The Portal of Wonderland
Chapter 491: By The End of Ten Years

Shi Mu was standing the farthest end of the crowd, his attention going past everyone in front of me and poured all over the gigantic white tower not far from the group.

Its base spanned a few square-miles and was designed in a rather abnormal—unlike most towers in common architecture where it was either a tower with an open balcony on top or a tower that was completely closed. This white tower had no corners, no facias, no soffits nor even any sort of awning at all. It looked it was made from one singular material throughout, a single colossal monolith with a mildly coarse surface rising straight into the clouds above. One could not even see the tip of the tower at all.

"This is called the Mystique Tower, naturally formed by the Sacred Tree of Qing Lan. As you can see here, this tower is completely white and without blemish, and indeed, it radiates a faint luminescent light at night like a lighthouse," As everyone was staring ahead at the tower, Ling Feng started explaining. "You're looking at the kernel of the entire Holy Land, my Sect Brothers. This is the tower is the connection that linked all five floors; So to access other floors, one need only to go through here."

"Brother Ling Feng, can one not reach the floors above without this skyscraper?" Someone among the crowd asked.

"Well! You see, every floor comes with their own foolproof spatial barrier, sturdy and uncrossable even for a Saint-rank powerhouse. It's quite impossible to access other floors through crossing the spatial barrier," Ling Feng answered.

"Oh, okay," the person nodded.

"I am sure that most of you here now think that the Mystique Tower's only function is to act as the channel linking all five floors, but it boasts so much more. For example, within this Mystique Tower hides countless Xumi Dimensions*, which you will most definitely find helpful for your cultivation and even daily needs. Not only that, but this is the also the only point in the entire Holy Land for every being in every floor to convene and interact with one another," Ling Feng added, "You'll discover the importance of the Mystique Tower after your cultivation here for a while, but I also guarantee you."

As the crowd listened to his explanation, they trotted into the tower following his lead.

The first thing they encountered was a large hall. In the middle was a pillar of spherical, foggy white light about ten square-yards wide, shooting into the untraceable ceiling probably hundreds of yards away.

The hall itself was spacious, but it wasn't lavishly furnished in anyways. Neither was there any kind of staircases leading up to the purported higher floors. Long story short, the entire interior of the hall made the Mystique Tower looked more like an inverted bucket than an actual tower at all.

It was at this moment when the pillar of light in the middle suddenly blazed brightly. With a few dazzling shimmers, a few disciples wearing the standard green robes of the Holy Sect emerged from the pillar.

They were chatting with each other as they exited from the light, stopping briefly only when they saw Ling Feng, which they greeted with a little bow, before continuing their talk all the way out of the hall. They did not even look at Shi Mu or any other newcomers at all.

"This is it, the Xuan Ling Stairs. One can gain access to other Xumi Dimensions through here, as well as all other four floors," Ling Feng explained, noticing the quizzical looks on his juniors.

Shi Mu turned his head to the translucent pillar of light and looked up, staring at the farthest tip of the pillar his eyes could reach—and yet he couldn't see any exit from it either.

"Alright, come with me," Ling Feng said, beckoning to the crowd and walked into the large pillar of light. Shi Mu and the rest followed suit.

Immediately after they took their place within the pillar, an image of an enormous, ancient-looking tree carved from green marble, could be seen on the platform they were standing at. The image was radiating a soft but sure brilliance.

As the light intensified, the group felt their body becoming light in a millisecond before a strange cusp of gentle, firm force lifted them and pushed them upwards, its speed turning the surrounding into an unrecognizable blur.

A few moments later, their upward motion stopped abruptly as the blur around them suddenly cracked and split into half, revealing a large door about several yards tall and revealing what looked like another patch of lush green woods beyond the door.

Ling Feng was the first to strut out of the door as the others followed. When the last of the group exited, the door behind them disappeared completely.

Shi Mu turned back and saw that they had, indeed, just emerged from that same pillar of white light known as Xuan Ling Stairs.

Now, under Ling Feng's lead, the group crossed the woods and came to a spacious clearing. When they looked at the scenery around them, they couldn't help but gasp…

About a few hundred yards away from them were a dozen of square-shaped dais made of stones, each of them spanning a few hundred yards on their own. They were all built from the ever-sturdy chalkstone and was about three feet taller than the earth. It seemed that these daises were actually battle rings made for sparring matches.

At the moment, all of the battle rings were being enshrouded by all sorts of dazzling lights while the air around them thundered and boomed, occasionally as a company for a sudden sweep of heatwave rippling across the atmosphere from the battle rings themselves.

Around the rings were about thousands of people, some of them pumping their fists in the air and shouting excitedly, some of them crossing their arms and watching quietly, and still a few had gathered together into a visible group murmuring something loudly.

Shi Mu noticed that all of them were wearing the same green robes with a single leaf sewn on the chest—the same outfit Ling Feng was donning. This meant that every attendee was indeed disciples of Qing Lan Holy Sect.

He released his Spirit Sense towards the battles and found himself shaking in shock.

Everyone present had achieved at least Late Earth-rank, if not Heaven-rank already.

"Auurrrghh!" It was then when an earth-shuddering shriek howled out from one of the battle rings situated closest to them.

It came from a bizarre-looking beast about ten off yards tall, spotting a pair of wings as well as a draconic head. The beast was hovering in the air as it looked down and exhaled thick streams of searing inferno pouring down towards the battle ring like a waterfall suspended in midair. From far, it looked like a curtain of fire about a few yards wide was coming downwards to cover the entire battle ring.

The flames were so intense that one could make out of the ripples of vibrating air around the flames as if the air was melting at high heat.

At the receiving end of that curtain of flames was a green-skinned muscular man, who was laying on his stomach on the ground.

The man's head was firmly glued to the earth, obscuring his expression. Hovering above him, however, was a mirage of a tortoise shell about several yards large, formed by sticking ten-odd diamond-shaped armor pieces together. The mirage shone in hazy green light, radiating a sense of sturdy defense.

The muscular man's skin was shimmering as smog of olive-green gas oozed out from his skin and fused into the large green tortoise shell mirage above him.

The curtain of flames spilled all over the green shell, causing a stream of green and red to erupt from every point of contact between the shell and the flames. It seemed that the two had locked themselves in a tight spot!

"Hey, hey, hey! Sect Fellow Lu, is it me, or is that tortoise shell guy over there with green smokes from his skin one of your homeboys? I mean, his technique reminds me of you so much," Qing Zhang Tian said, bursting into a laugh as he watched and turning to Lu Jing.

One could not see Lu Jing's expression due to the obscuring mask he donned over his face, but his already bright eyes seemed to be gleaming with cold, hostile glints. He glared at Qing Zhang Tian silently before turning back to the battle.

It was then when the draconic titan's eyes glowed red as the flames it exhaled intensified and multiplied. Bracing the increasing brunt, the green tortoise shell below the spectacular curtain of fire started to shimmer erratically as unmistakable sizzling sounds escaped from its gradually-depressing surface.

"Brother Shi, how much longer do you think he could make it?" Ma Long seemed to have made her way to stand beside Shi Mu as she asked.

Shi Mu's eyebrows were creasing, but he shook his head with a smile as a response.

Not understanding him, Ma Long opened her mouth to ask more when a loud bellow suddenly blared from the battle, "Raaagghhh!"

It came from the green-skinned muscular man whose head had been facing down to the earth. Now, his head had been raised as he let out a booming scream.

Shi Mu noticed that he looked a little bit similar to a human, if one excluded how enormous his nose was as well as a pair of vine-like horns sprouting out from each side of his head—in fact, they actually looked like a deer's antlers.

The green-skinned man was suddenly shining brightly in green as the tortoise shell formed from his green smog started to become more and more corporeal before extending to form a head, four limbs, and a tail. Indeed, an apparition of an enormous tortoise had formed, though instead of the normal head of a turtle, this apparition had the head of a terrifying crocodile barring its sharp teeth.

Almost immediately after the apparition took its form, the green tortoise lifted its head and let out a long bellow. And then, suddenly, it braced through the outpouring flames, lunging right towards the draconic monster!

The beast did not even have the time to adjust its strategy when the terrifying tortoise suddenly expanded several yards long in a blink of an eye, allowing the crocodile-mouth to close around the dragon creature's head.

The monster's eyes shrank in fear, ceasing its flames instantly and flapping its wings in an attempt to duck. But the terrifying tortoise was quicker, opening its mouth large and revealing an orb of green lightning.

Tssch-zz! A large bolt of greenish lightning snaked out from its mouth and struck towards the monster. The air was suddenly filled with ear-deafening thunder!

The draconic beast was hit directly by the greenish bolt of lightning, its entire body now complete enshrouded with inescapable green bolts. Slowly, right before the spectators' eyes, the beast shrank before revealing a short, stout, scarlet figure crashing towards the earth.

That figure laid motionlessly. No one could tell if it was still alive or had lost it.

It was then when the air above the battle ring suddenly emerged a silhouette of dazzling green shadow, a greenish conch in their hand as they announced to the spectators, "Huo Dong Yuan of Pelochelysia wins! Next round, Wang Shi Zhong of Neptunea versus Cheng Tian Lei of Planet Stormyst!"

The crowd burst into an excited cheer as the green-skinned man stood up from his crawling position, releasing his giant tortoise energy construct as he walked out of the battle ring. Meanwhile, that red figure sprawled on the earth was quickly lifted by two of the bystanders to be carried out of the ring.

In a blink, two new figures now stood on the battle ring.

"Brother Ling Feng, what are these people sparring for?" Qing Zhang Tian asked.

"Oh, it's a grand match held every ten years among the Century Disciples. Those who are at the last one hundred and eight in the ranking will be expelled from Qing Lan Holy Sect so that the new batch of one hundred and eight disciples could take their place. On every floor, those who managed to score the top positions among the hundred and eight would be considered as an Elite Disciple, which entailed more resources and certain privileges," Ling Feng explained.

"Elite Disciples? You mean, we aren't Elite Disciples?" Qing Zhan Tian asked, confused.

"Ha haha! Well, the first thirty-six of you who had passed the test at Green Waters Verdant Hills ae technically considered as temporary Elite Disciples for ten years. When the decade rolled over, you'll be treated like everyone else. Only the ranking obtained by joining the Century Disciples Grand Match will your ranking and status as the elites be official," Ling Feng replied with a smile. "In other words, if you lag behind in your ranking, you're going to lose your status as an Elite Disciple."

FOOTNOTE FOR READERS: Xumi is the Chinese term for Mahameru, as in the sacred mountain. Now I have no idea why pocket dimensions are being called "Mahameru Dimensions", and I did try to see the reasoning behind it by reading a bit on the lore so that I can translate it more accurately but… Error 404. I can't make sense. Maybe it's just all for the name, which in that case, Xumi Dimensions it is!