122. Raising his head, he sprinted toward the tower's peak; falling from it would spell tragedy.

At the very top of the Heaven-Piercing Tower stood ten people—the leaders of the Ten Great Sects.

Dongmen Yong had been utterly disheartened from the beginning, and the turmoil in his heart was beyond description. He had already seen through the Supreme Immortal Sect’s scheme. They had deliberately stationed their disciples near the riverbank to prevent disciples from the other sects from climbing the tower.

By doing so, they could preserve the existing order of the Ten Great Sects.

The tactic was despicable, yet it fully complied with the rules of the competition. After all, the competing disciples were allowed to spar with one another. Thus, even if the Supreme Immortal Sect attacked disciples from another sect, they would not technically be breaking the rules.

If things continued this way, there was little difference between holding the competition and not holding it at all. The Supreme Immortal Sect would remain the undisputed first-ranked sect, while the Scarlet Dawn Sect would remain in ninth place.

Of the ten sect leaders, the angriest were those from Beast King Mountain. Their strength was on par with that of the Supreme Immortal Sect, and this time their leader had intended to rely on his sect’s power to push their combat strength even higher, advancing the sect’s ranking and making Beast King Mountain the foremost of the Ten Great Sects.

Among the Seven Nations, the military strength of the Ming Kingdom was actually no weaker than that of the Li Kingdom, because two sects were located within Ming territory.

One was Beast King Mountain, and the other was Red Dust Valley. Neither sect was weak overall; they simply lacked the recognition that came with a higher ranking.

The Supreme Immortal Sect ranked first, Beast King Mountain second, and Red Dust Valley third.

The second- and third-ranked sects were both located in the Ming Kingdom, making it one of the Li Kingdom’s most formidable rivals.

Moreover, Beast King Mountain and Red Dust Valley seemed to be planning a marriage alliance. If they joined forces, their overall strength would rise another level.

This ranking competition was of unprecedented importance to the Ming Kingdom. It was an opportunity to prove its strength.

Yet no one had expected the Supreme Immortal Sect to employ such a despicable tactic to preserve its first-place ranking.

Just when all the sect leaders believed that the rankings were already beyond hope, the sudden rampage of the demon beasts caught everyone off guard. Li Qianjun, leader of the Supreme Immortal Sect, glared viciously at the master of Beast King Mountain.

“Xifeng Lie, this must have been part of your plan from the beginning! Everyone under heaven knows that Beast King Mountain is unmatched in the art of controlling beasts. Only your sect could have incited so many demon beasts to run wild!”

“Hahaha!” The master of Beast King Mountain, Xifeng Lie, shot him a sidelong glance. “If I had done it, I would not deny it. But this matter has nothing to do with me. You, on the other hand—everyone can see through your little trick. You were afraid that Beast King Mountain would grow stronger than your sect, so you resorted to such methods, didn’t you? Hmph! You occupied the riverbank with your own disciples and prevented everyone else from climbing the tower. What a clever scheme!”

“That was my disciples’ plan. It had nothing to do with me!”

Li Qianjun was so furious that his whiskers trembled. He was an old man with white hair and a youthful complexion. Xifeng Lie, by contrast, was a middle-aged man with blazing red hair, a muscular build, and thick body hair. He looked almost like an ape.

The two had never gotten along. Whenever they exchanged even a few words, they would immediately start trading insults. Everyone knew this well. After all, there was little difference between the number-one and number-two sects in the world, and both men had fought tooth and nail for supremacy.

Everyone watched the exchange, but the situation in the distance was growing even more perilous.

The siege beast Asalon had already brought its offspring toward the Heaven-Piercing Tower, accompanied by tens of millions of demon beasts.

Their overwhelming momentum had long since churned the crystal-clear lake into a muddy, opaque expanse.

The disciples fled for their lives toward the Heaven-Piercing Tower, but the tower’s surroundings were protected by a restriction.

It was a no-fly restriction. In other words, the only way to ascend was to rely on one’s own strength and climb the tower’s outer surface. Otherwise, there was no way to advance any farther.

Xie Wuji immediately sensed the restriction as well. He was already close to the tower, and thanks to his beast-riding ability, he had left most of the others far behind.

“Who is that? Apart from the people of Beast King Mountain, who else knows how to fly on a beast?”

“I heard he’s the fourth disciple of Dongmen Yong, the master of the Scarlet Dawn Sect. Apparently, he’s a complete eccentric who likes to run naked around the sect. I never expected him to know how to ride flying beasts too. Looks like there’s more to him than meets the eye.”

“So he’s a pervert…”

Xie Wuji was furious when he heard the filthy remarks around him, so he urged his mount to fly faster. Unfortunately, the Flame Demon Chicken could fly no farther. The disciples of Beast King Mountain nearby also began dropping to the ground one after another.

One of the disciples of Beast King Mountain said, “All right. We’ve left most of the others behind. Now let’s start climbing the Heaven-Piercing Tower. We’re certain to secure a good ranking!”

“Good! Dismount from your beast servants and prepare to climb. Huh… Why is there a disciple from the Scarlet Dawn Sect here?” one disciple exclaimed when he spotted Xie Wuji.

Xie Wuji laughed heartily. “Just passing through, just passing through!”

But after everyone saw the Flame Demon Chicken let out a string of loud clucks, they burst into mocking laughter.

“This is priceless. Everyone wants their beast servant to look as impressive as possible, yet this fellow chose a chicken as his beast servant? What a weirdo!”

“Hahaha! Does he think a few colored feathers will turn it into a phoenix? How ridiculous!”

The people around him continued making one remark after another, leaving Xie Wuji shaking his head.

“A bunch of ignorant fools. My chicken is different from ordinary chickens. It’s a mighty creature!”

“But it’s still a chicken!” a female disciple of Beast King Mountain said with a suppressed laugh.

“All right, stop making fun of him. Everyone, start climbing the tower. The people from the Supreme Immortal Sect are catching up. Even with the advantage provided by our demon beasts, we’ve only gained a short lead. Don’t let a disciple from the Scarlet Dawn Sect overtake us!” one of the disciples of Beast King Mountain shouted. He seemed to possess considerable prestige among the group.

The others no longer paid Xie Wuji any attention and began climbing the tower.

Looking upward from below, Xie Wuji discovered that the tower was nearly vertical, rising at an angle close to ninety degrees. Climbing it would be extraordinarily difficult.

However, the tower’s surface was covered with many jagged protrusions. Perhaps they could be used to his advantage.

One disciple’s beast servant was a lizard. He immediately ordered it to cling to the wall, and it began scurrying upward like a gecko, quickly taking the lead.

“Third Senior Brother, well done! Your gecko has really come through for us!”

“Gecko, your grandmother! Mine is an Azure-Eyed Earth Dragon!”

“It’s still a gecko…”

The people of Beast King Mountain began climbing. Some of their beast servants could still be of assistance, so they retained a commanding lead.

By then, the others had also arrived. Xie Wuji had the Flame Demon Chicken carry him upward, but its speed was inferior to that of several disciples from Beast King Mountain.

Baili Qingyan caught up as well. His hands transformed into countless vines, which latched onto cracks in the surrounding walls and pulled him upward like a swing.

Dongmen Jianhao’s method was even faster and more direct. He held two swords in his hands, while more precious swords were strapped to his shoes. As he climbed, the blades struck against the wall in a series of sharp clashes.

Shi Zhentian’s method was even more inventive. He took a deep breath, lifted his belly, and pressed it tightly against the tower wall. Like a slug, he slowly wriggled upward.

Naturally, his speed was painfully slow.

“Don’t bother looking. Shi Zhentian’s beast spirit is a slug…” Yang Hongliu explained.

Xie Wuji was speechless. For a moment, he did not know what to say. He sighed and urged the Flame Demon Chicken to continue climbing.

But once they had reached the halfway point, Xie Wuji realized that the people around him were gradually catching up. He grew deeply frustrated. At this rate, he would never secure a ranking. Baili Qingyan, meanwhile, had already taken the lead among all the disciples of the Scarlet Dawn Sect.

The vines were simply too effective. Swinging with them required little effort, and each back-and-forth motion carried him more than thirty feet upward.

“Ah!”

A drawn-out cry came from beside Xie Wuji. He turned his head and saw a disciple falling from the tower. The disciple crashed to the ground, and the demon beasts nearby immediately swarmed over him.

What was horrifying was that the beasts did not eat him. The instant they saw a human fall, regardless of whether the victim was male or female, they each produced their own “Italian cannon” and fiercely rammed it into the fallen disciple.

The climbers stared in stunned disbelief. No one dared to be careless anymore. The consequences of falling from the tower were now painfully clear.

The army of demon beasts was closing in on the Heaven-Piercing Tower, and the atmosphere at the scene grew taut with unbearable tension.