The ancient, genderless voice faded, leaving behind a silence that was heavier and more profound than before. Li Yu and Mo Ling stood in the infinite expanse of silvery-white light, the weight of a forgotten legacy settling upon them. They were no longer just a rescuer and a survivor; they were competitors, rivals in a trial set by an ancestor whose power had shattered a moon.
Mo Ling's exhaustion from the previous battle was washed away by a surge of fierce, primal energy. This was a trial of her bloodline, a fated encounter meant for her. Her pride, which had been humbled by Li Yu's overwhelming power, was now rekindled by a different flame: ambition. She looked at Li Yu, not as a savior, but as an obstacle, an outsider who had stumbled into her inheritance. She would prove her worth. She would show him the true power of the Asura Demon Clan.
It was at that moment that the trial began.
It did not start with a grand announcement or a flash of light. It started as a subtle, yet absolute, change in the very nature of the space. A pressure, heavy and inexorable, descended.
For Mo Ling, the sensation was immediate and crushing. It felt as if a small mountain had been placed upon her shoulders. It was not just a physical weight; it was a spiritual one, pressing down on her demonic core, trying to force her to her knees.
Her breath hitched, and she instinctively braced her legs, the crystalline floor groaning faintly under the new strain. She recognized the intensity instantly: this was the pressure of a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert.
'So, this is the first trial,' she thought, a grim, determined smile touching her lips. 'A test of foundation and willpower. I will not fail.'
She let out a low, guttural snarl. "Asura Battle Form!" she roared. A wave of blood-red demonic energy erupted from her body. Her muscles swelled with a contained power, and faint, dark red markings, like ancient, tribal tattoos, appeared on her skin. Her martial spirit, a fierce, four-armed demoness with horns of obsidian, materialized behind her, its spiritual form roaring in defiance as it helped her shoulder the immense weight.
Across the white expanse, Li Yu stood perfectly still, but his placid expression was gone, replaced by one of profound, boyish wonder. He watched Mo Ling's explosive transformation, but his true focus was on the very air, which now felt thick and heavy to his senses. 'Wow!' his inner voice was alight with pure, unadulterated excitement. 'So this is what a real trial is like! Just like in the stories I read! This is amazing!' He felt nothing of the pressure itself, thanks to Khaos's void-veil editing his existence from the local reality. But he could perceive the law that was being enacted, the sheer, raw power being projected, and he was fascinated.
He looked over at Mo Ling, who was already beginning to sweat, her teeth gritted in a fierce snarl as she resisted. His own test had yet to begin, it seemed, but this experience alone was priceless. He wasn't interested in the Asura legacy; his own path was far grander. But to get to be a part of such a legendary trial firsthand was a dream come true. The trail said you couldn't die so there was no worries for what was to come.
He began to walk around his section of the trial ground, his footsteps silent in the infinite white space, a wide, curious grin on his face. He wasn't strolling leisurely; he was exploring, his eyes darting everywhere, trying to see where the power was coming from, wondering what kind of amazing thing would happen next. This was the most incredible event he had ever witnessed.
The pressure intensified. The smooth, constant weight of the Mid-stage was replaced by the sharper, more focused pressure of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment expert.
Mo Ling let out a sharp cry, her body trembling under the new load. The four-armed demoness spirit behind her roared, its form flickering as it strained. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest. This was no longer just a test of foundation; it was a test of will.
She thought of her father's desperate face, of her clan's honor, of this mysterious outsider who was now crouched down a hundred feet away, tapping the luminous floor with an excited finger as if it were a strange new kind of glowing bug. The thought of failing while he was so completely unbothered was a greater torment than any physical pressure.
She roared in defiance, forcing more of her demonic energy into her Battle Form, the red markings on her skin glowing with a brighter, more ferocious light. She held her ground.
Then, the pressure made its final, terrifying leap. The crushing, absolute weight of a Peak Foundation Establishment expert descended upon the trial ground.
Mo Ling's knees buckled. She cried out, a sound of pure agony, and was forced down onto one knee, her longsword stabbing into the ground to keep her from collapsing completely. Her martial spirit flickered violently, on the verge of shattering. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth, her internal organs groaning under the strain. This was her absolute limit. Her vision began to swim, the infinite white expanse turning grey at the edges.
Through her blurry vision, she glanced over at Li Yu. And her heart, which was already pounding with exertion, nearly stopped.
He was now standing with his head tilted back, looking up at the formless, luminous sky with a look of pure, unadulterated glee on his face, as if he were watching the most spectacular firework display of his life. There was not a single drop of sweat on his brow. He was so engrossed in the experience of the trial itself that he seemed to have forgotten she was even there.
The sight was so fundamentally impossible, so utterly contrary to everything she knew about cultivation, that it was a greater blow to her spirit than the pressure itself. The mystery of his power deepened from a puzzle into a terrifying, unplumbable abyss.
It was in that moment, when she was on the very brink of collapse, that the immense pressure crushing her body vanished completely. The release was so sudden she almost fell forward. A silent acknowledgment from the trial: she had reached her limit. She had passed.
But the trial was not over. The pressure in the realm did not lessen; it simply ceased to affect her. It was now focused entirely on the other participant. Mo Ling, panting and exhausted, looked up, her mind reeling as she watched the impossible scene continue to unfold.
The ambient pressure in the space around Li Yu made the qualitative leap into the Core Formation Realm. A wave of power, vast and deep like a calm ocean, washed through the air, a force that would have instantly turned her to paste.
And Li Yu simply stood there, a picture of perfect, happy absorption.
The pressure climbed. 1st-level Core Formation. 2nd-level. 3rd-level.
Li Yu felt a faint, tickling sensation, like a gentle summer breeze against his skin. His grin widened. 'It's getting even stronger! This is incredible! What is the limit? How powerful was this ancestor?' His mind was not analyzing the mechanics; it was simply reveling in the sheer scale of the power on display.
The pressure reached the Mid-stages of the Core Formation realm. 4th-level… 5th-level… a power that would have turned her own father into a puddle of blood and bone. And Li Yu simply continued to stand there, looking around with bright, excited eyes, as if waiting for the grand finale.
Finally, having reached a peak that would have humbled even the Grand Elders of a major sect, the pressure simply vanished.
The trial was over.
The infinite white space was once again still and silent. Mo Ling, now on her feet though her body ached, stared at Li Yu, her mind a complete blank. She had survived, she had passed, but her victory felt utterly insignificant in the face of his effortless experience.
He now walked towards her, his expression one of genuine, boyish excitement.
"That was amazing!" he said, his voice full of an honest, cheerful energy. "What a powerful technique! I was so excited watching it all, I didn't even realize my part was supposed to have started. Did I miss it? I hope the next one is just as incredible!"
His words, delivered with such sincere, unadulterated enthusiasm, were the single most devastating and awe-inspiring statement Mo Ling had ever heard. He had not been resisting the pressure. He had been enjoying the show.
Before she could even begin to formulate a reply, the ancient, genderless voice echoed through the space once more, its tone as implacable as time itself.
"The first trial is complete. Both have passed. The child of the bloodline, through will. The outsider, through existing….."
The voice paused, and the silvery-white light of the world began to shift and warp, the crystalline floor beneath them dissolving into a new, more complex pattern.
"The second trial shall now commence. A trial of combat. Prove your martial worth."