The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 16: Tower of the God of War

“Stop!” In front of the Tower of the God of War, a soldier blocked Zhou Tianci’s path. Zhou Tianci produced his pass; the soldier glanced at it before allowing him to pass. “Captain Zhou, please come in!” the soldier said respectfully. Zhou Tianci nodded and strode into the Tower of the God of War. “Is that Captain Zhou Shi—the one the Commander calls ‘invincible in the Post-Heaven Realm’?” another soldier remarked enviously after Zhou Tianci had left. “Judging by his age, he’s only around twenty. What a genius!” The first soldier replied, “You bet. Back then, Captain Zhou faced off against three other captains on the Blood Battle Platform. In the end, he fought two at once and still won with ease. That kind of strength is even stronger than a military commander’s!” “I heard Captain Zhou started out as an ordinary private and rose to captain through military merit. Do you think we could be like him someday?” It had been two days since Zhou Tianci’s battle at the Blood Battle Platform. As a result of that battle, he had earned immense prestige, and his reputation had even spread to other legions. By rising to prominence at the expense of Lu Yuan, Zhang Fang, and Qin Huwu, Zhou Tianci reaped numerous tangible benefits, the foremost being Cao Ming’s favor. Afterward, Cao Ming did not reproach Zhou Tianci in the slightest for the severe injuries sustained by Lu Yuan and the other two; on the contrary, he bestowed many rewards upon Zhou Tianci, including access to the second level of the Tower of the God of War. The Tower of the God of War is where the Great State of Yu’s military stores its secret cultivation techniques. It contains not only basic knowledge and various secrets of cultivation but also the experiences of past practitioners and the secret techniques they created; it can be said to be one of the Great State of Yu’s greatest treasures. Gaining access to the Tower of the God of War is also the dream of common soldiers like Zhou Shi, as it means they can advance further on their path of cultivation. Every province in the Great State of Yu has a Tower of the God of War, and the contents of each one differ. The Tower of the God of War in the City of Tears and Blood primarily houses the secret techniques accumulated over the years by the Northwest Legion. In the Great State of Yu, those who break through to the Innate Realm may apply for retirement, and the royal family generally grants their requests. Before retiring, these Innate Realm experts may contribute their cultivation experiences and the secret techniques they have created to the Tower of the God of War in exchange for secret techniques of equivalent rank; this is how the majority of the Tower of the God of War’s collection has been accumulated. The Tower of the God of War has five levels. The first level contains the most basic cultivation knowledge, and every soldier of the Great State of Yu is granted three opportunities to enter it. Additionally, soldiers can exchange the merits they’ve earned during their service for the right to enter. Zhou Tianci was already quite familiar with this level, as Zhou Shi had entered it more than a dozen times; all the cultivation knowledge he currently possessed came from here. Starting from the second floor, gaining access becomes much more difficult. The second floor houses martial arts secret techniques for the Post-Heaven Realm, along with experience in marrow refinement and a small amount of information on the Pre-Heaven Realm. To enter the second floor, one must first have reached the late stage of the Post-Heaven Realm; second, hold at least the rank of squad leader; and finally, obtain approval from the Commander. As for the third floor and above, only Innate-level experts are permitted to enter. For others to gain access, they must have performed a great service and received approval from the General of the Western Campaign. “How wonderful it would be if I could come and go here as I pleased,” Zhou Tianci mused as he stood before the Tower of the God of War. Since arriving in this world, this was the first time he had felt a pang of greed. To him, this place was the greatest treasure in the entire world! “Sooner or later, everything here will be mine!” Zhou Tianci suddenly murmured. Stepping into the Tower of the God of War, Zhou Tianci didn’t linger on the first floor—he was already very familiar with it. He proceeded directly to the second floor, where he began searching for martial arts techniques suited to him and information on the Innate Realm. At that moment, there were more than twenty other people on the second floor besides him; upon seeing him arrive, they merely glanced up at him. Zhou Tianci, too, had no time to socialize; he had only one day. He first headed to the cultivation experience section, where countless summaries of past practitioners’ experiences were compiled. Zhou Tianci quickly flipped through a few volumes, comparing them to his own situation. “The Post-Heaven realm is one of cultivation; it certainly isn’t as profound as the Pre-Heaven realm. However, there are still many points to be mindful of—especially regarding meridians, acupoints, and the Primordial Spirit. The slightest carelessness could result in hidden injuries, thereby cutting off the path to advancing to the Pre-Heaven realm.” As Zhou Tianci read and reflected, he felt incredibly fortunate. His Primordial Spirit was powerful; by the late Post-Heaven stage, he was already capable of preliminary inner vision. After devouring and strengthening it once more, his Primordial Spirit would be the first to cross into the Pre-Heaven realm, overcoming the greatest obstacle on the path from Post-Heaven to Pre-Heaven. “With the ability to perform inner vision, nothing in the Post-Heaven realm is a secret to me anymore.” Zhou Tianci then turned his attention to the section on martial arts secret techniques. Martial arts secrets were offensive techniques created by predecessors. Legend has it that in ancient times, when humanity first emerged, people were frail and weak, and were viewed as prey by ferocious beasts and demon beasts. Later, humans embarked on the path of cultivation and gradually grew stronger, but they still lagged far behind those demon beasts. Through battles with demon beasts, powerful humans gradually mastered the art of combat and created various martial arts manuals, which ultimately allowed them to establish civilization and rule the world. After countless years of accumulation, the number of martial arts manuals in human possession has become incalculable. On the second floor of the Tower of the God of War in the City of Tears and Blood alone, Zhou Tianci found over ten thousand martial arts manuals. “With so many martial arts manuals, no wonder the Great State of Yu is able to win over martial artists from all over the world!” Zhou Tianci marveled to himself. Upon closer inspection, he realized there was a clear method to the selection of these manuals. Among these tens of thousands of martial arts manuals, some enhanced strength, some enhanced speed, some increased lethality, and others combined all these elements… and so on, the list was endless, capable of meeting virtually any need. In fact, many of these manuals shared similarities; for example, the *Tiger Demon Fist* chosen by Lu Yuan had much in common with the *Fierce Tiger Fist* and the *Blazing Tiger Fist*. “No wonder the Tower of the God of War places no limit on the number of martial arts manuals one can practice. For ordinary people, mastering two or three is more than enough; anything beyond that is pointless.” Zhou Tianci searched for a martial arts manual suited to him and didn’t find a sword technique until noon. “In the ancient Eastern myths of my past life, there were often sword immortals who could decapitate an enemy from a thousand li away, and since I’ve always had a fondness for swords, a sword technique is the perfect choice for me.” Zhou Tianci looked at the *Blood Shadow Sword Technique* in his hands with great satisfaction. The predecessor who created this sword technique hailed from the Blood Battle Legion, and it complemented the *Blood Battle Art* perfectly. Having found a sword technique to his liking, Zhou Tianci didn’t stop; he continued flipping through the volumes. As time passed, he had already perused thousands of martial arts manuals. The reason he was able to proceed so quickly was that the first page of each manual contained a brief introduction, allowing him to roughly determine whether it was suitable for him. “This cultivation technique is rather peculiar…” After *Blood Shadow Sword Art*, Zhou Tianci finally found another martial arts manual that piqued his interest: *The Eye of the Underworld*. According to the introduction, it was a martial arts manual for cultivating the art of clairvoyance—an extremely rare practice. At the same time, the introduction also stated that only a prodigy could cultivate this technique. Zhou Tianci immediately read it carefully; after all, the title of this manual was quite intimidating. However, after finishing it, he was deeply disappointed. This so-called *Eyes of the Netherworld* was essentially just an application of Primordial Spirit power. “No wonder it specifically states that only geniuses can practice it. Without a powerful Primordial Spirit, how could one possibly cultivate the *Eyes of the Netherworld*? Even so, I doubt there are many practitioners at the Post-Heaven realm whose Primordial Spirits are strong enough to master this manual.” Zhou Tianci chuckled inwardly. The creator of this secret technique must have been a supreme genius. Ordinary people at the Acquired Realm cannot practice it, and by the time they reach the Innate Realm, they can learn even more powerful spiritual soul attack techniques—so this secret technique is rather useless. “Though it’s of limited use, it suits me perfectly.” Zhou Tianci silently committed it to memory; this technique would be quite beneficial for him in harnessing the power of his spiritual core. In addition to the *Blood Shadow Sword Technique* and the *Underworld Divine Eye*, Zhou Tianci finally chose another movement technique: the *Wave-Turning Step*. At this point, he had lost interest in martial arts secret techniques and began searching for information on the Innate Realm within the second level. He didn’t emerge until the Tower of the God of War closed, joining the others as they left. “This trip was well worth it!” Back at his residence, Zhou Tianci organized his findings from this visit. With his powerful spiritual essence and exceptional memory, the three secret arts were as if engraved in his mind. However, simply memorizing them wasn’t enough; he still had to practice them, striving to master these three secret arts as soon as possible. At the northern edge of the Barbarian Wilderness, 80 li outside the City of Tears and Blood, a pack of Qinghuo Wolves was racing toward a small village. “Ding-ding-ding…” The urgent toll of a bell rang out across the village. More than thirty burly men gathered at the village entrance, each carrying a hunting bow on his back and a long spear in his hand. “Hurry, hurry! Retreat to the City of Tears and Blood!” urged the village chief, a man in his fifties. One after another, women emerged from their homes carrying children and lugging luggage, joining the others as they fled northward. “My God, it’s only been seven years since the last beast tide. Why is there another one already?” The village chief’s eyes were clouded with gloom. “Aaaah…” The howls of the Qinghuo Wolf pack echoed far and wide. “Brother, what should we do now?” asked a man dressed in hemp cloth. The two-meter-tall man standing before him didn’t even turn his head: “There’s no choice—we’ll fight to the death.” Within minutes, the pack of Qinghuo Wolves had reached the village gates. Everyone’s expressions changed—even the two-meter-tall man now had cold sweat pouring down his forehead. “There are—there are over 300 Qinghuo Wolves! We’re done for. We should’ve retreated to the City of Tears and Blood long ago,” the giant man wailed. The more than 300 Qinghuo Wolves didn’t pause for a moment, charging forward like the wind. “Whoosh!” One Qinghuo Wolf was struck by an arrow, but this did nothing to deter the others. More than ten Qinghuo Wolves crept up behind the burly men, then lunged forward; half were speared to death, while the other half closed in on them. “Awoo!” Before they could deal with the immediate threat, dozens more Qinghuo Wolves pounced. This time, the thirty-odd men were completely overwhelmed, while the remaining wolves flanked them and charged toward the village. “Beasts, die!” The village chief, wielding an iron club, struck one Qinghuo Wolf dead, but he couldn’t hold off the all-around assault from over a dozen of them. As he lay dying, the village chief saw that the retreating group had been overtaken by the Qinghuo Wolves, and two children had perished in the wolves’ jaws…