"Gaining a secret technique by observing the void in all directions; mastering it allows entry to the ninth level? Failure results in memory erasure and departure from Wukong Tower?" Luo Feng frowned. The sheer magnitude required to reach the ninth level was immense, yet the countless floating characters scattered throughout the surrounding void left him utterly bewildered as to where to even begin.

At a glance... It was like gazing upon the sprawling expanse of the starry heavens, every single character a distant star, interconnected with the others. Since they were clustered together, it was impossible to discern the beginning or the end of this "secret technique," nor how to properly segment the phrases.

"To cultivate a secret technique, I must first decipher its complete content?" Luo Feng gazed at the innumerable characters suspended in the distant void, "But I don't understand them; how can I possibly divide them into sentences?"

"If I cannot even segment the sentences, how can I cultivate?" Luo Feng felt distressed.

Time slipped by, and nine days passed in the blink of an eye.

"How on earth do I cultivate this?" Luo Feng stared at each character.

Every single character pulsed with light, waxing and waning in intensity. The myriad of characters unfolded before Luo Feng like a massive, seamless scroll, yet Luo Feng simply could not grasp it. He had certainly studied the light emanating from them, but understanding remained elusive.

"Am I truly destined to stop here on the eighth floor?" Luo Feng felt unwilling, but these characters on the gigantic scroll were truly an enigma, a heavenly script.

"Buzz!" Suddenly!

Luo Feng, who had been intensely studying the scroll's characters, suddenly felt every character on the massive void scroll flare brightly. In an instant, his consciousness was pulled deep inside the scroll. It was akin to using a "Virtual Universe Sensor" to project his consciousness into the Virtual Universe; at this moment, Luo Feng’s awareness had entered the scroll world itself.

Luo Feng remained motionless on the suspended land. In the distant void, the ring-shaped scroll, composed of stellar characters, blazed with intense, undulating light, flashing with a peculiar rhythm.

Whoosh!

A faintly discernible figure coalesced and manifested in the void.

He was clad in opulent royal robes encircled by a faint, ghostly black mist. The figure, though blurred, stood suspended in the air. His mere presence seemed to make the entire eighth level revolve around him, radiating an aura of absolute nobility. He was looking down at the stunned Luo Feng standing on the land far below.

"It's the second one now," the black-misted figure sighed softly. "The previous consciousness was drawn into the scroll world, but failed very quickly. I wonder if this one can succeed." "Perhaps I am dreaming too big?" "My Jin World, though vast and boundless, to hope for the birth of an unparalleled genius capable of mastering this secret technique might still be unrealistic. But what choice do I have? My true self is extinguished; I have no alternatives, no other path." The black-misted figure sighed quietly.

"Among countless lives, a miracle must eventually emerge."

The black-misted figure gazed toward Luo Feng with hopeful anticipation.

Meanwhile, Luo Feng stood frozen, though his consciousness had already entered the scroll world.

The Scroll World.

Luo Feng felt his awareness irresistibly drawn, a sensation like entering the Virtual Universe. His vision blurred, and he found himself standing before a colossal palace emanating a soft, purple light.

This palace was built atop an endless mountain peak.

Luo Feng observed it; the majestic structure seemed shrouded in thick clouds and mist, appearing indistinct. Even a single glance brought a powerful sense of pressure. Luo Feng turned and looked toward the distance; the mountain range he stood upon seemed infinite, offering no glimpse of an end.

"What exactly is this place? I was merely observing those void characters, and my consciousness was forcibly dragged in?" Luo Feng felt the mystery deepening.

Was his own will equally powerful?

Yet, the ring-shaped scroll composed of void characters had exerted the strength to forcibly pull in his consciousness.

"Enter!" "Enter!" "Enter!"...

From the gate of the magnificent palace, which glowed faintly purple, came a series of insistent calls, instantly confusing Luo Feng. He moved forward mindlessly, walking straight toward the palace doors, deep into the great hall.

"Hmm?"

Luo Feng snapped back to attention, immediately scanning his surroundings. "I'm already inside the hall? I was controlled without any warning. This... this disparity is too vast."

It was an extraordinarily luxurious hall. At the edges stood exquisitely carved pillars, each engraved with intricate scenes. The distant walls were adorned with various decorations, all radiating an intense, pressing might. Luo Feng tried to focus, but everything remained hazy, like viewing flowers through a thick fog, even the floor beneath his feet.

"Boom!"

The entire hall suddenly shuddered violently.

Luo Feng immediately turned around. Out of thin air, a monstrous beast appeared within the hall. This creature was covered entirely in black scales, resembling a lion in stature, but with a single, curved purple horn emerging from its forehead. Its eyes shone with a purple light. As it moved through the hall, the structure itself trembled.

"You are..." Luo Feng stared at the beast.

"I am the Secret Technique itself," the Purple-Horned Beast declared with satisfaction.

Luo Feng paused. "The Secret Technique itself?"

"What? If even weapons can develop spirits, why couldn't a Secret Technique possess one?" the Purple-Horned Beast sneered.

Luo Feng was stunned.

Then, overwhelming ecstasy flooded him!

Heaven.

In the Jin World, a mere soldier might not comprehend the meaning of a "Spirit of a Secret Technique." But Luo Feng, possessing the inheritance of the Duan Dong River lineage, understood the ancient civilization's lore and knew exactly what a "Spirit of a Secret Technique" signified. In the ancient civilization, only a few supremely transcendent beings, those standing at the pinnacle of the entire civilization, would expend tremendous effort to forge a "Treasure of a Secret Technique" when selecting a worthy successor for their most cherished ultimate skills.

This process infused the secret technique with a spirit.

The fusion required for a Secret Technique to manifest a spirit was extremely stringent; within the Duan Dong River lineage, only the Third Ancestor had achieved this feat. Subsequent inheritors could not replicate it.

If a Secret Technique possessed a spirit, it would choose only the truly suitable master. If other powerful entities attempted to seize the technique through sheer force, they were guaranteed to fail. Furthermore, if the Treasure of the Secret Technique could not recognize a master, even the usurper could not destroy its spirit. After all, only the true master could easily erase the spirit of their treasure—or, a supreme expert could destroy the treasure itself, thereby destroying its spirit.

But the beings capable of forging such Treasures of a Secret Technique were invariably the supreme entities of the ancient civilization! Even if the Third Ancestor created a Spirit of a Secret Technique, even the Third Ancestor himself could not destroy the treasure if it did not recognize him as its master. Therefore, it was difficult to destroy such a "Spirit of a Secret Technique," but finding someone who met the exacting criteria for an ultimate skill cherished by a pinnacle being was exponentially harder.

"Which Secret Technique required such effort, specifically creating a Spirit of a Secret Technique? Could this have been orchestrated by His Majesty the God-King?" Luo Feng mused internally. "Even within my Duan Dong River lineage, only the Third Ancestor managed this level of creation."

Facing the Purple-Horned Beast, Luo Feng listened obediently. Since even the Third Ancestor could not force the issue, everything had to proceed according to the rules set by the spirit's creator.

"You possess some foundation, being able to enter the scroll world," the Purple-Horned Beast stated. "But whether you obtain this secret technique depends on your strength. Observe carefully!"

The Purple-Horned Beast’s sharp horn suddenly shot out four beams of light.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The four beams struck four distinct locations on the hall walls simultaneously. Immediately, four massive rolled-up scrolls appeared on the four walls of the hall. The scrolls unfurled downward, displaying countless characters, but the text on three of the four scrolls was completely illegible.

Only the text on one scroll—the one suspended in the air blocking the doorway—was perfectly clear, allowing Luo Feng to read every character.

"These four scrolls," the Purple-Horned Beast explained, "the one before you, the only one you can see clearly, is the 'Nayin Secret Technique' that forms the core of this entire mastery."

"Nayin Secret Technique?" Luo Feng nodded.

The Nayin Secret Technique was created by a pinnacle existence of the ancient civilization who had finally found a successor. If the successor died during their growth, that was one thing. But if they were killed and their memories searched, leading to the leakage of their proud, ultimate secret technique, it became a massive liability. Thus, they devised numerous countermeasures.

For instance, the "Inheritance Mark" of the Duan Dong River lineage constrained Luo Feng, making leakage impossible. Even if he were killed and his memories searched, the mark would collapse and destroy everything, preventing the enemy from obtaining it.

Of course, many major powers, like His Majesty the God-King Jin, taught their subordinates progressively higher levels of techniques as their strength increased. The stronger the subordinate, the harder it was to extract memories via searching.

This method—neither a true lineage inheritance nor teaching subordinates—but using something like a "Spirit of a Secret Technique" to cast a wide net for successors, generally involved the "Nayin Secret Technique." Once the Nayin Secret Technique was mastered, it could "pull in" (Nayin) the truly powerful secret technique. Even if memories were searched, under the influence of the Nayin Secret Technique, the genuine technique could never be extracted.

The Nayin Secret Technique, besides its function of "protecting the main technique," usually also served the role of "selecting a qualified successor." This technique contained numerous difficult trials; only those who met the stringent requirements could master it.

Mastering the Nayin Secret Technique naturally signified the ability to learn the core technique, thus facilitating its "Nayin" absorption.

The process would be complete.

"The more powerful the secret technique, the more even Void True Gods, Eternal True Gods, or even higher realms must cultivate it," Luo Feng thought. "As a Lord of Law, I surely cannot master this entire set right now. If I could, it would imply this secret technique held no actual value."

"Then, the meaning of the eighth level of Wukong Tower... is likely to master the 'Nayin Secret Technique' and completely absorb that powerful secret technique into one's soul!"

Committing this to memory meant success. If he failed to master the Nayin Secret Technique, it probably meant failure. Luo Feng quickly grasped the true essence of the eighth level of Wukong Tower.

Mastering the Nayin Secret Technique, acquiring this complete formula, would then grant entry to the ninth level of Wukong Tower.

This was the final, greatest hurdle!

"This Nayin Secret Technique must be incredibly difficult, otherwise, the previous hurdles wouldn't have been set so numerous. And the Jin World has seen no success in its long history," Luo Feng began to carefully examine the scroll floating before the doorway. The Purple-Horned Beast beside him continued speaking: "The requirements for this Nayin Secret Technique are harsh. The ideal cultivator is a Lord of Law, and the maximum level allowed for success is True God. If one’s strength exceeds that... there is no possibility of success."

Second update delivered. Fanqie (the author) continues writing the third update, still seeking votes!