The tower shifted its form again.
When Feng stepped onto Floor 11, the polished halls of the earlier stages fell away into raw stone and blackness. A cavern stretched before him—stalactites dripping faintly, pools of water gleaming with eerie blue light. The air smelled of damp iron, sharp and heavy. Shadows breathed against the walls, and with each echo of his steps, the vast underground system revealed its pulse.
He tightened the blindfold across his eyes and exhaled slowly. No senses but Ki. Trust the flow.
Floors 11–14: The Ambush Packs
The first shrieks came not from one throat, but five. From the crevices of the stone, creatures crawled—Cave Jackals, their bodies wiry, fur matted with minerals and glowing veins of Qi. Their eyes burned with pack-hunger, each movement jerky yet coordinated.
They moved like smoke in tight tunnels, darting in, retreating, circling. From above, Batlings swooped, their wings whispering like cloth tearing, trying to disorient him with sudden screeches.
Feng felt them before he heard them—Ki signatures tugging at his perception.
They're probing. Not rushing. They know they can starve me of openings.
A pit collapsed under his right foot—stone thin as glass. He twisted, using Wind Ki to lift himself mid-step, landing on the edge as two jackals lunged. Twin blades flashed in the dark.
The cavern rang with steel and Qi as he whispered, "First Dance—Leaf Splitter."
His slash split through the first jackal, the force trailing into the second, scattering mineral dust into the air.
By Floor 14, the packs had grown into Rock Serpents—snakes with scales hard as ore, eyes glowing ember-red. They struck from walls and ceilings, uncoiling with violent speed. Their bodies slammed into stone, shaking the cavern.
Feng's brow furrowed. Their coordination feels… wrong. It's not random. Almost… military.
A whip-crack tail struck, carving stone beside him. He countered with a spinning aerial slash, redirecting the serpent's momentum into the wall. Dust rained down, and for a flicker, he let a grin pass his lips. They may have instincts. But I have discipline.
Floor 15: The Dual-Element Ghouls
The cavern opened into a hollow chamber, pillars rising like broken teeth. From the shadows, three shapes limped forward.
Ghouls. But unlike the brittle, skeletal kind taught in training manuals, these were swollen with Qi. Flames flickered from cracks in their skin, while tendrils of darkness slithered from their fingers.
One gurgled, a sound halfway between laughter and weeping. Its flame hand lit the chamber, while the others circled in silence.
"They're… working together?" Feng muttered under his breath. He shifted his stance, blades loose in his grip.
The first hurled fire. The second lashed shadows to bind his legs. The third waited, claws poised to strike if he faltered.
Fire and Dark Qi? Combined in a pattern? They're not beasts—they're tacticians.
Wind surged around him. The cavern's dust lifted as he invoked Gale Style. Twin blades became arcs of stormlight, parrying fireballs and slicing shadows apart. He struck between flame bursts, his counters sharp, precise, merciless.
One ghoul shrieked as its head rolled across the stone. The other two rushed in rage, movements suddenly erratic.
Ah… there's the emotion.
His blades ended them in silence.
Floors 16–17: The Gauntlet
The tunnels narrowed, floors of sand shifting underfoot. Claws clicked beneath.
Burrower Scorpions burst from below, their bodies a fusion of slick chitin and stone. Earth Qi hardened their pincers while jets of water hissed from their tails, scalding steam rising where they struck.
He dodged sideways as one claw snapped where his chest had been. Earth for defense, Water for disruption. Designed to drag prey under.
Above, the screech of talons.
Storm Hawks swooped down, wings lit with lightning. Their eyes sparked as arcs leapt between feathers. Their dive-bombs sent surges of static crawling along the cavern walls.
Wind howled around Feng's steps as he parried in both directions—deflecting claws mid-air, then whirling to split a scorpion open before it retreated underground. The floor became a battlefield of shifting earth and shrieking skies.
Then came the Mirror Hawk.
Its feathers glowed silver, its eyes reflecting his every movement like water. When he lunged, it lunged. When he feinted, it mirrored. A perfect copy, feeding on his rhythm.
His jaw clenched. So it's me against myself.
He delayed his next strike half a heartbeat, breaking his own tempo. The Mirror Hawk mimicked too early—committing to an opening. Feng's delayed blade cut true, feathers scattering like snow.
For the first time, he let his chest rise heavy with breath. That one… almost fooled me.
Floor 18: The Quartz Colossi
The cavern ceiling rose high, glittering with embedded crystals. Two titans moved within—Quartz Colossi, each ten meters tall, bodies hewn from translucent stone. Frost clung to their joints, Earth–Ice Qi radiating with each thunderous step.
Their eyes pulsed white.
When their fists slammed the ground, the cavern shook.
Feng's thoughts sharpened. Ordinary cuts won't do it. They're walls given life.
He sprinted forward, blades glowing. The first Colossus raised a fist and brought it down. The shockwave fractured the floor, but Feng timed his Ki burst perfectly, launching himself with the tremor's lift.
He spun mid-air, blades crashing into the titan's core. Crystals cracked. A howl like grinding stone filled the cavern.
The second Colossus swung, nearly clipping him. Cold air whipped past his face, ice biting his skin even through his Ki.
He dropped into a slide, then thrust upward with all his force. Gale Style reinforced his strike, blades slicing through crystal like brittle glass. The titan collapsed, shards raining down.
As the dust settled, he whispered, "One more floor."
Floor 19: The Elemental Legion
The hall was vast, lit by veins of glowing ore. Ten figures stepped forward, each radiating power.
BBB Elites.
Flame Ogres with fire trailing their clubs.
Aqua Shades, their forms rippling water.
Stone Behemoths, hulking with mountain hides.
Tempest Raptors, feathers sparking as storms flickered along their wings.
Their roars blended into a storm of elements. Fireballs, tidal surges, wind blades, and stone spears filled the cavern.
Feng inhaled slowly. This is chaos. The kind that crushes armies.
Wind flared around him, a storm answering the storm. His parries stretched wider, each motion deflecting torrents into the ground, into walls, into other monsters. His blades cut while his feet never stopped moving—an endless dance.
Sparks and flames licked across his skin, but none struck true. When the last monster fell, silence rushed into the cavern like a tide.
He stood still, blades dripping with monster ichor, chest heaving once.
The audience watching in the tower's hall erupted.
"He's untouchable!""That's Gale Style—how? That's years ahead of schedule!""No one parries a Quartz Colossus, let alone… this."
On the balcony, Ava leaned in. "Lisa, are you seeing this? He's rewriting what's possible."
Lisa's gaze was steady, but her lips curved faintly. "He's not done yet."
Status Overlay – Floor 19 Clear
Feng Jian – Progress
Current Floor: 19 (Cleared)
Total ADP: 697 Points
Class: Arcane
Natural Ki: 140 (Overflow Abundant)
Wind Ki: Advanced King – 8★
Dark Element Ki: ???
Skills Active: Gale Style (Twin Blade), Wind Dance – Ch. 1–2 mastered
Performance: Flawless clears. Sub-two-minute average.
Academic Points & Rankings Snapshot
Individual Rankings
Feng Jian — 697 ADP (Solo)
Corner (Babaren Chief's Line) — 540 ADP
Loreto (Beastmistress, Southern Royal) — 505 ADP
Team Rankings
Maria's Elite (Maria, Rose, Frost Circle) — 781 ADP
Xing's Squad (Qing–Ming Alliance) — 648 ADP
Central's Team Red Lotus — 615 ADP
Maria's squad sat comfortably at the top, their coordinated storm of frost and fury unmatched in team battles. While Feng ruled the solo board, whispers rose in the spectator stands:
"Maria's team is unstoppable. Even Feng can't match them… yet.""But he's doing this alone. That gap might not hold for long."
As the echo of his final strike faded, Feng lifted his blindfolded face toward the sealed gate of Floor 20.
The carved runes glowed faintly green. Behind them lay the Talent Crusher—a sprawling swamp-forest a full kilometer wide, infamous for breaking even Central's prodigies. The fastest recorded clear by a first-year: thirty minutes.
He let a single thought drift. This… is where the true trial begins.
And he stepped forward.
✨ End of Chapter 13 ✨