"What exactly is this tower for?" Max muttered quietly to himself as his eyes remained fixed on the enormous structure towering above the forest.

He truly had not expected something like this to exist within the Soul Sealing Painting.

At first, Max assumed the Survival Trial would simply be a brutal battlefield where participants hunted monsters, slaughtered one another, and accumulated killing points until only fifty people remained.

However, the appearance of this tower immediately made him realize that he had underestimated the complexity of the final trial once again.

This was not merely a simple survival game.

The Celestial Forge Pavilion had clearly designed this trial with far more depth than he initially imagined.

Boom!

Another explosion echoed nearby as several disciples fought fiercely over one of the lower cave entrances.

Max calmly observed the chaotic scene for a moment before deciding not to waste time guessing. Instead, he descended toward the ground near the outer area of the battlefield where a wounded participant was resting against a broken stone pillar while trying to recover his breath.

The young man appeared exhausted, and blood stained parts of his robe. Clearly, he had just lost a battle for one of the caves.

Max walked toward him calmly.

The participant instinctively raised his head after sensing someone approach.

Then—

His expression froze instantly.

"Ma... Max Morgan?!"

Shock spread across his face almost immediately as he stared at Max in disbelief.

Clearly, Max’s reputation had already spread throughout the Survival Trial.

The participant quickly straightened his posture subconsciously despite his injuries.

Max ignored the reaction and calmly asked,

"What is this tower?"

The wounded disciple blinked for a moment as though he did not expect Max to ask something so basic.

Then suddenly, he let out a bitter laugh.

"Hah..."

He shook his head helplessly.

"First Jonathan Myres arrived here..."

"Then Ray Willer came..."

"And now even you are here too."

His tone carried clear frustration.

"It seems all the monsters gathered in this trial are slowly gathering at this tower."

Max simply looked at him calmly without responding.

Seeing that Max genuinely wanted an answer, the participant quickly explained.

"This tower appeared not long after the trial began," he said while glancing upward toward the massive structure. "At first, nobody understood what it was either."

His expression gradually became more serious.

"But eventually, people discovered something."

He pointed toward the countless caves spread across the surface of the tower.

"The caves inside the tower contain treasures."

Max’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Treasures?"

The participant nodded immediately.

"Yes. Different kinds of treasures."

"Cultivation resources, artifacts, inheritances, techniques, rare ores, and all kinds of valuable materials."

As he spoke, even his own eyes revealed traces of greed and unwillingness.

"The important thing is..." he continued slowly, "those treasures are not illusions."

Max’s gaze sharpened faintly.

The participant inhaled deeply before continuing.

"Once someone touches a treasure within a cave, the Soul Sealing Painting records it automatically."

He paused briefly before adding,

"And after the trial ends, the Celestial Forge Pavilion will reward that participant with the actual treasure in reality."

The moment those words fell, even Max became slightly surprised.

So the treasures inside this world were essentially rewards reserved for the participants.

No wonder the fighting around the tower had become so intense.

A place like this would naturally attract everyone.

The wounded disciple looked toward the tower once more before speaking again.

"However, not all caves are equal."

Max followed his gaze upward.

"The lower caves usually contain ordinary rewards," the participant explained. "But the higher you climb..."

His expression gradually became more solemn.

"The more valuable and powerful the treasures become."

Max’s eyes slowly traveled upward along the massive tower.

The higher sections were almost hidden among the clouds themselves, radiating a faint ancient pressure even from a distance.

Meanwhile, the battles near those upper caves were clearly far more intense than the fighting below.

Powerful fluctuations continuously erupted from those areas as geniuses fought desperately to secure positions there.

"The upper caves..." the wounded participant said quietly, "are where the true treasures are located."

He then looked back at Max with a complicated expression.

"With your strength, you’ll probably try climbing higher."

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

"People like us can only fight over the lower caves."

Max remained silent for a moment while observing the towering structure before him.

Now everything made sense.

The Survival Trial was not merely about slaughter and killing points.

The tower itself acted as another battlefield.

A place where opportunities, treasures, and competition all converged together.

And judging from the current situation—

The higher one climbed...

The more dangerous things would become.

After listening to the explanation, Max finally understood why the area around the tower had become such a battlefield.

Treasure caves.

Real rewards.

And the higher one climbed, the greater the rewards waiting above.

The Celestial Forge Pavilion truly had gone all out for this Survival Trial.

Max slowly shifted his gaze upward once more toward the enormous tower piercing into the sky. Countless caves covered its outer surface while violent battles erupted across every level. Some participants fought desperately to defend caves they had already claimed, while others attempted to climb higher in search of better treasures.

The scene resembled a battlefield of greed and ambition.

Max then looked back toward the wounded participant.

"Thanks for the explanation," he said calmly.

The young man hurriedly nodded.

"No problem..."

Although he tried to remain composed, traces of nervousness still lingered on his face while standing before someone like Max.

After all, the stories surrounding Max within the trial had already begun spreading rapidly.

Max did not say anything further.

The next moment—

Crack!

Seven colored lightning suddenly erupted around his body.

Violent arcs of crimson, gold, silver, blue, violet, black, and green lightning wrapped around him as his aura surged sharply.

Boom!

The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.

Max’s figure transformed into a streak of seven colored light as he shot directly toward the massive tower at astonishing speed.

The wounded participant stared blankly at the scene.

"So fast..." he muttered unconsciously.

Meanwhile, Max rapidly closed the distance toward the upper sections of the tower.

Since the higher caves contained better rewards, there was naturally no reason for him to waste time competing for the lower ones.

The violent winds screamed around him while the seven colored lightning pushed his speed to terrifying levels.

However—