After leaving Fivefold City, Joe Di had once rushed for several days straight. Now, traveling alongside Vaughn Che and the others, it took only two days to return to Fivefold City.
Once inside Fivefold City, Joe Di finally felt at ease. Not only was he no longer wanted, but not a single shred of divine sense was focused on him. Occasionally, a stray divine sense would sweep past, but it was always directed at the red tassel of his Red Tassel Blade.
Vaughn Che, Liana Quing, and Ben Stone had all entered the Fivefold Dao Tower before. This time, they weren’t going in again—their sole purpose here was to wait for the Five Young Lords of the Sea List to descend, offer up the Firegod Herb, and join one of the Five Grand Sects.
Fivefold Plaza was still bustling with people, and information about auctions and exchange meetings could be seen everywhere. But the main attraction remained the massive Fivefold Dao Tablet at the center of the plaza.
Joe Di saw that the name ranked first on the Dao Tablet was neither Gunn Yantao of Seaking Palace nor Yan Tashan of Void Sword Sect, but someone he had never heard of before—Ji Hongchuan.
Although he’d only glanced at the rankings on the plaza’s stone tablet before, he had some impression of it. He was fairly certain Ji Hongchuan hadn’t been on the list.
“Hey, wasn’t the top spot supposed to belong to Young Lord Gunn?” Liana Quing also noticed that the name at the top of the tablet was unfamiliar.
Vaughn Che replied, “Don’t worry about that. Just remember why we’re here. Brother Joe, if you’re going into the Fivefold Dao Tower, there’s not much we can do to help. All we can do is wish you another breakthrough.”
Joe Di nodded, then sent a voice transmission to Vaughn Che, saying, “Vaughn, if you end up with extra Firegod Herb, keep some for yourself. It can expand your spiritual sea and enhance your divine sense. Just remember—take only a small half-inch at a time…”
“What?” Vaughn Che was startled by Joe Di’s words, but before he could ask further, Joe Di was already heading toward the Fivefold Dao Tower.
......
The Fivefold Dao Tower had been open for several months now, and cultivators continued to stream inside. Joe Di blended into the crowd, looking utterly unremarkable except for the Red Tassel Blade strapped to his back.
Every cultivator entering the Fivefold Dao Tower was required to inscribe their name on the tower stele at the entrance to the first floor. Without hesitation, Joe Di carved his name. Since he wasn't wanted, using his real name was safe.
As soon as he stepped inside the Fivefold Dao Tower, a surge of dense spiritual energy washed over him.
Joe Di paused, not because the spiritual energy here was so intense—he had been in places with even richer energy—but because he sensed that cultivating here would allow him to progress much faster than outside.
Joe Di closed his eyes, trying to sense the difference between this place and the outside world. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he opened his eyes, realization dawning on him. The rules here were much clearer. He recalled his master once saying that the Small Central World had complete and clear rules, which allowed cultivators to reach higher realms. Yet, compared to here, even the Small Central World seemed lacking.
Others might not be able to sense whether the rules here were clear, but Joe Di, thanks to the gray stone he possessed, was especially sensitive to all kinds of rules.
Sweeping out with his divine sense, Joe Di saw a light staircase at the center of this floor. There were no cultivators visible on the first floor—even those who had just entered were not cultivating here, but had already moved on to the second floor.
Just as Joe Di was about to enter the second floor, he caught a faint trace of a different rule. No, it was more like a law beneath a rule—like the foundation that must be laid before building a tower.
Without hesitation, Joe Di sat down, set up a defensive restriction around himself, and began to delve deeper into the sensation of this law. He understood better than most cultivators how critical it was to grasp the laws.
How far a starry sky cultivator could go depended on the depth of their understanding of the universe's myriad rules. Laws formed the foundation of these rules; mastering laws was the first step to mastering rules.
At first, Joe Di hadn't paid much attention to rules, but after receiving guidance from his master, Quinn Windflower, he became keenly aware of the importance of laws.
Some cultivators, upon entering, noticed Joe Di cultivating right on the first floor and shook their heads in disbelief. Even Golden Core cultivators wouldn't train on the first floor of the Fivefold Dao Tower—it was considered shameful.
Joe Di paid no mind to their opinions. He was completely immersed in comprehending the law that existed within this space.
Though his Starstream Technique was running in cycles, his cultivation speed was much slower than usual. His starry sky meridians repeatedly absorbed the law-infused spiritual energy.
He gradually grasped a law that grew clearer from vague beginnings, much simpler than the fleeting spatial law he had sensed in the teleportation array.
Three days later, Joe Di opened his eyes. He had indeed comprehended a law on this floor, but it seemed useless to him for now. According to his insights, this was a foundational law, but he had no clue about its specific attribute.
Time to head to the second floor, Joe Di thought as he stood up. Though the law he'd grasped seemed useless for now, he faintly sensed that any law would prove valuable someday.
Ascending the light staircase to the second floor, Joe Di found the spiritual energy even denser. Unlike the first floor, the second floor exerted a subtle force that required cultivators to divert some of their attention to resist it; otherwise, they risked being transported out by accident.
On the second floor, Joe Di once again sensed a law—distinct from the one on the first floor, yet also a foundational law.
After all, the Fivefold Dao Tower was meant for cultivation and comprehension. Naturally, Joe Di continued to grasp the foundational law of the second floor.
With the experience from the first floor, even with the added force on the second, Joe Di took only a day to comprehend this foundational law.
The third floor, the fourth floor...
As Joe Di ascended higher, he comprehended more and more foundational laws. At the same time, the push force of the Fivefold Dao Tower grew stronger with each floor.
By the time he reached the tenth floor, the number of cultivators staying to train had increased—almost everywhere he looked, people were cultivating.
Joe Di frowned. If he didn't focus on comprehending the laws of the Dao Tower, training here wouldn't be a problem. But now, as he tried to grasp the laws on each floor, the slightest distraction could send him flying out due to the push force.
He had to come up with a solution!
Sitting down to comprehend the laws on the tenth floor, Joe Di tried to set up a restriction against the push force. To his disappointment, no matter how advanced his restriction was, it had no effect on the push force within the Fivefold Dao Tower.
If he couldn't find a way to block or reduce the push force, he wouldn't be able to continue comprehending laws on the higher floors.
Wait—a law!
Joe Di recalled the nine foundational laws he'd comprehended on the previous floors and immediately integrated one of them into his restriction.
He immediately felt the push force diminish greatly. Was this law only meant to reduce the push force? If that was its sole purpose, it would be a disappointment.
But Joe Di quickly adjusted his mindset. No matter what, using these foundational laws allowed him to climb to higher floors. Once he made a name for himself, he could challenge the Potential Rankings, and after that, the Sea List elites.
Joe Di fused all nine foundational laws into his defensive restriction. Sure enough, after adding all nine, the push force on the tenth floor vanished completely, and Joe Di easily comprehended the tenth foundational law.
The eleventh floor, the twelfth floor...
At first, Joe Di needed to integrate the foundational laws he'd comprehended into his restrictions. Later, he no longer needed to set up defensive restrictions; simply incorporating the previously grasped laws into his cultivation cycle was enough.
The forty-first floor, the forty-second floor...
After the fortieth floor, Joe Di encountered fewer and fewer cultivators. Clearly, the scoring system set by the major sects for reaching the forty-ninth floor and above was justified.
When Joe Di reached the forty-ninth floor and comprehended the forty-ninth foundational law, his understanding of Titan's Step became even clearer.
Delighted, Joe Di stomped down with a foot, sending ripples through the space. The forty-ninth floor erupted with bursts of spatial true essence.
These foundational laws were clearly useful beyond the Fivefold Dao Tower. Joe Di gazed at the light staircase leading to the fiftieth floor, his heart filled with longing.
He wondered, what would happen if he could comprehend all one hundred and eight foundational laws?
Joe Di climbed to the fiftieth floor. Upon entering, he noticed that the space here was much smaller than the forty-ninth floor—barely a tenth its size.
Dozens of cultivators were frantically absorbing spiritual energy and training. Just like before, Joe Di sat down and began to comprehend the foundational law.
A needle-like sensation pierced Joe Di's sea of consciousness, startling him—he thought someone was attacking him.
He quickly realized that it wasn't an attack, but a unique kind of spiritual energy targeting his sea of consciousness. This energy could stimulate his mind, making his divine sense more refined.
The Fivefold Dao Tower truly could refine one's divine sense, but sadly, few cultivators would ever reach the fiftieth floor.
Joe Di had no intention of refining his divine sense here. After comprehending the fiftieth foundational law, he immediately moved on to the fifty-first floor.
"Who is that?" A cultivator on the fiftieth floor noticed Joe Di.
Anyone who made it to the fiftieth floor was a cultivator of some renown. Joe Di's face was unfamiliar, but the Red Tassel Blade on his back drew attention.
More importantly, this newcomer had only spent a day on the fiftieth floor and hadn't even started cultivating before advancing to the fifty-first.