Inside Elder Mo's pavilion, the air was thick with incense and tension.
Lin Chen stepped in with a casual stride, but his eyes missed nothing.
Three other figures stood near Elder Mo — older, stronger, and with killing intent leaking like cracked vats.
Lin Chen smiled thinly.
"Ah… so I'm not the only idiot signing up for this death lottery."
---
Elder Mo opened his eyes, sharp as a hawk's.
"Lin Chen. You've come."
Lin Chen gave a crisp bow. "Reporting as ordered, Elder."
Mo's lips curled.
"You still have that glib tongue. Good. You'll need it — to talk death into leaving you alone."
---
He gestured, and a jade scroll floated toward Lin Chen.
"This," Elder Mo intoned, "is your trial location. The Hidden Trials of the Azure sky sect."
Lin Chen caught the scroll. His brows twitched.
"Hidden Trials?"
"Ah, so it's not just a death trap — it's an ancient, historically significant death trap. Fancy."
Mo's gaze sharpened.
"You are to enter this site, and do your best to Rank at the top by the end of the trials."
He leaned forward.
"Fail… and your in dip shit for wasting my time "
---
Lin Chen tapped the scroll against his palm, lips quirking.
"Sounds simple enough. Go in, play hide-and-seek with geniuses, and grab a spot in the top ranking. Easy."
One of the other disciples — a broad-shouldered man with the faint aura of 4th stage Qi Condensation — scoffed.
"Hmph. Easy? You outer sect mutt won't even last an hour."
Lin Chen's grin widened dangerously.
"Oh? Is that your expert opinion, Brother 'Disposable Cannon Fodder Number 3'?"
The man's face darkened. Elder Mo snorted.
---
Mo raised a hand.
"No fighting here. Save it for the trials— where it belongs."
His cold gaze swept over them.
"You four have been selected because you show… potential. But only those with the fate to survive will be rewarded."
---
He flicked his sleeve, and four jade tokens flew out, each landing before the disciples.
"Take these. They mark you as trial participants. Without them, the formation guarding the gates will tear you apart on entry."
---
Lin Chen pocketed his token, still smiling outwardly.
But inside, his mind was already calculating.
---
Mo's voice dropped lower.
"One final warning… The Hidden Trials span a Vast expanse through our sect's mountain range. The spirits beasts within are vicious. Even inner sect elites fear treading too deep."
He locked eyes with Lin Chen.
"If you hesitate… you die. If you pity… you die. If you trust too easily… you die."
---
Lin Chen nodded slowly.
"Understood, Elder. I've always been allergic to dying."
---
Mo's thin lips twitched upward.
"Good. You leave at dawn tomorrow. Prepare well — body, mind, and will."
He turned away.
"Dismissed."
---
As Lin Chen turned to leave, the broad-shouldered disciple brushed past him, muttering darkly.
"Watch your back, clown."
Lin Chen smiled sweetly.
"Oh, I always do. Especially when weaklings like you announce themselves so loudly."
---
Outside the pavilion, the wind was colder.
Sharper.
Lin Chen looked up at the setting sun.
"Hidden Trials, huh?"
He flexed his palm, feeling the pulse of his refined Qi.
"Bring it on. Slap Beasts, kill enemies, steal the prize."
His dark eyes gleamed with rising hunger.
"Because this is just the first step… before I shake the heavens… and reclaim what's mine."
---
Far beyond the skies, across distant galaxies…
A woman clad in crimson armor sat on a throne of bones.
Her eyes suddenly flickered.
"That presence… faint, but familiar…"
She clenched her fists, breath shuddering.
"Chen'er… could it be…?"
---
Meanwhile, Lin Chen cracked his knuckles, grinning like a wolf.
"Tomorrow… the real fun begins."
---
[End of Chapter 12]