(Extra chapter for Alliance Leader Caesar.)

...

"Let's take a short break." Shiwei's hand was wrapped in Demon Breath, and she plunged it into the slope of the tunnel, scraping sideways to forcefully dig out a small step for Du Yu.

She gripped Du Yu's hand and pulled him up a bit, signaling him to sit on the makeshift step.

The soldiers in front of the monitors looked odd—wasn't this girl a bit too attentive to her teammate?

You're a Demon Tamer Journeyman·Minor Success girl at the front, not only clearing the way, but also pulling the Demon Tamer·Great Success Du Yu up the slope just to help him save his strength?

Shiwei clearly was a top laner type, able to charge and kill, yet when she was with Du Yu, she suddenly turned into a support...

"Thanks." Du Yu's body was a bit stiff as he experienced for the first time just how hard cultivation could be.

He'd always been advancing as a Demon Tamer, with the world's Demon Breath so dense that everything naturally fell into place.

But at this moment, as he tried to level up as a Spirit Tamer, the surrounding Spiritual Power just kept falling short, leaving him stuck at the threshold, pacing back and forth.

No way, the Spiritual Qi here has been sucked dry—gotta move forward!

Du Yu pushed his stiff body up, one hand bracing against the tunnel wall. Just as he was about to stand, he suddenly felt tremors shaking the ground!

"Rumble rumble..."

Earth and stones tumbled down, raining over their heads as if trying to bury the two of them alive!

"Tree! Branches!" Little Fen Yang cried out in panic, but couldn't stop a thing.

By the time Du Yu and Shiwei reacted, a thick branch had already stretched down from above the tunnel, tightly binding the two of them together.

"All of you, return!" Du Yu shouted quickly, and in the chaos, Xiaoyan and Little You Ying dissolved into Demon Breath, swiftly merging into Du Yu's body.

The long tunnel swept by under their feet, endless rubble falling down in waves, pounding on their Demon Breath Battle Robes.

Until finally, the tunnel slope suddenly turned into a vertical 90-degree angle!

The branches pulled the two of them up, spinning them in circles, as if clearing the way for them.

A few seconds later...

A blaze of neon lights bathed both of them.

For a moment, Du Yu and Shiwei were both dumbfounded!

They'd actually appeared in Neon City's Central Square, and were now being swung and shaken high up in the air by the Twin Trees previously planted by the Red-robed People, sending dirt everywhere.

In front of the monitors, the soldiers were left speechless, jaws dropping.

There was actually a passage under the Twin Trees?

And it led straight into the depths?

Compared to the soldiers' reaction, Yang Qingqing and Battalion Commander Liu didn't seem surprised at all.

Evidently, the two of them knew things others didn't.

"Woah~ woah! Brother Tree! Have mercy! I still want to climb a few more floors!" Du Yu pleaded, then let out a satisfied nasal sound, "Mmm~"

The Fire Spiritual Qi in his Spirit Ruins Acupoint blazed up furiously, expanding his Acupoint Home by another circle!

Spirit Tamer·Minor Success!

Before Du Yu could fully enjoy it, the Twin Trees' branches suddenly loosened, flinging the two of them out.

"Grab him!" Shiwei had never recalled her Demon Pet. The Rose Double Spirit on her shoulder instantly unfurled a vine, rapidly lashing it around Du Yu.

The distance between the two shrank rapidly. As Shiwei hooked Du Yu, both were still in midair, but suddenly landed on the ground.

"Sss..."

The two rolled on the weedy ground, carving out two long trails.

Du Yu slammed a hand to the ground—monkey see, monkey do!—his fingers wrapped in Demon Breath as he drove them deep into the earth!

He half-crouched and slid backward, exactly mirroring Shiwei's moves beside him.

With the two vines of Rose Double Spirit connecting them, the two gradually stabilized, one in front, one behind.

"Where are we now?" Shiwei scanned the surroundings with caution. Looking up, she saw a sky full of stars and a bright, round moon.

The rain had stopped at some point, and she could still hear the distant chirping of insects.

"Mountains and forest." Du Yu glanced around, his nose filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Shadow Gu Tower—3rd Floor!

"Look over there." Shiwei pointed into the distance. The two were standing on high ground, and from here, they could see a brilliantly lit city far away.

Du Yu stepped forward a couple paces, parting the leaves in front of his face, and also spotted Neon City shrouded in night.

Shiwei whispered, "Looks like we're outside the city. Why did Shadow Gu Tower send us out here?"

"Shh!" Du Yu hissed all of a sudden. Not only that, he pressed his hand on Shiwei's shoulder and squatted down anxiously.

"Wuu wuu~ wuu..."

"Cough, cough! Cough, wuu wuu." The distant cries, sobbing, and constant coughing drifted over.

The two exchanged a look and crept quietly toward the source of the cries. After crawling up a small mound, Du Yu and Shiwei froze!

By moonlight, they could see that there was a gigantic pit not far below!

And the pit was almost ridiculously huge...

The diameter was probably measured in kilometers. What used to be dense forest was now a massive area totally devoid of trees, all swallowed up by the pit!

Shiwei leaned forward slightly, lips to Du Yu's ear, and whispered: "Bottomless Pit."

Demon Spirit Realm·Bottomless!

Every time a Twin Tree is born, within a hundred miles, a Bottomless Pit appears!

The one outside Neon City, in the heart of the mountain forest, clearly appeared together with the Central Square's Twin Trees.

Du Yu: "Look closer."

"Mm."

Du Yu reached up in front of his face, blocking his eyes with his hand.

Shiwei squinted as instructed, focusing intently on what lay below, not noticing Du Yu's little trick.

When Du Yu opened his eyes again, his eyeballs were covered in a light red hue.

Eye of Burning Sun·Night Vision Eye!

A group of Red-robed People were herding a group of Black-robed People, rough and brutal, forcing them to kneel at the pit's edge.

"Wuu wuu~ wuu wuu..." A Black-robed Person shook their head desperately, sobbing, appearing to plead for mercy.

The Red-robed Person kicked the back of the Black-robed Person's knees, forcing them to kneel down.

"Ah! Ahh..."

The Red-robed Person finally kicked the Black-robed Person into the pit, their screams fading farther and farther away.

The Red-robed Person watched for a moment, then actually jumped in after them?

This...

The dozen or so Red-robed People in the rear continued pushing the Black-robed People forward, repeating the process.

Watching the lineup advance, Du Yu's face went stiff!

At the very end of the Black-robed People being marched up, there were a young man and woman in black coats, struggling desperately but to no avail, soon to be forced to the pit's edge.

Isn't that... isn't that me and Lin Shiwei!?

Up on the hillside, Shiwei caught a glimpse of something. Her pupils contracted. She grabbed Du Yu's wrist: "Du Yu?"

Du Yu closed his eyes, head hanging, burying his face in the dirt like an ostrich: "Shh."

Shiwei's face showed shock—she saw the Red-robed People shove the two down hard, watched for a moment, then followed by leaping down as well.

"Jingle~ jingle~" The sound of bells drifted in—clearly, the Red Mist Woman was among them!

Shiwei watched as one figure after another jumped into the abyss, even more bewildered.

If their team contained the Red Mist Woman, then these must all be Red-robed People. But what were they doing?

Trying to die?

The pit called "Bottomless" is of unknown depth and filled with Cold Qi. To rush in recklessly—do they all want to become slaves to the Cold Qi?

What Shiwei couldn't understand more was that she seemed to have seen herself?

The forest fell silent. The two waited a long time, then, as insects chirped, slowly got to their feet.

Shiwei whispered, "Did you see it? The two of us at the end of the line?"

Du Yu nodded lightly: "The first time I entered the tower, I saw versions of myself from different time periods too."

Shiwei: "What do you mean, versions of yourself from different time periods?"

Du Yu: "If we're lucky enough to keep climbing the tower, odds are you and I will eventually be dragged to the pit and pushed in by the Red-robed People."

Shiwei: !!!

Are you saying we saw the future?

If that's so...

Shiwei licked her lips and whispered, "Since we know the future, do we have a chance to change it?"

Du Yu thought for a second, and finally spoke up to comfort her: "Last time I entered the seventh floor and reached the peak of the Shadow Gu Tower, it was because I changed my future."

Shiwei's flustered mood finally calmed down a bit.

No matter how steady or brave a girl was, she was still young.

And right in front of her was the infamous Bottomless Pit—even the bravest would feel nervous.

"It's okay." Du Yu tried to reassure her softly. "For months now, countless Demon Tamers have come here, but there's never been a single fatality.

The Shadow Gu Tower puts you through hardship, pushes you to your limits, then brings you out into the light again.

Its purpose isn't to harm, but to let people understand its pain, experience its journey, so that we can put ourselves in its shoes... Wait?"

Before Du Yu finished, he felt the light dim again.

A black umbrella appeared above their heads.

Du Yu and Lin Shiyi turned to see the Black Mist Woman, dressed in a woolen coat, silently appearing just behind them.

In the world constructed by Shadow Gu Tower, this was possible, but in reality, only a Thunder Element Demon Tamer with Instantaneous Movement could pull off such a stunt.

The Black Mist Woman smiled. In truth, maybe her smile was gentle, but on that shadowy, featureless face, it was nothing but creepy!

In front of the monitors, Yang Qingqing's face looked a little off. She'd watched too many tower challenger tapes—noticing that the Black Mist Woman shouldn't be in this scene.

Or maybe... she shouldn't have been at that rainy street at the very beginning either!

On-screen, the Black Mist Woman suddenly stretched out both hands, the black umbrella eerily floating in midair, then grabbed their collars and ruthlessly hurled them downward!

"Ah!"

"What the hell..." The entire scene reeled back in a blur—the two were viciously thrown toward the Bottomless Pit!

Yang Qingqing slammed a hand on the button: "Xiaowei, Rose Vine!"

Just as she finished speaking, the monitor switched suddenly.

Two heavy thuds—both hit the ground, hard.

"Hissss..." Du Yu grimaced, clutching his waist, turning to check his surroundings.

On a moonlit night, in front of a crumbling stone bridge.

Shiwei gritted her teeth and got up: "Shadow Gu Tower, fourth floor?"

Since they'd switched scenes, the two had obviously climbed another level!

Du Yu suddenly spoke: "We've seen this before."

Shiwei: "Yeah, this seems like..."

Du Yu saw the massive blank stone stele beside the bridge, paused for a moment, then said anxiously: "Master Qing, Shiwei and I have been here before!"

Yang Qingqing, watching from the monitors, clearly recognized the place as well.

Du Yu: "When we first entered the tower, it wasn't a bug! It wasn't the Shadow Gu Tower not knowing which of us was the main contestant!

The three scenes we switched between at the start were all ones Shiwei and I had to experience.

Rainy night street, misty Path to the Underworld, and now the Deserted Village crossroads."

Yang Qingqing turned to the soldiers beside her: "Do you remember any other scenes?"

As she finished speaking, a loud boom burst in her headset.

Du Yu and Shiwei turned to face the direction of the Deserted Village, seeing a red mist billow as the distant sound of collapsing buildings echoed over...

...

Let's continue with three more updates tomorrow.

Yu knows everyone wants to read this arc in one sitting. Yu's been working hard to outline and write—hope you all enjoy! I wrote all day today, really gave it my all. See you tomorrow~

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.