In the following days, Long Chen devoted himself wholeheartedly to practicing the True Breaking Star Technique. In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Long Xin, Chu Lingjun, and the others finally broke through the second barrier after great difficulty. They were eager to enter the seventh layer, only to find the spatial transport channel hadn’t activated, much to their astonishment.

Xu Huanhuan, He Luo, and Xue Wuying found themselves in the same situation. For a while, their anxiety grew as they desperately tried to figure out what was going on, but they were helpless. The spatial channel remained closed, and they were ultimately unable to enter the seventh layer.

However, they did not know that this was all happening because Hei Peng was meddling behind the scenes.

Hei Peng observed their every move, murmuring to himself, "I didn’t expect those below to possess such impressive talent, but they still fall short compared to this lad."

At this point, Hei Peng’s gaze returned to Long Chen. This boy is a diamond in the rough. If he continues to cultivate diligently, he’s bound to achieve greatness in the future.

At that moment, an extremely powerful force enveloped Long Chen. Ripples of energy emanated from him, sweeping outward before converging back toward him, making it impossible to gauge his cultivation progress. What was clear, however, was that the aura within him was constantly growing stronger. His entire presence suddenly became much more formidable.

Suddenly, with a tremendous BOOM, an immensely powerful force erupted from Long Chen. Successive waves of energy ripples swept outward. A white light shone in his eyes; upon closer inspection, one could even see the shape of a star within them. Long Chen let out a low roar as a surge of power shot toward the heavens. Countless stars materialized around him, instantly forming a terrifying magnetic field with him at its center, which expanded continuously.

Seeing this, Hei Peng’s face immediately registered his shock. He did it?!

He had never expected Long Chen to master the True Breaking Star Technique in such a short time. Even when he had learned the technique, it had taken him a considerable amount of time to study and cultivate. Yet this brash young boy had mastered it in just three days. Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would hardly dare to believe it was true.

Long Chen stood up and formed a seal with his fingers. Under his control, the stars swirling around him shot toward a distant, solid stone wall.

BOOM!!

A deafening roar echoed as the hard stone wall crumbled, utterly powerless before the attack.

Seeing this, a hint of astonishment flashed through Long Chen’s heart. He hadn’t expected such a casual strike to possess such Lethal Power.

"Not bad! Not bad!"

"You have a gift, kid," Hei Peng said with a faint smile. "By passing my True Breaking Star Technique to you, I’ve ensured it will not be lost."

"Before you leave, I have one more thing to give you."

After saying this, Hei Peng waved his hand, and a mantra appeared before Long Chen.

"What is this?" Long Chen glanced at the mantra, then looked at Hei Peng with curiosity.

"The thing I want to give you," Hei Peng explained, "is this tower."

"What?" Long Chen’s face was a mask of surprise. "This tower? Am I hearing you correctly?"

"That’s right." Hei Peng nodded. "This is the Xingchen Tower. Once you become its master, it will be yours to command."

"This is a true treasure. You’ve stumbled upon a great fortune, kid."

"This is all thanks to your generous gift, Elder!" Long Chen cupped his hands in a salute. "I will never forget the opportunity you have given me."

Hearing this, Hei Peng smiled. "I have no demands. I only hope you will do your best regarding my affairs. Of course, I won’t force you."

"Alright, you only need to place a drop of your blood onto the mantra. With this mantra, you will be able to successfully control the tower."

"Understood." Long Chen nodded. He made a small cut on his fingertip, squeezed out a drop of fresh blood, and flicked it onto the mantra.

Immediately, the mantra glowed red, finally transforming into a ray of scarlet light that shot directly into the space between Long Chen’s eyebrows.

When Long Chen had finished, Hei Peng spoke. "I have explained everything I need to. You can leave now."

As soon as his words fell, Hei Peng’s phantom form slowly dissipated, vanishing completely before Long Chen’s eyes. Long Chen promptly cupped his hands in a salute to the empty air, a gesture of respect and gratitude for the opportunity Hei Peng had granted him.

Just as Hei Peng completely vanished, another beam of light enveloped Long Chen. Before he could even process what was happening, he disappeared from the tower.

「Meanwhile.」

Outside the Xingchen Tower, members of the various sects stood guard, waiting for the final results of the Domain Alliance competition.

An elder from Ancient Maple Hall stroked his beard, his gaze fixed intently on the Xingchen Tower. "So many days have passed," he mused. "Why is there still no movement?"

The elders from the Xueying Sect and Wonderful Sound Sect also watched intently, each fervently hoping their own elite disciples would claim first place in this Domain Alliance competition.

Hearing the remark, a nearby elder from the Xueying Sect responded indifferently, "It seems to me your Ancient Maple Hall is getting impatient to claim first place."

The Ancient Maple Hall elder retorted, turning to face him, "Save the sarcasm. Is your Xueying Sect any less eager?"

As the two began to argue, a graceful elder from the Wonderful Sound Sect scoffed, "The best outcome would be if neither of your sects wins and the first place falls to my Wonderful Sound Sect."

"Dream on!" the two elders from Ancient Maple Hall and the Xueying Sect snapped in unison.

The others could only watch from the sidelines, not daring to argue with the elders of these three first-class forces unless they had a death wish.

The representatives from the Heavenly Water Sect, Divine Blade Sect, Xuanyue Valley, Feiyu City, and even the Heavenly Demon Sect all wore grave expressions. They had sensed long ago that all their disciples who entered the Xingchen Tower had already perished. They hadn’t left yet because they wanted to wait for the end of the Domain Alliance competition to learn the cause of their disciples’ deaths. These were the elites cultivated by their Great Sects, and for them to die without an inquiry would be a tremendous loss.

Lei Yujing, Lei Man, Lei Zhen, and the disciples of the Jinglei Sect also waited with solemn expressions. At this very moment, they too were anxious. Although they hadn’t sensed that Long Chen’s group was in mortal danger, they were completely in the dark about the situation inside the tower. Because of this, they were desperate to know how Long Chen and his companions were faring.

"Sect Master, you needn’t worry so much. I believe nothing will happen to them," Lei Yujing said to Lei Zhen and the others, seeing their worried expressions.

After hearing her words, Lei Zhen and Lei Man turned to look at Lei Yujing.

Lei Yujing nodded affirmatively at them again. "We must have confidence in them, shouldn’t we?"

"You’re right," Lei Zhen nodded and murmured. "I don’t expect a high ranking. I just hope they can come out of this tower unscathed."

In the next instant, a light suddenly shone from the seventh layer.

Upon seeing this, everyone present held their breath.

"The seventh layer!"

"The highest level of the tower!"

"There’s activity inside! Could someone have reached it?"

"Who could it be? To have such formidable strength!"

"Isn’t it obvious? It must be someone from one of the Three Great Sects: Ancient Maple Hall, the Xueying Sect, or the Wonderful Sound Sect!"

"Besides the Heaven’s Chosen from those Three Great Sects, who else could be that powerful?"

The commotion from the seventh layer set off a wave of discussion among the crowd, with everyone wondering who could have caused it.

The people from Ancient Maple Hall, the Xueying Sect, and the Wonderful Sound Sect all lost their composure. They silently prayed that the person on the seventh layer was one of their own disciples. Everyone knew that whoever was on the seventh layer was very likely the champion of this Domain Alliance competition.

All eyes were fixed on the seventh layer, their hearts pounding with tension.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd, a figure emerged from the Xingchen Tower. Instantly, every gaze was locked onto it. The figure, shrouded in light, was impossible to discern. Hearts tightened and breaths were held in suspense. As the intense light slowly faded, the figure’s appearance was gradually revealed to all.

Long Chen floated in mid-air, gazing down upon the crowd below.

A powerful and profound aura emanated from him, spreading out in all directions.

After enduring multiple life-and-death trials inside the Xingchen Tower, he had finally emerged.