Wen Jingshu had some free time today and wanted to check out the Wang family's Trial Tower.
However, the Trial Tower was located right next to the Martial Training Square. If Wen Jingshu wanted to reach the tower, she had to walk straight across the square.
The Qingyun Sect had its own martial training square as well, but it was mostly frequented by outer and inner sect disciples. Since their living quarters were cramped, they had no choice but to practice their swordplay in the public square.
As a personal disciple, Wen Jingshu had an entire peak to herself.
Little Spirit Peak had more than enough space for her to practice various cultivation methods and sword arts. Not to mention her time at the Pill Sect, where Misty Peak was even larger than Hidden Star Peak. Thus, she had only ever heard of martial training squares but had never actually visited one.
Luo Ling personally escorted her to the Martial Training Square. From a distance, Wen Jingshu saw countless Wang family disciples dressed in neat, practical robes, practicing their swordplay in perfect unison.
Wen Jingshu had originally intended to slip past quietly, but the moment she set foot on the square, she drew the attention of countless onlookers.
Straining her ears, she could hear their hushed whispers:
“Heavens, Miss Fuyan has actually come to the Martial Training Square! Is she going to practice the basic forms with us?”
“This is my first time seeing Miss Fuyan up close. She's so beautiful—even more stunning than in the recording stone!”
“Heading in this direction... is Miss Fuyan going to the Trial Tower?”
“Quick, let's follow her quietly! I must witness the birth of a new top ranker with my own eyes!”
Seeing Wen Jingshu's puzzled expression, Luo Ling thoughtfully explained:
“As a lady of the direct line, the Sixth Elder published your name and portrait within the clan to prevent any short-sighted disciples from offending you.”
In great clans, the distinction between the direct and branch lines was strictly enforced. Even if a direct descendant possessed mediocre talent, members of the branch lines still had to address them respectfully as “young master” or “young lady.”
Wen Jingshu had originally wanted to keep a low profile, but now it seemed she would have to give up on that idea.
As for the sea of curious eyes staring at her, she had long since grown accustomed to it.
The two quickly arrived at the Trial Tower. Wen Jingshu looked up at the ancient, weathered structure, which was covered in patches of weeds and towered high into the clouds, its peak completely hidden from view.
The Trial Tower was unguarded, and its first-floor doors stood wide open. Peering in from the outside, one could only see pitch-black darkness, with no hint of what lay within.
Next to the tower, countless names floated in a dense cluster, with the top ten glowing with brilliant radiance.
Wen Jingshu scanned the list and immediately spotted her sister's name.
Third Place: Wang Ruofu, direct line of the Songhuai City Wang family. Time to clear: 132 shichen.
Wen Jingshu stared in surprise.
Even with her chaos spiritual root, Wen Shuyi only came in third? And it had taken her eleven days?
She looked closer and found Wang Jinye's name.
She had heard tales of her mother's exploits. With a perfect, top-grade mutated wood spiritual root, her mother had nearly turned the entire Eastern Azure Continent upside down in her youth, yet she was only ranked seventh on the Trial Tower?
Even Wang Wanting and Wang Yanci were ranked thirty-second and twenty-eighth respectively, failing to even make the top ten.
Wen Jingshu had originally intended to climb the tower just for fun, but seeing her mother's and sister's results, her heart grew a bit heavier.
No matter what, she had to at least make the top ten!
Holding the peace buckle in her hand, Wen Jingshu took steady, resolute steps and entered the Trial Tower.
What she did not know was that the moment she entered the tower, clan members from all directions rushed over. In the blink of an eye, the area surrounding the Trial Tower was packed so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through.
Even so, those who had secured a spot in the front row were still frantically calling over their friends and family:
“Sister, little sister, Mother, Father, Brother, hurry over! Miss Fuyan has started climbing the tower!”
“I heard Miss Ruofu is Miss Fuyan's older sister! Miss Ruofu only took eleven days to clear the tower, so Miss Fuyan shouldn't be far behind, right? Do you think she can clear it in ten days?”
“The Young Master took twenty days to clear the tower. Could Miss Fuyan's talent be even higher than the Young Master's?”
“One has a mutated lightning spiritual root, and the other has a heavenly lightning spiritual root. It's hard to say.”
“I really want to witness the record at the top of the board get broken! I wonder if Miss Fuyan can set a new record!”
“We all know how powerful the Ancestor was. If not for that accident... Although Miss Fuyan has a heavenly lightning spiritual root, surpassing the Ancestor will be difficult!”
At the mention of Ancestor Wang Xuzhi, the crowd fell silent.
Although they had never witnessed the Ancestor's glory in person, they had heard rumors of her legendary deeds everywhere. Unfortunately, in her youth, Wang Xuzhi had been maliciously ambushed and besieged by several major forces, severely damaging her foundation.
Otherwise, with Wang Xuzhi's exceptional talent, she would have ascended to immortality long ago!
They could only hope that their Grand Elder, Wang Baiwei, could refine a legendary Tenth-Grade Pill before ascending, to heal the Ancestor's deep-seated injuries.
When Wang Xingcan and Wang Yanci rushed over to the Trial Tower, they saw countless clan members flying in the air, standing on the ground, climbing trees, and even riding on each other's shoulders—all of them staring intently at the Trial Tower.
On the other side of the ranking board, the name Wang Fuyan suddenly lit up.
In the brief moments they had been talking, Wen Jingshu had already cleared ten floors!
Watching the number flicker as it prepared to turn into eleven, Wang Xingcan couldn't help but marvel, “As expected of Jinye's daughter!”
Wang Yanci echoed his sentiment with a sigh of admiration before asking, “Sixth Elder, should we disperse these clan members?”
Looking at the excited crowd, Wang Xingcan said, “No need. This can serve as a form of motivation for them.”
...
By this time, Wen Jingshu had already reached the eleventh floor. There was nothing much on the first ten floors—just an empty room containing a single puppet. All she had to do was strike it with a forceful palm strike without using any spiritual energy.
Upon entering the eleventh floor, a wooden sword appeared in her hand. Following the prompt, she channeled her spiritual energy into the wooden sword and delivered another powerful strike to the puppet, which shattered on impact.
It was not until the twenty-first floor that the environment changed again, allowing Wen Jingshu to roughly figure out the pattern.
Floors one through ten tested innate physical constitution, floors eleven through twenty tested spiritual energy purity, and starting from the twenty-first floor, sword moves began to appear, which was likely testing comprehension ability.
On the thirty-first floor, the puppet moved, actively launching attacks at Wen Jingshu. Utilizing the sword moves she had learned from floors twenty-one through thirty, she defeated it with ease.
On the forty-first floor, the puppets increased to three. On the forty-second, there were five. On the forty-third, there were ten...
By the fiftieth floor, eighty puppets materialized in front of Wen Jingshu.
Inside the Trial Tower, Wen Jingshu could not rely on external aid, nor could she use any other cultivation techniques. She had to rely solely on the sword moves provided on the twenty-first floor to defend herself.
Gritting her teeth, Wen Jingshu slew the last puppet, completely draining the spiritual energy from her body.
As the puppet dissolved, Wen Jingshu's physical strength and spiritual energy were instantly restored. With a flash before her eyes, she found herself on the fifty-first floor.
This time, a massive, towering beast appeared in the room.
Seeing the beast about to pounce, Wen Jingshu couldn't help but complain:
“Seriously, can't I get a moment to rest?!”
Even when she climbed the Heart-Interrogating Steps, she had never been rushed like this!
She was in a bit of a hurry, but not that much of a hurry!
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