Late at night, the alarm clock rang. Lin Zhao got up, the game was about to open!
...
On the second floor of the studio, everyone was in place. Although a few girls were logging in late at night, they still put on nice clothes before leaving their rooms. After all, there were three men in the studio, so a little effort was needed.
"Swish!"
Lin Zhao lay down in the game pod, rapidly reading the data. After waiting for a minute in the countdown, his vision brightened. His character had logged in and appeared in front of Tian Ran Ju. As soon as he opened the game interface, a golden tower-shaped icon labeled "Tower of Realms" appeared. Without a second thought, he clicked it.
After a flash of white light, he found himself standing in front of a towering pagoda. This tower was so tall that its top was completely out of sight. It was a personal dungeon, meaning he wouldn't have to compete with other players. As Lin Zhao stepped forward and gently knocked on the door, a voice sounded in his ear—
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Entering [Tower of Realms] once requires the consumption of 1 Charm Point and 100 Gold Coins. Confirm entry immediately?
The requirements were quite high.
Gold coins were still valuable in the national server at this time, with a ratio of approximately 1:10. One gold coin could be exchanged for 10 universal coins. Thus, there were numerous gold-farming studios in the major cities of the national server. Players with higher levels and good equipment could essentially earn about 20 gold coins overnight by farming, which could be exchanged for 200 universal coins, a considerable income. After "Tian Xia" launched, it would at least give young people more hope in their lives.
Each entry into the Tower of Realms cost 100 gold coins, which was acceptable for most players, as not everyone would challenge it an infinite number of times. As for the 1 Charm Point, that was more problematic. According to incomplete statistics, over 50% of players in the national server had not accepted any main story quests above S-rank so far, meaning their Charm Points were likely not high. Perhaps the opportunity to challenge the Tower of Realms would truly be limited to once or twice.
"Confirm."
Lin Zhao frowned and stepped into the Tower of Realms without the slightest hesitation.
The next moment, the tower gate opened. As Lin Zhao stepped in with his sword drawn, he entered a hexagonal, enclosed space. The tower gate behind him slammed shut. Immediately, a countdown appeared in his ear, indicating that the Endless Mode was about to begin. The so-called Endless Mode involved monsters continuously spawning from all directions, and players had to keep killing them. This was the arrangement for combat classes like Swordsmen and Mages, at least. As for Nomads, Formation Masters, and others, they might have different challenge methods.
With a "hum," almost all eight doors around Lin Zhao opened simultaneously. Amidst dazzling golden light, a horde of ghouls, dragging their rotting bodies, charged forward. Among them was even a ghoul leader wielding a battle axe. The level was not high, merely a level 100 Golden Boss, which Lin Zhao could easily crush with his current strength.
Let's begin!
With a flick of his long sword, he was instantly surrounded by a large group of monsters. He raised his hand and cast a Sword Qi Cage around himself, then swung his sword wildly, unleashing area-of-effect damage. As for the boss, he focused his attention on it with Flying Sword Hao Ran and Flying Sword Ming Yue, tearing it apart. In a short while, under Lin Zhao's terrifying output, the ghouls and the boss quickly fell. However, the eight doors showed no signs of closing; before the previous wave of monsters had completely died, the next wave had already rushed in.
This was Endless Mode, where one had to keep killing until the player could no longer endure and fell in battle.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. While continuously clearing monsters, he frowned and checked his inventory. Fortunately, his red and blue potions were sufficient, so he continued to swing his sword and kill.
Time trickled by. The levels of monsters and bosses in Endless Mode continuously increased. After about half an hour, four Flowing Gold tier bosses were already attacking Lin Zhao simultaneously. He could only fight defensively, doing his best to output damage while ensuring his own survival. After finally wearing down a few Flowing Gold bosses, Earth tier bosses began to appear. This was quite exaggerated. How many players at this stage could solo an Earth tier boss?
However, Lin Zhao had also been paying attention to the data on his interface. Killing bosses significantly increased evaluation points, and killing small monsters did too. Therefore, it wasn't necessary to solo and defeat an Earth tier boss. As long as he avoided its pursuit and killed as many small monsters as possible, he could still achieve a higher realm. Thus, he constantly maneuvered within the Tower of Realms. Initially, he led two Earth tier bosses, and then more and more, three, four, five. By the time he reached nearly 50 minutes, another Heaven tier boss at level 135 spawned, which was quite brutal.
Shortly after, Lin Zhao reached his limit and was struck on the head by a fierce axe from the Heaven tier boss, ending the Endless Mode challenge. Fortunately, there were no losses incurred upon death during the challenge.
The next second, he was teleported out of the Tower of Realms and stood at the entrance. A bell sound echoed in the air—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Bai Yi] for challenging the [Tower of Realms] and successfully achieving the realm of [Dong Xu Realm]!
Immediately after, ringing sounds continued—
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the first realm ability: Attack Damage +5%!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the second realm ability: Survival Capability +10%!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the third realm ability: HP Cap +20%!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the fourth realm ability: Base Attack Power +1000!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the fifth realm ability: Attack Damage +15%!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the sixth realm ability: [Skill Mastery]: All elemental skill damage +30%!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the seventh realm ability: [Dong Xu Physique]: Greatly reduces incoming damage!
...
He was already a seventh realm Sword Cultivator, and his personal attributes had surged. In an instant, his combat power had increased significantly. Moreover, his personal interface now displayed his realm—
[Bai Yi] (Sword Master)
Level: 115
Attack: 5680-7040 (+324%)
Defense: 4400 (+334%)
HP: 54500 (+20%)
Critical Hit: 20%
Lifesteal: 56%
Damage Reduction: 32%
Damage Increase: 190%
Comprehension: 99
Charm: 72
Reputation: 97780
Combat Power: 18500
Realm: Dong Xu Realm
...
Achieving the seventh realm had increased his combat power by over 4000 points. This showed how terrifying the power of realm advancement was. However, Lin Zhao, now a Dong Xu Sword Cultivator standing before the Tower of Realms, felt a sense of unwillingness. Was it only the seventh realm? It shouldn't be. He felt he could have held on longer, at least, with proper preparation, he could have lasted longer.
So, he returned to Bai Di City overnight and purchased Life Potions from player stalls, the highest level available. Currently, the highest level Life Potion in the national server was level 6, which could instantly restore 30% of HP. However, they were quite expensive, especially after the Tower of Realms opened. Potion merchants inflated prices, selling a level 6 Life Potion for an exorbitant 40g!
Lin Zhao bought 300 bottles without a second thought and went to challenge the Tower of Realms again!
System bells rang in his ears continuously. Every time a player achieved a realm in the middle five stages, there would be a system announcement. Through the announcements, Lin Zhao had a general understanding. Besides himself, there were Shen Xingchen, Su Xinghe, Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng, and Leng Yan in the national server who had also achieved seventh realm titles. Following them were Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Yi Shi Cang Liang, and others, all at the sixth realm.
Currently, in the China region, the seventh realm was essentially the limit and the pinnacle.
But he still wanted to challenge it again. Perhaps with his current realm and the bonus in the Tower of Realms, it would be smoother?
The seventh realm was ultimately too low in Lin Zhao's eyes. A Dong Xu Sword Cultivator, it didn't sound good. At the very least, he should aim for a Golden Core Sword Cultivator, right? Otherwise, encountering perpetually sarcastic individuals like Su Shan Jun at Xue Yu Tian Chi, he would have to begrudgingly address himself as a "great Dong Xu cultivator," which was an unpleasant thought.
No, he had to reach the eighth realm, Golden Core!
Therefore, Lin Zhao stepped into the Tower of Realms once more, determined to give it his all!
In his second attempt at the Tower of Realms, he quickly discovered that the realm bonus did not apply in Endless Mode. Thus, he had to fight more meticulously, trying to maintain healthy HP throughout, and made more improvements in his positioning and dodging boss attacks. Indeed, last time he lasted 49 minutes, and this time he lasted for 1 hour and 6 minutes. However, the title he left Endless Mode with was still that of a seventh realm Sword Cultivator!
"Ding!"
A message from Chen Xue: "It's past two, and you're still playing the Tower of Realms?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I'm not reconciled. I feel like I can achieve an eighth realm. But my second attempt was still the seventh realm. I'm debating whether to try a third time."
Chen Xue pursed her red lips: "In principle, I don't agree, but I know you won't listen. So, good luck. Try one more time, and if it doesn't work, then take a break and try again when you're rested."
"Mm!"
With Chen Xue's words, Lin Zhao had nothing to worry about.
After another hour of intense battle, his performance improved with each attempt. This time, he lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes. The moment Lin Zhao was sent out of the Tower of Realms, a pleasant system announcement bell floated into his ears. He had finally broken through the bottleneck of the seventh realm—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Bai Yi] for challenging the [Tower of Realms] and successfully achieving the realm of [Golden Core Realm]!
...
Immediately after, another bell rang, and the unique abilities of the Golden Core Realm appeared.
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations on acquiring the eighth realm abilities: [Imperial Sword] and [Refine Flying Artifact]!
...
"Roar~~~~"
Lin Zhao's mind went blank for an instant. He could now fly on his sword!? Hahahaha, the first and foremost skill for any Sword Immortal in "Tian Xia" was flying on one's sword. What kind of Sword Cultivator could he be if he couldn't fly on his sword?!
In an instant, his heart was filled with immense joy. He then exited the Tower of Realms system.
"Swish!"
A golden sword intent shot up from the top of Lin Zhao's head, piercing the clouds and stirring up streaks of golden lightning in the sky. He looked up at the sky, somewhat bewildered.
"Congratulations, Lord!"
Xue Zhi chuckled by his side, "Lord has returned to the eighth realm. Although this is an eighth realm Sword Cultivator, to be able to evoke the celestial phenomenon of the Sword Dao upon entering the Golden Core stage is truly rare!"
Lin Zhao looked up at the sky. Was that light just now a celestial phenomenon?
It had been a long time!
He took a deep breath and looked at his most capable subordinate. "Xue Zhi, do you have any suitable materials for refining into a flying sword? I need a sword embryo for my sword flight. Do you have any? Even scraps will do, it doesn't need to be too good."
Xue Zhi was taken aback, then her pretty face blushed slightly. He was directly asking for a sword embryo, truly not treating her as an outsider!