The crack in the sky was not healing.
It was watching.
The voice of the cosmic administrator had spoken.
Final examination.
Failure means erasure.
No pressure.
**
A figure descended from the crack.
He didn't fall. He didn't fly.
He just... arrived.
As if he had always been there, and the universe was just catching up.
It was the Jade Emperor.
He wore the magnificent, flowing robes of the supreme ruler of the heavens, embroidered with suns, moons, and constellations.
He radiated an aura of pure, absolute, unquestionable authority.
And under the robes, peeking out at the collar and cuffs, was a crisp, white, button-down shirt and a silk tie.
He was carrying a leather briefcase.
**
He landed without a sound, his feet touching the cracked stone of Penglai as gently as a falling leaf.
He looked less like a god of judgment and more like a CEO arriving for a hostile takeover.
Which, Li Wei supposed, was kind of what this was.
Feng Yue moved instantly, positioning herself in front of Li Wei, her phoenix flames flaring to life.
"You will not touch him," she snarled, her voice a low, dangerous growl.
The Jade Emperor didn't even look at her.
His gaze was fixed on Li Wei, his expression as neutral and unreadable as a corporate mission statement.
"Candidate Li Wei," he said, his voice calm and level, devoid of all emotion. "Your trial period has concluded. It is time for your final performance review."
He set his briefcase down and opened it.
It did not contain documents.
It contained a swirling galaxy of miniature stars.
"The purpose of this examination," the Jade Emperor continued, his tone that of a manager explaining a new KPI, "is to determine your viability as a permanent fixture in this reality."
"You will be tested across multiple dimensions. Simultaneously."
"Your performance will be evaluated by a committee of representatives from all three realms."
He looked at Li Wei, his eyes holding the cold, impersonal weight of the cosmos.
"Each of your personalities will be tested. Separately. And together."
"Should you fail to meet the required benchmarks..."
He paused, letting the silence hang in the air.
"...your existence, and the existence of everything you have ever interacted with, will be deemed a non-essential asset and liquidated accordingly."
**
Liquidated.
That was the word he used.
Not destroyed. Not erased.
Liquidated.
Like a failing company.
The sheer, soul-crushing, bureaucratic coldness of it all was worse than any divine rage.
Li Wei's legs gave out.
He stumbled, caught by Long Bo before he could hit the ground.
This was it.
The final test.
The fate of everything.
And it was all on him.
A kid who still sometimes forgot to breathe.
He wasn't ready.
He would never be ready.
The voices in his head, which had been a quiet, unified hum of peace just moments before, erupted into a screaming civil war.
This is it! We're all going to die! Yin Mode shrieked, his panic a tidal wave of pure terror. I told you forgiving her was a bad idea! We should have run! We should have hidden!
Negative, Yang Mode's voice cut in, sharp and brittle with a new, unfamiliar edge of fear. Escape is not a viable option. The probability of success is 0.000%. We are facing a systemic checkmate.
The southern territories are lost, a third, ancient voice murmured. We must retreat to the mountains and regroup.
I can't do this, Yin Mode sobbed. I'm not strong enough.
Our power levels are insufficient, Yang Mode calculated. We are not optimized for this level of conflict.
I'm not a hero.
I am a flaw.
I'm scared.
The pressure.
The fear.
The crushing, impossible weight of three realms.
His soul, already fractured, already stretched to its breaking point, finally, completely, and utterly...
Shattered.
**
It happened all at once.
He screamed, a raw, agonized sound that was not one voice, but many.
His body began to glitch.
Like a corrupted video file.
He flickered, his form splitting, separating, tearing itself apart.
One moment, he was one person.
The next, he was two.
Standing side-by-side, where only one had been.
One was the Li Wei they all knew. Clumsy, terrified, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated panic. Yin Mode, made manifest.
The other was a stranger. Taller, colder, his eyes glowing with a faint, golden light, his expression one of pure, analytical detachment. Yang Mode, in the flesh.
"What is happening?!" Xiao Qian screamed.
But it wasn't over.
The two figures flickered again.
And a third appeared between them.
This one was a perfect fusion of the other two. He had Yin's gentle face, but Yang's confident posture. His eyes swirled with both brown and gold. The unified being from the battle with Bai Suzhen.
And then, a fourth.
This one was different.
He was just... a shadow. A vague, indistinct silhouette of a person, its features impossible to make out. It radiated an aura of quiet, ancient amusement, as if it found the entire situation hilarious.
Four Li Weis.
The Idiot.
The Genius.
The Hero.
And the Ghost.
All standing in a line, all born from a single, broken soul that had finally come apart under the strain.
**
Feng Yue stared, her heart frozen in her chest.
She had seen him split internally.
But this... this was different.
This was a fundamental schism of the soul.
He had literally broken himself into pieces.
She took a step toward them, her hand outstretched. "Li Wei..."
The Jade Emperor raised a single, calm finger.
"Do not interfere," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos.
He looked at the four versions of Li Wei.
He was not shocked.
He was not surprised.
He was... pleased.
A slow, cold, calculating smile spread across his face.
"Excellent," the Jade Emperor said, his voice filled with the satisfaction of a scientist whose experiment has just yielded unexpected, but fascinating, results.
"We'll test each version individually."
He looked from one terrified, confused, and broken piece of Li Wei to the next.
"The one who proves most worthy will become the true Li Wei."
His gaze hardened, the temperature of the entire realm dropping by twenty degrees.
"The others," he announced, "will be deleted from reality."
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