Capítulo 168: Two Young Stars
Yaan stood motionlessly on the 20th floor. After taking just three steps onto this floor, he completely lost consciousness, only the whites of his eyes could be seen, whilst his head slumped forwards slightly, as if he was about to fall.
But strangely enough, he did not fall, nor was he ejected from the tower.
Old Spear failed to reach the 20th floor, but he did quite well in reaching the 19th floor and progressing half-way up the following stairway. Truthfully, were it not for the other monsters present in this examination, Old Spear would have monopolised the spotlight for himself.
Unfortunately for Old Spear, there were multiple shocking characters in this decade's examination! This was no coincidence; news of the Immortal Ancestor sending his disciple to this examination had spread, and thus, many people decided to take advantage of the greater than usual turn out, entering the exam to bolster their reputations.
There was Hukon Foo, who reached the 20th floor.
Xuqi Laila, who, although lagging behind, had almost reached the 19th floor!
And Eccentric Granny, who remained on the 20th floor, watching Yaan with a curious expression.
But of course, Yaan had stolen most of the attention in this moment, after all, his present situation was quite baffling!
"Just what is going on?" After recovering, Hukon Foo stared into the tower with furrowed brows. He turned to the clan leader, but the older man just shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I also do not know, this is very strange, such a situation has not occurred before. Right, Brase, Keasal?"
Brase and Keasal both nodded, but they did not take their eyes away from Yaan. They did not understand how he was able to remain within the tower despite losing consciousness, but since the immortals hadn't intervened, it shouldn't be a fault with the tower itself.
This could only mean that right now, Yaan was achieving something exceptional!
However, as exceptional as this achievement may be, would it help him to ascend further, or was he simply delaying his inevitable ending?
Whilst the thousands of Foundation Step cultivators watched on with doubts in their minds, the immortals had become even more serious as they watched Yaan carefully.
"Pristine Qi, this disciple of yours…how old is he exactly?" The Hukon Clan Ancestor asked, despite already knowing the answer. He had roughly ascertained Yaan's age earlier with a simple glance, but he now felt that it was a bit too unbelievable. Honestly, it would actually be more believable if Pristine Qi had placed a method upon his disciple to make him appear younger than he actually was.
"He is less than 50 years of age." The Immortal Ancestor answered plainly.
Hearing him confirm this made the other immortals share a shocked glance. If they knew that Yaan was actually closer to 30 than 50, who knows what sort of expressions they would make.
'How could a child so young possess a dao heart so firm and ruthless? This simply goes against all common sense!' The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord thought to herself.
She did not say anything else though, as her attention was drawn towards Xuqi Laila. Xuqi Lila had made her way to the 19th floor and was now progressing towards the 20th floor.
The girl's expression was firm, the fire in her eyes unquenched. Despite the tremendous pressure she felt, she did not back down in the least. Even when a portion of this pressure began to break past the defences formed by her dao manipulation, she simply grit her teeth and pushed on through the difficulty.
Seeing this, the female immortal smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
'Laila is doing very well, her dao heart is extremely firm for her age, she does not lose out to others at the Origin Soul realm in the least. Combined with her exceptional talent towards perceiving dao, her ability to progress through the tower is phenomenal. I only hope that she does not become distracted by Pristine Qi's disciple…'
Finally, Xuqi Laila stepped foot on the 20th floor. Her breathing was heavy, she struggled to stand upright, but when she did manage to regather her bearings, her eyes widened and she stared forwards in shock.
A wave of aura swept past her, followed by another wave a few seconds later. Those outside of the tower could not feel this aura, so they only thought that Xuqi Laila was shocked by Yaan's appearance, but Hukon Foo understood her stunned reaction all too well.
"The aura of pain emanating from his body is enough to send chills through your very soul."
This was all Hukon Foo explained to the others, he refused to say any more than that, choosing to simply watch on quietly.
After some time, Xuqi Laila grit her teeth. It was difficult, but she forced herself to walk on, eventually passing by Yaan and making her way to the next stairway. Even though the pressure was increasing on this stairway, she instead felt somewhat relieved that she did not need to endure Yaan's aura any longer.
Briefly, Xuqi Laila glanced back. When she saw Yaan's pale face and dull eyes, her heart stirred.
For a moment, she felt as if she could see a horrendous anguish within those eyes, as if this person was torturing himself for some unknown reason.
The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord let out a breath of relief when she saw Xuqi Laila finally leaving Yaan behind.
"That girl is impressive." The Hukon Clan Ancestor nodded in appreciation. "As is that old woman…she is actually able to remain on the 20th floor without any noticeable struggle."
"Indeed. She is enduring both the tower's pressure and Yaan's aura at the same time." The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord agreed.
Her words, whilst talking about Eccentric Granny, hinted towards something else. She glanced at the Immortal Ancestor, but he did not comment on her further probing towards Yaan. Since the white haired immortal was clearly unwilling to explain why his disciple possessed the ability to produce such a dreadful aura, she didn't ask anymore, but became silent and opted to just watch, waiting to see if there were any changes to Yaan's current state.
The immortals understood why it was that Yaan could remain in the tower despite having passed out. Actually, it was quite simple; his heart was yet to give in! His mind was no longer conscious, he could no longer actively motivate himself to press on, yet even without this conscious reinforcement, his heart naturally fought on!
But this was very strange, as the painful aura released from his body clearly depicted his heart's pain, its agony towards the pressure it was being forced to endure…so why exactly did it continue to press on?
It almost seemed as if there was a contradiction within his heart, but this made no sense; Yaan's heart and his will were simply too firm for him to be a person with an uncertain heart! Contradictions within the heart manifested as extreme doubts and uncertainties called heart demons. Heart demons were feared by cultivators more than anything else, even immortals were no exception. In fact, at the Immortal Step, heart demons were one of the greatest tribulations one could face!
As time passed by and Yaan remained motionless, the discussions surrounding him began to die down. Everyone was curious, but when he remained in this state for over an hour, some attention was shifted towards Xuqi Laila. As for Eccentric Granny, the only other person still in the tower aside from these two, the crowd only looked at her oddly now and then. She stayed on the 20th floor, watching Yaan, with seemingly no intention of moving until Yaan's state changed.
Xuqi Laila was making her way up to the 23rd floor. Her performance shocked everyone present…even if she was a genius, wasn't this too extreme?
Progression through the Tower of Mortal Dao had nothing to do with cultivation level, it was also unaffected by Qi refining talent. Many people assumed that Xuqi Laila would not do well in this stage of the exam due to her young age. Even though she was a genius who reached the Early Origin Soul realm in less than 100 years of cultivation, how could her dao heart and her dao comprehension possibly compare to those old monsters with several hundreds of years of experience?
'Good, Laila…make your entry into the Southern Continent, show everyone your supreme talent!' The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord's gaze shone brightly, she smiled, showing no surprise as Laila continued to progress higher.
As an immortal, she had a much wider world view compared to those other cultivators. She knew that Laila was not merely a genius, she was an absolute genius, a prodigy of the highest order!
Truthfully, Laila didn't merely reach the Origin Soul realm in 'under 100 years', she achieved this realm in under 80 years. On top of that, this speed of progression was actually hindered by the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord's interference, as she had instructed Laila to cultivate an extremely difficult technique in order to develop a perfect foundation!
The female immortal knew that Xuqi Laila would not stop at the Southern Continent, this was merely the start of her journey…
Inside the tower, Xuqi Laila reached the 25th floor…
She had not once thought about the fact that others were watching her. She had never considered anyone around her to be her competition. She did not care about the reputation she would gain after this trial. She only cared about cultivating her dao heart, using the tower to further temper her spirit.
Ever since young, she had only ever cared about cultivation. She was diligent, focussing 100% of her time and energy into the pursuit of something greater. She did not care for fame, riches, or even relationships, she only wanted to take her cultivation to the next step. For this reason, she had often been called the 'perfect cultivator'.
For the very same reason, she was sometimes called a flawed human.
Memories of her life flashed through her mind as the pressure weighed down on Xuqi Laila's heart. Her defences were beginning to crumble, she was struggling to protect herself using her dao manipulation, portions of the pressure continued to slip through, causing her to slow down.
"Laila, why don't you play with us, don't you want to have fun?"
A young Laila stared at her 'peers', before turning away and leaving them with a callous denial.
"What is so fun about playing? I would rather cultivate, that is more fun than wasting time with you."
As Laila's talent began to be recognised by others in the sect, people started to flock towards her, trying to flatter her with praises and gifts.
"Laila, you are so incredible! To think you could reach the Qi Temple realm after cultivating for less than ten years!"
But Laila pushed everyone away without the slightest hint of compassion.
"You say that I'm incredible? Perhaps you are just too useless. Instead of bothering me, maybe you should go cultivate."
A few years later, Laila stared up at the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord with a burning gaze. Strangely, her gaze contained no respect, only desire, a shocking ambition that refused to be extinguished.
"Laila, this is the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord, why are you not kneeling?!" An elder yelled at her fearfully.
Laila did not even spare her elder a glance. With a snort, she replied:
"Why waste time with these pointless routines? Mortal, immortal, strong, weak…in the end, I will just cultivate."
Decades later, the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord examined her disciple with a satisfied expression. She was cultivating diligently as always, preparing for the Xuqi Sect entrance exam.
"Laila, you will soon make your entrance into the Southern Continent. This will be your rise to fame, not only the Southern Continent, but all of Planet Yushu will soon know your name."
Without opening her eyes, Xuqi Laila replied without a change to her expression.
"And just what is the point of this fame?"
"Fame can bring you reputation Laila, but more importantly, perhaps you will finally find some friends." The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord replied gently, a hint of pity visible in her eyes.
Laila opened her eyes and turned towards her teacher with an indifferent stare.
"Fame, riches, reputation, relationships…it is all so boring. I would rather just cultivate."
She reached the 26th floor after much difficulty.
Time dragged by, but Laila managed to drag herself up to the 27th floor.
As she approached the 28th floor, she dropped to her knees, striking a pitiful figure in the eyes of the masses. Laila could not care less about her appearance, she forced herself to look up, then reached out with one arm, pulling herself towards the staircase.
The crowd became silent as she literally crawled up the entire staircase, until she reached the 29th floor.
Laila's breathing was haggard, her eyes were red, her hair was becoming increasingly messy, but on her face, not a trace of shame or unwillingness could be seen. In a way, her ability to stay true to herself, not caring for how others looked at her, was quite incredible.
As the pressure in her heart built up to near intolerable levels, Laila paused, her head dropped down for a few seconds. Just as some people thought that she had reached her limit, she suddenly looked up and laughed, and under everyone's shocked gazes, she pulled herself to her feet.
"This pressure on the heart, this is why people give up? So strange, I don't understand at all…because this is…so much fun!"
The crowd's collective jaws dropped as Xuqi Laila casually fixed her hair, then began walking forwards once again.
The Hukon Clan Ancestor stared with wide eyes, hardly believing what he was seeing.
"This girl actually used the tower's pressure to reaffirm her own dao heart! She is…"
"She's a cultivating maniac." The Xuqi Sect Lord finished his sentence, smiling lightly as she watched Laila with an expectant gaze. "The pressure inflicted by the Tower of Mortal Dao onto the dao heart makes the individual feel the desire to give up by playing on their weakness, but this desire simply does not exist within Laila's heart. The only thing this girl cares about is cultivation, so why would she ever want to leave the tower, which is the ultimate tool for cultivating the dao heart? Now that she is not using so much effort to protect her heart from the pressure, she is actually suffering less compared to before."
Laila struggled to go on, but whenever she looked like she was about to break, she seemed to become filled with a new sense of understanding, driving her to go on.
The crowd erupted into excited chatter when Laila reached the 31st floor, this was equal to the previous record set in this Tower of Mortal Dao!
Because of the excitement surrounding Xuqi Laila's success, hardly anyone noticed Yaan's head slowly turning to look upwards.
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