My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 95: Challenging the inheritance tower
Alex stared at the massive creature floating in the dark ocean water and activated his Eye of Revelation. The familiar text appeared in his vision.
[Name: Island Tortoise
Talent: Shell Hardening (S)
Rank: Planetary level 4]
He hadn’t activated his suit core power yet. He was saving it for the finishing moves. Ten minutes of boosted power wasn’t nearly enough to kill all the monsters roaming this sea, so he needed to be smart about when he used it.
He’d already told Arthur and his father to do the same thing. Fight with everything they had first, wear the monsters down, and only then activate the suit’s power to finish them off. That way they’d get the best of both results. Combat data from real fighting, and the synchronization boost from using the suit’s ultimate ability.
Alex didn’t waste any more time thinking. He activated his teleportation and appeared directly above the Island Tortoise, his fist already moving. The creature’s massive head started to turn, sensing the danger a moment too late.
His fist connected with the shell.
The impact created a shockwave that sent water rushing in all directions. The Island Tortoise, a creature the size of a small building with a shell that could probably survive a missile strike, simply ceased to exist. One moment it was there, the next it was nothing but scattered fragments drifting in the current.
Alex caught the glowing core before it could sink too deep and stored it away. One down. Hundreds more to go.
He was about to teleport again when Ember’s voice echoed in his mind.
"Master, I am sensing something. Something that feels... useful to me."
Alex paused. Ember didn’t often speak up about things like this. The dragon was usually content to lurk in Alex’s shadow and observe, only emerging when fighting was needed or when Alex specifically called for him. For Ember to reach out on his own, it had to be something important.
"Which one?" Alex asked, curiosity creeping into his voice. "Let me see what you’ve found."
Suddenly his senses merged with Ember’s. It was a strange feeling, seeing the world through his bond with the dragon. The ocean looked different, sharper in some ways, more alive. And through that connection, he felt it too. An urge, deep and primal, pulling him in a specific direction. A hunger that wasn’t quite hunger. A need that wasn’t quite need.
Alex followed the feeling.
He swam deeper, past rock formations and schools of fish that scattered at his approach. The ocean floor sloped downward, then leveled out into a flat plain covered in strange plants that glowed with bioluminescent light. In the middle of that plain, tucked beneath the fronds of a massive underwater bush, something was hanging.
A fruit. Green and pulsing with an inner light that seemed to beat like a heart.
Alex approached carefully, activating his Eye of Revelation as he got closer.
[Name: Fruit of Vitality
Rank: A rank treasure
Note: This fruit provides an instant and permanent boost to vitality. For creatures with a vitality bloodline, it can unlock dormant potential locked deep within their genes.]
Alex’s eyes widened. He understood now why Ember had been so eager. The shadow dragon carried dragon blood in his veins, ancient and powerful. If this fruit could unlock even a fraction of that potential...
"Ember," he called softly.
The dragon emerged from his shadow, his form materializing in the water. Even through the darkness of the deep ocean, Alex could see the excitement in his eyes. Ember swam around him in happy circles, his usual dignified demeanor completely forgotten in the face of this treasure.
Alex reached out and picked the fruit gently, careful not to damage it. It was warm to the touch, despite being surrounded by cold ocean water. The light pulsing inside it seemed to speed up, as if recognizing that it had been found.
"We need to retreat for now," Alex said, placing the fruit in his storage ring with more care than he’d ever used for any other treasure. "You need to consume this thing properly, in a safe place where nothing can disturb you." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Thank you, master." Ember’s voice in his mind was thick with emotion. The dragon swam up to him and rubbed against his side, a gesture of affection that Alex had never seen from him before. "Thank you."
Alex patted the dragon’s scaled head, then recalled him back into his shadow. He took one last look at the ocean floor, making sure there weren’t any other treasures hiding nearby, then turned his thoughts toward the surface.
But before he could leave, another thought struck him. The inheritance tower. He still hadn’t challenged it. And with everything that was coming, the invasion, the battles ahead, he didn’t have much time left.
"I need to challenge that tower," he muttered to himself. "Maybe I’ll get something useful. A hundred slots would be nice. Or some decent equipment. Anything to give us an edge."
He focused his mind and vanished from the ocean floor, reappearing moments later in the courtyard of the Celestus house.
Julius and several others were still there, gathered around a table covered in maps and documents. They looked up in surprise when Alex materialized.
"What’s wrong?" Julius asked immediately, reading something in Alex’s expression. "Did something happen out there?"
"Nothing wrong," Alex assured him. "I want to challenge the inheritance tower. But before that..." He pulled out the storage ring he’d prepared earlier and tossed it to Julius. "Here are some resources I collected. Use them to push everyone with S-rank talent or higher to the Grandmaster realm. We need every bit of strength we can get before the invasion hits."
Julius caught the ring and nodded gravely. "I’ll see to it personally. The tower is in a secret location inside the Alliance Hall. Should we head there now?"
Alex nodded and placed his hand on Julius’s shoulder. A moment later, they were standing in front of the Alliance Hall.
Julius led the way inside, through corridors that Alex had never seen before, past guards who nodded respectfully and opened doors without question. They descended a long staircase, then another, until Alex was sure they must be deep underground.
Finally they arrived at a massive door, easily twenty feet tall and made of some dark metal that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Two old men stood guard on either side, their bodies radiating power that made the air around them feel heavy. Martial Emperors, both of them. The kind of fighters who could level mountains with a single punch.
When they saw Alex and Julius approach, both old men straightened and bowed deeply. Without a word, they turned and pushed the massive doors open.
Beyond the doors was a huge circular room. And in the center of that room, floating several feet above the ground, was a portal.
It was massive, easily thirty feet across, a swirling vortex of bright blue light that seemed to pull at Alex’s very soul. The pull was immense, like standing at the edge of a waterfall and feeling the water trying to drag you down. Just looking at it made Alex’s hair stand on end.
"Remember," Julius said, his voice serious, "once you enter the room, the portal will speak to you. It will give you options for your trial. Choose carefully. Once you make your choice, you’ll be pulled inside. No one knows exactly what trials await within. Every person who enters experiences something different. But based on your performance, you’ll receive a rating and a reward. The better you do, the better the reward."
Alex nodded, committing every word to memory. He took a deep breath, then walked toward the massive door. It swung shut behind him with a boom that echoed through the empty room.
He approached the portal slowly, each step bringing him closer to that swirling blue light. When he was within ten meters, a voice spoke directly into his mind. Not through his ears, but straight into his thoughts, ancient and powerful.
[Which trial do you wish to challenge?]
"Spirit Master," Alex said without hesitation.
The moment the words left his mouth, a tremendous pulling force gripped his body. He didn’t resist. The world blurred, twisted, and then reformed.
Alex found himself standing in a white room, featureless and empty. Before he could look around, a beam of blue light shot down from somewhere above and began scanning his body from head to toe. It felt strange, like being x-rayed by something far more advanced than any human technology.
The scanning lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Then the voice returned.
[Eternal level talent detected. Initiating highest grade trial.]
The world vanished again.
When Alex opened his eyes, he was standing in a forest. But not just any forest. The trees here were massive, their trunks wider than buildings, their canopies blocking out the sky so completely that he couldn’t tell if it was day or night. The air was thick with power, so thick that every breath felt like drinking liquid energy.
And then he saw them.
Seven statues.
