The tower 1

Xiao Fan feeling that he had won would soon found out that Cao Cao did something as revenge, for his new friend shouted something across the space they were in currently.

¨Hey, some of the items are disappearing from this list!¨ Wang Geming exclaimed, his tone clearly frustrated, and for a good reason, for he saw items that had been listed on this weird tablet in front of him disappear. And the frustrating part was how the tablet that was on the wall was the reward list! Someone was stealing their treasure!

¨Prince what is going on?¨ Xiao Fan hearing him speak like this, ditched the conversation with Cao Cao, and came over to the tablet that read ¨The rewards list? What is happening to it?¨ Like the Prince, he didn't have any knowledge of what this was, but like the Prince, he didn't feel good at all when he saw few more items disappear before it stopped.

¨There were all kinds of weapons and herbs at the top¨ His hand pointed towards the top of the list where things seemed to be more expensive ¨Yet now most of the stuff at the top suddenly vanished from that list!¨ His tone was now even a little angry.

¨I saw it, don't worry. However, what made them do so?¨ He questioned.

'Serves your right! Trying to outsmart this God? Not so easy, is it?' Cao Cao seemed to be bitter about how Xiao Fan had treated him during the negotiations, and so made more stuff disappear inside the tower.

Meanwhile, as the God had a fit, the two youths not even a fraction of his age tried their best to think of a reason to why this would have occurred, yet neither of them had a reason for it.

¨Someone has a way to obtain them?¨ Wang Geming made the natural assumption.

¨No, it can't be. We have only been here for a day, so how can someone do so much? Furthermore, we just got rid of the guardians outside, so no one is inside here¨ Xiao Fan didn't believe this.

¨Then what other reason is there?¨ Wang Geming, showed his old self, the one which didn't like things that he couldn't know for certain.

¨Stop thinking, we aren't getting anything from doing so, for now, focus on how we can profit from this tower¨ No reason for something happening in sight? Then don't think of one, leave it there and focus on the moment, like how could they take advantage of this finding.

¨Right. We shall claim this place for me then. I don't think my brothers will be too mad about it¨

¨That's greedy¨ He liked the idea of hogging the tower for their faction, but if this was the only good place? In that case, wouldn't everyone else hate them? And though Wang Geming might have a few hundred followers, what was that number against thousands, tens of thousands? Moreover, where was the exit, they still didn't know how to exit and enter the Tomb of the Four Ancient Ones.

¨Didn't you say Fortunes favours the bold? I'm placing all my bets on this tower, and if someone comes and argues me? I'll shove my token to their face and say that they need to fuck off if they want to live¨ The Prince was very, very serious when saying this.

¨I shall hope for our success in this¨ Xiao Fan was still sceptical of this idea, but then again, Wang Geming was literally a Prince, so he might have just enough prestige to hold this place in his fingers, or at least it would take another Prince to shake him off this throne, and even then he did have a good claim. He was the one who found this place and laid his claim on it, so what were other people going to say to him? It was for everyone to use? No, they wouldn't. Fight him? For that, they needed someone really strong.

¨Good, you go and make a sign. I try and figure this place out¨ Wang Geming hearing him agree to his plan, then told him to make it official while he stayed here and pondered. Doing it like this might be the wrong way, but he was the leader so he couldn't exactly do manual labour, and Xiao Fan nodding to this understood his meaning.

So Xiao Fan left the inside of the tower and went out to cut out trees, starting his crafting of a sign from planks he was cutting and then connecting them together to make a surface to write on, then using the Rising Ruler he wrote something on the sign and came back inside to show his work.

Wang Geming by the time, he came back seemed not to have progressed in his thinking. Which Xiao Fan was expecting, in the end, the Prince was only so smart and finding out stuff might not be his strongest side.

¨Claimed by his Highness the Second Prince Wang Geming, anyone in this area without his permission will be ______¨ Wang Geming read out the sign Xiao Fan had crafted and noticed the blank space at the end. An area that must be for him to fill.

Realising this and Xiao Fan not moving did he come closer and then wrote the last few letters into the wooden sign ¨Removed with force¨ He added in the last words ¨That is neutral enough, correct?¨ He then asked the opinion of the only person around him.

Xiao Fan holding the sign agreed ¨Well, it has some force, but it isn't a fuck you either¨ He had thought that maybe they should hang out a huge fuck you sign on top of the door, but the Prince had this in mind, and certainly, it was more of diplomatic approach.

¨There should be some space for us, in the case, if they manage to kick us out of here, we want to stay inside and not be kicked out of this world in one go. After all, this is the start of the exploration, the phase where many things are happening, and people still hold onto some morals so...¨ Wang Geming could see what Xiao Fan's opinion was.

¨Start slow and steadily increase the grip suits me fine¨ Xiao Fan didn't want to seem too stubborn.

¨Good, now hang it out there and then come back to think with me¨ He again ordered the only person he could order around while he began to struggle with the writings that were on these walls, again.

Xiao Fan did so, and soon he was reading the writings on the wall, and there was a lot to read, for the whole floor they were on was filled with writing while the only thing that wasn't writings were some light pillars at the middle of it all. Those lights pillars, of course, tempted them both of them, but then remembering, it could be Qi and how that was lethal made both of them slow down their rush to jump into them without reading their functions first.

Yet soon Xiao Fan had read and understood the function of those pillars, and so he called out to Wang Geming ¨Prince, I know what these light pillars are!¨ He shouted to the Prince, who was still exactly at the same spot.

Wang Geming, hearing good news, didn't wait long and forgot his own attempt to see reason in these writings and came to hear the answer from his new aide.

Who told him ¨How do I put this¨ Xiao Fan hadn't actually thought how to explain this in lay man's terms, so he needed another moment ¨These pillars have the same functions as that thing which took us here had. Imagine something that transfers your being to somewher¨ He made this explanation as easy as possible.

¨I see. When I walk there, I'll be moved somewhere. The outside?¨ He somewhat got it, but where was it going.

¨No Prince, they go up!¨ He wanted to say something else but restrained himself, and next pointed his finger upwards, at the roof that was some ten or twenty meters above them.

¨What will be up there?¨

'Do I sound like this guy? Lucky me that the Bit of Wit works so well' Xiao Fan currently had many thoughts inside his head ¨No. The tower seems to be a trial, the upper you go the more you gain in terms of points¨

¨I do with those points?¨

'No, I couldn't have been this dull; moreover, did this guy read a single one of those texts on the walls?' Xiao Fan was becoming more disappointed in this Prince of his, however, then he remembered something, for if the Prince was dumb wasn't he easy to be...guided towards the right direction?

Completely different matter than manipulation.

¨With those points we can buy more powerful things from the reward list¨ Small stuff at first like saying we instead of your or me. Anyway, they had the same opinions and direction so wasn't Wang Geming gains his gains as well?

¨Giving stuff away for free? Doesn't that sound a little too good to you?¨

¨What did the Four Ancients Ones do to your Empire for free? Did they ever ask for a payment from your ancestors?¨

¨Indeed... They were very cheap help¨ Wang Geming to his knowledge had never head that the Four Ancient Ones when saving the Bald Eagle Dynasty would have asked for something like a payment nor favour.

¨And we know that this world is basically dead, but they had a lot of stuff left from the other part that was hit with the plague, so why not? If you don't want to do this then...¨ Xiao Fan lengthened his speaking at the very end.

Enough for Wang Geming to make his decision ¨Then you go and test this, I'll wait here, some of my people must be here soon if they see the sign¨ He was again making Xiao Fan do all the things possibly lethal while he hanged at the back, loitering in all do reality.

Nevertheless, Xiao Fan wouldn't argue with this Prince, he didn't want to, and neither did he have the interest since if he had the possibility to go and see what this tower held for him, he would certainly take it and go see.

¨I'll come back soon as I have something which lets me¨ Xiao Fan spoke shortly before jumping into one of the lights.

Wang Geming had his glued onto Xiao Fan's figure, and doing so, he saw how Xiao Fan's figure slowly faded away. The process took a second or two, yet at the end of that time, there was no Xiao Fan anymore to be seen.

Xiao Fan, the person who had jumped into the light, didn't feel anything too special, though it did tickle and he felt empty for a while, yet soon he found himself to be inside a completely new environment.

¨Foreigner!¨ Somewhere else someone was calling for Du Lan, or more specifically her nickname.

¨What is it this your Highness¨ Du Lan spoke back to the woman, who with she had the same type of a situation as Xiao Fan had with Wang Geming.

¨What do you think of that tower¨ They were on a hill as the Princess pointed her hand towards the tower that reached towards the clouds and went above them.

¨We shouldn't¨ Du Lan advised the Princess.

¨Why not?¨

¨Princess with your position you shouldn't try to hogg the biggest piece, the Princes will surely fight for that. Your Highness should play with time in mind, focus on gaining the biggest group. Let everyone else rush for the gem¨

¨What do the others think?¨ The Princess, after hearing the advice of Du Lan, then turned towards the group of cultivators that were following her.

¨I agree with Foreigner's statement¨

¨Agree¨

It seemed that most of the people under her were with Du Lan's opinion of not focussing on the obvious thing at the start.

¨Then we shall turn around¨ She ordered, and the whole group turned back, leaving the tower alone.