The Tower of Stolen Gold stood in the northern part of the Fengyue Small World.
It looked like a giant peak towering within the Fengyue Small World, majestic and imposing. The tower's body shimmered with golden light, appearing dazzlingly bright under the sun's illumination.
At this moment, the area surrounding the Tower of Stolen Gold was already packed with a sea of people. Those who had heard the news from all directions were also rushing over.
The Tower of Stolen Gold opened once a year, each time for eighty-one days. This year, it had chosen to open during the grand event hosted by the Fengyue Small World, so the number of people coming to join the excitement was definitely greater than in previous years.
Ever since the Fengyue Small World became the trading center of the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, each opening of the Tower of Stolen Gold had been extremely popular. To this day, spanning nearly several thousand years, it had long become a phenomenon of mass entertainment.
Many people came to play a few rounds every year. After all, ten thousand Immortal Stones per attempt wasn't much. Moreover, if luck was good, one could win a considerable prize. Even with bad luck, it was just about joining the fun and seeking amusement, which was much better than squandering money in gambling dens.
For most mortal Immortals, the significance of the Tower of Stolen Gold lay in its enticing prizes.
However, for those aristocratic young lords and ladies who styled themselves as Elegant Immortals, the significance of the Tower of Stolen Gold wasn't just the enticing prizes, but more so, reputation.
That's right.
Reputation.
Since they were Elegant Immortals, their family backgrounds were relatively good, at least free from worries about food and drink. The prizes of tens or hundreds of thousands from the Tower of Stolen Gold wouldn't even catch the eye of an Elegant Immortal. Having an extra hundred thousand wasn't much; lacking that hundred thousand prize wasn't a loss either.
Compared to those prizes, they cared more about the reputation that challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold brought them.
After all, the Tower of Stolen Gold had now become a mass entertainment phenomenon in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain. Every opening attracted great attention. If one could shine brilliantly in the Tower of Stolen Gold, their reputation would naturally spread far and wide.
Although challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold couldn't prove how powerful one's cultivation level or strength was, it could prove a person's comprehension. High comprehension meant strong deduction ability. Stronger deduction led to a more thorough grasp of various Immortal Arts. In a sense, this also counted as a kind of potential.
In the Great Wasteland, the height of cultivation and the strength of power didn't signify much.
Because cultivation and strength were things that could slowly grow over time.
And time was the cheapest thing for Immortals.
But potential was something innate, difficult to change later in life.
The greater the potential, the higher the future achievements.
Therefore.
In the Great Wasteland, a person's potential was extremely important. Those with potential held higher status. For example, the Jinwu Li Sect's so-called Seven Young Lords of Jinwu—their cultivation levels weren't particularly high, but their aptitude, comprehension, and potential were all exceptionally outstanding. Once they matured, their futures would be limitless.
Of course.
Reaching higher levels in the Tower of Stolen Gold didn't necessarily mean a person's potential was great. Being thrown out on the First Layer also didn't mean one had no potential.
Everyone knew the Tower of Stolen Gold involved a high degree of luck, and variables were naturally large. Everyone just treated it as an entertaining competition.
Yet even as just an entertaining competition, those self-proclaimed Elegant Immortal young lords and ladies still had to compete for superiority.
Look.
Even before the Tower of Stolen Gold officially opened, many Elegant Immortals had already rushed over, quite a few of them possessing some small fame.
Some were young lords from prestigious families, others were young ladies from wealthy clans, and there were also fairies from Immortal families.
Among them, three individuals seemed to have particularly high popularity. When they arrived at the Tower of Stolen Gold, they caused quite a stir.
These three were none other than Bai Yufei, Liu Feng, and Xuan Yun.
Bai Yufei hailed from a wealthy clan of the Fengyue Small World. Liu Feng was a young lord from the Liu family, an Immortal family of the Jinwu Secret Realm. Xuan Yun was a disciple of the ancient, inherited Lotus Secret Realm. Their statuses were all extraordinary.
All three had achieved fame in their youth. Their cultivation levels and strength were outstanding, and they possessed their own fortunes. They were all outstanding figures among the younger generation, worshipped as idols by many starry-eyed young maidens.
All three had challenged the Tower of Stolen Gold many times, and each one's highest record was quite impressive—they had all reached the Ninth Layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold.
This was absolutely a record worth being proud of.
One must know.
Most mortal Immortals relied on luck when challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold. Reaching the second or third layer was already good. Even with great luck, they might only reach the fourth layer.
As for those Elegant Immortals, while their highest records were better than mortal Immortals', they mostly reached the sixth or seventh layer.
The Ninth Layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold was not only an unattainable dream for those mortal Immortals, but also something beyond the reach of most Elegant Immortals.
Therefore, Bai Yufei and the others' record of reaching the Ninth Layer was absolutely an impressive one. Especially Xuan Yun. While Bai Yufei and Liu Feng had only reached the Ninth Layer once in decades and never again, Xuan Yun was different. Over the years, he had reached the Ninth Layer no less than five times.
If reaching it once could be attributed to good luck.
Then reaching it five times meant he relied not on luck, but on his own comprehension.
"Brother Xuan Yun, confident about reaching the Tenth Layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold this year?"
Bai Yufei gazed at the Tower of Stolen Gold, which resembled a giant peak, and smiled faintly.
"Brother Bai overestimates me."
"Brother Xuan Yun, don't be modest. You've reached the Ninth Layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold five times. With a little more effort, reaching the Tenth Layer shouldn't be a problem."
Liu Feng also smiled. "Yufei is right. If you can reach the Tenth Layer this year, it'll reflect well on us brothers too, won't it?"
"Exactly. Ever since that fellow Chifeng reached the Tenth Layer a few years ago, he and his gang have been strutting around proudly in front of us. I've been holding in this resentment for a long time. This year, you must reach the Tenth Layer no matter what. Best if you can reach the eleventh, even the twelfth layer. That way, Chifeng and his gang won't dare show off in front of us anymore."
Xuan Yun also looked at the Tower of Stolen Gold and nodded. "Alright, I'll do my best to strive for the Tenth Layer, or even higher."
In the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, Elegant Immortal young lords like them all had their own circles. Some circles were based on family groups, some on Secret Realm affiliations, others on shared aptitude, talent, or fortune, and some on common hobbies. Bai Yufei and the other two were like this.
The three of them—one from a wealthy clan of the Fengyue Small World, one from an Immortal family of the Jinwu Secret Realm, and one from the ancient, inherited Lotus Secret Realm—had quite different backgrounds. But they shared a common hobby: music and arts. Thus, they had formed their own circle, which included quite a few people.
Elegant Immortals all came from wealthy backgrounds and didn't need to toil outside to support themselves. Apart from cultivation, most of their time was spent competing with other circles—vying for fame, profit, and women.