The gray-robed youth stepped calmly into the third level.
The crowd did not rush in. Instead, they stood aside and observed.
Majestic Buddhist chants echoed from the empty void.
Then, the three Buddha statues radiated golden light. The light combined with the gray mist, enveloping the gray-robed youth.
His steps paused slightly, but he quickly moved again, dispersing the layers of mist and easily passing through the level.
“He got through in just a few seconds?” Zhang Chou was stunned. “What kind of monster is he?”
“Is it really that easy?” someone asked, puzzled.
Another young man stepped into the gray mist and golden light.
Within two minutes, he suddenly staggered out, hair disheveled, acting like a madman.
“I’m a ghost, a ghost!” he screamed.
Then, he self-destructed his own meridians and died right there.
The contrast between the two outcomes shocked everyone.
Xu Zimo smiled and ignored the others. He walked straight in.
The moment he entered, his vision changed.
Everything around him was gray and hazy, with only the three golden Buddha statues floating in the air.
One of the Buddhas spoke, “Do you wish to become an Emperor?”
“Yes,” Xu Zimo nodded.
“Very well. We shall help you,” the middle Buddha said with a smile as he flicked a golden finger.
A beam of golden light flew down and entered Xu Zimo’s forehead.
In that instant, golden Buddhist light radiated from his body. A powerful Buddhist aura surged within him.
He had become a true Buddha.
“In the name of Buddha, you walk the world,” a mighty chant rang from the sky. “You are the Living Buddha.”
Xu Zimo looked up. The gray mist vanished. The three statues were gone.
He turned around to see Monk Great Wisdom and the others looking at him with admiration.
As the Living Buddha, he was revered and respected by all.
Some even fell to their knees upon seeing him.
Xu Zimo sensed time passing much faster for him, but subtly so. Even a God Meridian cultivator wouldn’t notice.
He passed the third level effortlessly. As the Living Buddha, he felt reborn.
He climbed all the way to the tenth floor with ease.
This attracted the attention of the entire Heavenly Dao Academy.
The dean met with him personally and began training him as the top candidate to become an Emperor.
His fame quickly spread.
He held Buddhist conferences, taught Dharma, and had thousands of disciples. Some even built temples and golden statues in his honor.
Soon, Heaven's Will formed, and in the struggle for it, he shone brightly. After many hard battles, he finally seized Heaven's Will.
Just as he stood in the heavens, receiving Heaven's Will, the three Buddhas from the Heavenly Dao Tower reappeared before him.
They were laughing, wildly.
The golden light around him faded, replaced by ghostly energy.
The three statues turned into skeletons, black flames burning in their eyes.
“You are no Living Buddha. You are a sacrifice of the Ghost Race,” the skulls laughed.
Suddenly, all the golden light within him turned into ghostly darkness.
His entire face was consumed by it.
The temples built for him, the golden statues, they all transformed into ghosts.
His disciples were consumed by ghost energy, screaming and wailing.
At the moment he was closest to Heaven's Will, a giant hand knocked him from the heavens.
Then, Xu Zimo opened his eyes again, still in the third level of the Heavenly Dao Tower.
“So this is Ghost and Buddha in one life. A test to reveal the true heart,” he muttered.
The illusion had created an entire lifetime, complete with beliefs and identity.
He spent a whole life as the Living Buddha, only to be told he was a ghost.
To be knocked down just before grasping Heaven's Will, this contrast could break a person.
It questioned.
Do you want to be Buddha, a ghost, or simply yourself, regardless of either?
But Xu Zimo’s heart was strong. He was not shaken. He simply observed the life created by the illusion with calm clarity.
He passed the third level slightly slower than the gray-robed youth, who likely broke the illusion instantly.
Such willpower and clarity of heart ranked among the top five of all young elites Xu Zimo had ever known.
He turned to Monk Great Wisdom and smiled, “Go ahead. Just remember this, don’t try to be a Buddha or a ghost. Just be yourself.”
Seeing several had already entered, the remaining dozens hesitated, then followed.
The gray mist surged violently.
Out of the remaining fifty, only a dozen made it through the third level.
Monk Great Wisdom burst out of the mist, drenched in sweat.
Panting heavily, he looked at Xu Zimo and laughed, “That was intense, way too intense!”
“What did you see?” Xu Zimo asked.
“I saw myself bearing Heaven's Will,” Monk Great Wisdom laughed. “But that illusion didn’t account for one thing, I can see fate. Our fortune-telling path can read a person’s aura. I don’t have the fate to become an Emperor. Even if you place Heaven's Will in front of me, I won’t become one. They bet on the wrong person. Still, it felt great to experience being an Emperor once. No regrets.”
Xu Zimo chuckled and shook his head. The group continued to the fourth floor.
Once they passed it and reached the fifth floor, the Heavenly Dao Tower’s test would be complete.
Everyone was nervous, these trials were brutal.
When the dozen of them arrived at the fourth level, they were each separated into their own space.
Xu Zimo appeared alone in a room.
Inside, he found a second Xu Zimo, an exact duplicate.
“For most people, the hardest enemy is not someone else, it’s themselves,” said an ancient voice echoing in the void.
“To pass the fourth level, you must defeat yourself.”
Xu Zimo laughed softly and looked at his mirror image.
Identical in every way, no flaw to spot.
He drew his blade, Shadow Tyrant. The other Xu Zimo did the same.
They moved in sync, using the same techniques.
“Interesting,” Xu Zimo smiled. “But I’m not going to play this game with you anymore.”