Nine hundred and ten people were ceaselessly charging toward the Elemental Tower, striving to master one element after another.

As mentioned before, the initial few levels of the Elemental Tower were not overly difficult. And within the Central Dynasty, those who could reach the Third Heaven of the World Realm were considered truly exceptional talents. Such talents would naturally not fall easily in the early stages. Of course, their individual aptitudes varied, leading to vastly different levels reached.

For instance, at this moment, the Son of the Buddha had reached the forty-seventh layer of the Elemental Tower. This layer was a world of silver-white, for which the Son of the Buddha was well-prepared; the element here was Silver. The Son of the Buddha understood that Silver was the element he needed to master. He then invoked the Bright Mirror of the Buddha Heart technique, beginning his communion with this Silver Element. His Bright Mirror of the Buddha Heart could discern all things between heaven and earth—including the human heart, people, all phenomena, and elements. The Buddha Heart, inherently, is like a polished mirror. Should the slightest speck of dust alight, it would be revealed entirely. This was the essence of the Bright Mirror of the Buddha Heart. Since the Son of the Buddha cultivated such a profound and unique art as the Bright Mirror of the Buddha Heart, coupled with his astonishing innate talent, his progress was naturally incredibly swift.

Meanwhile, Ling Qingyun of the Confucian Civilization stood in second place, currently on the thirty-fifth layer. On this layer, the element was Bromine, possessing a faint color and a subtle scent. Ling Qingyun settled down, unfurled his Scroll of Mountains and Rivers, and began impressing this Bromine into the scroll, using the scroll’s reverse cultivation method to refine it. Everyone had prepared extensively for the Elemental Tower, and he was no exception. Ling Qingyun carried a faint air of arrogance now. He knew he was second, with only the Son of the Buddha ahead of him. Lu Yuan, you are not progressing as fast as I am. Everyone claims you have the strongest Righteous Qi attribute in recent years, but let me tell you now—you are wrong. I am.

On the thirty-third layer of the Elemental Tower, a greyish-white poisonous gas permeated the air. Present here were Zhan Bai of the Night Civilization and Lei Qi of the Thunder Civilization. They both understood this element was Arsenic. Both men desired to master the transformations offered by this layer, and each deployed their unique secret arts. Zhan Bai employed the Night Emperor Art, one of the highest foundational methods of the Night Civilization. In that moment, he seemed like the monarch of the night. Geniuses like Zhan Bai, ranked within the top hundred of the Genius List, all possessed the potential to ascend to the Civilization Realm, and thus naturally cultivated with their utmost effort. As for Lei Qi of the Thunder Civilization, thunderous light shimmered around his body as he wielded the Thunder Emperor’s Heavenly Punishment Art. This was the ultimate secret art of the Thunder Civilization. Legend held that the Thunder Civilization was once an ancient civilization, but it devolved into a standard civilization after its Lord of Civilization fell long ago. Nevertheless, the Thunder Emperor’s Heavenly Punishment Art remained an exceptionally profound technique. Hoo! A door materialized before Lei Qi, and he stepped into the thirty-fourth layer one step ahead of the other.

At this time, the main cluster of cultivators was generally positioned between the twentieth and twenty-fifth layers, with a few unfortunate souls stuck below the twentieth, making no further progress.

For example, Qiu Qingshan was stuck on the sixteenth layer, which was saturated with the scent of sulfur. Qiu Qingshan knew this was the Sulfur Element, and he needed to master it to proceed. Ji Qianyu was on the twenty-first layer, which was filled with Scandium, a metallic element of a silvery-white hue. Ji Qianyu deployed the True Scripture of a Thousand Waters. Zhu Yan was on the twenty-second layer, filled with Iron. The so-called Iron here was an element incredibly light—lighter than hydrogen, yet fundamentally different, being a metal. Zhu Yan did not hold back, channeling his consciousness into it. Each person had their own methods, their own capabilities.

Lu Yuan was on the twentieth layer. The element here was Calcium, an element abundant in the human body. During his Body Refining stage, his bodily Calcium had increased dramatically. Lu Yuan contemplated this Calcium element, projecting his consciousness into it, seeking mastery. Lu Yuan’s sensation now was one of mounting difficulty—it was genuinely becoming harder and harder. The early stages of the Elemental Tower were not excessively difficult, but the later stages grew exponentially harder. Even on the twentieth layer, he felt a significant strain. Lu Yuan plunged his consciousness into the Calcium, beginning to analyze its properties. As time elapsed, he gradually mapped out some of the rules governing the Calcium element, slowly gaining conscious control. Finally, after considerable effort, he mastered the Calcium element, feeling as if, for a moment, all the Calcium in the entire space bent to his will. Progress is truly hard-earned, he thought. Lu Yuan shrugged.

Next, he proceeded to the twenty-first layer, which was filled with Scandium. The difficulty here was also considerably higher. By this point, people were gradually being eliminated. For instance, just as Lu Yuan entered the twenty-first layer, Zhu Yan was struck by the Iron Element on the twenty-second layer. A single Iron atom posed no threat, nor did a small cluster, but the surrounding rule of heaven and earth dictated that anyone remaining after one hundred shichen (a period of time) would be automatically expelled. Thus, Zhu Yan was ejected. He was somewhat dejected; being expelled at the twenty-second layer meant the end of his journey in the Elemental Tower. This was quite unfortunate, as most people hoped to reach around the thirtieth layer; failing that, they could only lament their bad luck.

And it wasn't just Zhu Yan; others were also being eliminated.

After several dozen shichen, Lu Yuan reached the twenty-second layer, filled with Iron. Lu Yuan found that controlling Iron was even more difficult than controlling Scandium in the previous layer. This level of difficulty gave Lu Yuan a slight headache—this was not easy. Of course, one hundred shichen was sufficient time, but at this pace, he could, at best, comprehend thirty or forty elements. This felt like his absolute limit. Lu Yuan inwardly resolved that he did not want to only master thirty or forty elements. I need to find a way to master more elements more easily, he mused. But how does one devise such a method? Methods were not easily conceived.

Lu Yuan proceeded at a slow pace, simultaneously contemplating a solution. Lu Yuan shrugged. Facing various difficulties without discouragement had always been his habit.

Outside the Elemental Tower, quite a number of people had gathered. Besides West Pole Immortal Elder and East Pole Immortal Elder, the rest were all those eliminated by the Tower. Initially, only a few were eliminated, but the number rapidly grew to dozens, and now it reached around one hundred. Of the nine hundred and ninety-nine participants, about one hundred had been eliminated. Granted, those eliminated still reaped significant benefits within the Elemental Tower, but failing to gain more was regrettable.

“The Son of the Buddha is truly formidable.” “Indeed. The Son of the Buddha is now in first place, having already reached the forty-ninth layer.” “To reach the forty-ninth layer in such a short time—he truly lives up to the title of Son of the Buddha.” “Is it any wonder, being one of the Seven Sons of Destiny?” “Speaking of which, where is Lu Yuan? Lu Yuan has immense fame now, almost rivaling the Son of the Buddha. Is he second?” “No, the one in second place is Ling Qingyun of the Confucian Civilization, currently on the thirty-seventh layer.” “Huh? Wasn't it Lu Yuan? Then where is Lu Yuan now?” “Lu Yuan is on the twenty-second layer.” “Impossible, only the twenty-second layer?” “Are you joking?” “Yes, only the twenty-second layer. I was already on the twenty-fifth layer when I was eliminated. How could someone as famous as Lu Yuan have lower talent than me?” “Haha, that’s hard to say.” “Exactly. Only the twenty-second layer,” another person chimed in. Evidently, everyone was stunned by Lu Yuan’s placement; it was far too slow, completely inconsistent with his reputation. “So, with Lu Yuan progressing so slowly, it seems he has lost the contest with the Son of the Buddha.” “Lost? It’s practically a complete rout.”

As these people debated, the East Pole Immortal Elder and West Pole Immortal Elder also observed the situation. To them, this was genuinely bizarre. Lu Yuan could not possibly be this weak. The East Pole Immortal Elder had even defended Lu Yuan on the first layer, yet Lu Yuan spent an excessive amount of time on every subsequent layer. What was going on? The two Elders were truly perplexed. Could Lu Yuan’s talent genuinely be so limited?

They were unaware that Lu Yuan differed from other geniuses; he was a classic example of extreme specialization—exclusively devoted to the Way of the Sword, neglecting other paths. Only with the aid of his Dao Avatar had his ability to master elements seen any improvement; otherwise, the actual results would have been far worse. However, Lu Yuan’s talent in the Way of the Sword was, in fact, superior even to the Son of the Sword—a specialist taken to the extreme.

At this moment, Lu Yuan entered the twenty-third layer of the Elemental Tower. This layer contained an element called Vanadium. Lu Yuan pondered this element, while simultaneously pondering how he could speed up his mastery of the elements here. He was deep in thought. My talent is entirely skewed toward the Way of the Sword. I can only be fast when things relate to the sword. But this is the Elemental Tower; it has nothing to do with swords. Wait. It has nothing to do with swords, but I can transform this place to be related to swords. All I need to do is create a sword move. This sword move shall be the Seventh Sword: 1. Small Sword Domain.

Lu Yuan had harbored vague inspiration for the Seventh Sword long ago, but the pressure from the Elemental Tower finally stimulated this idea into full bloom: the Seventh Sword: 1. Small Sword Domain. If he could transform this space into a miniature Sword Domain where everything related to the sword, he could naturally master the elements here more quickly. This was leveraging the power of the sword, but the prerequisite was successfully creating the Seventh Sword: 1. Small Sword Domain.

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