Published: February 24, 2025
"Lu Wu, you are pushing too far!" Tan Yun shouted, his eyes filled with anger.
"Enough!" Lu Wu barked, turning to face Tan Yun. "You think you can protect him? He is just a danmai disciple! How dare you interfere?"
Tan Yun took a deep breath, steeling himself against Lu Wu's fury. "Jiang Xia is innocent. You cannot just bully him because of your status."
Lu Wu sneered, "Innocent? He failed to deliver results in the alchemical refinement trial! Failure has consequences in the Inner Sect."
"Consequences? Is it to kick him off the summit? Is this the way of the Immortal Sect?" Tan Yun challenged.
Lu Wu's expression darkened. "You have no idea what it takes to survive in the Inner Sect. If you want to defend him, be prepared to face the consequences yourself!"
At that moment, Elder Twelve intervened, stepping between the two. "Lu Wu, this is not the place for your anger. We must handle this matter with more wisdom."
"I don't need your wisdom!" Lu Wu spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "I’ll do whatever I want! You think you can control me?"
Tan Yun clenched his fists, feeling the tension in the air. "If you continue down this path, you will only bring more trouble upon yourself."
"You dare threaten me?" Lu Wu's eyes glinted dangerously. "Do you forget who you are speaking to?"
Elder Twelve sighed, trying to mediate the growing conflict. "Let us not escalate this situation further. There are better ways to resolve our issues."
Tan Yun nodded, reluctantly accepting the elder's words. "Alright, let’s find a solution without resorting to violence."
Lu Wu glared at both of them but finally relented. "Fine! But this isn't over. Jiang Xia will still pay for his failure."
As Lu Wu stormed away, Tan Yun felt a wave of relief wash over him. He turned to Jiang Xia, who was still trembling in shock. "Are you alright?"
Jiang Xia nodded, albeit shakily. "Thank you, Tan Yun. I don't know what I would have done without your help."
"Just remember, we are in this together," Tan Yun said reassuringly. "We will find a way to prove your worth in the Immortal Sect."
"Yes," Jiang Xia replied, determination slowly replacing his fear. "I won’t give up."
With that, the two of them made their way back to the training ground, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
After flying two thousand miles in one breath, he shouted, "Tan Yun, with my fifth layer of the refining soul realm strength, killing you is as easy as turning my hand!"
Immediately, he controlled his sword and raced toward the gigantic training ground. He made up his mind that if Tan Yun returned to the Azure Spirit Immortal Mountain, he would find an opportunity to ambush him!
If Tan Yun entered the Mustard Seed Time-Space Pagoda to cultivate, he would wait for Tan Yun to come out before making his move!
He had only one thought—kill Tan Yun! Otherwise, he would definitely be executed by Lu Wu!
Of course, he had also thought about finding the chief to report Lu Wu's actions of sending Duan Zhen to kill Tan Yun to Shen Subing.
But as soon as that thought arose, he suppressed it.
He knew that even if he told Shen Subing, she would at most punish Lu Wu and would never dare to eliminate him. The reason was simple; Lu Wu was the son of Elder Four of the Immortal Sect Danmai!
...
Three hours later, at the last moment of the You hour, the sun set.
At the giant training ground.
Tan Yun sat cross-legged, recovering for four hours. More than half of his wounds had healed. Although he was still scarred all over, his complexion had improved significantly.
Steward Lai, who was guarding the Hall of Authorization, Lai Chang, scanned the more than fifty-eight thousand Danmai disciples and said loudly, "Disciples participating in today's tower ascent, line up!"
Upon hearing this, nearly a thousand male and female disciples stepped out from the crowd, all of whom were powerful figures ranked within the top thousand of the Dan Dao Battle Rankings.
Half of these individuals had not planned to participate in the tower ascent; they had merely come to witness others' successes in climbing the tower.