After killing the man, Yuan proceeded to the next floor.
‘His sword technique is really powerful… And it doesn’t consume as much spiritual energy as the Heaven Splitting Sword Strike.’ Yuan thought to himself as he climbed the staircase.
Upon reaching the second floor, Yuan encountered another man with the cultivation of a Spirit Lord.
“Who are you? What happened to the guard downstairs?” The man asked him with an unfriendly look.
Yuan didn’t bother responding to the man and withdrew his sword, as he was already expecting to fight anyone that gets in his way.
“Hmph. A mere Spirit Grandmaster.” The man didn’t say anything else and withdrew his weapon.
Their weapons collided a moment later.
Yuan decided to try using the Starry Abyss again just to make sure it still works.
However, just like the man downstairs, this one could also somehow track his invisible flying dagger.
‘Just how are they tracking my Starry Abyss? It’s invisible, and its presence should be concealed. How else can they track it?’
A few minutes later, Yuan managed to defeat the man without using the soundless blade technique.
And for the next hour, he would repeat the same thing.
However, his streak was stopped by an unexpected situation.
When he arrived on the ninth floor, the guard there didn’t attack him.
“The Lord wishes to meet you. You may go up.”
Yuan was skeptical at first, thinking that it was a trap, but the guard really allowed him to go upstairs without causing any trouble.
Now without anyone blocking his path, Yuan managed to climb to the highest floor in less than ten minutes.
Upon reaching the top floor, Yuan could see a figure sitting in the back of the room, and this person was wearing a black mask.
“Are you the city lord?” Yuan asked him for confirmation.
“Indeed.” He nodded.
And he continued, “Now that I have answered your question, allow me to ask you one of mine.”
“Who are you and why are you killing my people who have done no wrong?”
Yuan’s body trembled slightly after hearing such words.
‘Calm down… They are not real people. This is simply a trial by the Stairway to Heaven…’
He quickly calmed himself down.
“Because I have no other choice,” he responded a moment later.
“That’s nonsense and you know it!” The City Lord shouted in an angry voice.
“Enough talking and let’s get this over with.” Yuan pointed the Empyrean Overlord at him.
“Very well. If you wish to die, allow me to end your miserable life for you.”
The City Lord released his cultivation base, which shocked Yuan.
‘This feeling is… He’s a Spirit King?!?!’ He cried inwardly after recognizing this overbearing aura.
Does the Stairway to Heaven really intend on making him fight someone two whole realms above him?
Why is it this difficult to ascend to the next realm?
Even if he’s helping four other people, it shouldn’t be this hard!
“Are you scared?” The City Lord suddenly said as he approached Yuan.
“I can sense your fear crawling all over my skin.”
Yuan tightened his grasp on his sword and patiently waited for the City Lord to attack him first.
“Why are you just standing there? Come and attack me like you did to those guards you killed not long ago.”
Although Yuan couldn’t see the City Lord’s face, he had a good feeling that there was a grin behind that mask at this moment.
“If you’re not going to attack me first, I won’t be humble!”
The City Lord used a movement skill to instantly close their distance.
“?!”
Yuan quickly reacted by lifting his sword in front of his face.
Clang!
Bang!
Although he’d blocked the attack, his body was still sent flying by the overwhelming power from the strike.
After hitting the wall with his back, Yuan tried to rebalance himself, but before he could even stand still, the City Lord had arrived in front of him again.
The City Lord then gave Yuan a good kick in his side, sending him flying for a second time in just a few seconds.
“What’s the matter? You’re a lot weaker than I’d anticipated. If I didn’t let you through, you would’ve probably fallen to one of my guards sooner or later, and you would’ve never made it up here.”
This time, the City Lord allowed Yuan to get back onto his feet.
Ding!
The City Lord suddenly lifted his sword and placed it right behind his head, and the sound of metal colliding resounded half a second later.
“An invisible dagger? You really think such pathetic tricks would work on Cultivators at my level? Although it’s invisible and it hides its presence pretty decently, those at Spirit Lord and above can easily see it with their enhanced divine sense. You’re wasting your time using this kind of tactic on us.”
‘So that’s why everyone I have fought in this pagoda could track my invisible flying dagger perfectly… Their divine sense is powerful enough to bypass the Starry Abyss’ ability…’ Yuan sighed inwardly.
After taking a deep breath, Yuan spoke with a frown on his face, “Can you shut up for a minute? The way you talk reminds me of a certain someone, and it’s ruining the mood for me.”
“Oh? Now that’s interesting. Who do I remind you of?” The City Lord became interested for some reason.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Maybe it is. You never know.”
The City Lord then moved his hand to remove the mask covering his face, revealing to Yuan a very familiar face.
“Y-You are—!”
Yuan was shocked when he saw the City Lord’s face that looked exactly like the handsome man in his dream.
The only reason he didn’t realize it until now was simply because the City Lord had changed his voice to something unrecognizable.
“Since you’re here, it must mean that another reincarnation has occurred. How many times have you reincarnated by now? Have you achieved the goal yet?” The handsome man asked him with a profound smile.
