Condemning the Heavens Chapter 260 - Soul Tower

The moment he stepped into the Soul Tower, Xue Wei felt a heavy pressure bearing down upon him, but it was much different from the one he had sensed earlier.
This pressure came from the sheer concentration of soul power inside the tower. It was dense energy that poured into his body like a flood through a broken dam.
The steps Xue Wei took were heavy. His entire body felt as if it was being pressured downwards, as if the gravity within the tower had been amplified manifold compared to outside.
The first floor did not have that many students on it. Those that were on this floor were mainly students coming down from the second floor, those who had just finished cultivating, and those who were on their way to cultivate.
Xue Wei was astounded that the students were this used to the heavy pressure, but although it was heavy and making it hard for Xue Wei to move, it was not enough to crush him. With a glance at Bai Tianyi, who looked like a cat that had just caught a mouse, he shook his head and moved towards the stairs up to the second floor.
Xue Wei did not rush there like all the other students within the tower. He took his time to get used to the change in pressure.
Bai Tianyi was walking easily as if the pressure was nonexistent. He flashed a great smile and he was happily glancing in every direction of the first floor in the hopes of understanding how they had managed to amass this much soul power.
One has to remember that soul power was the power of one’s soul. When one dies, the energy that is left in the soul will be released. If one died young from an accident or disease, the subsequent release of soul power is greater than what would be left behind from the death of an old man whose lifespan runs out.
But one thing was certain: soul power came from the dead. To have generated this much soul power in one place, how many people had to have died to make it possible? Not to mention that the atmosphere outside of the tower was permeated with dense soul power because of the Black Nebula Stones.
How many people had to have died to make this happen? Xue Wei frowned. He felt that this Soul Tower, which was great for cultivation, was not as simple as it seemed.
In fact, although the speed of cultivation was much faster here than outside, he could not help but feel that there was something wicked about it.
He was not the only one who had this thought, as the thought also surfaced in Bai Tianyi’s mind, but the latter did not care. He had lost his humanity and alongside it his empathy. He did not care if the entire continent died as long as he and his friends were fine.
Since this was the case and thinking about all the soul power that was rushing into his body, Bai Tianyi was not polite and refined it at the fastest possible speed for him to refine spiritual energy.
Xue Wei pondered for some time. He looked around the area and found that there were many unrecognizable runes inscribed on the wall of the tower.
They were clearly some sort of formation, but they were different from all the formations he had practiced in the past. Frowning, Xue Wei was unaware of what exactly he should think, but after considering it for a moment, he decided that it was time for him to head to the second floor.
He would not be able to tell whether or not there was something wrong with this place unless he had experienced training here.
It was a risky move. In case some sort of conspiracy was afoot, then he would likely injure himself or his future accomplishments, but he would gain a great benefit if the opposite was true—at the cost of many dead experts.
Slowly walking towards the second floor, Xue Wei could feel that the pressure was getting heavier and heavier. Their walking speed became slower and slower, but they did not stop at any point.
Finally, they reached the stairs and started ascending the steps, towards the second floor.
Fortunately, it was not as if the pressure on the second floor hit them like a hammer. Instead it slowly increased with every passing step, and their movements became increasingly slow.
Although they had not made it too far into the tower, they dared not rush to the second, third and fourth floor like the others did.
Although the pressure was getting heavier and heavier, Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi did not stop their steps. They continued moving upwards and upwards, further and further into the tower itself, and finally they reached the second floor.
Where the first floor was mainly a place where people went forth and back, the second floor had quite a number of experts sitting to the sides in the midst of cultivation.
Although there were around twenty experts cultivating on the second floor, everyone was sitting at the sides, ensuring that they did not block the flow of the floor for those who were busy going towards the third floor or on their way back.
Xue Wei looked at Bai Tianyi. Although Xue Wei felt the pressure, and his body was feeling exhausted, he did not stop but continued forward. Bai Tianyi, on the other hand, looked completely fine. He seemed as if there was no pressure on him at all, as if he was taking a stroll in his own garden.
This was the difference between a body made from flesh and blood, and one made from soul power. The soul body was simply like a black hole, drawing in as much soul power as it could at once and refining it at the fastest speed.
With Bai Tianyi’s current achievements, it would not take him long before he became an Earth Knight in terms of his spiritual energy levels.
Xue Wei also felt that the golden dragon within his mind was growing at a rapid speed. It was gobbling up the soul power and refining strand after strand of spiritual energy, making him feel that a breakthrough was imminent.
“I think that I at most can go to the third floor,” Xue Wei said after contemplating for some time. It has to be said; going to the third floor on one’s first visit to the Soul Tower was completely unheard of before, but comparing him to Bai Tianyi, who seemingly was capable of going through all nine floors, this achievement seemed like nothing.
“Well, let us head up to the third floor. Find a suitable place for you to sit down and then I will give the upper floors a look. When I finish I will come back and inform you of what I’ve found,” Bai Tianyi said while nodding his head. He could see that the pressure was quite intense for normal experts with a flesh and blood body.
“Keep an eye out on how many experts there are on each level,” Xue Wei added, giving Bai Tianyi one more task. “I want to know how many are cultivating on the upper levels of the tower, if any. I imagine that the pressure will be so intense up there that a single mishap will cause one’s body to explode.”
“I will keep an eye out,” Bai Tianyi promised. While they were talking, they moved further and further into the second floor.
Many experts looked at them curiously. They were experts with merely two eyes, but they were clearly within the Soul Tower, and this proved that they cultivated spiritual energy and not Qi. In fact, the likelihood of them being Primordial Beasts was quite low.
Then how could they appear here? And for one of them it even seemed as if the pressure was nothing. On top of that, they seemed as if they were new faces in the academy.
Many were curious about them, but no one came forward to question them or talk with them. Although they were curious, there was still a bit of disdain within their eyes. These experts only had two eyes each. They could not be as amazing as the other experts, so why spend their valuable time figuring out who they were?
Xue Wei was also happy that no one went forward to talk to him. Although he could easily answer the questions, he preferred to be underestimated rather than being looked at with expectations.
Not to mention, if he truly were to figure out what was happening in the academy, it was much more beneficial to him to be overlooked.
Although he was currently being underestimated and looked down upon, that was much better than drawing a crowd anywhere he went.
Together, the two of them went to the next set of stairs and started ascending the steps one by one. The pressure was getting so intense that sweat started beading on Xue Wei’s forehead. He gritted his teeth as he slowly took one step after another in front of him, almost dragging his feet now.
While he was struggling, Bai Tianyi was looking at him with a bemused look.
Xue Wei was always working hard. It was true that his cultivation was partly because of his talent as a Sovereign Beast, but one could not overlook the sheer amount of work he put into each and every part of his training.
He was training every waking moment. He never idled. Even when he was learning formations and alchemy, his perseverance was unending.
He had failed multiple times in the past, but even so, he never gave up and continued to work hard until he succeeded, and now he was considered a very talented individual in both formations, alchemy, and his cultivation base when it came to both spiritual energy and Qi.
One has to remember that he was a Sovereign Beast, so it was not possible for him to begin cultivating at the same time as all the other humans around the age of ten, but he had already overtaken many of them.
Bai Tianyi snickered when he looked at Xue Wei and he was increasingly pleased with the master he had taken on. Although Xue Wei had not been strong when their contract had been established, Bai Tianyi believed that Xue Wei would one day make his name resound throughout the entire world. That everyone would know his name, and that he would become a figure of great importance.
One has to remember that although Xue Wei was still a teenager, he had a meticulous mind and was very vigilant and thought things through before ever acting.
Xue Wei was working hard to withstand the pressure of the third floor while Bai Tianyi had taken the time to evaluate him. Finally, they found a corner on the third floor where Xue Wei sat down with crossed legs and closed his eyes.
There were even more people on the third floor than there had been on the second, and fewer were moving up and down the stairs.
Just as the floor beneath, there were many curious experts who looked at Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi, but once again, no one spoke. When Xue Wei sunk into his own cultivation, he did not care at all about what was happening around him. All that mattered to him was the soul power that was pouring into his mind palace, almost overwhelming the golden dragon.
Seeing Xue Wei so focused on cultivating, Bai Tianyi smiled slightly before he moved towards the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.
Seeing his light steps and casual expression, the faces of many of the experts on the third floor turned grim and disbelieving. How could this young child possibly withstand the pressure as easily as he did? How could he move as if there was no pressure at all? It was simply inconceivable.