"Impossible!" The Invincible Paragon Saint denied so hard one could picture him shaking his head, and said, "10 stars is an absolute threshold. There's no way to surpass it. If you already possess a power of 10 stars, then ingesting the Purple Pattern Mountain River Pills will be completely useless."
"Oh," Ling Han said with a nod. He was genuinely disinterested in this kind of alchemical pill. This was because he held a firm belief that he could definitely reach the true pinnacle of the Mountain River Tier.
'I can reach a state of perfection myself, so what's the point of relying on external items?
'It's best to avoid relying on external items whenever possible. The true power of cultivators should belong to their own bodies.'
Ling Han chuckled, and said, "So, you're going to keep rewarding us with Purple Pattern Mountain River Pills? Can't you swap these out for something else?"
"No, unless… you can pass the ninth level of the tower!" the Invincible Paragon Saint said.
Ling Han's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What reward will I receive?"
The Invincible Paragon Saint scoffed, and said, "And you're saying that you're not greedy. You've revealed your true nature now, huh?"
"Can't I ask out of curiosity?" Ling Han said with a smile.
"Pffft. Do you believe that excuse yourself?" There was a look of disdain on the Invincible Paragon Saint's face.
Ling Han laughed loudly, and said, "You're a senior, so is it really good for you to make fun of me like that?"
"Everyone has a responsibility to lambast shameless people!" the Invincible Paragon Saint said.
Ling Han rolled his eyes. This Invincible Paragon Saint needed to change his name to Invincible D*ckhead Saint. He was actually exchanging slurs with a junior like him!
"What's the fourth trial like?" he asked.
"Hehe, the fourth to ninth trials are all the same. They're extremely easy, and simply test how powerful your attacks are, as well as how sturdy your defenses are. As for the final reward, that's naturally a secret that will be revealed at the very end. Anyhow, what's the point of telling you now? Can you become the fortunate fellow who lasts until the end?" the Invincible Paragon Saint said.
"How boring," Ling Han said with a shake his head. He had genuinely wished that there would be a few more sword strikes for him to decipher and learn from. That would've allowed him to walk further along his own cultivation path.
"Pass through all nine trials first, then tell me whether you're bored or not." The Invincible Paragon Saint humphed, and said, "Piss off, piss off. Is there a halo of pesky irritation above your head? Why do I feel annoyed and angry just looking at you?"
'It's you that's unreliable, okay?' Ling Han grumbled in his mind.
He didn't speak any more nonsense, and climbed the stairs to the fourth level.
This level was spacious and empty, with only two stone statues standing in the middle of the room. There was also an hourglass, and it had just started to measure the time.
One of the stone statues had "hit me" written across its chest, while the other stone statue had "I'll hit you" written across its chest.
'That D*ckhead Saint is indeed unreliable…'
Ling Han walked up to the stone statue that had "hit me" written across its chest first. He then clenched his fist and swung it toward it.
Peng!
The stone statue was instantly sent flying. He wanted to follow up with another strike to obliterate the stone statue once and for all, yet the words on the stone statue's chest suddenly changed to "pass".
'That's all?'
Ling Han was astonished. He wasn't interested in being hit by the other stone statue, so he confidently strode out of the room.
"You finished that quickly?" There was a hint of annoyance in the Invincible Paragon Saint's voice, and he said, "Here, here, here, take it and p*ss off!"
'Righto, I've become this disliked.'
Ling Han didn't stop, and continued onto the fifth level.
As with the fourth level, there were also two stone statues in this room, one which had "hit me" written across its chest, and one which had "I'll hit you" written across its chest.
Ling Han still didn't want to be hit. Thus, he naturally chose to hit the first stone statue.
He threw a fist, and the stone statue fell over. However, he realized that this stone statue was clearly stronger than the one on the fourth level. This was because it had merely fallen down, and not been sent flying. Anyhow, he had still passed this fifth trial.
It was evident that these stone statues would become stronger the higher up the tower he climbed. Although he hadn't challenged the "I'll hit you" stone statue yet, he believed that the offensive ability of these stone statues would also rise with each increasing level.
'As expected. This tomb is selecting a disciple, isn't' it?'
Ling Han didn't mind receiving the inheritance of a Genesis Tier Saint. Such beings were the strongest in the Immortal Realm, and even Venerable Trinity would go crazy with excitement if he arrived in this place. However, the Invincible Paragon Saint didn't like him much anymore, so would he deal him a blow from behind after he emerged victorious from the crowd?
It was very likely that this unreliable D*ckhead Saint could do such things.
'Forget about it. I have to pass this tower no matter what, so I may as well deal with whatever comes my way.'
Ling Han collected his prize and climbed the stairs to the sixth level.
Peng!
He chose the "hit me" stone statue once again, yet the stone statue remained unmoving even after he struck it.
Ling Han was astonished. His power could surpass almost six stars now, and the difficulty of the trials in this place was definitely adjusted according to one's cultivation level. There was no way the trials would have a Mountain River Tier cultivator attack a Heavenly Body Tier stone statue. Similarly, it wouldn't have a Heavenly Body Tier elite attack a Mountain River Tier stone statue. Otherwise, these trials would be completely pointless.
Yet, even a power that surpassed six stars wasn't enough?
Ling Han activated his secret techniques, as well as his divine patterns of flame. He then launched another strike at the "hit me" stone statue. However, his flames could only scorch the stone statue black and increase the amount of damage done—it couldn't increase the power of his physical strike.
He tried to swallow a Purple Pattern Mountain River Pill, yet he discovered that his Spatial Spirit Tool had been sealed—he had stored the Purple Pattern Mountain River Pills into his Spatial Spirit Tool in order to prevent the Invincible Paragon Saint from discovering the secret of his Black Tower.
That being the case, he could only rely on his own power to pass this trial.
Ling Han unleashed his Fast Technique, yet the might of the Fast Technique was largely realized in its ability to be "fast". It couldn't generate a power that exceeded his limit.
It was ineffective.
Ling Han took a few steps back, and then unleashed his Annihilating Dragon Star Arrow.
Xiu, xiu, xiu!
He used his Origin Power as arrows and fired several shots toward the stone statue. However, this was still to no avail, and the stone statue still stood in the exact same spot.
He was truly astonished this time.
His power could surpass six stars, and he had even activated a secret technique on top of that. Yet, he was still unable to pass this trial!
One-third of the sand had already trickled to the bottom half of the hourglass.
'Will I have failed when all of the sand trickles down?' He hadn't seen any others at the staircase leading to the sixth level, and this signified that one would be directly sent back to the first level if they failed to pass this trial.
"Then I'll use the Ultimate Arrow!"
This arrow would unleash all of the power in his body in an instant. Not only was it incredibly quick, but it was also devastatingly powerful.
If even this failed, then Ling Han's only option would be to get hit.
Ling Han took a deep breath, and then started to activate the Ultimate Arrow. His Origin Power gathered rapidly under the effects of this secret technique. He would be able to unleash his full power at any moment.
Xiu!
The Origin Power arrow transformed into a streak of light as it shot out.
It struck the "hit me" stone statue, and immediately sent it flying.
He had passed!
A smile appeared on Ling Han's face. However, he instantly plopped down onto the ground. He was out of energy.
Only after a while did he recover some of his stamina. He stood up and walked out, and he saw another stone tablet appear in his blurry and shaky vision.
"Brat, your abilities are a little beyond my expectations. Your power hasn't reached six stars yet, yet you were still able to pass the sixth trial." The Invincible Paragon Saint didn't hide the surprise and praise in his voice.
"It was just so-so," Ling Han spoke modestly, yet his expression was one of smugness. He was doing this on purpose. There was no need to show too much respect to unreliable seniors like this Invincible Paragon Saint. Rather, acting as he did now was more to this senior's liking.
Although the Invincible Paragon Saint always roared at Ling Han to "p*ss off", the only person that he actively spoke to was also Ling Han as well. This spoke volumes about what he liked.
"Hehe, I've got my eyes on you now. I'm sure that you won't be able to pass the seventh trial." Sure enough, this D*ckhead Saint couldn't help but exchange slurs with Ling Han now.