Chapter 63 – Tower of Illusory Heavens, Fourth Level: The Battlefield

“?!?!”

Jing Yeming and the others failing the challenge initially left Mu Lin somewhat stunned, but upon careful thought, it wasn’t actually surprising.

The trial at Fu Ji Tavern was actually quite difficult.

The first key point was realizing that the people at Fu Ji Tavern were not their companions.

This alone could eliminate countless individuals, as the proprietor, accountant, and even the waiter of Fu Ji Tavern initially showed no flaws and were extremely respectful toward Mu Lin and his group.

Under such circumstances, it was difficult to recognize them as enemies at a glance.

Not to mention, in the first and second levels, the villagers, guards, and constables were all allies to Mu Lin and his group.

With this mindset, it was easy to mistakenly regard the tavern proprietor and his staff as allies, and once that happened, the trial was essentially over.

Even Mu Lin himself didn’t notice anything unusual about the tavern proprietor at first.

The reason he sent Paper Figures and substitutes into the fray wasn’t because he had discovered something.

Rather, having Paper Figures confront the enemy while he hid in the shadows to ambush them was the standard combat method of the Paper Crafting Lineage.

With this approach, the Paper Crafting Lineage could avoid countless dangers, and now it seemed this method worked exceptionally well.

Failing to detect the enemy was only the first difficulty.

The second was the sheer number of enemies.

The Tower of Illusory Heavens increased in difficulty level by level.

In the first level, Mu Lin and his group only had to face one enemy at the Spirit Awakening stage, with the help of a village’s guards.

In the second level, they were ambushed by two enemies at the Spirit Awakening stage, and this time, they only had two or three guards to assist them.

In the third level, not only did they have no allies and faced enemy ambushes, but the number of enemies also far exceeded their own.

Under such circumstances, without sufficient strength, it was truly difficult to break through.

What Mu Lin didn’t know was that if it had been a straightforward fight, the Fu Ji Proprietor they ultimately faced would not have been at the Spirit Awakening stage.

With the Anomaly·Pig-Headed Vendor, the Fu Ji Proprietor could sacrifice all of its subordinates, at which point it would gain the formidable strength of the Gushing Spring Realm in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, while it was cunning, Mu Lin was even more so.

With his lifelike and vivid Paper Figures, Mu Lin managed to ambush and eliminate all of its subordinates.

Even the Fu Ji Proprietor itself was sneak-attacked and struck with a blade before the battle began.

Faced with such a Mu Lin, the Fu Ji Proprietor could only fail.

As for Jing Yeming, although he possessed a First-Class Spirit Root, he didn’t have as many underhanded abilities as Mu Lin.

Moreover, coming from a humble background, the Cultivation Method he had might not even be as good as Mu Lin’s.

After all, Mu Lin had the Earth Grade High Rank Paper Crafting Scripture, while the foundational methods in the Dao Palace Library were, at best, only Earth Grade Low Rank.

With an inferior Cultivation Method and only a month of cultivation time, his failure… was actually quite normal.

…

After analyzing everything, Mu Lin felt that Jing Yeming’s failure was only natural.

But others didn’t know this, nor did they understand.

As a fellow Prodigy with a First-Class Spirit Root, Jing Yeming, along with several carefully selected teammates, failed to pass the third level of the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

In contrast, Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo, in their eyes, were a combination of a genius and a dog—yet such a team actually passed the third level, which many found hard to accept.

Even the teacher on the platform, Dongfang Ya, hadn’t expected this.

“They actually passed the third level…”

Though she had used Mu Lin as a benchmark and held high hopes for his diligent progress, her greatest expectation for him was merely to pass the second level and catch up to those with Second-Class Spirit Roots.

At present, most of those with second-tier talent were still struggling on the second level, yet Mu Lin had already cleared the third. This left her with mixed emotions.

The next moment, she saw that after passing the third level, Mu Lin did not stop there. After resting for a while, he proceeded toward the fourth level. This sight made her stand up involuntarily.

“Mu Lin… he wouldn’t actually clear the fourth level, would he?”

She was stunned, but the one with the most complicated feelings at the scene was undoubtedly Yan Yunyu.

After all, Mu Lin had originally been her teammate. It was she who had personally pushed him toward Chu Lingluo.

Now, no matter how arrogant Yan Yunyu might be deep down, she had to admit one thing—pushing Mu Lin toward Chu Lingluo was a misstep on her part, a grave mistake.

Regret clenched her teeth and paled her face, but it must be said that she was a resilient woman.

After realizing her mistake, she did not wallow in self-pity. Instead, she quickly composed herself and led her team toward the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

“Let’s go. We will definitely clear the fourth level!”

“I refuse to believe that you can pass the third level and still make it through the fourth.”

After resting for a long time, she was the first to lead her team into the tower. As for Ji Xue, whom she regarded as her target, had already entered half a day earlier.

As for Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo, after resting for a while, they also entered.

The reason their rest was so brief was partly due to Chu Lingluo. With her Storage Bracelet, she had prepared some Spiritual Meals in advance. After consuming these, Mu Lin’s stamina, Divine Soul, and Mana recovered rapidly.

With ample logistical support, their recovery was naturally swift.

“Let’s go, we’re entering too.”

With those words, Mu Lin led Chu Lingluo into the Tower of Illusory Heavens for the fourth time.

As Ji Xue, Yan Yunyu, and Mu Lin’s group all entered the fourth level of the Tower of Illusory Heavens, the outside fell silent.

However, this silence did not last long.

Soon, discussions broke out.

“Hey, who do you think will clear the fourth level this time and become the top in the Formal Class?”

“I’m betting on Ji Xue. Awakening her Spirit in half a day and reaching the peak in a month—her talent is the strongest in our batch.”

“Ji Xue is indeed strong, but she’s alone. I’m more optimistic about Yan Yunyu’s team. She spares no expense on Spirit Stones, and everyone in her team is formidable.”

“Ji Xue is more impressive. Sheep flock together, but beasts walk alone.”

“Haven’t you heard? A single person’s strength is weak, but the power of many is great.”

Everyone was debating who would clear the fourth level of the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

However, during the discussion, they unconsciously avoided mentioning Mu Lin’s name.

These people had been mocked enough. After clearing the second level, Mu Lin had rubbed their faces in it. They could hardly imagine what kind of smug expression he would wear if he cleared the fourth level.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they wished for Mu Lin to fail, the cheers from the outside had no effect on him or his team.

…

Just like before, as a flash of white light enveloped him, Mu Lin instantly lost consciousness.

When he regained his senses, he found himself already inside the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

However, unlike before, this time, Mu Lin did not appear in the wilderness or on a village path, but directly found himself on a battlefield.

“Kill!”

Led by Qi Refiners, nearly a hundred human soldiers formed battle formations, engaging in a fierce and bloody struggle against several demonic monsters and dozens of ferocious beasts and ghosts.

‘Is the fourth level of the Tower of Illusory Heavens testing how we survive on a battlefield?’

(End of Chapter)