Surprisingly Enough(NOT), Common Sense Is Overpowered in Cliché Cultivation World

1.97 In which there is a lot of glaze~

Ning had a bad feeling the moment the tower announced the fifth trial. It was the kind of bad feeling that came from reading the trial instructions and realizing the tower was about to pull some kind of bullshit.

Every step taken had left a trace.

Every strike thrown had left a shape.

Every habit, every strength, every flaw had been recorded.

What followed him would now stand ahead.

Those words sounded profound. Mysterious to the point that disciples would simply gloss over it, thinking it was some mumbo jumbo.

But was that really so?

No, Ning had not come so far that he would make such an elementary mistake, not after the scripture comprehension trial.

Adding "passing beyond your shadow" at the very end of the announcement, and considering this was the last trial of the tower for them, Ning had a pretty good clue what he'd face next.

Just unloading all your techniques for a trial had sounded quite simple, after all, during the fourth trial.

Put simply, Ning had read these things before.

From the lines, "shadow" probably referred to himself, or something similar, to the point that the difference didn't matter.

That was a pretty big clue. If the trial had something to do with doppelgängers, then this trial would probably be combat against a shadow, or the dark side of oneself. That was common enough trope and seemed fitting for the grand finale.

After all, despite being a xianxia trial, he'd never had a one-on-one fight against someone in a trial.

And what better opponent than himself?

Ning knew himself.

More importantly, he knew how disgusting he could be to fight.

A puppet modeled after Xiao Fan would probably punch harder, stand back up more stubbornly, and somehow become more protagonist-like the longer the battle continued.

But a puppet modeled after Ning?

That thing would hide in mist, soften the ground, shoot arrows from unfair angles, use spells to break rhythm, poison the battlefield with small advantages, and generally behave like a problem that had learned how to make more problems.

Yup, Ning had spent a long time becoming the person other people had to deal with.

He had no interest in experiencing the other side.

Not to mention, this entire trial smelled like something designed for protagonists.

Face yourself. Bleed. Lose. Remember your past. Roar at the heavens. Break your limits in the final moment. Reach an epiphany while coughing blood beneath dramatic lighting.

Very inspiring, and an absolute cinematic experience for anyone watching.

Ning, however, did not know what kind of spiritual juice protagonists were drinking to constantly achieve enlightenment mid-battle, but he was not on that prescription. His confidence in suddenly surpassing himself while being beaten by a better version of himself was extremely low.

However, his confidence in a fully charged fireball was much higher. After all, if one fireball wasn't enough, then two would be.

So he prepared one. It didn't matter what waited on the other side of the door, as long as he could put it down; that was all that mattered.

Before he fully stepped through the door, Ning began chanting.

The fireball formed before him, layer by layer. This was not the quick version he used for harassment or distraction. This was the complete version, shaped with the full incantation.

Scarlet flame compressed inward as heat folded into heat. The surface of the fireball became smooth, yet it grew wildly.

Then Ning added one more thing.

A minuscule strand of qi from Infinite Circle.

The circle in his dantian was still thin and newly formed. It was nowhere near strong enough for reckless use. Even so, that tiny strand of accumulated qi caused the fireball's core to deepen a little.

Next, he used Crimson Flame Control to take command of this fireball, containing it, delaying it, letting it stew in itself.

Best-case scenario, he had misunderstood the trial and the fireball wouldn't be needed.

Worst-case scenario, the problem would stop being a problem after enough fireballs.

That was a perfectly reasonable plan in his mind.

Then he stepped through the door.

The world changed as black stone spread beneath his feet. Darkness surrounded the arena. A pale sky hung above without sun, moon, or stars.

Across from him, shadows began to gather.

[DEFEAT YOUR OPPONENT TO PASS.]

[SURPASS YOURSELF.]

"Yeah! Fuck no." Ning didn't wait for whatever was forming to dramatically reveal itself; he just released the fireball.

Ning had chosen the wide-area version deliberately. With Pure Eyes and Shadow Steps, he knew he'd absolutely be able to dodge a narrow or single-target attack despite the surprise.

Almost all of Ning's techniques were of that type; that's why he'd learned fireball. Yes, slinging fireballs had been his dream, but he had a deeper reason for devoting his time to it.

Fireball, especially a wide-range fireball, was different; it only asked a single question.

How much of this entire region would you like to not stand in?

Ideally, all of it.

Flame rolled across the black stone, devouring the presumed puppet-Ning as smoke erupted in thick waves.

Ning did not relax and continued blasting, uncaring of the smoke. He did not allow a dramatic silhouette to walk out of the flames.

That was how they aura-farmed and wrecked your ass.

The smoke churned violently. His spatial sense brushed against the center of the explosion and found something there, but whatever it was, it was not moving anymore.

Good.

That meant the bombardment was working.

Naturally, Ning increased the bombardment.

If this puppet truly was an exact copy of him, then Ning already knew its weakness.

His passive defense was decent. Jade Skin and Icy Meridians made his body tougher than most cultivators at his stage. His meridians could endure more strain than they should. His senses were sharp, his reaction speed was good, and his agility and flexibility were carefully honed.

But active defense?

He had no proper shield technique.

He'd been waiting to reach the fourth stage of Jade Skin and Icy Meridians, because at that stage a true defensive technique would emerge naturally without him having to actively try to learn one.

Until that happened, Ning's defensive philosophy was simple. Do not be where the attack lands.

If that failed, make sure the enemy regretted attacking first.

Those were excellent survival principles, but they weren't very useful when someone was being blasted before they could even process it.

This flaw was acceptable when his enemies didn't understand it.

Unfortunately for the puppet, Ning understood it perfectly.

His supernatural power was Know Thyself, for heaven's sake.

The instruction had been simple.

Defeat your opponent to pass.

It hadn't said he had to wait until the opponent finished loading.

That was the tower's oversight.

Time stretched.

The bombardment continued until the arena no longer looked like an arena. The far side became a ruined mess of scorched stone, frozen mist, softened ground, arrow craters, and lingering rain. Steam rose in heavy clouds where fire met ice. Lightning crawled across broken stone, flashing between cracks like dying serpents.

Ning's breathing grew heavier.

His qi reserves dropped at a frightening rate. Even with the faint help of Infinite Circle, this level of continuous attack was brutal. If it continued much longer, he'd be the one in danger.

Even then, he did not stop, and amid the bombardment, his vision blacked out slightly as he was enveloped by a golden light.

...

"Bwuh?" Ning held his head at the suddenness of the change. He looked around.

He stood inside a pale golden room.

It was not as large as the previous floors, but every inch of it seemed ancient. It just had that smell about it. The floor was carved from smooth jade that glowed with a faint inner light.

On the walls was a painted silhouette; around the figure were alchemist cauldrons, formations, weapons, ancient beasts, and even a sword. A single glance was enough to make Ning feel the majesty of it all.

Below the painting was a circular seal carved into the golden wall, and shelves lined the far wall.

On them rested old jade slips, broken sword fragments, cracked bronze bells, blackened incense burners, and several objects so worn by time that their original shape could no longer be recognized.

"W-where...?" Ning took a deep breath, calming his nerves as the feeling of heaviness slowly disappeared.

The golden runes around him trembled.

Then, without warning, a figure appeared directly beside him.

Ning's body moved before his mind could finish processing, and he slid a few steps back on instinct.

"Hm. Good instincts. I see you've oriented yourself."

The figure before him was an old man in white robes.

His beard was long, and his eyes seemed to be filled with wisdom; i.e., he looked like every old guy. But his face looked strangely familiar.

"F-founder?" Ning blinked. He remembered that face; it was in the sect's various paintings and murals, and there was even a statue of the man in various parts of the sect.

"Not really. How could I dare be referred to as the glorious master, Li Changsou?" The figure's eyebrow twitched at that. While being mistaken for the founder was very flattering, he didn't deserve such words; rather, no one could hope to emulate that figure.

Ning stared blankly as the suddenly appearing figure said that. "I mean, you have the face and look of the sect founder..."

"Hmph! It's just my way of showing adoration and respect. You wouldn't get it." The figure huffed, looking at Ning as though he couldn't understand such a simple concept.

Truthfully, Ning did kind of get it. That's what cosplay was all about.

"You must be wondering who I am." The figure then turned to Ning.

Ning wanted to say "not really," but he was a patient guy. Unless it was a battle, he never really interrupted monologues; they were the best way to understand someone, after all.

"I am the tower spirit of the Heavenly Origin Tower," the old man declared, sleeves fluttering without wind. "The enforcer of trials, the administrator of inheritances, the keeper of records, the guardian of the founder's will, and the one who has had to personally endure your nonsense until now."

Ning blinked.

For a moment, he wasn't sure which part of that grand introduction to respond to first. Finally, he chose the safest one.

"Greetings, Senior Tower Spirit."

The tower spirit's expression eased by a fraction.

"Hmph. At least you have manners, even though you've been a pain in the ass through all the trials." The tower spirit spoke.

Ning slowly lowered his gaze to the finger pointed at him.

"Me? A pain in the ass?"

"Yes, you!"

The tower spirit's sleeve snapped through the air as he waved his hand. Golden runes trembled around the chamber, as if his irritation had caused the room itself to vibrate.

"How is that possible? Wouldn't that be someone like Xiao Fan?" Ning was genuinely surprised by this. He was as chill as they came; how could he be a troublesome existence? That was Xiao Fan's whole thing.

"Hmph! That Xiao Fan brat is a pain in his own right, yes. But-" He turned sharply toward Ning. "You take the cake with how you acted."

"I believe I behaved reasonably."

"You behaved reasonably in the way a thief behaves reasonably when he checks whether the door has a lock before robbing the house." The tower spirit shouted.

Was it wrong that Ning thought that was sort of reasonable? Eh, no. Must be his imagination.

"So, how was I a troublesome person, then, Senior Trial Spirit?" Ning didn't want to be a pain in the ass of ancient, powerful old cultivators, so it was best to know where he'd erred and never repeat it again.

The tower spirit began pacing across the pale golden room. His long white beard swayed with each step, and the ancient aura around him fluctuated between solemn dignity and elderly grievance.

"First trial was okay. You did well going beyond your limits. For that, you have my praise." The tower spirit said easily.

"Ah..." Ning just smiled and rubbed his head.

But the tower spirit glared at Ning. "The second trial, the illusion trial, was where it started."

His expression became even more aggrieved.

"Do you know how much qi and mental construction and power I had to devote to making sure the illusion didn't collapse midway? What kind of illusions were you even seeing?"

"The normal kind," Ning answered. Yup, end of the world, existential crisis, and all that, just standard stuff, right?

"The normal kind?" the tower spirit repeated, voice rising. "Your reaction to the illusion was strange beyond reason!"

He lifted a hand, and a small golden image appeared in the air between them. It showed countless threads weaving into a shifting dreamscape.

"The illusion trial does not operate through ordinary time. It follows the disciple's own perception. Fear lengthens moments. Desire causes scenes to linger. Regret causes time to fold inward. But even then, no one else's illusion was as long as yours. Your inner sense of time was so precise that the illusion had to stretch itself just to maintain continuity."

The golden threads in the air multiplied rapidly, tangling into an enormous web.

The tower spirit's voice became full of accusation.

"Your illusion became far longer internally than the others', but outside, only a short time passed. Do you know what that meant?"

"That I am amazing?" Ning tried to joke.

He'd apparently chosen the wrong dialogue option.

"It was much more work!"

The tower spirit slapped his sleeve against his palm.

He took Ning's silence as permission to continue.

"Then came the third trial."

Ning's posture became even more polite.

The tower spirit's eyes narrowed. "I did not mind you using that strategy to pass, but because of your strategy, so many people passed. It was the highest number compared to all other years. It was fortunate that the further trials had a passing limit; otherwise I would've needed to manage far more."

Ning understood at this point that the only thing the tower spirit was really mad about was having to work harder than in previous years.

Which, you know, was kind of valid.

"And then," the tower spirit said, his voice suddenly becoming calm in a deeply dangerous way, "came the fifth trial. Who attacks an opponent before it has fully formed?"

"That's just common sense." Ning blinked innocently.

"The Self-Surpassing Trial is meant to be a sacred confrontation. A mirror of the Dao heart. A battle against the polished echo of the self. The disciple is supposed to face their own strengths, flaws, habits, and limits, then surpass them through danger and pressure."

"Oh." Ning was glad he'd done what he did; from what the tower spirit was saying, it was clear this would've been a ridiculously difficult battle otherwise.

"You bombarded the puppet before it finished forming, and for some godforsaken reason, kept doing so even after it had already lost." The tower spirit could not understand Ning's philosophy of triple-tapping the enemy.

"Well, from what you said, it sounded like a dangerous puppet." Ning continued. "Plus, the tower itself said we'd be fighting something like that."

Then the tower spirit slowly asked, "You knew? No, of course you did to charge an attack beforehand. How?"

"Well, I read the instructions and figured it out. You know, it was about how the tower had recorded everything about ourselves, and we have to surpass the shadow possessing all of it." What was left unspoken was that Ning had used his superpower of genre-savviness to understand how this kind of xianxia arc would progress, but that was something best left unsaid.

"...Fair enough." The tower spirit admitted, surprising Ning quite a bit.

"Huh?"

The tower spirit glanced at Ning. "While you did pass the trial in the most ridiculous way in the history of this trial, that doesn't mean I won't recognize your talent."

Ning blinked at that. The tower spirit seemed to have finally let out all his frustrations.

"My master, Li Changsou, was a man of unmatched vision. Master Li Changsou did not create simple tests. He created paths. Every floor, every illusion, every array, every inheritance gate, every trial of pressure and heart, was refined by his will. He understood that a cultivator is not tempered by reward alone, but by confrontation."

The pale golden room responded to his words.

The murals along the wall glowed softly. The painted silhouette at the center seemed to stand taller, surrounded by cauldrons, weapons, formations, beasts, clouds, and that lone sword.

The tower spirit's voice grew grander.

"He built this tower not merely as a treasure of the sect, but as a road across time. Those who climb are tested by his hand. Those who pass are seen by his will. Even after so many years, disciples still walk the path he left behind. But that doesn't mean he wanted everyone to walk the same path. Each trial could be passed in a multitude of ways, and if you found another way, then that's good on you."

"...Founder Li Changsou is really amazing. He was able to think so far ahead." Ning respected the founder; after all, without him, he naturally wouldn't have been able to come so far.

He wasn't ungrateful enough to overlook that, much like how he sometimes spoiled his master with snacks, or told her stories and gave her ideas from his otherworldly memories when she fell into a slump. No one should ever know he was the one who gave the inspiration for the unending itching pill.

"Of course. Master Li Changsou is like the sun hanging in the sky, illuminating all directions. His elegance is unmatched, his knowledge and wisdom boundless. Without him, the whole world would lose its luster."

Ning stared blankly, for he was made speechless by the sheer amount of glaze this spirit did.

"Regardless of your methods, the tower recognizes the result. You passed the fifth trial."

"Thank you." Ning thanked the tower spirit.

"Hmm?" The tower spirit was surprised.

"While there were certainly parts that were a bit too convoluted, like the scripture comprehension trial-" Ning ignored the tower spirit's protest and continued. "-despite everything about the trials, I feel like I've grown tremendously through them. I'm grateful for this opportunity. You were great."

Ning wasn't lying. In fact, the inner-demon-like illusion from the second trial had helped him confront his fears, face them, and accept them as part of who he was. Not to mention the experience of creating something entirely new, that would prove invaluable in the long run.

"W-well. It's good that you have that sense, at least." The tower spirit turned his nose up and stroked his beard.

Ning couldn't help but chuckle at this. One might think the personification of an entire tower would be cold and unfeeling, but the tower spirit had shown he was just as human as anyone else.

"So, anyway, for being the second person to complete the fifth trial, I will give you an inheritance that fits you best. It will be far better than the one you got in the third trial." The tower spirit spoke grandly.

"That sounds great!" Ning's eyes shone brightly. Yup, free goodies, or a free inheritance, he loved them.

"Tell me, Ji Ning, did you feel a sense of vertigo, a sense of glimpsing something into the void, each time you were teleported between floors?" the tower spirit asked.

"Y-yes?" Ning had a feeling where this was going.

"The tower's teleportation mimics the inherent ability of Nascent Soul cultivators to pass through the space of this world. It should never even register to anyone below that stage. But you were able to repeatedly feel something. That tells me one thing." The tower spirit paused. "You, brat, have a high affinity for space. You can feel things in the void that shouldn't be possible, perceive things that should be unfeasible."

"Oh." Ning wasn't entirely clueless about this. Seeing how everyone else was fine after each teleportation, he'd had a feeling this was tied to his talent.

[Talent: Extreme Space-Time Sensitivity]

"Well, not the reaction I was hoping for." The tower spirit felt that this brat was his natural nemesis. But too bad for the brat, it was time to show who was wiser. "Now, I'm going to give you the most powerful inheritance I have."

Ning blinked. He knew that if it was what he imagined, then a technique of that caliber would indeed be powerful, but he was surprised he was going to receive the most powerful inheritance.

Things like "the most powerful," "the most special," "the best", those were usually reserved for the protagonist, you know.

"So, do you know what type of inheritance you're going to get?" the tower spirit asked.

Ning just looked at the tower spirit, who had practically spelled it out but was still being so stubborn about being dramatic. "Space. It's an inheritance related to my talent for space, right?"

Then, with a smile so smug it could give his master a run for her money, the tower spirit spoke. "Tsk. Tsk. You are wrong."

"Huh?" Then Ning was hit by a purple light.

"The inheritance I'm giving you is related to Time."

...

The tower spirit glanced at the boy taking deep breaths, trying to calm down from the sudden rush of information he'd found himself buried in.

Now, the tower spirit hadn't deliberately tried to make the boy suffer; rather, he was just layering this spiritual imprint on top of the previous one, so the boy was simply getting a little overwhelmed with information.

"Eh, he'll handle it." The tower spirit might have worried if it were anyone else, but the sheer mental fortitude the boy had shown was enough to handle it. This was just a preview of what he'd need to endure when he actually used the jade talismans to directly input techniques into his head.

As for why he'd given the time-related inheritance to the boy?

It was simple, really. He didn't have a strong inheritance for space, and the boy deserved quite a lot.

Not only that, the tower spirit believed only this boy could actually comprehend, or even scratch the surface of, this technique. Space was already a difficult inheritance to comprehend, but time was usually considered even tougher.

It was good that Ning did show some affinity to the time element itself with the illusion.

Of course, if it was only that, then the tower spirit may have hesitated; it was only because the boy had shown such aptitude during the technique-creation trial, such delusion, that maybe he could do something with this one.

"It's totally not because I got flattered by the boy's words. Absolutely not." The tower spirit nodded to himself.

The pale golden chamber trembled. The tower spirit understood what had happened, and quickly vanished.

Bang.

Xiao Fan hit the jade floor, rolled once, and sprang back to his feet almost immediately.

"Huh?" Xiao Fan looked around, his robes torn despite his body having been healed by the tower's mechanism. "Where am I?"

Then his golden eyes noticed Ning, who was taking deep breaths.

"Oi! You alright?" Xiao Fan couldn't help but ask. Ning seemed to be suffering.

"C-can you just not shout right now?" Ning clutched his head and snarked.

"O-okay." Xiao Fan quickly nodded.

Wow. It was the first time he'd seen Ning so cranky and genuinely scary with that look on his face.

"So, the fifth trial was tough, huh?" Xiao Fan asked. Ning must have suffered just as much as he had, to still be in pain even with the healing mechanism.

"What are you talking about? It wasn't that tough." Ning answered, trying to clear his head. "It's just that the inheritance I received as a reward is what's messing with my mind."

Xiao Fan genuinely wanted to pay attention to the second part of that sentence; he really did, but he couldn't help blurting out, "What do you mean, 'not that tough'? I had to fight with everything I had and more. If it wasn't for a sudden epiphany, there's no way I could've beaten that monster of a puppet."

Ning took a deep breath. "See, that was the problem: you let the puppet fight you. I just blasted it the moment it started to appear, and didn't stop until it stayed down. It didn't even have time to adapt to me."

Hearing that answer, Xiao Fan.exe simply stopped working.

All that blood, all that sweat, all that suffering, and that's how you pass? Why had he even been suffering through all that in the first place?

There weren't many times Xiao Fan went green with envy, but this was absolutely one of them.

It was then, just as Xiao Fan was shouting at the heavens over the sheer unfairness of it all, that a figure suddenly appeared, and the light of the entire room shifted to one spot.

"So, you have completed the final trial," the figure said, his voice rolling through the golden chamber like an ancient bell. "Then open your eyes properly, juniors, and behold this spirit, the guardian of the Heavenly Origin Tower, the keeper of its trials, the witness of ten thousand failures, the administrator of inheritances, and the last remaining echo of the great Founder Li Changsou's will." The tower spirit ignored the blank stare Ning gave him and continued, "I am the Spirit of the Heavenly Origin Tower."

Xiao Fan snapped out of his daze at Ning's words, and then couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "You look quite familiar for some reason."

Xiao Fan wasn't kidding; this tower spirit had a strangely recognizable face.

Ning helpfully supplied from the side, "Senior Tower Spirit has the same face and figure as Founder Li Changsou. You may have seen his statues around the sect."

Ning added that last part simply because he couldn't trust the protagonist to remember such mundane things.

"Oh!" Xiao Fan nodded. But he did not think that was it. He wondered if he was having a severe case of déjà vu.

Then he suddenly understood something. "Wait. Aren't you the person who was sneaking around the inner sect courtyard a few months ago? I remember seeing you wandering my courtyard back then."

The grand atmosphere shattered the moment those words left Xiao Fan's mouth.

Ning just sat on the ground, ready to watch the drama unfold.

The tower spirit looked offended. "Sneaking?" the old man repeated, his voice rising slightly. "This spirit does not sneak."

Xiao Fan frowned. "You were crouching behind a decorative stone, staring at my room."

"That was merely a coincidence." The tower spirit naturally wouldn't accept such slander.

"You also scared three inner disciples so badly that one of them reported seeing the founder's ghost."

Hearing that, the tower spirit coughed into his fist to hide his guilt.

"I merely sensed that the tower's array had undergone some changes, so I went to check it. The Heavenly Origin Tower's formations extend throughout certain regions of the sect. Some nodes happen to be located in the inner sect courtyards. It's only during this process that I could get out of the tower, okay? So I may have wandered a bit."

Xiao Fan stared at him judgmentally.

"Enough. This spirit refuses to be judged by juniors who have no understanding of ancient formation maintenance."

Xiao Fan opened his mouth.

The tower spirit pointed at him.

"And you. Since you've also reached this chamber, let's skip the boring talk. Now, let's discuss the reward." Inwardly, the tower spirit grumbled about how these youngsters had no respect for their elders. Not that he was that old, anyway.

Xiao Fan wanted to say something, but wisely shut up, catching the hint from Ning. From what he'd seen of this brief encounter, this tower spirit was dramatic; if he gave the man more reasons, he'd only continue being so.

"What would fit you? Hm..." The tower spirit looked Xiao Fan up and down.

The pale golden room quieted.

Ning stood off to the side, minding his own business, keeping a low profile. He was also quite curious about what the protagonist would get.

He'd already received the most powerful inheritance, so what would the son of luck get, then?

The moment he thought that, something changed in the room.

Suddenly, the mural depicting the founder lit up slightly; no, it was the circular seal carved into the golden wall that was illuminating everything around it.

Until that moment, it had been dim, nearly invisible among the surrounding patterns. But now, line by line, it awakened.

The seal was not made from ordinary runes.

It looked like thousands of tiny chains intertwined into a single circle. Each chain was formed from characters so small they seemed like grains of light. They wrapped around one another, locked together, then spread outward in eight directions. Within the circle were faint images: mountains, rivers, clouds, beasts, weapons, stars, and countless vague shadows kneeling beneath an invisible pressure.

At the center of the seal was one ancient character.

Seal.

The moment it appeared, the entire chamber grew heavy, as if some presence were awakening.

The tower spirit froze, then his eyes widened.

"What?"

The seal brightened as the golden chains trembled.

The tower spirit took one step forward, his ancient dignity vanishing completely.

"What is happening? Why is it glowing?"

Xiao Fan's body suddenly shook.

Golden light rose from his chest.

No, not golden light. Blood-gold.

It came from deep within his body. The moment the seal awakened, his assimilated bloodline abilities seemed to answer. His skin grew hot, his meridians trembled, and the Demon Subduing Sutra inside him began circulating on its own.

Xiao Fan pressed a hand against his chest. His expression changed as he understood what was happening.

"It's... calling to me."

The tower spirit slowly turned his head. His expression could best be summed up as dumbfounded to the point of speechlessness.

Ning looked at the glowing seal, then at Xiao Fan, then back at the seal. His face remained completely flat.

"Well, that solves the mystery."

Xiao Fan glanced at him. "What mystery?"

"Nothing. I just found the answer to a minor question I had. Go on with your thing. I'll go check if anything else is behaving oddly." Ning slowly walked away, not far, but it was clear something was about to happen, so he wanted to get as much distance as possible.

Xiao Fan ignored Ning and pointed toward the seal. "What is that?"

For once, the tower spirit didn't answer immediately.

His eyes were fixed on the glowing mark beneath the founder's painting. His expression was complicated: shock, reverence, disbelief, and a trace of fear all mixed together.

After several breaths, he spoke slowly. "That is an inheritance even my master could not fully comprehend. You must know there are four great inheritances for the spiritual professions that my master bestowed upon the branches of the sect. But there was actually a mysterious fifth inheritance, of a profession so rare and ancient that it was said to be lost to time."

"The fifth inheritance?" Xiao Fan narrowed his eyes, hearing that. "I've never heard of it."

The tower spirit's voice became solemn. "Because no one ever actually fully understood and comprehended the inheritance. Not even my genius master."

Xiao Fan's expression grew serious.

The founder had created the Heavenly Origin Tower. He had built the trials, refined the arrays, left behind techniques, and shaped the Pure Qi Sect into what it was today.

And even he had not fully comprehended this inheritance?

Xiao Fan swallowed.

"What inheritance is it?"

The tower spirit looked toward the glowing seal.

"The Art of Seals."

The chamber trembled faintly at the name.

The chains within the circular mark tightened and loosened, as if breathing.

"In ancient times," the tower spirit continued, "before the higher realms of cultivation had been fully developed, humanity was weak. The world was not ruled by sects and kingdoms as it is now. It was ruled by ancient beasts, calamity spirits, mountain demons, river devils, and creatures whose bodies were stronger than artifacts and whose blood carried natural laws."

The golden mural flickered.

Images appeared in the air.

A vast beast with horns like mountains walked across a burning plain. A serpent longer than a river coiled around a city. A bird wreathed in blue flame blotted out the sun. Human cultivators, small as ants, stood before them with talismans, chains, and burning seals.

"Back then," the tower spirit said, "cultivators could not always defeat such beings through realm alone. Their bodies were too weak. Their methods were crude. Their paths were incomplete. So they developed another way."

The images shifted.

A cultivator pressed both hands against the body of a monstrous beast. Golden chains erupted from his palms, sinking into the creature's flesh. The beast roared, but the chains did not merely bind it from the outside.

They entered the beast, sealing its blood, its strength, and everything it possessed.

"They sealed the bodies of ancient beasts into themselves," the tower spirit said. "It was not simple possession, or even bloodline theft. They engraved the beast's power into their own flesh, restrained it with seals, refined it, and used it to strengthen themselves."

Xiao Fan's breathing grew heavier.

Ning also went still, ears perked while pointedly not looking over.

The tower spirit raised his hand.

A golden chain appeared above his palm.

"The Art of Seals is not a single technique. It is a root inheritance. It teaches how to understand seals, create seals, break seals, and refine seals. At its peak, a seal master may seal heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, flesh and soul, memory and intent, life and death."

His eyes gleamed with pride.

"Many functions of the Heavenly Origin Tower were built using principles from this inheritance."

Ning's brows lifted as he understood.

The tower spirit pointed toward the air.

"The Origin Orb is not merely a treasure that grants inspiration. It is a seal that captures the natural inspiration between heaven and earth, compresses it, and releases it in a controlled form."

He pointed toward the walls.

"The illusion trial used seals of memory, emotion, and perception. The tower does not create everything from nothing. It seals fragments from the disciple's own mind, reflects them, distorts them, and gives them form."

He pointed downward.

"The battle puppet trial uses spiritual imprint seals. Every movement, every technique, every tendency displayed by the disciple is recorded, sealed, refined, and manifested through puppet construction."

Xiao Fan stared in silence.

The tower spirit lifted his chin.

"The teleportation arrays, the trial barriers, the inheritance chambers, the preservation of ancient wills, the suppression of damage within the tower, even the locking of death within simulation spaces, all of them use seal principles."

"The founder used all that... and still didn't fully comprehend it?" Xiao Fan couldn't hide his shock. From what he'd heard, that already sounded comprehensive as heck.

The tower spirit's expression turned smug. "Of course. He was my master, after all. He was the best of the best. It didn't matter that he didn't resonate with the Art of Seals; he still made the most of what he could."

Ning, at this point, was starting to get the drift of what was about to happen.

He'd found it a bit strange that he'd received the most powerful reward, when that was usually the domain of the protagonist.

But Xiao Fan was about to directly pick the one thing that wasn't even meant to be picked in the first place; he was going for the out-of-the-box reward.

It also answered another long-standing question of his.

He'd always wondered why Xiao Fan had never taken a spiritual profession. But now it was clear, he'd been waiting for this super-special profession of Seal Master.

Xiao Fan's face, meanwhile, had grown increasingly stiff.

The blood-gold glow around him continued to pulse.

The Demon Subduing Sutra circulated faster inside his body without his command. His whole body wanted something.

"So, I have a question. Even my creator couldn't master this seal, or get much of a reaction out of it, so why is it resonating with you?" The tower spirit looked at Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan immediately began sweating. "Me?"

"Yes, you." The tower spirit floated closer and circled him once, eyes bright with suspicion and curiosity. "What do you have that even my master couldn't compare to?"

Xiao Fan looked increasingly uncomfortable.

Ning, however, seemed to have wandered slightly toward the side wall. He was examining a cracked bronze bell on one of the shelves with a serious expression.

Xiao Fan glanced at him.

Ning did not seem to be listening.

Xiao Fan breathed a small sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, the tower spirit continued thinking aloud.

"Wait. Your earth-grade techniques... they're strange. They resemble techniques, but their operation is much closer to bloodline abilities. And if I recall correctly, before it was called the Art of Seals, this inheritance had another name."

The seal beneath the founder's mural pulsed.

The tower spirit's voice lowered. "The Art of Sealing Demons."

Xiao Fan's heart thudded.

Ning's hand paused on the bronze bell, but he did not turn around.

The tower spirit stared at Xiao Fan. "Now that I think about it, your method does resemble that of a seal master."

Xiao Fan's back was damp with sweat. The Demon Subduing Sutra continued circulating on its own, almost eagerly.

He finally understood.

The Demon Subduing Sutra and this Art of Seals shared the same origin, and now the two were resonating with each other.

The tower spirit sighed. "My job is to find outstanding young disciples and help them unleash their fullest potential. I'd planned to give you a body-training inheritance, but it seems clear now what I should actually give you. The Art of Seals has been waiting for a master."

The tower spirit slowly turned back toward the glowing seal.

"If it resonates with you, then perhaps this is your reward."

The tower spirit's tone was complicated, shocked, unwilling, excited, and suspicious all at once.

"So, go claim your destiny."

Xiao Fan walked slowly toward the seal. Blood-gold light wrapped around his body.

The chains in the seal extended outward like lines of will, reaching toward Xiao Fan like ancient dragons lifting their heads.

Xiao Fan looked at Ning, who seemed to have noticed something, and gave him a nod.

Xiao Fan took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The closer he came to the seal, the stronger the resonance became. His bloodline abilities roared. The Demon Subduing Sutra circulated faster and faster. The golden lotus patterns beneath his skin appeared faintly, mixing with blood-gold lines that looked like chains.

The tower spirit watched without blinking.

Ning also watched now, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.

Xiao Fan raised his hand, and the seal brightened.

His fingers touched the central ancient character.

Seal.

The chamber erupted with blood-gold light.

At that exact moment, another ripple spread through the air.

A third figure appeared in the pale golden chamber.

Lei Dong.

"Screw you all! Take this!"

And before anyone could process anything, he threw out a talisman. It looked far different from a normal one, with complicated runes in it, as it suddenly enveloped everyone in a bright light.

Ning's expression changed, and the next thing he knew, he was standing somewhere that looked suspiciously like a dungeon.

"What the fuck just happened?"

...

Thanks for reading~

A/N: So, the plot thickens.