CHAPTER 131: DEFEAT YOURSELF [1]

Three hours later, the sprawl of buildings gave way to a vast, open plaza. At its center loomed Yu Xuan’s destination.

The Tower of Trials rose like a spear piercing the heavens, its golden surface alive with flowing runes that pulsed and shifted like living veins of light.

Every curve of those runes whispered a tale, and the air here felt heavy — charged, as if the tower itself were weighing the worth of all who approached.

It was monumental in scale, yet had only one entrance. A steady stream of disciples filled in, while another flowed out from a separate exit. Despite the staggering number of people, there was no chaos only a calm, disciplined order.

Yu Xuan knew the rule; each disciple could only enter once per month. No exceptions.

He joined the line, noting how even those with much higher cultivation stood patiently, showing no trace of arrogance.

Disciples of the Discipline Committee wandered the plaza at a leisurely pace, hands clasped behind their backs, but their eyes missed nothing.

The wait dragged on, and the single entrance meant progress was slow. Fifteen minutes later, Yu Xuan finally reached the front.

There was no grand checkpoint, just a single disciple at a desk, calmly recording entry and exit times.

Yu Xuan handed over his medallion. The disciple noted the time, slid it back to him, and gestured toward the towering gates.

Up close, the doors were impossibly vast, their golden panels engraved with scenes of battles, heavenly beasts, and strange landscapes. As Yu Xuan stepped past them, the runes flared, bathing him in a flood of warm light.

Then — the world folded.

The plaza vanished. The sound of the crowd died in an instant. It felt as if invisible hands had seized him, pulling him through a seam in reality.

In the next heartbeat, Yu Xuan was gone, swallowed whole by the Tower of Trials.

***

Yu Xuan found himself standing in a vast, empty hall. The place was silent, almost reverent.

The walls looming high above him, were covered in murals that pulsed faintly with color and light, as though they remembered the events they depicted.

Here were beings from every corner of existence — some shaped like men, others like beasts, and some that defied all mortal geometry. Races that had no names. Creatures that could never fit inside the hall, yet their presence coiled across the walls as though space itself bent to contain them.

He saw cultivators locked in battle with a devouring void, their spiritual weapons glinting like defiant stars.

A colossal serpent encircled a black sun, gnawing at it endlessly. A wolf with eyes like shattered moons leapt toward a warrior cloaked in lightning.

Elsewhere, a lone man in golden armor waded into an ocean of shadow-born horrors, each swing of his blade cutting down a tide that never seemed to end.

Not far from him, a figure danced through a storm of collapsing worlds, every gesture tearing apart or remaking entire realms.

A great tree’s branches cradled a thousand spheres of light — some were worlds, others beating hearts. Beneath it, an armored giant battled something too vast to see in its entirety, its form shrouded in writhing darkness.

Then came the images he could not keep. A cracked sky bleeding. A faceless thing whose mere outline bent his thoughts. Twice, the moment he looked, the mural blurred — the memory stolen before it could root in his mind.

In one fleeting instant, Yu Xuan thought he saw a ring of mountains split apart to reveal a thousand armed massive blue being hurling weapons of pure thought — but the moment his eyes touched it, the image vanished, memory and all.

He saw a massive Phoenix, dying nine times and ascending to unknown heights.

Finally, a golden dragon stretched across the horizon, each scale etched with entire civilizations. When it breathed, the heavens themselves seemed to recoil from the flood of power it unleashed.

Here, the details were sharper, almost alive, as if the murals might step down from the walls at any moment.

Then it hit him — a crushing, absolute will sweeping over him like a tidal wave. His muscles tensed instinctively, his mind sharpening in defense, but... there was no malice. Just an endless, impersonal gaze that took in everything about him.

Still, Yu Xuan didn’t like being scanned.

He had only planned to take a quick tour before leaving, but with barely a week left in the month, he decided he might as well enter a challenge. If he didn’t, his free pass would expire — and nothing hurt more than wasting something free.

Glowing letters materialized in front of him, arranging themselves neatly into a profile.

Name: Yu Xuan (Picture)

Race: Human

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 7th layer

Physique: Unknown

Bloodline: Unknown

Status: Heavenly Restriction partially broken.

Remarks: Hmm...

Yu Xuan was confused, Partially broken?

His own status screen clearly said (7/12), so what more was there to break? And more importantly... what kind of official remark was that?

What is Hmm? Is it a secret code? Why doesn’t he understand? Or did the tower just not know what to make of him?

He decided not to think too hard about it — which, in Yu Xuan’s experience, was usually the safest option.

More text appeared.

Calculating optimum path forward.

Irregular status detected.

Modifying path .

Searching Historic Records...

Match not found.

Creating path based on various Records

Initializing sequence...

Challenger Yu Xuan may the spirit of Cultivator be with you!!!

The grand hall dissolved into motes of light, and suddenly Yu Xuan was standing in an endless plain under a pale sky. The air shimmered before him, and a shadow began to take shape.

When the light cleared, Yu Xuan froze.

It was him.

An exact copy, same posture, same aura, same expression — except the other Yu Xuan’s eyes were cold, utterly indifferent.

Words burned into the air between them.

Challenge 1: Defeat Yourself.

Your opponent is #@-&!% — a being who becomes what you are... but better. If their opponent loses, #@-&!% will take their identity, their karma, their destiny, their fate, they become who they swallow. Defeat #@-&!%.