Tuan Zi nodded eagerly.
Chu Liuyue was speechless.
This was already the fourth floor, and only stage-four warriors and stronger could come up here.
When she looked around the floor, she noticed that it was deserted.
Less than ten students had reached the fourth stage. As for stage-five students… there were none!
Chu Ning was a stage-five warrior, and stage-five warriors could be considered the cream of the crop in the entire Country Yao Chen.
It was obvious that hardly anyone would be beyond the fifth floor.
Right now, Chu Liuyue found it difficult to figure out how Tuan Zi managed to pass through the barriers so easily.
Chu Liuyue was more concerned about another matter. Will our actions startle Elder Wei Yun, who is watching over Jiuyou Tower?
The tower was rather important to Tian Lu Academy, and it would be difficult for her to explain things if they were discovered because of the commotion.
When Tuan Zi saw that Chu Liuyue was just standing there—deep in thought—and didn’t have any intention of following it, it turned and headed straight for the fifth floor!
Chu Liuyue frowned as she watched Tuan Zi head for the barrier.
Even though there was still some distance between her and the barrier, Chu Liuyue could feel the pressure emanating from it. The pressure was multiple times stronger than what emanated from the fourth floor’s barrier.
Perhaps this barrier will stop Tuan Zi? It wouldn’t make sense for Jiuyou Tower to be so accessible, right? At this thought, Chu Liuyue felt more at ease as she watched quietly. However, her illusion was soon shattered.
The strong barrier had no effect on Tuan Zi!
Tuan Zi went right through as if the barrier didn’t exist!
Chu Liuyue was stunned as she watched Tuan Zi wag its tail happily at her. She seemed to have underestimated this blood ferret that she picked up…
After hesitating for a moment, Chu Liuyue took a deep breath before deciding to follow Tuan Zi up! Since she was already here, she wanted to see what was attracting Tuan Zi!
There was also another thing that she wanted to get to the bottom of—the sculpture of the beast, which seemed to come to life when she came to Jiuyou Tower and opened the door for the first time!
Chu Liuyue also wanted to investigate the eerie sounds that she had heard after she began cultivating here.
Even though she wasn’t sure what fiend was trapped here beneath Jiuyou Tower, she was sure that it was targeting her!
At this thought, Chu Liuyue became surer and stretched her hand out toward the barrier.
Tuan Zi immediately grabbed her hand happily and pulled her through the barrier!
Looking at the lively Tuan Zi and herself, Chu Liuyue pursed her lips and looked upwards.
There was a spiral staircase that led towards the top, but there was a barrier for each floor—which shrouded everything in fog.
A question suddenly flashed across Chu Liuyue’s mind: Since only stage-five warriors can enter the fifth floor, do the same rules apply to the top few floors? For example… Are stage-seven warriors the only ones that can enter the seventh floor?
However, no cultivator can reach such a high stage outside of Heaven’s Canopy! If that is the case, then what is the purpose of Jiuyou Tower’s top few floors? The strong warriors in Country Yao Chen are only stage-five, not even stage-six! That is to say that the limit of the Jiuyou Tower for the people here was the fifth floor. Also, who placed such a powerful tower here?
Chu Liuyue recalled that Bai Chen had introduced Jiuyou Tower to her when she first arrived at the academy. But he only mentioned that the Pit of Heavenly Origins was beneath Jiuyou Tower, which gave it stronger force than the outside world.
He hadn’t elaborated on it any further.
A large part of why Chu Liuyue wanted to enter Tian Lu Academy was because of Jiuyou Tower. But it was only now that she realized that Jiuyou Tower seemed to be hiding a lot of secrets.
She looked toward Tuan Zi. “Do we continue?”
…
When Chu Liuyue broke through the Jiuyou Tower’s fifth-floor barrier, Rong Xiu had just returned to Yi Feng Courtyard from Prince Li Mansion.
Yan Qing followed after him, reporting everything that had happened in the past day.
Rong Xiu lay down in the chair, his face calm and unreadable. “Has a time been fixed?”
Yan Qing bowed. “Not yet. I heard that Lieutenant Mu intended to stay here for a while. And… he seems to have plans to assess Ms. Liuyue further. He will only bring her to the Tianling Dynasty if she passes all of his tests.”
Rong Xiu curled his lips into a half-smile. “Of course, he won’t return immediately.”
Mu Qinghe had other important things to attend to during this trip.
“You said that she brought up the fact that she had the Dijing Yuan meridian herself?” Rong Xiu asked.
Yan Qing nodded and respectfully replied, “Yes.”
Rong Xiu remained silent for a while. He interlocked his fingers, his eyes dark. “It seems like she really wants to go.”
Yan Qing sensed that his master’s aura was off. He hesitated a little before he spoke. “For someone from Country Yao Chen, being able to go to the Tianling Dynasty is a big opportunity. It makes sense that Ms. Liuyue would want to go. Besides, she is talented, and it would be a waste for her to remain here.”
Rong Xiu closed his eyes. I know that, but… It is something else that bothers me…
Suddenly, Rong Xiu opened his eyes as he sat up and looked in the direction of Jiuyou Tower!
Yan Qing was shocked. “Master, what’s wrong?”
Rong Xiu frowned. “Someone entered the sixth floor of Jiuyou Tower!”
Yan Qing was stunned! Isn’t the sixth floor of Jiuyou Tower exclusive to stage-six warriors? There isn’t anyone in the entire Imperial City that can enter the sixth floor, not to mention Tian Lu Academy?!
“Master, could it be those…”
Rong Xiu raised his hands to cut Yan Qing off as he narrowed his eyes. “No.”
He was familiar with that aura.
It is her! His expression changed as he headed toward Jiuyou Tower. Why did she enter Jiuyou Tower at this time!?
…
On the other end, Chu Liuyue turned and looked around. She couldn’t believe that she had just entered the sixth floor!
With Tuan Zi leading her, she barely felt any resistance from the barrier!
If she hadn’t experienced it for herself, Chu Liuyue never would’ve believed that this would be the way that she would ascend to Jiuyou Tower’s top floors!
Chu Liuyue looked around herself; there was indeed nobody here.
The space up here was a lot smaller than the previous floor, but its force was much stronger.
Cultivating here would take half the effort to yield twice the effect.
But there were also all sorts of impurities that deterred one in this rich force.
However, there was no trace of the fiend here either.
Chu Liuyue took a deep breath as she looked up. Could it be… that it is further up?!
