Ancient Tears BloodLine

Night Cell Tower

The oval-shaped creature was speechless. It wanted to use its last bit of energy to eliminate the human threat, but it was slapped in the face the next second.

It realized too late that the young human warrior possessed the strength to destroy it. The oval-shaped creature regretted being captured.

Boom!

A huge explosion occurred. The immense power tore apart the massive body of the oval-shaped creature.

The large corpse was knocked backward before crashing to the floor, sending a shockwave rippling through the room.

The force of the inheritance power devastated the creature’s massive form. Its body began to shrink, returning to its normal size.

Pfff!

A massive torrent of dark blood gushed from the wound. It didn’t take long for a pool of black blood to form around the foreign creature.

Earlier, the creature had used dark energy to seal its injuries. Now that the dark energy was gone, even more blood poured from the wound.

"You did a great job. You have no idea how massive this news is. If the enemy were to learn about it, they would lose their composure," the ancient spirit said.

Hearing that, I smiled. I knew the ancient spirit was keeping something from me, but I didn’t ask.

Outside

The display changed as well, showing that Zack Lockwood had defeated two opponents.

Blake, Kate, and the others were still standing outside. Their gazes immediately locked onto the updated screen, confirming the result.

Visible shock spread across their faces.

Everyone had been dismissive of Zack Lockwood earlier.

Blake, in particular, had believed the tower challenge would be far too much for him, completely underestimating the young man.

He felt as though he had been slapped across the face by Zack Lockwood. Fortunately, Zack was not here to see the flushed, burning faces of the surrounding warriors.

"So he wasn’t joking when he said he wanted to face the challenge," Kate remarked.

"If this is his combat strength as a Half-Step Red Mark Warrior, then the rumors about him must be true," one of their companions added.

A look of realization dawned on everyone.

They had almost forgotten the rumors surrounding him.

Blake’s eyes flashed with solemnity as his thoughts turned inward. He recalled his own first trial inside the Night Cell Tower; he hadn’t performed well, barely scraping a win against the first opponent.

He had then been gravely injured by the second opponent.

At that time, Blake was already a full-fledged Red Mark Warrior, and his opponents were hardened veterans who had honed their skills for years.

That was why he had been defeated as a newcomer, and his experience was shared by every other Red Mark Warrior who entered back then.

No one succeeded on their first attempt inside the Night Cell Tower. Yet everything felt completely different today, a young Half-Step Red Mark Warrior had just defeated two opponents in a row.

He recognized the significance of this moment, as did the others. If word spread, warriors from all over would rush to the scene.

Meanwhile,

Inside the administration office, the staff had finally calmed down as the official result appeared before them.

Zack Lockwood had defeated two opponents. All their earlier worries had been for nothing. The old man was left red-faced, every single one of his assumptions proven wrong.

The young man’s strength was the real deal.

The news soon reached the council hall. The elders gathered there were already aware of the results, so they did not treat it as a massive surprise.

Across the rest of the city, however, news of Zack Lockwood spread like wildfire. It could no longer be contained within the administration and council offices.

Warriors throughout the city began to hear the reports. It had been quite some time since they had last heard the name Zack Lockwood.

Distracted by the previous battle, they had forgotten him, but now his name was back on everyone’s lips. People began to wonder what was truly happening with him.

They knew the Main Post had not received a Half-Step Red Mark Warrior in years, as no Half-Step warrior was expected to withstand such a dense concentration of special energy.

Most assumed the young man would meet the same tragic fate, which was why his arrival had drawn little attention at first.

Everyone had been too busy with their own training and combat. Now, learning that Zack Lockwood was thriving inside the Night Cell Tower left them stunned.

Those near the training grounds sprinted toward the compound, while those already inside rushed straight to the Night Cell Tower.

They wanted to see the display board with their own eyes to confirm whether Zack Lockwood had truly defeated his opponents.

...

Inside the tower, I waited until the ancient spirit confirmed that the oval-shaped creature was truly dead.

Satisfied, I walked toward the far side of the room.

A massive gate stood shut before me; aside from the entrance I had used, it was the only exit in the chamber, and it was the door the creature had emerged from.

I wondered whether another gate awaited me in the next room. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through. The adjacent chamber was roughly the same size, brightly illuminated by overhead lights.

Creak!

Just as I began searching for an exit, the sound of an opening door echoed through the hall. I spun around immediately. At the far end stood another massive doorway.

The door was slowly pushed open. A human hand emerged through the gap first, followed by the rest of the figure as the door swung wide.

She had messy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The moment she laid eyes on me, she unleashed her power: golden lightning surged from her frame, with tiny golden arcs dancing across her skin.

A wide smile spread across her face.

I froze in surprise. I had not expected to face a female warrior wielding golden lightning; after all, very few factions possessed lightning-attuned warriors.

"You’ve run into a real challenge this time," the ancient spirit warned.

I clenched my fists in response, watching her every move. Even from a distance, the crackling golden lightning gave me a distinct sense of danger.