CHAPTER 130: TOWER OF TRIALS

Yu Xuan first changed back into his regular Yu Clan robes before stepping outside.

The attending disciple was waiting there, returning Yu Xuan’s medallion and space ring with a look that was half respect, half fear — the kind of look one might give a man who’d just walked out of court without lifting a finger.

Off to the side, Yu Xuan spotted the Nascent Soul leader from earlier. The man looked... haggard, like he’d aged a decade overnight.

Yu Xuan almost ignored him. Almost.

At the last moment, he walked over with a friendly smile. "Do you remember me?"

The Nascent Soul leader gave him a look that could curdle milk. It was very sour.

"What do you want?"

Yu Xuan coughed lightly, keeping his smile. "Senior, you see... I’ve been brought all this way without knowing the directions. Could I perhaps borrow a glide disk? I need to travel long distances."

The man’s eyebrow twitched. Glide disks were strictly for official sect business — not for random disciples to joyride across the peaks.

But then, remembering the grueling interrogation he’d just endured over Yu Xuan’s case, he sighed and reached into his storage.

"This is sect property," he said, handing over a single disk. "Don’t lose it. I’m using my authority to transfer ownership of this one to you. Feed it only high quality spirit stones."

Yu Xuan accepted it like a man borrowing a friend’s personal items without the intension of returning it ever again. "Senior, you have no idea how much easier my life just got."

Yu Xuan thanked the Nascent Soul leader and walked away. The man just stood there, staring at his back, wondering, ’What exactly is his background?’

Outside the Discipline Committee, Yu Xuan pulled up the map function on his medallion. He decided to wander and explore the various parts of the city — after all, in this city he was still a mountain boy.

There were three major attractions here that drew the largest crowds of disciples.

The first was the Arena. As always, it was packed, but compared to the smaller towns, this one was on an entirely different scale — grander, louder, and filled with the scent of competition.

The second was the Elemental Tower. This was the pride of the three main towns of the Elemental Heaven Peak. In contrast, the minor peaks like Fire Peak, Water Peak, and even Yin Yang Peak each had their own specialized tower dedicated to their element.

Yu Xuan recalled that when he had first arrived at the Elemental Heaven Peak, he must have landed at some border of Fire Peak because there all he saw was red robes, and after some travel he saw the Yin-Yang Tower there. Was it because these both peaks shared borders? Or was it some other thing?

His friend, Panda Po, was likely settled at the main Yin-Yang Peak by now. Elder Kun had then brought him to the main peak.

Travel from the smaller town to the main one had taken nearly an hour, but from Yin-Yang Peak to the main peak, it had been only a matter of minutes. That thought made him wonder — just how strong was Elder Kun?

The Elemental Tower was used for both training disciples and earning resources. Its interior would automatically adjust to suit the strength of the one entering.

To Yu Xuan, it was an incredible marvel, but in a world where immortals existed, perhaps such wonders were commonplace.

The final attraction was the main highlight of the entire peak, and only one existed in each main peak.

This structure was directly connected to the Sect’s main headquarters beyond the Immortal Realm itself. He had read about it on the community forum through his medallion, which functioned much like a smartphone.

It was a tower — but unlike any other. This was the Tower of Trials.

Or, more accurately, the original Trials of the Heaven Immortal Sect, designed to forge disciples through hardship and reward only those who could rise above the challenge.

Yu Xuan couldn’t help but frown in thought.

If both the Tower of Trials and the Elemental Tower were meant to train disciples... then what was the real difference?

Surely, the Sect wouldn’t pour immense resources into building two separate systems if their purposes overlapped entirely. There had to be something deeper, some distinction in purpose, scope, or reward.

Still, speculation could wait. He was going to see it for himself.

Summoning his glide disk, Yu Xuan checked the medallion’s map and locked onto the Tower of Trials’ location.

With a push, the disk hummed beneath his feet, and he shot forward, cutting through the crisp air.

The journey took him through a living tapestry of sect life.

He passed auction halls adorned with banners advertising rare treasures, talismans, and exotic beasts.

Merchant stalls hawked spiritual herbs, talisman scrolls, and bizarre contraptions whose purpose he couldn’t begin to guess.

Some shops loudly promised half price discounts on weapons — "today only" though Yu Xuan suspected they said that every day.

The streets were thronged with disciples, each radiating their own unique aura.

He saw those of the Fire, Water, Earth, Poison, Space, Yang, even rarer Time paths and many more. Some strolled leisurely, others rushed past with urgent expressions.

The sheer diversity and strength was staggering.

From the youngest Qi Condensation disciples still clinging to their first robes, to towering cultivators whose realms Yu Xuan couldn’t sense at all but whose mere presence pressed on his chest like a weight... they all moved through the same city, coexisting in a constant hum of ambition.

It was enough to make him wonder just what the Sect was ultimately planning. With such a concentration of power, there was no way their goals were as simple as "train disciples."

And this was just a main town of a peak and there were multiple peaks and not to mention this was their temporary base, in the lower realm.

Like this, there were other main peaks too.