Chapter 18: Climbing Korin Tower

 After handling the pirate treasure, John piloted his plane toward the Sacred Land of Korin where Korin Tower was located.

 Korin was situated in the dense forests of northern Earth, primarily inhabited by a group of Native Americans. The thick forest served as their natural protection, and they generally lived isolated lives.

 Flying quickly, John soon reached the northern forest and continued deeper into it. After flying for over an hour, as dusk fell and the moon rose high, he finally spotted a white tower standing majestically in the center of the forest.

 Continuing his flight, John circled around and after about another hour of flying, he finally landed his plane at the base of Korin Tower.

 As he descended, a tall and muscular Native American emerged from a nearby tent, followed by a young boy.

 The muscular man asked, "Who are you? Why have you come to the Sacred Land of Korin? Stranger, this is not a place for you!"

 John transformed his plane back into capsule form and respectfully bowed to the guardian, saying, "Greetings, Guardian! I am a martial artist here to prepare for a challenge against Korin Tower."

 The guardian was taken aback and incredulously asked, "You want to challenge Korin Tower? Are you sure? Do you know how difficult it is to climb Korin Tower? Do you know how many people in history have succeeded?"

 John nodded and replied, "I know climbing Korin Tower will be challenging, but that doesn't matter. As long as I persist, I will eventually reach the top. As for how many have succeeded historically, I'm not sure; I know that the most recent ascent was 300 years ago."

 Seeing John's determination, the guardian ceased his persuasion and asked, "When do you plan to climb Korin Tower? Right now?"

 John shook his head and said, "I'll wait until tomorrow morning after I eat; I don't know how many days it will take me and need to prepare some more."

 The guardian respected those who wished to climb Korin Tower; as long as they didn't intend to offend the deity, he would treat them warmly.

 Thus, he invited John to share dinner with him. However, upon seeing their limited food supply at that moment, John said: "Thank you for your kind invitation, but my appetite is quite large. What you have now isn't enough for me. Please wait here; I'll go find something in the forest."

 After saying this, John ventured deep into the forest. The guardian and Upa exchanged glances; they didn't quite understand how John's claim of insufficient food could be true since they believed what was in their pot could feed at least five average people.

 Soon enough, John returned carrying two massive bucks on his shoulders. The guardian frowned upon seeing this.

 As someone who lived in harmony with nature on the plains and forests, he despised humanity's greedy tendencies—taking more from nature than necessary when their needs were already met.

 Frowning at John he said: "Is your appetite really that big? There's no need to kill two deer!"

 Taken aback by the guardian's sudden anger and realizing why he was upset when he noticed the two deer on his shoulders, John quickly explained: "These two deer are just right for my appetite; wait until you see me eat!"

 Still skeptical about John's claims since each deer weighed around 200 pounds and considering John's build didn't seem much larger than his own—he doubted whether even one deer could fill him up let alone two.

 Without further explanation, John quickly processed both deer before starting a barbecue over a campfire.

 John's grilling skills were quite good; combined with some spices, an enticing aroma filled the clearing.

 Once the meat was fully cooked, John began enjoying it. The guardian watched in shock as he witnessed an astonishing scene; John's speed and quantity of food consumed were truly remarkable! Within just half an hour both deer had completely vanished into John's stomach.

 After finishing his meal with a satisfied burp, John looked up only to find both the guardian and Upa staring at him in disbelief. Feeling slightly embarrassed he chuckled: "I hope I didn't scare you!"

 The guardian gave John a thumbs-up while expressing admiration: "You're impressive! I believe you will definitely make it to Korin Tower tomorrow."

 Although not entirely understanding how eating so much related to climbing Korin Tower—John felt happy hearing this compliment.

 The next morning, John prepared another sumptuous breakfast for himself along with some dried provisions before bidding farewell to the guardian and Upa as he began his ascent up Korin Tower.

 Like a nimble cat, John used all four limbs effectively as he rapidly climbed toward the top of Korin Tower. With a swift motion he soon passed through the lowest cloud layer and disappeared from Upa's view.

 Upa looked at his father and asked: "Dad, do you think that big brother can succeed?"

 The guardian smiled and replied: "He will definitely succeed! I can see that he is a strong warrior."

 "Is he stronger than you?" Upa asked curiously.

 "Of course! Much stronger than me," replied the guardian while holding Upa close.

 After some time had passed during which John felt his stamina depleting significantly—he looked up but still couldn't see the top of Korin Tower; its towering structure remained hidden within clouds above.

 Surrounded by white clouds enveloping its pearly tower made him feel like he was in an ethereal realm.

 After taking a brief rest—John took out some dried food to eat before continuing upward once more.

 This time however instead of exhausting all his energy climbing straight up like before—he chose to maintain a steady pace akin to running 100 meters versus running 1000 meters where speed mattered greatly for short bursts while endurance was key over longer distances.

 The height of Korin Tower exceeded John's expectations; initially thinking with his current strength he'd reach its peak within half a day—he realized he had somewhat overestimated himself.

 As time went on—the sun gradually set while the moon began rising until finally when it reached its zenith—John finally ascended to Korin Tower's summit which featured an expansive circular platform.