Master of Kaidan
Chapter 188: The First Layer is Full of Battle-Hardened Kings

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: The First Layer is Full of Battle-Hardened Kings

Sipping on Phantom Beers with the effect of "cheering one up," Feng Xue couldn’t help but think of the tea leaves Old Li had once brewed, silently deriding the guy for not knowing how much stock he had hoarded, while taking this opportunity to fish for some information—

"Are all the Kaidan from the Tower of Babylon as strong as you?"

Hearing Feng Xue’s question, the cowboy immediately grinned:

"At least on the first floor, they’re all this strong."

Saying this, he put down his cup and made a gesture as if looking around, watching the novices eager to start their challenges with a mocking gaze,

"Although the entry threshold for the first floor is the lowest, but think about it, would the first floor really be the weakest?"

Feng Xue, having heard this question, felt somewhat enlightened but didn’t answer, just waiting for the cowboy to continue.

Seeing this, the cowboy showed an expression of slight boredom,

"You should know, Kaidan can have all sorts of bizarre abilities. You can remove bullets from guns, and others can take the sword in your hand; of course, there are also abilities to crack or even rebound illusions. And the first floor is precisely where you’ll encounter the most opponents.

"The right to pass through the first floor is the basic condition to enter Babylon Tower. In other words, everyone who can get into Babylon Tower can challenge the first floor, so the number of challenges one faces living on this level can nauseate you.

"So to settle on the first floor, regardless of strength, you must first have no shortcomings. If you can be targeted, there’s no way to defend this house."

At this point, the cowboy proudly puffed out his chest, and Feng Xue, who had yet to remove his "filter," felt somewhat dazzled.

He collected his thoughts and brought the conversation back to the topic:

"Knowing that combat is frequent here, why not go to a higher floor? If you’re worried about not being able to come back down, it’s also good to stay with a group on a higher level."

As he said this, Feng Xue’s expression subtly changed, and he frowned,

"Could it be for the sake of Phantom items?"

"You’re thinking too much; when you kill an opponent in the Challenge Space, both the Phantom items and corpse will be recycled by Babylon Tower. Many of the odds and ends you’ve gambled for in the bet shop come from there."

The cowboy looked quite upset talking about this, and Feng Xue, feeling embarrassed to say he had never used the bet shop, continued to look perplexed.

Under Feng Xue’s gaze—which, even adorned with the purple flame effects of the Oathkeeper’s Appearance, still brimmed with doubt—the cowboy leaned back slightly,

"The first floor is good, you see. Most are newcomers; you get to encounter all sorts of different enemy types. Even if you lose, the challenged won’t die. You just wait for the opponents to waste their refusal opportunities, then challenge them again. As for why they’re so obsessed with combat..."

Here, the cowboy’s eyes took on a teasing look,

"You ’newborns’ wouldn’t understand."

"Tsk."

Feng Xue pursed his lips, but he also roughly realized that although he had become a Kaidan, there was still much common knowledge he didn’t understand; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been called a "newborn" by the other.

"Who here is the homeowner? I’m here to challenge!"

Just as Feng Xue was about to inquire, a voice suddenly came from the entrance. It belonged to a towering woman over two meters tall, wielding a Wolf Fang Club, with two hefty bone horns on her head; her buns were as large as watermelons. She somewhat resembled the "Ghost" from the legends of the Eastern Country—the kind that competes with people in contests, eating the loser if they win or offering treasures or loyalty in defeat.

However, judging by her robust figure, Feng Xue felt she was the type who might engage in some "special" contests.

"Ah, these Hundred Tales people... such a hassle." The cowboy showed a look of distaste but didn’t bother with small talk. He just gestured for her to wait and then said to Feng Xue:

"Your strength isn’t bad, but I suggest that before you challenge a homeowner, you should defeat all of the guards on the tenth floor. As for challenging a homeowner... I personally recommend you try on the sixth or seventh floor. Additionally, it’s best not to challenge a higher category until you’ve become a homeowner."

"Understood, thank you." Feng Xue took out a Libra coin and placed it on the table, saying:

"This is a token of my gratitude."

"Huh..." The cowboy wasn’t expecting Feng Xue to actually fork over money. He immediately picked up the coin, feeling the Phantom completion of its transfer of ownership (through the act of gifting), and his lips curled slightly upward.

"High-value trade item, eh? Kid, are you trying to get on my good side?"

The cowboy immediately understood Feng Xue’s thinking. Since it truly was a useful Phantom item, he didn’t refuse and casually pocketed the coin, then walked toward the "big cart" at the entrance.

Feng Xue watched as more people filled the streets, realizing there likely wasn’t time to gather more information. She decided to follow the cowboy’s suggestion and began to fight the guards one by one.

Thinking about it, the guards were just fixed barriers to entry in terms of strength, while the power of the residents inside the tower was constantly changing.

In an environment of competitive escalation, the low-level homeowners would likely specialize in PvP combat, whereas the top-tier players, lacking challenges from other Kaidan, might lean more towards PvE.

"I’ll ask Old Li about it later." Temporarily setting aside the term "newborn"—clearly carrying some special meaning—he headed toward the staircase.

And more Kaidan were coming his way.

It was only then that Feng Xue noticed a detail he had overlooked until now—

Although these Kaidan all had various flames about them, the vast majority had only a single flame, while only a small fraction had two or three flames.

At first, he thought it might be because of the number of Kaidan terms they possessed, since aside from someone like him who knew a foreign language, it was already difficult for other Kaidan to develop even a single term.

But as he encountered more Kaidan in passing, he only realized something was amiss when he reached the elevator entrance—

Those with multiple flames seemed less oppressing than those with just one, and when he had strolled through the villa area earlier, he noticed that the homeowners also only had a single flame.

"Could it be that to become more powerful, a Kaidan must fuse their flames together? But the flames appear alongside the Kaidan terms. If two terms are incompatible, won’t haphazard fusing cause issues with the terms?"

Feng Xue, feeling the distinct large and small flames within him, still didn’t dare to experiment.

"Defeat all the guards I can first, then call Old Li to ask about the situation."

At this moment, Feng Xue was glad to know someone like Old Li, a know-it-all. Although he understood that he couldn’t fully trust the other party, when it came to becoming stronger, their interests should align—at least until he was strong enough to earn the right to reside in a property, Old Li should want him to be as strong as possible.