87: A Thousand Years of Dreams

The Illusory Beasts on the eighth floor were far more difficult to kill than the Alien Beasts on the previous floors. Five hours had passed, and Xun Xiuyuan's kill count was still less than half, even with the Explosive Ignition Art activated.

It's worth noting that he had killed just as many Illusory Beasts on the seventh floor in five hours without using the Explosive Ignition Art.

Looking at the still massive horde of Illusory Beasts, Xun Xiuyuan wasn't anxious at all. Opportunities like this to farm exotic beast value were rare.

He thought to himself, but his hands didn't stop, continuing to fight.

Ling Jun, seeing that another five hours had passed, couldn't help but say, "He's held on for five hours already. It seems there's a good chance he'll clear the eighth floor."

Wen Ruyu nodded, "Yes, if he couldn't hold on, he would have come out by now. The seventh floor took him over ten hours, so I estimate the eighth floor will definitely take longer. At the fastest, it'll be a full day."

Ling Jun nodded in agreement with Wen Ruyu's assessment, as they didn't know that Xun Xiuyuan was inside comprehending laws and having barbecues, which had delayed him significantly, leading to a large error in their estimation of his time to clear the seventh floor.

Of course, on the judgment of the clearance time, the Alien Beast Clan and Ling Jun's group were consistent, estimating that Xun Xiuyuan had withstood the Illusory Beasts' attacks, but the fastest clearance would still take a day.

Time flew by, and nearly six more hours passed. Only a few scattered Illusory Beasts remained on the eighth floor of the Ling Tian Pagoda.

Qi Hun suddenly appeared and said to Xun Xiuyuan, "Xun Xiuyuan, are you willing to inherit the Ling Tian Pagoda? Are you willing to become Ling Tian's disciple?"

Xun Xiuyuan was in a daze from all the killing and felt a bit disoriented when he heard the old man Qi Hun's words.

"I haven't finished killing yet?" Xun Xiuyuan asked, puzzled.

Yes, he hadn't finished killing; there were still a few scattered Illusory Beasts.

Qi Hun didn't answer, staring intently at Xun Xiuyuan.

Seeing the old man's resolute attitude, Xun Xiuyuan replied, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. If I accept the inheritance and agree to become Ling Tian's disciple, what will I have to give in return?"

Qi Hun didn't hide anything, because Xun Xiuyuan was not easily fooled. He said directly, "Ling Tian was a Human Race War God in the Great World. He was severely wounded by a comrade's betrayal during a great war with the Alien Beasts, and then jointly killed by the Alien Beast Clan. If you inherit the Ling Tian Pagoda, he hopes you can help him get revenge."

Xun Xiuyuan was surprised and asked carefully, "He hopes I can help him get revenge? It's not mandatory?"

Qi Hun chuckled, "Do you know why you were able to clear the eighth floor?"

"Of course, it's because of my extraordinary talent and unparalleled combat power. What other reason could there be? Can't you see that?" Xun Xiuyuan shamelessly boasted.

"Your talent is indeed impressive, and your combat power is not bad, but these are not the reasons you were able to clear it. The biggest reason you could clear it is because you are Human Race," Qi Hun explained slowly.

Xun Xiuyuan vaguely understood something: "What would happen if an Alien Beast tried to clear the levels?"

Qi Hun knew that Xun Xiuyuan had already understood a bit: "Starting from the fifth floor, if it were an Alien Beast, a Transcendent Realm peak Illusory Beast would directly appear and instantly kill the challenger. The rewards after the fifth floor would never be given to an Alien Beast; the rewards for the first four floors don't matter."

Xun Xiuyuan understood; the owner of this relic had put a lot of thought into it.

Xun Xiuyuan nodded and said, "I am willing to inherit Ling Tian's legacy and become his disciple. After all, his enemies are Alien Beasts, and it's only right for me to help him get revenge, but it must be within my capabilities."

Qi Hun looked at Xun Xiuyuan nodding in agreement, a bit puzzled, as he had expected to expend a lot of effort. He didn't know that Xun Xiuyuan was very passionate about slaying Alien Beasts.

After a moment, the Artifact Spirit continued, "My name is Xuan. If you're happy, you can call me Grandpa Xuan. If not, calling me Old Xuan is fine too."

Xun Xiuyuan no longer needed to mock the old man. The Illusory Beasts on the eighth floor were almost gone, and he was about to inherit the Ling Tian Pagoda. He and Xuan would be close comrades from now on.

Xun Xiuyuan looked at Xuan and called out, "Grandpa Xuan, hello!"

His obedient demeanor made Xuan's hair stand on end; he almost believed it to be true.

He glanced at Xun Xiuyuan again, who still looked like a good boy. Xuan continued, "The first stage's arena is actually the ninth floor of the Ling Tian Pagoda. The entire relic is inside the Ling Tian Pagoda. Now that you're about to pass the eighth floor, the reason I came out to speak with you is because the outside of the Ling Tian Pagoda is already surrounded by a group of Shattering Void Realm fellows. If the ranking list shows that you've passed the eighth floor, you'll surely face certain death upon leaving."

It was only then that Xun Xiuyuan remembered that his progress in clearing the levels could be seen outside.

"Then, Grandpa Xuan, can you not announce it publicly? At least, can the people outside not see the information about clearing the eighth floor?" Xun Xiuyuan looked at Xuan.

Xuan nodded, "Now that you've agreed to inherit, of course I'll help you. I also need to say one more thing: when you acknowledge the Ling Tian Pagoda as your master, it means you agree to do your best to help him get revenge, not just against the Alien Beasts, but most importantly, against the Human Race individual who betrayed Ling Tian. That person has already betrayed humanity and sided with the Alien Beast Clan."

Xun Xiuyuan didn't think much about it, nor did he ask about that person's cultivation realm or anything. It was still very far off for him anyway. If someone betrayed humanity, shouldn't they be killed instead of being kept around for the New Year?

He would definitely agree.

Seeing Xun Xiuyuan nod, Xuan continued, "Then, continue clearing the levels!"

Xun Xiuyuan proceeded to kill the remaining few scattered Illusory Beasts.

Indeed, although Xun Xiuyuan cleared the eighth floor of the Ling Tian Pagoda, his clearance record was not displayed on the external ranking list.

Congratulations to Xun Xiuyuan for clearing the eighth floor of the Ling Tian Pagoda, rewarding the soul skill, Dream of a Thousand Years.

A skill book appeared in Xun Xiuyuan's hand; it was the soul skill, Dream of a Thousand Years.

Ding dong!

host detected to possess advanced soul skill: Dream of a Thousand Years. Would you like to use 10 million exotic beast value to learn it?

Seeing the system's prompt, Xun Xiuyuan was utterly stunned. The system actually had this function. He unhesitatingly spent 10 million exotic beast value to learn it.

Dream of a Thousand Years: (Beginner) Has a certain probability of dragging individuals with lower mental energy than oneself into a dream, from which they cannot awaken. The dream's content is constructed by the caster.

Wow, what a powerful skill! Once my mental energy reaches 100,000, those Shattering Void Realm experts won't dare to flaunt themselves in front of me. I'll make them all dream of wetting the bed, hmph hmph!

"Grandpa Xuan, the ninth floor is the arena, there are no Illusory Beast challenges, right?" Xun Xiuyuan asked, not giving up hope.

"No, there are no Illusory Beasts in the arena, but there are Alien Beasts. Do you want to try?" Xuan reappeared, looking at Xun Xiuyuan.

Upon hearing this, Xun Xiuyuan didn't think much and directly nodded.

Xuan looked at Xun Xiuyuan, "Your courage is commendable. Don't be in a hurry to make a decision. Let me tell you the challenge content of the ninth floor first, then you can decide."

Xuan looked at Xun Xiuyuan's expectant eyes. This little guy wasn't bad when he wasn't in taunting mode.

"The ninth floor doesn't have Illusory Beasts; it has Transcendent Realm early-stage Alien Beasts that Ling Tian captured during his battles back then, a total of tens of thousands of them, sealed in an independent space on the ninth floor. Time in that space is almost static, so those Transcendent Realm Alien Beasts should still be alive."

After understanding Xuan's explanation, Xun Xiuyuan immediately asked, "Then can I challenge it after I advance to the Transcendent Realm?"