Chapter 25: The Tower of Secrets

Everyone has a youthful, reckless period—there is always a time when we believe the world revolves around us, that whatever we wish to do, we can achieve. Then, with time, with the passing years, with the world itself, the truth is revealed: in the end, you cannot achieve it. Unless you give up.

Wenren Ying did not want to give up. No one in this world ever truly wants to give up, yet in the end, they do. No matter how determined the resolve at the start, now it is abandoned. No matter how many reasons there are, no matter how justified those reasons may be, the fact remains: it has been given up.

Growing older, Wenren Ying gradually understood that he had been defeated by the world, by time, by the years. What pride could remain in mere persistence? Yet, after seeing the talents of Zhou Yi and Song Hai, ideas he had previously abandoned came alive within him once more.

The realms beyond Celestial Being were no longer within his reach, but he wanted to witness them.

...

“Take these,” Wenren Ying produced another stack of books from within his robes and tossed them to the two, then rummaged for a long while and pulled out two iron tokens, tossing one over as well.

“Walk straight ahead from here, all the way to the end. There you’ll find a tower—the Secret Tower. Take the token, and go to the seventh floor. From now on, that is where you’ll live.”

With that, Wenren Ying turned and left, his departure full of unrestrained grace.

Behind him, Zhou Yi and Song Hai watched in speechless astonishment, especially Zhou Yi. Was that it? A few books, an iron token, a place to stay—was that all?

Wasn’t that too simple?

The two of them stood dazed for a long while. Suddenly, Zhou Yi understood.

What more could there be? What else did he expect? Hadn’t Wenren Ying said himself he was not qualified to teach them? What else was there to say?

If one cannot take another as a master, then let heaven and earth be your master.

To take heaven and earth as teacher—what a magnificent idea.

He had given them secret manuals, a place, and time. That was plenty.

What more could they possibly want?

...

A nine-story tower stood before them, its earthen-yellow exterior bearing the marks of wind, sand, and time—like a giant, towering steadfast as a mountain, unmoved by wind or rain, thunder or dew, eternally unchanging.

The two stood before the tower, their eyes fixed on the golden characters: “Secret Tower.” Each character was as large as a head, glimmering brilliantly under the sunlight, blazing so bright it dazzled the eyes and seemed to illuminate the heart. The very sight of it filled one with a sense of solidity and reassurance.

For the first time, their sense of insignificance did not come from the sheer size of what they saw, but from its spirit.

Countless generations had guarded it, centuries of cultural baptism, an unwavering watch through the ages—it was truly awe-inspiring.

“Let’s go.” The Secret Tower stood there, unattended; the two massive yellow stone doors were tightly shut, each bearing a hand-sized imprint perfectly matching the tokens Wenren Ying had given them.

With a rumbling sound, Zhou Yi took out a token and placed it on the door. Instantly, the doors swung open with a crash, and he called Song Hai to enter with him.

Inside, all was pitch black—no trace of light, as if stepping into a boundless abyss, frightening in its endlessness.

Zhou Yi led the way, Song Hai following close behind. As soon as they entered, the great doors creaked shut behind them.

Swish, swish!

As the doors closed, it was as if some hidden mechanism had been triggered—lamp after lamp burst into flame, illuminating the space.

“These mechanisms are really…” Zhou Yi glanced around in amazement at the suddenly brightened hall. Automatic doors, self-lighting lamps—even in the distant era from his memories, not every place could boast such wonders.

The interior was vast, surprisingly so, for there was little within—just a stone staircase winding upwards to the second floor. Beside the stairs was an imprint identical to the one on the main doors; Zhou Yi understood—they would need to use the token again.

“Come on,” he said.

The empty space held nothing of interest. Zhou Yi took the lead, climbing toward the second floor.

The second, third, fourth, all the way to the seventh floor—each level was the same, differing only in height, but all equally empty.

“Ha!” Standing on the seventh floor, Zhou Yi stretched and let out a hearty exhale, laughing as he turned to Song Hai, “From now on, this is where we’ll live!”

“Live?” Song Hai’s expression was bewildered. “Is this home?”

“Home?” Zhou Yi blinked. Was it? Did this count as home?

Probably not. After all, this was merely a place to live, like working away from home and staying in a company dormitory. One might stay here for a long time—even longer than at home—but it was not home.

“It should be home.” Before Zhou Yi could answer, Song Hai understood on his own. He glanced at Zhou Yi, his eyes bright with warmth. As long as family is here, this is home. Even if only for a single day, it is home.

After a moment’s reflection, Zhou Yi seemed to sense something, turned to look at Song Hai, and smiled. “This is home.”

In this world, Zhou Yi’s only family was Song Hai, and Song Hai’s only family was Zhou Yi. As long as the two were together, that was home.

“But it’s so empty, there’s not a thing here. If we’re to live, we need to survive, don’t we?” The two looked around at the place they’d already seen seven times. Their glances swept over everything, and suddenly the seventh floor seemed completely different from the six before.

In reality, it was no different—just empty. The only distinction was that, in the previous six floors, they were merely passersby; here, they were residents.

“Let’s give it a try.” The two searched for a long time, but the whole floor offered nothing to handle, nowhere to begin, except one place: the indentation beside the stairs, meant for the token.

Since Wenren Ying had told them they would be living here for a long time, the necessary living supplies must be provided.

Now, there were only two possibilities: either someone would bring the supplies, or the items were already here, hidden, and they simply hadn’t found them.

“Could they really be here?” Compared to the first possibility, Zhou Yi preferred to believe the second.

Yet the place was so bare—if something was here, it couldn’t be hidden. But after searching for ages, they found nothing.

If that really was the case, then there was only one explanation left.

Going to the upper floors didn’t require a token; you just walked up. But next to the stairs was an indentation for the token, which was certainly suspicious.

So, if there was a secret, it must be there.

“No point in thinking about it. Let’s just try it and find out!” Zhou Yi shook his head, took the token from his robe, walked to the stairs, and pressed the token into the indentation.

Boom!

A tremendous roar exploded in their minds, shaking them to the core, as if heaven and earth had been overturned.

In reality, after Zhou Yi pressed the token down, there was no actual sound—only an abrupt transformation of the surroundings, from emptiness to abundance. It was as if thunder crackled through their minds, leaving them speechless for a long time.

“Is this truly a world of martial heroes?”