Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 497 The Tower of Babel, a Difficult Passage

"The conditions for conquering the Tower of Heaven are too harsh. You need to have climbed the Martial Dao Mountain before. How many people in the entire Yan Dynasty have done that?"

"You think the Tower of Babel launched by the royal family is for everyone? Even the most basic Martial Arts Mountain requires geniuses to enter the top 100,000. This Tower of Babel is for innate experts."

Inside the restaurant, the martial artists shared their opinions. Some speculated on how generous the rewards would be, while others guessed how difficult the Tower of Babel challenge would be. They had different viewpoints, but there was one thing everyone agreed on.

The Tower of Babel, launched by the royal family, is not intended for ordinary martial artists, nor even for genius martial artists, but for those top prodigies.

Over the past century, the number of martial artists who have reached the top of Wudao Mountain has averaged about one every four months. If we exclude the first ten years or so after the age of one hundred, there are actually less than three hundred such individuals.

"Nearly three hundred?"

Lin Chen listened to the figures estimated by the martial artists in the restaurant, his face showing surprise. Yin Yue, who was standing next to him, said quietly, "Except for a few sessions, such as your session and the one before yours, many of the people who reach the top of the Martial Arts Mountain are about to turn twenty. They only stay at the top for a few months before being removed from the list, and then the next person takes over. On average, each person stays in the top spot for only three months. Occasionally, a few strong people in a session will extend the time a bit."

Hearing Yin Yue's explanation, Lin Chen realized that it made sense... Those who could enter the top ten were all top geniuses from their respective sects. There were differences between them, but not too great. Their ranking depended more on the length of their cultivation time.

Being a few months older and training for a few more months will make you stronger and raise your ranking by one place.

There's a pattern where everyone follows a set order: the first-place winner drops off the list, the second-place winner moves up, and so on...

Those who, like myself, directly attacked from behind were few and far between.

Based on a population of over two hundred, and considering that the top one hundred on the Heavenly Ranking are listed, the chances of making the list are not low.

"In reality, there are only about two hundred strong individuals who have the opportunity to challenge the tower. Don't forget that some of the strong individuals who reached the top of Martial Arts Mountain have already perished. But for these two hundred spots, there will likely be fierce competition."

"how do I say this?"

In the restaurant, an old man stroked his beard and said, "Those who can reach the top of Martial Arts Mountain are all top geniuses, but there are also many prodigies who failed to reach the top, but caught up with or even surpassed them in the later cultivation process. The royal family gave these strong people an opportunity to defeat the person who once reached the top in the same realm, so that they could replace the other party and have the qualification to challenge the tower."

"Therefore, rather than the royal family giving those spots to the top of the martial arts mountain, it is more accurate to say that they are selecting the strongest martial artist in each of the six realms of the Innate Realm."

The first to reach the summit of Wudao Mountain within the last hundred years...

"Let me take the most recent example. Qin Mu of the Creation Sect just came down from the first place in Martial Dao Mountain and is currently at the Innate First Realm..."

"Qin Mu?"

Lin Chen, who was in a private room on the second floor, was stunned when he heard the old man's words.

"You think you were the most recent one?"

Seeing Lin Chen's stunned expression, Yin Yue laughed and said, "You've been down from Martial Arts Mountain for several months now, and the number one spot has changed hands twice. Actually, the most unfortunate ones are those who were ranked after you in the same year. They also had a chance to reach the top, but you outlasted them."

Upon hearing Yin Yue's words, the first name that came to Lin Chen's mind was Zeng Xi.

If I hadn't suddenly appeared, after Sima Kong topped the list, it should have been Zeng Xi's turn.

Thinking that Zeng Xi had outlasted him and hadn't resented him for it, Lin Chen held Zeng Xi in even higher regard.

"Qin Mu is at the first level of the Innate Realm, but he is definitely not at the peak of the first level of the Innate Realm. If someone wants his spot to enter the tower, they will definitely challenge him. However, even if someone successfully challenges Qin Mu, it does not mean that they will be qualified to enter the tower. Other martial artists will challenge him. Unless someone has invincible strength at the same level, they will not be able to keep their qualification."

The old man's words made many people realize the truth of the matter upon closer examination.

"What if this Qin Mu is truly invincible in the first stage of the Innate Realm? Don't forget the one before him, Lin Chen of the Canglan Sect, was invincible in the first stage of the Innate Realm back then."

"Do you think Martial Arts Mountain can produce a few geniuses like Lin Chen? It might not produce one even in more than ten sessions."

The old man snorted: "Even Lin Chen is only at the second level of the Innate Realm now, far from being invincible at the second level of the Innate Realm, so I'm afraid he won't be able to keep this spot either."

"What you said earlier makes some sense, but I disagree with your last statement."

Downstairs in the lobby, a middle-aged martial artist looked skeptical: "If I were one of the geniuses who reached the top of these martial arts mountains, I could simply refuse the challenge. Which of these top martial arts mountains didn't come from a super sect? As long as they stayed within their sect, would any outsider dare to come and challenge them?"

The middle-aged man's words resonated with many martial artists in the hall, who nodded in agreement. If one felt that they were not yet invincible at the same level, they could simply hide their tracks or stay within their sect. With the sect backing them up, no one would dare to mess with the sect.

"What you can think of, do you think the royal family can't think of?"

The old man wore a contemptuous sneer: "The first time you ascend the Tower of Babel, it will be announced to the world. All those who possess the Martial Dao Seal will be notified. Anyone who wants to challenge you can go to the Tower of Babel to intercept you. As long as you defeat the challenger, you can take away their qualification to ascend the tower."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"If any of you had martial arts imprints on your bodies, you would know whether what I said is true or not."

Upon hearing the old man's words, many martial artists present exchanged bewildered glances. None of the martial artists in the restaurant were under twenty years old, and even those who once possessed martial arts imprints had long since lost them.

Martial artists who possess martial arts seals in other domains would keep them at home as a testament to their childhood.

But this is the Thousand Machine Domain, a domain known as the Thousand Machine Domain where everything can be used as a material for refining weapons. The Martial Dao Seal had already been sold by them.

The redemption price of ten Flame Coins is enough to exchange for several bottles of pills needed by high-grade martial artists.

In a private room on the second floor, Lin Chen took out the Martial Dao Seal, immersed his divine sense into it, and after a few breaths, withdrew his divine sense and looked at Yin Yue: "There has indeed been a change."

When he focused his divine sense into the Martial Dao Seal, he also sensed its renewal.

The martial arts steps disappeared, replaced by a pagoda shrouded in mist.

Just as Lin Chen finished speaking, the Martial Dao Seal suddenly vibrated. Lin Chen picked up the Martial Dao Seal, and words flowed on its surface.

[The Tower of Babel challenge is now open to those at the Innate Realm Level 3 in Zuo Chuan. Those qualified to challenge the Tower of Babel, as well as all Innate Realm Level 3 martial artists, are welcome to enter and observe.]

Upon seeing the text appear, Lin Chen looked at Yin Yue: "I'm going to go in and take a look. Shall we go back to the villa first?"

"No need, we can go straight in."

Yin Yue also took out a martial arts seal from her bosom; it was a silver martial arts seal.

"This is a martial arts seal created by the royal family for our Moon Soul Clan. Even though I have never reached the top of Martial Arts Mountain and am not at the third level of the Innate Realm, I can still go in and observe it."

Privileges are everywhere!
Lin Chen sighed inwardly, but didn't pay much attention. It was normal for someone like Yin Yue, who was born into an ancient clan, to have some privileges.

By now, Lin Chen had a general understanding of the Yan Dynasty.

The royal family of the Yan Dynasty is undoubtedly the strongest, because they control the Divine Seal. However, it is precisely because of the Divine Seal that the royal family's actions are restricted, and they cannot do whatever they want.

In some cases, the royal family also needs to win over other powerful forces, and these ancient clans should be one of the forces that the royal family wants to win over and befriend.

The two entered the Martial Dao Mountain at the same time, leaving only two floating Martial Dao Seals in the private room.

The floating of the Martial Dao Seal signifies that the owner has entered Martial Dao Mountain. This is common knowledge throughout the Yan Dynasty. When the restaurant owner and waiter come in and see this, they will not suspect that the person has run away. They can simply wait for them to come out of Martial Dao Mountain.

……

Martial arts mountain.

This time, Lin Chen didn't appear on the steps, but in a virtual world.

"Choose your real face or enter the Tower of Babel Plaza anonymously?"

Upon hearing the voice in his ear, Lin Chen chose to remain anonymous without hesitation.

As he chose to remain anonymous, Lin Chen discovered that he was shrouded in a black robe and a black cloak, and that his divine sense was also sealed.

"This is what anonymity is all about."

Lin Chen finally understood what anonymity meant. Wearing a black robe and cloak that covered his face, he couldn't be detected by divine sense. Moreover, even his figure couldn't be determined within the loose black robe; the only thing that could be confirmed was his height.

As for the voice, for a martial artist with innate talent, changing the way they speak is an easy thing.

After completing his disguise, Lin Chen's surroundings changed again, and he found himself in a plaza. The vast plaza was filled with people dressed in black robes like himself, scattered around its perimeter. Unable to perceive them with his divine sense, Lin Chen could only scan the area with his eyes, and soon he spotted Yin Yue.

In the square, the little girl Yinyue's appearance was extremely eye-catching.

Before Lin Chen could even get close to Yin Yue, he saw a figure rapidly approaching her.

"Could it be someone who knows Yin Yue?"

Lin Chen quickened his pace, and in his line of sight, the middle-aged man had already reached Yin Yue and reached out to grab her. However, just as his palm was about to touch Yin Yue, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the man instantly.

The middle-aged man was reduced to ashes by lightning.

Fighting is strictly prohibited in front of the Tower of Babel Plaza. Violators will be expelled and banned from entering for one year!

The majestic voice of Wudao Mountain echoed throughout the square. Hearing this voice, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that physical injuries from the Wudao Mountain battlefield would heal once he left, but injuries to the soul could not be recovered.

He was afraid that he might encounter a powerful member of the Moon Soul Clan who had betrayed Yin Yue's father in the square. Such a person was capable of killing Yin Yue's father and was far stronger than he could currently contend with. If the other party discovered Yin Yue and attacked her here, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to save her.

Now that it was confirmed that fighting was not allowed in the Tower of Babel Plaza, Lin Chen felt relieved and stood still without walking towards Yin Yue.

Soon, the number of people in the square increased significantly. Lin Chen observed carefully and found that there were several thousand people, but the number of men in black robes did not increase much.

Lin Chen stroked his chin. Those who could cultivate to the third level of the Innate Realm were not young people who liked to show off. Logically speaking, there should be more people who chose to remain anonymous. Why were there only about a hundred people in black robes?

Those martial artists who appeared here in their true forms did not show any disdain when they saw Lin Chen and the other black-robed men. On the contrary, they deliberately kept a certain distance from them.

what's the situation?
Is it only me... or a few people who can remain anonymous?
Lin Chen suddenly thought of a possibility, otherwise there would be no way to explain why there were so few black-robed people in front of him.

What gives me the right to remain anonymous?
The reason is not hard to guess. Lin Chen probably thought it was because he had reached the top of Martial Dao Mountain, which means that the other black-robed men were also the former number one in Martial Dao Mountain.

No wonder the others kept their distance from these men in black robes; they must have guessed the qualifications required for anonymity.

"Tower of Babel Plaza, where is the Tower of Babel?"

An old man looked around curiously. The entire square was shrouded in mist. However, as soon as the old man finished speaking, the mist in front of the square surged, and as the mist surged, everyone saw a corner of a pagoda appear.

The clouds and mist churned and gradually dissipated, revealing the pagoda's silhouette. However, aside from the initial attraction to a corner of the pagoda peeking through the clouds, everyone's attention eventually fell on the figure at the very front.

Zuo Chuan, a steward of the Creation Sect, is currently at the third level of the Innate Realm and was once the number one martial artist of a certain year.

Zuo Chuan stood in a different position than everyone else. While the others stood below the square on the bluestone floor, Zuo Chuan stood on a round platform.

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly; he now understood how the royal family had made the arrangements.

From the moment the decision to challenge the tower was made until the tower finally emerged from the clouds, it would probably take an hour, and that hour would give other martial artists the opportunity to take on the challenge.

Standing on the circular platform, Zuo Chuan's gaze swept across the entire arena.

He didn't pay much attention to the black-robed figures whose faces he couldn't see. These people had all reached the top of Martial Dao Mountain before and were qualified to challenge the Tower of Heaven. They didn't need to challenge him.

The challenge lies with some of the thousands of Innate Realm Three-Stage martial artists who have revealed their true forms in the plaza at this moment.

Zuo Chuan glanced around the entire arena before turning away and looking directly at the pagoda in the clouds ahead. This action demonstrated his confidence in his own strength and his complete lack of fear of challenges.

Lin Chen noticed that there were indeed many people in the square with eager expressions in their eyes, but even after an hour had passed and the Tower of Babel had fully emerged from the center of the clouds, no one had attempted to challenge it.

Rumble!
A few breaths later, a beam of light descended from the top of the Tower of Babel, enveloping the circular altar. Zuo Chuan, who was inside the altar, disappeared from everyone's sight.

[Zuo Chuan, the tower challenge begins!]

A majestic voice rang out in the square, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the Tower of Babel, eager to see what Zuo Chuan could achieve.

No one challenged Zuo Chuan, not because Zuo Chuan was invincible in the three realms of the Innate Realm, making everyone afraid to challenge him. Rather, some people wanted to use Zuo Chuan to test the difficulty of the Tower of Babel.

"Zuo Chuan is forty years old this year. He made his name at Wudao Mountain twenty years ago. If I remember correctly, he entered the second realm of the Innate Realm at the age of twenty-two and the third realm of the Innate Realm at the age of thirty. It has been ten years since then. Even if he cannot be invincible in the third realm of the Innate Realm, he is probably at the peak of the third realm."

"Hmm, I sense that Zuo Chuan's aura is very strong; he is definitely at the peak of the third level of the Innate Realm."

Those who can reach the top of Martial Arts Mountain are all super geniuses from super sects. Their cultivation speed is even beyond that of those genius disciples. Ordinary genius martial artists, like the personal disciples of various sects, are already quite accomplished if they can enter the second realm of the Innate Realm at the age of thirty and the third realm of the Innate Realm at the age of fifty.

A forty-year-old at the peak of the third realm of innate talent—that's the difference between a prodigy and a genius.

The Yan Dynasty did not announce the difficulty of the Tower of Babel, so no one left at this moment, and they were all quietly waiting for Zuo Chuan's results.

The number of floors Zuo Chuan can conquer will give us an estimate of the Tower of Babel's difficulty.

A hundred breaths, a quarter of an hour, half an hour...

The Tower of Babel shone brightly, and everyone saw Zuo Chuan's figure reappear on the circular altar.

However, Zuo Chuan had lost the domineering aura he had when he entered the tower, and looked somewhat disheveled, with his clothes torn in many places.

[Zuo Chuan, cleared the sixth floor of the tower in half an hour!]

The authoritative voice resounded throughout the square, but the scene erupted in uproar.

The Tower of Babel has a total of 100 floors, yet Zuo Chuan only managed to reach the sixth floor with his strength?

Seemingly sensing the surprised looks from the crowd in the square, Zuo Chuan let out a soft snort, and his figure disappeared directly from the circular platform, effectively withdrawing from the scene.

They came full of confidence, but only made it to the fifth floor. This time they really embarrassed themselves.

Lin Chen noticed many people in black robes in the square. Although he couldn't see their faces, their bodies trembled slightly when Zuo Chuan's results were announced.

"Without reaching the fourth level of the Innate Realm, one probably wouldn't even be qualified to challenge the tower. It seems the Tower of Babel, arranged by the royal family, is intended for those at the fourth and fifth levels of the Innate Realm..."

Some martial artists lamented why the Six Realms of Innate Realm weren't mentioned, because the Tower of Babel has a restriction: one must be under 100 years old.

Most of the martial artists at the sixth level of the Innate Realm in the Yan Dynasty are already over a hundred years old.

Some people sighed, some discussed, and some left. Seeing the number of people in the square decreasing, and seeing that Yin Yue had also left the square, Lin Chen did not delay and followed suit.

……

……

A private room in a restaurant.

After Lin Chen withdrew from the martial arts seal, he looked at Yin Yue opposite him and asked directly, "Who was that middle-aged man in the square just now?"

"They are not from my clan, but a subordinate family force that my clan has developed in the outside world. They must have seen my portrait."

Yin Yue explained the middle-aged man's identity. The Moon Soul Clan members rarely traveled within the Yan Emperor Dynasty, but they did arrange for clansmen to stay outside. After all, the Moon Soul Clan members needed resources for cultivation. In addition to arranging for clansmen to stay outside, they would also support some families to earn resources for the Moon Soul Clan.

Not only the Moon Soul Clan, but other ancient clans also have affiliated families or even sects. However, only a few high-ranking members of these affiliated families and sects, such as the clan leader or sect master, are aware of their existence.

What are your thoughts on the difficulty of the Tower of Babel?

Lin Chen asked another question he was concerned about, and Yin Yue pondered for a while: "If you were to enter, you would be able to conquer more tower levels than Zuo Chuan."

"Do you think I'm stronger than Zuo Chuan?"

"The Tower of Babel is not something you can just break through by strength alone. If it were based on strength, the royal family wouldn't need to go to such lengths; they could just set up a challenge arena. But I suggest you don't rush to challenge the tower."

Yin Yue looked at Lin Chen meaningfully: "Wait a little longer."

(End of this chapter)