Tower of Heaven

The being could be nothing other than a golem. It was like a living tree. Its limbs were made of thickly packed roots, and its entire body was wrapped in moss and vines.

Its weapon seemed to be a club, but it was not entirely blunt. Instead, it was shaped like the minute hand of a clock.

Its hollow eyes, two holes in the trunk filled with blue light, locked onto the two geniuses who charged it.

Boom!

Horus struck first. His fists were covered in golden qi as he slammed them into the trunk.

Falling back, he trained his eyes on the area of impact.

"No damage!"

He called out in case Atlas didn't notice, but he didn't need to. Atlas was also watching closely, after all.

[Flame Wheel]

He circled around the back and threw a wheel of flame qi into the beast's periphery.

Boom!

It exploded, wrapping the area in fire. The trunk was consumed as well, but Atlas' expression didn't change.

'No damage again.'

They moved without taking a moment to observe their opponent only because they had no choice.

Nevertheless, the information they were finding through these small clashes wasn't anything good.

Horus and Atlas used different types of qi. The fact that neither of them could do any noticeable damage was concerning.

Even a slight discoloration was fine. That was also a sign that something had been done.

This golem, however, felt indestructible.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They continued their attack. Atlas didn't use his chain-sickles, as they would be useless against such a creature. He stuck to flame attacks, but none of his skills did anything.

Horus wasn't in a better situation. The tree golem was still as they attacked thus far, but it seemed that it had finally decided to move.

It raised the minute hand in the air menacingly before slamming it down.

BANG!

The ground exploded. Chunks of rock flew in all directions, and Horus was thrown back into the nearest wall.

'What kind of power…?'

Atlas frowned. He was far enough to avoid the effects of that attack, but the fact that Horus was able to survive unscathed was a miracle.

'That is not power that a Core Formation Realm genius can handle.'

As if to affirm Atlas' thoughts, the tree golem turned around and did a wide swing with the minute hand. Atlas' eyes widened as its edge scraped past his nose.
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He was able to take a single step back. If it weren't for that slight movement, his head would have gone flying.

'Dangerous. Too dangerous.'

Immediately, he switched his train of thought.

In this life, Atlas was not going to be the person who recklessly charged into every battle. He knew better than that now.

'Clearly, this is an impossible battle. If we were outside, the circumstances would be different. However, this is a trial given by the tower.'

As such, there had to be a solution. Though their lives were still on the line, the stakes were different.

'Very well.'

"Horus! How long can you stall?"

The tree golem was already raising its weapon again. Horus had just stood up when Atlas called out to him, but he was already able to respond.

He wiped the blood off of his beak and grinned.

"So it's like this again?"

Indeed, it was like this during their last battle as well, wasn't it?

"Give me time, and I can find us a solution."

BOOM!

Horus crossed his arms and properly prepared his energy before the next strike. He was still impacted, but he wasn't taken by surprise.

His body was pushed back several steps. As he planted his foot and regained his balance, he glanced at Atlas.

It wasn't easy to put his life in the hands of someone he didn't know, but Horus had to admit that Atlas had built up a solid repertoire in their short time together.

For a problem like this, it was certainly better to leave it in his hands.

Only, it was annoying for Horus to reveal his cards so easily.

"One minute," he said with a sigh.

"One minute?"

"Yes. In one minute, I'll start to take damage."

Atlas' eyes narrowed.

'It is a skill or an artifact that gives him a shield that he is supremely confident in.'

Regardless, it would end in one minute.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For the second time, Horus became a shield. He fought the impervious enemy as if to prove that they truly could not defeat it.

His golden energy looked like it was being used wildly because his attacks were flashy, but that was not the truth.

Merely, the golden nature of the qi made it visible for longer before it assimilated with the environment.

Just like Atlas, he was a Core Formation Realm genius. He did not have infinite energy.

The path it took to reach his fists was precisely planned. The output was just as controlled, and when his fists made contact with the golem, he perfectly used enough force to push it back and disrupt its balance.

The best way to keep his shield up for longer was to limit its use. As he blocked the being for Atlas, he focused on finding a way to break its attack pattern.

Meanwhile, Atlas was in his head. Horus didn't have anything like a strategic mind, so it was useless to give this task to him.

Atlas was bound to be the one stuck doing any sort of intellectual work while they were working together.

'Is it intellectual?'

The solution for the statue room was linear. One only needed to find a clue to understand it.

However, the details leading up to this battle suggested that this would be different.

'The theme is time.'

Time.

'What is time?'

That didn't feel like the right question.

Atlas refused to believe that he was being asked to delve into the Dao of Time on the 20th Floor of the tower. That was one of the most sacred Daos, a Dao practiced by only a handful of people.

The tower simply could not expect any average practitioner to gain insight into it.

'Then, what does time mean to a mortal?'

They were still mortals who had barely become cultivators. That was the standpoint they were supposed to consider the question from.

To a mortal, time was everything.

Time was the great limiter that forced life to end. It was the biggest constraint, yet one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Time was infinite and uncaring for anyone or anything. But, to a mortal, time was finite.

Time was a rare commodity that couldn't be gained and only lost.

As such, to a mortal, time was sacred.

It was an inviolable law that had to be revered. Even the most negative feelings towards time still came from a place of reverence for its absolute nature.

With the little time they had in this world, they had to do everything they possibly could.

And for that purpose, rather than scorning time, they had to embrace it.

'Embrace it?'

Atlas glanced at the tree golem with a strange look on his face.

'If that is truly the answer, then it creates quite a complicated situation.'

To embrace the tree golem…

Wasn't it too strange to even imagine?