With the Golden Claw God equipped, Luo Feng's overall strength surged, completely overwhelming the scaled beast.

The scaled beast's secret technique was at the sixth-tier level; for a Law Master, creating a sixth-tier secret technique was quite commendable. It also knew a first-level Divine Power Burning Secret Technique, allowing it to erupt with seventh-tier combat power normally! Most importantly, its mechanical flow treasure was a hoof claw, primarily focused on attack, capable of boosting its offensive power by three whole tiers!

This meant it could potentially unleash an attack equivalent to the tenth tier. However, it received no auxiliary enhancements for defense or evasion, which meant it couldn't land a blow on Luo Feng, while Luo Feng could easily strike it. Moreover, even if it managed to strike Luo Feng, his defenses rendered the impact virtually harmless, especially with the protection of the Golden Claw God. Conversely, any strike the scaled beast sustained from Luo Feng resulted in immediate, significant loss of its divine body.

It was a one-sided battle!

This sight startled the other soldiers watching from afar. At their level, they were already pushing the limits of what a Law Master could achieve in combat power. To advance further, even slightly, required immense difficulty. Thus, in actual combat, the disparities between them were usually not significant.

But that soldier, "Galaxy"...

"Too strong. Soldier Galaxy’s movement technique is terrifying. And while his mechanical flow treasures aren't individually the strongest, they all offer auxiliary enhancements. Once he attacks you, you are finished."

"His claw technique is also incredibly potent. The Golden Claw God isn't inherently superior in attack, yet Galaxy uses his claw mastery to force such power out of it."

The distant soldiers, even while engaging in their own skirmishes, had taken note of this. They understood that since the first level of Wuji Tower demanded they kill each other, and the ultimate goal was to reach the summit, the subsequent floors would inevitably force them into conflict, or at least, conflict driven by self-interest would be highly probable. Naturally, it was crucial to assess the strength of the other soldiers now.

The other soldiers immediately reached a consensus: "Soldier Galaxy—do not provoke him. Stay as far away as possible!"

"If I had known he was this strong, I shouldn't have targeted him," Soldier Xu Zhong muttered with resentment. "Making an ally of him in the coming perilous trials of Wuji Tower would have been far better."

"Hiss!" Luo Feng slightly hooked his right golden claw, curving it gently, his five talons resembling sickle-shaped blades.

That single strike sliced across the scaled beast’s back, sending the entire creature tumbling to the ground. Following this, a flurry of dazzling golden claw shadows rained down, like surging waves crashing continuously, marking and weakening the scaled beast’s divine body again and again.

With a partial loss of its divine body, the scaled beast’s strength dwindled to about twenty percent, making it even more defenseless.

"Galaxy, spare my life!" the scaled beast cried out in desperation.

Luo Feng paid it no mind.

"I will give you all my treasures," the scaled beast pleaded frantically, unwilling to die.

"Killing you means your treasures are mine," Luo Feng transmitted coldly. "Furthermore, anyone who chooses to enter Wuji Tower must embrace the certainty of death. Even if I spare you now in your weakened state, what about the second, third, or fourth floors? Do you think you can survive? And without killing other soldiers, you cannot enter the second floor, which means Wuji Tower will annihilate you. I don't want to die! Even if I let you live, you won't be able to kill the others, so regardless, you are doomed!"

The scaled beast understood this reality. But facing imminent death, it felt frustration and panic, naturally wanting to prolong its existence even if just for a moment. As for the future crises? It would deal with them as they came.

"I need your life to reach the second floor," Luo Feng’s voice was icy, devoid of inflection. That scaled beast had actively attacked him earlier; had Luo Feng been weaker, he might have been the one killed.

"No!" The scaled beast roared in angry disbelief, but in the face of absolute power, it could only watch helplessly as it weakened until annihilation came, with no recourse. Even self-destruction wouldn't yield an attack powerful enough to reach the tenth tier.

Under the relentless onslaught of a storm-like offensive...

The scaled beast was annihilated!

"Quite a number of treasures left behind," Luo Feng waved his hand, instantly collecting the heap of items left scattered on the desert floor. Among the remnants was a black hoof claw, the mechanical flow treasure the scaled beast had wielded.

"Jin World..."

"Possessing a complete ancient civilization, they are exceptionally skilled, especially in mechanical flow treasures!" Luo Feng mused inwardly. "Even a Universe Master, utilizing divine power burning secret techniques and mechanical flow treasures, can reach tenth-tier combat power. In the vast sea of the universe, this is the power of an Origin Ancestor."

This was, in essence, normal. Mechanical flow treasures at the Law Master level inherently possessed the capability to fight above one's rank!

After collecting the vast number of treasures, Luo Feng understood that the only reason he killed the scaled beast so easily was his absolute advantage in movement and evasion—an advantage proven effective even against True Gods back in the Nine Smoke Marsh.

"Killing one elite soldier is more profitable than killing ten True Gods," Luo Feng surveyed his surroundings.

On the cold desert floor, the chill wind continued to blow. In several distant directions, fighting and slaughter were occurring. The engaged soldiers occasionally glanced toward Luo Feng’s location.

"They are all quite far," Luo Feng sighed, shaking his head. He had hoped to kill one or two more soldiers if the opportunity arose to acquire more treasures. After all, his responsibilities were immense; the entire human race, his Earthling lineage, and the Luo family all required resources. But now, it seemed these soldiers perceived him as a major threat; if he moved, his opponents would likely flee long before he arrived.

"Forget it, on to the next floor," Luo Feng thought. "Following historical patterns, generally only about ten percent of those who enter Wuji Tower survive. Only half the contestants died on this first floor! Those who survive their current fights will gain treasures. Later, I can target the victors of those battles and reap even greater rewards."

Luo Feng glanced at the four distinct zones of combat, hesitated no longer, and transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward the massive cyan pillar in the distance.

Boom!

As Luo Feng flew toward the cyan pillar, it offered no resistance, allowing him passage.

"Bang!" Guided by the cyan pillar, Luo Feng instantly transformed into a golden streak, accelerating at incredible speed, soaring straight up and vanishing through the pillar's apex in an instant.

"He's entered the second floor."

"Whew, that terrifying fellow has finally moved to the second floor."

"That's good."

The soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief. If Luo Feng remained nearby, scrutinizing them, they would remain uneasy even during their own conflicts, as they clearly sensed they were not on the same level as him.

"We are the elite members of the four armies' special legions; theoretically, no one stronger should surpass us by much. How can Soldier Galaxy be so much stronger than us? Especially his close-quarters movement technique—how can it be this terrifying? Even a True God doesn't possess such dreadful footwork." Once Luo Feng was gone, the remaining eight soldiers quickly refocused and paired off for combat. However, unlike Luo Feng, who killed swiftly, their battles were much slower due to the relatively small power gaps between them.

Luo Feng felt space and time warp, shimmering with a hazy light, as he emerged from the previous cyan pillar into an entirely new location.

"Hmm?" Luo Feng surveyed his surroundings.

It was a vast, dark-red expanse of land, crisscrossed by deep fissures. From beneath these cracks spilled crimson lava, and columns of searing hot air blasted toward the heavens. Overhead, the sky was completely obscured by thick, dense storm clouds, covering more than half the expanse.

"Five soldiers?" Luo Feng immediately spotted five distant figures scattered across the landscape, maintaining significant distance from each other, clearly wary of one another.

"The previous batch?" Luo Feng speculated internally.

"The next wave of soldiers has arrived," one of the five distant soldiers, a handsome youth clad in dark-red armor, remarked with a slight smile. The surrounding dark-red terrain matched his armor perfectly, his aura harmonizing with the entire world.

"What, have you been waiting for our next group?" Luo Feng asked.

"When the five of us arrived together," the youth in the dark-red armor said, his smile lingering while a trace of ferocity flashed in his eyes, "Wuji Tower informed us that batches consist of ten soldiers. After completing the first floor, only five of our batch remained, so naturally, we awaited the next group."

Luo Feng nodded. Indeed, three batches had entered before him. Three batches meant thirty soldiers, suggesting about fifteen survivors—unless extraordinary circumstances occurred. It seemed the previous three batches had indeed left fifteen survivors.

"How will the second floor of Wuji Tower test us?" Luo Feng inquired.

"We don't know."

"Nor do we," several soldiers replied.

"You were the first to arrive from your batch. It seems you are the strongest among your group," the dark-red armored youth observed.

"Just lucky," Luo Feng replied casually.

"What about the other soldiers from your batch?" the youth asked.

"They will arrive shortly," Luo Feng smiled.

"Shortly" turned out to be quite a long time. After about half an hour, the remaining four soldiers began arriving, all close to one another in timing.

Swish!

The moment Xu Zhong materialized, he instantly transformed into his "despondent bird" form, beat his wings, and swiftly retreated a great distance before looking around warily, his gaze locking onto Luo Feng. The other four newly arrived soldiers kept a significant distance from Luo Feng as well.

The previous group of five soldiers saw this and, being no fools, immediately recognized the profound wariness and fear the other four newcomers held for the first arrival.

"They are so afraid of one of their own batch," the previous five soldiers were instantly alarmed. "We must be cautious of him."

Just then...

"Boom~~~" Ten pillars of light descended from the sky, instantly enveloping the ten soldiers.

Pitiable.