's score and that of the person in second place was so huge that no one could even think of approaching
chapter-629

"What a headache. If I had known it would be like this, I would have given the throne to Enak. Damn it!" Every morning, Phante would look at the pile of documents on his desk with frustration. He had already taken care of a mountain of documents the day before, the day before that, and so on, but it did not seem like the mountain of documents would grow smaller any time soon.

Phante thought being king meant wielding unbelievable power and authority. However, the reality was completely different. Whenever he thought of his father, Phante could only remember his father doing whatever he pleased. If the Martial King wanted to play, he would play. If he wanted to fight, he would fight. The Martial King had enjoyed the ultimate lifestyle without any restrictions.

'Father also had so many wives. A harem! Isn't having a harem the ultimate fantasy of all men!' It was for these reasons that Phante had coveted the throne. Furthermore, Phante could escape from the constant nagging of his mother, the Psychic Medium, and his sister, Edora. However, once Phante sat on the throne, his lifestyle was opposite of what he expected. He was forced to follow a strict daily schedule as if everything had to be measured with a ruler.

Phante couldn't wake up late and had to be up at five in the morning. After a simple breakfast of porridge, he had to attend meetings with the elders and important figures starting from six o'clock. He had to listen to their reports then discuss the progress of the younger generation with the older tribesmen. From noon, he had to review major issues regarding the tribe, and after three in the afternoon, Phante had to carefully look over the various documents and reports flowing in from various floors of the Tower. Once he was done, which was usually around eight in the evening, Phante would eat dinner. At eleven, he would either go to bed or take some time to practice his martial arts.

Phante's daily routine was monitored regularly, and because he was told he had to have a healthy diet, he only ever saw a parade of green vegetables at most meals. Occasionally, Phante would be given chicken breast or beef rump for protein. This schedule drove Phante crazy since he never liked to be tied down to one place for very long. Phante tried protesting a few times, but to no avail.

"I'll tell on you."

"To whom?"

"To the Head Elder."

"Damn it!"

Whenever Phante tried to protest, the people he spoke to would threaten to tell the Head Elder about his irresponsibility. All Phante could do was mumble insults under his breath and carry on. Since he'd been dragged around by the previous king, the Head Elder was committed to controlling the current king.

Phante had no choice but to live like a trapped mouse. He did not even dare to think of rebelling against the Head Elder. Phante had yet to fully develop and master Blood Lightning—what could he do to the Head Elder?

'Wait, doesn't a king usually give orders and make decisions? Shouldn't my subordinates take care of all the trivial matters?' However, after realizing that his father's freedom had only been a façade and that the Martial King had been weighed down by his duties and as a response to the Psychic Medium's constant nagging, Phante gave up resisting. His only outlet was to tussle with the occasional challengers who sought the throne. However, since everyone grew to acknowledge Phante's skills and authority, there were less and less challengers.

Ah! Phante sighed out loud as he grabbed the document on top of the pile and read it. He often whined about quitting, but he never actually did it because he didn't want to disturb the stability of the tribe, which they'd only just restored. However, although Phante's eyes were unfocused and weary, he noticed something flash in the corner of his eyes.

Whoosh! Phante quickly ducked and let go of the paper, swinging his fists at the assailant approaching from behind. Crackle! Bam! After training for the past two years, Phante's Blood Lightning had evolved to the eighth level. The Blood Lightning spun violently and thundered loudly as though it would sweep his enemy in one blow.

Slice! However, the Blood Lightning's violent force suddenly disappeared, and a sharp wind blew past Phante's neck. Sss.

Phante's movements suddenly stopped when blood flowed from a superficial cut on his neck and he saw a familiar face smiling at him when he turned around.

"Pretty good. You're moving a lot faster. Can you apply your Blood Lightning speed to your martial art movements as well?"

"Hyung!" Phante burst into laughter, its sound louder than his Blood Lightning. "Are you out now?"

"Yeah."

"I was wondering whether to break through the training center and go inside to have a look! Hahaha! It's good to see that you're out! However…" Phante's happy mood sobered up and he looked Yeon-woo over. "Has anything changed? The only thing I can sense is a slightly gloomier aura, no?"

Phante thought that someone coming out of closed-door training would look drastically different. After all, wasn't that usually the case? Besides, the fact that Yeon-woo was out meant that he'd finally achieved the Yin Sword. Phante cocked his head, his face full of curiosity.

"I can still beat you up, so don't get any ideas," Yeon-woo said with a smile. Unless he went through exuviation and transcendence, there was no way for Yeon-woo to develop further. He had spent time in closed-door training in order to change his physical foundation, and his status window could no longer display his elevated stats. It only showed one character in the attributes section: yin.

"Hmph! I wouldn't be so sure." Phante seemed displeased by Yeon-woo's words and shouted confidently. Yeon-woo wasn't the only one who had changed in the past two years.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You never know, right? You might be the one calling me 'hyung' now!"

Bam! Yeon-woo moved quickly and swung Vigrid. Clang! Phante blocked Vigrid with the edge of his hand.In the past, Phante would not have been able to block such an attack, but now, it was fairly simple for him."Hahaha! Didn't I tell you! I'm not as simple as I used to be…!"

Phante's confident words were cut off when fists suddenly began flying at him from every direction.

Bam!

***

After Arthia consolidated its power in the lower world, there was a wide consensus that the Tower would soon collapse. However, that brief period of panic soon subsided. Humans are creatures of adaptation, and those within the Tower adapted to Arthia's rule. Of course, the Tower contained many people and factions that sought greater power; there had been attempts to overthrow Arthia, but none had succeeded so far.

As time passed, strange rumors started circulating among the rankers.

"The rankings of the sixty-first floor have begun to change after a long time!"

Anyone could look up the rankings, and up to the sixtieth floor, the top name had consistently been "