50: Chapter 50 Hundred Refinement Tower

“For now, Cultivate on your own. Once my research reaches a stopping point, I will come to find you.”

Mentor Lin Mo instructed, then added as if suddenly remembering something, “If you don't know how to improve, you can go check out the school's Hundred Refinements Pagoda—it's a treasure ground for New Student Cultivation. Since you are a student specifically noted by the school administration, it should be open to you for free. You can ask Director Qian for specific details.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Master.” Zhang Wen bowed respectfully, then turned and exited the room.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, he saw Director Qian waiting not far away.

“Zhang Wen, is everything alright?” Director Qian asked, walking up to him.

“It's nothing. Master was just worried that my Cultivation progress was too fast and that my Foundation was unstable.” Zhang Wen chuckled and took the opportunity to ask, “By the way, Director Qian, what exactly is the Hundred Refinements Pagoda that Master mentioned?”

“The Hundred Refinements Pagoda...” A flash of approval crossed Director Qian's eyes. “As the name implies, the pagoda has one hundred floors. From the first floor upwards, the difficulty increases geometrically with each level. While the challenges are great, the rewards are also extremely generous.”

He paused intentionally, watching Zhang Wen's eager gaze before continuing: “As for the specific rewards, you'll have to explore that yourself—what each person receives is different, so it's useless for me to say more.”

“But I must remind you: it's best to push through as many floors as possible each time. Otherwise, the next time you come, there will be no more rewards for the floors you've already cleared.”

“With your Forming Realm Peak Cultivation, you can definitely go and try it out. After all, by the end of their first year, most New Students barely reach the Forming Realm Peak.”

“Under normal circumstances, reaching the fortieth floor shouldn't be a problem for you; that corresponds to your current level of strength. Anything higher is a test for the Subtle Realm.”

Director Qian pulled two items from his sleeve and handed them over: on the left was a dark gold card with fine Spiritual Qi Shimmering at the edges, and on the right was a black bracelet engraved with intricate cloud patterns on the surface.

“Keep this student card safe. It serves as both your proof of identity and a pass for various venues.”

He lightly tapped the card with his fingertip, and a string of glowing white numbers appeared on its surface. “Five thousand points have been pre-loaded as a reward from the school. For a talent like you, specifically noted by the school board, places like the library and training grounds are already free to use. It's best to save the points to exchange for Cultivation resources at the mall.”

Just as Zhang Wen took the card, the bracelet suddenly lit up with a faint blue Shimmer. Director Qian patted the back of his hand, “Almost forgot this. It's our academy's specially made smart bracelet. It has our school's artificial intelligence, ‘mysterious view’, embedded in it. Whether it's your class schedule, mentor information, or questions about Cultivation, just ask it directly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bracelet emitted a clear, crisp notification sound: “Bound user Zhang Wen detected. mysterious view is at your service.”

Director Qian glanced at the darkening twilight on the horizon and waved his hand. “I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be off. If there's anything you don't understand, just have mysterious view show you the way.” With that, he turned and walked away quickly.

Zhang Wen tucked the dark gold card and the black bracelet into his robes, his fingertips brushing over the fine Spiritual Qi Shimmering on the edge of the card. The afternoon sun slanted across the empty stone path, casting long shadows of the teaching buildings on both sides.

On the Cultivation field by the path, only a few figures were practicing techniques. Occasionally, the sparse sound of something breaking through the air could be heard, making the prematurely opened campus feel even quieter.

“Phew, I'll go check out the Hundred Refinements Pagoda first then,” he said in a low voice. The bracelet immediately lit up with a faint blue Shimmer: “Destination Hundred Refinements Pagoda detected. Current campus crowd density is 70% below average; the route is clear.”

As he followed the directions, he passed the side door of the library, which was left slightly ajar. He could vaguely see only two or three administrators inside organizing the bookshelves.

Under the barrier light film of the training ground, only one youth wearing grey practice clothes was repeatedly chopping at a wooden dummy. Seeing Zhang Wen walk by, he just glanced up at the corner of the student card peeking out from Zhang Wen's robes before lowering his head again.

Zhang Wen did not stop walking, his mind replaying Director Qian's words: “By the end of their first year, most New Students barely reach the Forming Realm Peak.” At this moment, the New Student registration schedule was still posted on the notice board by the road; he figured that those on campus right now, besides special cases like himself, were only a few senior students who had stayed behind.

Turning past the corridor planted with meditation bamboo, the silhouette of the Hundred Refinements Pagoda appeared ahead.

The tower body, forged from dark iron, reflected the blinding sunlight. The white jade plaza in front of the tower was empty, with only two uniformed guards standing on either side of the bronze gate. Seeing him approach, their eyes lingered briefly on the student card on his chest before they stepped aside to clear the way.

The student card in his robes suddenly became slightly warm. Zhang Wen looked up at the top of the tower, seeing the glowing white crystals under the eaves of each floor Shimmering with light in the sun, yet he could not hear a single sound of human chatter.

He straightened his clothes and walked toward the gate covered in runes. The bracelet prompted him at the right moment: “Entrance Formation detected as activated; student card can pass directly.”

“Looks like that saves the trouble of waiting in line,” Zhang Wen chuckled and stepped into the tower gate.

“Ding—host detected entering the Hundred Refinements Pagoda trial range. Reward mechanism activated; it will be adjusted dynamically based on real-time performance.”

The cold, mechanical voice echoed in Zhang Wen's ears, causing his footsteps to pause slightly just after crossing the threshold.

He looked up and scanned his surroundings. The first floor of the tower was actually built entirely of snow-white cloud-patterned stone, with a complex Spiritual Qi Gathering Formation carved into the floor, and wisps of Spiritual Qi were slowly circulating along the patterns.

“It seems this Hundred Refinements Pagoda is more interesting than I imagined.” He loosened his wrists, his knuckles emitting a crisp “click” sound. As his shoulders moved slightly, the Spiritual Qi of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder inadvertently spilled out, causing the surrounding Spiritual Qi to ripple with fine waves.

His gaze swept over the light gate in front that led to the second floor, and a hint of Battle Intent curled the corners of his lips: “In that case, I'll have to bring out my real skills.”

Before he finished speaking, the Spiritual Qi Gathering Formation beneath his feet suddenly shone brightly, and a phantom silhouette condensed from Spiritual Qi leaped out from the stone wall, wielding a weapon as it lunged at him.

“Initial Blooming Realm Early Stage?” Zhang Wen raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying undisguised contempt. “This level of strength isn't even enough for me to warm up.”

Before the words had faded, the Spiritual Qi phantom had already lunged to close range, the flash of blades and swords glinting with a chilling light under the white glow of the Spiritual Qi Gathering Formation.

Zhang Wen, however, did not retreat a single step. He slowly clenched his right fist, his knuckles turning pale from the exertion of gathering strength. The Spiritual Qi of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder concentrated at his fist, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly.

“Boom!”

A dull, explosive sound rang out inside the tower. He threw a punch, and an invisible wave of air surged outward like a tidal wave.

The seemingly solid phantom had no time to react before it shattered inch by inch under the impact of the punch, turning into countless dots of Spiritual Qi light that were instantly absorbed by the Formation patterns on the ground.

Before the dust had settled, the stone wall ahead suddenly lit up with a soft white light. A light gate about a zhang high slowly emerged, with the words “Second Floor” clearly displayed on the lintel.

Zhang Wen shook his slightly numb fist, his gaze piercing through the light gate to look into the depths, a playful curve forming on his lips.