Ancient Tears BloodLine

United City (Main Post)

I heard Senior Kate’s words. She wanted me to face the challenges inside the night cell tower, which made me curious.

"Let’s check what’s inside the tower. I’m sure they are no threat to you at all," the ancient spirit said.

"Zack Lockwood, what are you thinking?" Blake asked.

Hearing that, I collected my thoughts. Since the ancient spirit shared the same thoughts as mine, I decided to face the challenge.

"Senior, I want to enter the night cell tower," I told him.

The members present were all taken aback. They hadn’t expected to hear something like this from the young man; they had assumed he was scared.

Kate’s expression turned serious.

She said, "Blake was right. I spoke without realizing the danger. The criminals are notorious warriors. It’s still too early for you to face them."

"Don’t worry. I won’t blame you guys," I replied.

"Okay. You can enter the gate after scanning your card. There are no fixed levels. You will face criminals or warriors according to their strength. You have to kill a minimum of two threats before you are given the option to exit," Blake explained.

This time, Kate and the others were shocked. They looked toward Blake with questioning gazes.

On the other hand, I was a bit surprised. I didn’t expect him to agree. I thanked him before walking toward the tower. There was a huge iron gate at the entrance.

I looked around and spotted a console with a large screen. I took out the card and presented it in front of the screen. A light from the console scanned it.

Creak!

The next second, the door opened. I put the card away into the storage ring and walked into the tower.

Blake, Kate, and the others watched Zack Lockwood’s back. A moment later, Blake took out his communication device and phoned an acquaintance in the administration office.

He briefed the person on what was happening. After ending the call, he turned toward the others.

"The rules are strict inside. A challenge can only be stopped by the administration office, but they will wait until he can no longer fight," Blake told them.

"You should have told him," Kate said.

"I don’t know whether the young man is confident or arrogant, so this could be a good lesson. If he enters the battlefield without proper training, he will die quickly," Blake replied.

Hearing that, Kate and the others agreed. They then turned toward the night cell tower.

"Unfortunately, no one can watch the battle from the outside. Even the administration can only monitor it using signal vitals," Kate commented.

"I think he will come out soon. We might have to carry him back to the medical center," one of the members remarked.

Meanwhile, inside the tower, I found myself in a wide, spacious room. Its size was more than enough for two sides to fight.

"There is another presence inside the room," the ancient spirit warned.

Hearing that, my eyes flickered. I extended my perception, spreading mental power across the entire room. Then, I noticed someone sleeping on the floor near the wall.

Seeing that, I started walking up to him. Bright light illuminated the room, showing there were no hidden dangers.

Thud!

Each of my footsteps made a distinct sound that echoed throughout the room. At the same time, my gaze remained locked onto the middle-aged man. He was sleeping on the floor, alive, not dead.

A sense of uneasiness crept in, but I kept approaching him. The ancient spirit also sensed something off about the man.

My eyes picked up every detail: not a single muscle on his body was moving.

Boom!

The sleeping man suddenly raised his hand. His entire arm was engulfed in flames, and a blazing red fireball shot forth from his palm.

Boom!

It happened in an instant.

At the same time, my reflexes kicked in. I tilted my head sideways and dodged the attack.

Swoosh!

The fireball flew past me. If I had reacted even a fraction of a second later, it would have hit my face.

The middle-aged man stood up abruptly. The aura of a Peak Red Mark Warrior burst from his body-it was pushed to the absolute limit, just a step away from the Quasi-God Rank.

Boom!

The middle-aged man drove a punch forward, his right fist coated in roaring flames. Flashing a crooked grin, he lunged ahead.

I coated my right hand in dark purple lightning, wrapping my fist in a newly refined lightning layer.

Boom!

Our fists collided. Upon contact, an overwhelming surge of energy exploded outward.

The middle-aged man’s smile vanished. He watched in shock as his flames were suppressed and shattered by the blow.

As he stared at the young warrior before him, he could clearly perceive only Half-Step Red Mark Strength.

Before he could utter a word, the sheer impact hit him head-on.

Boom!

The dark purple lightning struck his body, propelling him backward before slamming him violently into the floor.

Thud!

The crash produced a deafening roar.

"Argh!"

The middle-aged man wailed in agony as the dark purple lightning tore through him, electrocuting his body.

Unlike elite foreign creatures protected by dark energy cloaks, this criminal had no specialized defenses; his blazing red flames had completely failed to withstand the blow.

"He is cunning and ruthless. If that flame attack had hit your face, you would have suffered severe injuries," the ancient spirit noted.

"Don’t worry. All of his movements were within my sight," I replied.

The man’s upper body was thoroughly scorched black, with thick smoke rising from his skin.

Outside, a commotion was brewing in the administration office. The staff had learned about Zack Lockwood’s challenge in the night cell tower and quickly verified the report.

Inside the control room, a council elder sat monitoring the activity within the night cell tower.

The display tracked the signals inside: a green signal representing Zack Lockwood, and a red signal representing the criminal.

The old man kept a watchful eye on both signals.