My Crazy Upgrade System

Chapter 382: Chapter 381: 4 Great Gates

The path was littered with numerous rocks. Some were Rock Insects, while others were not. Distinguishing between the real and the fake was truly difficult. That is, for a normal Cultivator. Yi Tianyun’s Eye of Investigation saw through them at a glance, but he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.

If one pounced to attack, he would cleave it in two with a single sword strike. There was no difficulty at all.

Xu Fei followed behind, continuously collecting the carcasses, looking quite excited. To him, this was all money! Rock Insects could be used to refine Elixir Pills or for Forging weapons; both were possible. If sold, they would fetch a price of at least several thousand Spirit Stones, which was much more profitable than a single guiding job.

It was just too dangerous. If Yi Tianyun hadn’t been leading the way, he truly wouldn’t have dared to enter. In such a perilous place, he wouldn’t dare take any treasures, no matter how many there were.

"Yi, I can sense danger from that rock over there. It’s most likely a Rock Insect..." Xu Fei didn’t want to be useless, so he quickly offered a warning.

Sure enough, as they approached, the rock pounced, only to be sliced in two by Yi Tianyun.

"Not bad. Your Perception is quite strong," Yi Tianyun said with a smile. Although he didn’t need the help, he had to admit that Xu Fei’s sensory ability was indeed impressive. It made him consider recruiting Xu Fei as one of his able Grand Generals.

’He had taken a liking to Xu Fei before but was unsure of his background. Now it seems that given his background, it wouldn’t be hard to take him with me. He’s a man of integrity and would be absolutely loyal. His ability is unquestionable. His innate talent might be a bit lacking, but this ability to perceive danger in advance is extremely valuable.’

’Right now, the Celestial Cloud Mansion needs a lot of manpower—the more experts, the better. Talents of the Commander-in-Chief type are relatively rare, so it would be for the best if I could win him over.’

However, he didn’t extend an invitation. He had to see how things played out first. The Eye of Investigation could see many things, but it couldn’t see into a person’s heart. Favorability could be used as one indicator, but that sort of thing could change on a whim. It was really hard to say.

"You’re too kind. It’s my only strong suit," Xu Fei said, scratching his head in embarrassment.

After that, they encountered no further difficulties and easily reached the end of the passage, continuing onward. This time, there was no danger, and their journey was uneventful. After passing through the corridor, they were greeted by the sight of four large doors, each one a different size.

From left to right, the doors grew progressively smaller. A line of text was marked above them.

Human Level, Earth Level, Heaven Level!

This was undoubtedly a division into three difficulties, with Heaven Level being the highest. However, there was one door that was the smallest, just barely large enough for a single person to enter. It bore no markings, but one could faintly sense a dangerous aura emanating from it—an aura that felt extremely perilous.

The other three doors were also far from simple. The Heaven Level was already difficult enough, but the unmarked one seemed a tier higher. The biggest difference was their size; the other three doors were massive, large enough for a huge Giant Dragon to pass through, while the small, delicate-looking door was in a league of its own.

Quite a few Cultivators were gathered here. The passage Yi Tianyun had chosen was just one of several correct routes. Among the dense network of tunnels, there were many right paths. After so much time and exploration, a fair number of people had figured out the correct ways. For first-timers, however, the difficulty was much greater.

The passage Yi Tianyun chose, however, happened to be the most direct one, not requiring a long run. Some of the other routes required one to wind around in circles.

’So there are four levels of difficulty in total...’ Yi Tianyun thought, sizing up the area and getting the general idea.

"That’s right. I’ve heard there are four difficulty levels in total, and each corresponds to different rewards. The hardest one is the door that’s just big enough for one person. They say no one who has ever gone in has ever come out," Xu Fei explained from the side.

Yi Tianyun had learned a bit about this place before coming, so he knew the general layout. The Coiling Dragon Treasure Map marked the routes through the labyrinth; this was just one of them. The true path lay further inside.

"Are you going in?" Yi Tianyun asked.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I?" Xu Fei licked his lips. "I’ve already come all this way. If I don’t take a shot, wouldn’t the trip be for nothing?"

’If you want to get stronger, you have to take risks and seek out opportunities. Otherwise, it’s just too difficult to make any great leaps in progress on your own.’

"Then which door will you choose?" Yi Tianyun asked.

"Earth Level. I feel like Earth Level is my limit. I wouldn’t even dare to think about Heaven Level," Xu Fei said. He knew his own capabilities and didn’t dare to choose a level that was too high. Choosing a difficulty beyond his means could be a death sentence.

"Earth Level, huh? That’s reasonable." Yi Tianyun nodded. He agreed that Xu Fei should attempt the Earth Level; anything higher would be far too dangerous.

"What about you, Yi? Which door will you choose?" Xu Fei asked.

"I..."

Just as Yi Tianyun was about to answer, a dissonant voice cut in from the side.

"Well, if it isn’t Xu Fei. I’m surprised you actually made it here. You’re a lucky one." A handsome young man walked up to them, looking them both up and down.

"Wang Menglong!" Xu Fei’s voice grew heavy.

"No need to be so tense. I have no interest in you..." As he spoke, Wang Menglong glanced to the side, his eyes filled with adoration.

Nearby, a stunningly beautiful woman stood, gazing at the four doors. Her eyes were closed as if she were sensing something. The gorgeous woman had attracted the gazes of many, their eyes filled with admiration.

Yi Tianyun sized up the beautiful woman. Her cultivation wasn’t weak—Spirit Pill Stage, ninth layer. In a place like this, she could be considered a monstrous talent. Apart from this woman, the one with the next highest cultivation was Wang Menglong, who was at the seventh layer of the Spirit Pill Stage.

Of course, there were cultivators at the Core Formation Stage with even higher cultivation levels present, but what mattered here was age and talent. Those Core Formation Stage experts were merely guards, tasked with protecting these young geniuses on their way in. In terms of talent, they were far inferior.

A Core Formation Stage cultivation base is powerful, but for these two young talents, that stage was not their final destination. For the guards, however, it was.

"I can’t believe Hua Xiyin is here too..." Xu Fei said, looking at the beautiful woman with admiration. "Truly worthy of being the celestial maiden second only to the princess. To have such high cultivation at her young age... she must have come to train, right? Though it’s also possible she’s here to help the princess search for Emperor Ren. Hua Xiyin is on the princess’s side."

Yi Tianyun merely gave her a casual glance, not paying her any mind. He was completely uninterested.

He shifted his attention back to the four doors. Legend had it that the higher the difficulty, the richer the rewards. As for what those rewards were, that was completely random.

In short, of the four great doors, people had successfully passed through all of them except for the one with the unknown difficulty. The Heaven Level was already nearly impossible for anyone to clear, to say nothing of the unknown door.

’Interesting. No one’s ever passed through, huh...’

In his heart, he already knew which door he would choose.