148: Trial Tower, unique to Daxia

Hearing this, Chen Ming, Zhang Bo, Zhao Qian, and others stopped in their tracks in unison.

Even without looking, just from the secretary's tone, it wasn't hard to tell that something big must have happened in the country again!

The three of them walked over.

After patiently waiting for the secretary to hang up, Zhao Qian finally asked, "Secretary Yang, what happened?"

"A military Special Ops Soldiers soldier stationed at the customs in the Southern Region fished up a tower," Secretary Yang replied.

"A... tower? What kind of tower?" Zhao Qian pressed.

"A tower that reaches high into the clouds, so tall that it's impossible to tell its height with the naked eye."

"As for the situation inside the tower, everything is unknown at the moment because we haven't received exploration orders yet."

Secretary Yang described the situation as he understood it.

Zhao Qian subconsciously turned his gaze to Chen Ming, thinking that he might know the inside story.

Unexpectedly, before he could even ask, Chen Ming blurted out a word, "Trial Tower."

"Trial Tower?" Zhao Qian's eyes were filled with confusion; these four words were completely foreign to him.

"Yes, each floor has corresponding monsters guarding it. After attempting a floor, you can receive generous rewards. Each floor can be repeatedly challenged by anyone before they fully clear it."

Chen Ming learned about these things after finding the Trial Tower through the Resource Map and reading the detailed description.

He then repeated it in his own words.

Zhao Qian wasn't curious about how Chen Ming knew these things and didn't press further.

Everyone has their own secrets; there's no need to pry.

Maintaining a sense of distance, in Zhao Qian's view, was very important.

"No matter how much I say, it's better to just go and see for ourselves." As soon as he finished speaking, a small portal appeared in the air in front of Chen Ming.

Then, it quickly opened, expanded, and the portal landed on the ground.

The place it led to was precisely where the Trial Tower was located.

So close it couldn't be any closer.

Chen Ming was the first to enter, followed closely by Zhao Qian, Zhang Bo, Secretary Yang, and others.

They all wanted to see what the so-called Trial Tower would actually look like.

However, when they actually stepped out of the portal, everyone was utterly shocked by what they saw and heard before them.

A colossal columnar tower, reaching high into the clouds, so huge that it couldn't be taken in with a single glance even from dozens of meters away, came into view.

How should one describe the visual style?

It gave people a very nauseating feeling, that's right, nauseating!

The surface seemed to be coated with a layer of melted asphalt used for paving roads, which then solidified during its slow flow.

If it were just like this, it wouldn't be enough to describe it as nauseating.

Rather, the solidified image was as if countless wronged souls, wanting to break free from their restraints, were trapped within after failing to challenge the Trial Tower.

This kind of art, for humans, should only exist in horror movies.

Now, however, it had genuinely appeared in the lives of the public.

No matter how battle-hardened or knowledgeable they were, Zhang Bo and Zhao Qian couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines.

The extent of their aversion to this mysterious, unknown tower was written all over their faces.

Every cell in their bodies was warning them not to enter the tower.

"How is it? Did the drones capture the specific height of this tower? What's hidden at the top?" Zhao Qian's first question after regaining his composure was directed at Secretary Yang.

Before Secretary Yang could fully recover from the shock, a military officer's voice reached their ears, "There's no way. As soon as the drones enter the space beyond the clouds and mist, they immediately lose control."

"It's the same for fighter jets and helicopters. We've already scrapped many aircraft because of this. Fortunately, there were no casualties."

Hearing the officer's words, Zhao Qian asked again, "What about satellites?"

"There's no way. This large area is covered by thick clouds and mist, which satellites cannot penetrate," the officer shook his head.

"It seems that there's a secret hidden within this tower that it doesn't want us to discover. To know this secret, we can only go to the top of the tower," Zhao Qian concluded.

As for this so-called secret, Chen Ming wasn't concerned.

He had tried opening a portal at the top of the tower, but just like the rules within mystic realms, a place that didn't originally exist on the map and hadn't been physically visited couldn't be opened.

Only after visiting it once could he open a portal whenever he wished.

More than the scenery at the top of the tower, Chen Ming was currently more interested in what the scene inside the tower would be like.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and suggest going ahead to explore the interior of the tower as a vanguard.

He noticed the deep worry on Zhao Qian's face.

So he said, "Don't worry, this tower is different from ordinary portal entrances. There's no time limit, and monsters won't escape from it."

"You can think of it as a permanent mystic realm entrance."

Chen Ming explained it in terms they could understand as much as possible.

"Permanent mystic realm entrance!" Zhao Qian understood, but he couldn't be sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for Great Xia and for the entire world.

"Yes, the mystic realm instances on each floor are different, either solo instances or team instances."

Chen Ming continued to share the information he learned through the Resource Map, "After entering the Trial Tower, Ten Thousand Realms Fishing will automatically unlock a Trial Tower icon, and more details can be obtained from there."

"Furthermore, after killing the monsters inside the Trial Tower, they will drop a material called blood core, from which a considerable amount of energy can be easily extracted and converted."

"The stronger the monster, the larger the blood core, and the more energy the blood core contains."

"Not only that, but blood cores can also be used to forge equipment. With Great Xia's existing SS-grade forging masters, it's not difficult to forge powerful weapons for ordinary people."

"Although mastering this kind of weapon cannot compare to Hunters with advanced skills, it can still meet the threshold for becoming a professional Hunter."

"The higher the forging technology and the stronger the blood core quality, the smaller the gap," Chen Ming added at the end.

"Is, is that so! That's great!" After hearing his words, Zhao Qian was now 100% certain that this Trial Tower was beneficial to Great Xia with no disadvantages, at least for the time being.

Because, even if they didn't explore the situation inside the tower, no uncontrollable disasters or consequences would occur.

"Secretary Yang, has there been any feedback from the Hunter Alliance? Are there any instances of the Trial Tower being fished up in other countries?" Zhao Qian asked.

Secretary Yang put down his phone and shook his head, "According to the information from the Alliance, the Trial Tower has only been found to be fished up in Great Xia so far."

"Very good! Organize professional Hunters as soon as possible to explore the Trial Tower and obtain blood cores!" Zhao Qian issued the order.

In his opinion, this was undoubtedly a huge opportunity for Great Xia.

As long as they seized this opportunity, the strength, global standing, and influence of the Star Alliance would surely see a qualitative improvement! A leap forward!