“Whew!”

Xiao Zuiji took a breath and stood up to follow.

Whoosh whoosh—

The two had just ascended when a terrifying soul power surged toward them like a tsunami, instantly invading their consciousness!

Training Tower fifth floor, soul tempering!

Physical tempering was still within bearable limits, but the torment coming from deep within the soul truly couldn’t be described in words!

After just a few minutes, Xiao Zuiji’s face contorted again, and that soul-based torture made him feel as if he’d been thrown into the eighteenth level of hell!

Can’t be a coward!

Can’t give up!

Relying on astonishing willpower, Xiao Zuiji endured with bitter determination.

In contrast, Ye Xingchen remained calm and composed, seemingly able to ignore the erosion of soul power.

Reborn in the body of a woodcutting youth, his physical body and meridians were extremely weak, but his greatest strength was possessing an extraordinarily powerful soul.

Even after being tormented in the Earth’s Core for thousands of years, his soul was beyond what ordinary people could compare to.

Especially as his comprehension of the Primordial Profound Scripture grew deeper, his soul continued to be repaired and strengthened.

Each floor of the Training Tower had rankings.

On the first few floors, Night Emperor had never occupied an advantage, but the fifth floor was absolutely tailor-made for him!

However.

The record holder wasn’t Night Emperor, but—He Wudi!

As a powerhouse who descended from the Upper Realm, although both his cultivation and soul had regressed together, even if only one-tenth remained, it was still incomparable to ordinary Martial Emperors of the mortal world!

Therefore.

Night Proud was destined never to become the record holder of any floor in the Training Tower.

Someone might ask, what about the earlier floors? After all, cultivating the Primordial Profound Scripture should give him a lead over other disciples, right?

If it were before, perhaps he could have done it.

But after the Five Elements Heaven-Discerning Formula was fully disseminated throughout the sect, Emperor Night’s lead over the other disciples was greatly reduced.

Moreover, the Primordial Profound Scripture had reached a bottleneck period, unable to achieve further advancement.

At this moment, Night Emperor could only focus on cultivating the Five Elements Heaven-Discerning Formula, temporarily setting aside the divine-grade mental cultivation method.

……

An hour later.

Unable to endure the soul torment any longer, Xiao Zuiji crawled down on all fours.

Fortunately, he had smoothly met the passing requirements and wasn’t teleported out to suffer the side effects of failure.

Ye Xingchen was still holding on.

Another hour passed, and his expression changed, his brow gradually furrowing.

“Thud!”

After enduring for three full hours, Ye Xingchen finally couldn’t hold on and collapsed on the ground.

The two left the Training Tower exhausted. After a night’s rest, they became lively and energetic again, especially in terms of physical body and soul—both showed very obvious improvements.

Not many disciples in the sect could enter the fourth and fifth floors. For instance, Su Xiaomo and Li Fei were still rotating through the first three floors.

The two mainly focused on movement techniques.

Unless they tempered their physical bodies to a certain degree on the first floor, they could barely manage the fourth floor.

Of course.

Li Qingyang could also pass the trials of the fourth and fifth floors.

However, he pursued balanced development, so once he tempered himself to a certain degree, he didn’t excessively torture himself.

Long Ziyang, Song Xuanzhou, and other inner disciples, though temporarily unable to enter, would definitely challenge the fourth and fifth floors once they adapted sufficiently.

These details won’t be elaborated on.

In any case, some plot points not written out doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, like the disciples’ training in the Training Tower.

Had Jun Changxiao been to the fourth and fifth floors?

The answer was yes. Because his realm was stuck at peak King-level, he only experienced it briefly before focusing his attention on developing the sect.

Walking a different path from other protagonists, he naturally wouldn’t waste too much ink on cultivation.

……

The Icy Plains.

Still the only inn within hundreds of miles, Lu Qianqian entered again.

“A meal, whatever you have.”

Before the waiter could come over to serve her, she spoke first in a flat tone.

“Right away, miss, please wait a moment.”

The customers in the dining hall weren’t the same batch from years ago. After a brief silence, they began boasting and chatting again.

The topic of discussion was naturally the matter of Eternal Sect challenging Lily Saint Sect.

“Still four months to go.”

Lu Qianqian said, “I should be able to make it in time.”

After eating a few bites of food, she put down a few taels of silver and left the inn.

After she departed, the cold aura that had permeated the dining hall gradually dissipated, allowing the martial artists to drink and chat more freely.

……

Extreme Cold Palace.

The crater from the explosion had been filled in, and a new mountain gate had been built, though it lacked that weathered sense of deep heritage.

“The… the Ice Emperor’s Token…”

The Extreme Cold Palace Master’s legs went soft, nearly kneeling.

Lu Qianqian stood before him, displaying the token, her words ice-cold: “Your sect’s Grand Elder went to my Eternal Sect to cause trouble. How should we settle this account?”

The Extreme Cold Palace Master nearly cried.

The Grand Elder did go, but now he’s still detained at Eternal Sect and hasn’t returned—who can I complain to about this grievance!

“Miss.”

He said submissively, “Whatever you say is how we’ll settle it!”

“One hundred thousand spirit stones,” Lu Qianqian said.

As she spoke, a sea-blue cold aura emanated from her body, causing the Extreme Cold Palace Master’s expression to change drastically!

The Ice Emperor from ten thousand years ago controlled Sea Spirit Ice Qi, capable of directly freezing thousands of miles. This woman now displayed similar attributes, indicating she had inherited the legacy!

“Agreed! Agreed!” the Extreme Cold Palace Master said hastily.

Although the weather was extremely cold, sweat couldn’t stop pouring from his forehead.

Of course, he was also cursing the eight sect masters in his heart. If these bastards hadn’t deliberately concealed information, how would he have rashly asked the Grand Elder to come out of seclusion!

After obtaining one hundred thousand spirit stones, Lu Qianqian raised her hand.

Caw—

From a distant mountain peak, a snow-white crane-like bird flew over.

This beast wasn’t particularly large, with light shining from its head, giving off a very sacred feeling.

The Extreme Cold Palace Master exclaimed in shock, “Ice Radiance Immortal Crane!”

The crane slowly descended onto the training ground. Lu Qianqian leaped lightly onto its back and said, “Soon, bring your sect’s disciples to Lily Saint Sect.”

“Yes, yes!” the Extreme Cold Palace Master said hastily.

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

The Ice Radiance Immortal Crane flapped its wings and flew toward the sky.

“Thud!”

The Extreme Cold Palace Master collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily with great relief.

……

Profound Spirit Sect.

Lu Qianqian descended gracefully onto the training ground.

The sect’s high-ranking members emerged from the great hall, hurrying to pay their respects.

Especially sensing that the cold aura emanating from this woman was even stronger than their first meeting, the Profound Spirit Sect Master immediately guessed she must have gained deeper comprehension of the Ice Emperor’s legacy!

“Bring me two hundred thousand spirit stones,” Lu Qianqian said.

This approach of not following procedures or asking for reasons, just directly demanding spirit stones from people—even the shameless Jun Changxiao might not be able to do it!

Give! Give!

The Profound Spirit Sect Master hastily handed over the spatial ring containing the spirit stones.

Before leaving, Lu Qianqian said, “Soon, bring your sect’s disciples to Lily Saint Sect.”

“Understood, understood!” the Profound Spirit Sect Master said tremblingly.

Next, Lu Qianqian successively visited the other seven sects that had appeared at Extreme Cold Palace, simply and directly demanding spirit stones and instructing them to go to Lily Saint Sect.

“Why do we need to go to Eastern Hao Province?”

“Didn’t news spread that Eternal Sect is going to challenge Lily Saint Sect? In my view, she wants us to go cheer for Eternal Sect!”

“A fifth-rate challenging a second-rate is pure fantasy. Even if we go to cheer, it won’t help much.”

Several sect masters sat together discussing. Although they didn’t favor Eternal Sect’s chances, since the Ice Emperor’s successor had spoken, they could only begin discussing when to depart for Eastern Hao Province.

……

“Big Senior Sister is back!”

“Big Senior Sister is back!”

Su Xiaomo’s shout instantly shattered the peace of Eternal Sect.

Jun Changxiao emerged from the great hall and looked up at the sky, seeing a white crane flapping its wings descending slowly.

“Whoosh!”

Lu Qianqian jumped down, cupping her fists: “Disciple Lu Qianqian returns from training.”

Sect disciples crowded around, welcoming the long-absent Big Senior Sister with brilliant smiles.

“Big Senior Sister!”

Liu Wanshi’s eyes turned red.

Chu Xiunan, Huo Ling, and others stared wide-eyed.

They’d heard of Lu Qianqian, but never imagined that Big Senior Sister was so devastatingly beautiful!

“It’s good that you’re back.”

Jun Changxiao said, “It’s good that you’re back.”

—