Garden of Shadows

by Tinalynge

  He would not be able to tell whether or not there was something wrong with this place unless he had experienced training here.

  It was a risky move. In case some sort of conspiracy was afoot, then he would likely injure himself or his future accomplishments, but he would gain a great benefit if the opposite was true—at the cost of many dead experts.

  Slowly walking towards the second floor, Xue Wei could feel that the pressure was getting heavier and heavier. Their walking speed became slower and slower, but they did not stop at any point.

  Finally, they reached the stairs and started ascending the steps, towards the second floor.

  Fortunately, it was not as if the pressure on the second floor hit them like a hammer. Instead it slowly increased with every passing step, and their movements became increasingly slow.

  Although they had not made it too far into the tower, they dared not rush to the second, third and fourth floor like the others did.

  Although the pressure was getting heavier and heavier, Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi did not stop their steps. They continued moving upwards and upwards, further and further into the tower itself, and finally they reached the second floor.

  Where the first floor was mainly a place where people went forth and back, the second floor had quite a number of experts sitting to the sides in the midst of cultivation.

  Although there were around twenty experts cultivating on the second floor, everyone was sitting at the sides, ensuring that they did not block the flow of the floor for those who were busy going towards the third floor or on their way back.

  Xue Wei looked at Bai Tianyi. Although Xue Wei felt the pressure, and his body was feeling exhausted, he did not stop but continued forward. Bai Tianyi, on the other hand, looked completely fine. He seemed as if there was no pressure on him at all, as if he was taking a stroll in his own garden.

  This was the difference between a body made from flesh and blood, and one made from soul power. The soul body was simply like a black hole, drawing in as much soul power as it could at once and refining it at the fastest speed.

  With Bai Tianyi’s current achievements, it would not take him long before he became an Earth Knight in terms of his spiritual energy levels.

  Xue Wei also felt that the golden dragon within his mind was growing at a rapid speed. It was gobbling up the soul power and refining strand after strand of spiritual energy, making him feel that a breakthrough was imminent.

  “I think that I at most can go to the third floor,” Xue Wei said after contemplating for some time. It has to be said; going to the third floor on one’s first visit to the Soul Tower was completely unheard of before, but comparing him to Bai Tianyi, who seemingly was capable of going through all nine floors, this achievement seemed like nothing.

  “Well, let us head up to the third floor. Find a suitable place for you to sit down and then I will give the upper floors a look. When I finish I will come back and inform you of what I’ve found,” Bai Tianyi said while nodding his head. He could see that the pressure was quite intense for normal experts with a flesh and blood body.

  “Keep an eye out on how many experts there are on each level,” Xue Wei added, giving Bai Tianyi one more task. “I want to know how many are cultivating on the upper levels of the tower, if any. I imagine that the pressure will be so intense up there that a single mishap will cause one’s body to explode.”

  “I will keep an eye out,” Bai Tianyi promised. While they were talking, they moved further and further into the second floor.

  Many experts looked at them curiously. They were experts with merely two eyes, but they were clearly within the Soul Tower, and this proved that they cultivated spiritual energy and not Qi. In fact, the likelihood of them being Primordial Beasts was quite low.

  Then how could they appear here? And for one of them it even seemed as if the pressure was nothing. On top of that, they seemed as if they were new faces in the academy.

  Many were curious about them, but no one came forward to question them or talk with them. Although they were curious, there was still a bit of disdain within their eyes. These experts only had two eyes each. They could not be as amazing as the other experts, so why spend their valuable time figuring out who they were?

  Xue Wei was also happy that no one went forward to talk to him. Although he could easily answer the questions, he preferred to be underestimated rather than being looked at with expectations.

  Not to mention, if he truly were to figure out what was happening in the academy, it was much more beneficial for him to be overlooked.

  Although he was currently being underestimated and looked down upon, that was much better than drawing a crowd anywhere he went.

  Together, the two of them went to the next set of stairs and started ascending the steps one by one. The pressure was getting so intense that sweat started beading on Xue Wei’s forehead. He gritted his teeth as he slowly took one step after another in front of him, almost dragging his feet now.

  While he was struggling, Bai Tianyi was looking at him with a bemused look.

  Xue Wei was always working hard. It was true that his cultivation was partly because of his talent as a Sovereign Beast, but one could not overlook the sheer amount of work he put into each and every part of his training.

  He was training every waking moment. He never idled. Even when he was learning formations and alchemy, his perseverance was unending.

  He had failed multiple times in the past, but even so, he never gave up and continued to work hard until he succeeded, and now he was considered a very talented individual in both formations, alchemy, and his cultivation base when it came to both spiritual energy and Qi.

  One has to remember that he was a Sovereign Beast, so it was not possible for him to begin cultivating at the same time as all the other humans around the age of ten, but he had already overtaken many of them.

  Bai Tianyi snickered when he looked at Xue Wei and he was increasingly pleased with the master he had taken on. Although Xue Wei had not been strong when their contract had been established, Bai Tianyi believed that Xue Wei would one day make his name resound throughout the entire world. That everyone would know his name, and that he would become a figure of great importance.

  One has to remember that although Xue Wei was still a teenager, he had a meticulous mind and was very vigilant and thought things through before ever acting.

  Xue Wei was working hard to withstand the pressure of the third floor while Bai Tianyi had taken the time to evaluate him. Finally, they found a corner on the third floor where Xue Wei sat down with crossed legs and closed his eyes.

  There were even more people on the third floor than there had been on the second, and fewer were moving up and down the stairs.

  Just as the floor beneath, there were many curious experts who looked at Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi, but once again, no one spoke. When Xue Wei sunk into his own cultivation, he did not care at all about what was happening around him. All that mattered to him was the soul power that was pouring into his mind palace, almost overwhelming the golden dragon.

  Seeing Xue Wei so focused on cultivating, Bai Tianyi smiled slightly before he moved towards the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.

  Seeing his light steps and casual expression, the faces of many of the experts on the third floor turned grim and disbelieving. How could this young child possibly withstand the pressure as easily as he did? How could he move as if there was no pressure at all? It was simply inconceivable.

  Chapter 8 - Ninth Floor

  Bai Tianyi smiled wryly when he saw Xue Wei sitting like this, cultivating hard, but he said nothing more and turned around, ready to ascend to the fourth floor.

  As Bai Tianyi reached the stairs, he looked behind him and saw that many were still observing him with wide eyes as if they could not believe what they were seeing.

  Noticing their glances, Bai Tianyi felt incredibly satisfied with himself and started swaggering up the stairs towards the next floor.

 
Seeing him swaggering, everyone on the third floor had ugly expressions on their faces. They felt as if he had slapped them hard. His behavior not at all like a normal cultivator but so self-assured that they felt inferior to a small kid.

  Although Xue Wei had his eyes closed, a small smile appeared on his lips as this happened. He found it rather amusing to see Bai Tianyi act the way he did.

  After Bai Tianyi left to do what Xue Wei had asked him to do, Xue Wei directed his attention on improving his cultivation. Although many people had to have died to create this highly nourishing soul power environment, it would be a waste not to use it and Xue Wei would do just that.

  He was looking within himself and focusing on the dragon that was growing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  The scales on it were growing bigger and bigger, shinier and shinier, and even the surrounding air within the mind palace was starting to shine with the same luster that came from the dragon.

  Xue Wei felt himself break through to the next level and he was excited. He had waited for a breakthrough for a long time.

  But the dragon did not stop here. It continued to absorb the energy in the Soul Tower, and soon it had consolidated the foundation of the new realm and was rushing towards another bottleneck.

  Time slowly ticked by within the Soul Tower. Xue Wei had gotten used to the energy pressure on the third level and slowly stood up to move up to the fourth level. There was no signs of Bai Tianyi’s return yet, but Xue Wei was not worried.

  Bai Tianyi had not been able to cultivate for a long time on their way towards Yan Dalu in the transdimensional tunnel. Now that he had a chance, he was eager to consume all the energy in the tower, wanting to swallow it all like Taotie, the gluttonous monster of legends.

  Reaching the fourth floor, Xue Wei saw a lot of experts again sitting at the sides of the room. There were more experts on the fourth floor than on the third, but there was almost no one moving to the fifth, and even fewer coming down from the fifth floor.

  Xue Wei found a place to the side and sat down. Sweat once again started pouring from his forehead as he once more experienced the heavy pressure of the soul power that was pushing down upon him, but a smile appeared on Xue Wei’s face and he looked at his surroundings with narrowed eyes.

  Few paid attention to him up here, but he could feel plenty of spiritual energy probes being sent towards him, and he shielded his body with his own spiritual energy.

  As soon as the probes arrived, they were bounced backward from the barrier Xue Wei had erected, and no one continued to probe, but many had surprised looks on their faces. To think that this two-eyed expert was capable of overthrowing so many probes in such a short while.

  Xue Wei saw that no one else seemed to have any intention of interrupting him and he once more started cultivating while quietly looking at the changes that happened to the golden dragon in his mind palace.

  While Xue Wei had moved to the fourth floor, Bai Tianyi was already at the eight. He had encountered three people on the seventh floor, but no one on the eight. The three on the seventh floor had looked at him as if they had seen a monster when they noticed his upright, unrestrained posture and casual steps.

  Even more shocked were they when they saw him step towards the stairs to the eighth floor, and when they saw him vanishing up the stairs, their hearts were stirred with horror.

  Bai Tianyi completely ignored these people, and when he vanished they all looked at one another with shock in their eyes.

  One of them could not handle the pressure and the shock at once and even vomited out a mouthful of blood before he hurriedly stood up and descended down the stairs.

  The eighth floor was empty, but the pressure was so heavy that if Xue Wei were to enter without preparation he would without a doubt perish on the spot. The amount of energy that was present was enough to make Bai Tianyi happy. He could feel his breakthroughs appear in succession.

  Not only was the energy pouring into him naturally, but he was also becoming like a black hole, absorbing all the energy and swallowing it as if he was a bottomless abyss.

  His body was made from soul power and spiritual energy. Every time he absorbed the ambient energy, his body was getting stronger and his inner energy was also strengthened.

  Unlike Xue Wei, Bai Tianyi did not have a mind palace. His entire body was made from spiritual energy and soul power. It was obvious that the entire body contained his energy, and all of it was a container for him.

  He felt how his body was getting stronger and stronger. “It is a shame I made a child’s body,” he grumbled to himself as he looked down at his small size. “I did not have a lot of spiritual energy so I decided to make a body that was not too big back then, but I could store more energy right now had I made it bigger.

  “Still, it will cost quite a bit of energy to remake my body and I am not willing to do so right now. I guess I will just have to absorb energy until my body has reached its limits, then refine it, and then repeat like this until my body slowly grows on its own.”

  Contemplating for some time, Bai Tianyi decided to do it this way. It was not that his body could not grow and become an adult’s, it was just that the energy needed to do so was quite exorbitant, almost as much as creating a body from scratch.

  If he were to create a new body, he would lose all the energy he had stored within the one he had right now, and that would be quite the significant loss to him, so in the end he made the difficult choice.

  “Wei is busy cultivating and he should take around a week to break into the Earth Warrior rank,” Bai Tianyi continued to mutter to himself while moving past the floor towards the stairs to the ninth floor. “I guess that means that I can stay on the ninth floor for a week and swallow up all this lovely soul power.”

  Bai Tianyi’s face was filled with a great smile and he had high expectations for the floor above. The energy he was getting on the eighth floor was already so dense, so how would it be on the ninth floor? It had to be the most outstanding environment he could imagine; perhaps the air was so filled with energy that there was no space for anything else?

  With this in mind, his steps picked up their pace and he almost rushed to the stairs. However, he quickly noticed that something was amiss.

  Usually, the pressure would get worse the closer to the stairs one came, but here it was very steady throughout the entire floor.

  As he reached the stairs, he found that there was still no change, and when he placed a foot onto the first step his face turned grim. The energy was actually dissipating!

  And it was not slowly either—it was dissipating at a very rapid pace for each step that he took on the stairs towards the upper floors.

  “Did those crooks trick me?” Bai Tianyi could not help but wonder about this. “They have noticed my ability to devour and become cheap?”

  He stepped back down to the eighth floor, and here the energy was still as dense as before, but when he went up a few stairs again, the energy quickly vanished.

  “No? Then is there something special on the ninth floor?” Bai Tianyi could not comprehend what was happening and he kept muttering to himself as he decided that even if there was no energy, it would be worth it to go to the last floor to have a look.

  As he made it up into the ninth floor, Bai Tianyi found that there was absolutely no energy remaining. There was even less soul energy than there was outside, and he could not help but frown. What was the point of this floor if there was no energy?

  Bai Tianyi started exploring. He looked through every nook and cranny, but no matter how much he looked, it was obvious that there was absolutely nothing there.

  After looking around for the umptieth time, he finally realized that there was really nothing at all on this floor. Perhaps they just never expected that students would reach the ninth floor and thus they deactivated it?

  Having spent a full day on the ninth floor without absorbing any energy, Bai Tianyi’s mood was rather foul and he quickly descended to the eighth floor agai
n where he sat down in the very middle of the room and started to absorb the energy at a speed so fast that everything around him became a blur.

  The soul power poured into him at such a speed that it seemed as if a mist had appeared around him. He was not capable of seeing it himself, but anyone who saw this sight would be stunned silly.

  While Bai Tianyi was busy absorbing the energy, he was unaware that his actions had caused a stir in the rest of the academy.

  Outside, there were certain lights on the tower that lit up when someone entered one of the floors and stayed alight while they were there.

  Many people had seen that the light of the ninth floor had been turned on and even worse, they had seen it being on for a full day before it finally descended to the eighth floor where it stayed.

  Everyone was filled with curiosity about what exactly the monster that had caused such a commotion looked like.

  But as the days ticked by, more and more were getting annoyed waiting, and only a few teachers and stubborn experts stayed behind to see this marvelous expert.

  While Bai Tianyi was causing a shock throughout the academy, Hei Gou and Lin Xiao were staying at home in the courtyard, both busy cultivating their Qi.

  Neither of them were shocked that it would take Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi a long time before they would return. Both of them had expected this, and thus they just focused on cultivating themselves, not stepping out of their rooms for even a moment.

  Xue Wei was the same. He was not worried about Bai Tianyi not returning. He knew that the sword spirit was likely to have been intoxicated with the energy that was coming from the Soul Tower and had forgotten all about the time that had passed, thus he also just focused on his own cultivation.

  After a week, Xue Wei once more saw the familiar figure of a small child appearing on the fifth floor where he was sitting now.