Elder Huan also explained other rules. Everyone from the Godly Tower is free to roam outside, but they can't abuse their power. The Godly Tower is a neutral power that must not ally with any of the other groups. That's because in case they do that, the other forces might rally together to attack the tower. That is not what everyone wants. Once you enter the tower, you are also relinquishing all power connections with your last background.
Of course, you can still visit your family and interact with others. But you must absolutely not take any sides. At most, you might intervene to save your family if they are at the brink of extinction, but you are still not allowed to change the results that led to that. Otherwise, you will be expelled from the tower, and your cultivation will be destroyed. Thanks to that, all hundreds of small powers in the city had never touched the tower.
At the same time, those who join the tower can build their own families. However, their families must never take a position of power in the city. At least not until they lose their Godly Tower members. Only when those families lose all connection to the tower may they try to vie for power in the city. Any resources given to the Tower Members must never be given to others outside; obviously, their families included.
If a beast horde attacks, everyone at the Soul Forging Realm or above must help with it. You cannot flee or hide. The punishment for those who do so is the same.
Last but not least, one must not enter the floors above their cultivation. However, the elders were used to the curious new members trying to take a look at the environment above from time to time. Besides, it's not like it harms the tower's interests, so the punishment is a lot milder. One would not receive any cultivation resources for one year. But they wouldn't be expelled or have their cultivation destroyed.
Krune and Iem understood a point. The tower didn't really have many harsh rules when it came to the things that happened inside. Unless you killed or destroyed the cultivation of another tower member, the punishments weren't too overbearing. The tower was only afraid of one thing, the city people distrust. The elders of the tower know better than anyone else that it is the tower that is helping to keep the fragile balance between beast hordes and the people. So they can't allow anything to happen to it.
Krune and Iem didn't try to enter the next floors. Instead, they spent a week inside the tower, getting used to the environment. Another thing was that Krune was using his Mental Energy to investigate the next level. He was trying to see the best time to try to go up later. Iem only knew that Krune had a way to check the things around him without Divine Sense, but he didn't know about the Mental Energy. Still, Krune had already proved to it worked, so he left it for him.
Krune and Iem also confirmed that their unique trait wasn't temporary. Even after an entire week, the pressure coming from above still avoided the two. They reached the conclusion that it had something to do with the fact that they came from outside. If not that, then it was definitely related to their Heavenly Core and Heavenly Fragments. After all, there didn't seem to have any Heavenly Core or Fragment owners in this place other than themselves.
As time passed, Krune couldn't help but think about Feifei back in the Wisp Main World. His communication treasure in his foundation already got recharged. However, it seemed to not be able to connect to hers in this place.
'Most likely, it is because of how this area is hidden from the heavens.'
Another thing was his employees in Immai City. Especially Nina, since he was helping her recover her cultivation. He was supposed to be only three days out, but such a thing happened in the end.
Krune then shook his head and threw those thoughts to the back of his mind. There was no point in thinking about it now.
Another week passed, and Krune came to understand how the elders lived on the 9th floor. Finally, he and Iem began to make their moves. They enveloped themselves in their Purple Tribulation Lightning or Devil Flame. Just like Luvile, Harold also had his own way to hide from Divine Senses.
In the first try, they went to the 9th floor. There, Krune used his Mental Energy to check the next one and make a mental picture of its appearance. After that, they returned. A few days later, Krune and Iem noticed some elders going out to do some errands. They took that opportunity to sneak into the 9th and then 10th floor. Once again, Krune used his Mental Energy to verify the 11th floor this time.
Noticing that there were still a few elders in the 11th floor, Krune and Iem once again returned to their 8th floor to discuss their next action. Just like that, another month passed in a flash.
Krune and Iem came to understand one thing. Several elders liked to stay on the 12th floor to cultivate. Although the pressure there was very high, it wasn't like they couldn't spend some time inside. They just couldn't enter the 13th since it was beyond their limits.
Another thing Krune found out with his Mental Energy was that the 12th floor was empty. There were no rooms or walls in the whole place. The only thing available was the stairs to the 11th and 13th floors. That obviously made things more complicated since it was impossible to pass by the elders without their notice. Purple Tribulation Lightning and Devil Flame could hide their presences from Divine Sense. However, they were quite catchy to the naked eyes.
Just when Krune and Iem were running out of options and thinking if they should simply try to charge through, they heard the sound of bells coming from outside. To be more specific, it was the sound of thousands of them! When the elders heard that, they immediately passed down the orders to the other tower members.
"A beast horde is approaching! All cultivators at the Soul Forging Realm and above are to gather outside and wait for their assignments."
Krune and Iem's eyes lit up. That would be the best chance to enter the 13th floor and higher without anyone noticing. All the elders would participate in the battle, while just a few guards would stay to protect the tower.
"Should we ignore the call and try to sneak into the higher floors?"
Krune shook his head.
"Better than that, we should participate as well. However, we will return to the tower before everyone else. I reckon that after the beast horde is over, the elders will most likely stay out to help with the aftermath. That would be our best chance to go up without anyone noticing. If we go now, the elders will definitely see that we disappeared. Besides, considering our combat power, we should face no risks since the elders will definitely assign us based on our cultivation. We can even fight ordinary Semi-Divine Realm cultivators and demon beasts, so let alone beasts at our level of cultivation."
Iem pondered a bit and admitted that Krune was right. If things go well, they might even return to their own 8th floor before the elders come back. Of course, if they find a way out there, they will leave straight away.
During the time Krune and Iem stayed in the tower, they advanced in cultivation again. Now, both of them are at the 2nd Stage of the Divine View Realm. The elders that recruited Krune and Iem during the last trial also noticed that. They all nodded at the two, satisfied. That's the type of talent they need to protect the city.
Seeing that everyone was already reunited, another elder that Krune and Iem didn't know then stepped forward.
"For those who don't know me, my name is Tiau Somali. I'm the elder responsible for most of the tower's affairs. Alright, time is of the essence. I will now assign each of you to your specific positions. You all have received the techniques and equipments of the tower, so your combat powers are definitely above average. Put that to good use, and don't let a single Demon Beast enter our city!"
"Yes!"
The elder began to share the positions. After so many years, the tower had hundreds of members. Still, the number had stayed like this for a very long time after that. After all, a few would die in every beast horse while others would run out of lifespan.
"Krune, Iem, Eata... you will guard the southeast. The one in command of your group is Elder Huan."
Tiau continued to talk, and in just a few minutes, everyone had their own roles. Right after, they all departed to their own positions. Due to the size of the city and the lower cultivation of a few of their members, Krune's group took almost an hour to reach there.
They quickly leaped on the walls to look at the beast horde in the distance. They soon spotted countless Rarin Worms of various sizes with even a few different shaped ones. Still, the majority was the same type that Krune and Iem fought when they were outside the city. Other than that, some beasts looked like brown scorpions but had four pincers. Others were flying creatures like blood-red bats. There were quite a few differences in sizes between the beasts too. Obviously, that showed their difference in power.
Elder Huan then shouted.
"Listen up! Once the city's protection barrier disappears, the beasts will charge straight away. Pay attention to your own positions and the beasts sizes. Don't try to fight the ones beyond your ability. Now, assignments!"
"Ramon, Feiun, Suanko... Blood Bats of 12 to 15 meters in length."
"Amata, Lakoei, Pansin... Four Pincers' Scorpions of 5 to 7 meters large."
"Krune, Iem, Eata, Karel... Rarin Worms of 15 to 20 meters large."
Elder Huan issued a string of commands, and everyone focused on their own targets. Sure enough, they used the size of the demon beasts to tell their strength. After all, it was not possible to feel the Demon Beasts' cultivation level.
Everyone's nerves were tense. However, because the city received a beast horde every few years, most were already seasoned warriors. The protection barrier of the city blinked now and then, showing that it was about to disappear. Finally, with one last big flash, it disappeared completely. Without wasting time, the beast horde advanced!