Chapter 104 - 103: Contending with a Golden Student

"Ten breaths? I think Senior Xie is just trying to save him some face."

"Luo Tian hasn’t even reached the Seventh Layer yet. It’d be normal for a Ninth Layer Fighting Spirit to kill him in seconds."

"Three breaths. He won’t last any longer!"

A few Silver Students chuckled.

Xie Lin couldn’t help but shake his head. ’These people must be jealous that Luo Tian reached the top of the Battle Merit Stele. Because I am, too.’

For an ordinary person at the Sixth or Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening, Xie Lin judged that three breaths would be the absolute limit.

However, reaching the top of the Battle Merit Stele couldn’t be done on luck alone.

Judging from his display in front of the Sect Affairs Hall that day, his strength was even slightly greater than that of a typical cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening.

Therefore, Xie Lin gave a high estimate of ten breaths, which was about the limit for someone at the Peak of the Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening.

Soon, three breaths of time had passed.

Luo Tian had not been eliminated.

"See? You all love to look down on people," Xie Lin criticized.

A faint sense of superiority stirred in his heart.

"Senior Xie truly deserves his title as a Golden Lord from the Golden Area! Your judgment is so sharp!"

"Looks like that Luo Tian can actually last seven or eight breaths."

The crowd of students humbly accepted the lesson.

They had to admit that the Golden Lords were on another level, with extraordinary perception and insight.

...

「Spirit Fighting Tower, Sixth-Layer.」

HUMMM!

Within the Array Light Ring, a graceful Fighting Spirit Woman appeared, a Soft Whip in her hand.

’Hmm?’

Luo Tian noticed that this Fighting Spirit Woman was incredibly lifelike, as if she were a real person. She radiated the powerful aura of the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening.

"Come on, little brat!"

The Fighting Spirit Woman chuckled lightly. The Soft Whip in her hand transformed into a flurry of cyan afterimages, each lash powerful enough to shatter gold and splinter iron. Her attacks were ferocious yet nimble.

’So strong!’

Luo Tian’s expression changed. He pushed the True Qi in his seven Qi Veins to its limit and executed the Celestial Star Sword Technique.

Chasing Stars and Catching the Moon!

With a flick of the Wind and Snow Sword in his hand, Luo Tian sent several brilliant Star Trace Sword Lights crisscrossing forward to clash with the Fighting Spirit Woman.

BOOM! PSSSHHH!

The two forces collided and annihilated each other.

"Not bad."

The Fighting Spirit Woman executed her Body Technique. Her figure became erratic and unpredictable as cyan whip afterimages, whistling through the air, lashed out from all directions.

’Her Whip Technique and Body Technique are both Spirit Level Martial Skills, and she has mastered them to a high degree,’ Luo Tian thought, slightly surprised.

This woman’s intelligence was like that of a real person. She advanced and retreated freely, expertly coordinating her Whip Technique and Body Technique.

An ordinary cultivator at the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening wouldn’t necessarily be able to defeat her.

Unless he unleashed the full power of his Divine Vein or used one of his ultimate moves, Luo Tian would struggle to gain a decisive advantage.

On the Sixth-Layer, inside another Array Light Ring.

"This bitch! She’s so damn hard to deal with!"

Yang Xi had been fighting an identical Fighting Spirit Woman for a long time.

He had used all his martial skills, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead, but he couldn’t do a thing to the Fighting Spirit Woman.

"You dare curse me!"

The Fighting Spirit Woman shouted. The Soft Whip in her hand howled, striking like a ferocious cyan Flood Dragon.

’Not good!’

Yang Xi’s face fell. He unleashed his True Qi Martial Skill with all his might, barely managing to block the attack.

Seeing this, Luo Tian had a strange look on his face. ’If you offend her verbally, her attacks become even more ferocious.’

At that moment, Nangong Yu also stepped onto the Sixth-Layer and said in a low voice, "This Fighting Spirit Woman was a supreme genius from two hundred years ago. The Array’s simulation of her strength is less than sixty percent of what she was truly capable of at the same cultivation."

"She’s simulated from a real person?" Luo Tian was a little surprised.

"Yes, she was a disciple of the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion’s founder," Nangong Yu nodded.

From the Sixth-Layer of the Spirit Fighting Tower onward, all the Fighting Spirits were simulations of real historical figures.

HUMMM! SWOOSH!

The Array Light Ring Nangong Yu was in summoned the same Fighting Spirit Woman.

And so, on the Sixth-Layer of the Spirit Fighting Tower, the three great Silver Students were all locked in a bitter struggle against the Fighting Spirit Woman.

The sounds of the fierce battles could even be faintly heard outside the Spirit Fighting Tower.

"She’s as tough as they said!"

Nangong Yu executed a Spirit Level Body Technique, leaving behind several afterimages, but the Fighting Spirit Woman stuck to him like a shadow, making it impossible to shake her.

Before long, Nangong Yu was at a disadvantage, beaten so badly by the Fighting Spirit Woman that he couldn’t even fight back.

Luo Tian, on the other hand, was trading blows evenly with the Fighting Spirit Woman.

Luo Tian’s Swordsmanship and Body Technique were both Spirit Level Middle Grade or higher.

He had cultivated his Celestial Star Sword Technique to the Peak of the "Star Trace" level. Its sharp attacks and explosive power made the Fighting Spirit Woman wary.

His Cloud Traveling Step was approaching Great Success, making him as elusive as a phantom. He could even occasionally get in close and force the Fighting Spirit Woman to retreat.

Luo Tian still hadn’t fully activated his Divine Vein.

Having just advanced to the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening, he was playing it safe, using the fight to solidify his new cultivation.

A short while later, Yang Xi was drenched in sweat, breathing raggedly, with several bloody gashes on his body.

The Fighting Spirit Woman opposite him had only minor injuries and appeared calm and composed.

"We’re both at the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening, so how does this bitch have limitless stamina?!" Yang Xi roared in shock and anger.

At this rate, he would likely be unable to defeat the Fighting Spirit Woman; a draw was the best he could hope for.

And a draw meant failure!

Luo Tian glanced over, a mocking smile playing on his lips. ’From the Sixth-Layer onward, the Fighting Spirits are all simulations of real people with extraordinary backgrounds. This Fighting Spirit Woman’s True Qi Cultivation is suppressed to the early stage of the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening, but her Martial Arts Realm is far superior to Yang Xi’s, allowing her to conserve energy with each move. Yang Xi just entered the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening. His impatient mindset is naturally holding him back at every turn.’

Suddenly, the eyes of the Fighting Spirit Woman facing Yang Xi flashed. She had found an opening.

SWOOSH!

The Soft Whip suddenly shot out like a green snake, coiling around Yang Xi’s leg.

THUD.

Yang Xi fell to the ground. He struggled in shock and anger, but the woman’s whip flung him out of the Array Light Ring.

"No—!"

Yang Xi cried out in alarm as he was enveloped by a layer of the array’s glowing light. An invisible force transported him out of the Spirit Fighting Tower.

...

「Outside the Spirit Fighting Tower.」

Xie Lin’s expression was a bit awkward.

An unknown multiple of his "ten breaths" prediction had passed.

Luo Tian was still on the Sixth-Layer of the Spirit Fighting Tower, not yet eliminated.

The students present stared at the Sixth-Layer in shocked disbelief.

HUMMM!

At a certain moment, the array’s glowing light on the Sixth-Layer ejected a figure.

"He’s finally been eliminated?"

Xie Lin and the other students felt a great weight lift from their shoulders.

Even so, the amount of time Luo Tian had lasted was terrifying. His combat power was comparable to the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening.

THUD! A sorry figure tumbled to the ground.

Everyone looked closer and was stunned. "Senior... Senior Yang Xi?"

The person who had been eliminated wasn’t Luo Tian. It was Yang Xi of the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening.

Xie Lin was taken aback. Yang Xi had been eliminated faster than he’d expected.

"Did you anger the woman on the Sixth-Layer?" Xie Lin’s eyes glinted.

Yang Xi’s face flushed red as he nodded.

He had indeed cursed the Fighting Spirit Woman.

"Sigh." Xie Lin shook his head and sighed. When angered, that Fighting Spirit Woman’s combat power increased by thirty percent.

"Luo Tian is still on the Sixth-Layer?" a few students asked in disbelief.

"Y-yes..." Yang Xi wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

He, a cultivator at the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening, had actually been eliminated before Luo Tian, despite having entered the Sixth-Layer earlier and fighting for a long time.

"What’s Luo Tian’s situation?" Xie Lin asked.

"Well... he should be... just about at his limit," Yang Xi stammered.

At the time, he was being suppressed by the Fighting Spirit Woman’s frenzied attacks and had no time to pay attention to Luo Tian.

Xie Lin nodded slightly. ’Luo Tian must be at his limit as well.’

「Spirit Fighting Tower, Sixth-Layer.」

Luo Tian gradually gained the upper hand in his fight with the Fighting Spirit Woman, suppressing her with both his Swordsmanship and Body Technique.

"You’re a teachable one."

A hint of appreciation appeared on the Fighting Spirit Woman’s face.

By now, Luo Tian had left several wounds on her.

Luo Tian remained silent, careful not to provoke the Fighting Spirit Woman and cause her combat power to surge.

On the other side, Nangong Yu was struggling to hold on. His body was covered in whip marks, and his condition was steadily declining.

"Luo Tian, my congratulations to you."

Nangong Yu leaped back, withdrawing from the array’s combat circle.

He had given up.

"Huh? Use your power-up! Why aren’t you transforming...?" Luo Tian paused, a look of confusion on his face.

He remembered that Nangong Yu could unseal the power in his body, more than doubling his combat strength and becoming a powerhouse comparable to a Golden Student.

The corner of Nangong Yu’s mouth twitched.

The wondrous Cultivation Technique he practiced was incredibly unique. On a normal day, he had to keep half of his power sealed.

He could only unseal it briefly during critical breakthrough moments; otherwise, his cultivation of the technique would regress.

Simply put: advance or fall back!

Last time, facing the Jade Spirit Python, Nangong Yu had made an exception and unsealed his power. This should have caused his Cultivation Technique to regress.

Fortunately, Luo Tian’s Jade Spirit Blood had come at the perfect time. It allowed him to break through to the Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening, adhering to the "advance or fall back" principle. It had been a blessing in disguise.

Now, while challenging the tower, Nangong Yu naturally had no need to unseal his power. His true intention was to hone his Cultivation Martial Skill and cleanse the Demon Evil Qi from the Jade Spirit Blood.

HUMMM! SWOOSH!

Nangong Yu was swept up by the array’s glowing light and ejected from the Spirit Fighting Tower.

He had just appeared outside the tower.

"Why isn’t it Luo Tian?"

The crowd of spectating students looked disappointed.

Nangong Yu wore a strange expression. ’How did Luo Tian manage to offend people again?’

"What’s Luo Tian’s situation?" a few Silver Students asked eagerly.

"It should be ending soon."

Nangong Yu had a complicated look on his face as he gazed at the Sixth-Layer. Before he left, Luo Tian had been completely suppressing the Fighting Spirit Woman.

Phew! Hearing this, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.

Xie Lin also felt a great weight lift. He had originally predicted Luo Tian would last ten breaths at most.

In the end, out of the three of them, Luo Tian was the one who had lasted the longest.

If Luo Tian really managed to pass the Sixth-Layer and become a Golden Student, it would be a huge slap in his face.

「Spirit Fighting Tower, Sixth-Layer.」

Seven-stars in a Row!

Luo Tian activated his Divine Vein Power. In an instant, the Wind and Snow Sword in his hand wove seven dazzlingly brilliant bursts of Star Sword Light.

PFFT! PFFT! CHHH!

The Fighting Spirit Woman’s expression changed drastically. She was completely overwhelmed, her body pierced through with holes.

"Very strong..."

The Fighting Spirit Woman’s body disintegrated, and a vast amount of Fighting Spirit Qi surged into Luo Tian.

At the same time, the Array Light Ring at Luo Tian’s feet dimmed and vanished.

"I passed."

Luo Tian’s breathing was slightly ragged. His gaze shifted to the stairs leading to the next layer.

「And outside the Spirit Fighting Tower.」

The crowd of students exclaimed, "It’s over!"

The light on the Sixth-Layer suddenly dimmed.

This represented the end of the challenge for that layer.

"It’s over." Nangong Yu’s expression was grave. Luo Tian had passed the layer faster than he had imagined.

"But... he didn’t come out?"

Xie Lin’s heart had just relaxed, but as he stared at the darkened Sixth-Layer, he felt that something was wrong.

If the challenger failed, the array would have transported them out.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths passed.

The Spirit Fighting Tower still hadn’t thrown Luo Tian out.

Just as everyone was wondering what was happening...

HUMMM!

The higher, Seventh-Layer of the Spirit Fighting Tower lit up!

"The... the Seventh-Layer!"

Everyone present was so shocked they were speechless, their hearts churning with turbulent waves.

Xie Lin’s body trembled, his eyes filled with utter horror!