Ling Luo snorted when she saw the message from Yu Ting instantly disappear.

She put away the jade pendant and turned to look at Yue Liangze, who was busy in the kitchen.

“How much longer?” she asked.

Yue Liangze, who was tending the fire inside, replied, “Almost there.”

Ling Luo stepped inside.

Today was a rare occasion where she had some free time, so she had slipped down the mountain to the outer gate to scrounge some food.

Next to her, a small stove was cooking porridge, and Ling Luo gently fanned the fire with a fan made of cherry blossoms.

She tilted her head to look at Yue Liangze, a mischievous smile curling at the corners of her eyes. “Have you heard about the recent events?” she asked.

“Hmm?” Yue Liangze tilted his head and looked over.

“It’s about me,” Ling Luo said, flipping the fan and pointing at herself.

Yue Liangze nodded. “I’ve heard.”

Ling Luo grinned, “Impressive, right?”

Yue Liangze nodded again. “Impressive.”

In just half a month, Ling Luo’s extraordinary talent had earned her the title of the top sword cultivator among her peers, and the news had spread throughout Tianji.

The title of the “top sword cultivator” was exactly what she had hoped for.

Today, after receiving this title, her first thought was to go find Yue Liangze and show off.

See? See!

You can’t defeat me now, but this title still belongs to me!

Ling Luo turned her eyes mischievously, trying to get Yue Liangze to admit that she was the top sword cultivator.

She patiently asked, “What do you think is so impressive about me?”

Yue Liangze, a little puzzled by her question, still answered honestly, “Cultivation.”

Ling Luo asked again, “What kind of cultivation?”

Yue Liangze replied, “Swordsmanship.”

He had already said two words!

Ling Luo waved her fan, smiling with narrowed eyes as she watched him. “How impressive is my swordsmanship?”

Although Yue Liangze didn’t understand what she was aiming for, he answered honestly, “Very impressive.”

Ling Luo thought to herself: Can’t you show a little imagination and give me some praise?

Why not just say “swordsmanship first” like everyone else does?

She hid her face behind the fan, took a deep breath.

Calm down, don’t rush, don’t be impatient, this time it will work!

Ling Luo patiently prodded, “How impressive exactly?”

Yue Liangze was silent for a moment before responding.

With a swish, Ling Luo snapped the fan shut and glared at him. “Hey!”

Her true nature had been exposed.

Yue Liangze’s eyes flashed with a smile for a moment before he slowly said, “Your cultivation is impressive. You are the number one sword cultivator.”

Ling Luo felt a surge of happiness upon hearing this.

Her smile widened so much it was almost impossible to hide, as though she was about to burst into song and dance to celebrate.

Her jade pendant lit up.

Ling Luo glanced at it; it was a message from Xu Shen, asking if she wanted to join them in the Tongtian Tower for some training.

Speaking of Tongtian Tower, Ling Luo turned to look at Yue Liangze. “Do you have anything to do this afternoon?”

Yue Liangze shook his head.

“Then come with me later,” Ling Luo said, and she sent a message to Xu Shen, letting him know that Yue Liangze would be joining them.

Xu Shen responded with no objections.

Theoretically, all Tianji disciples could enter the Tongtian Tower.

However, since the tower was located in the inner gate area, outer gate disciples couldn’t easily enter without guidance, making it mostly accessible only to inner gate disciples.

After eating, Ling Luo took Yue Liangze to the inner gate’s Tongtian Tower.

It was a black tower, towering so high it disappeared into the clouds, its top unseen.

There were limits to how many times one could enter the Tongtian Tower in a year—only three times, and it was widely known that during the last few days of the half-year, the “Wan Yao Chaos” event would trigger, attracting most people.

Normally, there weren’t many visitors.

At this time, there were only Xu Shen and the others in front of the tower.

Song Yuanyuan saw Yue Liangze standing below the stairs and waved, calling out, “Little Daddy!”

Yue Liangze: “…”

He turned to leave, but Ling Luo quickly grabbed him and pulled him up, glaring at Song Yuanyuan. “What are you shouting for?”

“I keep my word!” Song Yuanyuan proudly replied. “But since we’re about the same age, I had to add ‘little’ for politeness.”

Chang Fei rolled her eyes nearby. “Aren’t you afraid your dad will beat you?”

“My real father ascended to immortality long ago,” Song Yuanyuan shook her head. “What’s there to fear?” She walked over to Yue Liangze. “Now, I’m the only one with the ultimate skills and martial arts to scale the cliffs of the Saha Realm—‘Little Daddy’ is no problem!”

Yue Liangze’s face remained indifferent. “I’m not.”

“Don’t worry, Daddy. I heard your spiritual power is weak. Let me take you to the Tongtian Tower and help you improve,” Song Yuanyuan said grandly, waving her hand toward the tower’s entrance.

Chang Fei and Xu Shen followed.

Ling Luo stepped ahead, but after a few steps, she realized Yue Liangze hadn’t followed.

She turned to look.

Yue Liangze stood at the entrance, frowning slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Ling Luo asked.

Yue Liangze shook his head, took a step forward, but was immediately pushed back a few steps by an invisible water wave.

Ling Luo: “…”

Yue Liangze steadied himself and calmly said, “Can’t get in.”

“Why?!” Ling Luo demanded.

“Spiritual power too weak,” Yue Liangze replied.

Was his spiritual power so weak that even the Tongtian Tower would reject him?

So useless?

Ling Luo couldn’t hold back her thoughts.

She refused to accept this and decided that no matter what, she would get Yue Liangze into the Tongtian Tower for some training.

She went outside, grabbed his hand, and secretly transferred some spiritual power to him, bringing him into the tower.

“Little Daddy, Ling Luo, why haven’t you two entered yet? What are you doing back there?” Song Yuanyuan, seeing they hadn’t entered yet, turned to find them hand in hand, and was shocked.

Ling Luo handed Yue Liangze’s hand to her. “How can you, as a son, leave your father behind and run off first? Didn’t you know your ‘little daddy’ couldn’t get in because his spiritual power is too weak? Hurry up and help him with his spiritual power!”

For the first time, Yue Liangze’s calm expression cracked, and he withdrew his hand. “I’m not going.”

“Don’t give up, Daddy! It’s my fault for not taking care of you properly! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Song Yuanyuan held his hand, transferring spiritual power to him, and confidently led Yue Liangze forward.

The group entered together, working as a team to conquer the tower.

The first fifty floors of the Tongtian Tower were not difficult.

They simply had to defeat the low-level demons and monsters locked there.

After the fifty floors, the monsters became more numerous, and since they were a five-person team, the number of enemies would double.

But that didn’t stop them.

Ling Luo led the way with her cherry blossom fan, easily passing the first hundred levels.

As they walked down the corridor toward the next level, Song Yuanyuan, holding Yue Liangze’s hand, asked, “Little Daddy, has your spiritual power increased?”

Yue Liangze shook his head.

“The first hundred levels were too easy, and we had so many people, so it was hard to improve,” Chang Fei commented. “I’ve heard that after the hundredth floor, it’s a whole different story.”

At the front of the group, Ling Luo saw the sealed door and stepped forward to open it.

After a swirl of white mist, they emerged into a bustling street, where the stars glittered in the night sky and crowds of people filled the lively market.

Nearby restaurants and flower shops were calling out to potential customers.

“This, this, this…” Song Yuanyuan’s eyes widened.

“Stay calm, don’t make a scene,” Xu Shen said, patting her shoulder. “The Tongtian Tower’s interior is full of illusions. The trials aren’t just about fighting demons; it also contains many strange events for us to experience firsthand.”

Chang Fei laughed, adding, “I heard a senior brother at the disciple hall say that after the five hundredth floor, the storyline changes. Instead of observing, you actually become part of the experience. That’s what true firsthand experience is.”

Ling Luo turned her head and asked, “So the role assigned to that senior brother in the Swallowing Heaven Tower was a courtesan?”

“Yes, yes! That’s the one, haha!” Chang Fei was laughing so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. “That senior brother didn’t step foot in the Swallowing Heaven Tower for three years after that!”

“Too tragic. How could his luck be so bad?” Song Yuanyuan lamented.

Ling Luo curved her lips into a faint smile, recalling her own experiences climbing the tower.

Over six thousand levels—it had truly been a journey full of adventures.

“What’s the situation now?” Song Yuanyuan glanced around. “Have you guys seen this place before?”

“Nope, it’s not Donghai City,” Chang Fei replied as he passed by a restaurant, where a cheerful waiter stopped him.
“Honored guest, would you like to come in and try our new dishes today?”

“Can we actually eat the food here?” Chang Fei asked as he moved toward the restaurant.

The waiter nodded with a broad grin. “Of course you can!”

“Hey!” Chang Fei glanced at the menu posted near the entrance and immediately froze.

He turned back with a scowl. “Three silver coins for a bowl of brewed tea? You’re robbing people blind! What a scam!”

The waiter’s smiling face instantly darkened.

His figure swelled, and his head transformed into that of a green serpent demon, lunging at Chang Fei with its fangs bared.

“No one insults my restaurant!”

In a swirl of black mist, they all found themselves back in front of the sealed portal.

Chang Fei: “…”

He erupted in anger. “Damn it! That stupid serpent dared to bite me! Let me go fight it to the death!”

Fuming, Chang Fei stormed back to the portal and pushed it open, re-entering the illusion.

The waiter greeted him with the same cheerful tone.
“Honored guest—”

“Take this, you scammer!” Chang Fei unsheathed his sword and slashed at the waiter.

The waiter’s head once again turned into a serpent demon and lunged at him.

Another swirl of black mist followed, and they were all back in front of the portal once more.

Chang Fei: “AAAAAAHHH!”

He was losing his mind.

Xu Shen patted his shoulder, urging him to stay calm. “You can’t kill him. As soon as the waiter reveals his true form, we’re expelled from the illusion and have to start over.”

“Let’s try again. Just hold back this time and don’t provoke him!” Song Yuanyuan said to Chang Fei. “Three silver coins for a bowl of tea? Fine, whatever—it’s not like we’re really paying.”

Ling Luo opened the door and entered the illusion again.

This time, she walked in front.

When she passed the restaurant, the waiter approached her with a smile.
“Honored guest, would you like to come in and try our new dishes today?”

“Sure,” Ling Luo replied with a sweet smile and followed him inside.

The restaurant was bustling, every table occupied.

The waiter led them to a private room on the second floor and enthusiastically seated them.

He said, “Let me first serve each of you a bowl of brewed tea to warm you up!”

Chang Fei: “…”

A bowl for each of them?

Fifteen silver coins?!

He slammed his hand on the table, about to yell, but Xu Shen and Song Yuanyuan quickly restrained him, covering his mouth and desperately signaling him to hold back.

Not long after they sat down, the waiter returned with plates of food that looked and smelled delicious.
“These are the new dishes of the day. Please enjoy, honored guests. If you need anything, just call for me,” the waiter said with a smile.

The group stared silently at the dishes on the table.

Who would dare eat food served in a restaurant run by a serpent demon?

Noticing that they hadn’t touched their food, the waiter asked again, “Why aren’t you eating, honored guests?”

Ling Luo picked up her chopsticks and replied, “You’ve brought out an entire platter of snake meat. Who in their right mind would dare eat this?”