Free Web NovelChapter 155: Chapter 155: The Wider Stage
The Central Tower Youth Exchange Assembly was not a simple tournament.
Yu Qingmei explained it in a sealed academy meeting.
"Every few years, major academies, ancient families, guild alliances, and military youth divisions send selected climbers below a certain level range to participate. Publicly, it is exchange and competition. Privately, it is ranking, recruitment, alliance testing, and intelligence gathering."
Qin Mo listened with deep suspicion.
"So a tournament."
"More dangerous than a tournament."
"That is what I feared."
Qin Yuheng read the invitation.
It did not demand immediate participation. It recognized his post-Third-Gate achievement and invited Heavenly Gate Academy to nominate him as a candidate representative after further review.
Yu Qingmei said, "You are not required to attend."
Qin Yuheng looked at her. freeweɓnøvel.com
"But refusal has meaning."
"Yes. Acceptance also has meaning."
Lin Xian’er, who had information channels into wider family circles, later gave him a clearer picture.
"If you attend, major forces will notice you directly. If you refuse, some will think Heavenly Gate Academy is hiding you. If you delay, they may send observers."
Qin Yuheng asked, "What do you suggest?"
Lin Xian’er smiled.
"Delay with reason. Floors 31 to 40 preparation. Post-Third-Gate stabilization. That is acceptable and makes you look disciplined."
That aligned with Qin Yuheng’s own thinking.
He did not want to jump into a wider stage before understanding Crimson Eclipse.
But isolation was impossible forever.
The world was widening.
Meanwhile, the Qin Estate focused on anchor mapping.
Qin Mo used the Living Record Quill, Star-Water Thought Cleansing Crystal, Moonbone Purification Crystal, Ritual Anchor Burden Severing Crystal, and Crimson Law Thread Revealing Eye Lens to create the first safe observation formation.
Qin Zhengyuan sat within it for exactly seven minutes.
No treatment.
Only observation.
The map produced six primary anchor components:
[Crimson Eclipse Anchor Preliminary Map]
1. Blood-Sun Corrosion Layer
2. Seal Suppression Layer
3. Marrow/Bone Black Sun Residue
4. Spirit Nightmare Loop
5. Command-Blood Dormant Thread
6. Unknown Moon Counterweight Trace
The sixth made Mu Qinglan go completely still.
Qin Yuheng noticed.
"Mother."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"Not now."
Qin Wanshan looked at her, then nodded.
"Not now."
Qin Yuheng accepted it, but the unknown moon trace troubled him.
His mother’s Mu Void Moon Clan background was still hidden, but Crimson Eclipse involved moon counterweight. That meant his father’s wound might have touched both Qin and Mu lines.
This was deeper than expected.
The next floor file arrived during the mapping period.
[Floor 31: Black Bell Graveyard]
Type:
Undead / sound curse / grave bells / night survival.
Warning:
Some bells toll for the living before they die.
Qin Mo stared.
"Bells again."
Qin Lian said, "We have bell protections."
Qin Mo replied, "That does not make bells friendly."
Floor 31 would begin the next stage after the Third Gate.
Yu Qingmei warned them that floors after 30 often became more specialized and punishing.
Qin Yuheng prepared soul lamps, sound protections, vow-cleansing tools, and anti-undead talismans.
The Black Bell Graveyard appeared under a moonless sky.
Thousands of graves stretched across black soil. Each grave had a small bell hanging from a crooked post. Some bells were silent. Some trembled without wind.
Mission panel:
[Floor 31: Black Bell Graveyard]
[Main Mission]
Survive until dawn and silence the Death Bell Tower.
[Sub-Missions]
1. Prevent any team member’s death bell from tolling three times.
2. Defeat 40 grave undead.
3. Identify the false graves.
4. Release 5 trapped grave spirits.
[Warning]
If your bell tolls three times, death curse will descend.
Four bells appeared near the team.
Each marked with one of their names.
Qin Mo looked at his bell.
"No."
The bell trembled once.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
"Do not fear the bell. Track it."
The graveyard night began.
Undead rose from graves. Some were simple skeletons. Some were bell-bound spirits. Others carried black coffin shields.
Every time someone made a serious mistake, their bell trembled.
When Qin Mo nearly stepped on a false grave, his bell tolled once.
He froze.
Qin Lian pulled him back.
The false grave opened, revealing a death pit.
They began moving carefully, using True Soul Guiding Lantern and Silent Judgment Bell Core resonance.
The Death Bell Tower stood at the center, guarded by a Level 36 Black Bell Grave Warden.
The Warden tried to force bells to toll through fear and guilt. Qin Yuheng used Commander’s Chosen Burden to resist false death responsibility. Qin Yuchen protected Qin Mo when his bell trembled a second time. Qin Lian released trapped spirits by cutting bell cords. Qin Mo reversed the grave bell formation.
At dawn’s edge, Qin Yuheng reached the Death Bell Tower and struck the central bell with purified Ash Judgment resonance.
The black bell cracked.
The Grave Warden screamed and dissolved.
Floor 31 ended with SSS evaluation.
Rewards included Death Bell Silence Stone, Grave Spirit Release Crystal, Black Bell Chest, and Death Curse Resistance Fruit.
The evolved Death Bell Silence Stone became another key protection against death curses.
The Qin Estate’s anti-curse system deepened.
But while Qin Yuheng strengthened defenses, far away, an envoy from a higher Blood Sun branch arrived near Heavenly Gate City.
Xue Rong bowed before the new figure.
The newcomer wore a mask of black gold.
His name was Mo Cangyan.
And unlike Xue Rong, he did not look frustrated.
He looked patient.
