Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xiao Chen broke the second floor’s record, breaking another record.

Inside the Trial Tower, Xiao Chen felt somewhat excited. Honestly speaking, he had not held much hope for breaking the second floor’s record.

He just tried, giving it his all.

Unexpectedly, he succeeded. This was indeed a pleasant surprise.

“Trial Taker Xiao Chen, congratulations on breaking the second floor’s record. This is something to be celebrated. It has been a long time since the Faux God World had a person who could break two records within one day,” the little light figure said softly after it appeared to give Xiao Chen his rewards.

Xiao Chen opened the chest. Including the hidden rewards, there was a total of five thousand Faux God Coins.

This was much less than what he had received for the first floor. After all, no one broke the first floor’s record for one millennium, but someone broke the second floor’s record just one century ago.

“Do I have any special privileges this time?”

Xiao Chen felt more anticipation for this. Being able to choose the snowy plains had been crucial to him breaking the second floor’s record.

“Naturally, there is. All hidden reward achievers have a special privilege. Come with me to the third floor.”

Light and shadow flickered as the Item Spirit brought Xiao Chen to the Trial Tower’s third floor.

The environment on the third floor was different from the first two floors. Hundreds of statues stood in the empty space, appearing valiant and powerful in a variety of poses. They all looked focused and showed great might.

“All of these statues have a clump of Faux God Flame left by Faux God experts. Regarding intelligence or states, they are several levels higher than combat puppets. Typically, most people would fight one at random. You may observe these for a while and freely make your choice.”

The little light figure explained the origins of these statues before giving a detailed introduction to the third floor.

The third floor of the Trial Tower was a hurdle. Aside from the four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages, no one else in the Heavenly Alliance had managed to clear the third floor.

It looked like there was a reason for that.

“Can I freely choose the environment of the battle this time, as well?” Xiao Chen asked the little light figure. He could make a better choice if he could verify this point.

“You can.” The little light figure nodded in agreement.

In that case, things will be much easier to deal with. Xiao Chen looked at the hundreds of statues and felt somewhat overwhelmed. After some thought, he said, “Lord Item Spirit, please help me remove the statues that are not bladesmen.”

There was little meaning to challenging non-bladesmen.

Aside from getting rewards, the focus of the Trial Tower was on the word trial.

A trial had to provide real help. The first two floors were not of much help to Xiao Chen, who had already gained the experience they were supposed to impart from the Black and White Eggs.

This third floor was a rare chance for Xiao Chen. Naturally, he had to test himself against a bladesman.

“As you wish.”

The little light figure casually waved its hands, and most of the several hundred statues disappeared, leaving only a few dozens.

Even so, there were still quite a lot of statues. After some thought, Xiao Chen said, “Help me eliminate the bladesmen good with the Thunder Dao or the Ice Dao.”

If Xiao Chen fought these statues, there would not be much of a fight. If strong cultivators randomly got matched with a statue with the same Great Dao as them, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

After another round of elimination, only ten-odd statues remained.

--

“Xi Mu, you seem to be among the remaining statues.” The old man across Xi Mu in the palace laughed softly, his eyes lighting up.

Xi Mu nodded and said, “Indeed, I am among them. However, if he wants to continue breaking records, he will not choose me.”

As the two chatted, Fiendish Saber Xi Mu showed absolute confidence. His statue was definitely the strongest among the remaining statues. He did not believe that Xiao Chen could not tell.

--

Who knew, right after Xi Mu spoke, Xiao Chen, who was in the Trial Tower, made his choice as if he had heard him.

“This senior, then.”

Xiao Chen chose Fiendish Saber Xi Mu.

--

Back at the palace, Xi Mu and the other old man clearly saw all this and were immediately stunned.

After a while, the old man guffawed, “Hahaha! It looks like you should not be so certain with your words.”

Just from how he picked his successor, one could see that Fiendish Saber Xi Mu was a proud person. He had submitted to only one person in his life.

Xiao Chen’s choice caught Xi Mu off guard. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he said seriously, “To think that he really chose me. I want to see how he will clear the third floor.”

--

Back in the Trial Tower, the little light figure felt somewhat surprised at Xiao Chen’s choice as well. It said seriously, “This is Senior Xi Mu. Of the hundreds of statues earlier, his strength ranks in the top ten. Since the Trial Tower’s creation, not a single person has defeated him on the first try. At best, they challenged him multiple times before passing. Even so, there are only three such people.”

“Is that so?”

After hearing what the little light figure had to say, Xiao Chen said, “He is stronger than I imagined, then. In that case, let me be the one to break this record.”

Even though he said that, in reality, he was now quite relaxed about breaking records.

Xiao Chen could tell that Faux God Xi Mu was the strongest among the remaining statues, which instantly ignited the battle hunger in his heart.

The moment the statue’s eyes met Xiao Chen’s, he had felt a connection. Xiao Chen’s saber intent had surged automatically.

The Tyrant Saber in Xiao Chen’s hand trembled slightly, raring to go. It wished that it could be drawn at this very instant.

Feeling the Tyrant Saber’s battle hunger, Xiao Chen let this battle hunger spread without a second thought.

If he is the strongest, so be it.

It does not matter whether I can break a record or not. The opportunity to exchange moves with this senior might not come again.

“Are you sure? Not only is this record hard to break, but you might also lose on the third floor. Of course, with such a high hidden difficulty, your reward would be even higher. Many super faction members have gathered outside after hearing the news of you breaking two records in a row. If you end up losing on the third floor, you will lose your reputation.”

Xiao Chen replied calmly, “When have I ever cared about the cold eyes of the world? I will just follow my own heart.”

--

“What a fellow! I’m starting to take a liking to him.” The initially upset Xi Mu showed a smile on his aged face upon hearing this.

The old man smiled mockingly. “Keep smiling. Let’s see if you can continue smiling when he tramples on you to break the record.”

“While I like him, that’s all there is to it. He is dreaming if he thinks he can defeat me on the first attempt.”

This touched Xu Mu’s bottom line. So, he withdrew his smile and showed a serious expression.

--

The little light figure in the Trial Tower looked at Xiao Chen and said, “As you wish, then. What is your choice of location?”

“Thunder marsh!”

“Whoosh!”

Light and shadows flickered. When Xiao Chen’s vision recovered, he was in a thunder marsh.

The sky was dark with thunderclouds covering it. Thousands of lightning bolts streaked across the sky like ferocious, venomous snakes.

A black marsh spread as far as the eyes could see, and dense lightning-attributed Spiritual Energy permeated the place.

This place that Xiao Chen chose gave him, a person who grasped the Thunder Great Dao, a slight advantage.

This would make it somewhat easier for him to succeed in this challenge.

“Whoosh!”

A statue descended from the sky and landed before Xiao Chen. After the statue appeared, it turned human as if it came to life.

Faux God Xi Mu appeared before Xiao Chen. However, this Xi Mu was that of his youthful days. He wore loose white robes and looked handsome with long hair fluttering about. As he looked at Xiao Chen, his lips curled up in a smile.

Fiend!

As Xi Mu smiled, his aura immediately changed significantly, leaving Xiao Chen with a singular impression: Fiend.

Becoming a Fiend with a smile!

Xiao Chen’s heart skipped a beat, feeling that something was off. Since the Trial Tower was established, no one had yet defeated the Fiendish Saber Xi Mu on the first attempt. It seemed like there was a reason for that.

“Let me see. To think that we were sent to the thunder marsh. Your luck is pretty good,” the young Xi Mu murmured as he looked around.

The trace of divine flame allowed Xi Mu’s sculpture to think for himself, similar to the Black and White Eggs. However, the real Xi Mu, who was outside, could not control him. Aside from that trace of divine flame, the two did not have much of a connection.

“However, my Saber Techniques have nothing to do with my environment. You are destined to be unlucky in choosing me. En garde!”

The statue Xi Mu’s temper was similar to the real Xi Mu’s, proud and confident. Right after he spoke, he drew his saber.

The instant Xi Mu drew his saber, pretty flowers bloomed, erupting with resplendent saber light.

At this moment, Xiao Chen discovered himself in a vast sea of flowers when he looked around. The environment changed drastically.

An illusion? Or is it a mysterious phenomenon? Or perhaps it is purely the other party’s Saber Dao?

Xiao Chen could not immediately understand. He calmly looked at Xi Mu, who was charging over while leaping around, flitting like a butterfly amid the sea of flowers.

However, when the other party closed in, his figure appeared blurry to Xiao Chen, like layered illusions.

Strange…

Since the Trial Tower’s establishment, only three people had managed to defeat Xi Mu and had taken several attempts to do so. Before Xi Mu truly made his move, Xiao Chen had already fallen into a passive position.

--

The people outside did not know anything about this.

Seeing Xiao Chen break two records in a row, many people felt excited, wondering whether he could break a record on the third floor as well.

Breaking three records in a row would genuinely be a historic moment.

With the strength that Xiao Chen showed and the momentum of breaking two records in a row, no one thought he would fall on the third floor.