"I see, so it's Xia Guo," Li Yun nodded in understanding when Xia Guo corrected him and then ignored him completely.
Turning his attention to the others, he noticed that everyone was just standing and occasionally looking at the Combat Pagoda.
'So, it's like this.'
Li Yun concluded that the Combat Pagoda hadn't opened to disciples yet, so they were waiting for it to open.
Thinking about something, he turned towards Hua Fu, only to notice he had vanished.
"Heh, where did he go?"
Li Yun looked around and found Hua Fu back in the crowd, hiding his face behind another disciple.
"Hua Fu, what happened to you?" he asked curiously. He couldn't understand why Hua Fu suddenly needed to hide behind others.
"Haha, nothing," Hua Fu said with an embarrassed and defeated expression on his face.
Li Yun narrowed his eyes, looking suspicious. "Do you know when the Combat Pagoda will open?" he asked.
Hua Fu nodded. "It opens in 8 hours from the start of the combat assessment. That means it should open anytime now."
Li Yun nodded and decided to wait but grew curious about something.
"Do you know what the tests are on each floor?" he asked. Since he understood the difficulty of the Combat Pagoda, he wanted to know everything about the floors and their tests so he would be prepared accordingly.
"Don't worry, before the tests start, the rules and such will be explained in the pagoda. Just know that it's related to fighting since this is a combat assessment," Hua Fu said.
Li Yun nodded in understanding and decided to wait like the others.
At that moment, he noticed Lie Hua walking towards him. He became curious about what she wanted.
"Your name is Li Yun, right?" Lie Hua asked, her black hair blowing lightly in the wind.
"The one and only," Li Yun confirmed with a smile, shuffling his hair.
Hua Fu cringed again when he noticed Li Yun mimicking him.
Lie Hua looked at Li Yun strangely, as if she suspected there might be something wrong with him. "You did well in the assessment of comprehension, and I hope you do well in this assessment too." She said, complimenting him.
Li Yun nodded and appreciated her words but wondered why she was complimenting him all of a sudden. "I am very grateful for your words, but why are you complimenting me all of a sudden?"
A thought occurred to him, and his expression shifted from curiosity to excitement.
"Don't tell me, you fell for me? Is this what they call 'love at first sight'?"
Li Yun's face radiated with joy as he began to imagine various scenarios, but a loud shout brought him back to reality.
"Shut up! It's not like that," Lie Hua said, suddenly flustered, but her face soon became solemn again. "I was just appreciating your talent. Don't think too much of it." She said with her usual uninterested tone.
Li Yun sighed deeply. "Alright, anything else you want to say?" he asked.
"Nothing," Lie Hua replied, returning to her previous position with a foul mood.
Li Yun shrugged and watched as time passed.
Soon, the Combat Pagoda erupted in a dazzling golden brilliance, filling the area with a warm, radiant light.
Two lists of names materialized at the top of the display. The first list, glowing with a rich, purple radiance, was labeled "6th Floor," while the second, bathed in a striking gold light, was marked "5th Floor."
The contrast between the two lists was striking. The 5th Floor list was extensive, stretching out in seemingly endless rows, each name etched with a golden glow. This reflected the numerous participants who had reached this level. In sharp contrast, the 6th Floor list was sparse, with only three names shimmering brightly in the purple light: Mo Zixin, Chen Qing, and Liu Ting.
Li Yun observed the three names carefully and committed them to memory. They were the only three who had ever entered the 6th floor domain.
At the same time, looking at the seemingly endless list of names on the 5th Floor list, Li Yun felt confused. He couldn't understand why there were so many disciples listed.
If entering the 6th floor was so difficult that only three individuals had ever reached it, then entering the 5th floor, though slightly easier, should still be difficult enough that not so many disciples would have passed, as shown by the list.
"Isn't the number of disciples who have entered the 5th floor a lot compared to the 6th floor?" he asked Hua Fu, voicing his query.
Hua Fu understood what Li Yun meant. "I see. It's not that the number of disciples entering the 5th floor is too large. It's just that one can attempt to clear the Combat Pagoda anytime in the sect, but only in the Qi Training Realm."
He spread his hands wide. "Therefore, with unlimited opportunities to clear the Combat Pagoda, it's not too difficult for disciples to reach the 5th floor. But clearing the 5th floor and reaching the 6th floor? Only three have ever accomplished that."
After Hua Fu's explanation, Li Yun's doubts were cleared, but a shocking revelation hit him.
"The three names on the 6th floor list had only entered the 6th floor; they hadn't cleared it, right?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Hua Fu smirked at Li Yun. "You're right. Although only three individuals have ever entered the 6th floor, not a single soul has ever cleared it. In other words, nobody has ever finished the Combat Pagoda since it was introduced."
Li Yun was already shocked by this revelation, but Hua Fu's words solidified it into fact.
'Only three have ever entered the 6th floor, but none have cleared it...'
He couldn't comprehend what they faced on that floor that prevented anyone from clearing it.
'I guess it won't be long before I find out.'
Li Yun steeled his resolve to one day clear the Combat Pagoda. There was no particular reason behind this; he just wanted to put pressure on himself so he wouldn't slack off.
At that moment, the door to the pagoda opened, and a middle-aged man walked out.