Chapter 37: The Awe-Inspiring Cultivation Tower-Família de mártires leais teve seus bens confiscados; tornei-me imortal terreno(Imortal Questionador do Mundo)

When Chu Tianchen arrived at the Scripture Pavilion of the Outer Court, he saw a familiar figure already waiting for him; it was Li Haizhu.

"Sorry, Instructor Li, I'm late," Chu Tianchen said with a smile.

"Brother Tianchen, it's just the two of us, no need for such formalities. I'm a few years older than you, just call me Brother Zhuzi," Li Haizhu replied.

"Instructor Li, you might not know me that well yet. Allow me to introduce myself first," Chu Tianchen said.

With that, he revealed his true identity. Although the Human Emperor had spared his life, his family, the Chu family, had indeed been raided, and major factions were now distancing themselves from him as much as possible. He did not want to cause any unnecessary trouble for anyone due to his status. Of course, if the other party was still willing to be friends after knowing who he was, that would be another matter.

"Brother Tianchen, your identity and situation are of no concern to me," Li Haizhu said with a smile. "I only judge people by who they are. If I feel someone is a good person worth befriending, that is enough. Or, even if someone were a wicked scoundrel, as long as they are sincere to me, they are my friend."

Hearing this, Chu Tianchen nodded.

"Brother Zhuzi," Chu Tianchen said.

"Come on, I'll take you to the underground training chambers," Li Haizhu continued.

"Underground training chambers? As far as I know, the Yunhai Academy's Outer Court doesn't have separate training rooms," Chu Tianchen asked.

"The Outer Court doesn't, but the Inner Court does," Li Haizhu chuckled, leading Chu Tianchen toward the Inner Court.

It was said that the underground training chambers of the Yunhai Academy's Inner Court were the most luxurious among the eight major academies. Before long, the two arrived at the gate of the Inner Court. Li Haizhu whispered a few words to the guard at the entrance, who was at the seventh level of the Tongyuan Realm, and then took two thousand low-grade origin stones from his storage ring and handed them over. He then beckoned for Chu Tianchen to follow him into the Inner Court.

In truth, Chu Tianchen felt a bit uneasy. After all, this was his first day as a formal student at the Yunhai Academy; if he were caught, he would surely be expelled.

His grandmother had sent him to Yunhai Academy to secure a chance to enter the Yunhai Secret Realm; there must be a reason for it, and he had to get in no matter what. Besides, entering the Inner Court was only a matter of time. He had less than a year before he turned twenty. With the inheritance of the Eternal Dragon Emperor, his mastery of the Six Paths, the "Nine Dragons Heaven-Swallowing Art," and his terrifying, twice-reborn martial body, if he couldn't advance from the second level of the Tongmai Realm to the third level of the Tongyuan Realm within a year, he might as well go back to being a fool. He didn't want to be expelled for such a minor error.

Noticing Chu Tianchen's hesitation, Li Haizhu smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Brother Tianchen, don't be nervous. I'm just taking you to test your talent."

Chu Tianchen nodded and followed.

In the dead of night, the ancient paths of the Inner Court were sparsely populated. After about two hours of travel, Li Haizhu led Chu Tianchen to the hills behind the Inner Court. By the moonlight, Chu Tianchen was slightly shocked by the sight before him. Mountains stretched endlessly; he had heard that the academy was built around a mountain range, but the Inner Court and Outer Court were truly two different worlds.

The name "Yunhai" (Sea of Clouds) likely came from this place. The mountains towered into the clouds, forming vast, spectacular seas of clouds at their peaks. The Training Tower stood atop the mountains like a bridge connecting heaven and earth. Crafted from blue gold, the tower emitted a faint azure glow, shimmering brilliantly under the moonlight as if it held infinite origin energy. It was carved with ancient runes and patterns that remained clear even after a millennium, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

Just standing before the tower, Chu Tianchen felt his blood surging, a sudden impulse to rush inside. The runes on the tower also piqued his curiosity. The Dragon Emperor's inheritance included the way of runes, which he had yet to study in detail, but he could sense a mysterious power emanating from the patterns on the tower. He would have to study them slowly once he unlocked that path.

The Training Tower had nineteen levels above ground, but this was only the surface; it also had nineteen corresponding underground levels. Li Haizhu gave him another lesson, proving through action that in this world, origin stones could solve many problems, and if they couldn't, it meant you didn't have enough of them. Chu Tianchen clearly saw Li Haizhu slip thirty thousand low-grade origin stones to the youth guarding the tower. For a warrior at the Tongyuan Realm like Li Haizhu, thirty thousand stones were enough to advance him from the sixth to the seventh level. On this continent, many warriors had great talent but failed to achieve much because of a lack of cultivation resources. After all, not everyone was an alchemist, a blacksmith, or backed by a powerful family.

If Chu Tianchen hadn't gained knowledge of alchemy through the Dragon Emperor's inheritance, his talent would have been useless without the necessary supplies. Especially given that every time his body underwent a rebirth, it consumed a million low-grade origin stones—without massive resources, he wouldn't know when he would manage to open his nine pulse wheels.

Li Haizhu had spent thirty thousand stones just to buy Chu Tianchen a spot in the tower.

"How is this guy only at the second level of the Tongmai Realm? If he dies inside and it's discovered, you'll bear all the responsibility," the guard, who was at the ninth level of the Tongyuan Realm, said with a frown.

"I'll take responsibility, I'll take it," Li Haizhu quickly replied.

Hearing their conversation, Chu Tianchen was left speechless. It seemed there was actual life-threatening danger inside the tower. But since he was already here, and his blood was boiling, backing down now wasn't his style. Li Haizhu gave him a black cloth to cover his face, and they entered the tower. As an Outer Court disciple, he wasn't allowed here; if caught, the lightest punishment was expulsion, while the worst could be being crippled, cast out, or even executed.

Upon entering, a surge of rich origin energy rushed toward them, instantly refreshing their spirits. They arrived in the hall, which was relatively empty at this hour. The hall was vast, and above it lay the nineteen levels, each containing individual training rooms equipped with "Qi-Gathering Arrays." These arrays not only gathered the natural energy from the surroundings but also refined the energy from one's own origin stones, allowing practitioners to achieve twice the results with half the effort.

There were two thousand training rooms on the first level alone, a testament to the tower's sheer scale. As one went higher, the number of rooms decreased, but the density of origin energy increased drastically. It was said that the nineteenth level had only thirty-six rooms, where the energy was so concentrated it became liquid—a truly staggering thought. However, not everyone had the qualification or the ability to reach it.

Seeing Chu Tianchen staring upward with a look of astonishment, Li Haizhu smiled. "You will have a place up there sooner or later. But our target for today isn't up, it's down. Follow me."