"Damn… This guy already entered the top one hundred in the Dragon Steps. It won't be long till he reaches the top ten at this point. His wives seemed to be the ones who ended their run since their ranking stopped advancing as well. I almost thought they are monsters as well."
The commotion outside was growing in size as Xuefeng's group reached new heights. It wasn't yet an event that would alarm the whole House of Dragons but it was really close. Every time someone was getting close to the active record, the surroundings of the Dragon Tower turned into a massive watch party.
It reached the point where the food sellers were flying around to sell their goods while the Law Enforcement monitored the space.
"This is just the beginning. His climb didn't even start," Ryan said confidently as he pointed at the tower. "I will snap my fingers and they will continue climbing!"
Snap!
Rose's eyesight followed his hand but for a good few seconds, nothing happened. The Dragon Tower light didn't even move.
"Well, this looked much cooler in my head," Ryan muttered embarrassedly as he scratched his head when the crowds exploded with cries.
The golden light on the Dragon Sculpture continued to move but this time something was different. It moved up too quickly!
Sixteenth section…
Seventeenth section...
Eighteenth section…
Xuefeng's ranking also flew to the top as he no longer stopped for long, increasing his lead between the rest.
"See, I told you!" Ryan called out happily as he saw the results, causing Rose and his friend to roll their eyes. His ranking just fell to second place but Ryan didn't even blink.
Nineteenth section…
Twentieth section…
…
Twenty-fifth section…
When Xuefeng finally reached the active record, everyone was losing their mind. What was even more surprising was the second name that suddenly launched to the very top.
[1. Liu Xuefeng]
[2. Liu Yiren]
He wasn't alone!
One of his wives was following him but even she seemed to have fallen behind, separating from Xuefeng's climb.
Thirtieth section…
Fortieth section…
Fiftieth section…
"He is about to break the all-time record! The Five Hundred Floor Barrier!"
The rate he was climbing was so fast and smooth, everyone was anticipating today they would witness the history.
Too bad.
"Why is he not moving? Could this be the end?" Rose wondered as they watched Xuefeng stay on the same floor for the last five minutes.
"Maybe. Who knows what is inside that floor. The last guy who reached it didn't reveal to anyone exactly why he failed. From what I read, he only said his heart wasn't pure enough but I don't know what it meant," Ryan pointed out.
"Hmm, maybe only certain people can move to the upper floors?" Rose asked when her eyes suddenly widened as she watched the tower. "He is going down!"
Her cry alarmed the surrounding cultivators and they all looked each other in the eyes.
Swoosh!
They didn't hesitate and dove down from the sky with the same idea in mind. Be the first to meet Xuefeng once he leaves the Dragon Tower!
"Let's go too," Ryan suggested as he grabbed Rose into his arms and teleported away.
"Don't push! Stay back or I will start giving out punishments!"
The Dragon Tower Elders already created a barrier surrounding the tower entrance while the whole base floor was emptied with all trades halted. They had to ensure the top disciples would be safely escorted.
After all, any treasure above the two-hundredth floor was enough to cause chaos and no one was capable of stopping a battle of thousands of Cultivators once it began.
Naturally, Ryan didn't give a fuck about any of this, passing through the barrier of elders without care.
"Hey! We said no—" the Dragon Tower Elder called out sternly but stopped himself when he realized who it was.
"Don't worry Elder Wang, I won't cause trouble," Ryan called out happily and sneaked inside. Even though he dropped to third place, his name was already well known in the Sect and with that came certain privileges.
Sure enough, Xinyu was already there on the base floor while waiting for the rest of her group.
"Xinyu! Congrats on your climb!" Ryan called out from the distance, but Xinyu only acknowledged him with a nod.
"Thanks, but I was the first to drop so I don't consider it a successful run," Xinyu admitted with a shrug. "What are you doing here? I ordered a lockdown."
"Hehe, you know such things won't stop me," Ryan chuckled as he glanced at Rose, rubbing her arm. "Have you met Rose?"
"Good Morning, Miss Xinyu," Rose greeted with a bow, recognizing the difference in status.
"Morning," Xinyu replied casually and shifted back to Ryan. "If you came here to meet Xuefeng then you will have to wait for some time."
Ryan raised his eyebrows.
"Isn't he already coming down?"
"Heh," Xinyu smirked. "Xuefeng doesn't make empty promises. If he said he will reach the top, he will."
———
*Five minutes earlier*
"Okay, what the fuck is this?" Xuefeng finally cursed as he slammed his Dragon Edge against the floor.
He has been climbing with incredible pace and the increasing Dragon Tower pressure didn't bother him as much. He was pushing forward with excitement, thinking he was going to claim the top of the tower within the next minutes yet his dreams got crushed.
Right when he was supposed to break the all-time record, he was met with the indestructible barrier at the stairs leading to the five hundredth floor.
'Calm down, it seems like any physical attacks don't have any impact whatsoever,' Ming commented after Xuefeng unleashed a barrage of his power on the barrier. 'We should try with Soul attacks.'
Xuefeng didn't wait and reached out to the barrier with his Soul Power, hoping to pierce through but he was surprised yet again.
Ah!
A sudden pain assaulted his Soul, forcing him to withdraw.
'Doesn't work…' Xuefeng muttered dejectedly. Did he reach this far just to be blocked?
'Can you touch it? I will do some tests,' Ming proposed, but once she was done, she didn't have any good news. 'This barrier is not autonomous. Something must be controlling it and blocking us on purpose. It behaves like a living organism, increasing the defense wherever you strike it.'
'Even if it's controlled by the Tower Spirit, there should be a way to go past it.'
Just as he thought, something within the barrier shifted. The Qi changed in color and formed into letters, then words, and a clear sentence in front of him.
[Only pure souls can pass through. You can't open the Heavenly Gate with darkness in your heart.]
"..."
Xuefeng was left speechless by the text alone but when his wives heard about it, they didn't spare him either.
'Oh, well. I guess you tried. You tied the record which is still good. Are you coming back down now?'
"..."