The Author's Draft-Chapter 56: Challenging the bell I

The Tower stood at the eastern edge of the inner domain, and from a distance, it looked impressive.

Up close, it was overwhelming.

The structure was massive—easily a hundred meters in diameter at its base, constructed from dark stone that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Spiritual formations covered every surface, glowing faintly with power that made the air itself feel heavy. The Tower stretched upward until its peak disappeared into the clouds, and Long Chen couldn’t tell if it actually had a top or if it just kept going forever.

But what caught his attention more than the Tower itself was the crowd surrounding its entrance.

Disciples, hundreds of them.

They formed a line that wrapped around the Tower’s base, stretching back so far Long Chen couldn’t see the end. Most were inner disciples, though he spotted a few outer disciples mixed in. The atmosphere was a strange mix of excitement, nervousness, and exhaustion.

The tower was available to all disciples, from outer disciples to core disciples. Some disciples were chatting with friends, others were meditating while they waited, and more than a few looked like they’d been standing there for hours and were regretting every minute of it.

The entrance to the Tower was a massive set of double doors, currently closed. A formation array glowed across the doorway, and an elder in sect robes stood beside it, looking bored as he managed the flow of disciples entering one at a time.

Long Chen walked closer, studying the scene.

Near the entrance, disciples were exiting the Tower in small groups. Some looked triumphant, carrying jade boxes or scrolls clutched to their chests like precious treasures. Others looked defeated, nursing injuries or limping badly.

One disciple stumbled out of the doors holding his left arm, which was almost torn out of its socket. His face was pale with pain, sweat dripping down his forehead.

His friend rushed forward and caught him before he collapsed. "Zhao! What happened!?"

"Third floor," Zhao gasped between pained breaths. "Made it... to the third floor... before the beast broke my arm."

"The third floor beast did that?" His friend’s eyes widened. "But you’re at Qi Acquisition Stage 6!"

"Doesn’t matter." Zhao winced as his friend helped him sit down. "The beast scales to your level. At the third floor, I was facing three stage 6 beasts. I got cocky and one of them almost tore my hand out."

Another disciple nearby—a girl with short hair—snorted. "At least you made it to the third floor. I didn’t even get past the second."

"That’s embarrassing," someone else chimed in.

"Shut up! You haven’t even entered yet!"

Long Chen listened to the conversations as he approached. The Tower clearly wasn’t easy. Even disciples at higher stages of foundation establishment were getting injured or eliminated quickly.

He spotted a disciple standing near the middle of the line—a young man with messy hair who looked more bored than nervous. The disciple was leaning against the Tower’s outer wall, eyes half-closed like he was taking a nap standing up.

Long Chen approached him. "Excuse me senior brother."

The disciple cracked one eye open. "Hm?"

"Is there a shortcut to this line?"

Both eyes opened now, the disciple stared at Long Chen like he’d just asked the dumbest question imaginable. Then his expression shifted to something like pity mixed with amusement.

"You really are a new disciple, aren’t you?" He straightened up and pointed toward the front of the line. "See that bell over there?"

Long Chen followed his finger.

Near the Tower’s entrance, off to the side, stood a bronze bell. It was large—maybe two meters tall—hanging from a wooden frame carved with intricate patterns. The bell’s surface was covered in formation runes that pulsed faintly with spiritual light.

"What about it?" Long Chen asked.

"That’s the Talent Assessment Bell." The disciple smirked. "Sect rule—anyone who can make it ring ten times with a single attack gets to skip the line and enter the Tower immediately."

"Ten times?"

"Ten times, with one attack. No follow-ups, no combinations, no charging up for half an hour. One. Single. Strike." The disciple’s smirk widened. "It’s meant to prevent truly talented disciples from being delayed by dregs who loiter here farming low-tier treasures all day."

Another disciple nearby—a stocky guy with a scar on his chin—laughed. "Don’t bother trying, new guy. That bell’s enchanted. It measures the force and purity of your strike. You need serious power and technique to make it ring even five times."

"Most people can barely hit three or four," the first disciple added. "You need to be at least foundation establishment or higher just to have a chance at ten rings. And even then, your technique needs to be flawless."

The stocky disciple crossed his arms. "I’ve been coming to the Tower for six months. I’m at Stage 6, and the best I’ve ever done is seven rings. Seven! And I’ve seen some top inner disciples struggle to hit ten." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"So unless you’re some kind of hidden genius," the messy-haired disciple said, "I’d suggest just waiting in line like the rest of us."

Long Chen looked at the bell, then back at the two disciples. "How long is the wait usually?"

"Six hours minimum," Stocky Guy said. "Sometimes ten if there’s a crowd. The tower only allows five to enter at the same time.."

"Six to ten hours," Long Chen repeated.

"Yep. Welcome to the Tower." Messy Hair gestured at the endless line behind them. "Hope you brought something to read."

Long Chen glanced at the line again. Hundreds of disciples, hours of waiting. And he needed to get that Blood Orchid as soon as possible to start his body cultivation.

He looked back at the bell.

"Thanks for the information," Long Chen said.

"No problem. Good luck with—wait, where are you going?"

Long Chen was already walking toward the bell.

Messy Hair and Stocky Guy exchanged glances.

"Is he seriously going to try the bell?" Stocky Guy asked.

"Looks like it."

"This is going to be hilarious."

They weren’t the only ones who noticed. Several other disciples in line turned to watch as Long Chen approached the Talent Assessment Bell. Whispers started rippling through the crowd.

"New disciple is trying the bell."

"Someone stop him before he embarrasses himself."

"Let him try. It’ll be entertaining."

*Oh, this is going to be hilarious,* Azazel’s voice chimed in Long Chen’s mind, dripping with amusement.

Long Chen stopped in front of the bell and examined it up close. The formation runes covering its surface were intricate and complex. He could feel spiritual energy radiating from it—the formations weren’t just decorative. They measured impact force, converted it into vibrations, and each vibration produced one ring.

The stronger the strike, the more rings.

Simple in concept, difficult in execution.

"What’s hilarious about it?" Long Chen asked quietly.

*The fact that your feeling nervous about making a bell ring.*

Long Chen reached for Demon Dweller and wrapped his fingers around the hilt.

More whispers from the crowd.

"He’s drawing his sword."

"At least he’s taking it seriously."

"Still won’t help. I’ve seen foundation establishment Stage 8 disciples fail with swords, this qi acquisition noob is definitely going to fail."

Long Chen drew Demon Dweller slowly, the blade sliding free with a soft metallic whisper. The cursed sword’s aura pulsed faintly—restrained by his dragon bloodline but still present.

He raised the sword, preparing to channel qi into the blade for a Heavenrend strike. His sword aura began gathering around the edge, invisible but sharp, the third-stage power compressing into a cutting force that could split stone.

[Stop,] the system interrupted suddenly.

Long Chen froze mid-motion, his sword still raised. "What?"

[You’re about to use Heavenrend enhanced with third-stage Sword Aura on that bell. Do you understand what will happen?]

"I’ll make it ring ten times?"

[You’ll destroy it, you idiot. Completely. Heavenrend is a technique designed to split mountains. Third-stage Sword Aura multiplies its cutting power exponentially. That’s like an attack from a peak core condensation realm expert. That bell, while enchanted, is not built to withstand that level of force. You’ll shatter it, damage the formation array, and probably get banned from the Tower for destruction of sect property.]

Long Chen hesitated. "Then what should I use?"

[Just your fingers. Channel your Sword Aura through your fingers and flick the bell. It will be more than sufficient.]

"Just... flick it?" Long Chen asked skeptically.

[Your Sword Aura is third-stage. That alone makes it sharper and more refined than most Foundation Establishment cultivators’ techniques. A focused strike through Sword Finger will deliver precise force without risking destruction. Trust me.]