The Torture System - Volume 1 Chapter 18 Dragon Tower

Zheng He knocks on Chao Fei’s door.

“I don’t know anything about this place other than its name. But Chao Fei should know quite a bit.”

Chao Fei slowly opens the door.

“Hello, Zheng He. I didn’t know you woke up this early. Is there anything you need help with?” Chao Fei asked.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to ruin your sleep. If I had known earlier, I would’ve come later.”

“No need to be sorry. Just tell me what you need help with. Even if I can’t help you with it, I should be able to find someone who can.” Chao Fei said.

Zheng He hesitates at first but then talks.

“You know today’s my first official day as a student of the Crescent faction… And you also know I don’t know much about this place… So I came here to ask you if you could maybe bring me around the Crescent faction.”

“Oh. That’s very easy. Gimme 5 minutes to freshen up, then I’ll bring you around.” Chao Fei said.

“Sure.”

Zheng He stands outside for 15 minutes.

…

“I am really sorry. I didn’t mean to take this long.” Chao Fei apologetically says.

“Relax. No need to fret over such small matters. Let’s get going.”

“Yes, you’re right. How about today, I will bring you to all the important places? And then tomorrow I’ll bring you to the less important places?” Chao Fei asked.

“That sounds great.”

Chao Fei brings Zheng He to many different places in the Crescent faction.

…

“This is the Dragon Tower. The tower is 999 steps high. If you reach a high enough step, then you will gain rewards. Currently, no one in the Crescent faction has reached the top. In fact, the #1 in the Crescent faction is only on step 499. The tower is not only a good way to increase your body’s level but also a good way to earn some great rewards. But that’s only if you have a really strong physique.” Chao Fei said.

“Wow. It seems that this tower is really hard to beat, huh. How do I enter the tower?”

“I brought you over to show you not have you attempt it. You gain a reward every 100 steps. But to get to step 100 you need to be at least Soul Refining Stage 1. So you should try this out in the future when you have a higher cultivation.” Chao Fei explained.

“I don’t care. Just tell me how I can attempt this.”

“If you’re going to be this insistent, I’ll tell you. But first, let me just warn you. The tower will not stop pushing down on you until you fall down to the ground floor. So even if you are about to die, the tower will continue to push you down. So if you are ever unable to hold off the pressure, then retreat. Nothing is more important than your life.” Chao Fei said.

Zheng He talks in a very angered manner.

“How long are you going to continue stalling?! I asked you a question and you better answer it right now!”

“I’m really sorry. It’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt. But if you want to attempt this tower that badly then all you have to do is call out to the tower in your head and the tower will automatically bring you into it.” Chao Fei said.

“Ok. Thanks. (thinks to himself) Dragon Tower! I want to challenge you!”

Zheng He enters a mystical tower. To Zheng He, the tower seems infinitely long, much more than the 999 steps that are so-called the max.

“This tower is definitely not 999 steps long. Well, whatever. All that matters is how far I can reach.”

Zheng He steps on the 200th step.

“Holy sh*t. The pressure… I can barely hold off against it. How the hell did someone get to step 499?! My body is comparable to Soul Refining Stage 1. I can’t possibly be stuck at this step right?…”

System,” After seeing how foolish the host is acting right now, I can no longer stay quiet. The reason host is unable to get past step 200 is because to be able to step on 200 you must at least be Soul Refining Stage 2.”

“Fu*k this shit. I can’t accept being inferior to anyone else. I am going to reach step 500!”

Zheng He reached step 201.

“No… I can’t do this anymore.”

Zheng He faints and falls straight down to ground floor. A mystical force appears and then it proceeds to heal Zheng He. After the healing was done, the mystical force disappeared. It’s as if it was never there.

“Zheng He! Can you hear me?! I won’t let you die, trust me…” Chao Fei says while crying.

“The hell are you crying for? Just because I fainted doesn’t mean I died.”

“What do you mean? I saw you fall down to the ground floor at a really high speed. It was probably the tower that healed you. But why would it do that? It only heals you after every 100 steps you complete.” Chao Feng said in a confused manner.

“It finally makes sense… I reached 200.”

Chao Feng’s body froze. It’s as if he’d seen a ghost.

“What happened? Why are you not talking? Are you okay?!”

“Oh, sorry. I just saw your name in the top 100 rankings and I couldn’t believe my eyes…” Chao Feng said.

“Oh. What’s my ranking?”

“You’re in the 100th place. That’s so legendary… Everyone in the top 100 ranking is in the Soul Refining Realm. In fact, the #1 ranked person is Soul Refining Stage 9 pinnacle.” Chao Fei replied.

“What the fu*k? Even after being a Soul Refining Stage 9 pinnacle he’s stuck at step 499… That seems so unrealistic. Shouldn’t he at least be on the 900th step?”

“Not exactly. It’s not just your cultivation, it’s also the combat prowess one has. There are rumors that the people in the Immortal faction can fight with opponents that are 2 stages higher than them.” Chao Fei said.

“Oh, I see. But how do I get a higher combat prowess?”

“The better the cultivation art you cultivate, the higher the combat prowess you will have.” Chao Fei said.

“Oh, I see. (thinks to himself) System, what cultivation art do I cultivate?”

System,” You are currently not cultivating any cultivation art. That is the reason why you have no combat prowess.”

“I see. Chao Fei, is there any way for me to learn a high-quality cultivation art without having to pay anything?”

“There is. If you go the library, you’ll find many books with different cultivation arts. Though most of the high-quality ones are incomplete. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be viewed freely.” Chao Fei said.

” Ok. Why don’t you bring me to the library next?”

” Sure.” Chao Fei replied.

Chao Fei brings Zheng He to the library next.