Chapter 532 Rules

Darren shook himself, struggling to endure new scars and bruises that now covered all over his body. More painful, however, was the despair that welled up in his heart.

But even that wasn't going to stop him yet, and he prepared to throw another punch.

Yet the blow hit nothing but air, and before he could blink, his opponent retaliated with a hit that sent him flying.

He landed, grunted, then got right back up and charged, only to be slapped aside again. And again. Over and over he repeated his fruitless assault, until at last he was knocked down and could not get back onto his feet. But through it all, his murderous gaze stayed on Mathew, and he even started to crawl back toward his foe.

Only slightly winded, Mathew stood tall and looked back down at him disapprovingly.

Letting out a soft breath, he wiped sweat from his brow and spoke.

"Enough, Darren. This method doesn't suit you. I don't want to push you any further." He gave a little shake of his head before continuing.

"This is all because my master made this fake Elsa perfect, as vivid as the real one. No wonder you're fighting so furiously."

As Mathew said this, he produced a transparent pill, crushed it, and spread it over his exhausted opponent.

Darren was so bloody and wounded that he looked like a dead man, but this pill was designed for someone in exactly such a state. Thanks to the magic herb, he was healed and his strength restored in short order.

When he realized he was healthy again, Darren slammed a fist against the ground. "What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, his eyes shining red with anger and disbelief.

"Let me explain," said Mathew. "My master wanted you to try the tests of the Starry Tower and made me out to be a villain. He thought that stirring up your hatred would make you stronger and more motivated.

But from the beginning, I knew this was a mistake. I don't want to see you like this. If I sent you into the Starry Tower the way he wants, it could very well make things much worse. Therefore, I'm disobeying him now. I will deceive you no longer."

"So this Elsa is fake?"

"Of course. Why would I kill the real Elsa? But it seems my performance was good enough to fool you." Saying this, Mathew reached out, took Darren's hand, and pulled him onto his feet.

Seconds passed, and in the silence Darren felt himself flooded with an indescribable emotion.

When he could no longer contain it, he drew his sword with a howl, spun, and swung at Mathew's head.

Astoundingly, the man did not move, and the sword didn't so much as pierce his skin. The impact caused a terrific clanging sound, as though it had struck metal.

"Ha-ha," said Mathew with a gentle, almost mischievous smile. "Take another shot or two, if it will help you cool down."

Shrugging, Darren hit him two or three more times until he had finally let out his emotions. Returning the sword to its sheath, he offered an apology. "Sorry about all that. I lost my mind back there... I couldn't control myself."

"That was the idea," Mathew pointed out. "That girl has an important place in your heart. I knew that it would be easy to provoke you with an illusion of her. But we should move on from that. You'll need to save all of your strength for

ured there was no point in taking too long to make up his mind. "Then that settles it," he declared. "I will challenge the tests of the tower."

The thought of his strength equaling a seven-star grand warrior was too tempting to resist. That kind of power was exactly what he needed.

Suddenly Mathew laughed again. "Well, actually, I was exaggerating a little," he said. "I wanted to see what kind of guts you have. The power of the defenders in the Starry Tower is adjusted according to the strength of every participant, which means that you may not actually have to fight against a seven-star defender on the sixth floor.

Now I'm going to tell you the most important bit of information. Every time you defeat a defender, there's one thing you need to pay attention to in addition to getting your rewards. You will need to try your best to find the time turbulent flows, and then use them to cultivate your skills as much as possible. Improve your level of cultivation base first before you go to the next floor. That is the best way to get through the tower."

"Time turbulent flows?" Darren repeated. He remembered hearing Scott talk about such things not long ago, but wasn't sure exactly what they were.

"Yeah," Mathew said, as if what he was saying should have been obvious. "Time passes much slower inside some of the time turbulent flows. So if you cultivate your skills inside it, you can make far more progress there than you would outside. You could feel a hundred years go by in one of the time flows, while in fact it was only a single year in the outside world."

Darren understood at once. The time turbulent flows were just like the Ancient Void Battlefield. There, too, time traveled at different speeds, depending on where you happened to be. There was a critical difference between the two, however. Any strength you gained while inside the Ancient Void Battlefield would be wiped away as soon as you left the area, whereas with the time turbulent flows, this was not the case.

"I understand now," he said. "I will enter the Starry Tower at once. Time waits for no one." And without hesitation, he set out. He didn't want to lose a second.