Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”He... he..., actually reached the fourth level?”

The Great Elder ignored the gazes of the surrounding elders, his eyes fixed on a light spot on the fourth level of the Jade Token, his face filled with disbelief, almost doubting his own eyes.

”Fourth level? Who reached the fourth level?”

Upon hearing this, besides Deputy Chairman Lu Liancheng, many elders showed puzzled expressions. After all, it was already the eighth day of the Refining Tower challenge, and those who reached the fourth level weren’t few. What was there to make such a fuss about?

”Great Elder, are you saying... Yun Xing?!”

Lu Liancheng, being more composed, stepped forward and glanced at the Jade Token before asking in a deep voice. In fact, he had already noticed that the light spot that was previously on the first level had vanished.

”Yes... it’s him!”

At this moment, the Great Elder finally calmed down a bit, taking several deep breaths, he pointed to the Jade Token and said, ”He went from the first level to the fourth level in just over half a day, this is truly...”

In the end, the Great Elder couldn’t find the right words to describe it. After all, those Meridian Refining Masters participating in the Refining Tower assessment had been struggling for eight days, and several of them were still stuck on the fourth level.

Half a day ago, when the Great Elder found that the Entry Token belonging to Yun Xiao was still lingering on the first level, he had discussed it with Deputy Chairman Lu Liancheng, finding amusement in Yun Xing’s predicament.

After all, it seemed that Yun Xing’s chances of securing one of the last three slots in this situation were as difficult as ascending to heaven, and he was far behind the progress of others.

But now, in just half a day, Yun Xing broke through from the first level to the fourth level, and such speed left them unsure once again.

”Hiss...”

Though the Great Elder’s voice was soft, it was still heard clearly by the surrounding elders, who all gasped because they knew what this meant.

Even those among them who reached the Earth-rank level, when challenging the Refining Tower, could only match the speed of those already on the sixth level, which was already quite an achievement and required a bit of luck.

At this moment, the fact that Yun Xiao had stayed on the first level for a full seven days had been automatically ignored by everyone. They all wanted to see if this person, who always shocked others, would create another miracle.

”Fifth level...”

In just a few exchanges of conversation, a light spot on the Jade Token suddenly flashed, jumping directly from the fourth level to the fifth level, causing the Great Elder to mutter with dry lips.

Even though there were other light spots on the fourth level of the Refining Tower, he had a special sensing that the light spot that suddenly jumped to the fifth level belonged to Yun Xing.

It’s said that the fifth level of the Refining Tower had the most light spots, meaning that within these eight days, the majority of Meridian Refining Masters had already ascended to the Tower’s fifth level.

Excluding the two Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Masters who reached the sixth level, those on the fifth level were considered the second tier.

A person who was still on the first level just half a day ago, judged to be doomed to fail by Lu Liancheng and the Great Elder, had suddenly seized the initiative once again, which was a shocking development hard to digest at once.

No matter what Yun Xing did inside the Refining Tower, he had finally reached the fifth level, regaining the eligibility for one of the last three slots, a different kind of miracle.

”Was he brewing something during the first level, which led to this sudden breakthrough today?”

Lu Liancheng stared unblinkingly at the fifth level of the Refining Tower, and although he couldn’t see the conditions inside the Space Artifact, he couldn’t shake the image of that figure from his mind.

Regarding the trials inside the Refining Tower, Lu Liancheng had some understanding. They were nothing but the means of medicine and poisoning, and the whole seven levels had at least one or two quite time-consuming items.

For instance, refining Elixirs. Without a day or two, one might not successfully refine anything, let alone considering continuous failures. Being stuck at this step wasn’t impossible.

Lu Liancheng didn’t know if Yun Xing encountered a time-consuming trial like Alchemy, but his speed at this moment was astonishing, faster even than Lu himself when he entered the Refining Tower.

”Sixth level!”

Just as Lu Liancheng’s thoughts twisted, a deep voice from the Great Elder beside him indicated without needing to turn around that Yun Xing had, in that brief moment, ascended to the sixth level of the Refining Tower.

It’s worth mentioning that the two light spots that reached the sixth level on the seventh day were still there, after all, only half a day had passed.

The light spot rising like a rocket had become the focal point of everyone’s attention, and now these deputy elders had an alternate hope—that Yun Xing might ascend all seven levels within one day and finally reach the top.

......

Refining Tower’s sixth floor!

After resolving some of the toxins on the fifth floor, Yun Xiao finally reached the sixth floor. Once he overcame this sixth floor, he could reach the final seventh floor and discover the outcome of the challenge.

”Hmm?”

Just stepping onto the sixth floor, Yun Xiao felt a powerful invisible force pressing down on him, almost making him fall to the ground unexpectedly.

”It’s the Power of Soul’s pressure!”

In an instant, Yun Xiao realized what that force was. It was clearly the soul pressure simulated by the Refining Tower, a space artifact, and it appeared to be the test of this sixth floor.

The Power of Soul is extremely important to a Meridian Refining Master and can even be said to be fundamental. For instance, if your Power of Soul hasn’t broken through to Earth Rank Low Level, your Meridian Refining Technique would never be able to reach that level.

Previously, due to the Thunder King’s Heart, Yun Xiao’s Power of Soul broke through to Earth Rank Low Level. However, breaking through in the Power of Soul is more challenging than Meridian Qi cultivation. The higher the rank of the soul, if you cultivate step by step, it may take years or even decades to break through.

So upon sensing that the sixth floor’s challenge was actually soul pressure, Yun Xiao was initially startled but then delighted, seeing it as an opportunity to temper his Power of Soul.

But as time passed, Yun Xiao realized that wasn’t the case. The powerful soul pressure grew increasingly heavy, eventually making it almost impossible for him to think.

”Indeed... this is just a test!”

At this moment, while Yun Xiao operated his Power of Soul to counter the pressure, he understood a principle: under such a test in the Refining Tower, you shouldn’t be allowed to peacefully temper your soul.

Since that was the case, Yun Xiao dismissed his unrealistic thoughts, moved slightly, and then stepped forward, walking aimlessly.

Meanwhile, in the other two spaces of the Refining Tower, two figures looked extremely pale, already at the end of their strength, were the two Meridian Refining Masters who had reached Earth Rank Low Level.

To be honest, these two had been on the sixth floor of the Refining Tower for an entire day, constantly resisting the soul pressure, reaching the point of exhaustion.

But if the two of them were to experience the soul pressure Yun Xiao endured, they might consider their test far too easy because the tests were incomparable.

The test of the Refining Tower varies from person to person; Yun Xiao is out of the ordinary, so the soul pressure he faced at this moment was even stronger than the limit a regular Earth Rank Low Level soul could bear.

However, having endured so much over the years, even after dying once, Yun Xiao’s resilience far exceeded that of an ordinary Meridian Refining Master. Two hours later, he finally felt his soul relax; all the pressure receded like a tide, and a long-lost space tearing force swept in.

Swish!

The wind blew, Yun Xiao’s mind fainted and then awoke, and he found himself in a special place. Then, his body was suddenly enveloped by a white light, lifting his entire being into the air, rushing toward the top of the Refining Tower’s seventh floor.

”Is this... considered a pass?”

Yun Xiao, who originally thought there was one more challenge awaiting on the seventh floor of the Refining Tower, had some insight in his heart. However, he was still unsure whether, after so much time had been delayed, he could still secure one of the three spots reaching the top of the Refining Tower.

......

Outside the Refining Tower!

Lu Liancheng and several Great Elders were intently watching a certain light spot on the sixth floor. Suddenly, the light spot flickered slightly and then jumped to the seventh floor.

”Phew...”

The originally tense Great Elders all let out a long breath as they witnessed this. After all, whatever astonishing acts that light spot had performed, everything ultimately had to come to an end.

Swish!

The next moment, a white light flashed from the seven-story tower, and within the light was a black-clothed figure, none other than Yun Xiao, disguised under the name Yun Xing.

Yet at this moment, Yun Xiao seemed somewhat bewildered. Having returned to the real world, he glanced at the several Great Elders, noticing the emptiness beside them, and in his confusion, he seemed to understand something more.

Among them, all the Meridian Refining Master Elders, including Lu Liancheng, had their eyes filled with inexplicable meanings as they stared at the black-clothed Yun Xing, feeling that the breath they had just exhaled was stuck in their chest and couldn’t be relieved.

After all, observing from outside was one thing, but truly discovering this person appearing in front of them was another matter. Now they could clearly confirm that one day prior, Yun Xing was still on the first floor, and one day later, he had already reached the top of the Refining Tower, finally appearing before them.