The Seven Stars Gravity Tower didn't just consist of seven towers — each tower also had seven floors.
As Jie Feng climbed steadily upward, he hadn't felt much during the first two floors. But by the time he reached the third floor, his pace had slowed noticeably.
Still, he pressed on with a burst of determination and made it to the fourth floor.
There, he stopped dead in his tracks. After resting for a good while, he gripped the railing and peered downward.
"Still nothing?"
"Don't tell me he can't even get past the first floor?"
Jie Feng shook his head and resumed his climb, but the higher he went, the harder each step became.
By the time he reached the sixth floor and began ascending toward the seventh, every movement was a battle.
Each step felt impossibly far away.
Before long, he no longer even had the strength to lift his feet forward. His legs felt as though they were glued to the stairs.
"Damn it — again?! Why can't I ever reach the top?"
"Is our generation truly so inferior to the youngsters of today?"
Though Jie Feng's face was worn with exhaustion, his eyes burned with defiance.
"What's wrong? Reached your limit?" At that moment, Chu Feng's voice suddenly rang out.
Jie Feng turned around, and his eyes went wide.
Chu Feng had indeed caught up — silently, without so much as a change in expression, not a single drop of sweat on his face.
Compared to Jie Feng, who was drenched as though caught in a downpour, the two of them might as well have been climbing entirely different gravity towers.
"How… how are you doing this?" Jie Feng asked.
"Doing what?" Chu Feng replied.
"How does it look like it costs you no effort at all?"
"Drop 'looks like' — it truly costs me nothing." As he spoke, Chu Feng continued upward.
The stairs that demanded every ounce of Jie Feng's strength with each step were, before Chu Feng, no different from ordinary steps. He ascended with ease, walked right past Jie Feng, and set foot on the very stair that Jie Feng had failed to reach for years.
Jie Feng's eyes went round as he stared intently at Chu Feng.
"Should I pretend it's difficult? I wouldn't want to hurt your pride."
"But honestly, it's effortless," Chu Feng said.
"Don't get cocky, Chu Feng. Even if you make it to the seventh floor, that doesn't mean you'll reach the top. You need to withstand that pressure," Jie Feng said through gritted teeth.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind." With those words, Chu Feng stepped directly onto the seventh floor.
At that moment, even Chu Feng came to a halt. He didn't move forward.
"This seventh floor does have real pressure." After saying this, Chu Feng closed his eyes.
He employed his old method — adapt first, then push through in one go.
…
Deep within the Saint Residence, in a place wreathed in clouds and mist, there floated an elevated pool that steamed with heat.
Suspended above the cloud layer, the pool radiated warmth and contained water that held a power far beyond the ordinary.
Every single drop of that water was priceless.
And yet, an old man sat bare-bodied in the pool with his eyes closed, soaking leisurely.
His head was crowned with snow-white hair, and his beard — also white — stretched an astonishing ten meters in length.
He lay in the water while his beard floated on the surface, and from time to time he let out a contented hum.
It was the very picture of blissful ease.