Tower of Heaven

The ground was covered in a gruesome scenery. The blood that littered it had yet to dry, causing the footwear of those present to squelch as they walked.

The carcasses of beasts populated most of the space, chunks of their flesh and internal organs strewn about after the terrifying melee that had just taken place.

And joining them were the bodies of many geniuses, bodies that were hardly recognizable in their current state.

Over twenty entered the Fallen Emperor's third trial, but only seven survived until its end.

It was a brutal battle, to say the least. For many of these geniuses, it was their first time seeing a slaughter of such scale.

They'd been raised in environments where they didn't need to kill or witness cruelty, but they didn't seem fazed by their sudden introduction to this atmosphere.

Since young, whether they were coddled or not, they'd been slowly taught about this reality.

They knew that at some point they'd be forced to face it.

And now that the day had come, nobody broke down and nobody let the slaughter affect their mental state.

This was a marking of geniuses, just one of the many facets they needed to possess to survive long enough to live up to their potential.

Atlas and Artemia sat together in a corner of the space recovering their energy, Lin Yan, Mephis, and Gloria remained in each other's vicinity a few tens of meters away doing the same, and finally, two unknown geniuses who managed to survive the beast horde sat together separated from everyone else.

These geniuses were all those left alive, and as they waited for the trial to transport them to the next stage, they naturally began sizing each other up.

'Who is that with Artemia?' Gloria wondered inwardly as she gazed at the duo.

Artemia was well-known due to her illustrious identity. Any genius from the 5 Great Societies knew her name and her deeds.

But she was always known to be a solitary genius. Despite her seemingly rambunctious and outgoing personality, she never made friends with anyone.

Gloria had her own thoughts about this. Likely, Artemia was one who despised politics and stayed away from geniuses of the societies on purpose. She was said to be incredibly similar to her father, after all.

Atlas' presence next to her was a surprise. It wasn't just the fact that Artemia fought together with someone else, the cohesion they possessed clearly delineated that this wasn't their first time doing so.

'How interesting…'

Gloria's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She'd joined Den of Mysteries upon entering the Tower solely due to her morbid curiosity. Regardless of the lengths her curiosity took her to, she had a habit of always satisfying it.

So when she became curious, most people would avoid her like the plague.

Atlas felt a shiver run down his spine. He lifted his head, meeting eyes with Gloria.

'This woman is dangerous…' he thought. It wasn't a matter of strength, but perseverance.

Those eyes that wouldn't lose their flame regardless of circumstance…people with those eyes were always dangerous characters.

As for the others, they weren't anything much.

'Lin Yan and Mephis are too green. Their arrogance is higher than the heavens despite their power being so weak. As for those twins…'

Atlas glanced over at the last two geniuses. In his opinion, it was a miracle that they survived. A peak Qi Seed Realm genius and an early Core Formation Realm genius had no right to sit among these survivors who fought for their lives to pass through the trial.

Nevertheless, luck was also a skill. Atlas knew this more than anyone else. If he wasn't lucky enough to possess that damn treasure, he would've died as a homeless child without ever being able to awaken his memories,

Ten minutes passed in silence. After this period, another array of portals opened up, one in front of each genius.

None of them said a word. At this point, every single person around them was an enemy.

Lin Yan was the first to step through, followed by Mephis, Gloria, and the twins. Atlas and Artemia were suddenly left alone in the dark space.

"Are you not going through?" Atlas asked.

"I will, but after you," Artemia responded defiantly.

"And your reason being?" Atlas questioned again.

"Um…because I want to?" Artemia replied sheepishly.

Atlas smiled wryly under his mask. This woman was needlessly competitive, to the point where she reminded him of his old self.

"Very well, then I will take this chance to get ahead of you in the next trial. Best of luck to you!"

"Hey—!"

Before Artemia could speak, Atlas had already stepped through the portal.

Standing alone in the third trial space, she stomped her foot angrily.

"Jeez! Why can't he be fun just once?!"

Huffing as she walked, she also stepped through the portal.

With that, the seven remaining geniuses finally entered the final trial of the Mysterious Tomb.

***

[Treacherous Phoenix shakes their head wryly.]

[The Fallen Emperor's Fourth Test: Hunt]

The two holographic windows appeared at once. Atlas raised his eyebrow at the first, but shook his head and dismissed it. The Treacherous Phoenix had been watching him since the very beginning, but had remained incomprehensible.

They didn't comment on his actions at all, merely watching and occasionally emoting. In light of this, Atlas chose to simply ignore the notifications. They didn't mean anything at all, and he had no plans to become a God's Apostle any time soon anyway.

The second window, however, was more important. Following it were details about the fourth trial, but frankly, these details didn't help Atlas at all.

[The Fallen Emperor's Fourth Test: Hunt]

[There is no winner or loser among those who have made it this far…yet.]

[The final aspect to be tested is luck. A cultivator needs just as much luck as they have skill, allowing them to chance upon fortuitous encounters and escape death. The one who fate deems worthy of the Fallen Emperor's legacy shall earn the right to it.]

Atlas glanced around his surroundings for any clues, but the only thing he saw was a wide expansive hallway of white. It wasn't decorated fancily and if one didn't pay close attention, it merely looked like a wholly white space like the Void Space where the 10th Floor trial took place.

'Am I supposed to just walk?' Atlas wondered.

He didn't see any other alternatives in front of him. Let alone doors, there weren't even walls to this hallway. It was merely the [Insight] ability of his Eyes of One that allowed Atlas to realize the space's structure.

In the end, he decided to walk. He walked while submerged in his thoughts.

Luck…

It was an esoteric concept. It was intangible to a point that surpassed even the Dao. The concept of luck was merely a thoughtless belief in the mortal world, but in the world of cultivators, even luck gained a physical presence.

An unexplainable phenomenon like luck was actually so prevalent in a cultivator's life.

Encountering a fortuitous opportunity like the Mysterious Tomb, escaping death in an impossible situation, or being taken as the disciple of an illustrious master; these seemingly random chances were far more common than one would expect.

And it wholly depended on luck.

Because in some sense, luck was a representation of Fate and Destiny.

Atlas never expected the final trial of a Mysterious Tomb like this one to be related to such an untouchable concept.

And at the same time, the trial itself made him wonder…

When it came to luck, which side of the spectrum was he on?

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