6: Chapter 6: The Trial Tower

The next morning, Xiao Ran changed into a simple black robe, left the Eternal Night Palace, and walked toward the Inner Sect Square.

Along the way, many Disciples saw him and cast strange glances his way.

Some were curious, some were jealous, and there was also a faint, underlying hostility.

Xiao Ran acted as if he hadn't seen them, walking forward while turning a blind eye.

The Inner Sect Square covered a vast area, with a nine-zhang-tall black stone monument standing in the center, densely engraved with names and floor levels.

This was the Trial Tower's ranking monument.

A crowd had gathered in front of the stone monument, mostly True Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples, pointing and whispering about the rankings.

Xiao Ran looked up; the bottom section of the stone monument was the Prodigy Board.

First Place: Li Tianxing, 49th Floor.

Second Place: Ye Wuhen, 45th Floor.

Third Place: White Bone Scholar, 41st Floor.

...

Further down were the names of some True Disciples, mostly between the 20th and 30th floors.

"The 49th floor..." Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes.

"According to Changsheng, the Trial Tower represents a major Realm every ten floors. The 49th floor corresponds to the Nascent Soul Peak. From this, it seems Li Tianxing's strength has already reached the Nascent Soul Peak, a half-step into the Soul Transformation Stage."

"So terrifying!"

Li Tianxing was indeed the First Demon Son of the Eternal Night Demon Sect.

Once he breaks through to the Soul Transformation Stage, he will completely leave the ranks of the Disciples.

"Look! Someone is about to enter the tower!"

A sudden commotion broke out among the crowd.

Xiao Ran turned to look and saw a familiar figure walking toward the Trial Tower.

It was Lu Qing, who had provoked him yesterday.

Lu Qing clearly saw Xiao Ran as well. He gave a cold snort and walked straight to the tower entrance, pressing his identity token into the groove on the door.

The tower doors swung open, and he stepped inside.

On the stone monument, light flickered behind Lu Qing's name: First Floor... Second Floor... Third Floor...

His speed was very fast, rising a floor almost every dozen breaths.

It wasn't until the ninth floor that his speed slowed down.

"Senior Brother Lu truly deserves to be a True Disciple of the Blood Fiend Hall. His speed is so fast!"

"I heard he reached the 16th floor last year. He should be able to break through to the 17th floor this year, right?"

"The 17th floor? That's the difficulty of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Senior Brother Lu is only at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage. Can he do it?"

The crowd discussed animatedly.

About half a quarter of an hour later, Lu Qing's name on the stone monument stopped at the 17th floor. The light flickered a few times and finally stabilized.

The tower doors opened again, and Lu Qing walked out. His face was somewhat pale, but his eyes were filled with pride.

He walked to the stone monument and looked at the "17th floor" after his name, a smile spreading across his face.

To match the Foundation Establishment Late Stage with the talent of the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage—that was a Genius.

In his pride, Lu Qing turned to look at Xiao Ran: "Demon Son Xiao, since you're here, why not go in and try?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding gazes all fell upon Xiao Ran.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran gave a light chuckle.

"True Disciple Lu, you've forgotten to perform the formal salute again. It seems the Sect's rules can no longer bind you!"

Lu Qing's expression stiffened at the words.

Seeing this, the surrounding Disciples all performed their salutes, making Lu Qing look even more awkward.

Xiao Ran smiled with satisfaction, walked straight to the tower doors, and took out his Demon Son Token to press it against the groove.

It was a pitch-black jade tablet with the words 'Eternal Night' engraved on the front and the number 'Nine' on the back.

The moment the token was pressed into the groove.

The tower doors boomed open.

Xiao Ran stepped inside.

The light and shadows shifted before his eyes. When he regained his senses, he was already in a desolate gobi desert.

The sky was dark red, and the air was filled with dense Devilish Qi.

"First Floor, ten Qi Refining Level 1 Phantom Demons."

A cold voice rang in his ear.

Xiao Ran looked up and saw ten blurry black shadows emerging from the depths of the gobi, roaring as they pounced toward him.

He didn't move.

Only when those Phantom Demons rushed to within a zhang of him did Xiao Ran raise his right hand, a palm-sized black vortex appearing in his palm.

"Devour."

The ten Phantom Demons stiffened simultaneously, the Devilish Qi on their bodies surging uncontrollably toward the vortex.

In just three breaths, they completely dissipated.

"First Floor, passed. Reward: one Low Grade Demon Crystal."

A Demon Crystal appeared out of thin air in front of Xiao Ran.

He tucked it away and stepped toward the stairs that had appeared ahead.

Second Floor, twenty Qi Refining Level 2 Phantom Demons.

Devour.

Third Floor, thirty Qi Refining Level 3 Phantom Demons.

Devour.

...

Xiao Ran's speed was astonishingly fast.

From the first floor to the ninth floor, he almost never stopped his pace.

The moment any Phantom Demon approached him, it would be swallowed by the vortex formed by the Guixu Body, leaving them with no chance to resist.

Outside the tower, in front of the stone monument.

Everyone stared at Xiao Ran's name on the monument, their eyes widening further and further.

"The... the second floor!"

"The third floor! How long has it been? Thirty breaths?"

"The fifth floor! My god, what kind of speed is this?"

Lu Qing's expression turned from pride to shock, and then from shock to a grimace.

It had taken him nearly a quarter of an hour to clear the first through ninth floors.

But Xiao Ran... it hadn't even been half a quarter of an hour!

Most importantly, he was in the Foundation Establishment Stage!

By the time Xiao Ran's name lit up on the ninth floor, over a hundred people had gathered outside the tower. Even some Deacon Elders were alerted and stood at a distance to watch.

"The ninth floor... next is the tenth floor, the difficulty of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage."

"Can he pass it? A Qi Refinement Stage reaching the tenth floor... if he passes this..."

Before the voice could fade, Xiao Ran's name on the stone monument suddenly jumped...

Tenth Floor!

The crowd erupted in an uproar!

"He passed! He actually passed!"

"A Qi Refinement Stage cleared the Foundation Establishment Early Stage trial? This... how is this possible!"

"Myriad Dao Guixu Body... is this the power of the third-ranked Ancient Holy Body?"

...

Lu Qing stared intently at the stone monument, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

The tenth floor was a trial he only cleared after reaching the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

And Xiao Ran, a newcomer in the Qi Refinement Stage, had actually cleared it so easily...

No, it wasn't over yet.

On the stone monument, Xiao Ran's name lingered on the tenth floor for a moment, and then, it jumped again—

Eleventh Floor!

"The... the eleventh floor?!"

"That's not just ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage difficulty! He's just a Qi Refinement Stage..."

"Crazy, the world has gone crazy..."

This time, the duration Xiao Ran stayed on the eleventh floor was noticeably longer.

...

Inside the tower, Eleventh Floor.

Xiao Ran's body surged with Devilish Qi, his expression solemn.

The guardians of this floor were three Foundation Establishment Early Stage Demon General Phantoms, who were not only formidable in strength but also extremely rich in combat experience.

Although Xiao Ran's devouring vortex could counter them, the Demon Generals didn't approach at all. They bombarded him from a distance with Devilish Qi, giving him quite a headache.

"I can't keep wearing myself down like this..."

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, his mind racing.

He suddenly remembered a Spell recorded in the Eternal Night Demon Codex.

Ghost Shadow Step.

Although he hadn't practiced it, the principle was simple.

Channel Devilish Qi into the legs to form phantoms and confuse the enemy.

"Let's try it!"

With a thought, Xiao Ran diverted a wisp of Devilish Qi into his legs.

The next moment, his figure suddenly blurred, leaving three afterimages in place.

The Demon General Phantoms were stunned, their attacks momentarily halting.

Now!

Xiao Ran seized the opportunity, his figure rushing toward a Demon General like a ghost, his right hand's vortex fully activated!

"Devour!!!"

A terrifying suction erupted, and the Devilish Qi on the Demon General Phantom's body surged wildly into the vortex.

It tried to break free, but Xiao Ran gripped its shoulder tightly, pushing the Guixu Body to its limit.

Ten breaths.

Twenty breaths.

After thirty breaths, the Demon General Phantom completely dissipated.

"One down..."

Xiao Ran panted heavily, kneeling on one knee.

This battle had consumed too much; the Devilish Qi in his body was almost depleted.

There were still two Demon Generals left on the field; he definitely wouldn't be able to clear the eleventh floor.

"That's enough."

Xiao Ran stood up and walked toward the exit.

The tower doors opened.

When Xiao Ran walked out, the square was silent.

Over a hundred gazes fell upon him simultaneously—shock, awe, jealousy, and fear.

On the stone monument, behind Xiao Ran's name, were the words "Eleventh Floor."

A Qi Refinement Stage clearing the eleventh floor of Foundation Establishment difficulty.

This achievement was incredibly rare in the history of the Eternal Night Demon Sect.

Especially reaching this level in less than a month of cultivation—there was simply no such record in the Demon Sect's history.

"Senior... Senior Brother Xiao..."

An Inner Sect Disciple called out subconsciously, then realized it was inappropriate and quickly corrected himself.

"Lord Demon Son, are... are you alright?"

Xiao Ran waved his hand, said nothing, and walked straight toward the Eternal Night Palace.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

Standing in the crowd, Lu Qing watched Xiao Ran's back, his face turning various shades of blue and white.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned to leave quickly.

He knew that from today on, at least at the levels of the Qi Refinement Stage and Foundation Establishment Early Stage, no one would dare to look down on Xiao Ran again.