Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

If it were any other person, even if their strength was sixteen Stars of Shattering Void Tier, they also wouldn’t be able to fight Xu Ran head on.

However, Ling Han was different; his strongest edge wasn’t battle prowess, but the ultimate defense brought about by the Indestructible Heaven Scroll. This was the most terrifying part—by nature, he was already invincible.

10 moves, 20 moves, 50 moves, 100 moves… they had long exceeded the upper limit of moves with the strongest battle prowess of the ninth level of White Star Tower, but the victor was still yet to be determined.

Admittedly, Ling Han was being thoroughly thrashed by Xu Ran, but under the effects of Annihilating Dragon Star Arrow, Xu Ran wasn’t doing any better—his body continuously emitted flashes of starlight, seemingly about to collapse.

If the battle could go on endlessly, then the losing party ought to be Xu Ran. The reason was very simple—Ling Han’s body was the level of Godly metal.

There was no solution to this.

“Stop!” The Tool Spirit finally called a halt to the battle. Pa , the starlight of Xu Ran’s body immediately transformed into countless spots of light and dissipated. It paused, and said, “This battle shall be considered a draw. You are indeed very strong. If your strength further increases by one Star, then perhaps you can replace me and become the new guard here.”

Ling Han gave a faint smile; he was only interested in going all out to battle a strong opponent—he wasn’t inclined to care about being a replacement, especially when there wasn’t anything good to be gained from it. He would hardly bother himself with such trouble.

“You may enter the second level.”

A flight of stairs appeared in front of Ling Han. He strode forward and ascended the stairs to the second level.

The following tests would be the same as that on the first level. It would still be based on one’s practice of martial arts techniques and using the strength of the spirit to strike the jade plaque, only that the difficulty of martial arts techniques would increase, and the jade plaque would also be strengthened, making it more and more challenging.

At the third stage, Ling Han didn’t need to be tested again—he automatically passed it.

He had spent too much time on the first level. Three speedy people had already rushed to the third level. However, starting from the second level, Ling Han’s speed became faster as he made haste to catch up.

***

“Look! The fifth level of the tower has lit up!”

“Who is it? So impressive!”

“It must be Fairy Ji. She is someone who is on par with Luo Ba and Lin You. Since those two could pass through the fifth level, then Fairy Ji is certainly no exception.”

“Could it be a dark horse like Ma Xing?”

“Haha, you think too much. There can’t be that many exceptions!”

Outside, everyone was in the midst of a heated discussion, while the higher-ups of the Northern Institution were also paying close attention to the assessment. After all, the competition amongst the four Institutions was extremely fierce. Which one of them wouldn’t want to emerge superior to the other three Institutions?

“Hey, the fifth level of the tower has lit up again!”

“Are you seeing things?”

“Impossible, I am quite sure that the level has already gotten dark, and then lit up again.”

“That’s correct. By right, it shouldn’t be lighting up for so long. There must be a second person who had passed the fifth level!”

“Good gracious! There are so many geniuses in this round of the assessment. In the past, it would have been quite amazing to have two to three one-star Geniuses. Now, there’s actually five of them!”

“Gosh, I might have been able to charge to the top ten in the past, but now, I guess there’s no hope for me.”

“You really think too much. Even if in the past, there also wouldn’t be the slightest possibility for you to achieve it!”

After a while, the sixth level of the tower was illuminated!

“What!?”

Everyone was astounded this time; the sixth level of the tower had lit up again. This was the second time—previously, only Ma Xing had passed through the sixth level.

“Could it be Fairy Ji?”

“She is much more of a genius compared to Luo Ba and Lin You… really unexpected.”

The higher the level, the longer the tower’s level would be lit. For example, the first level and the second level had only lit up for about half of a heartbeat’s time, but the illumination of the tower’s sixth level was flashing for at least ten heartbeats before it dimmed.

The upper echelons of the Northern Institution were indescribably pleased—how many years would it take before they could meet any future two-star Genius?

It was at this moment that the tower’s sixth level was illuminated again.

“Oh my goodness! The third two-star Genius!”

“Who could it be?”

“One of them must be Fairy Ji, but what about the other one?”

Everyone was holding their heads in their hands. Being able to pass through to the fifth level was acceptable, but now it was really too exaggerated. One couldn’t look at it as merely passing through one more level; between a one-star Genius and a two-star Genius, was a world of difference.

Luo Ba clenched his teeth—he had always set his sights on Ji Yun’er. Moreover, the status of Ji Clan was slightly inferior to that of the Luo Clan. He had intended to ask his clan to propose marriage to the Ji Clan after he had entered Scarlet Heaven Academy.

But now?

If Ji Yun’er really became a two-star Genius, then would the Ji Clan still approve of this marriage proposal? Probably not, as they would definitely look for a more outstanding candidate to become the husband of Ji Yun’er.

… One couldn’t just look at him as currently being one of the three elites of the younger generation in the Imperial Capital. After five years, things would change. After the three of them entered the Scarlet Heaven Academy, naturally there would be new Three Great Elites of the younger generation, or Four Great Elites, or Five Great Elites and the like.

No, he had to find a way. Since Ji Yun’er was so outstanding, then all the more he couldn’t give in to others.

‘Sh!t!’

“Heavens!”

“The fifth level of the tower has lit up again!”

Everyone was shocked dumb. Sure enough, the fifth level of the White Star Tower had lit up again.

The sixth one!

“But, the previous batch of people had passed through at about the same time. This person is only now passing through the fifth level. It should be that the person’s potential has all but been exhausted, so it is impossible to go to the sixth level,” some people speculated.

This gained the agreement from the majority of the people who nodded their heads. A person who had the strength to pass through the sixth level would have been able to pass through the previous five levels easily. It wouldn’t be like the case now, when others had passed through the sixth level while that person was only passing through the fifth level. Right?

Obviously, that person’s strength wasn’t good enough.

That person was Ling Han, of course. He was leisurely passing through the sixth level; no one was going to drive him out anyway, and it was not that he was in a hurry. However, as he didn’t have to fight on the third level, his speed was actually getting a lot faster.

At this time, most people had left the White Star Tower, while the strongest had already rushed to the sixth level. Those people at the lower levels wouldn’t be able to drag their assessment out any longer.

“There are still three people in the tower.” The higher-ups of the academy had confirmed with the Tool Spirit, and subsequently announced it.

One of the three was definitely Ji Yun’er. This was obvious as she had yet to come out after she had entered. Who wouldn’t recognize this brilliant pearl whose name was famous throughout the Imperial Capital? However, no one else knew who the other two were.

“Could it be that the blockhead had passed through the fifth level, and even the sixth level?” Li Weiwei’s face was filled with astonishment. Then, she stomped her foot angrily. “Doesn’t that mean I have lost to him again? Argh! Damn! This is horrible!”

Just then, the sixth level of the tower lit up again.

Pu!

Those who had confidently said before that it was impossible for Ling Han to pass through the sixth level now coughed awkwardly, their faces filled with embarrassment.

F*ck! This face-slapping was extremely painful indeed.

‘You… Since you can pass through the sixth level, why don’t you get a move on? How could there be someone like you who would torment other people?’

“Someone has come out!”

A man was seen coming out of the entrance to the nine-storied tower. He was a young man clothed in embroidered robes, but almost no one could recognize him. However, everyone knew that anyone that came out would be a genius who had passed through six levels of the tower!

“I know him. His name is Cheng Haofei, he’s a descendant of the Cheng Clan.”

“Cheng Clan? The same Cheng Clan as that of the Minister of War, Lord Cheng?”

“Hehe, other than the Minister of War, Lord Cheng, what other clan would dare to be addressed as the Cheng Clan?”

That old man in the corner shook his head in disappointment. Although that junior of his was expected to become a two-star Genius, and indeed shocked the world with an amazing feat, he still fell short of his expectations.

Damn, why would there be three sixth-level geniuses ¹ ?