Tower of Heaven

Atlas stretched his limbs.

'As I climb, the inherent atmosphere of each floor becomes stronger. This is a mechanism in place so that stronger cultivators do not absolutely decimate the floors when they fight.'

They still had their strength, but it could not affect nearly as large of an area as it otherwise could. The Neutral Zones were the best places to see the extent of one's true strength, but the 11th Floor was something of an exception.

The maximum level of strength on this floor was, of course, the Earth Sage Realm, however, within the Earth Sage Realm one could use the height of one's power.

In other words, standing in this empty building, Atlas spread his qi knowing that it was the first time he was able to use his strength on a larger scale. A blanket of thinly spread qi flowed through the entire space. With the passing of several seconds, the qi heated up into a blaze that consumed the premises.

Atlas held out his hands as the licks of flame danced in the reflection of his eyes. He did not open his mouth, but those words seemed to flow into the world regardless.

[Flaming Qi Eruption]

Boom–!

His surroundings became a hellstorm. The foundation of the building trembled, but the impact could not be noticed from the outside. The formation was still holding everything together, after all.

The interior of the building was a different story. The explosions rocked the building and tore apart everything inside. There were expensive artifacts among the many stations contained in the building, so losing this place would absolutely be a loss for Dusk.

When the flames reached their peak, Atlas attempted something he learned in this life.

The qi he spread into the world changed its properties and flowed like water. It soon cooled severely, bringing a polar opposite energy into the world.

At the same time, he concentrated within himself and thought about the Stone Buddha's Secret Manual that he'd been studying.

Earth was a Dao of stability and fortitude. Its strength was like that of a fortress. Earth was a Dao that remained unmoving, yet one that was a prime example of change. It was seen by the world as a relatively one-dimensional study, but this kind of perception was misguided.

The Dao of Earth could be far more than people realized. The Stone Buddha was someone who recognized this primarily through the concept of weight.

Atlas' qi came down from the ceiling. It contained a very subtle and new kind of energy when compared to what he usually used. It was extremely vague, but one thing was certain. This qi was far, far heavier than its ordinary variants.

The water qi below met the burning heat of the flame qi. This was when the interaction Atlas learned about was supposed to take place.

Just as the many Daos of the world interacted with each other, their special qi also had its own interactions. He noticed in the library of the Tatsuya Clan that these interactions were categorized much more specifically than they used to be.

They had been studied properly, which allowed Atlas to improve his way of thinking greatly.

When water qi was heated at an extreme pace by flame qi when under any sort of pressure, a reaction would occur.

It was meant to be a large flash and an explosion that destroyed the whole building, but Atlas…

Well, Atlas subtly used a third kind of qi in the interaction. When the flash reaction between the flame qi and water qi met with the pressure of the qi from above…

Atlas' eyes widened. He rapidly covered himself in a barrier of qi and turned his back, dashing through the front–

BOOOOM!

Atlas couldn't avoid the shockwave. He flew forward as he was pushed from behind by a great gust of wind. He rolled across the ground, stood up on his feet, and forcefully started running in order to disperse his momentum.

Looking around, he noticed that several lights were turning on. The commotion he caused was not small. Without much thought, he ducked into a dark alleyway and looked back at his own work.

He was able to escape without much injury for two reasons. The first was his qi barrier and the second was the quick thinking that led him to ride the momentum and disperse it through movement.

However, the explosion he caused was not small.

The building was a pristine white color and lined with intricately carved pillars like a temple. It was three stories tall, making it stand out in the city of mostly two-story buildings. Though it belonged to an independent Society, it was a symbol of Black Tortoise City that had stood tall for countless years.

That place was seen as a place of hope, as it allowed Ascenders a chance to accomplish something great in the Tower, however, that place no longer stood.

Rubble flew through the air and crashed into the streets all around where the building used to stand. Just a few of the pillars in front of the entrance managed to survive, but the entire rest of the building was entirely decimated.

Perhaps its foundation could still be found in the ground. Perhaps there were some lone walls here and there that survived the blast through some miracle.

But, without a doubt, the building that once stood there was no longer present.

Atlas pulled his hood further over his head and walked out of the alley. The streets that were empty just moments ago were already full, so he was able to blend into the crowd quite easily.

"What happened? I heard a loud sound and quickly rushed over," he said, approaching a nearby man.

"You haven't seen it yet? Keep running and you'll find out for yourself. I'll tell ya, something big is about to happen. Something big, I say!"

The man shook Atlas' shoulders and then turned and ran in the opposite direction. In the meanwhile, Atlas followed the crowd back towards the building he'd only just left.

'They're watching the crowd.'

They arrived while he was speaking to the man. They hid in the shadows of the rooftops and looked for anyone acting suspiciously.

'I wore this cloak in case they found me earlier, but now that I have it on, I will look incredibly suspicious if I move against the crowd.'

It didn't hurt him to follow them. He wasn't the kind of person to bask in his own achievements. His purpose for returning to the building was a bit different.

There weren't authorities who controlled the city, so to say, and the unit from Dusk that operated in the light had not arrived yet. As such, the crowd rushed into the destroyed building without moderation.

They flooded the place and moved all around to see if there were any bodies or valuables present. Using the chaos to his advantage, Atlas approached the only part of the building that remained untouched.

It used to be a room, but it was now nothing more than a black box. When Atlas entered it, he found himself in front of a familiar array pattern, a teleportation array.

He approached it and touched it with his qi.

'If I'm lucky, I can trace the past coordinates and teleport to those places. If I am not, then I can at least confirm that the locations I know are the same as the locations listed in this array.'

It didn't take long for him to find the answer. He smiled happily as the best possible situation occurred.

'Perfect.'

The most recent coordinates that had been inserted into the array related to one of the bases that Atlas planned to attack next. Without hesitation, he activated the array. There was no reason for him to remain on the 11th Floor.

As the qi of the array rose up around him, Atlas' attention was suddenly caught by a presence.

"So it was you."

A man was standing in the room with him. He didn't know when that man arrived, but it didn't matter. Both of them knew that it was too late to stop the teleportation.

"White mask…"

The man muttered loud enough for Atlas to hear, his eyes concentrated on the eyes he saw beyond the mask.

"...I will remember you."

The Dusk emblem on his garb was enough to show his affiliation. The killing intent he displayed was enough to show his loyalty.

Looking at him, feeling like the man could read his expression, he smiled.

"Come and find me. I'll be waiting."

It was enough of a farewell. The qi that enveloped him finally consumed him, and he disappeared from this place.

Left standing alone in the room was only one man.

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