Chen Xu's global announcement instantly drew the eyes of the entire world. Even the citizens of Daxia, who had been in the middle of a heated debate regarding the expeditionary vanguard, found their attention diverted.
The direction of the discussion on the forum shifted in a flash.
【New Era Superman of Daxia】: That voice... it really sounds like the great Chen Xu. I remember hearing his New Year's address when I was still in kindergarten. It's identical.
【South Sea Mage】: This old man is currently in Mohai City and heard the voice clearly. It was as loud and bright as a thunderclap striking the soul. The speaker must possess extraordinary mental cultivation.
【Flame Emperor】: I'm over in the Hanyuan Base, and I heard it too. I just had Fuxi pull up a recording from years ago to compare; it really is Boss Chen Xu.
【Sovereign of Eternity】: I'm on a business trip in Yinglun, and it was heard here as well. Who else but Chen Xu could broadcast to the entire world?
Speaking of which, where's Feng Wuhen? Isn't he supposed to be Chen Xu's top enforcer? Why hasn't he poked his head out?
【Flame Emperor】: Didn't Feng Wuhen enter an ultra-tier dungeon three months ago? He probably hasn't finished clearing it yet.
【Sovereign of Eternity】: He's still not out? It seems this final ultra-tier dungeon on Blue Star was filled with hand-picked newcomers. I hope they haven't bitten off more than they can chew!
【Elegant Scholar】: There is no doubt the voice belongs to Chen Xu. Furthermore, I just conducted an experiment: I rode my flying sword at fifth gear from the military academy toward the extreme north, and that mage tower never left my sight. I cannot imagine anyone other than Chen Xu wielding such mysterious power.
Elegant Scholar's guess was correct. Chen Xu had applied a special spell to the projection of the mage tower.
More accurately, it was a unique-tier property: God is omnipresent; the Dao is omnipresent.
As the controller of the Undead Dao, Chen Xu had anchored the projection of the mage tower to the Undead Dao itself and set a trigger condition.
One only had to look toward the mage tower and think of it.
In simple terms, as long as anyone on Blue Star looked in the direction of the tower while holding it in their thoughts, they would see it.
Regardless of any physical obstacles in their line of sight, they would see the tower. What they were seeing was the Undead Dao bypassing physical space to reflect the mage tower directly into their hearts.
Through this method, Chen Xu could further implement a 'see-and-access' feature, allowing anyone who could see the tower to enter it directly.
However, considering the tower's load capacity and the security around Daxia's borders, Chen Xu decided to place a threshold on this feature. It would only be enabled for those who had cleared the first 333 floors.
This was to prevent excessive transcendent criminals from using this method to flee into Daxia and disrupt social stability.
After all, Daxia would soon be preparing the vanguard for the first expedition. The nation's internal strength would inevitably be stretched thin, making it easy for people to take advantage of any loopholes.
【Daily Hundred Papers】: Why are you all still wasting time posting on the forum? The tower is right outside Xinwang City. Anyone within Daxia can fly over on a sword and experience it in minutes.
【Flame Emperor】: It's right outside Xinwang City? Damn it, I sent my spirit sword to the Heavenly Crafts Academy for maintenance, and it hasn't been sent back yet. I guess I'll have to rent a shared flying sword.
【Daily Hundred Papers】: Quite a few people have already entered the tower. My academy happens to have a research team in the area, and they're getting ready to go in too.
Outside Xinwang City, curious residents had already gathered after the mage tower projection manifested.
Dungeons were scarce these days, leaving many job-holders with nothing to do. Aside from absorbing the purple qi of the morning sun or the lunar essence at fixed times, they spent most of their time wandering around.
They either spent their days on the forum, watched others compete in the official Daxia arenas, or attended public lectures at major universities to study transcendent knowledge.
The sudden appearance of a mysterious high tower immediately seized the attention of these idle individuals.
Chen Xu's announcement followed closely, and the last traces of concern regarding the new structure vanished from the hearts of Xinwang City's residents.
They scrambled over each other, rushing headlong into the mage tower.
As time passed, people from other cities in the West Wasteland began to flood in. The area outside the tower became so packed that it was hard to find a place to stand.
To prevent any accidents, the local authorities of the West Wasteland rushed to the scene immediately to maintain order.
“Why are so many people waiting outside? The gates to the mage tower aren't closed, and the Daxia officials aren't stopping anyone. Why not go in?”
“You can go in if you want; nobody's stopping you.”
“Heh, the people from Xinwang City already went in. Everyone else is waiting for them to come out and share their guides. As the saying goes: enter early for the experience, enter late for the guides.”
“Chen Xu said there's a chance to reach the eternal-tier in this giant tower! The eternal-tier is a realm above the mythic-tier. Right now, there isn't another eternal-tier being on all of Blue Star besides Chen Xu!”
“Who wouldn't want to rush in there, win a straight streak, and seize that eternal opportunity!”
“Hey, stop arguing! Someone's coming out! Quick, is there a warrior who knows Taunt? Go up and hold him, don't let him get away!”
The middle-aged man who had just stepped out of the tower had not yet noticed the commotion of the crowd.
He walked with his head down, his face full of worry, muttering obscure words under his breath.
“The definition of transcendence, the origin of transcendence, where the soul comes from, the history of transcendent development in the myriad worlds, transcendent career planning...”
Suddenly, the man noticed the world around him go dark. He looked up in confusion, only to find himself surrounded by a dense sea of people, several layers deep.
Startled, he took several steps back.
Thud!
The solid feeling against his back told him there were people behind him as well.
“W-What are you all doing? I'm a senior Berserker! If I lose my temper, I won't be able to hold back! Be careful!”
“Hmph, a mere Berserker dares to act tough? I'm an epic-tier Priest. For every one you cut down, I can raise ten!”
“Hey, you should have just knocked him out with a club. Why wait for us to fall before acting? Maliciously padding your healing numbers doesn't count toward guide points, you know.”
“Don't get sidetracked! Kid, we're not here to rob you or harass you. We just want your guide!”
“Guide? What guide?”
“What else? The guide for the mage tower that Chen Xu sent down! Didn't you just come out? What floor did you reach?”
Upon hearing this, the panic on the man's face faded, replaced by his previous gloom.
“Sigh, don't even mention it. I didn't even pass the first floor.”
“What?”
“Sigh, I think I'll just go sign up for the Daxia Expeditionary Vanguard. This mage tower isn't for me,” the man said dejectedly, as if he had suffered inhuman torture inside.
“Wait, brother, looking at your age, you must have lived through the dungeon era. A man who has braved dungeons shouldn't be broken like this by a single mage tower.”
“Exactly. You have more wrinkles on your face than the cracks I get when I fail at smithing. We're all men who have licked blood from the edge of a blade in dungeons. Why so depressed?”
Facing the crowd's curiosity, the middle-aged man let out a long sigh and spoke helplessly.
“In this mage tower, you have to learn before you can clear a stage. To enter the next floor, you have to master the knowledge of the previous one. Tell me, isn't that just making things difficult? I'm fine with going Berserk and hacking monsters, but making me start learning from scratch... I have all this strength but nowhere to use it.”
“L-Learning?”
As the crowd stood in shock, more people began to emerge from the mage tower's entrance.
Their expressions were identical to the first man's: distressed and helpless.
The crowd immediately shifted their focus, dispersing from the middle-aged man to surround the others.
After a series of inquiries and cross-verifications, they were forced to believe the truth.
This mage tower sent by Chen Xu was actually a test of the mind.
Or rather, it tested the mind first and strength second. Those with poor intellect wouldn't even get to see the combat stages.
The passion of the once-excited crowd was instantly halved. Yet, unwilling to have made the trip for nothing, they gritted their teeth. Since they were already here, they might as well go in and see.
Soon, a stream of people poured into the tower and began the challenge.
The news that the mage tower required learning quickly spread to the Job-Holder Forum, causing an immediate uproar.
In an instant, Daxia was split into two camps.
One consisted of those with naturally good comprehension who enjoyed research and had the patience to study; they joined the grand tower-climbing endeavor.
The other was the expeditionists. This group consisted of combat fanatics and natural-born warriors who relied entirely on their job-holder panels. they began resting and building their strength, preparing to be part of the first wave of the expedition.
Rate on N.U.
