Chapter 503: The Key to the First Layer

Days passed by, and one after another, powerful warriors were transported out in disarray. After half a month, only twenty-three warriors remained. After that, no one else came out.

Among those twenty-some people, there was only one who had grasped the laws of the seventh layer—namely the young man who practiced the wind-based laws. He seemed to be seriously injured; since coming out, he had been in meditation with his eyes closed, occasionally taking in some pills.

“What’s going on? It’s been seven days with no one coming out. Are there still people inside who haven’t finished their challenges?” shouted a man at the fifth level of law mastery.

“There is still one person who hasn’t completed their challenge. Please wait patiently,” the aged voice remained calm as ever.

Ye Feng frowned slightly. He wasn’t sure if the last person left was Jin, but it seemed uncertain. From the discussions of those who had passed their challenges, Ye Feng learned that, aside from himself, everyone had faced opponents whose law mastery was one level higher than theirs in the final two rounds. It wasn’t surprising that Shi Tuo had succeeded in his challenge. But Jin’s strength had only improved recently, and his foundation was extremely unstable. Although he had spent many days strengthening himself under accelerated conditions, he still lacked practical combat experience. Ye Feng wasn’t optimistic about Jin’s chances in a cross-level challenge. On the other hand, he hoped it was Jin, so he could help him fulfill his long-held wish.

Another five days passed, and the crowd began to complain, “Damn it! Are they taking a hot spring break in there? Why haven’t they come out after all these days?”

“Maybe they found a female magical beast and are practicing other techniques,” a vulgar joke sparked continuous laughter among the crowd.

Ye Feng remained unfazed. Everyone knew of his terrifying strength and dared not provoke him.

“Are you really a master at the Perfect Realm?” the warrior at the seventh level of law mastery approached and chatted with him.

Ye Feng turned to look at him but gave no response, neither confirming nor denying it.

“There’s an insurmountable gap between each level of law mastery. The difference between the ninth level of law mastery and the Perfect Realm is especially large—almost unforgivable,” the young man said with a smile. “I’m Zhuge Qingfeng. You must be Dao Feng, right?”

“Was the magical beast you encountered at the eighth level of law mastery?” Ye Feng asked in return.

“That’s right,” Zhuge Qingfeng nodded. “I almost failed on the last layer.”

“What happened?” Ye Feng asked.

“I can’t even recall the name of that monster. It’s a creature at the eighth level of elemental cultivation. But that monster had also practiced the Codex, catching me off guard,” Zhuge Qingfeng said with a wry smile. “If the Codex I practiced wasn’t of the Mysterious level, I would have perished here.”
“It seems that all monsters at the eighth level or above here have practiced the Codex,” Ye Feng nodded.
Just as the two were chatting happily, the last figure was finally transported in.
Seeing that figure, Ye Feng was slightly surprised—it wasn’t Jin who arrived first.
“Boss, I did it!” Jin shouted at Ye Feng from afar.
“Good job!” Ye Feng patted his shoulder.
“The second task is complete—24 people have finished it. Those who haven’t claimed their rewards yet should do so as soon as possible.”
The others had already come out over ten days ago and claimed their rewards; only Jin remained unclaimed.
Jin rushed into the small room where rewards were distributed, grabbed something at random, and came out in less than ten seconds, leaving everyone speechless. They had to at least look at all the rewards before making a choice.
“The third task is a treasure hunt, and it’s also the last task of this event. All treasures found here belong to the finder, and competition is allowed—no matter the cost. The treasure hunt lasts three days, after which everyone will be transported away. The countdown for the treasure hunt has begun!” the aged voice said the moment Jin picked his reward.
“Allowing competition is clearly meant to create discord,” Ye Feng still didn’t understand the purpose of the third task in the Tower of Beasts.
“Boss, follow me!” Jin shouted at Ye Feng right after the countdown started.
Ye Feng didn’t ask many questions and followed Jin along with Shi Tou.
The remaining twenty-some people saw Ye Feng and the others leaving. Some wanted to chase after them but lacked the courage. In their eyes, anything targeted by Blade Edge could never be given to someone else, and trying to snatch it from Blade Edge was pure suicide.
Jin flew straight in one direction, leaving Ye Feng confused. “Jin, what are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for the control key for the first floor,” Jin said to Ye Feng. “I hid it deliberately back then.”
“Then hurry up, before someone else gets it first,” Ye Feng urged.
“It’s over there…” Jin pointed in a certain direction.
“There are many powerful auras over there…” Ye Feng frowned slightly. He could sense that there were even two experts at the peak of elemental cultivation, along with several creatures at the ninth level of elemental cultivation.

One of those auras gave Ye Feng a sense of familiarity. He glanced over and saw it was that black feline magical beast, which was also staring at him coldly.
The cages of those magical beasts formed a circle, as if enclosing something in the middle. Jin’s gaze was fixed on that central area.
“Trouble ahead—so many magical beasts guarding it,” Jin said, frowning.
There were nine magical beasts in total: two at the peak of the Law Mastery realm, and the other seven at the highest level of the ninth layer of Law cultivation. Although the nine cages were locked, Ye Feng knew things weren’t that simple.
“I’ll rush in and get it for you,” Ye Feng said. He knew that bringing Jin and Shi Tou along would hinder his ability to fight effectively.
Jin also understood that his current strength would only cause trouble, so he nodded in agreement.
Although Shi Tou loved challenges, he knew none of these magical beasts were within his capabilities. Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless.
“Shi Tou, take care of Jin. I’m going in,” Ye Feng said before dashing into the encirclement of the nine cages.
In an instant, he reached the bronze-colored key in the center. He glanced at the still-unopened cage with some confusion. “No reaction is good—I’ll just take the key and let you keep watching.”
He grabbed the key and threw it into his storage ring. The moment he touched it, the nine magical beasts broke free from their cages and surrounded him. Almost simultaneously, the original nine cages transformed and merged into one large cage that stretched from sky to earth, enclosing both the man and the nine beasts.
“Those who steal the key shall die!” The roars of the magical beasts were deafening.