Gaming the Floors

Standing before the Baidao Pavilion, Su Yu examined the lists of names for a moment. Soon, he asked, "I can bring my tamed beasts inside, right?" "Yes, but you have to keep them inside a mount space. Only then does the pavilion recognize them as your contracted beasts," Zhu Hongliang replied. Su Yu nodded slightly. That made sense. If beast tamers were forbidden from bringing their beasts, their combat strength would plummet, which went against the pavilion's principle that all hundred paths and crafts could be cultivated. He possessed a beast-taming divine character—the "Beast" character. However, it was still only first rank, incapable of holding a Tengkong Realm demon beast. Su Yu had merely been asking out of curiosity; it did not matter much. He planned to bring the little fur ball inside. As for that little fellow... it could be kept directly inside his sea of will. It did not count as a contracted beast; it could even pass for a divine character. Kept inside his sea of will, Su Yu had nothing to fear from it. The little creature could not stir up any trouble. If it misbehaved in the slightest, the golden album could swat it flying in an instant. Taking a light breath, Su Yu said no more and walked toward the entrance. Zhu Hongliang hurried after him, asking inquisitively, "How many floors do you think you can clear? Also, if your floor count isn't very high, there are too many challengers, so the monument only shows up to one hundred names. You'd better clear them fast. The rankings are based on completion time. If you take too long, your name might not show up even if you clear the floor." Su Yu smiled, not caring in the least. At his current stage, he had no need to show off through such rankings. Behind them, Wu Lan was eager to try her luck as well. She planned to take on the trial today to see how many floors she could reach. Any Civilization Master arriving at the Great Ming Prefecture would naturally take a keen interest in the Baidao Pavilion. At the entrance, an elderly teacher whose teeth had nearly all fallen out was guarding the gate. Seeing Su Yu and Wu Lan, he yawned and said, "Head inside on your own. Leave your names upon entering so the Baidao Pavilion can remember your auras. As for how many floors you conquer, the pavilion will record it automatically." With that, he glanced at Su Yu. "Don't rush through the floors just for the sake of clearing them. That's meaningless. The Baidao Pavilion isn't simply a trial pagoda. Go experience for yourself what you can truly gain from it." "Thank you, Elder!" The old man waved dismissively, glanced between Wu Lan and Su Yu, and added, "Once inside, the Baidao Pavilion will evaluate you and assign you to different spaces. Along the way, if you make any adjustments... for instance, if it detects you as a divine character practitioner at first, you'll enter divine character trials; if it detects beast taming, you'll enter beast-taming trials. As you advance, the pavilion will adjust and select the space best suited to you." Su Yu was surprised. It was that advanced? Was this the power of a Heaven-rank cultural weapon? It felt remarkably intelligent! "Does it cost money?" Wu Lan asked. The old man curled his lip. "Academy students enter for free. Outsiders have to pay! Academy members get three free challenges each month. If you want more entries, you pay up. After all, maintaining the Baidao Pavilion consumes vast resources." Three free entries was already generous. In a month's time, some people might not even use all three. Truly wealthy and imposing! Su Yu sighed in admiration, presented his identity card, and stepped into the entrance without another word. The old man glanced at the name on the card, not particularly moved. He knew who Su Yu was, but what of it? Before the gates of this Baidao Pavilion, he had witnessed far too much. The Fifth Generation Head had come; Zhou Polong and his peers had come; emissaries from the Quest Realm had come; the Lan Tian of the past had come... Some were alive, some were dead, yet he remained the gatekeeper of the Baidao Pavilion. Generation after generation! No matter how monstrously talented Su Yu was today, so what? Reach the hundredth floor first, then talk! As soon as Su Yu went in, Wu Lan followed close behind. Zhu Hongliang scurried over to the old man, grinning widely. "Old Man Yun, how many floors do you think Su Yu can clear?" "Around forty, probably," the old man replied with a yawn. "This place primarily tests divine characters. Naturally, having a powerful physical body offers an advantage, but innate blood essence cannot be used here. Without that, he's still a top-tier genius, so the fortieth floor will be difficult... though not completely out of reach." "Floor forty... you'd have to be a Tengkong Realm monster capable of fighting Lingyun experts to reach that, right?" "More or less," the old man answered casually with a chuckle. "What, does Your Highness want to try Floor Twenty again?" "Count me out. I can't handle those berserk Tengkong demon beasts yet." Zhu Hongliang shook his head, lacking any interest in testing himself right now. Peering toward the pavilion entrance, he laughed. "I'm going to find some guys to take bets on how many floors Su Yu can reach. The loser runs naked! Old Man Yun, think I'll win?" Old Man Yun sighed helplessly. "Stop bickering with Bai Junsheng and those brats all day. You're from the Zhu family—have a broader vision!" Zhu Hongliang chuckled. "My vision is plenty broad! Besides, I'm not the one taking over as Mansion Master; my brother is. I don't need to stress over that." Old Man Yun could not be bothered to argue. Leaning back in his chair, he resumed reading, leaving them to their antics. …… Inside the Baidao Pavilion. Su Yu's vision blurred slightly, and he found himself in a dark chamber. Moving forward a step, a wall appeared before him. The Name-Leaving Wall. Su Yu smiled. He did not bother using an alias; the Fifth Generation and the other great figures had all left their real names, so there was no need for him to disguise himself. Once his name was inscribed, the darkness receded, and the wall vanished. A moment later, a compact room materialized before him. On closer inspection, it looked like a study. The study was lined with numerous books. *Find a text of will!* The line of characters flashed before his eyes and quickly dissolved. This was the objective of the trial. A faint gleam stirred in Su Yu's eyes. In the next instant, he reached out and snatched a book concealed beneath an illusion into his hand. Far too simple! The first floor was designed for those who had just entered the Yangxing Realm; the difficulty could not possibly be high, relying only on a mild illusion for concealment. To Su Yu, it was transparent at a single glance. Holding the book, Su Yu was mildly surprised. Was this a genuine text of will, or a virtual projection? He flipped open a page and grew even more astonished. It truly carried the sensation of a text of will! It was real? The academy was remarkably generous. This meant every passing student received a copy. Of course, it was merely at the Qianjun Realm, yet it was still worth several dozen merit points. Su Yu skimmed through it and shook his head. A very basic text of will—the *Qianjun Art*. Still, for ordinary students, it would count as a pleasant windfall. After flipping through it once and confirming there was nothing special about it beyond being an authentic text of will, the scene blurred before him, and he arrived on the second floor. *Real? Illusory? Find the entrance to the next floor!* Su Yu's eyes flickered. An illusion? Was this because he had shattered the previous illusion so quickly that the Baidao Pavilion assigned him another illusion trial, or was this the standard sequence? At that moment, an array of sights materialized. It was a small village, and Su Yu was standing at its entrance. The entrance to the next floor? This illusion was rather crude, not even matching his own. Su Yu chuckled. The "Blood" divine character erupted, conjuring a second village out of thin air. The space shuddered slightly. Moments later, both villages vanished simultaneously, revealing a flight of stairs. With a casual wave of his hand, Su Yu shattered the stairway. His vision blurred, and he appeared on the next floor. The illusion was too flimsy, and the stairway was fake as well. Stepping onto it would only leave one trapped somewhere indeterminate. The subsequent floors were all illusions in succession. Su Yu felt exasperated; he was not an illusion master, so why keep throwing illusions at him? By the time he reached the ninth floor, Su Yu stopped countering them with divine characters. The moment the illusion appeared, his willpower surged. With a deafening boom, raw martial force smashed the illusion to pieces! In the blink of an eye, he entered the tenth floor. This time, it was no illusion. *Slay the demon beast!* Having just displayed martial force, he was promptly assigned a beast-slaying task. The Baidao Pavilion was indeed continuously adapting to his strengths; it was truly remarkable. In the next instant, a Fire Swine charged straight toward him. It possessed the strength of roughly the peak Qianjun Realm. Floor ten represented a midpoint for the Yangxing Realm, making a peak Qianjun beast a respectable trial. Su Yu's willpower erupted. The "Thunder" divine character flashed, and with a loud bang, the Fire Swine was blown apart. Shattered to pieces! The moment the beast burst, the space shifted, and a wisp of pure willpower manifested! Su Yu's gaze flickered. Was this the milestone reward granted every ten floors? Where did it come from? Provided by the Baidao Pavilion? Without lingering on the question, Su Yu recognized it as an exceptional resource and quickly absorbed it. In a flash, that wisp of willpower was drawn in. The rewards for a first-time clear were always lavish. Next time, Su Yu could choose to start over from the beginning or resume from his highest cleared floor. However, even if he restarted, the rewards for subsequent clears would be meager; he had read about this in the introductory guides. After absorbing the wisp, Su Yu remained still. Moments later, another wisp of willpower condensed in the void. This was tailored for Yangxing cultivators, for whom passive absorption of a single wisp was generally enough. Clearly, however, it was nowhere near enough for Su Yu. Soon, a second wisp appeared, then a third... One appeared roughly every five minutes, and Su Yu could linger here for up to an hour. Su Yu was in no rush, waiting patiently. Absorbing and opening divine apertures. The willpower was exceptionally pure, if modest in quantity. Even so, after ten wisps, Su Yu felt his 116th divine aperture begin to show signs of opening. By the time he absorbed the twelfth wisp, his sea of will trembled, and the 116th divine aperture snapped open. Not bad luck at all! Clearing just ten floors had yielded a newly opened divine aperture. The Baidao Pavilion truly was a wonderful place. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his body blurred, the space vanished, and he cleared the tenth floor. …… Meanwhile, outside on the crystal monument: *Floor 10: Su Yu* Su Yu's name appeared on the tenth floor's ranking. His placement was not particularly high, leaning toward the back, as his speed had not been exceptionally fast. Time spent lingering after clearing a floor did not count toward the completion time. Nearby students began noticing the name. Soon, someone called out, "Su Yu is challenging the Baidao Pavilion! That guy finally showed up!" "How many floors do you think he can clear? Several dozen?" "Who knows!" "..." The crowd's instinct for spectating flared up once more. Many students rushed over to watch the spectacle, eager to see how far Su Yu could go. On the eleventh floor, Su Yu's name flashed past. In the blink of an eye, the twelfth floor was cleared. Because he had used brute force earlier, the subsequent floors pitted him entirely against beast-slaying trials. Against demon beasts that had not even reached the Tengkong Realm, his killing speed was blinding. Floor thirteen, floor fourteen... His name gradually climbed up the rankings. By the eighteenth floor, Su Yu had taken first place. "So fast!" "Is that guy taking a stroll through the floors?" "He's a divine character master. On the eighteenth floor, he must be facing demon beasts of the eighth or ninth stage of the Wanshi Realm. He just slaughtered them like that?" The onlookers clicked their tongues in disbelief. Everyone knew he was formidable, but those were eighth- and ninth-stage Wanshi beasts! He could at least show a bit of respect and stall for a moment. Killing them this quickly was downright demoralizing for the rest of the students. "He'll face a Tengkong demon beast on the twentieth floor. He won't be able to kill it that fast, right?" "Innate blood essence is forbidden in there. To kill a Tengkong beast, he'll probably have to engage in a bitter struggle, won't he?" The students conversed in hushed tones. Gradually, people outside the pavilion began peddling chairs and benches. A few students possessing unique divine characters started hollering, "Su Yu's trial will take plenty of time! Grab a seat and enjoy the show! Crafted from divine characters, all-natural and green! A full set of table and stools for just one merit point!" "Anyone want wine?" "I've got fine tea here!" "Fresh fruit! Grown on the spot, ready to eat!" One student planted a seed then and there. In the blink of an eye, a tree sprouted, bore fruit, and was ready for sale! Old Man Yun, guarding the entrance, set down his book with a sigh. Here they went again! Every time a challenger with a bit of fame arrived, these rascals pulled the exact same stunt. Just as he was about to speak, a platter of fruit was placed before him. "Old Man Yun, fresh from the tree! Have some!" Old Man Yun rolled his eyes, grabbed a peach, and took a bite. Truth be told, it tasted quite good. He muttered inwardly, *Trying to bribe me! Am I that kind of person?* Just as the thought crossed his mind, a plate of melon seeds was delivered, followed shortly by a bottle of wine, then a pot of premium tea... Eating and drinking, Old Man Yun abandoned any intention of shooing them away. Whatever, let them be! The students paid it no mind; they were thoroughly accustomed to the routine. Within moments, tables and stools rose out of thin air before the Baidao Pavilion, forming an orderly circle. New arrivals showed no surprise at all, laughing as they asked, "Who's challenging the pavilion?" It was an old routine! Whenever a celebrity entered, the scene was always like this. The largest gathering had occurred when the Fifth Generation Head took the challenge; the entire academy had turned out, feasting on melon seeds outside the pavilion until the Fifth Generation Head emerged and nearly thought he had stepped into the wrong place. "Su Yu!" "What floor is he on?" "He should be entering the twentieth. No rush. Challengers like him clear floors quickly, but they linger forever on the milestone floors. Go about your business!" "..." …… While the outside bustled with excitement, on the twentieth floor... Su Yu was indeed confronted by a demon beast—first stage of the Tengkong Realm. This was a test for a divine character master: slay it! Su Yu did not rush to kill it, falling into contemplation instead. From the tenth floor until now, he had been killing demon beasts continuously. The Baidao Pavilion likely classified him as a slaughter-focused divine character practitioner, which was why all the trials were combat-oriented. That was unimportant. What mattered was piercing through the illusion to perceive the underlying essence! The beast before him bared its fangs and brandished its claws, but Su Yu paid it no heed. He reached out and pinned its head down. The beast struggled wildly, yet against Su Yu's ninth-stage Wanshi physical strength, suppressing a first-stage Tengkong beast posed no difficulty at all. Gripping its skull, Su Yu scrutinized it from head to tail. It was a Striped Tiger. That was also beside the point. The real question was: how was this creature formed? Every time he killed one, it dissipated completely. Clearly, it was not real, but constructed from an illusion or some other medium. *Formed from a mixture of yuanqi and willpower.* *That's why every kill causes some yuanqi and willpower to disperse, serving as the reward...* Su Yu assessed the construct and gained a general grasp of the mechanics. *No, it probably also incorporates illusion-based attacks. The moves it employs are innate skills... Someone imprinted its memories! This was done through memory extraction and branding. Once I kill it, it will quickly reform when the next challenger arrives.* Su Yu's eyes gleamed with intrigue. *If I kill this beast, intercept its memory imprint, and reconstruct it later, will that work?* *A kill counts as clearing the floor.* *Clearing Floor Twenty awards a substantial amount of willpower. Once I absorb that, if I rebuild this creature, will killing it again count as another clear?* Extracting memory imprints was beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators. Su Yu, however, could manage it! Though his technique was not as polished as Bai Feng's, Su Yu was far stronger now, with vastly more potent willpower, which lowered the difficulty significantly. He held the beast down and examined it meticulously. The Baidao Pavilion had to possess a mechanism for judging whether a floor was cleared. What constituted success? What constituted failure? He recalled the old man's words at the entrance: the purpose of challenging the Baidao Pavilion was not merely to clear floors, but to obtain benefits. Relying on his overwhelming strength relative to the beast, Su Yu kept it pinned while examining it inch by inch. Soon, he detected an anomaly. Stroking his chin, Su Yu fell into deep thought. Fascinating. He had to test this! He was in no hurry anyway! With a punch, he smashed the demon beast's skull. A streak of light flashed, but Su Yu's divine characters were already primed. His willpower erupted, and a small hammer materialized, slamming into the streak of light with a resounding boom! *Clack!* A tiny, crystal-like fragment fell to the ground. With the beast slain, willpower and yuanqi scattered outward, filling the entire twentieth floor with dense yuanqi and pure willpower. Su Yu rapidly absorbed the dispersing energy as another wisp of willpower condensed in the void. Ignoring the new wisp for now, Su Yu picked up the fragment, his eyes brightening. A moment later, he retrieved a few drops of yuanqi liquid and placed the crystal fragment inside to nourish it. Gradually, the form of a Striped Tiger began to coalesce, though it lacked vitality and willpower! Su Yu's gaze flickered. With a wave of his hand, he compressed the dispersing willpower in the void and funneled it directly into the crystal fragment. In an instant, a ferocious roar echoed! Just like when he had first arrived, a Striped Tiger reappeared, baring its fangs and claws! Su Yu's eyes shone brightly! As expected, that fragment was the core sealing the creature's memories. As long as it existed, feeding it yuanqi and willpower would allow it to be reconstructed indefinitely. Even Su Yu lacked the ability to shatter the fragment itself. *I don't even need to extract the memories myself. As long as I intercept and knock down this fragment, I can reform it again and again...* *If I leave the yuanqi untouched and only sacrifice a portion of willpower, I can rebuild it.* That required willpower was roughly equivalent to one wisp released every five minutes. On Floor Twenty, Su Yu was permitted to stay for two hours, which yielded more than twenty wisps of willpower. Using just one of those wisps was enough to reconstruct the Striped Tiger. *Once two hours are up, will I be expelled?* *Or if I kill another beast near the two-hour mark, will the timer reset and allow me to stay for another two hours?* Su Yu stroked his chin in thought. With the newly formed Striped Tiger standing before him, did the Baidao Pavilion consider the floor cleared? He waited five minutes... no new willpower emerged. Su Yu grinned! It did not! As long as the Striped Tiger remained alive, the floor was not cleared! Only by killing it would the system register a clear and begin dispersing willpower. In that case, whenever the two-hour mark approached, he could reconstruct the beast, slay it, and maintain an endless supply of willpower! Was this an exploit? Or... an opportunity intentionally left behind? Su Yu leaned toward the latter! Opportunities were reserved for those who were prepared! The Baidao Pavilion was truly fascinating. How much one could gain depended on ability, luck, and discernment... Evidently, Su Yu's discernment was quite sound. His strength was sufficient as well; an ordinary Tengkong cultivator would never be able to knock down that crystal fragment, but Su Yu could. Slaying the Striped Tiger once more, Su Yu mobilized his small hammer to swat down the fragment again. Yuanqi and willpower scattered once more. This time, Su Yu ignored the yuanqi and absorbed only the willpower. He waited five minutes until the second wisp appeared. Absorb! Another five minutes, and the third wisp condensed. He continued absorbing. Su Yu waited patiently, completely unhurried. When the two-hour mark drew near, Su Yu sealed a wisp of willpower, gathered the surrounding yuanqi, and forcibly channeled both into the fragment. Before long, the Striped Tiger revived! The moment it resurrected, Su Yu swatted it down with a single palm strike! Killed once again! Yuanqi and willpower scattered anew! Su Yu grinned broadly, flashing his teeth. It worked! Did this mean he could farm monsters here until the end of time? …… At the same time, outside... Su Yu's name appeared on the twentieth floor, vanished, and then reappeared after a while. Suddenly, someone cursed, "Holy crap! Do geniuses get hacks every single time? It's happened several times already! A handful of guys always exploit the milestone floors. They're definitely cheating!" Su Yu was not the first. Evidently, this was not the first time such an occurrence had taken place. At the entrance, Old Man Yun sipped his tea and drawled, "What are you hollering about? That's their skill! You think just anyone can game the milestone floors? Don't worry, he won't be able to keep it up for long. The Baidao Pavilion has an emergency contingency. After three rounds, he'll be overwhelmed..." The students began muttering among themselves. One called out, "Teacher Hou, you've exploited the floors before. Can you tell us how it's done?" In the crowd, Director Hou's son, Hou Liang, was also present. Hearing the question, he smiled and said, "Go observe for yourselves. Why would I tell you? Even if I did, you might not be able to pull it off. But Old Man Yun is right: after three rounds, Su Yu will regret it. He might even get beaten out of the twentieth floor entirely." "Why?" "I'm not telling. Try it yourself if you get the chance!" Hou Liang chuckled. Why? Simple! After three rounds, the Baidao Pavilion's emergency mechanism activated, spawning a second Tengkong demon beast. By the fifth round, another would appear, and after that, an additional beast would spawn each round! Go ahead and try exploiting that! By the end, the sheer number of beasts would terrify you. Naturally, you wouldn't be able to keep farming! Someone grumbled dispiritedly, "The real issue is, stalling like that takes forever! Is that guy planning to camp in there for days?" "On Floor Twenty, each round lasts two hours, and this only works on milestone floors. Camping three rounds only amounts to six hours. What's the rush?" Old Man Yun was unperturbed, smiling faintly. Still, Su Yu might manage to stall a bit longer. That kid was remarkably strong! …… Inside, Su Yu had already slain his fourth Striped Tiger. Yet he was frowning. The willpower remained extremely pure, but... it was somewhat insufficient. First, one wisp every five minutes was simply too slow. Second, the intensity of the willpower was relatively weak, roughly at the first stage of the Tengkong Realm. For Su Yu, it was too mild to satisfy his consumption. *Floor Twenty works, so what about Floor Thirty or Forty? Floor Thirty might not suffice; it probably needs to be Floor Forty, right?* Su Yu could not be certain, but Floor Thirty likely fell short. If he farmed Floor Forty, would the willpower be at the Lingyun Realm? If so, he could absorb far more! *Still, even a mosquito's leg is meat. I'll drain everything here first!* After a while, Su Yu killed another Striped Tiger. The next moment, he froze slightly as a second tiger suddenly materialized in the void. "What's going on?" Had he triggered some mechanism? Without hesitation, Su Yu swiftly dispatched the second Striped Tiger, knocked down its fragment, and settled in to wait once more. Willpower continued to disperse, and Su Yu continued absorbing. Two hours later, after slaying them again, another beast spawned, bringing the total to three! "Three Tengkong demon beasts..." Su Yu chuckled. The Baidao Pavilion indeed possessed a corresponding countermeasure, and the fragment was a deliberate backdoor—while also serving as a reminder to challengers to know when to stop. By now, he had opened 118 divine apertures. *I can still handle the slaughter here. But once I reach Floor Forty, I'll be facing Lingyun beasts. If two or three of those spawn at once... how am I supposed to fight them?* *Forget it, I'll linger here a bit longer!* If one was going to fleece the sheep, one had to shear it down to the skin. As for whether others had done the same, there probably were a few. But if a Sunmoon Realm expert arrived, Su Yu doubted they would have the shamelessness to camp on a Yangxing-level floor for hours; they could not afford the embarrassment. Forget Sunmoons—even Lingyun experts, upon discovering the trick, would likely feel too dignified to linger. Su Yu, on the other hand, had no such reservations. He was genuinely a Yangxing cultivator. What could be more natural than lingering here a while longer? Besides, first-time clears yielded lavish rewards; subsequent visits offered no such generosity. Clearing Floor Twenty a second time would only yield that tiny puff upon the kill, with no continuous willpower dispersing over two hours. …… Eight hours, ten hours... Outside, the students had already started a bonfire party. Whatever, everyone was used to it. They had nothing better to do anyway, and parties were a regular occurrence at the academy. Gathering for a celebration might even produce a brand-new festival if done right. By this point, Old Man Yun and his companions were growing astonished. Twelve hours! That was at least six rounds! On Su Yu's end, he had to be facing four or five Tengkong demon beasts by now. Fighting four or five Tengkong beasts simultaneously without innate blood essence—the kid could endure that alone? Even if he could withstand the fight, absorbing so much willpower should have reached his limit by now, shouldn't it? He had not even reached the Tengkong Realm yet, had he? Just as Old Man Yun was pondering this, a figure appeared beside him. Niu Baidao grabbed the wine, took a swig, and cursed under his breath, "That shameless brat! He won't even let go of such petty scraps! The greatest reward of the Baidao Pavilion is this pure willpower—only because of this can it rival the Great Xia Prefecture's Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm! Is he not planning to come out at all?" Old Man Yun laughed. "What's the rush? A mere Yangxing cultivator on Floor Twenty can't absorb that much anyway. He might hold off a few beasts, but can he hold off dozens? Don't worry so much!" Niu Baidao considered it and nodded. "True. My only fear is that the kid really fights his way to Floor Forty and pulls the exact same trick. That would drain far too much!" "Floor Forty? That would spawn Lingyun beasts. Could he even capture their cores? Even if he did, after three rounds, two Lingyun beasts would spawn. Could he handle them? Innate blood essence shouldn't work inside, and using it would cost more than it's worth anyway. What are you worrying about?" Old Man Yun appeared thoroughly composed, smiling as he said, "Old Niu, you're getting up there in years; learn to look at the bigger picture. The Baidao Pavilion's willpower reserves are immense. A peak Heaven-rank cultural weapon that has gathered ambient willpower for centuries has long since refined countless reserves..." "The consumption is massive too!" Niu Baidao sighed. "You know as well as I do how much Ye Batian drained back then. If King Daming hadn't been alerted, that bastard would have sucked the place completely dry!" Old Man Yun chuckled. That was certainly true. Still, that had happened decades ago. Over the intervening decades, the Baidao Pavilion had accumulated substantial reserves once more. Just then, someone shouted, "Look, Su Yu's name vanished!" Old Man Yun smiled. "He probably couldn't hold out any longer. That's for the best." A moment later, Su Yu's name appeared on the twenty-first floor at blinding speed. Niu Baidao was left speechless. "You call that unable to hold out? He ate and drank his fill, gathered his strength, and is gearing up to keep plowing through! Back then, King Daming insisted on leaving challengers a hidden opportunity. I said it was unnecessary, but he wouldn't listen. Now look what happened—bastards exploit the loophole all the time!" That consumed vast resources, didn't he know? Hopefully, that brat Su Yu wouldn't pull this stunt on Floor Forty as well. *Without relying on blood essence, that fellow shouldn't be able to handle two Lingyun beasts, right?* Did he even have a chance against one? That was hard to say!