Chapter 146: Four Hundred Thousand Merit Points

Inside the Eighteenth-Level Tower.

Before Lin Fan stood a silver puppet radiating a fierce aura, already possessing the strength of the Stream Realm.

“Come on, let me see how strong you really are!” Lin Fan beckoned with a finger, signaling the silver puppet to advance. Yet, the puppet suddenly took a wide stance and, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled forth a long blade.

“Interesting. Not only has your cultivation grown stronger, but you’ve also taken up a weapon?” Lin Fan’s gaze sharpened as he took the puppet’s movements seriously. After all, although his strength could easily sweep through the Channel Realm, he was still quite far from matching the Stream Realm’s power.

If he truly encountered an enemy and was willing to risk everything, he might dare to confront an early Stream Realm expert head-on. But facing a puppet, he couldn’t afford to unleash all his secret techniques and severely injure himself.

Clang!

Lin Fan drew out the Thousand Snow from his ring. The blade gleamed coldly, pure white and radiant with a piercing chill.

Though his greatest skill was the Way of the Blade, unfortunately, none of the opponents he had met at the Heavenly Book Academy had been strong enough to warrant using his sword—his fists alone sufficed.

Now, the Thousand Snow had ascended to the level of spiritual energy, imbued with remarkable sentience. The moment Lin Fan gripped it, it emitted a soft hum, as if it had long thirsted for battle.

Bang!

A muffled sound resonated as Lin Fan narrowed his eyes—the silver puppet charged forward.

Clang!

The clash of metal rang out as Lin Fan fiercely blocked the puppet’s strike with Thousand Snow. Before he could counterattack, the puppet’s arm seemed to multiply into hundreds of afterimages, its blade continuously raised and swung down in relentless succession.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Lin Fan wielded his sword to parry each blow, yet the puppet’s onslaught pressed him back, leaving long marks where his feet dragged along the ground.

However, no matter how violent the puppet’s attacks were, none truly landed on Lin Fan.

The puppet knew no fatigue, its strikes heavy and forceful, its true energy seemingly inexhaustible. Lin Fan remained on the defensive, occasionally striking, only to have the puppet dodge or block.

Thus they battled fiercely for half an hour without a victor emerging. Throughout the fight, Lin Fan was clearly on the back foot, pressed hard by the puppet.

Only his impenetrable defense and extraordinarily elusive footwork kept the puppet from landing a hit.

“Damn, he’s lasted this long without being eliminated. Uncle Lin must be incredibly strong—probably even stronger than my Uncle Bei Hu!” Outside, Jiang Xuesheng muttered as he watched the lights on the Eighteenth-Level Tower flicker on.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect him to be this powerful. An S-rank mission should be nothing to him. Once he joins the Divine Demon Alliance, he’ll definitely break into their top ten!” Yang Xiao nodded. He had to admit Lin Fan’s strength was extraordinary. Even he couldn’t have held out so long on the eighteenth floor.

Currently, the Divine Demon Alliance had one hundred and one members, but only the top ten could manage such feats—he was not among them.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuesheng fell silent for a moment before asking, “Do you mean he might participate in the secret realm contest two months from now?”

“Exactly. He could compete alongside the four affiliated academies and the four great super sects,” Yang Xiao confirmed.

Jiang Xuesheng questioned, “But he’s only a first-year student. Wouldn’t that be unusual? I thought only third-year students or disciples of great sects could contest that secret realm.”

“That’s hardly strange,” Yang Xiao smiled. “It’s unreasonable to have third-years compete as first-years, but it’s quite normal for a first-year to be promoted to compete. Besides, do you think the academy’s elders wouldn’t notice Lin Fan’s prolonged stay in the eighteenth tower? Since he’ll soon become a member of the Divine Demon Alliance, they wouldn’t allow him to bully freshmen as a first-year—they’ll promote him to third-year status.”

“That makes sense. So this means our Divine Demon Alliance is about to make a big splash again?” Jiang Xuesheng grew excited.

Every other year, the third-year students had to compete with the four affiliated academies and four super sects for the secret realm’s usage rights, which lasted one year.

In previous years, Liu Qi had fought and won the rights for several years. After pushing himself to the brink of a breakthrough, Liu Qi left to train, resulting in the secret realm being dominated by the Sky-Piercing Sect recently.

If Lin Fan truly could compete, it would be a great boon to the academy, increasing their odds of victory.

In past years, the Divine Demon Alliance sent the most competitors. This year, adding Lin Fan and a few other new prodigies would surely make them shine brilliantly.

“Perhaps,” Yang Xiao mused. “But with President Liu Qi and Vice President Dai Zengxu absent, this battle won’t be easy!”

“They said they went out to train and break through, but I have a feeling they entered the Inner Courtyard,” Jiang Xuesheng said thoughtfully.

Yang Xiao’s eyes brightened. “You mean the Inner Courtyard that only true prodigies or half-Stream Realm cultivators can join?”

“Yes. While we’re considered talented, first- and second-year students don’t realize that the real prodigies are in the Inner Courtyard. Unfortunately, our current strength doesn’t qualify us to enter.”

Yang Xiao’s gaze held longing. It was a mystical place, said to offer the best resources, training under the strongest masters, and access to the most powerful martial techniques.

No one truly knew where the Inner Courtyard was. Whenever a standout third-year or someone who had stepped into the half-Stream Realm appeared, they mysteriously vanished, only to reappear as a formidable champion of the Ice and Snow Kingdom.

Graduates from the Outer Academy might not reach the Stream Realm, but those from the Inner Courtyard always did.

A former Inner Courtyard member once said it was a terrifying training ground. Even ordinary teachers possessed early River Realm strength, while the dean of the Inner Courtyard was the Ice and Snow Kingdom’s strongest, Qi Daolin.

This explained why the Heavenly Book Academy students seldom saw the dean.

Boom!

Suddenly, a violent roar echoed, and the entire Trial Tower lit up—this time, the nineteenth floor’s light turned on.

“What? Uncle Lin advanced to the nineteenth floor?”

“No way…” Jiang Xuesheng and Yang Xiao were stunned. At that moment, countless people outside the Trial Tower soared toward the scene.

To enter the nineteenth floor and trigger the Trial Tower’s roar meant someone had defeated an early Stream Realm opponent on the eighteenth floor and progressed upward. Whoever achieved this was always from the Divine Demon Alliance—a monumental event.

In an instant, students throughout the Heavenly Realm surged toward the tower.

Bang!

Shortly after everyone arrived, the first floor door of the Trial Tower was kicked open, and Lin Fan emerged, his eyes bruised and darkened.

“Damn it, was that necessary? I just stole a spirit stone…” Lin Fan muttered as he walked out.

He had fought the silver puppet for over half an hour. Though unable to overpower it directly, his agility prevented the puppet from defeating him—after all, the puppet lacked the flexibility of a living being.

During the brutal exchanges, he observed carefully and eventually discovered the puppet’s weakness: it was powered by a crystal stone.

The elder who fought him earlier called it a spirit stone—an extremely vital artifact.

At the time, Lin Fan hadn’t realized this. After countless fierce clashes, he found an opening and pried the crystal stone away.

Instantly, the puppet ceased moving, allowing Lin Fan to pass the eighteenth floor.

After sensing the immense spiritual energy within the stone, he secretly concealed it. However, upon reaching the nineteenth floor, he was momentarily stunned—before him was no puppet but a white-haired old man.

Without waiting for an explanation, the elder beat him severely, explaining that Lin Fan had violated the rules by trying to bypass the tower improperly and had to defeat the puppet fairly.

Moreover, he accused Lin Fan of stealing a critically important spirit stone from the academy and insisted on teaching him a harsh lesson.

Despite Lin Fan’s desperate resistance, the elder left him with dark bruises around his eyes.

Fortunately, Lin Fan still received a substantial amount of merit points. Passing the seventeenth floor should have earned him 280,000 merit points, and although he had cheated, the eighteenth floor’s usual 500,000 merit points were reduced to 400,000.

He wasn’t bothered by the merit points but was upset about being beaten—he usually did the beating, not the other way around. Today’s humiliation left him in a foul mood, eager to vent.

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