In the Ninefold Sect, the Spire Trials were not merely a test of strength—they were spectacles of legacy.
Every three months, disciples of Foundation Realm and above would enter the Trial Spire, a spiritual tower built from a fallen divine beast's spine. Inside, each floor presented challenges attuned to the trialist's dao, temperament, and fate.
It was tradition.
It was pressure.
And today… it was opportunity.
Xian Lei stood at the spire's base, the icy wind tugging at his robes as disciples filed into the clearing. His inner disciple token marked him as eligible to enter Floor 3—the threshold most Foundation Realm cultivators failed to cross.
But this wasn't just about a floor.
Not for him.
Today, Yue Qianlan would be watching.
And today, the tether was boiling.
Tether Sync: 58.6%Emotional Feedback Detected: Contained Fury, Restless Guilt, Growing Resentment
Source: Bound Entity, Yue QianlanLocation: Observation Platform – Upper Spire Pavilion
Warning: Soul pressure building.Forecast: Emotional Storm Imminent
Xian Lei looked up.
Far above, near the roof of the Spire, Yue stood with Elder Yao, her foster aunt and protector. Their conversation was distant, but her qi signature was unmistakable: cold, compressed, unstable.
Something had shaken her.
And the System noticed.
System Forecast: Incoming Tether Resonance Surge
If Host remains in proximity and enters cultivation trance during spike, breakthrough potential increased by 170%Risk: Emotional Overload. Mental Contamination (2.4%)
Xian Lei smiled faintly.
Perfect.
Inside the Spire, each disciple was assigned a separate domain chamber, where illusions crafted from one's fears and memories took form to test spiritual control.
Xian Lei's trial began the moment he passed through the barrier.
The world rippled.
And reformed.
He stood in a garden of ash.
The sky bled crimson.
Statues of faceless men loomed from the ground, blades buried in their own chests. Whispers clawed at his ears.
"You let them die.""You chose her over us.""You're not saving her—you're controlling her."
He ignored them.
The System didn't.
Illusion Construct: Guilt Hallucination – Grade B
Threat Level: MediumEmotional Anchor Detected: "Responsibility for Past Life"Synchronizing with Tether Feedback…
Above, in the observation pavilion, Yue Qianlan clenched her fists.
Elder Yao spoke dispassionately, "That boy… you've bound to him too tightly."
Yue didn't respond.
"You're exposing him. If the elders dig deeper—"
"I know what I'm doing."
"Do you?" Yao's tone sharpened. "Because right now, he's being devoured by a memory field tied to your own soul. You leaked. Again."
Yue stiffened.
I leaked?
But her spiritual core confirmed it.
Unprocessed pain. Old fury. Rage at her family's pressure. At her helplessness. At the choices she was forced to make—
And now they pulsed through the tether, pouring directly into Xian Lei's trial.
Inside the Spire, he dropped to one knee.
Blood dripped from his nose.
But his eyes were focused.
System Alert: Tether Storm Reached Critical Resonance
You may now initiate:— SPIRITUAL ROOT REFINEMENT
Requirements:– Active Qi Sea– Host body prepared for advancement– External catalyst: High-grade emotional influx (ACHIEVED)
Warning: If Root Awakening fails, Host will suffer permanent Qi deviation.
Proceed?[Y/N]
He grinned.
"Do it."
The world exploded in frost.
The garden collapsed.
The illusions melted.
And all that remained was emotion.
Fury.
Loneliness.
Pride.
Rebellion.
Yue Qianlan's soul—the truth of it—crashed through his mind like a divine tempest.
He saw her again as a child, fists clenched as her mother turned her away.
He felt her heart fracture when her first sword broke under an elder's scorn.
He tasted her hatred at being called a "failed vessel."
He breathed her rage at the choice she would one day make: to kill thousands… and survive.
EMOTION HARVEST COMPLETE
Total Qi Assimilated: 8,432
Initiating Root Mutation…
▶ FOUNDATION ROOTS:— Pre-Awakening: Azure Flame (Mid-grade)— Variant Detected: Soulbound Frost Flame
Description: A spiritual root formed through resonance with another's deepest essence. Reactive to the Bound Entity's emotions. May spike in power or fall inert based on emotional state.
Rarity: Unknown.Potential: Grade SS.
Root awakened. Host realm stabilized.
▶ FOUNDATION REALM: EARLY → MIDDLE STAGE
Xian Lei's body surged with power.
His qi sea expanded, doubling in capacity as pale blue spiritual fire flickered through his meridians. At the center of his dantian, a lotus of frost and flame bloomed—a symbol of contradiction and unity.
A soulbound root.
One that should not exist.
One born of tethered pain.
Outside, the Spire trembled.
Observers looked on in shock as pale blue light poured from one of the trial windows. Elders flinched. Disciples gasped.
And Yue Qianlan…
She said nothing.
But her fingers tightened around the railing.
Tether Sync Surge: 56.1% → 63.7%
Trait Gained: Root Resonance (Passive)
When the Bound Entity enters an emotional high, the Host's root flares and spiritual attacks are enhanced by 22%.
New Mission Available: [Unbreakable Duality]
Objective: Maintain balance through 3 tether surges without mental deviation.Reward: ???
System Tip: The more you feel what she feels… the more your soul becomes hers.
Xian Lei emerged from the Spire.
His robes were torn. His aura blazed. A mist of frost trailed behind him with every step.
The crowd fell silent.
No elder moved.
No disciple dared speak.
Because what they saw was impossible.
A middle-stage Foundation cultivator with soul-bound frostfire qi—something no inner disciple had ever manifested.
He looked up at the observation platform.
Their eyes met.
And for a moment…
Yue Qianlan's breath caught.
Not from recognition.
But from fear.
Because for the first time—
He looked more like a ruler than she did.