"Senior, why is that?" Chu Feng asked.
"The tower works like this — normally, to cultivate here, you have to take the staircase."
"The staircase has a barrier that applies pressure. It doesn't limit cultivation level, but it does impose other restrictions. Simply put, it's a restriction on talent."
"How far you can climb depends entirely on your own ability."
"This bamboo scroll, on the other hand, is essentially cheating."
"With the scroll, you can go straight to the nineteenth floor, and the nineteenth floor is already quite high. The pressure on that floor's staircase is far from ordinary."
"I'm not looking down on you, Young Master."
"If you were to climb from the first floor upward, you might gradually adapt to the pressure."
"But entering the staircase directly at the nineteenth floor, without any time to adapt, would mean facing that force head-on. I'm afraid it could damage your body," the old man explained.
"I see. Thank you for the reminder, Senior." In truth, Chu Feng had already more or less guessed the outcome. He had only asked to confirm his own speculation.
But Chu Feng noticed that this old man truly was remarkably patient. Despite clearly possessing formidable strength, he treated an outsider like Chu Feng with genuine respect.
And his attitude was remarkably humble — almost as though he were a servant.
The way he kept addressing him as "Young Master" was quite pleasant to hear.
It wasn't that Chu Feng enjoyed being flattered, but who didn't like being treated with respect? Chu Feng was no exception.
He had to admit — this old man's impression had given him a new perspective on the Seven Realms Sacred Palace.
Not everyone in the Seven Realms Sacred Palace carried themselves with aristocratic arrogance.
"I wish the Young Master success in his cultivation," the old man said with a smile.
"Thank you. I hope your kind words come true."
Without hesitation, Chu Feng put away the twentieth-floor bamboo scroll, took out the nineteenth-floor one, and stepped through the barrier gate.
The teleportation tunnel was very short. The moment Chu Feng entered, he immediately emerged.
But now, not only was the old man gone — the space here was far more expansive, truly vast, and the decorations had changed as well.
Along the edges stood numerous bronze figures dozens of meters tall, along with other tools.
These were created by formations, specifically designed for testing martial arts.
Moreover, this place was filled with a special kind of energy.
It wasn't mere physical force, nor was it barrier power — it was a force that could enhance comprehension and sharpen one's sensitivity to martial energy.
Being in this environment was indeed beneficial for martial art cultivation.
But Chu Feng didn't begin cultivating. Instead, he took out the twentieth-floor bamboo scroll, put away the nineteenth-floor one, and re-entered the barrier gate.
He quickly arrived at the twentieth floor.
Sure enough, the energy here was even stronger.
But Chu Feng felt it still wasn't enough.
So he turned his gaze toward the staircase.
"What, feeling like giving it a try?" the Queen said with a grin.
"Not exactly trying to test myself. I just wonder if going up another level would bring even stronger energy."
"I simply don't want to waste time. If I can grasp that martial art faster, all the better," Chu Feng said.
"Then go ahead. Such talent-based obstacles can't stop you anyway." The Queen was full of confidence in Chu Feng.
"This ancient tower is no ordinary place."
"Since it's not the work of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace, it's probably not the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect either. It was set up by whoever founded this place."
"I really can't say for sure," Chu Feng said.
"Stop talking nonsense. I refuse to believe anything could hold you back," the Queen said.
"Haha. If the Queen has that much confidence in me, then I certainly can't lose face for her. Even if it's not simple, I'll give it a try."
With that, Chu Feng walked toward the staircase.
Although confident, he proceeded cautiously, taking only a single small step forward.
If anything went wrong, he could retreat at any moment.
Hummm—
The instant he set foot on the staircase, a powerful force swept over him.
That force was so explosive that an ordinary person would likely vomit blood and sustain injuries immediately.
But Chu Feng was no ordinary person. Though he was initially unable to move an inch, he quickly began to adapt and continued climbing.
When he reached the doorway of the twenty-first floor, he merely glanced at it before pressing onward — he still felt it wasn't enough.
So the twenty-second floor, the twenty-third floor — one after another, Chu Feng passed them by.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the twenty-fourth floor, and here he finally stopped.
Because he discovered a woman was actually there.
She looked very young, her skin so supple it seemed like you could squeeze water from it.
She wasn't very tall — perhaps just over five foot three — almost like a child, though her proportions were excellent.
From those proportions, it was clear she was actually an adult.
Her skin was very fair, especially against the contrast of her long black hair, giving her face a genuinely luminous glow.
Her eyes were large, and her gaze was pure and clean, like a child's.
Though her slender little arms suggested she was quite thin, her face had a soft, baby-like roundness to it.
She looked incredibly adorable and well-mannered.
She wore a black skirt, and the first glance at her actually brought a startling sense of déjà vu — as though he were seeing the Queen for the first time.
Although her beauty didn't rival the Queen's, in terms of sheer adorableness, she was somewhat similar to the Queen.
Still, compared to the Queen, this woman fell a bit short.
But compared to anyone else in the world, if measuring by cuteness alone, very few could match her — she was even a few degrees more adorable than Xian Miaomiao.