"Halt!"

However, just as Shen Haoran and the others were about to step into the Slaughter Tower, they were stopped by the guards at the entrance.

"Where are your Points?" the two guards demanded, their faces stern.

Hearing this, Ling Feng smacked his forehead and said to Shen Haoran and the other two, "My mistake, I completely forgot the most important thing. Whether it’s entering the Slaughter Tower, the Celestial Spirit Hall, or the Secret Pavilion, you have to pay with Points. These are the Sect’s resources, after all. We have to exchange Points to use them!"

After speaking, Ling Feng took out his Inner Sect Disciple Token and handed it to the two guards. "This is mine," he said. "As for the three beside me, they’re new Inner Sect Disciples. They get one free trial, so they don’t need to hand over any Points, right?"

"New disciples? We haven’t heard about any new disciples joining the Inner Sect recently." The two guards looked at Shen Haoran and the others, their eyes filled with suspicion.

"Oh, we’re disciples who just came under the Third Elder’s tutelage today." Shen Haoran didn’t blame the two guards. This was, after all, one of the Celestial Spirit Sect’s secret grounds, so the guards had to be responsible. With that, Shen Haoran handed over the Tokens the Third Elder had given them.

"They really are disciples of the Third Elder! In that case, please enter." After carefully inspecting the three Tokens, the two guards let Shen Haoran’s group pass.

Stepping into the Slaughter Tower revealed a large, enclosed plaza. A tall stone stele stood in its very center, engraved with fifty names. The higher a name was, the more prominent it appeared. At the very top of the stele hung an extremely eye-catching name: Xue Shitian. Behind it was a large character for the number nine, likely indicating the floor he had reached.

"Xue Shitian... Is that the one who reached the ninth floor?" Shen Haoran murmured.

Ling Feng glanced at the stele and clicked his tongue. "That’s right. The guy’s a monster. His strength is only at Tier Eight Spirit Marquis, yet he somehow forced his way to the Ninth Floor. You have to understand, the Guardian of the Sixth Floor is already at Spirit Marquis Peak. The one on the Ninth Floor has probably reached the Spirit Aspect Stage!"

"Forget about that monster. We can’t compare ourselves to people like him," Ling Feng said. "Come on, you’re curious, aren’t you? Why not give it a shot?"

"You go first. We’ll watch for a bit," Shen Haoran said with a smile. Although he was eager to test himself in the Slaughter Tower, he wasn’t familiar with it yet. ’It’s better to let Ling Feng give us a demonstration,’ he thought.

"Alright, wait here. I’ll be right back!" Ling Feng said before disappearing into the Slaughter Tower. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As Ling Feng entered the Slaughter Tower, a red dot of light appeared on its pitch-black wall, representing his position.

The red dot lingered on the first floor for a few moments before moving to the second. Ling Feng’s pace was quite fast. The first four floors posed no challenge to him whatsoever, but he paused a little longer on the Fifth Floor. The Guardian of the Fifth Floor was already a Tier Eight Spirit Marquis, the same as Ling Feng.

However, for someone like Ling Feng who had already cleared the Sixth Floor, it was merely a bit tricky. After a short while, he passed through!

When the red dot reached the Sixth Floor, it drew the attention of everyone in the plaza. Anyone capable of reaching the Sixth Floor was ranked among the top ten disciples on the stone stele.

"It’s Ling Feng! The one challenging the tower is Ling Feng!" a disciple shouted, noticing Ling Feng’s name on the stele glowing red.

"Damn, looks like he’s gotten stronger again! At this rate, he might even break his own record!" another disciple exclaimed, staring at the red dot on the Sixth Floor.

"Is someone else about to clear the Seventh Floor?"

Listening to the disciples’ chatter, Shen Haoran glanced at the red dot as it shot straight to the Seventh Floor. ’Looks like Ling Feng is pretty well-known in the Celestial Spirit Sect,’ he thought.

Ling Feng had now reached the Seventh Floor, but the red dot was flickering, a sign that he was about to be overwhelmed.

SHING!

A moment later, the Seventh Floor erupted in a brilliant golden light. On the giant stone stele, Ling Feng’s name slowly faded from fifteenth place and reappeared in fifth. Behind his name, the large character for "seven" materialized, proving he had successfully cleared the Seventh Floor!

After he cleared the Seventh Floor, the red dot in the Slaughter Tower vanished, and Ling Feng’s body was ejected. Even though he had succeeded, he had clearly exhausted all his strength.

Seeing this, Shen Haoran leaped forward to catch Ling Feng, immediately placing an Elixir in his mouth.

"Congratulations," Shen Haoran said with a soft chuckle.

Gazing at his name on the stone stele, Ling Feng heaved a long sigh of relief. He had finally broken into the top ten. The rankings in the Slaughter Tower were directly tied to the allocation of resources within the Sect; the higher one’s rank, the more resources one received.

He quickly began the Refinement of Shen Haoran’s Elixir, and some of the color returned to his pale face.

"So? You want to give it a try?" Ling Feng asked, looking at Shen Haoran.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran looked at the pitch-black Slaughter Tower and smiled. "Of course."

Shen Haoran stood up and clenched his fists, a look of anticipation in his eyes. He was eager to see for himself what was so special about this Slaughter Tower.

"Since when does a good-for-nothing Tier One Spirit Marquis get to come to the Slaughter Tower?" Just as Shen Haoran was about to step inside, a grating voice sounded from behind him. At the words, everyone turned to look.

"It’s... Niu Ben!" someone in the crowd exclaimed upon seeing the newcomer.

’Niu Ben?’ The name sounded familiar to Shen Haoran. He casually glanced at the stele and saw that the name directly above Ling Feng’s was, in fact, Niu Ben.

Shen Haoran followed their gazes. Not far off, a powerfully built disciple was walking toward them. The disciple certainly lived up to his name; he was built like four oxen put together. With every step he took, the ground itself seemed to tremble.

"Niu Ben, what are you doing here?" Ling Feng’s brow furrowed at the sight of him.

"What? You clear the Seventh Floor one time and suddenly you’re this arrogant?" Niu Ben sneered. "Now you think you can order me around? Since when do I need your permission to go anywhere? What a joke! I just heard that the Third Elder took on three useless apprentices, and I came to see for myself what kind of trash managed to catch his eye." He scanned the area, his gaze finally locking onto Shen Haoran.

"A Tier One Spirit Marquis... tsk, tsk. The Third Elder certainly has unique taste. This loser would be at the bottom of the barrel even in the Outer Sect, yet he thinks he can make it in the Inner Sect?" Niu Ben sneered at Shen Haoran.

At these words, Ling Feng’s expression darkened. Just as he was about to speak, Shen Haoran held him back and slowly walked forward to stand before Niu Ben.