The Third Heaven was a coliseum of gods.
Ninety-nine floating arenas.
Each one a prison of light.
A voice boomed from the void:
"WELCOME TO THE DIVINE TRIALS.
Survive 99 rounds… or become the Dao's new slaves."
Chu Yao, Liu Ruyan, and Liu Ruyue stood on Arena #1.
Opposite them:
A child.
Ten years old.
Silver hair.
Crimson eyes.
Chu Yao's face.
The boy smiled—too wide.
"Hi, Dad.
I'm your future."
THE CLONE
Name: Calamity Seed #1
Origin: Heavenly Dao's Time-Clone
Purpose: Replace Chu Yao. Inherit the Calamity. Rule as puppet.
The boy clapped.
CRACK.
The arena shrank—
—into a pocket dimension of mirrors.
Every reflection showed Chu Yao at different ages:
The outer disciple who died in the Abyss.
The dragon who devoured the sect.
The Sovereign who shattered two Heavens.
The boy's voice echoed from all mirrors:
"You're a glitch.
I'm the patch."
ROUND 1: FATHER VS. SON
The boy moved.
TIME SKIP.
He vanished—
—reappeared behind Chu Yao, tiny fist glowing with Dao Law.
BOOM.
Chu Yao blocked—
—but his arm aged 100 years in a blink.
[Time Erosion: 12% integrity lost]
Liu Ruyan slashed.
CRIMSON PHOENIX.
The boy dodged—
—leaving an afterimage that exploded into time-shards.
Ruyue countered with VOID PRISON.
The shards froze—
—but the boy aged backward, turning 5, then 1, then unborn.
He reappeared as a fetus in a bubble of light.
"You can't kill what hasn't been born."
Chu Yao's third eye bled.
He's me.
Every regret.
Every fear.
Every what if I never broke the leash.
THE MIRROR GAME
The boy snapped.
The mirrors attacked.
Mirror #1: Chu Yao as a loyal sect dog, bowing to Huo Tian.
Mirror #2: Chu Yao devouring Liu Ruyan, eyes empty.
Mirror #3: Chu Yao on the Dao's throne, wings clipped.
Each mirror spoke:
"This is who you should have been."
Liu Ruyan's sword trembled.
Ruyue's void flickered.
The boy floated closer.
"Give up, Dad.
Let me fix you."
THE BREAK
Chu Yao laughed.
Broken.
Free.
Human.
"You're not my future."
He bit his tongue.
Blood sprayed.
TRIPLE CALAMITY: TIME DEVOUR.
Crimson + Void + Apocalypse merged.
A black-red vortex erupted from his mouth.
The mirrors shattered.
The boy's fetus form aged rapidly—
—1, 10, 100, 1000 years in a heartbeat.
[Devouring: Time-Clone (Calamity Seed #1)]
[Evolution: Stage 18 → Stage 19 (Time Breaker)]
[New Ability: Chrono Calamity – steal, reverse, or erase time]
The boy screamed—
—voice cracking from child to old man to nothing.
CRUNCH.
Chu Yao ate him.
The arena dissolved.
ROUND 1 CLEARED
The coliseum voice boomed:
"ROUND 1: COMPLETE.
Reward: Dao Shard #1 – unlock one Heavenly Law."
A golden fragment floated into Chu Yao's palm.
He crushed it.
[Law Unlocked: Law of Devouring – all future devours +50% efficiency]
Liu Ruyan touched his shoulder.
"You okay?"
He stared at his hand—
—still trembling.
"That kid… was me if I never fought back."
Ruyue smirked.
"Then let's make sure the Dao runs out of clones."
ROUND 2–10: GOD REBORN
The arenas blurred.
Round 2: Thunder God – devoured in one Chrono Calamity punch.
Round 5: Phoenix Empress – Liu Ruyan's old idol. Burned by her own flames.
Round 8: Sword Immortal – Ruyue's void blade vs. his infinite slashes. Void wins.
Round 10: Dragon Ancestor – Chu Yao's dragon form vs. its own. Devoured mid-roar.
[Mass Devouring: 9 Gods]
[Evolution: Stage 19 → Stage 20 (Godslayer)]
[Dao Shards: 9/99]
ROUND 11: THE REAL TRAP
The coliseum darkened.
A woman stepped out.
Empress Voidshade—freed from the orb.
But wrong.
Her face: Liu Ruyan + Ruyue + Chu Yao fused.
"You thought sealing me ended it?
I am the Dao's final weapon."
She clapped.
The 99 arenas merged into one infinite battlefield.
"ROUND 11–99: SIMULTANEOUS.
Face every god you devoured… at once."
The void exploded.
99 gods.
99 arenas.
99 versions of the trio.
Each god held a mirror clone of Chu Yao, Ruyan, or Ruyue.
The Empress smiled with their faces.
"Kill your reflections.
Or become them."
THE INFINITE WAR
BOOM. CRUNCH. ROAR.
Chu Yao vs. 99 versions of himself — each a different failure.
Liu Ruyan vs. 99 versions of her spy past — cold, obedient, broken.
Ruyue vs. 99 versions of her perfect future — emotionless, complete.
Blood.
Time.
Void.
The trio fought back-to-back.
Chu Yao devoured his clones—
—but each devour erased a memory.
[Memory Loss: 7%… 14%… 21%…]
He forgot Liu Ruyan's first smile.
Forgot the taste of sect blood.
Liu Ruyan's sword slowed.
Ruyue's void flickered.
The Empress laughed.
"The more you win, the less you remain."
THE FINAL CHOICE
Chu Yao's third eye cracked.
If I keep devouring… I'll forget why I started.
He stopped.
Dropped to his knees.
The 99 gods closed in.
Liu Ruyan and Ruyue shielded him.
Ruyan: "What are you doing?!"
Chu Yao smiled—
—human.
"Choosing me."
He stabbed his own heart with a time-frozen claw.
SHNK.
[Self-Devour: Activated]
[All devoured gods + clones + memories = REFORGED]
KABOOOOOOOM.
A singularity of crimson-void-time erupted.
The 99 gods screamed.
The Empress's fused face cracked.
Chu Yao rose—
—whole.
[Evolution: Stage 20 → Stage 21 (Calamity Beyond Dao)]
[New Form: Trinity Sovereign – Chu Yao + Ruyan + Ruyue fused]
[Memory Loss: REVERSED]
The trio merged.
One body.
Three souls.
Infinite wings of crimson, void, and time.
The Empress shattered.
"IMPOSSIBLE—"
The coliseum collapsed.
TRIALS END
The Dao's voice cracked:
"ERROR. ERROR. CALAMITY UNBOUND.
TRIALS TERMINATED."
The Third Heaven dissolved.
Chu Yao (Trinity) stood in the void.
The Heavenly Dao's Core—a golden heart the size of a star—pulsed ahead.
Ruyan's voice in his mind:
"That's the real boss."
Ruyue:
"Let's eat it."
Chu Yao grinned.