Upon reaching the second floor, two monsters appeared: a level 31 Dragonfang Soldier and a Crawling Zombie.
To put it simply, once the Crawling Zombie’s level increases, it gains a small skill—it can spit poisonous projectiles.
Like spitting phlegm, it would shoot out a clump of thick, green, foul-smelling venom from its mouth.
The range wasn’t far, and the damage wasn’t impressive—it was mainly just disgusting.
So Bai Qiu prioritized killing that monster first, leaving the Dragonfang Soldier alive.
He then took out the Mountain and River Map Fragment to examine its function.
The moment he unfolded the fragment, the map lit up instantly.
A virtual topographic image appeared on it.
Looking down at it, Bai Qiu found himself unsure how to use this map.
Only after activating his Sevenfold Arcane Crystallization Eyes did he realize that the uneven terrain depicted endless mountains, plains, rivers, and landforms.
And this entire topographic image was actually a simplified map of one-ninth of the world.
Having solved one question, another arose—how exactly was this map supposed to be used?
As Bai Qiu paced back and forth, the Dragonfang Soldier’s fireball struck him, but it had no effect whatsoever.
Seeing that he was being ignored, the Dragonfang Soldier lunged forward with a thrust.
With a loud bang, it collided with Bai Qiu—but he didn’t move an inch.
Instead, the creature itself staggered back, seeing stars…
“Got it!” Bai Qiu’s eyes lit up. “Mountain and River Map, locate the position of Safe Zone 2233.”
He wasn’t sure whether his position inside the Tower of Heaven could be located, but a large coordinate like a safe zone should definitely be traceable.
A beam of light descended onto a location at the corner of the map.
The highlighted area rapidly zoomed in, and soon, the image of a Sanctuary barrier filled the entire fragment.
He could freely zoom in or out and adjust the viewing angle at will.
At the same time, a line of data appeared at the edge of the map:
Elemental Presence: Mixed
Elemental Intensity: Weak
Natural Treasures: None
“I see…” Bai Qiu suddenly understood.
With a thought, he shifted the map’s perspective to 200 meters in the air, looking down over the safe zone below, then slowly moved the view…
From the semi-transparent 3D model, it was clear that in just over half a month, most of the skyscrapers had already been destroyed.
On one hand, they had been worn down and collapsed during prolonged battles.
On the other, some were destroyed when the previous wave portals opened.
And recently, with tectonic shifts, the entire Earth seemed to be expanding from the inside outward…
From the ruins of buildings, entrances to secret realms would occasionally appear.
As for how those buildings turned into rubble—there was no need to elaborate.
At the same time, as the viewed area changed, the data beside the map continued to update.
However, no natural treasures or feng shui lands had been found yet…
After confirming the map’s function, Bai Qiu felt it was about time.
He prepared to kill the Dragonfang Soldier and proceed to the third floor.
But just as he raised his hand to strike it down, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.
After clearing a floor, all attributes and skills with cooldowns under 24 hours are refreshed… does that include Noble Phantasms as well?
Could he use this place to grind skill proficiency?
Bai Qiu wondered.
His Noble Phantasm was indeed stronger than many players’ Noble Phantasms—but its consumption was also extremely high, making it impossible to use freely.
So even though it only required about fifty uses to upgrade its rank through proficiency, he was still more than a dozen uses short.
There was no helping it—once he used a Noble Phantasm, encountering trouble during exploration would become dangerous.
Even before being betrayed, Bai Qiu wouldn’t casually use such abilities, saving them for emergencies.
To test his theory, Bai Qiu casually took out a spear from his storage card, retreated to the edge of the arena, and began preparing to unleash his Noble Phantasm.
As for why he backed away—it was because he feared that if he released his mana too close, he might accidentally kill the monster outright from the shockwave… which would be awkward.
[Noble Phantasm — Spear of Converging Mana Thrust]
Bai Qiu’s spear, wrapped in a violent gale, pierced toward the bewildered Dragonfang Soldier.
Before the spear tip even reached it, the creature was torn apart by the overwhelming surge of mana, turning into white light…
Spear of Converging Mana Thrust Proficiency +5000!
It actually worked?!
Bai Qiu was both shocked and delighted.
His nearly depleted mana was instantly restored, and the cooldown of his Noble Phantasm had been reset!
This meant that he could truly spam his Noble Phantasm inside the Tower of Heaven to increase skill proficiency and enhance its power!
After clearing the second floor, three reward options appeared beneath the passage leading upward: Experience, Sanctum Coins, and a Random Item.
After hesitating for a moment, Bai Qiu chose the random item.
The reason was simple—Sanctum Coins and experience were not worth it!
When he cleared the first floor, he had taken a glance and found that he only received 100 Sanctum Coins.
For someone like him, whose wealth had already reached tens of millions after selling large quantities of spirit potions, this reward was ridiculously stingy.
Moreover, with achievements like “Father of Exploration” and “King of Monster Grinding,” he could easily farm far more experience and coins elsewhere.
So, he decided to take a gamble—something he would never have dared to do before.
Fortunately, with the Blessing of the Stars, his Luck had reached E.
Obtained: Marble Bricks ×20
Bai Qiu: …
Too realistic…
Meanwhile, outside the Tower of Heaven, the bustling crowd stared at the display showing the current floor progress, their faces full of black lines.
Those who had originally prepared to enter the tower stopped in their tracks upon hearing that Bai Qiu had just gone in, choosing instead to stay and watch…
At first glance, nothing seemed wrong.
But after ten minutes passed and Bai Qiu had only reached the third floor, they all asked the same soul-searching question:
“Was the person who just went in really Boss Bai Qiu?”
“Uh…” Even those being asked fell silent.
They were certain it was Bai Qiu—but this snail-like climbing speed was completely shattering their expectations.
Something wasn’t right.
Although the Tower of Heaven scaled monsters to the player’s level, the early floors only featured basic enemies like Dragonfang Soldiers—not even elite-tier monsters!
What exactly was Bai Qiu doing in there?
This question filled everyone’s minds.
“Hey! It moved!” someone suddenly shouted.
Everyone looked toward the screen and saw the floor indicator jump from the third floor to the fourth.
From the third to the fourth floor—it took less than twenty seconds.
The crowd was overjoyed.
Was Boss Bai Qiu finally getting serious?
“4 → 5!”
Soon after, another twenty seconds passed—Bai Qiu had reached the fifth floor.
….
Every five floors in the Tower of Heaven grants a promotion reward.
Bai Qiu’s eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the reward options.
There were three choices: Blueprints, Equipment, and Materials.
As for what to pick, Bai Qiu didn’t hesitate—he chose Blueprints.
“Ding! Obtained: Fine Ceramic Coffin Blueprint!”
Fine Ceramic Coffin Blueprint (E-grade)
Description: Beautiful yet fragile, evoking a sense of sorrowful elegance and the fragility of life.
“Are you f***ing kidding me?!”
Even Bai Qiu couldn’t hold back his curse.
He tore the blueprint to pieces and stepped straight onto the stairs, heading to the sixth floor…
“Ding! Learning successful. Fine Ceramic Coffin crafting method has been recorded. You can view the details in your personal panel by calling up ‘Blueprint.’”
“Damn system, what the hell!”
….
“Boss is a boss indeed! The average time per floor is around twenty seconds—fastest was 19 seconds, slowest 22 seconds!” a player exclaimed while watching the numbers update at regular intervals.
“Damn, you actually timed it?”
“So… does anyone know why Boss Bai Qiu stayed so long on the first and second floors?”
…
“Even this late at night, are the people in Zone 2233 this fired up?” Zhao Daqiang couldn’t help but marvel at the bustling crowd behind the Black Tower.
“Our zone…” Ning Xingxue fell silent.
In their safe zone, most people were already resting.
Ever since the catastrophe descended, most players had adopted an old-fashioned routine.
Hunt monsters at sunrise, rest at sunset.
Grind during the day, go to sleep early at night.
So in Zone 2243, nighttime was often filled with the sound of frogs—and snoring as loud as tractors…
“That’s probably why the average level and overall strength of Zone 2233 ranks among the top,” Huang Qi said calmly.
His flashy appearance drew a lot of attention—walking in the night, he looked like a human lightbulb.
Zhao Daqiang and Ning Xingxue quietly stepped a bit farther away from him.
“Quick, quick! Boss Bai Qiu is climbing the tower—let’s go see if he can break the record and dominate five leaderboards!” a player shouted as he ran past them, quickly heading toward the Tower of Heaven.
The three exchanged glances and hurried after him.
They had come to find Bai Qiu anyway, and just happened to hear he was climbing the tower—perfect timing. They also wanted to see how far he could go.
Fifty floors? Or even higher? What kind of rewards would he get?
With those questions in mind, Ning Xingxue and the others squeezed to the front and looked at the tower’s record board—just in time to see it jump from Floor 28 to Floor 29.
He instantly became second place in Zone 2233—and was still climbing.
There was no need to guess who it was.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Over twenty consecutive floors, each cleared in about twenty seconds—no one else could match that!
…
The three exchanged looks again.
Ning Xingxue turned to Huang Qi and asked, “How many floors did you reach this time?”
She and Zhao Daqiang weren’t strong in solo fights—one got stuck at Floor 28, the other at Floor 29, both killed and kicked out.
So they knew exactly how absurdly strong the monsters became as the floors increased.
Huang Qi shook his head and said calmly, “Floor 37. When I reached Floor 38, there were just too many of them—I couldn’t handle it. But if I fought them again now, I’d definitely win.”
“Just wait until next week,” Ning Xingxue rolled her eyes and said.
To be honest, they all somewhat regretted rushing into the Tower of Heaven challenge.
— The end of the Chapter–
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