Chapter Seventy-Eight: Successfully Accomplished (First Update)

"Come on, you can do it!" Luo Ling gazed at Ke Bei, whose face was solemn, clenched her small fists, and her eyes were filled with encouragement.

Ke Bei turned slightly, smiled at Luo Ling, then suddenly stepped forward and entered the golden pillar of light, which was more than ten meters in diameter.

"Hoo..."

Looking at the golden staircase rising straight up before him, Ke Bei’s heart pounded violently, his breath coming in short gasps. Nervousness and fear fermented within him, but after taking several deep breaths, he gradually calmed down. In the end, those inexplicable feelings of tension and dread were transformed into an unprecedented determination.

"I must succeed!"

"I have to!"

To Ke Bei, gaining the approval of the Tower of Ascension meant far more than most could imagine. He didn’t care about the benefits that recognition might bring; what mattered to him was the second stage of the Nine Suns Divine Art.

If it weren’t for this stage of the Nine Suns Divine Art, Ke Bei would never have gone to the Genius Training Camp in Jiujiang. Then he would never have encountered Black Qin, nor would Han Lingyue have been sealed away for ten years because of him.

Ke Bei had already paid a hefty price to obtain information about the Tower of Ascension. Now, having finally entered the tower, he was just one final step away from completing his task. If he were to fail now and not gain the tower’s approval, he knew he could never bear the result.

So he had to succeed—there was no alternative.

Ke Bei narrowed his eyes, held his breath, fixed his gaze firmly on the golden staircase, and carefully lifted his foot, stepping down with the utmost caution before resolutely raising it again.

One step, two steps, three steps!

Ke Bei ascended the golden stairs. Just as the burly man with the brutish face had said earlier, he didn’t notice anything unusual at all—it felt no different from climbing ordinary stone steps.

Yet, precisely because it was so ordinary, so unremarkable, Ke Bei grew even more tense. This sense of normalcy felt all wrong. He was certain there had to be some trick, but he couldn’t tell what it was. The eerie uncertainty made him more careful and cautious with every step he took.

Not daring to let down his guard for a moment, Ke Bei furrowed his brow, slowly lifted his foot, and then set it down with care.

Four steps, five steps, six steps!

When Ke Bei took the sixth step, he still felt nothing. He remembered that the man before him had suddenly fallen from the ninth step, so even though he felt nothing now, the approach of the ninth stair made him inexplicably nervous.

The seventh step, the eighth...

When he reached the eighth golden stair, Ke Bei stopped, staring at the ninth with an expression of utmost gravity.

Outside the golden pillar, Luo Ling’s heart was in her throat. Her clear eyes were fixed anxiously on Ke Bei. She didn’t care much whether he gained the tower’s approval—Luo Han had already told her that even if he succeeded, there wouldn’t be much benefit; the so-called recognition was just a pass to the platform on the third level.

But Luo Ling knew how much it meant to Ke Bei. If he failed, he would be devastated, and she didn’t want to see that. So she was tense as well, silently praying that Ke Bei would make it through.

"A grown man shouldn’t be so timid! Damn it all—let’s see what happens!"

The ninth step!

Bang! Ke Bei stamped down hard on the ninth golden stair, producing a crisp sound. Still, he felt nothing—no difference from the previous steps.

The tenth, the twelfth, the fifteenth...

Riding the surge of determination in his heart, Ke Bei strode up the golden stairs with reckless speed, sprinting upward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With a series of sharp footsteps, Ke Bei’s figure vanished from sight as he raced toward the top of the staircase.

"Yes! He made it!" Luo Ling clenched her little fists and jumped up excitedly, her cheeks flushed with delight. Seeing Ke Bei pass the test made her even happier than if she had succeeded herself.

"Who’s next?" As Ke Bei disappeared up the golden stairs, the others exchanged glances.

"I’ll go!" Just as Luo Ling was about to step forward, a thin man suddenly emerged and entered the golden pillar of light.

Luo Ling frowned slightly at the man, but then relaxed, thinking to herself that it didn’t matter if he went first—it wouldn’t waste much time anyway.

...

The moment Ke Bei set foot on the second level, a clear system notification sounded: "Congratulations, Host! You have gained the recognition of the Tower of Ascension and completed the second stage of the Nine Suns Divine Art. You have obtained the middle scroll of the Nine Suns Divine Art. Would you like to learn it now?"

"It’s done? That’s all there was to it?"

Hearing the notification, Ke Bei was momentarily stunned. This had been the task that took him the most time, but it turned out to be the simplest. He’d climbed the golden stairs without feeling a thing, and now he’d reached the second level—just like that, it was over! It felt almost dreamlike, unreal. In the past, every task had been a life-or-death struggle, but though this one took longer, it was almost absurdly smooth.

So smooth, in fact, that Ke Bei could hardly believe it—it was uncanny.

But Ke Bei couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. He’d completed his task, and wasn’t that a good thing?

"Learn!" Ke Bei drew a deep breath, his eyes blazing, and spoke in a low voice.

The Nine Suns Divine Art was an extremely advanced internal cultivation method. But inner force alone was just the foundation; without matching martial techniques, its astonishing power could never be fully realized. The foundation was essential—without it, even if Ke Bei acquired powerful martial arts in the future, he’d have no inner strength to wield them. Now that he possessed the Nine Suns Divine Art’s inner force, he had a solid base. As long as he drew a high-level martial skill in the next lottery, his formidable inner strength would unleash truly terrifying power!

Buzz—

A golden light suddenly enveloped Ke Bei, and in an instant, his mastery of the Nine Suns Divine Art soared to the sixth level!

He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the surging inner force in his dantian. At a thought, the energy burst forth like a raging river, its might nearly ten times greater than at the third level!

The sixth level of the Nine Suns Divine Art was ten times more powerful than the third!

Ke Bei’s eyes snapped open. His thick, invisible inner force erupted from his body, forming a formless barrier two feet thick all around him!

"Hahaha..."

Sensing the vast, powerful energy, Ke Bei burst out laughing.

"Black Qin, next time we meet, if I don’t beat you until you can’t even recognize your own grandfather, I’m not fit to bear the name Ke!"

P.S.: Brothers, the click rankings keep getting blown up! Is my luck really that bad? Come on, even if my luck is rotten, you all have to help me out! Throw me some recommendation votes—I can take it, really! Recommend, recommend, click, click. Oh, and thanks to reader 12101810181259 for the reward, and to Junjun for her support. This week’s tips have been a bit lackluster... If you can, support me—even a single coin helps. The more supporters, the better it feels, never mind the amount... O(∩_∩)O