The crack of power still echoed in the vast chamber, fragments of broken qi swirling like smoke. Jiang Hao stood at its center, chained, blood staining his robes, his shoulders trembling from the strain. Yet his knees had not touched the jade floor.The elders erupted in chaos."This is madness! Such power cannot be controlled—execute him before he brings calamity upon us!" Elder Bai's voice split the silence first, his finger stabbing toward Jiang Hao like an executioner's blade."Nonsense!" countered Elder Feng, stepping forward with enough killing intent to make the jade tiles beneath him quake. "If not for this boy, your precious walls would already have been burned by demonic flame. You would kill the very shield that protected you?""Shield?" another elder scoffed, his eyes wide with fear at the vision of Jiang Hao's sealed form still lingering in the air. "That was no shield. That was a calamity chained in flesh! You saw it — seven seals, each holding back enough power to crack mountains. What happens when those seals break? What happens when he loses control?"Jiang Hao let their words wash over him like waves against stone. He could barely breathe — the chains burned like fire in his veins, and the backlash made every heartbeat a drum of agony. Yet he forced his head up, his golden eyes locking with the sect master's throne."I… do not need your trust," he rasped, his voice low but steady. "But I will earn it. Even if it takes my life."The words rang louder than any elder's shouting. For a moment, silence hung again, thick and trembling.Sect Master Tianlong's gaze narrowed, the weight of it pressing down like a mountain. "Elders. Enough."The protests died instantly. Even Elder Bai bit his tongue under the command.Tianlong leaned forward, the torches casting his face half in shadow. "What we have witnessed is indeed dangerous. But it is not treachery. It is restraint. You saw it — the boy's power resisted even his own will, yet still he stood firm. Such strength, such defiance, cannot be dismissed."Gasps rippled through the council. The sect master rarely gave praise, and never to one so young."But," Tianlong continued, his voice sharp as a blade, "this sect cannot ignore the danger either. Jiang Hao's path will not be left unchecked. He will undergo trials set by this council, each harsher than the last. If he endures them, he proves his loyalty. If he fails—" His eyes flashed like lightning. "Then his life ends here."The declaration struck like thunder. Half the council nodded in grim approval. The other half frowned, torn but silent.Elder Feng's fists trembled at his side. He bowed, but his voice shook with barely restrained fury. "Sect Master… if trials are demanded, I will stand beside him. I will not let my disciple face the knives of fear alone."Jiang Hao's lips curved faintly despite the blood at their corner. "Master… that won't be necessary. Trials or chains, it makes no difference. I'll stand."The sect master's gaze lingered on him for a long, unreadable moment. Then he lifted a hand. The chains uncoiled, clattering to the jade floor, their glow extinguished.Jiang Hao staggered forward, nearly falling, but he caught himself. He refused to give them the sight of weakness.Tianlong's final words rang out, sealing his fate before the council."Prepare the first trial. Jiang Hao's resolve will be tested by heaven, earth, and blade alike. Only then will we know whether he is shield… or calamity."The hall trembled with whispers once more.And in the shadows near the great doors, unseen by the elders, Mei Ling's hand tightened on Lin Xueyao's arm as she felt Jiang Hao's qi flicker like a dying flame. Both women exchanged a look — fear, fury, and something deeper.The doors of the Grand Hall opened with a groan, and Jiang Hao stepped through at last. His robes were torn, blood dried across his sleeve, and though his posture remained upright, his aura flickered like a candle caught in wind.Waiting just outside, Mei Ling and Lin Xueyao rushed to him at once."Jiang Hao!" Yunxi's voice cracked, and she caught his arm before he could stumble further. Her eyes, usually clear and composed, brimmed with emotion she could no longer hide. "What did they do to you?""It's nothing." His lips quirked in that faint, infuriating smile, as though blood and chains were mere trifles. "A little questioning. I've endured worse."Meiyun's sword-hand twitched, her eyes storm-dark. She had seen him strain in the fight with Elder Qian, but what she felt now — this hollow flicker of qi beneath his skin — was far more frightening. "Don't lie to us. We felt it. Those chains nearly tore your core apart."Her accusation hung heavy, but Jiang Hao only sighed softly. "Then you also felt that I'm still standing.""Standing?" Yunxi's grip on him tightened. "You call this standing? You nearly—" She cut herself off, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.For a moment, silence stretched. The three of them stood in the shadow of the grand hall, the weight of whispered rumors drifting on the breeze.Finally, Jiang Hao broke it with quiet words. "I told them the truth. My power is mine to carry, and mine alone. If they demand trials, I'll face them. But I won't drag either of you into it. You've done enough already, just by waiting."Yunxi's eyes widened, tears threatening. "Do you really think standing by your side is 'enough'? Do you think watching you break yourself in silence feels like nothing?"Meiyun looked away sharply, her jaw clenched, but her voice betrayed her: low, harsh, trembling at the edges. "Idiot. If you fall, we fall too. Don't forget that."Jiang Hao blinked, taken aback not by their words, but by the rawness beneath them. For a man who lived by restraint, who hid his burdens in silence, it was disarming to see how deeply his weight pressed on the hearts beside him.He let out a soft laugh, hoarse from pain but warm nonetheless. "Then… I suppose I don't have much choice, do I? If I can't fall without pulling you down, I'll just have to keep standing, no matter what."The answer wasn't perfect. It wasn't a promise that erased the danger or the fear. But it was honest.Yunxi's hand trembled as it lingered against his arm. Meiyun's eyes softened for a fraction of a heartbeat before she snapped her gaze away.For the first time since the chains had bound him, Jiang Hao allowed himself to breathe. Not because the trial was over — it was only just beginning — but because in their presence, he remembered why he endured.The path ahead was already stained with suspicion, peril, and the threat of betrayal. But here, in this moment beneath the lantern-lit courtyard, he had something rarer than strength.He had two hearts that refused to leave his side.And that was enough.
