When it was Ji Ning's clone's turn, he followed the same etiquette as the others, bowing lightly toward the black-armored guard on the stone platform.
He then stepped forward, raised his left hand, and pressed it against the towering gate.
An electronic voice echoed directly in his consciousness.
"One-leaf Dry Witch practitioner Ji Ning. Do you wish to enter the Gan Wu Tower?"
"Yes," Ji Ning answered calmly.
In the next instant, space folded inward—and his figure vanished.
A desolate great desert stretched endlessly in all directions. Yellow sand rolled across the land like waves, blotting out the dying sun. Gale-force winds howled, flinging grains of sand like blades.
Bones lay half-buried beneath the dunes—animal remains, shattered tree trunks, even the hollow shells of insects that had once nested there. Death and desolation permeated the scene.
Space rippled again.
Ji Ning's clone appeared amid the storm, his boots sinking into the sand and leaving deep footprints behind.
At the same time, information regarding the Gan Wu Tower's reward system flooded into his Virtual Universe account.
A brief glance was enough.
In addition to Dry Witch coins, there were contribution points.
Within the Gan Wu Secret Realm, many inheritances and opportunities could not be bought with money alone. Contribution points were a harder currency—valuable enough that, in sufficient quantity, they could even earn a private lecture from an Undying.
The sand whipped against Ji Ning's face, yet failed to leave even the faintest mark.
"One-leaf Dry Witch practitioner Ji Ning," the electronic voice rang out again.
"Please choose your profession, protective suit, and weapon."
"Martial Artist."
Ahead, atop a sand dune, countless points of light converged. In the blink of an eye, a golden silhouette condensed.
The light faded, revealing a figure nearly identical in build to Ji Ning, wearing the same protective suit and wielding the same sword-type weapon—only its color differed. From head to toe, the opponent was clad in pitch-black armor.
"Newcomer," a cold voice said. "Attack."
Boom.
Before the sound had fully faded, the black-armored figure was sent flying by a single sword strike.
Ji Ning had deliberately chosen a sword, rather than his usual weapon. Using the same fighting style as his main body would only invite unwanted attention later.
The opponent skipped across the sand like a stone across water, smashing into a distant dune hundreds of meters away.
Ji Ning had not used his full strength—only a clean, ordinary strike enhanced by a basic force-application technique. He wanted to gauge the opponent.
The dune exploded.
A cloud of yellow sand billowed skyward, blotting out everything.
From within the storm, the black-armored figure burst forth, transforming into an afterimage as it closed to within a hundred meters in an instant.
Ji Ning did not move.
He stood calmly, sword in hand, waiting.
The opponent charged straight in, blade slashing toward Ji Ning's throat. At the same time, an invisible pressure descended.
"First-level Earth Domain?"
Ji Ning smiled faintly. The moment the pressure touched him, he had already judged its depth.
"So that's all."
Testing complete.
"Gaze Upon Mountains."
A sword art from the Yun Mo Planet Martial Artist inheritance.
Light flashed.
In the next breath, Ji Ning stood behind the black-armored figure, calmly sheathing his sword.
The opponent's throat split cleanly. Its body dissolved into scattered points of light.
"Congratulations. One-leaf Dry Witch practitioner Ji Ning has passed the first level of the Gan Wu Tower.
Reward: 10,000 Dry Witch coins, 1 contribution point."
Without hesitation, Ji Ning selected continue.
The second level unfolded into a vast grassland, lush and green.
Once more, light gathered. Once more, the black-armored figure appeared.
"It's been a long time since I've met such a strong newcomer," the figure said slowly. "How far do you think you can go?"
Ji Ning laughed softly. "Let's find out."
Their blades met.
A single, unadorned strike pierced straight through the opponent's chest.
"…Impossible," the figure murmured in disbelief.
This time, it had used a second-level Earth Domain from the very beginning.
It still fell in one blow.
Third level—icy plains. One strike.
Fourth level—deep ocean. The opponent blocked the first blow, but once Ji Ning released his Domain, its chest was pierced clean through.
Fifth level—sea of molten lava.
Sixth.
Seventh.
Eighth.
Ninth.
Each guardian vanished into motes of light almost as soon as the battle began.
Ji Ning continued forward without pause.
As the ninth-level guardian faded, its voice lingered.
"By the next level, your opponent will have comprehended laws…"
Pressure descended.
A white dwarf star.
Cold. Silent. Desolate.
Gravity hundreds of thousands of times stronger than Earth crushed down from all directions.
Yet Ji Ning remained unmoved.
Within him, the miniature black hole formed upon breaking through to Universe Rank quietly offset the terrifying pull.
"For a Universe Rank to reach this stage," the guardian said slowly, "even within the Gan Wu Secret Realm, you are a true genius. But this is your limit. The gap here is the difference between heaven and earth."
Ji Ning's eyes gleamed.
"Haha. That just makes it interesting."
Outside the tower, at the Universe Rank gate, Tian He frowned.
This challenger had been inside far longer than normal.
Ordinarily, he would not pay attention—he had seen too many challengers come and go. But something about this one felt… wrong.
A thread of his consciousness descended into the Gan Wu Tower, linking with its intelligent system.
Information streamed back.
His expression froze—then transformed into barely restrained ecstasy.
The sudden shift left the waiting challengers utterly confused.
Suppressing the surge of emotion in his chest, Tian He chose to wait and observe further.
Inside the tower, the tenth-level guardian—an existence that had comprehended Origin Laws—was being steadily suppressed.
Within the Gan Wu Secret Realm, only a handful of Universe Ranks had ever reached this point. Each was an unquestioned monster.
The guardian fought with everything it had.
Though born of simulation, endless years within the tower had granted it true sentience. Pride, frustration, even anger—these emotions were real.
Every trick allowed by the Gan Wu Tower's rules was unleashed.
And yet—
Ji Ning remained calm.
Measured.
Unshaken.
Every exchange felt as though the guardian were striking into a bottomless abyss. The sensation of pouring out all one's strength, only to feel as though nothing was landing, left it deeply—painfully—frustrated.
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