After entering Heaven's Way City, Joe Di could truly sense its bustling prosperity. In Aurora Continent, he had visited some thriving cultivation cities before—such as North Ridge City, Thornsea City, and Ruinsgate City. But compared to Heaven's Way City, those places weren't even close.
What amazed Joe Di even more was the abundance of spiritual energy vortices everywhere. It was clear these vortices were created by cultivators during their training. Back in Swampsea Town, when he formed a vortex while cultivating, he nearly got killed for it. Yet here, with so many spiritual energy vortices, no one seemed to care.
"Brother Joe Di, you must still be lingering at the early Soul Formation stage, right? Since you can't travel to Hengyu Star for now, why not join our Green Sect if you're interested?" After walking into Heaven's Way City with Joe Di, Gai Tenfield sensed that Joe Di had nowhere else to go—he was probably a rogue cultivator.
Joe Di hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'm planning to find a place for closed-door cultivation for a while. I'll think about other matters later."
"Brother Joe Di, if you want to train, you should go to the cave dwellings at Fivefold Pavilion. The price is a bit high, but the spiritual energy there is absolutely the richest. I live at the Lethe Resthouse—if you ever need anything, feel free to find me." Gai Tenfield didn't mind at all; by nature, he liked making friends, and whenever he met a cultivator he clicked with, he would try to befriend them. That's why, despite his modest cultivation, he had made all sorts of friends.
"Lethe Resthouse?" Joe Di asked in surprise.
It was simply because the name sounded so familiar. On Earth, there was a Lethe Mountains and a Lethe Temple, and now he encountered a Lethe Resthouse here.
Gai Tenfield smiled, "Lethe Resthouse isn't a big place—just a small resthouse. I'm here waiting for fellow disciples from Green Sect. In three months, it'll be time for the Fivefold Dao Tower to open."
"What is the Fivefold Dao Tower?" Joe Di asked in confusion.
Gai Tenfield answered proudly, "The Fivefold Dao Tower is truly extraordinary—it opens once every ten years and has a total of 108 floors. You know the origin of the Dao Rankings, right? They're based on how many people reach the top floors of the Fivefold Dao Tower. Each floor has its own purpose, and training inside makes Dao resonance clear, making it much easier to break through bottlenecks. There was once a Golden Core cultivator who stayed in the tower for five years. In just five years, he advanced all the way to the seventh level of the Void Spirit Realm."
Joe Di asked in confusion, "So according to what you said, as long as I enter the Fivefold Dao Tower and cultivate inside, is that enough?"
Gai Tenfield shook his head. "It's not like that. The longer you stay in the Fivefold Dao Tower, the greater the pressure becomes. Usually, even on the first floor, very few people can last a full year. The higher the level, the stronger the pressure. If someone can last a year inside, they're a true genius among geniuses."
"Didn't you just say there was a Golden Core cultivator who stayed for five years?" Joe Di asked.
Gai Tenfield smiled, "I knew you'd ask that. The reason that Golden Core cultivator could stay for five years was because he had an innate treasure. With its help, he cultivated and lost track of time due to the clarity of Dao resonance. When he finally came out, he realized something was wrong..."
"Was he killed?"
"I don't know. I heard he escaped, and after that, no one ever heard from him again." Gai Tenfield seemed reluctant to say more and quickly changed the subject. "Besides cultivation, the Fivefold Dao Tower is also a place to temper your body and train your spiritual strength."
Hearing 'body tempering,' Joe Di's heart stirred. His physical body was now at the Void Stage of the Third King Realm. He had originally planned to go to Flamecrest on the Celestial Veil to temper his body and collect the Azure Flame, but he had been swept out of the Celestial Veil and couldn't follow his plan.
"In the Lesser Central Realm, a sect's status is actually ranked according to the Fivefold Dao Tower. After the tower opens, the more disciples a sect has who reach the forty-ninth floor and above, the greater the sect's potential. Their position rises accordingly, and they receive more secret realm quotas in the Lesser Central Realm."
At this point, Gai Tenfield seemed to recall his reason for inviting Joe Di to join the Green Sect, and explained, "Brother Joe Di, I may not know where you're from, but I can guess you probably don't understand what I just said. The Lesser Central Realm has many secret realms, with the most famous being the Lesser Central Star, Celestial Veil, and World Medicine Garden..."
"Lesser Central Star?" Joe Di knew of the Celestial Veil and could imagine the World Medicine Garden from its name, but the Lesser Central Star was unfamiliar. Was it like the Fairy Maiden Star—a planet close to the Lesser Central Realm?
Gai Tenfield explained, "It's normal that you don't know about the Lesser Central Star. The Lesser Central Realm has a feature not found on other star continents: there's a planet floating above the continent itself. The Lesser Central Star hovers above our land, sealed and locked away, filled with countless treasures. It's the reason the Lesser Central Realm has survived until now."
Joe Di made up his mind that if he ever got the chance, he would definitely visit the Lesser Central Star. For now, though, he was even more interested in the Fivefold Dao Tower. "Tenfield, you just said a sect's status is based on how many cultivators reach the forty-ninth floor or above in the Fivefold Dao Tower. But the tower has 108 floors, and forty-nine isn't even halfway up. Why not let higher-realm cultivators enter the tower?"
Gai Tenfield chuckled, "Brother Joe Di, do you think climbing the Fivefold Dao Tower is easy? The higher your cultivation, the harder it gets. But if your cultivation is too low, it's just as difficult. Only those from the Golden Core Realm up to the Abyssal Sea Realm are best suited for the climb. Our Green Sect's Master Xiu Yu never made it onto the Dao Rankings, but he did reach the sixtieth floor of the Fivefold Dao Tower. Now that Celestial Veil is closed, I won't talk about that. After you join our Green Sect, you might even get the chance to visit the Lesser Central Star."
Joe Di patted Gai Tenfield's shoulder, moved, and said, "Tenfield, let's exchange communication beads first. I'll go to the Fivefold Pavilion and rent a cave dwelling for a few months of training. When your fellow disciples arrive, let's go to Fivefold City together and see the Fivefold Dao Tower for ourselves."
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"Of course, no problem." Gai Tenfield didn't hesitate at all, immediately taking out a communication bead and exchanging it with Joe Di.
Just as Joe Di and Gai Tenfield finished exchanging communication beads and before Joe Di could bid farewell, a sharp voice rang out, "Hong Zhen, get out here and die..."
As the voice faded, a youth with a chiseled face landed in the middle of the White Jade Avenue. He carried a long red sword on his back—unlike Joe Di's own red-threaded sword, this youth's blade was entirely crimson. Even without probing it with his divine sense, one glance revealed a terrifying aura of bloodlust.
The surrounding crowd quickly scattered when they saw the youth land, making the already spacious White Jade Avenue seem even wider.
"Hahaha... Since you, Dong Youjian, seek death, today I'll let Hong Zhen fulfill your wish!" A rough voice boomed out. The red-haired youth Joe Di had seen earlier leapt down from a nearby resthouse, landing in front of Dong Youjian, who stood with the crimson sword on his back.
Joe Di asked in surprise, "Tenfield, isn't that Hong Zhen ranked ninety-third on the Sea Rankings? How does anyone dare challenge him? If cultivators on the Sea Rankings can be challenged anytime, wouldn't that be chaos? And Heaven's Way City seems so strict—how can they fight on the main street?"
Gai Tenfield clenched his fists excitedly. Hearing Joe Di's question, he suppressed his excitement and explained, "We're about to witness something big—Dong Youjian challenging Hong Zhen! People on the Dao Rankings can't be challenged at will, unless you're in the top ten of the Potential Rankings or you're also ranked on the Dao Rankings. Others in Heaven's Way City aren't allowed to fight, but the strong on the Dao Rankings are exceptions."
"So Dong Youjian is also ranked on the Sea Rankings?"
Gai Tenfield nodded, "That's right. Dong Youjian is ranked one hundred and four on the Sea Rankings—he's relatively low on the list."
"If Dong Youjian defeats Hong Zhen, will he be ranked ninety-third?" Joe Di asked.
"Exactly. If Dong Youjian defeats Hong Zhen, he'll become the ninety-third ranked cultivator," Gai Tenfield confirmed.
Joe Di chuckled, "Dong Youjian is challenging Hong Zhen on the main street just to get into the top ten. He seems like someone who can't stand being idle."
"Brother Joe Di, you're mistaken this time. Dong Youjian is actually the least flamboyant person on the Sea Rankings. The reason he's challenging Hong Zhen is because Hong Zhen murdered his fiancée, Su Zhu'er," Gai Tenfield said quietly.
"So Hong Zhen is a beast," Joe Di said angrily. He despised people like Hong Zhen the most.
"Lower your voice..." Gai Tenfield said hurriedly.
But Hong Zhen had already noticed Joe Di. He shot a cold glance at him, then suddenly threw a punch at Joe Di.
A violent aura of death surged forth. Even though Joe Di had touched upon spatial law, under such absolute oppression, he still found it hard to breathe.
Not good! Just as Joe Di was about to burn his blood essence in desperation, a crimson sword light slashed down on Hong Zhen's punch. The oppressive space was instantly broken, and Joe Di could finally breathe and retreat quickly.
At that moment, he realized that no matter how strong his divine sense evasion technique was, if an overwhelmingly powerful opponent locked down the space with their cultivation aura, he wouldn't be able to escape. Hong Zhen was only at the ninth layer of the Abyssal Sea Realm—if he encountered a Calamity Realm or True Transformation powerhouse, what then?
"Hong Zhen, your opponent is me. What my friend said is true—you really are a beast." Dong Youjian blocked Hong Zhen's punch for Joe Di and spoke with a cold smile.
"Since you want to die first, I'll grant your wish!" Hong Zhen swung a massive iron hammer at Dong Youjian.
Before Dong Youjian could even draw his sword, another iron hammer came crashing down at him.
A fierce aura clashed in the air. At that moment, every cultivator present—including Joe Di—retreated in madness. The force of the twin hammers was terrifying; anyone caught in their path would face certain death.