Degrade from Nobility to a Humble Slave

Geoffrey had long wanted to know why he could go through worlds completely unaffected. Now was his chance.

The worlds he was visiting became more complex and obscure as time went by, but he reached them with no problems just the same.

He wanted to know what connection he had with these worlds.

But Elder Xue had already been subjected to much agony, and the Soul Reincarnation in the seventh-grade world proved even more torturous than the last. He managed to endure it, but it was clearly taking a heavy toll on him.

When warriors of the Elemental race suffered from some debilitating condition, their faces turned paler and paler then began to wrinkle. Elder Xue's face was now so white and covered with wrinkles; it resembled a crumpled piece of paper. It was a clear testament to the ordeal he had gone through.

"Go on ahead. Don't wait for me. Keep climbing..." Elder Xue said weakly, stopping to catch his breath.

A look of deep concern crossed Geoffrey's face as he saw the state Elder Xue was in. "Do you need to rest?"

He could afford to wait. There was no time limit in the Levitation Tower anyway.

But the little girl piped up, "Resting is futile. Undergoing the Soul Reincarnation always leaves behind a great pressure on the body. There is no fixing it."

Elder Xue nodded at this. The Red Jade Rite of the Four Spirits Sect had a similar effect. It could allow creatures of third-grade world to be able to become creatures of fourth-grade world, but it also imposed a mental strain which could never be lifted.

Elder Xue was able to bear it if he had only crossed a world, but as a fourth-grade world creature in a seventh-grade world, he was already stretched to the limit.

"Then what should we do? Go back?" Geoffrey said, frowning as he mulled the situation.

The little girl sighed exasperatedly, "I could just end his life."

After all, she thought, she really could.

Geoffrey chose not to respond to that. He hurried over to Elder Xue's side to support him as he struggled to climb up. Elder Xue sighed, "I'm afraid the eighth-grade world will be the death of me," he said, before being overcome with a coughing fit.

"But I wouldn't know what to do if you died," Geoffrey bewailed.

Geoffrey had been ambitious and self-sufficient before Elder Xue came along, but now, he would feel quite lost without him.

To Geoffrey's surprise, Elder Xue straightened up, grabbed his collar and lifted him a foot off the ground with a sudden burst of power. "Snap out of it! Do everything you can to get the Heavenly Ring Staff!" "Even if I get it, I wouldn't know how to get back," Geoffrey muttered.

"Don't forget that I'll just be losing this form. The real me is still outside the Sky Wheel City!" Elder Xue had gotten so riled up that he appeared to recover his energy a little. His face began to regain color and lose some of the wrinkles.

Geoffrey sighed and gave in. "Fine. I'll give it my all," he mumbled.

"Louder!" Elder Xue commanded firmly.

"I'll give it my all!" Geoffrey shouted.

The grip on his collar loosened and Geoffrey found himself on the ground again. Elder Xue fell back into a stoop and continued the arduous trek up.

They had to circle around the Levitation Tower thrice and climb thirty feet to reach the eighth-grade world. Had he been alone, Geoffrey would have sped right through it, but having to assist Elder Xue, it took a full fifteen minutes.

Finally, the eighth-grade world lay before them.

"The Boundless Intent World."

It was a sight to behold.

It was like a work of art in Elder Xue's eyes. The world was full of color, interweaving into each other but remaining distinct at the same time.

Elder Xue knew that the eighth-grade world would kill him at this rate, but with an encouraging pat on Geoffrey's shoulder, he walked in without hesitation.

He already felt blessed having laid eyes on the Boundless Intent World.

The moment he set foot into the world, however, Elder Xue immediately felt like he was being torn into tiny pieces. His body started to dissipate until finally, there was nothing left.

In contrast, Geoffrey entered the world entirely unharmed.

That was, save for his despair. As they had feared, the eighth-grade world was, indeed, the end for Elder Xue. Geoffrey hadn't known Elder Xue for a long time, but the old man had brought him this far. Geoffrey also knew Elder Xue was an important figure in the Four Spirits Sect, and that it was him who had helped his father, Zen, to accomplish all that he had achieved.

Geoffrey became vaguely aware that the little girl was praising his ability to pass smoothly through worlds, but he couldn't find it in himself to appreciate anything right now. He simply steeled himself and strode onward.

Outside the Levitation Tower, the races of the Deep Space were in an uproar, witnessing everything.

Not long after the members of the Elemental race entered, one of them died. This was the subject of much mockery from the Cold Ape race. Most of them, after all, could at least still survive more than twenty to thirty feet up.

Eventually, however, members of the Elemental race were able to reach a height of two hundred feet. No one could break that record. Then, what was more surprising was that two light orbs ascended further up. The Deep Space races had been stunned at the sight.

Exclamations had broken out when they saw one of the light orbs suddenly get snuffed out.

Some felt vindicated, while others felt pity.

Most of them hoped, of course, that the members of their own race could climb all the way up to the top of the Levitation Tower, but there were still some who were more afraid to die. They would rather see someone finally put an end to this deadly tower. The Elemental race now gave them hope.

"That's four hundred feet, now..."

"Is that Elder Xue?"

"Maybe it's that new guy..."

Tension gripped the Deep Space races as they stared up at the last light orb, different thoughts and theories running through their minds.

In the oval-shaped building at the edge of the square, the little monster from the Elemental race who had been left behind likewise kept his eyes on the light orb, not even daring to blink.

He had come in on the same day as Geoffrey. If everyone died in the Levitation Tower, everything would fall on him.

He had watched with increasing dismay and fear as other green light orbs had been snuffed out one after another in the tower. Now, he could do nothing but pray fervently.

Four hundred and ten feet...

Four hundred and twenty feet...

Four hundred and thirty feet...

"The Boundless Void World."

Four hundred and forty feet...

Four hundred and fifty feet...

Four hundred and sixty feet...

"The Boundless Secondary World."

Four hundred and seventy feet...

Four hundred and eighty feet...

Four hundred and ninety feet...

"The Boundless Shock World."

Geoffrey passed worlds of higher and higher grades, more and more changing scenery that would have astounded any observer.

His father would have cherished the sights.

Geoffrey, however, grew bored of them quickly. The consecutive drastic change in scenery was exhausting.

"The Boundless Shock World is the twelfth-grade world, a world the closest to perfect. A grade higher, and that would be the Boundless Perfect World..." The little girl was still informing him. "Have I reached the top?" Geoffrey interrupted her.

"But the thirteenth-grade world, the Boundless Perfect World, can not be restored here. Even Clarence couldn't do that. Therefore, there are only twelve small worlds in the Levitation Tower..." the little girl rattled on, adamant that Geoffrey should know this.

"I just want to know if I've reached the top!" Geoffrey pressed.

Infuriated, the little girl stopped her lecture. "If you had just listened, you would know you are at four hundred and ninety feet, and you will reach the top at the next level. Go on up, then, if you can!" she snapped, a challenge in her voice.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐