the very least, he had to outlast Lin Xuan. He could not surrender his status as the number one King to a newcomer.

But for Lin Xuan, this was only the beginning.

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