Meanwhile,

As soon as they left the place, they arrived at the sect's underground basement... As soon as they arrived, a spiritual aura gushed around.

Sect Master sensing the aura instantly rushed below with greedy eyes and a smug face like a monkey hoping for a banana.

However, he quickly scanned the people and found out that his son and the Holy envoy were missing.

"What happened!? Where is Tian'er!?" His voice was soft yet filled with horror like a trickling water on a dark place, the stoic gave had had few lines and his eyes were wide.

He hoped that something unbelievable wouldn't have happened to his son, after all, he is the heir to the sect.

Yi Xin Xue came forward. "Holy lord... It seems Young Lord Lu Tian has met his demise," She replied earnestly unable to fathom how it happened but the truth remains the truth.

In her wisdom, she discerned that, should one such as Lu Tian aspire to ascend the floors, his fate would be sealed as though he were already a ghost among the living.

Therefore, it could be uttered that Lu Tian is as good as dead, shrouded in coldness beneath the ground.

For if one such as the Young Master Zhao Fan seeks to ascend the tower floor, it is understandable. His means are vast and wisdom is deep.

But, Lu Tian? His strength and wisdom pale in comparison to those of the Young Master.

The depths of his wisdom do not reach the profound heights of the Young Master's, and as for his character, that remains shrouded in doubt. His intelligence and reality comprehension are highly questionable.

"What!? That's absolutely impossible! With the Holy Envoy accompanying you all, it becomes extremely difficult for Tian'er to meet his demise. That's simply not possible..."

"Holy Envoy possesses unparalleled power and profound means. It's hard to fathom that anyone or anything could even think of bringing harm to Tian'er with him around. Give me the full picture..." Holy Lord said looking at his daughter Li Qingyan.

"Forgive me Father but I can't tell the bigger picture... The trials are pretty strange... ( after that she began to talk about what happened inside the life system and how to progress the floors and she also explained how Lu Tian went to hunt the chaos beast and after that they didn't see him and couldn't revive him )"

"So, you are trying to tell me... That Lu Tian may be climbing the higher floors and high possibility that he is dead!?" His heart refused to believe that his son met his end. He believed that his son was still safe but he knew the truth; his son wasn't someone capable.

"That's not possible!" The Holy Lord roared as if it were an insult. "Lu Tian has far more potential than what you are saying. I can't believe that he wouldn't be able to make it." His voice was filled with disbelief and concern.

"Perhaps he was just too far ahead for you all to keep up," he said, trying to reassure himself. "You all are just not capable enough to reach his level." His pride in his son was evident in his words.

It was clear that he was blind for his son deeply and believed in his capabilities. But what if the truth was different?

"Your holiness, that's not the case. We did everything we could, but Lu Tian insisted on his own," Yi Xin Xue explained, trying to clear up any misunderstandings.

"Perhaps he thought he could handle it himself, but we couldn't stop him. We tried to help, but he pushed us away." She hoped that her words would bring some comfort to the worried father.

But deep inside, she didn't care much about the Holy lord and the Holy Land was nothing to her. Perhaps, just the wild memories.

And that Lu Tian, unable to fathom the difference between heaven and earth, he deserves to die.

..

"What!? How could he do that!?" The Holy Lord's voice was laced with anger. "Doesn't he know that teamwork is essential in such challenges?"

"Lu Tian is a team player. I know he is. He wouldn't do that," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "There must be some other explanation."

"Hmm, I can see that, your holiness, you are upset, but I hope you can understand that we did everything we could. We are not giving up on Lu Tian. We are just trying to be realistic about the situation." Yi Xin Xue tried to calm him down.

If Lu Tian jumped willingly then what can they do!? Also, it is true that they didn't actually do anything aside from mocking him which further fueled him to prove his worth and power.

"But I am worried that the situation might be more serious than we thought," she added, her voice as calm as a breeze and as sincere as the moon.

Holy Lord's face was filled with worry, but he tried to remain calm. He couldn't afford to show weakness in front of his disciples. He had to be strong for them, no matter what.

"I understand your concern, but I still have faith in Lu Tian," he said, his voice steady and determined. "He is a capable cultivator and a brilliant mind. I'm sure he will find a way out of this situation." His words were filled with hope and conviction.

Capable cultivator!?

Brilliant mind!?

"..."

"..."

"..."

Eh!? Brilliant mind!? Does the sun rise from the west!?

Yes, it does, the universe is vast and worlds are countless, the sun may rise from any direction yet, no matter from which perspective one would look at Lu Tian, his brilliant mind seems illogical.

* * *

Zhao Fan,

Zhao Fan sat down and began to meditate.

When the sky is falling and the earth is cracking, the wise man shall meditate; when the river is flowing and the mountain is standing, the wise man shall act.

Young Master wasn't someone to be confused about the upcoming calamities that might happen.

But, within mere moments, he heard a boom... and saw a golden ray of light coming towards him.

It was like a golden sword, a sword that was able to cut through everything, as it approached, Young Master could feel his soul being slashed into two. However, it didn't harm him... Instead, it was the sword that fell apart.

It was a sword of Dao. A sword of Dao that is a mere illusion that was trying to slash him, but when the sword saw the truth of Dao, it fell apart.

It's like a frog looking at an elephant; the frog can't fathom the elephant's size and thus can't see the elephant. If the frog is aware of the elephant, it will be shocked that an elephant can be that big.

The sword of Dao was an attack that was meant to attack his soul, but Zhao Fan had a higher soul.

[ Ding! Congratulations, you have passed the trials. ]

And just like that, he was promoted to the next floor.

[ Welcome to the 38th floor. ]

As soon as the floor was opened, the guide greeted him.

Young Master ignored it, and the guide didn't say anything because it was simple, this place was strange

Young Master began to walk towards the mountain where he sensed a presence... It was a small but and in front of a hut, a sword cultivator donned in normal clothing, a straw hat, and holding a katana was sipping a fragrant tea.

"Welcome, Fellow Daoist. Do you wish to have some tea?" The sword cultivator asked, his face was covered with a straw hat. But his aura was calm, and his presence was imposing.

Zhao Fan nodded and sat down. The sword cultivator poured a cup of tea for him, and he began to sip it.

"Let's play a game, shall we?" the sword cultivator said. "If you can win, I will help you. If not, you will have to face the consequences." His voice was calm, but there was a hint of mischief in it.

Zhao Fan could only smile.

"I would be happy to play with you," Zhao Fan said, placing his cup down. "But what kind of game are we playing?"

"It's a game of wits," the sword cultivator replied. "A game of strategy and intelligence." His eyes narrowed slightly, and there was a glint of excitement in them.

"Then let's begin when a fellow Daoist wishes..." Zhao Fan said confidently. "I am ready for whatever you have between heaven and earth."

"Excellent," the sword cultivator said, a small smirk appearing on his lips. "Let's see how far you can get."

With a wave of his hand, the sword cultivator conjured a large, intricate board in front of them. It was covered in symbols and patterns that Zhao Fan couldn't quite decipher, but he could tell that it was some sort of game board.

"This is the game of fate," the sword cultivator explained, gesturing to the board. "We will take turns making moves, and each move will determine the course of our journey." His voice was soft, but there was an underlying sense of challenge in his words.

Zhao Fan examined the board carefully, trying to understand the rules of the game. He could see that it was a complex game, one that required careful planning and foresight.

"I see," Zhao Fan said thoughtfully. "And what is the objective of this game?"

"The objective is to reach the end of the board," the sword cultivator replied, his eyes glinting with amusement. "The first person to reach the final square wins."

"Oh, then please enlighten me..."

"This is a small fish... It can move one step. This is a little boy, it can move 2 steps, this is sage it moves 3 steps, this is emperor it moves 2 steps and this right here is scholar, it moves 5 steps and only piece that can move backwards."

"The game is simple... The emperor has to climb the 100 steps and reach the end. But you see these tiles where the emperor moves!? It is filled with fate: it can be good, it can be bad."

"The Scholar must be first to move ahead, the Emperor can only move when the Scholar is in front of it and the Scholar is immune to fate. You must use the fish and the little boy to collect the fates... The fish can eat bad fate and the little boy grows with good fate. Once the little boy collects 10 heavenly virtues, the little boy is promoted to heavenly general and can clear the path for the emperor... Removing all bad fates."

"When the Emperor is met with bad fate, the scholar must come back and heal the Emperor or Little Fish must eat the bad fate."

"Easy right!?"

"What about sage!?" Zhao Fan asked.

"Oh, Sage... That's interesting... It can only move 10 times per game but it has two abilities. It can swap its position with any piece, after the little boy collects 3 heavenly virtues. And it can swap places of any two pieces when the little boy collects 7 heavenly virtues."

( once per game )

"However, once Sage is brought to the game, every piece you move, the sage will move too and once it gets bad fate, it is eliminated... So, it's better to use Sage once early tiles are cleared."