For Lin Tian, the current trials at the Refining Tower were nothing more than a mere formality. Passing through them was effortlessly simple. Within just a few hours, he had advanced to the eleventh level of the tower.
Upon reaching the eleventh level, one earned the opportunity to enter the second floor of the Library Pavilion. Now that Lin Tian had acquired this privilege, he had no desire to waste any more time on the tower. However, just as he was about to leave, he instinctively glanced at the token in his hand. Upon seeing the points accumulated on it, a smile spread across his face.
He had not anticipated receiving a full thousand points after crafting the spiritual weapon on the eleventh level. As an outer disciple, Lin Tian was well aware of how difficult it was to earn points in the Xuanwu Sect. Yet here he was, effortlessly earning over a thousand points simply by crafting a spiritual weapon. Such a stroke of good fortune felt like a gift from the heavens.
Originally, he had planned to finish crafting the spiritual weapon and then head to the second floor of the Library Pavilion. However, with so many points now before him, how could Lin Tian pass up this opportunity?
With that thought, his smile grew even brighter. Without a second thought, he entered the twelfth level. Compared to the eleventh, the difficulty of crafting spiritual weapons on the twelfth level had clearly increased. Yet for Lin Tian, even this challenge was easily within his grasp.
It wasn't until he reached the thirteenth level that Lin Tian felt a strain on his mental energy. Though his mental strength had been rapidly improving, his cultivation was still quite low. Prolonged refining had begun to deplete his mental power. Fortunately, the exhaustion was still manageable, and with a proper rest, his energy could be fully restored.
After exiting the Refining Tower and returning to his residence, Lin Tian was shocked to find that an uproar had erupted outside the tower. Apart from the outer sect competitions, the Refining Tower was the ultimate measure of a disciple's skill. For a long time, Gao Zhenhao had been at the top of the rankings, and the number twelve beside his name had been a bold statement of his supremacy.
However, with the appearance of Wu Xuan's name, Gao Zhenhao's position was swiftly overshadowed. The disciples of the Weapon Peak had already begun discussing who this Wu Xuan was. Many even started comparing him to Lin Tian.
One was the champion of the outer sect competition, and the other, the leader of the refining rankings. Some disciples even hoped that Wu Xuan would come forward and teach Lin Tian a lesson. But when the disciples began inquiring about Wu Xuan, none of them had ever heard of him.
"Did you hear? Apparently, Wu Xuan is the top disciple of the Eight Array Formation. He caused quite a stir in the Formation Peak not long ago," one disciple remarked, sparking a ripple of excitement among the Formation Peak disciples.
If this was true, it meant that Wu Xuan was from the Formation Peak. The leader of the Weapon Peak's rankings had been supplanted by a disciple from another peak. This realization caused an uproar among the disciples of the Formation Peak, many of whom were eager to enter the Refining Tower and push Wu Xuan's name off the board.
"Enough, stop making noise," a tall figure emerged from the crowd, striding toward them.
"It's Gao Zhenhao." Upon seeing the newcomer, the disciples' expressions brightened with excitement. To them, Gao Zhenhao was undoubtedly the most skilled refiner in the Weapon Peak. As for Lin Tian, though his refining techniques were impressive, they were largely based on creating unusual spiritual weapons. In contrast, the disciples of the Weapon Peak held Gao Zhenhao in even higher regard for his mastery of conventional refining.
"It's just one Wu Xuan. Let's see how I bring his name down from the rankings," Gao Zhenhao sneered, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at the board. Seeing Wu Xuan's name above his own stirred a deep sense of displeasure within him.
As the reigning champion of the Refining Tower on Weapon Peak, he would never allow a disciple from the Formation Peak to take the top spot. During his match with Lin Tian, he had briefly used pills to break through his cultivation level, boosting his prowess in refining. Now, refining the thirteenth level's spiritual weapon would no longer pose any difficulty for him.
"Looks like, in moments like these, we can only rely on Gao Zhenhao," the disciples murmured as they watched him step into the Refining Tower. Despite the tactics he used during the competition, Gao Zhenhao's actions had earned him some admiration among the disciples.
What they didn't anticipate was that not long after Gao Zhenhao entered the tower, Lin Tian's mental energy had nearly fully recovered. Sensing this, Lin Tian walked back toward the Refining Tower.
As he approached, Lin Tian was astonished to see the outer sect disciples from Weapon Peak all staring intently at the rankings. Not even a single disciple noticed him as he passed by. Seeing this, Lin Tian didn't bother to draw attention to it and continued straight into the tower.
With his mental energy fully restored, Lin Tian proceeded directly to the fourteenth level. As the furnace fire blazed, the spiritual weapon on the fourteenth level began to take shape.
It was undeniable that the difficulty of crafting spiritual weapons increased exponentially with each level. Yet for Lin Tian, overcoming such challenges was exactly what he relished. After three full hours of meticulous effort, Lin Tian succeeded in crafting a spiritual weapon of the fourth stage of foundation building.
After submitting the weapon, Lin Tian hurriedly left. Forcing himself to craft a weapon far beyond his current cultivation had already depleted much of his mental strength. Now, he was clearly at his limit.
As he submitted his weapon, the numbers beside the names on the Refining Tower rankings shifted once again.