"I can't wait to enter the tower! There are so many contribution points to earn!"

A disciple, dressed in the robes of an inner disciple, spoke excitedly to another.

"Heeh… the sect is very fair in its operations. Do you think they'd just hand out contribution points like that? The greater the reward, the greater the difficulty to obtain it. If you don't take it seriously, you'll end up spending points instead of earning them."

His friend, wearing the same robes, mocked him, but his words were a sincere warning.

Hearing the advice, the first one simply waved his hand confidently.

"Leave it to me, why are you so worried? Have I ever done something without knowing what I was doing?" he said, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Like when you tried to flirt with Elder Zhang Lan from our pavilion — the one who only joined the sect three days ago? And then she smacked you on the head and told you to act like a normal person, or the next thing would be a kick straight to your ass that'd send you out of the sect?"

The second disciple spoke expressionlessly, staring at his friend with no trace of admiration.

"D-Don't bring up things from the past. Ahem! Let's look toward the future…"

The first one at least had the decency to look embarrassed, scratching his neck.

Rolling his eyes, his friend followed as the two joined the crowd before the enormous black tower rising into the sky.

The time for the tower's opening, announced by the sect's elders, had finally arrived, and most disciples were already present.

Suddenly, a beautiful woman wearing purple inner-elder robes appeared before the crowd, floating at the tower's entrance. She had long black hair and golden eyes that calmly observed the gathered disciples.

With her arrival, the noisy plaza quickly fell silent, and all gazes turned toward her.

Satisfied with the silence, her lovely lips slowly parted.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Sun Ling, inner elder of the Beast Pavilion and current overseer of the tower."

She spoke serenely, and the disciples quickly greeted her respectfully.

After waiting for them to finish, she nodded slightly.

"With introductions done, let's talk about the reason you are all here today."

Her calm voice spread across the plaza, reaching the more than ten thousand disciples present. Each of them exuded the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator — quite a spectacular sight.

"This tower is called the Tower of a Hundred Thousand Beasts."

She raised her arm and pointed to the imposing black structure behind her, which resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa from Aotian's previous life — except it was pitch black and several times larger.

"Inside are many of the beasts raised by my Beast Pavilion over the past few months, bred precisely for this purpose. There, you'll encounter creatures of various levels and abilities. Do not underestimate them — beasts are naturally stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same level, and our sect has enhanced them further with techniques and spells that have greatly increased their strength."

"Your challenge will be to battle these beasts until you reach the floor guardian. Upon finding it, you may choose your desired difficulty and fight against it. Your score will be based on the chosen difficulty. Difficulties are unlocked according to the number of beasts defeated, and once unlocked, they don't need to be unlocked again."

"When the guardian is defeated, you must verbally confirm whether you wish to claim the reward for that difficulty. Once the reward is claimed, that floor will no longer grant rewards to the same disciple, even if the difficulty is changed."

"Remember that, on each floor, your cultivation may or may not be suppressed depending on the floor's level and your own cultivation."

"There is no risk of death within the tower, but the battles will push you to the brink of life and death. Therefore, think carefully before entering."

She paused for a moment to let everyone process the information, then continued before the murmurs could begin.

"Although there is no risk to your life, if you are severely injured, you will be expelled from the tower and treated by an elder on duty. However, this will consume your contribution points — the amount depending on the severity of the injury."

"The beasts belong to the sect and are not so different from your fellow disciples, so avoid cruel behavior such as torture or abuse, and treat them as worthy opponents. If such cases are discovered, know that the Infinite Dao Sect does not tolerate this kind of conduct."

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"Finally, entering the tower costs two thousand contribution points. Entering directly from the second floor costs five thousand, and from the third, ten thousand. Currently, only the disciple Mu Luyin has access to the fourth floor. If she wishes to enter directly, she must spend twenty thousand contribution points. It's also possible to be sent directly to the floor guardian, but that requires double the amount of points."

"Entry is only allowed once per week, so make it count."

"Skipping floors is only permitted once the disciple has cleared the previous one. Higher floors will be unlocked as your cultivation advances."

When Sun Ling finished her explanation, the disciples couldn't contain their excitement and began discussing animatedly.

"Wow! That many points just to skip a floor! No way I'd ever do that! Better start from the bottom and climb up!"

"Idiot, of course that function is useful. It's probably exhausting to climb all the way in one go — or maybe there's just not enough time. If you want to face a floor in your best condition, you've got to pay the price."

"Makes sense. But tell me… if the fourth floor is for Nascent Soul cultivators, and this tower has nine floors, that means…"

The disciple stopped speaking, and many around him thought the same. All of them raised their eyes to the colossal tower, swallowing hard.

"I didn't even know there were that many cultivation realms…" one of them murmured, and several nodded in agreement.

It wasn't that Aotian had deliberately hidden this information — he simply hadn't thought it worth explaining earlier to disciples who, until recently, were only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

In any case, he planned to address the matter in the next Dao sermon assembly. It wouldn't do for the sect's disciples to remain so ignorant about the realms above.

As for the floors above the fourth, they were obviously empty. Although they had some degree of functionality, they remained inactive, for they consumed an absurd amount of spirit stones—far more than the sect's spiritual veins could sustain. Even the lower floors already required spirit stones to support certain functions.

Elder Sun Ling patiently waited until everyone had processed the information before continuing.

"With all that said, the tower is now officially open. But there is one last announcement the sect has entrusted me to deliver."

Her beautiful and calm face slowly curved into a smile, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"The man and woman who remain at the top of the ranking for one year will be officially recognized as the Holy Son and Holy Daughter of the sect."

She explained, and a playful glint passed through her eyes.

But that news had the effect of an explosion among the disciples.

Exclamations soon spread throughout the crowd, plunging the square into an uproar.

Aotian and Rihai, who stood at the front, simply listened calmly.

She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

["Was this made for you?"]

Rihai asked through sound transmission.

She showed no sign of worry. She knew her husband's strength well.

The two had trained and sparred many times, and Aotian had always emerged victorious with ease—making her certain that he was still holding back part of his strength. And there was no sexual implication in that—it was pure combat.

Rihai, possessing a divine physique and a powerful foundation, was many times stronger than other cultivators of the same level. Even Aotian admitted that, in terms of raw power, she surpassed him.

After all, when comparing their spiritual roots, hers were like a firefighter's hose, while his were like a garden hose.

Yet Aotian still won easily because he knew how to make full use of his "garden hose." His absolute mastery of techniques, the multiple minds with distinct talents assisting him in battle, and his vast experience and cultivation insight made him a true monster within his realm.

While Rihai's hose could unleash far more "water" at once, Aotian had turned his into a waterjet cutter.

And now that he had refined his spiritual roots to a higher quality, his power had grown even greater.

Aotian smiled at her question.

["It wasn't prepared just for me… but for you as well. Not that it would be a problem to appoint us directly as Holy Son and Daughter, but since we have the strength for it, it's better to be straightforward. That way, we avoid any doubts among the disciples."]

He explained sincerely.

As the true leader of the sect, it made no sense to create administrative problems, rumors, or doubts when he could simply silence objections and convince everyone through the strength of himself and his wife.

Rihai was surprised by his response.

["Me too? But Mu Luyin is at the Nascent Soul Realm. I thought she was the favorite for the title."]

She asked, blinking her blue eyes in confusion.

Aotian rolled his eyes.

["You're about to enter the Nascent Soul Realm as well. Even if she's a few levels ahead, with my constant nourishment and guidance, your cultivation and foundation are much more solid than hers. Among all the disciples, your mastery and control of techniques—after me—are the best in the sect. Securing first place won't be a problem, especially considering your roots and the one-year duration of the competition."]

With his explanation, Rihai quickly realized he was right and nodded thoughtfully.

Her mind, however, began to wander after hearing the part about the guidance he'd been giving her, and she couldn't help but recall her theory that Aotian might be the reincarnation of a powerful cultivator, slowly regaining the memories of his past life.

After all, it was hard to believe that someone who had known nothing about cultivation barely two years ago now possessed such mastery—enough to guide her, someone at a higher level. Of course, it could simply be her husband's monstrous talent, which she knew he possessed.

Even having been born without spiritual roots, his understanding was astonishing. Rihai was often amazed by Aotian's achievements.

She had no way of knowing that he possessed numerous high-level minds and avatars, making his comprehension truly terrifying within his realm.

While they conversed, Elder Sun Ling watched the increasingly excited crowd.

Raising her arm, she drew everyone's attention. They fell silent and focused on her, eager.

"For now, the tower will operate with about a thousand disciples at a time. We'll begin with the core disciples and the direct disciples, as their numbers are below that limit."

"After that, entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll wait for my signal before attempting to enter and stop when I command. No fights, no spells—only pure speed. If anyone can't respect these simple rules, be prepared to face the consequences."

Her deadly serious tone made several disciples shiver.

Seeing that her message had been understood, she nodded, satisfied.

"Good. Then let's begin. Core disciples and inner disciples, enter!"

As her voice echoed, the black, misty energy barrier that served as the tower's entrance slowly dissipated, granting access to the disciples.

Without hesitation, all who were called dashed inside.

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