Elder Jameson retreated as far as possible and began to trace out another diagram with frantic fingers. He activated it just as all of the talismans lit up at once.

Since Nolan's spiritual sense was limited to the staircase, he could only estimate that May had summoned around seventy spears, which sailed across the room in a sequence that gave the other elder no room to avoid them. He had realized this as soon as she'd taken out the talismans, opting to defend rather than attack. As such, he’d invested all of his power into creating a barrier arrayment to hide behind.

“Die!”

May’s yell coincided with the catastrophic explosion that followed, which completely blinded Nolan and Nyla for several moments as their ears were assailed by a terrible ringing sound. The winds hissed and hollered like evil spirits. Through the din of the detonation, Nolan picked up on the light sounds of breaking glass. The barrier that protected them was completely spider-webbed in the aftermath of the blast, and dissipated as soon as the winds began to die down.

Elder Jameson lay on the other side of the room, limbless and shaking as he coughed up blood, his clothes gone and his body burnt to a crisp. Nyla shot him in the neck with an arrow just to be sure, which sunk deep enough into his charred flesh to steal away the last of his life now that he was completely defenseless.

May had pushed herself up against the wall opposite from where her opponent had met his end, unable to hide her cries of anguish. Her left arm was in a worse state than before, twisted around several times and looking as if it might never properly recover. Both of her legs were broken, and all of her toes as well, which he could see since her clothes had also been eradicated. All of this from her own attack.

For the second time, Nolan doused her in Divine Spirit Fountain water that was fresh from the source. He then carefully placed her inside of another barrel, the healing effects doing their work at a visible pace.

"Get my...spatial...bag..."

"Stay with her," said Nyla, who rushed away to retrieve the bag only to find that it had fallen halfway down the descending stairs.

Once she had her belongings, a golden pellet appeared in May's hand and she struggled to lift it to her lips. Nolan helped her as gently as he could, and she swallowed it with a strained motion, washing it down with a few desperate mouthfuls of water. She immediately summoned another one and then dropped it at Nolan's feet.

Looking at her wretched state, Nolan was overcome with confusion. Why would she go so far for him? He’d never done her any favours, and he didn’t have a particularly good opinion of her. Now that he knew of her dual identity, he realized that, not only had she pulled him into that fight with the old man in Elmer, but she had also presided over it in her true appearance.

Sensing his thoughts, Uncle Grey decided to chime in.

In her mind, she has a very good reason to. Trust me, she’s acting purely out of self-interest. A heartfelt sigh of longing filled Nolan’s mind. Dear disciple, I'm so envious of you!

He ignored his teachers words as he stood by May’s side, along with Nyla, both of them quiet as the woman's body began to snap back into its proper position. He wondered why she hadn't hesitated to betray her sect, how she didn't seem to feel the slightest sliver of remorse over killing a fellow high-ranking elder.

"Nolan," said Nyla, handing him the pellet that she'd just bent down to grab. "Hurry up and take it."

It was then that he acknowledged the pain of his broken bones and torn skin, something that would have been unbearable before he began to cultivate the true essence of the Ancestral Body Technique, which was immensely more torturous in comparison. Before he knew it, he’d become quite tolerant to even the most severe sorts of pain.

He swallowed the pill and quickly fixed himself up within his own barrel. Remarkably, both he and May made a full recovery within the hour, at least on the surface. He wasn't sure about her, but he still had some internal bleeding and bone fractures, but he was much better off than he'd been earlier on.

Just as Nolan was about to ask what life-saving pellet she had just given him, she let out a solemn sentence.

"There'll be more people coming soon. We need to hurry to the next floor."

"More elders?" said Nolan, he and Nyla looking at one another with exasperation and angst.

"No, it should be some of the direct disciples. I’m the elder that can make it this high, and probably the only one that can make it to the next level." She rose up and climbed out of the barrel, water dripping down her naked body as Nolan nearly Master Roshi'd away a body’s worth of blood. "I might be able to walk around at the moment," she said. She took her time dressing as if her nudity meant nothing. "But even you two could kill me right now if you wanted to. We need to go higher. Nobody in the sect can make it past this floor."

"What about you then?" said Nyla. "In your state, I can hardly believe that you're fine here."

"That's because of this," she said, pointing at a teardrop earing made of some sort of clear crystal. "My body reconstruction pellets, and my aura-shield earring. When I first walked into the tower, I'd never have guessed that I would end up having to use all three of my most precious treasures before I got the chance to leave. And all of those priceless talismans." She sighed as she rested her cheek in one of her hands. "To think that I had to fight that old maniac today, life really is full of surprises."

"We didn't ask you to do that," said Nolan. "But you did, so we'll find some way to repay you. Even though I don’t understand what your aim is here, I’m really grateful."

"Yes," said Nyla. "I'm grateful beyond words."

"I'm sure you’ll find a way.” She gave Nyla but a brief glance as she took the lead. "Now, let’s head to the seventh floor and wait until the tower climb is over. Once I've fully recovered then we should be able to escape without any problems. At least I think so."

"What about our friends?" Nyla crossed her arms. "We're not leaving without them."

"And how do you suppose we manage that?"

"Nolan," she said, giving him a hinting look, "is it possible to use my painting in this tower?"

When a few seconds passed, he called out in his mind. Well? She's asking you, Uncle Grey.

Ah, yes, she can use her painting in here, but only if the energy within the tower lowers by about twenty percent or so.

Twenty—the whole tower? How are we supposed to swing that?

I’ll handle it once we reach the next floor. Hehe, looks like I’m going to have the most gains here in the end.

What are you going on about?

Aherm. Anyway, the seals on this tower are nothing to my spiritual sense, limited as it is while using it through you. Once we finish up on the seventh floor, I'll tell you where the others are and we can quickly snatch them up. Then you guys can come back here for a bit.

Okay, I was actually planning on doing that. Whenever they chose to leave the tower, they would emerge within the heart of the Falling Rain Sect. This was a place that was filled with thousands of talented disciples and hundreds of elders, along with a local population in the millions. Not only that, but they were basically stranded within the centre of a massive freshwater sea. If they wanted any chance of getting off of the giant island of Weston, then Ian had to advance to the Genesis stage. Once he was able to fly, he could either carry all of them across the sea in a cart or wagon, or use projected inner essence to ferry them in his wake. As much of a stretch as it was to hope for such a thing, it was their only chance of escaping.

"Why are you just staring at her?" said May, whose identity Nolan was still coming to grips with.

You can bring this woman with you, too. I might just be a lingering spirit, but she won't be able to do anything to you lot while I'm around.

What? I’m not bringing her with us. She might have saved us, but unlike the others, she isn’t bound by the master-slave contract to keep her mouth shut about Nia. That, and she can always just kill me and take the Millennial Ring for herself. That’s way too risky.

"Give him a moment," said Nyla, who stared at him expectantly. "He's thinking."