Chapter 210 - The Black Lightning Trial Tower.

It was evening now, and Cale went to Sirius’s room.

"I’m here, open the door," he said, rapping on the door.

As always, no answer came from inside, so Cale simply entered.

Ahead of him, his uncle was sleeping slumped over the table, a pen still loosely held in one hand, while spilled ink drenched the papers beneath him.

"Sigh. What kind of family have I been born into?"

Thinking about how to wake the man up, a grin spread across Cale’s face as he clenched his fist.

"Alright, old man. Let’s see what a Boundless Stage cultivator is capable of."

He punched straight at the back of Sirius’s head, but his fist stopped just a few centimeters short of its target, as if it had struck an invisible wall.

"Yawwwwnnn... oh, you’re here?"

Cale’s entire upper body was locked in place, unable to move an inch.

"Can... you let me move? Uncle..."

Lazily, Sirius got to his feet and flicked a finger at Cale’s forehead. "Heh, you’re a few thousand years early to sneak attack me. Being a spiritual beast, my senses are even better than a Transcendent’s."

"Right, right. So just let me out of this... whatever lock you put on me."

Sirius snapped his fingers, and the invisible chains binding Cale simply dissolved, as if they had never been there at all.

Cale dropped onto the sofa and rubbed his arm. "So, what did you want me for?"

Sirius grinned. "Weren’t you the one who wanted to enter the Black Lightning Tower’s inheritance? Well, we got the permission easily."

"Oh? We got it already? Can we go right away?"

Sirius nodded. "Of course. It isn’t much of a hassle. Just be prepared, though. There’s a chance you won’t be the only one inside."

Cale agreed without complaint. It wasn’t as if he was the only one qualified to enter.

"When is that ancestral land of the Kastors opening?"

Sirius looked out the window, his brow creasing. "A few weeks or so. If you’re late, I can have them delay it by a few days too."

"Oh? You’re going that far for me? Just so you know, I don’t swing that way, so—"

Before Cale could finish, his body was lifted out of the room and he found himself floating outside the palace, with Sirius already drifting ahead of him.

"Follow me."

As they flew, Cale spoke up. "You know, even if these people have agreed to cooperate, some of them will likely start attacking places here and there in some days, leaving no proof behind."

"I can guess that much," Sirius replied, not even looking back as he flew on.

"So you won’t do anything about it?"

"What can I do? Go and fight them over something that’s going to happen regardless?"

Cale sighed. "True enough."

When they landed, they passed through a formation that was clearly meant to conceal the tower itself.

The Thunder Trial Tower pierced the heavens like a colossal black spear, its towering structure vanishing into a swirling mass of crimson clouds. Countless floors rose one above another, crowned with jagged spires and enormous arches. Its ancient, weathered walls seemed to exude an oppressive aura that pressed down on anyone standing near it.

Twisted, root-like structures coiled around its base, while shattered pillars and broken bridges surrounded its foundations. Chunks of the dark stone exterior had crumbled away, leaving fragments suspended mysteriously in midair.

High above, a massive vortex churned ominously, its blood-red radiance lighting up the darkened sky. Flashes of lightning flickered within the swirling clouds, casting eerie shadows across the towering spires.

It was no ordinary testing ground. It was a place where cultivators would face the wrath of heavenly lightning and have their strength pushed to its absolute limits.

Cale grinned as he looked up at it. "It’s huge, compared to any others I’ve seen before."

"Of course it is. Now, no dawdling. Shoo, shoo."

"Tsk. Am I a dog?!"

He stepped through the doorway. From what he knew, there were several testing levels before the grander floors, the ones that contained real heavenly thunder.

Before him stretched an endless sea of fire, its crimson-orange surface rippling like molten lava beneath a blazing sky. Huge black rock formations jutted out of the burning expanse, resembling the remains of some ancient battlefield, while distant mountains shimmered through the waves of scorching heat. The air itself seemed to burn, warped by rising heat and drifting embers. Standing at the very starting point of this desolate landscape, Cale faced the vast Burning Sea of Flames, where the first trial awaited him.

"Phew... this is hot. But no worries, I have ice affinity as well."

Drawing on his ice attribute, a faint chill spread through his body. It didn’t shock him, but it offered a welcome bit of relief from the heat.

Standing on the edge of the entry cliff, Cale gazed down at the terrifying landscape below. Countless cultivators were struggling forward. Some barely managed to leap from one rock to the next, while others were forced back by the relentless waves of fire.

"This is seriously a death game. Sigh. To think people are dying on the first level as well..."

Every so often, a figure would lose their footing and fall into the scorching sea, their screams swallowed almost instantly by the roaring flames. Some had perished before they could even take their first few steps.

The sight made it clear that this was no ordinary trial. Reaching the far side seemed an impossible task for most participants.

Looking around, Cale noticed that the people entering these trials weren’t all from Vaeloria. Entry was granted only to those with strong connections or overwhelming power and backing. It was obvious the people from the other continents would try this too.

A man roughly Cale’s age, at the mid-Emperor stage, looked over at him and smiled. "How about we join forces and do this together?"

Cale took a few steps back. "Go away. I have a wife!"

"H-huh? What do you—"

"No, go away."

Cale gritted his teeth, his brows furrowing deeply.

’Why the hell is this man here!’

Roan was a man in his twenties with a striking appearance: sharp, well-defined features and a devilishly charming smile that gave him an air of effortless confidence. His messy black hair was streaked with subtle violet highlights, the unruly strands falling across his forehead and framing his face. His half-lidded purple eyes carried a mischievous glint, and the slight curl of his lips revealed a pair of subtly pointed canines, lending his smile an almost predatory charm.

Several black earrings adorned one ear, adding to his rebellious look. He wore a crisp grey dress shirt beneath a black vest, its collar slightly open and a loosened tie hanging around his neck. There was something playful yet unsettling about him, and Cale knew exactly what it was.

This man was the son of the Black Archean Emperor - a man at the Divine stage, but that wasn’t the troubling part. The troubling part was that his mother was a damn succubus!

’And a royal one at that. It’s not your average horny succubus... sigh.’

Roan had... shall we say, newer interests. He had a harem of many women, and... many men too. Often it happened because he gave off such pheromones and energy that anyone close to him would get affected. That was why the people sent along with him were mostly eunuchs.

’I need to get out of here! Quickly, at that!’

But he still didn’t have a proper grasp of this tower, so how could he even begin to plan his escape?

Looking at the burning magma river, he asked silently, ’Hey, system, can this be used as part of the fire elemental cauldron?’

[It can be used, but it will never fully form unless the host enters a location made specifically for the flame element. This location is under the control of the lightning element.]

Cale sighed. "Well, as long as it’s useful..."

Without thinking much more, he swapped bodies. His Astral Sovereign body emerged from his shadow, and his human body slipped into the shadow in its place. Then he jumped straight into the magma.

Roan was petrified. "Hey! W-what the hell did you do? Why are you jumping in there?! There are better ways to die! H-hey... stop..."

But Cale had already gone in. It wasn’t much of a problem if Roan had seen the body swap. The man was known to be drunk most of the day and babbling random nonsense.

Plunging through the scorching magma, Cale’s body cut through the churning sea of molten fire. Waves of blazing orange and crimson surged around him, lighting his figure with an ominous glow. His long hair streamed wildly behind him as he pushed forward, eyes fixed ahead with unwavering determination.

’I’m just treating my body like some game character these days...’

The magma coiled violently around him, sending sparks and fiery currents swirling in every direction. Yet rather than retreating from the unbearable heat, Cale kept swimming through the molten depths, treating the deadly sea as an obstacle he simply had to overcome.

The people outside, who only saw a black-haired man leap into the lava, were dumbstruck.

"Hey, did you... did you see that!"

"Someone just committed suicide?!"

"But why would he die here!"

Then his refining body sensed a new presence, a familiar one, like the pull of a cauldron.

’Oi, system, can I absorb this? This is it, right?’

[Yes, the host can start cultivating the Flame Spirit Cauldron.]

’Good.’

Closing his eyes, he let his body go loose and drifted without purpose through the lava. Then it began absorbing the flames.

It wasn’t just the cauldron that would form. Techniques like the Heavenly Demon Abyssal Titan Art were also growing stronger with every bit of elemental energy absorbed.

’Hehe, this trip is going to be fun.’