"I will go ahead. The two of you should stay back. I will probably make a few enemies in this place, and I don't want to trouble you two." Yuan said as he stared at them with a serious expression.
"That's only natural. I have already used my chance in this place, so I cannot enter it even if I wish for a second chance." Tian Suyin shrugged.
Every individual is only allowed one chance, and this rule is consistent across every trial within the Nameless Emperor's Tomb, so if one had entered Sword Pagoda already, they wouldn't be able to challenge it again even if a hundred years passes.
"I will come back to challenge it once I am more prepared. Since this is my first time entering the Nameless Emperor's Tomb, I am going to take it easy." Tian Yanyu said.
"Alright, then I will be back soon." Yuan left their side and began approaching the Sword Pagoda.
Once he was close enough, Yuan flew into the air to avoid the crowd surrounding the Sword Pagoda.
The people beneath him immediately noticed him, but none of them did anything and merely watched in silence.
However, as he got closer to the Sword Pagoda, Yuan would be assaulted by spiritual attacks from the cultivators.
He silently scoffed at these attacks that were barely noticeable and continued forward.
The front of the Sword Pagoda was almost empty with ten individuals standing out from the rest of the crowd. There was a good gap between these ten individuals and the rest of the crowd, and their aura was much more intense than the others— except for one individual.
It was obvious that these ten individuals would be the first ones to enter the Sword Pagoda.
When Yuan landed before these ten individuals, they all turned to look at him, and some of them even openly sneered in a mocking manner.
"Hey, brat, are you blind? Can't you see that the line is back there? Scram while I am asking nicely." One of the ten individuals, a bald bulky man, suddenly spoke in a loud voice.
Yuan glanced at him and responded nonchalantly, "Are you sure you're not the blind one here?"
The bald man gritted his teeth and started approaching Yuan while veins appeared on his head.
"He's right. If you don't want to die a pointless death, don't take another step." A calm voice suddenly resounded, instantly halting the bald man's movement.
Yuan turned to look at the person who just spoke. He was the only individual there without an aura, but Yuan could tell at glance that he was the strongest there.
This person was an exceedingly handsome young man with silver hair and blue eyes, his body oozing with confidence and arrogance, and he appeared to be around the same age as Yuan.
"You probably can't tell because of the difference between your strengths, but he's not someone you can handle." The silver-haired man spoke again.
The bald man didn't utter any words and merely stood there with a resisting look on his face.
Despite not knowing the silver-haired man's identity, the bald man didn't dare to talk back. Shortly before Yuan's arrival, this silver-haired man showed up out of the blue and silenced everyone there with just his overwhelming aura alone, which was an incredible feat considering that most people there were Spirit Kings.
"I don't recognize you so you probably didn't come from the same place as I, or you're disguised. What's your name, young friend?" The silver-haired man suddenly approached Yuan with a friendly smile.
"Xiao Yang."
"Xiao Yang, huh?" The silver-haired man glanced at his Golden Dragon Robe before continuing, "I didn't think I would meet someone of your caliber down here, much less a human wearing that sort of outfit." The silver-haired man showed his palm and fist and gave Yuan a courteous bow.
"My name's Long Chen, one of Four Dragons and Phoenixes— not that you'll know what it means."
Yuan raised his eyebrows in a puzzling manner. He couldn't understand the intentions of this Long Chen.
However, he understood that this Long Chen probably came from the upper heavens based on his language.
Yuan returned the bow, "I hope you won't mind me standing here with you guys."
"Of course not. If you wanted, you could easily go after me." Long Chen said with a mysterious smile, implying that he was stronger than Yuan.
"What if I want to go after you, too?" Yuan smiled back.
"Hahaha!"
Long Chen started laughing.
"I don't recall the last time someone has talked back to me. The lower heavens are full of entertainment. Why didn't I come down here sooner?"
The people there swallowed nervously after hearing Long Chen's words. Although they had no proof that his words were true, none of them doubted his words.
"So you're from the upper heavens, huh? Which one? Did you come down here specifically for the Nameless Emperor's Tomb?" Yuan suddenly asked.
"I will answer all of your questions if you play a game with me and win." Long Chen said.
"What kind of game?"
"I was going to enter the Sword Pagoda as soon as possible, but I have decided to enter with you. Whoever climbs the highest will win. To make this more enticing, I will even throw in some Royal-grade Spirit Jade."
The people there gasped in shock after hearing such words.
A single Royal-grade Spirit Jade easily cost tens of millions of spirit stones. Only someone from the upper heavens could possibly gamble such a resource so casually.
"Interesting… And what if you win? What do you want from me?"
"If I win, you will answer a few of my questions. Of course, I don't expect you to have any Spirit Jades." Long Chen said.
"Sounds good." Yuan nodded.
"Good."
The doors to the Sword Pagoda suddenly opened, and a figure was flung out of it like trash the very next second.
When this happened, the doors that had been closed this entire time remained open, at least until the next participant entered.
Long Chen was supposed to enter the Sword Pagoda at this moment, but he didn't, and nobody dared to steal the spot, so they all just stood there in silence.