Chapter 85: Martial Tower
Zhang Ruochen truly had little understanding of the Martial Tower, and naturally could not say for certain how many levels or stages he could clear.
Liu Chengfeng, sitting cross-legged beside him, appeared quite excited and said in a low voice, "I'll tell you quietly—before the academy exam, I went to the Martial Tower to train three times."
"With my current martial realm, I am fully confident I can clear all three stages of the first level. As for the second level, I should be able to clear one or two stages."
"According to the results of past examinees, as long as one can clear all three stages of the first level, they can stand out and become an outer academy disciple of the Western Academy."
"As for those who clear all three stages of the second level, they are extremely rare—maybe only one or two appear in a year. Sometimes, none at all." Liu Chengfeng smiled. "With my talent and experience, I have a chance to compete for the top ten."
The martial artists from Yunwu Commandery were all moved, gazing at Liu Chengfeng with envious eyes.
"Brother Liu, tell us about the situation inside the Martial Tower! That way, we can be mentally prepared. Here are eight spirit crystals—please accept them." A male martial artist stuffed eight spirit crystals into Liu Chengfeng's arms.
"Brother Liu, we are all martial artists from Yunwu Commandery. If we enter the Martial Market Academy, we can look out for each other in the future. Please tell us! Here are five spirit crystals—keep them well!" Another martial artist reluctantly took out five spirit crystals and handed them to Liu Chengfeng.
One by one, the crowd took out spirit crystals and pressed them into Liu Chengfeng's hands, hoping to learn about the Martial Tower in advance.
Before long, Liu Chengfeng had collected a small pile of spirit crystals. His smile grew even brighter, and he cleared his throat twice. "Telling you a bit about the Martial Tower is no big deal. First of all, the Martial Tower has seven levels, each with three stages."
"When I entered the Martial Tower to train, I was only at the Yellow Extreme Realm Great Perfection. The first time, I didn't even pass the first stage of the first level. The second time, I cleared the first stage of the first level but failed at the second stage. The third time, I cleared the second stage of the first level but failed at the third stage."
A martial artist asked, "What do the three stages of the first level test respectively?"
Liu Chengfeng flicked his finger and laughed. "I can't reveal too much, but I can tell you this: the first stage tests combat skills; the second stage tests agility and speed; the third stage tests mental strength and willpower."
Liu Chengfeng's explanation was vague, leaving the crowd still only half-understanding the Martial Tower, with no clear idea of what they would face.
While the martial artists below discussed the Martial Tower, the two stunning women sitting cross-legged on the stone platform were also conversing.
The woman surnamed Huang swept her gaze across the crowd below and said coldly, "The cultivation levels of this year's new students are not bad. There are fifteen martial artists who have reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position. Forty-seven have reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Later Stage. Barring any surprises, the top ten new students this year will come from these sixty-two."
The young woman surnamed Duanmu had long, curled eyelashes and a bright smile. "That's not necessarily true. Clearing stages in the Martial Tower tests a martial artist's talent, combat skills, willpower, and mental strength. Who knows—there might be a little genius at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Initial Stage or Middle Stage?"
The woman surnamed Huang said, "Although the Martial Tower places more emphasis on talent, higher cultivation still gives an advantage. Let's see if a genius can clear all three stages of the second level this year!"
"For a new student to clear all three stages of the second level? That's too difficult!"
The young woman surnamed Duanmu added, "But there are three who have a chance: Prince Huoxing of the Sifang Commandery, Chi Minghai of the Huolong Commandery, and Yao Yintong of the Jingyue Commandery. There was also Qing You from the Sifang Commandery, who could have stood alongside them, but unfortunately, he was killed by someone during the first round of the academy exam!"
The woman surnamed Huang curled her lips. "Wouldn't the new student who killed Qing You be even more formidable?"
The young woman surnamed Duanmu's eyes lit up. "Right! Who is it?"
The young woman surnamed Duanmu scanned the more than four hundred young martial artists below with her eyes. Someone who could kill Qing You was undoubtedly quite powerful among the new students.
The woman surnamed Huang closed her eyes again. "Since you're so curious, let's go to the Martial Tower tomorrow and take a look at what kind of geniuses are among this batch of new students."
"Great! Great!"
The young woman surnamed Duanmu grew excited, full of anticipation for the next day's Martial Tower challenge.
At dawn, when the first rays of sunlight shone into the Western Academy of the Martial Market Academy, four hundred and sixty-eight young martial artists, led by nine elders, arrived at the base of the Martial Tower.
The Martial Tower stood seven stories high. The entire tower emitted a metallic luster, not like a constructed building but more like a seamlessly forged True Martial Treasure.
Not only the nine elders but also many outer academy disciples of the Martial Market Academy gathered outside the Martial Tower to watch, eager to see what geniuses would emerge among this year's new students.
Since the Martial Market Academy only recruited students once a year, this was naturally a grand event.
Three days earlier, when Zhang Ruochen and the others were taken to the Demon Ridge for the first round of the academy exam, the outer academy disciples escorting them were mostly male.
But today was different—over seventy percent were female disciples, with males making up only thirty percent.
Those female disciples were all dressed in white robes, and several of them were exceptionally beautiful, like maidens stepping out of a painting.
Standing at the base of the Martial Tower, Zhang Ruochen asked Liu Chengfeng, "Why are there so many female outer academy disciples today?"
Liu Chengfeng said, "In the Western Academy of the Martial Market Academy, yin prevails over yang. Female disciples have far more say than male disciples. For example, the hard and tiring tasks—like escorting us to the Demon Ridge or patrolling it—are all done by male martial artists."
Zhang Ruochen said, "That's too unfair!"
"Exactly! But who dares to resist? Who dares to challenge them? Opposing them means a miserable death. Especially the three female demons of the Western Academy—each one is more ruthless than the last. If we become outer academy disciples of the Western Academy, we'll have to steer clear of them." Liu Chengfeng kept shaking his head and sighing.
Zhang Ruochen only smiled faintly, not taking Liu Chengfeng's words to heart. As long as he was strong enough, how could he be oppressed by women?
At that moment, the "Martial Tower Challenge" had already begun, with ten people entering the Martial Tower at a time.
Elder Situ stood outside the gate of the Martial Tower and read out the list of the first ten to enter. Then, everyone waited.
About three minutes later, the first martial artist who failed the challenge walked out of the Martial Tower. There was a bloody hole in his chest, still bleeding, indicating he had suffered considerable injuries.
The crowd was shocked. "That person was at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Initial Stage, and he failed in just three minutes!"
The martial artist who had failed wore a dejected expression. "I lost at the second stage of the first level. I let my guard down, and a..."
Just as he was about to describe his experience in the Martial Tower, an elder standing in the distance snorted coldly, emitting an invisible sound wave that made the young martial artist's face turn pale. He immediately swallowed the words he was about to say.
In just a quarter of an hour, the first batch of martial artists who entered the Martial Tower came out one after another.
Among them, three had cleared all three stages of the first level, five had cleared two stages of the first level, and two had only cleared the first stage of the first level.
None of the first batch of ten had cleared the first stage of the second level.
The three who cleared all three stages of the first level had a good chance of passing the exam and becoming outer academy disciples of the Martial Market Academy. Of course, their final ranking would depend on their specific performance in the Martial Tower.
Next came the second batch of ten entering the Martial Tower.
Among this batch, a genius appeared who actually cleared the second stage of the second level, barely missing the third stage.
Someone recognized the genius as Chi Minghai of the Huolong Commandery, who, at just twenty-two years old, had reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position.
An elder with a jade gourd hanging at his waist sighed softly. "What a pity—he was just short of clearing the third stage of the second level."
Elder Xie said, "As a new student, that's already quite remarkable. With his performance in the Martial Tower, he's definitely in the top five, maybe even the top three."
Another elder laughed. "If no one clears the third stage of the second level this year, wouldn't he be the top new student?"
Elder Situ stared at Prince Huoxing, who was standing in the crowd, and smiled faintly. "This year, someone will definitely clear the third stage of the second level. Just wait and see!"
Elder Situ had high hopes for Prince Huoxing. With Prince Huoxing's current cultivation at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position, clearing the third stage of the second level should not be difficult, and he might even clear the first stage of the third level.
The Martial Tower challenge continued, and soon it was Prince Huoxing's turn.
In just ten minutes, the tower light on the second level lit up, indicating that Prince Huoxing had reached the second level of the Martial Tower.
"Reaching the second level in ten minutes—Prince Huoxing is truly extraordinary, worthy of being a young genius from the Sifang Commandery. They say he's also a talented beast tamer. With his aptitude, he'll definitely clear the third stage of the second level. The top new student this year is probably him!" A rather beautiful female outer academy disciple showed admiration in her eyes.
"Huoxiuxiu, are you trying to become a prince's consort?" Another female disciple laughed.
The outer academy disciple named Huoxiuxiu said, "So what if I am? Prince Huoxing is not only a prince but also has supreme talent. What woman wouldn't want to marry him?"
"Whoosh!"
Half an hour later, the tower light on the third level lit up.
This meant Prince Huoxing had reached the third level of the Martial Tower!
Below the Martial Tower, all the martial artists were stunned.