Chapter 556: Sure Enough, It Was Intentional

"It's that Liu Hong again, he's the first to enter the third level!"

"This Liu Hong is so strong, he's outshone the three sects' top disciples twice and been the first to break into the next level!"

"What exactly is Liu Hong's background? How is he so powerful?"

"Rumor has it he came from a small sect, but his sect was later destroyed. He must have encountered some fortuitous opportunity afterward to gain his current strength."

Fame is as dangerous for a person as fattening is for a pig. Liu Hong, previously unknown, rose to fame overnight through the inheritance of the Haotian Pagoda, and his history was naturally dug up quickly.

The three sects wouldn't casually select these rogue cultivators; they would strictly screen them, including their pasts.

Regardless, twice consecutively outshining the three sects' top disciples was enough to make him the topic of everyone's heated discussion.

Once could be a coincidence, but twice could hardly be explained by chance alone.

In comparison, Ye Yuan, who had been the hottest topic at the start, had now become extremely unpopular.

No one cared about a loser. Ye Yuan's last-minute entry into the second level had already made many dismiss him.

In the Haotian Pagoda, it was always about competing for first place; no one had ever heard of competing for last place.

Originally, everyone had been expecting Ye Yuan to create a miracle, but now they had shifted their focus to Liu Hong.

In truth, the first three levels of the Haotian Pagoda weren't much to watch.

For prodigies like Qin Yan, Guo Taoqun, and Yin Yanhua, passing the first three levels was a foregone conclusion.

If there was anything worth watching, it was only who would be the first to break into the next level.

Originally, everyone had favored Ye Yuan, but he had stayed alone on the first level for a full three days!

Later, everyone turned their attention to the three sects' top disciples, only to have a dark horse emerge and outshine them.

This inheritance of the Haotian Pagoda was undoubtedly the most thrilling one yet.

For the three sects, they naturally didn't want their disciples to lose on their own turf.

But for the rogue cultivators and other sects, though they didn't say it, they secretly hoped someone would thoroughly trounce the three sects.

This sour-grapes mentality was common among many.

So when everyone saw Liu Hong be the first to enter the third level, they got as excited as if injected with chicken blood, praising him to the skies.

...

Ye Yuan was methodically killing monsters to train, continuously absorbing the nameless energy and converting it into nameless yuan force.

A day later, a terrifying yuan force storm swept through the beast horde.

The yuan force storm was extremely violent, shredding the nearby demon beasts to death.

After a day of slaughter, the nameless yuan force in Ye Yuan's yuan force sea had accumulated to the size of two bowl mouths.

The nameless energy contained in the Lightning Lion's body was clearly much greater than that of the demon beasts on the first level. In just one day, Ye Yuan had accumulated about the same amount of nameless yuan force as he had on the first level.

After some time, Ye Yuan smoothly broke through to the fourth level of the Sea of Transformation, and his yuan force sea surged again, reaching a circumference of fifteen zhang!

"This nameless yuan force is truly formidable! With my current yuan force strength, I should have no problem defeating or even killing a second-level Soul Sea cultivator! However, the gap between each minor realm in the Soul Sea stage is enormous. Although I've now broken through to the fourth level of the Sea of Transformation, I might have a fighting chance against a third-level Soul Sea cultivator, but against a fourth-level Soul Sea cultivator, there's absolutely no chance of victory." Ye Yuan estimated his current strength.

All along, Ye Yuan had been able to cross an entire major realm to fight enemies.

Even the gap between the lower three realms and the middle three realms was something he could completely ignore.

But as his cultivation level increased, the limits of his ability to fight above his level became more apparent.

The disparity between the Soul Sea and the Sea of Transformation was simply too great. For Ye Yuan to face a fourth-level Soul Sea cultivator while at the fourth level of the Sea of Transformation was virtually hopeless.

"This nameless yuan force is extremely powerful. If unleashed in a burst, it might be able to severely wound a fourth-level Soul Sea cultivator. But the nameless yuan force diminishes with use, so it's best not to use it unless absolutely necessary." Ye Yuan muttered to himself.

Although the nameless yuan force was formidable, the biggest problem was that it couldn't be regenerated.

No matter how much external yuan force Ye Yuan absorbed, he couldn't convert it into nameless yuan force.

The nameless yuan force could only serve as a trump card, not to be used until the final moment.

Earlier, on the first level, Ye Yuan had used over a dozen drops, which had already pained him greatly.

"With my current strength, I should be able to sweep through these Lightning Lions! The others entered the second level two days before me, and with yesterday, another three days have passed. They should have all entered the third level by now. It's time to head to the entrance of the third level. The time limit for the second level is also three days, and I still have two days left."

Ye Yuan's figure moved, and the Thousand Flowing Blossoms unfolded around him as he charged toward the entrance of the third level.

After breaking through to the fourth level of the Sea of Transformation, Ye Yuan's essence, energy, and spirit had all reached their peak, and his yuan force sea was three times larger than when he was at the second level!

In his current state, even without using the nameless yuan force, he was more than capable of killing all the Lightning Lions!

...

Two days later, Ye Yuan once again became the subject of heated discussion, because he had again stayed on the second level for a full three days.

The others had rushed into the second level on the first day and then taken two days to enter the third level, meaning Ye Yuan was now a full three days slower than them!

"What's going on with Ye Yuan? He stayed on the second level for another three days. Does he think this is a vacation?"

"I wonder if he'll manage to rush into the third level at the last moment again this time?"

"Well... it's hard to say. If he does make it in at the last moment again, then it must be intentional. But I just don't know why he insists on staying for the full three days."

"Who knows? The time is almost up! Huh? His name disappeared—quick, check if he made it into the third level!"

"He's in! He really is! What is he trying to do, staying on each level for three full days?"

This time, no one doubted whether Ye Yuan had the strength to pass.

The first time could be attributed to luck, but entering at the exact same moment a second time was clearly intentional.

But no one could figure out what Ye Yuan was trying to achieve.

"This brat, what the hell is he up to, pulling this heart-stopping stunt every time? What if he'd been just a little late? Wouldn't all his previous efforts have been wasted?" Ren Xingchun once again experienced a moment of breathlessness and couldn't help complaining.

It wasn't their fault, after all, no one had ever done such a foolish thing as killing all the demon beasts on a level.

Even now, no one thought that Ye Yuan was actually doing such a thing.

They thought Ye Yuan must have found a place to hide and used the last moments to rush to the next level.

"Heh, City Lord Ren, don't be impatient. Ye Yuan is not a frivolous person; he must have his reasons for doing this. In the Haotian Pagoda, it's not necessarily the one who clears levels fastest who goes the farthest." Qihai suddenly appeared beside Ren Xingchun and reminded him.