Stepping through the gate of light, the scene before them changed instantly — they found themselves inside a massive hall, completely different from the previous room.
Gigantic stone pillars surrounded the edges, the floor was paved with rough slabs, and though the layout was simple, the area easily exceeded a thousand square meters.
The hall was dimly lit, but visibility was not an issue.
In front of Yun Ze and Gu Yuena stood another golden light gate — a golden frame enclosing pitch-black darkness, as if sealing something within. From the darkness came faint fluctuations of soul power.
Yun Ze and Gu Yuena stared at the golden gate. They knew — the guardian soul spirit was inside, and it would appear any moment.
A deep roar echoed from beyond the gate, and suddenly, a massive, fur-covered hand reached out and gripped the frame.
The fur was white, about ten centimeters long, gently swaying despite the still air. Judging from the hand's shape, its owner was clearly a monkey.
The creature soon stepped through, revealing its full form — a burly white-furred ape, every inch of its body covered in thick, lustrous hair.
Moving on all fours, the white ape stood over three meters tall; if it stood upright, it would easily exceed six. Its build was massive, muscles bulging, each limb like a thick pillar — strength radiated from its very being.
White Spirit Ape, a top-tier soul beast.
Strength, speed, and defense were all excellent, if not the absolute best — perfectly balanced overall, giving it tremendous combat potential.
"Let me handle this." Gu Yuena stepped forward, her tone calm. There was no killing intent in her eyes — only faint pity and helplessness.
Even though this "creature" was merely a manifestation of soul energy — and could be regenerated even after being destroyed — she couldn't help feeling a touch of sadness.
Yun Ze nodded silently and stayed where he was.
The battle that followed was absurdly simple.
The moment Gu Yuena released her Quasi–Dragon God martial soul, the white ape's eyes filled with terror. Its previous aura vanished instantly as it dropped to the ground, trembling.
All soul beasts carried within them an instinctive reverence and fear toward dragons — a suppression born from the very essence of bloodlines, the absolute authority of the superior over the inferior.
If a true dragon-type beast had been here, the effect would have been even stronger — it might have instantly lost the ability to fight.
Gu Yuena didn't bother to strike. She merely let her divine pressure flow outward, and within moments, the thousand-year-old White Spirit Ape's body began to blur — dissolving into pure soul energy.
Against her Quasi–Dragon God bloodline, the beast had no chance of resistance.
As soon as it transformed into a soul spirit, an electronic voice echoed from every direction:
"First level of the Soul Spirit Tower cleared.
You may now choose to absorb the White Spirit Ape soul spirit,or continue the tower challenge."
Without hesitation, Yun Ze and Gu Yuena stepped through the golden gate and ascended to the second floor.
The guardian of the next floor was a Two-Thousand-Year Three-Eyed Toad.
Again, Gu Yuena took the lead.
Once she released her Quasi–Dragon God pressure, the toad's body trembled violently, paralyzed by fear — resistance was out of the question.
With Gu Yuena's divine bloodline suppressing everything, their tower climb went ridiculously smoothly.
Before long, they had already reached the eighteenth floor.
From the eighteenth floor onward, the guardians were nearly all Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
This time, their opponent was a Skyflame Dragon Lizard.
The Skyflame Dragon Lizard was a top-tier species among pseudo-dragons — carrying a trace of Fire Dragon King bloodline. Its flames were powerful enough to rank among the best of its kind.
But before Gu Yuena, even such an elite existence was utterly helpless.
Its near–ten-thousand-year strength meant nothing.
"This one's pretty good," Gu Yuena said. "Want to absorb it?"
Indeed, the Skyflame Dragon Lizard was a fine choice for a soul spirit — far superior to the Earthfire Tiger or Purgatory Viper they'd encountered earlier.
Yun Ze shook his head without hesitation.
"Let's keep going. There should be better ones ahead."
He understood the pattern — the deeper one went, the stronger and higher-quality the soul beasts became.If they found another fire-type spirit later, its quality would definitely surpass this one.
"Alright." Gu Yuena didn't argue. Since Yun Ze had decided to continue, she'd follow his lead.
They passed through the next golden gate — into the nineteenth floor.
From this point onward, every guardian was a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.Gu Yuena's Quasi–Dragon God aura had slightly less effect on them — but only slightly.
Even so, the supreme dragon pressure still filled these soul beasts with overwhelming fear, crushing their combat strength.They no longer collapsed instantly like the thousand-year beasts before — but they were still far from a challenge.
The tower run remained effortless.Gu Yuena's bloodline was simply broken, a literal cheat code.
In less than thirty minutes, they had reached the twenty-third floor — shattering all previous records.
Watching the surveillance feed, Zhang Yu was utterly dumbfounded.His expression could only be described as haunted.
He rubbed his eyes again and again, afraid he was seeing things.That number really said 23, didn't it?
"Monsters… absolute monsters…" he muttered, heart pounding wildly.
He quickly opened a soul communicator and called Tower Master Zhang Geyang.
"Tower Master! They've already reached the twenty-third floor!"
"Are you certain?" Zhang Geyang's voice trembled — barely able to stay calm.
"Unless my eyes are broken — yes, I'm certain," Zhang Yu replied, swallowing hard.
"Alright, I understand."
Zhang Geyang sat frozen in his chair for a long moment before responding.He had already checked the feed earlier — back when they were on the tenth floor, which they'd cleared in just seven minutes.
He hadn't kept watching because he'd been trying to contact the Federation's Spirit Pagoda to inquire about Gu Yuena.
What exactly was that girl's martial soul?How could it exert such terrifying suppression — robbing soul beasts of the will to fight?
He had never even heard of such a martial soul before.
Now, he was desperate to learn more about her — purely out of curiosity, if nothing else.
While waiting for the Federation's reply, he could only watch the playback feed.
Communication between the two continents was difficult, and the Spirit Pagoda had to rely on a special channel — unlike the instant soul-guide phones.
The guardian of the twenty-third floor stepped through the light gate — a Nine-Tailed Flame Fox, fur blazing like living fire, each of its nine tails swaying regally. Its presence radiated nobility and overwhelming power.
Zhang Yu's face changed drastically as soon as he recognized it.
"Why did the system summon that beast here?!"
Panicking, he immediately called Zhang Geyang again.
"Don't tell me they cleared the twenty-third floor in less than a minute?!" Zhang Geyang exclaimed.
"N-no, it's not that — the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox has appeared on the twenty-third floor!" Zhang Yu stammered, nearly tripping over his words.
At that, Zhang Geyang shot to his feet, his voice rising by several octaves:
"What did you just say?! The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox?!"