The moonlight danced on silver glass,
As Lin Xun stood before the pass.
A lake of frost, serene and pale,
Stretched forth like fate's unyielding tale.
No ripple stirred its deathly skin,
No wind dared brush the cold within.
The old sage, robed in azure glow,
Raised his staff and spoke so low:
> "Beyond this lake lies Trial Two—
A realm that freezes flame and hue.
If ice can't crack your core of fire,
Then fate shall raise you ever higher."
Lin Xun, with firm and fearless breath,
Stepped forth as though he courted death.
The moment skin kissed icy sheet,
The world dissolved beneath his feet.
He fell not down, but into thought,
A place where cold and dream were caught.
The lake gave way to land of snow,
Where frostfire wolves did stalk and grow.
—
The wind was sharp, like silver knives,
It howled with echoes of past lives.
The sun was gone, the sky was steel,
And every step struck frozen zeal.
No map to guide, no stars to light—
Just endless dusk in shades of white.
Lin Xun pressed on, his flame core dim,
While frost crept slow across each limb.
Then from the hills, a howl arose—
A shriek that stung like winter's prose.
Six wolves with fur like shattered glass
Charged forth to kill, to maim, harass.
They circled fast with teeth aglow,
Each breath they drew froze flakes of snow.
But Lin Xun's spear, though trembling weak,
Still sang with fire through blade and streak.
He struck the first with downward arc—
It burst in shards like dying spark.
The next he skewered through the chest,
But blood turned ice on his own vest.
The third and fourth came from behind,
Their claws like scythes through storm and mind.
He ducked and rolled, then sent a flare,
A blast of flame through frigid air.
The fifth beast lunged, but he was steel,
He jabbed its throat and spun to heel.
But frost crept up his spine and neck,
And soon he felt his steps grow wrecked.
> "Too slow…" he muttered, pain like hail.
"Too cold… I burn, yet still I pale."
The final wolf stood still and stared,
Its gaze like stars that fate had bared.
It did not charge nor growl nor howl—
It simply watched, then gave a scowl.
> "You face yourself," it growled in tongue,
"The fear you hide, the grief unsung."
> "You fear your blood, your past unclaimed,
You fear your name, your soul unnamed."
Lin Xun growled back, his breath a blaze,
> "I fear no fate nor Heaven's gaze."
"The past may bind, but I defy—"
"Even stars must one day die!"
His spear struck forth with wrathful heat,
The spectral beast dissolved, complete.
But in its place there came a face—
A man in chains, a burning place.
Lin Xun's eyes went wide with dread—
> "My… father?"
Yes, it was him, but bound and still,
With shackled limbs and iron will.
Flames danced round, yet none gave light,
Only shadows that swallowed night.
The chained man spoke with hollow voice:
> "Will you betray me… as they did, by choice?"
Lin Xun stepped back, the cold now fear,
His knees grew weak, his thoughts unclear.
> "No. I won't. I swear, I vow!"
The vision laughed.
> "Then prove it now."
Chains flew forth like metal snakes,
Wrapped round his soul, his core, his stakes.
But Lin Xun roared with every breath—
His fire surged to dance with death.
> "Break!" he cried. The chains did scream—
The frost gave way to molten gleam.
With one last pulse, he burned the spell,
And fell down hard through fate's own well.
—
He woke upon a bed of stone,
His limbs now stiff, his skin like bone.
But breath returned, and so did flame,
And in his chest, he felt no shame.
Xu Qingxue stood beside the gate,
Her gaze unread, her posture straight.
> "Two trials down. The third awaits."
"Survive that one… and change your fates."
He nodded slow.
> "I will not bend."
"This path I walk… I'll walk to end."
—
In distant halls where saints reside,
Where stars bow low and laws abide,
Skyrect elders watched his climb—
Some with hope, and some with crime.
Elder Wu, with eyes of storm,
Cursed fate and Lin Xun's rising form.
> "His growth is fast—too fast to trust.
We must erase him, or turn to dust."
Lady Zhen, with voice like snow,
Simply said, "Let rivers flow."
But Sect Lord Han, with distant stare,
Raised a hand and left his chair.
> "Prepare the next," he said with calm,
"Let trial three unfold its psalm."
—
Beyond the walls, beneath the moon,
A shadow stirred, as if in tune.
A girl in robes of dusk and light
Gazed at the peaks in silent fright.
Her sect—far grander, far more old,
Held secrets none could dare unfold.
And yet her gaze sought only one—
A flame-born youth b
eneath the sun.
> "Lin Xun," she whispered, heart unsure,
"What fate binds mine so close to yours?"
Her eyes held storm, her hands held fate—
And soon, she too would face that gate.
—