The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - Chapter 30

The Nameless One’s name was finally revealed, immediately followed by the achievement of reaching the 200th floor. This was the highest record ever set in Tongtian Tower-no one had ever reached the top before, and now it had happened right before their eyes!

Qin Huan stared at the ranking board in astonishment. “Someone actually succeeded in climbing the tower?”

“Senior Sister, what happens if you reach the top? Has anyone ever finished all two hundred floors before?”

Qin Huan shook her head. “I don’t know. Perhaps the Sect Leader and the Elders have climbed it, but among disciples who haven’t reached the Transformation Realm, no one has ever done it, so there’s no information to be found.”

The Transformation Realm was a turning point for cultivators. Not every Six Leaves cultivator could unfold their own realm. In the Lotus Flower Sect, reaching the Transformation Realm meant graduation: some would stay in the sect as officials, while others would go out to found their own sects, no longer considered disciples.

Now, someone had reached the summit before even entering the Transformation Realm-this was truly unprecedented.

“Does this person get to see the Flower Mirror at the top of the tower?” someone exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to climb to the very top and see that fragment of the mirror glowing red.”

“Maybe they can. As expected, anyone with the same surname as the Sect Leader can’t be underestimated.” Qin Huan mused, “I’d really like to see just how powerful someone like that is.”

The entrance to Tongtian Tower was abuzz with excitement. Everyone was discussing the event, craning their necks in anticipation for the former Nameless One to appear.

Since the 200th floor record had just been set, it meant the first place climber was still inside the tower. Perhaps they could catch a glimpse of Chu Zaishuang at the top of the rankings.

*

On the 200th floor, the spiraling stone steps vanished. The summit of the tower was nothing but a vast, empty hall covered in murals. At the center of the dome, a crimson fragment of the Flower Mirror was inlaid, with wisps of Chaos energy-the source of the Milky Way waterfall-cascading down from above, flowing through the entire tower like red sand in an hourglass.

The ancient script on the walls had disappeared, replaced by an endless map. Directly ahead was the familiar Qionglian Twelve Islands. Wisps of cloud drifted among the islands, with a few smaller isles scattered nearby. On Lotus Peak Mountain, a single point of red light shone, its brilliance matching the vivid color of the Flower Mirror fragment.

Looking to the left, past countless narrow plates, one could see a larger plate dotted with red light-the location of Luoqiang Valley. There stood a structure similar to Tongtian Tower, clearly marked on the map.

To the right, Four-Symbols Jiuzhou was close at hand, its plate slightly larger than Luoqiang Valley’s, also marked by a dazzling point of light.

These were the three most prominent plates on the map, representing the three major factions among Immortal Cultivators. Countless smaller plates were scattered around, some with faint red glows, but none as brilliant as the major ones.

Among all the plates, a white vortex stood out, radiating layer upon layer of red ripples, positioned precisely at the center of the three major plates. This was the location of the new Flower Mirror.

One map encompassed the world; one wall revealed all living beings-this was the scene on the 200th floor.

Chu Zaishuang reached the summit. Only after studying the map before her did her thoughts finally settle. The flow state she’d just experienced had left her mind blank, so she had to pace around the hall twice to ease the indescribable excitement that followed.

“He hasn’t come up yet?”

After a brief rest, Chu Zaishuang glanced at the stairs leading down the tower.

[He seems to be on the 198th floor.]

Xiao Shi sensed Fei Wanghuai’s location, while Chu Zaishuang extended her palm and silently recited an incantation in her heart.

Upon reaching the 200th floor, her cultivation had suddenly broken through. The spiritual energy she’d accumulated over months erupted all at once, propelling her directly to the Three Leaves Late Stage. The higher her cultivation, the clearer her Primordial Spirit Flower would become-perhaps the result would be different now.

In her palm, the once-misty clear water finally sculpted itself into a Dao Heart. A transparent Yin-Yang Taiji Sphere appeared, two forces swirling and revolving around each other, intertwined but unable to merge, soon splitting into two orbs. The water sphere emitted a faint glow-one orb was pale white, the other faint red, their colors utterly distinct.

Her intuition had been correct.

The chaotic water-and-lightning sphere was not shaped like a flower bud because she truly did not possess a Primordial Spirit Flower.

She gazed at the Yin-Yang Taiji Sphere, then extended her other palm. The two orbs of light naturally separated, resting in her left and right hands. No one else could split their Dao Heart in two, but she could do so effortlessly-an anomaly not recorded in any book.

“I remember now,” Chu Zaishuang lowered her gaze and spoke softly, “what I saw the day I had Soul Separation Syndrome.”

A hush fell.

Fragmented memories reassembled: siblings playing at the edge of a snowy field, the blizzard-shrouded Tongtian Tower, the massive, terrifying murals, and the cultivator in the painting holding two orbs of spiritual energy. At the center of the scene, the cultivator shattered mountains and rivers, soaring fiercely toward a sky of golden light.

Years ago, on the night she took shelter in the tower from the snow, it was the day of her Three Leaves Heart Bloom. She should have condensed her Dao Heart, but instead, she suddenly grasped the secret of the murals. It was an ancient prophecy of the world’s end, and the person in the prophecy had something in common with her.

No wonder she chose to forget. No wonder she suffered from Soul Separation Syndrome. No wonder she couldn’t cast spells. No wonder she needed two or three times more spiritual energy than others to advance.

Chu Zaishuang held the two orbs of spiritual energy, her right palm facing up, her left palm facing down, unconsciously mimicking the figure in the painting. Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine, and she instinctively crushed the clear water in her palm.

Ordinary cultivators could only cultivate as Immortals or Demons, but she harbored both Immortal Qi and Demon Qi within her. These two energies waxed and waned, grinding away the solid form in her Sea of Consciousness, so she could not condense a solid Primordial Spirit Flower-only a flowing Yin-Yang Taiji Sphere remained.

As a child, she hadn’t realized this. When her brother infused Immortal Qi into her Sea of Consciousness to check her slow progress, he vaguely sensed that her energy was different from his. Once she understood Immortality, she also understood Demonic power. From then on, the chaotic forces split, and everything became clear.

When she saw the murals inside the tower, she suddenly realized the strangeness-they were just like her.

Somewhere deep inside, she sensed a lurking danger. Perhaps her childhood fever was a form of self-protection, forcibly tearing her soul apart during her Three Leaves Heart Bloom. The surface of her Sea of Consciousness was Immortal Qi, imitating her brother’s energy to mislead others, while the deeper layer was Demon Qi, hidden away where no one could detect it.

After her illness, she lost interest in returning to Tongtian Tower and instead became keen on interacting with mortals-perhaps her subconscious was at work. Though her memories were lost and shadows remained, she had forgotten what happened that day, yet was still avoiding danger.
Since there is an ominous prophecy, why continue cultivating? Maybe stopping now could help avoid disaster.

Being an ordinary person is no more shameful than being an Immortal Cultivator.

With such simple thoughts, she muddled through life until now.

Water pooled in her palm and trickled down her fingertips. Chu Zaishuang took a deep breath, her lips twitching slightly, her expression caught between a smile and tears: “There’s one good news and one bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

[…]

“The good news is, we can officially cultivate-and even practice two different paths.” Her lashes fluttered as she spoke in a trembling voice, “The bad news is, if anyone else finds out, not only could we die, but we’d bring disaster upon our parents and brother.”

The mural’s prophecy might not be limited to the Qionglian Twelve Islands. If outsiders learned the truth about her Dao Heart, it could draw other Immortal Cultivators to invade the islands.

Perhaps sensing endless calamity, her younger self couldn’t bear the pressure and chose to leave her soul during a severe illness, hiding half of her Dao Heart. The method was effective-even her parents and the Medicine Elder noticed nothing amiss. The part belonging to the demon slumbered during her fever, and no matter how anyone probed with spiritual energy, they found nothing.

Under stress, some memories vanished, making the disguise seamless-until she returned to the old place.

Fate played its hand. She climbed the Tongtian Tower again, saw the mural once more, and the sealed memories unraveled.

From that moment, Xiao Shi had been silent, sensing her emotions. At last, it spoke to comfort her:

[No matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side. You’re not alone.]

[That’s the meaning of my existence.]

“Mm.”

Chu Zaishuang sniffed, quickly regaining her composure, and smiled bitterly: “What a pity. I was planning to wait until I had a Dao Heart, then surprise everyone. Now I can’t show off at all.”

She had intended to secretly train, and when she finally condensed her Primordial Spirit Flower, she would proudly show it to her companions-especially wanting to shock Fei Wanghuai. But she hadn’t expected that her Dao Heart could never be revealed.

It was both misfortune and luck-a regret that she’d never have the chance, but a relief that no one had discovered it yet.

*

On the one hundred ninety-ninth floor, Fei Wanghuai solved the Meditation Slate’s puzzle and was about to step into the two hundredth floor when he suddenly saw her darting down.

Chu Zaishuang’s steps were light, arms swinging lazily as she drawled, “Seriously? You only just solved the one hundred ninety-ninth floor? I was waiting up there so long the flowers nearly wilted. I almost memorized the map on the wall backwards!”

Fei Wanghuai saw her arms shaking like noodles. Blocked by her, his brows twitched: “Did you come down just to talk nonsense?”

Her return to the one hundred ninety-ninth floor meant she’d cleared the two hundredth, and she’d rushed down to brag.

He’d expected it, so he wasn’t disappointed, and simply sidestepped her to continue upward.

“You’re still going to the two hundredth floor?” Chu Zaishuang looked surprised. “I thought seeing me would make you leave right away, lose interest in climbing further. That’s how you are with chess.”

When they played chess, Fei Wanghuai was just like that-once he saw he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t waste time, caring only about the result.

“Chess is chess, just a way to pass time. Solving puzzles is different. Losing this time, if I don’t analyze why, I’ll lose again next time. So I have to finish.”

Besides, since she’d cleared two hundred floors, he should too. If he was going to learn from her, he couldn’t skip anything.

Chu Zaishuang stared at his back, dazed: “That doesn’t sound like something he’d say.”

In this Tongtian Tower competition, she regained lost memories, and he seemed to gain something as well.

*

Fei Wanghuai solved the two hundredth floor’s puzzle, and the two wandered around the tower’s summit before slowly heading down. It was not yet midnight. After months of competition, they felt weary and planned to rest, leaving the Tongtian Tower where they’d fought for so long.

Outside the tower, the crowd surged like waves.

Chu Zaishuang reached the first floor. Before she even exited, she sensed something odd: “Are there usually this many people?”

Fei Wanghuai glanced back at the stone steps, scanned the area, then turned to say, “I didn’t see Li Jingjie or Su Hongli on the way down. No idea where they went.”

The two returned their Mirror Stones one after the other and were about to walk out when Li Jingjie and Su Hongli rushed toward them.

Li Jingjie had the Heavenly Treasure Weasel draped over his arm, sweat pouring down his face as he hurried into the tower, waving: “Don’t go out the main gate! Take the side door instead.”

The Tongtian Tower had a main gate and a side door. The side door was exit-only, didn’t allow Mirror Stone retrieval, and was rarely used.

Chu Zaishuang: “Why?”

“First, Wanghuai suddenly overtook the Nameless One, drawing a crowd of Immortal Cultivators to watch the Tongtian Ranking. Then the Nameless One fought up to the two hundredth floor and, for the first time, revealed their real name. Now the whole sect is in an uproar!” Li Jingjie said. “I heard lots of people came just to block the door, hoping to see what the Nameless One looks like. If you two are recognized, you won’t get out today.”

Fame brings trouble, just like how Lotus Flower Sect disciples who challenged Chu Bingxiao lined up from the mountain top to the base. If anyone recognized Chu Zaishuang or Fei Wanghuai, they might face a similar situation.

Especially Chu Zaishuang-she became the first disciple to climb the tower before reaching the Transformation Realm, and her name would forever be listed first on the Tongtian Ranking. Even if Fei Wanghuai cleared two hundred floors, he could only be second, never able to claim the top record.

If anyone else climbed the tower in the future, they’d be listed after the two of them.

Fei Wanghuai was stunned: “Revealed the real name?”

Su Hongli nodded: “Yes, Zaishuang’s name is on the ranking.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a surge of spiritual energy nearby caught Chu Zaishuang and Fei Wanghuai’s attention.

[Someone is casting a spell nearby!]

Fei Wanghuai glanced sideways and saw a striking female cultivator approaching. He frowned: “Sound Seeking Art.”

The Sound Seeking Art was a tracking technique. Within a set range, it targeted specific words-anyone who spoke them would be noticed by the caster.

Qin Huan had arrived, guided by the Sound Seeking Art. She gripped her long whip and looked around at the four inside the tower.

“Sorry to interrupt, but may I ask-which one of you is Chu Zaishuang?”