Space Tower.

It was a nine-floor trial tower built by the ancient God of Space. Every floor contained deeper comprehension of Spatial Law and hidden treasures.

Legend said that whoever cleared all nine floors would obtain the supreme authority to control all space-time.

"It’s time to take a look."

Just as John was about to activate the Space Tower qualification token, a faint but clear soul fluctuation suddenly came through Valhalla’s communication channel.

It was Odelle’s voice.

"Guild Leader, I’ve already sent that little girl named Holly to the Apocalypse Realm. By the way, before she left, she said something to me. I think I should pass it on to you."

"What did she say?"

"She said, ’Mentor said the Guild Leader and I are connected by fate, so I should cling tightly to his thigh.’ ...Those were her exact words."

John fell silent for two seconds, then helplessly shook his head.

That Skittershade.

He had clearly tricked his own disciple, yet in the next moment, he had left a message for John through her.

Whether he was friend or foe was truly difficult to determine for the time being.

But it did not matter.

As long as Holly remained within his control, and as long as that small Holy Grail remained under Valhalla’s system, Skittershade would not be able to stir up any waves.

John withdrew his thoughts and looked back at the Space Tower qualification token.

"I’ll deal with this first."

With a thought, divine power poured into the token.

[Ding! Space Tower Entry Qualification activated! Teleporting...]

Golden light lit up.

John’s figure disappeared from the Holy Grail space once again.

At the same time.

The Netherworld.

On a barren plain filled with a rotten aura.

A white skeleton that looked no different from an ordinary skeleton warrior was crouching behind a giant rock, dipping one of its slender bone fingers into some kind of dark-red viscous liquid and crookedly drawing several lines of large characters on the ground.

The contents of those words were simple and clear—

"High danger ahead! Treasure inside! Come quickly!"

"Undead King’s treasure awaits! Solo-clearable! Top-tier drops!"

At the signature area, there was a simple smiling face drawn with an extremely wide grin.

After finishing this signpost, the skeleton took out another wooden board, even older and more mottled than the first, and carefully planted it beside the sign.

On the wooden board, written in the same dark-red liquid, were the words:

"Heroes from all roads are welcome to challenge. This Undead King is warm and hospitable, and absolutely does not scam anyone."

After finishing all this, the white skeleton stood up. Deep within her pale skull’s eye sockets, a faint幽蓝 soul fire glow flickered.

That glow was filled with cunning, excitement, and a playful mockery like a cat teasing a mouse.

"Done."

Silt patted the dark-red liquid from her hands and turned to look toward the end of the plain.

On the distant horizon, more than a dozen player figures were rapidly approaching.

Most of those players were between Level 100 and Level 200. Their equipment quality varied greatly, and they looked like a temporarily assembled exploration squad.

"Another batch of supplies has arrived."

Silt chuckled softly.

She turned and slipped back into the shadows, beginning to stack buff statuses on herself from the darkness.

One layer.

Two layers.

Three layers.

Four layers.

Five layers...

Only after stacking a full thirty-seven buffs did Silt leisurely walk out from the shadows.

In her hand, she carried a bone blade that she had repeatedly polished and tempered until it was unimaginably sharp. Her steps were light, as if she were strolling through her own backyard.

Her small skeletal body cast a long, thin shadow beneath the moonlight. It carried no sense of intimidation at all. In fact, it even looked somewhat ridiculous.

Just like that, she swayed her way toward the player squad.

"Welcome."

Silt grinned, her skull clacking.

When the group of players saw a low-level skeleton voluntarily walking toward them, they were first stunned, then all revealed dismissive and contemptuous smiles.

"A little skeleton dares block our way? Brothers, take it apart!"

Silt was not angry.

She merely raised the bone blade in her hand and aimed the tip at the warrior player charging at the very front. The幽蓝 soul fire deep within her eye sockets violently jumped.

Under the stack of thirty-seven buffs, her panel attributes had already soared to an unimaginable level.

The warrior player charging at the front did not even have time to swing his blade before the bone blade had silently pierced through his chest.

-18729283!

White light lit up.

The player turned into a corpse and slowly collapsed to the ground.

The smiles on the faces of the remaining dozen players instantly froze.

"...What the hell is that?!"

Silt tilted her head. Blood slowly dripped from the bone blade.

Her voice carried a trace of innocent yet cruel laughter.

"Don’t run. Since you’re already here, why not stay a little longer?"

The golden light faded.

John stepped into a towering high tower completely constructed from silver Spatial Law.

Space Tower.

First floor.

The space inside the tower was far more vast than it appeared from the outside.

Above his head was an endless starry dome. Beneath his feet was a constantly flowing and changing stream of silver light.

The entire first floor had no unnecessary decorations. It was so empty that one could not help feeling small.

But John’s gaze was firmly locked onto the silver figure slowly appearing ahead of him.

That figure was extremely similar to the projection from the God of Space Trial, but its aura was much weaker.

It was only around the early demigod level, just above Level 400.

The guardian of the first floor.

"Defeat me, and you will obtain the qualification to proceed to the second floor," the silver figure said, its voice calm and emotionless.

John nodded.

He did not say another word.

Phoenix Fire instantly ignited around his body. Voidrealm Domain spread beneath his feet, and Void Rift silently tore open.

The battle had no suspense at all.

John did not even use his full strength.

In just three exchanges, the silver figure’s core was torn apart by Void Rift, transforming into countless silver fragments of light that scattered and vanished.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have cleared the first floor of Space Tower!]

[Reward: Spatial Law Comprehension +5%]

[Second floor entrance unlocked.]

John did not pause at all. He stepped toward the silver staircase leading to the second floor.

Second floor.

The guardian’s strength had risen to around Level 450.

It had gained an additional passive skill, Spatial Lockdown.

But it still could not pose any real threat to John.

Third floor.

Level 480.

It gained spatial mirror clones.

Fourth floor.

Level 500.

The threshold of High God level.

Spatial Backlash, Spatial Collapse, and Spatial Annihilation bombarded him in three successive layers.

John finally felt pressure here.

But his Phoenix Fire provided him with endless regeneration ability. Voidrealm Domain firmly locked down the guardian’s movement space, while Void Rift continuously devoured every attack launched at him.

After consuming nearly 300,000,000 gold coins, the guardian of the fourth floor finally collapsed with a thunderous crash.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have cleared the fourth floor of Space Tower!]

[Reward: Spatial Law Comprehension +20%]

[Fifth floor entrance unlocked.]

John took a deep breath and stood before the staircase leading from the fourth floor to the fifth. His gaze flickered uncertainly.

The guardian of the fifth floor— 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

He could already sense that terrifying aura, as deep and heavy as an abyss.

At the very least, it was at the early High God level. With his current state, his chances of forcefully challenging it were not high.

"There’s no rush. I’ll first digest the Spatial Law comprehension I gained from the fourth floor, then continue upward."

John sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, beginning to comprehend the Spatial Law fragments he had just obtained.