Chapter 771: Fourth Floor, Igniting the Bronze Lamps
Fourth floor of the Body Refining Tower.
When Mo Yu arrived, he paused, surprised as he took in the environment.
Before him stretched a plaza about a thousand meters wide, ancient and timeworn. The stone floor was paved with mottled slabs, scarred by the passage of ages, and a desolate, primordial aura permeated the entire space.
"So we finally made it to the fourth floor," Mang Lie said as he and Cai Lin walked over, still shaken by the recent trials.
Cai Lin, by contrast, remained composed. The Nine-Colored Swallowing Python's physical power clearly stood apart from the rest.
"You broke through again?" she asked, her beautiful eyes lingering on Mo Yu's arms. She had distinctly felt the oppressive might within those purple-gold limbs—enough to trouble even a Seventh-Grade Sovereign.
Mo Yu smiled lightly. "You could say that."
His cultivation realm had not advanced, but his physical strength had leapt to a new level.
"You're a monster…" Mang Lie muttered, shaking his head before pointing toward the center of the plaza. "Look over there."
Mo Yu and Cai Lin followed his gesture, their gazes locking on a black stone stele only a few meters tall standing alone at the very center.
The stele wasn't particularly large and sat quietly on the vast plaza. It was easy to overlook. In fact, Mo Yu hadn't even noticed it at first glance.
"That's the Strength Stele," Mang Lie explained.
"Strength Stele?" Mo Yu's brows lifted slightly as understanding dawned.
"The rule for the fourth floor is simple—you just need to land a punch on that stele using only your physical strength," Mang Lie continued. "See the bronze lamps set into it?"
Mo Yu nodded.
At the front of the stele were nine embedded bronze lamps, each one dark and unlit.
"They measure the power of your punch. At the very peak, all nine light up—but that's basically impossible. Even a Ninth-Grade Sovereign can't do it.
"According to the rules, lighting six lamps is enough to pass the fourth floor."
"Light six, huh?"
Mo Yu tightened his fist, eagerness glinting in his eyes.
If it came down purely to physical force, he had no intention of yielding to anyone present.
He was also keen to see just how far his Heaven-Shocking Divine Arms could go if he struck with full strength.
"What's the reward for clearing this floor?" Cai Lin asked suddenly.
"The benefits are also in the stele," Mang Lie replied with a faint smile, heat flickering in his gaze as he stared at the monolith.
"That stele was forged from the flesh and blood of the Sky-Swallowing Divine Beast."
"Sky-Swallowing Divine Beast?"
Mo Yu's brows rose once more.
It was said this creature was a supreme divine beast born directly from the will of heaven and earth, not from any bloodline. Its rarity far eclipsed any other beast. Only in unimaginably distant eras had such beings ever appeared, and their name had long since faded from the world.
One roar could devour the sky. Even a Heavenly Sovereign would think twice before provoking it.
"When the Strength Stele is struck hard enough, it leaks a thin wisp of that divine beast's essence. The more lamps you light, the more essence you receive.
"That essence is the reward for passing the fourth floor," Mang Lie finished, voice thick with anticipation.
Mo Yu's lips curled upward.
Essence from the Sky-Swallowing Divine Beast—its value for body refinement needed no explanation.
It was undoubtedly more precious than Thunder Marrow.
No wonder even Mang Lie was this excited.
Without question, this tower was extravagant beyond belief.
As they spoke, Han Yue, Ran Ben, Xu Lie, and the others stepped forward as well, gazes burning as they took in the stele.
The closer they drew, the more details Mo Yu noticed—layers of overlapping fist marks and palm prints etched into the stone, left behind by challengers of ages past.
The stele looked solid as any monolith; there was no hint that it had once been flesh. Yet its black surface radiated a faint, oppressive pressure that made the blood stir uneasily in their veins.
Mo Yu understood—this was the lingering aura of the Sky-Swallowing Divine Beast. Even just a trace was enough to make breathing uneasy.
Worse, as they approached, they could all feel their spiritual power freezing up.
Their energies congealed and stagnated, as if a tremendous force field had clamped down, locking their cultivation in place.
"Spiritual power is fully suppressed… so here, it really is purely about the body," Mo Yu said quietly, clenching his hand.
He found it nearly impossible to circulate energy—the stele's aura had almost completely sealed his spiritual flow.
Though the monolith stood right in front of them, no one struck immediately.
Instead, all ten sat cross-legged without a word.
Each of them had only one chance.
Fail to light six lamps, and they would be instantly ejected from the tower.
That single punch had to be the pinnacle of their physical might.
For that, they needed perfect condition.
Any unnecessary clashes now would be foolish.
Silence fell over the ancient plaza, broken only by slow, deep breaths.
…
No telling how much time passed.
Eventually, all ten challengers opened their eyes as one.
A soft, red glow radiated from beneath their skin—not spirit energy, but surging blood and life, evidence that their bodies had reached peak condition.
They were ready.
Xu Lie of the Demon Elephant Clan rose first.
"I'll go ahead and test this legendary Strength Stele," he said with a broad grin.
No one objected.
Order didn't matter; each only had one blow to give.
Xu Lie strode forward until he stood directly before the monolith.
He inhaled deeply and tightened his fists.
Boom!
Red light burst from his body as his muscles swelled.
His frame doubled in size; muscle piled onto muscle like stacked iron plates.
Veins bulged like writhing serpents beneath his skin.
With a swift series of seals, blood-colored markings emerged across his flesh—Demon Elephant blood patterns that made him look even more ferocious.
"That's their blood pattern ability—it briefly boosts physical strength," Mang Lie explained softly.
Mo Yu nodded.
He could feel Xu Lie's body strengthening, though it still did not quite match his own Heaven-Shocking Divine Arms.
The purple-gold arms were something even the Force Ape Clan's best would struggle to achieve.
Mo Yu couldn't say how many among the true apes had ever attained such a state.
His path had been made possible only through rare fortune—the Thunder Marrow, the tower, the refined body—without which the Heaven-Shocking Divine Arms would have remained far out of reach.
As Mo Yu contemplated, Xu Lie suddenly stomped the ground.
The entire plaza shook.
Xu Lie shot forward like a charging war elephant.
Boom!
He threw his punch, crimson bloodlight surging around his fist. The force behind it made the air shriek and the void tremble.
A colossal Demon Elephant phantom loomed behind him, terrifying and feral.
BANG!
His full-powered blow crashed against the Strength Stele.
A dull sound reverberated outward. The surface of the monolith rippled—but the stele itself did not budge an inch.
Fwoom.
The waves of force rippled upward, and the first of the bronze lamps atop the stone flared to life, bursting into red flame.
It burned like condensed blood, surging with Xu Lie's unleashed power.
Then the second lamp ignited.
The third.
The fourth.
And then the fifth, though this one took a bit longer; the flame coalesced slowly, flickering to life only after a moment's struggle.
Five lamps lit.
Mo Yu and the others remained expressionless, but their eyes sharpened as they locked onto the sixth lamp.
With Xu Lie's strength, five had always been expected.
Six was where it truly mattered.
Sizzle…
A tiny spark spluttered within the sixth lamp. Wisps of pale smoke gathered, struggling to ignite.
Slowly, under Xu Lie's burning gaze, the fire brightened—
Then shuddered.
And died.
The sixth lamp went dark.
Xu Lie went rigid.
His face drained of color.
He had poured everything into that one punch. To still fall short of the sixth lamp was a staggering blow.
The plaza fell momentarily silent.
Even Mo Yu felt his heart grow heavier.
He'd given Xu Lie better than fifty percent odds at the sixth lamp—yet in the end, the Demon Elephant had failed.
Buzz.
The stele vibrated faintly, and a wisp of faint, murky energy seeped from its surface, drifting toward Xu Lie.
He inhaled reflexively, and the essence flowed into him.
His blood surged like a rising tide. Crimson energy poured from his pores, swelling, then condensing back into his flesh.
Within just a few breaths, Xu Lie's blood power had increased noticeably.
"So that's the Sky-Swallowing Divine Essence…"
Mo Yu's eyes gleamed.
The refinement Xu Lie had achieved in these few seconds surpassed what Thunder Marrow had given.
The essence of a Sky-Swallowing Divine Beast was indeed a supreme tonic for the body.
As the last of the essence sank into Xu Lie's bones, light flared around him and his figure vanished from the plaza—ejected from the tower, his trial ended.
Silence fell once more over the fourth floor.
All eyes grew more serious.
After a brief lull, Ran Ben stepped forward.
"I'll go next," he said mildly, striding toward the stele.
He stopped in front of it, took a single steadying breath—and suddenly exploded with brilliant light.
His body stretched and twisted, swiftly morphing into a massive crimson python, several thousand meters long.
He had assumed his full beast form.
The Scarlet Python raised its colossal head, scarlet eyes casting a heavy, tyrannical gaze over the world.
Hiss!
A harsh, hissing roar tore across the plaza.
Then the giant tail lashed out.
It struck through the air with apocalyptic force, enough to shatter mountains and cleave seas.
Boom!
The monstrous tail hammered down upon the stele, dwarfing the small black monolith beneath it.
Yet the stele did not sway in the slightest.
All of that terrifying impact was drawn inward, swallowed by the black stone.
Fwoom, fwoom…
One by one, the bronze lamps at the top of the stele blazed into fiery life.
Five lamps ignited almost instantly.
Ran Ben's strike had clearly surpassed Xu Lie's.
The sixth lamp crackled to life a moment later, its flame stabilizing and burning steady under the awed stares of everyone watching.
Six lamps.
Success.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10