Hui reached the entrance to the Tier and looked around, considering his next move. Which Tier is which again? I want to go to one of the manly tiers. Body cultivation or sword cultivation are the best, but beast cultivation is no problem, pill cultivation… I’ve had no karma with it ever, but… the demonic healing sect I have no interest in, but it’s not un-manly. The Eighth Tier seems to be just Tseng Caihong, and no telling what she’d teach. So really it’s just the music tier. The music tier is the one I want to avoid!

“Oh? Is this that hostage disciple with the incredible potential?” a burly voice sounded by his ear.

Hui jolted, whirling. The body cultivator Tier Master stood behind him, hands on his hips, a grin on his face. Dropping to a bow, Hui cupped his hands to the man. “Greetings, Tier Master!”

“What is it? Is Jizhi Zhimei tired of you?” he asked, chuckling.

Hui nodded. “I’ve been sent to find a new tier. Can Senior help?”

The Tier Master smiled. “Can I help? Naturally! Have you ever practiced body cultivation before?”

“No—er, a little. Only a little,” Hui said, pressing his fingers together.

The Tier Master gestured. “Show me.”

Hui took a deep breath. What should I show him? I don’t want to show him too much, but I don’t want to show him so little that he doesn’t think I’m worth training. Er… what about the crystallization technique? That seems simple enough. Hui smiled. “This is but a small technique from the Southern Sect conference.”

With that, he activated his crystallization technique. His flesh transmuted to crystal, perfect, jade-white crystal, his hair to black onyx, his eyes to diamond. His body emitted a low glow, letting off a scintillating halo visible in the daylight.

The Tier Master stumbled back. His eyes widened.

Er… I don’t remember the crystallization technique being this powerful…

Wait. Could this be the side effect of using phoenix fire to reforge my body? After all, my body is now completely rebuilt from the ground up… and not once, but twice! How many times can I continuously improve it by using phoenix fire? If it’s improving this much from two attempts, what would three or one hundred attempts do for me? Hui put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

Walking forward, the Tier Master grabbed Hui’s hand and felt his pulse. “Only fourth stage… bone age… a few months old?” Flabbergasted, he looked up at Hui.

Hui coughed. Er, right. Since I remade my body when I escaped the Underworld, it, er, well, it’s not very old yet. I didn’t expect this man to be the kind of medical expert who can tell bone age from feeling a pulse—but at the same time, he is a body expert! Body cultivators are naturally experts at the body. But… how do I age my bones up? Death qi? Rot qi? But I don’t want to sabotage myself… for now, let’s just bluff! “Senior must have made a mistake.”

The Tier Master checked again, then released Hui’s wrist. He smiled. “Ah, it must have been a mistake, just a mistake. There are body cultivation techniques that allow one to alter bone age, after all.”

Hui nodded, saying nothing. Sounds reasonable to me! If that’s the excuse you want to give me, I’ll take it!

Clasping Hui’s crystalized shoulder with enough force to make it ring, the body cultivator smiled at him, eyes twinkling. “Come with me, child. Shuhang Han will show you a paradise for us body cultivators. The kind of place where someone of your talent can quickly progress!”

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Hui cupped his hands again. “Small disciple is honored!” Er, I know it should be a good thing, but why am I feeling nervous? Maybe it’s because of Jizhi Zhimei’s idea of ordinary beauty cultivation being a walk through water that rips your skin off in order to find a nice sponge! But this man doesn’t seem as… er, brutal, as Jizhi Zhimei. He isn’t in charge of the assassins, for one. Body cultivators tend to be muscleheads, which means fewer worries about politics or schemes!

But wait, there’s a downside to muscleheads, too…

Grinning, Shuhang Han gestured for Hui to follow him down one tier toward the body cultivation tier. Burly disciples of all description, pretty, handsome, ugly, thick and thin, but all of them muscled to the hilt, stood around. They stretched, lifted weights, practiced forms, jogged, did all kinds of workout things. One particularly muscular individual punched one of the tier’s support pillars repeatedly, her fist blows echoing in the hallway.

Hui gritted his teeth in something like a smile. That’s right. They’re all workout freaks!

“I’ve got a special chamber I only show to the most qualified disciples. I usually wait until they hit fifth stage… but your body looks like it can handle it!” Shuhang Han assured Hui.

“Ah, that is, er, I just remembered, Jizhi Zhimei wanted me to, uh,” Hui gestured vaguely over his shoulder.

“Didn’t she send you to find another tier for training?” Shuhang Han asked, squinting.

“Er, well… yes…” Hui admitted reluctantly.

Shuhang Han grinned. “Then it’s perfect! Let’s get you in that chamber. With your talent for body cultivation, I would curse myself if I didn’t get you access to this place! It’s a real treat for a true body cultivator. The kind of sweaty, hardcore location where you can really test your strength!”

“Oh, is that so,” Hui said flatly. I’m not a sweaty, hardcore kind of guy! I take it back. Take me to the music cultivator! She won’t want me to do sweaty, hardcore things! And wait, isn’t that phrasing a little suspicious? Sweaty? Hardcore? What kind of chamber is this? Shuhang Han, I’ve already seen Jizhi Zhimei’s secret dungeon! I have no desire to see yours, as well!

Tseng Caihong’s face flashed through his head, one hand stroking a reluctant Zhubi. In a mocking tone, she said, If you want him back, become the top disciple!

Is that what she said? In any case—in any case, the point is, I must become the number one disciple if I want Zhubi back! And I want Zhubi back. If that means getting sweaty and hardcore with this Shuhang Han, then… then… I’ll grit my teeth and bear it! I’ve died a great many times. I’ve survived a great many deaths! I’m sure I’ll survive this one, too. It’s nothing but another trial!

A little voice in the back of his head whispered, don’t you normally avoid all those trials because they sound too difficult and dangerous? Isn’t this exactly the kind of trial you should try your hardest to avoid?

Hui swallowed. He forced his smile to remain on his face. This is fine. It’s fine! I am a body cultivator. I have multiple bodily cultivation techniques! I’m secretly seventh realm! I’ll survive somehow. I’m sure of it! I’m sure… it’s possible to survive! And if it’s possible to survive, then it’s my job to find a way to! You can do this, Hui! I’m sure you can!

The other disciples turned, cupping their hands to the Tier Master as Shuhang Han walked by. A few of them cast Hui sympathetic glances or shook their heads slightly, sighing.

“There goes another one.”

“The Tier Master’s found a new victim.”

“That’s the last we’ll see of him.”

“Look how skinny he is! It’s a death sentence, for sure!”

Hui’s ears twitched. He licked his lips as his stomach roiled. I’m fucked. I’m fucked, aren’t I?

Ahead of him, Shuhang Han drew to a halt. A huge vault door blocked the way further ahead. This vault door laid on the central support pillar of the entire Eight Tiers Palace, cut into the mysterious wood that made up the heart of the tower. He turned back, smiling to Hui. “Once you enter, you cannot exit for an hour. An hour, understand? Once an hour passes, knock on the door to be let out. I won’t let you stay longer than three hours… at your stage, you’d die for sure at three hours!”

Hui nodded nervously. His stomach flipped. “Er, should… should I practice some before I enter…?” Give me some time! Let me talk to the other disciples! Figure out what kind of chamber it is! Learn tips and tricks to survive it!

“At your talent? I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Smiling benevolently, Shuhang Han spun the vault door’s lock. The door clunked as rods as thick around as Hui’s body receded, and the door slowly swung open.

Gazing into darkness, Hui swallowed. Oh fuck. I’m so fucked.