Chapter 238
Anton clenched his fist tightly.
Their progress was too fast—far too fast.
Both had already reached the 40th floor, blowing past the 20th and 30th.
It was as if they’d made a pact to match their pace.
No, it wasn’t about matching speeds.
They were simply annihilating the Jiangshi the moment they appeared.
Had anyone ever climbed the tower at such a breakneck pace?
Anton shook his head internally.
No.
No matter how fast someone was, there was always a moment of hesitation.
The characteristics of the Jiangshi on each floor were all slightly different.
It was only natural that it would take time to read them and adjust your approach.
Yet those two were climbing at an insane speed, as if even that was a waste of time.
Still, it was fine—for now.
Anton hadn’t completely lost his composure.
‘From the 41st floor, it won’t be easy…!’
From the 41st floor onward, the difficulty was designed to skyrocket with each floor.
Jiangshi created solely to kill their opponents would start pouring out.
Breaking through that hellish section and setting a new record wouldn’t be easy.
Gulp!
Anton swallowed and stared at the tower.
Before he knew it, both had reached the 41st floor.
—
[41st Floor. ‘Transcendent Jiangshi’ appears.]
The smile vanished from Chiwoo’s lips, which had been brimming with confidence.
The moment he reached the 41st floor, the atmosphere changed.
Transcendent.
A Jiangshi that surpassed even the standing of a considerable master had appeared.
‘…This is no ordinary Jiangshi.’
Its internal energy was serenely refined.
Its posture was flawless, leaving nothing to criticize.
Truly—
‘A perfect killing doll.’
An existence born solely for combat.
A killing doll that moved only to kill its opponent, without fear of death, surpassing the limits of the body.
Swish—
Tap-tak!
The Jiangshi recognized Chiwoo as an enemy and shot forward.
In the blink of an eye, it closed in and drove a fist straight into a vital point.
Scratch!
Fist met fist, and Chiwoo’s skin tore.
Even with his aura armor, it forced its way through.
‘Meridian Scattering Poison?’
A toxin that scattered internal energy.
At the same time, the torn skin turned pitch black and began to necrotize.
‘Poison Art!’
Chiwoo’s brow twitched.
It was potent enough to poison his body, which was immune to most toxins.
It was coated in an extreme poison that should never be used against a person.
Only possible because it was a Jiangshi—a corpse.
It had been built through thorough calculation to deal with a master.
And that wasn’t the end.
“Huh…!”
Chiwoo hurriedly retreated.
Purple smoke seeped from the Jiangshi’s body.
A poisonous mist that killed all living things it touched.
“How vicious.”
He was almost curious about the mental state of the creator who made this.
And why a Jiangshi this heinous existed within the Mountain of Practitioners.
The Arahan he remembered all held the principle of avoiding poison and treating it as taboo.
Moreover, extreme poisons that killed instantly were strictly forbidden.
The same went for Meridian Scattering Poison.
Yet all those forbidden things were packed into a single Jiangshi.
A behavior that ran contrary to the spirit of the Hall of all Gods.
‘For the sake of power, they stop at nothing…’
Wasn’t the corruption too excessive?
It was lamentable.
However, something worried him even more than that.
‘I wonder if the successor is alright.’
Park Chanwoo.
He must also be climbing the tower.
Chiwoo didn’t think Chanwoo would fail to push past the 41st floor.
But if he faced the same Jiangshi, the worst could happen.
Swish—
Tat-tak!
The Jiangshi didn’t give him time to continue his thoughts.
Fast.
Strong.
Chiwoo hardened his expression.
It seemed it was time to get serious.
—
[41st Floor. ‘Transcendent Jiangshi’ appears.]
[The strength of the appearing ‘Jiangshi’ is adjusted to match the challenger’s strength.]
[‘-17 Level’…….]
[All stats of the appearing Jiangshi are fixed at 1.]
Park Chanwoo couldn’t help but chuckle.
He still hadn’t escaped the negative range.
All the Jiangshi that appeared still had their stats fixed at 1.
But the name had changed.
From Peak to Transcendent.
‘Its movements are awkward.’
Its posture was clumsy, too.
With its stats not matching its completed body, it looked even worse.
All stats at 1 were worse than a critically ill patient on their last legs.
It was like a newborn.
Just moving had to be difficult.
He’d experienced it once before.
‘When I first regressed, all my stats were 1.’
Breathing was a struggle.
Walking a little made his heart feel like it would burst, and his entire body felt heavy, as if weighed down.
That Jiangshi was in the same state he’d been in back then.
‘Still, it seems a bit better than the previous Jiangshi.’
The Transcendent Jiangshi shuffled closer, making the title feel undeserved.
But it was still better than what had appeared so far.
While the Peak Jiangshi could barely move, this one at least managed to walk—slowly.
Tap.
The Transcendent Jiangshi thrust out its fist.
Ding!
[‘An extremely minute amount of common poison’ crawls over your skin.]
[‘An extremely minute amount of Meridian Scattering Poison’ invades your Mana.]
[It is negated by [Immune to All Poisons].]
There was another aspect.
A truly minute level of poison was detected.
It seemed the poison had been downgraded along with its level.
‘Originally, it would’ve been an extreme poison that could kill an elephant in one hit.’
He shook his head.
He’d let it strike him to observe it.
Even with its level and stats suppressed, its body remained the same, so he could examine it in detail.
‘This isn’t an ordinary Jiangshi. It contains the essence of golem and chimera creation techniques as well.’
Though it was a Jiangshi, it possessed a Mana Core.
And it had been created by stitching together multiple bodies like a chimera.
A Jiangshi made by combining every technique into one.
It stirred his magical curiosity.
But the observation didn’t last long.
Pfft-sss!
The Jiangshi’s body began to crumble.
Its skin sloughed off, and the stitched-together body split apart.
‘It fell victim to its own poison.’
With all stats lowered, it seemed it had lost even the minimal function needed to resist poison.
In the end, it collapsed on its own.
Park Chanwoo couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.
Ding!
[You have defeated the ‘Transcendent Jiangshi’.]
[Stairs leading to the 42nd floor are generated.]
—
“They don’t seem like ordinary challengers, do they?”
“I heard they’re from a Hidden Realm.”
“Even if they’re from a Hidden Realm…”
“They’re clearing the Mystic Tower at an insane speed?”
Arahans began to gather.
Arahans who’d heard the news even from the mid-slope began to descend to the entrance.
Their interest was focused on one thing.
The Arahans from the Hidden Realm climbing the Mystic Tower.
Most Arahans here had climbed the Mystic Tower before, and they knew how vicious it was.
“Already the 42nd floor?”
“He cleared it!”
“One is even faster!”
It was a truly astonishing pace.
And a gap started to form between the two climbing at the same time.
Each floor of the tower emitted light when it was cleared.
But now, light bloomed from the 43rd floor—
Then, after a short delay, the 43rd floor lit again.
The other one had cleared it even faster.
“Just how many floors are they going to climb?”
“Wasn’t the highest record 59 floors?”
“It was Arisa. The monster of the mid-slope.”
“Arisa is also from a Hidden Realm.”
“…Are all Hidden Realms nothing but monsters?”
The Arahans stared in shock at the tower, which kept shining brightly.
It didn’t stop, as if there were no obstacles at all.
It was a super-speed march.
Before long, the crowd around the tower swelled rapidly.
The mountain had grown dull.
For them, how many floors a challenger could reach was inevitably exciting.
“50th floor?”
“55th.”
“Is he going to 60?”
“That’s impossible. Beyond the 51st is impossible.”
“There’s a reason Arisa gave up at the 59th.”
Everyone shook their heads even as they faced an achievement that threatened a new record.
Arisa, called the monster of the mid-slope.
Even she couldn’t surpass the hellish 59th floor.
Back then, when Arisa gave up at the 59th floor, she said this as she exited the tower:
-What are they thinking, putting something like that in a tower?
Her body had been covered in wounds.
She’d ground her teeth with a disgusted expression.
Even then, a considerable number of Arahans had gathered at the Mystic Tower.
It had even drawn the attention of some high-ranking families.
It was that legendary of a record.
And ever since, Arisa’s record had remained unbroken.
“48th floor…!”
“One is only at the 45th?”
“…Both are abnormally fast, though.”
It wasn’t about who was faster or slower.
Both were already unprecedented.
Still, the clearing speed of the one at the 45th floor was gradually slowing.
He must have been struggling against the Transcendent Jiangshi, which was a weapon in itself.
Meanwhile, the other continued climbing at an unbelievable speed.
“The hellish 49th floor!”
“Could he possibly surpass the 49th as well?”
All Arahan watched with burning eyes.
Cold sweat poured down Anton’s entire body.
The 49th floor was a boundary.
A hellish section that was absolutely impossible to cross.
But if he surpassed the 49th floor, it would start to become dangerous.
Reaching the 50th meant he could very well reach the 59th.
Arisa never explained it, but if he reached the 59th floor, he would face the worst Jiangshi.
If the truth about that Jiangshi became known in detail, Anton would be chased out of the mountain.
Just as Anton bit down on his lip—
“He passed it…!”
“Crazy! He really reached the 50th floor!”
“Is he a new legendary challenger?”
One challenger reached the 50th floor.
The rumor spread in an instant.
Mid-level Arahans from the mid-slope—and even some families—began sending people to observe the tower.
But it didn’t end there.
His clearing speed didn’t slow.
If anything, he broke through the tower as if mocking it.
“57th floor!”
“58…!”
“Crazy!”
“59th floor!”
Before they knew it, only one step remained to match the highest record.