"We should wait here for now," said Nyla. "It shouldn't be hard to head to the upper floors in a little bit."

  "I don't think we'll be going any higher than this." Alicia took Aine's hand and led her to a nearby spot that was fairly far from anybody else. "Even though you spent a fortune to get us in here, it’s a bit tough for us to breathe as it is..."

  "We're sorry," said Aine, whose frail voice had regained its former strength in recent days. "I know we're a burden to you all, but we'll work hard to change that."

  “Yeah, this is the best place to practice those breathing methods you showed us Nyla, even though we don’t really get them.”

  The two girls took a seat on the cold, stone floor, and immediately began to meditate.

  "I'm not sure if I'll be going any higher, either," said Ian, whose golden hair was showing signs of sweat. "There's twice as much Origin Energy in here compared to back home, so it's already a good chance to cultivate. I don’t have a spiritual space so all the spiritual energy in here keeps attacking my dantian, which can’t handle it."

  "You just don't want to admit that you’re scared to go any higher."

  "That was implied, Lyra. You don't need to point it out."

  The siblings went off to join the two girls, leaving the group to look around at everyone else on the floor.

  Nolan was surprised at how much energy was floating around here. As Ian had said, it was about twice as much as in the regions around the Dragon's Tail. As for spiritual energy, it was difficult to say, since it wasn't a pervasive and all-present sort of source, but one that resided in certain objects, creatures, and regions of the world.

  Careful on your way up, Nolan. Something is off about this structure.

  Off in what way?

  Well, this building should be the reason why this portion of the continent is so barren and devoid of life. It's sucking up the energies in the atmosphere for hundreds of leagues in all directions. Didn't you think it was strange that only this island is fertile, compared to all the lands that you've seen in the region?

  Nolan was shocked silent for the second time that day. The Desolate Spirit Tower was the reason why the Northern Wilderness was so destitute?

  How can this place even store so much energy?

  It can't. Most of it's gathering at the top, but it's disappearing in some way. Hmm, seems like there's something interesting going on here.

  I can't keep talking, or it'll look weird to the others. Let me know if anything happens, would you?

  Don't I always?

  It took a bit over an hour for the crowd around the distant staircase to dwindle down, since only a set amount of people could attempt to ascend at a given time. Not everybody could simply walk up to the next level without any troubles, as the difficulty between floors increased with every step. Still, the staircase was quite large, so all who were capable of proceeding onward eventually cleared out of the way.

  Once in front of the staircase, Nolan was surprised to see that a hundred or so people were still struggling up the steps. All of them were covered in sweat, with faces flushed red from exertion.

  "Remember what I told you about the death toll here?" said Avril as she looked up at those ahead. "I'm thinking there’s a few on this staircase that'll never leave this place."

  She made no attempt to muffle her words, which drew looks of irritation and anxiety from those that showed the most signs of stress.

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  "Well," said Nolan. "Time to see what this is all about, eh?"

  He stepped forward as soon as he finished speaking and immediately noticed a slight increase in the energies around him, including the pressure that bore down upon him from all sides. Still, he was virtually unaffected, since his body was built sturdily enough to handle immense amounts of energy in comparison to his cultivation level, and he'd already opened up a spiritual space despite the fact that he was only at the Profound Entry stage. Walking past several pairs of envious eyes, Nolan was inwardly grateful for the Ancestral Body Technique and the Divine Spirit Fountain.

  "This isn't so bad?" said Sean. "Looking at all those people on the stairs just now, I thought I was going to get a hernia or something."

  "Yeah," smiled Esteban. "This is nothing compared to sitting in the Divine—"

  Nolan smacked him in the back of the head, giving the boy a stern look.

  As was the case with him, the others showed no signs of discomfort as they concluded their climb to the second floor, where over a thousand people sat all throughout the room in silent meditation. Nearly everybody who had chosen to remain on this floor was at the second level of the Integration stage, slightly superior to those that had remained below. That was, with the exception of Nolan and his friends, which had several people at Profound Entry.

  Of course, their surface attainments didn't matter in the least. All of his friends had also enjoyed the benefits of Uncle Grey's favoured fountain, not to mention that Sean and Esteban also practiced the same core cultivation method as him, so their constitutions were incredibly unique in comparison to others at their level. As for Avril, she seemed to have her own secrets.

  "So, are you guys from the same village or something?" said their temporary companion. They were waiting on the peripherals of the small crowd that had gathered around the second set of stairs. "You're all wearing the same clothes." She punched her palm in a thoughtful manner. "Ah, that's right. You mentioned that you were from different places earlier, didn't you?"

  "We're in the same sect," exclaimed Esteban. "The Earth Sect!"

  Avril glanced at Nolan, a bit downcast. "So you really won't be joining this sect?"

  "Naw, I've got way too much to do."

  She pinched her chin. "The Earth Sect... Where have I heard that before? Ah, did you have some friends that stopped by at the kingdom of Ridgerock?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "Ridgerock is the only powerful state near this island. Is it so strange for me to know a thing or two about their situation?"

  A young man that was midway up the steps suddenly cried out and collapsed onto the ground, blood visibly leaking from his pores. Those around him urged him to retreat downward, and a couple girls even began to pull him back, but he shook them off and struggled up a series of steps, groaning violently as he did so. A handful of moments later, as his shaky foot touched down upon the sleek stone, his body burst apart as if he’d swallowed a grenade, leaving behind a disgusting mess of fleshy chunks, tattered robes, and gore.

  As people began to express pity over the man's death, Avril snorted. "And here's the first hero." She ignored the looks of disapproval that settled on her from everyone within earshot. "Yeah, it was people from your side that won the royal challenge of their festival, and then crippled a disciple from the Nightshadow Sect in front of his master and all of the kingdom's notables."

  Esteban scratched at his nose in an embarrassed way. "Hehe, I guess I'm famous now."

  "Hold on, you’re saying that was you guys?"

  "Yep," said Nolan. “Just doing what we do.”

  "You're the ones who killed Keplin?" Her expression sank like an anchor as they all acknowledged the fact in some way or other. "He might have been one of the weaker elders of their sect, but he was probably the worst one to kill. He got his position because his brothers are both important figures in the sect. They're both about as strong as this sect's master, but their minds are much sharper than that simpleton."

  Nolan shelved the fact that she was shit-talking the master of the sect that she was currently attempting to join. "Are you kidding me?" He threw his arms up in exasperation. "This shit, again? Really?"

  "What...what kind of sect are they?" asked Nyla. "They're not all like that man was, are they?"

  "No," said Avril, unnervingly serious. "He's famous for being an embarrassment to them, but he was still killed by people from your Earth Sect. I hope you’ve got some powerful masters, because they’ve put out a kill order for people from your sect. Ten thousand spirit stones for each of your heads, and a hundred thousand for the head of your leader. Hmm, you've got a couple more people with you than the rumours said, so I didn't think anything of it."

  A kill order? Had they seriously become targets of another one of the continent's major sects? Nolan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, which he managed to do without the Millennial Ring’s help. A hundred thousand spirit stones was no small sum. Didn’t this mean that he was infamous now?

  At least there’s that, he sighed, irritated though he was. We’re probably gonna have to lay low for a bit, maybe wear some different clothes for a while.

  “Don’t look too upset,” said Avril. “They’re not a group you want to anger, but they’re still tens of thousands of leagues away. They’re just flexing their muscles for the sake of their reputation, so you just need to be careful if you see any of their members travelling around the continent.”