Zhen followed the armored disciple through winding pavilions and floating walkways. Mist rolled across the path, stirred only by the disciple's silent steps. Lanterns burned with blue spiritual fire, lighting the marble bridges like starlight underfoot.
They stopped before a lotus-shaped palace—white jade petals curving upward, runes swirling along its surface in faint silver glow. This was the Hall of Harmonious Judgment.
> [Area Detected: Nine-Dao Inner Sanctum]
System Sync Rate: 95%
Energy Interference: Moderate
Warning: Suppression Array Active – Combat Ability Reduced by 20%
Two guards, both at Spirit Origin Tier, stepped aside as the doors opened.
Zhen stepped in.
---
Inside the grand hall, nine thrones floated in a semi-circle above a reflecting pool. Upon them sat the Inner Elders—each radiating unique spiritual frequencies. Their eyes were calm, unblinking, ancient.
And standing calmly in the center of the hall was Ji Yuyan.
She was barefoot, standing upon the water's surface as though it were glass. In one hand, her fan rested closed against her shoulder. Her gaze found Zhen the moment he entered.
One elder—his beard like drifting fog—spoke first. "You passed the Mirror Trial unusually well, outsider."
Another added, voice sharp: "Too well."
Zhen gave a shallow bow. "I only did what was required."
"Indeed," the third said. "But no one outside our cultivation system should adapt this swiftly to Dao Harmony Resonance."
Ji Yuyan finally spoke.
"He isn't a threat. Not yet. In fact, I propose we give him a test."
The room shifted. Zhen tensed.
Ji Yuyan opened her fan, revealing nine sigils drawn in spirit ink. "Let him enter the Trial of Blooming Edge. If he survives, he stays. If not, we waste no further breath."
One elder raised an eyebrow. "The trial is not meant for Outer Disciples."
"It wasn't," Ji Yuyan replied. "But neither is he."
Silence.
Then, the fog-bearded elder nodded. "So be it."
---
▣ Trial of the Blooming Edge
> [You have been entered into a Sect-Only Trial: Blooming Edge Arena]
Objective: Defeat 3 consecutive opponents from the Nine-Dao Inner Court
Special Rule: Harmonize at least one Dao Form during combat
System Assistance: 40% permitted
Time Limit: 1 hour
Reward: Provisional Inner Disciple Status – Dao Seed Fusion Option – +750 Rank Points
Penalty for Failure: Expulsion and Mind-Seal**
Zhen stood within a hexagonal arena floating above a valley of mist. Spirit threads looped around the sky, forming a dome of shifting Dao laws.
Ji Yuyan's voice echoed in his mind—amplified through a spirit channel:
> "Don't try to copy us. Show them who you are."
Zhen closed his eyes.
When he opened them, three opponents stood across the ring. Each bore an Inner Court crest, each with a different cultivation path:
1. A girl in fire-silk robes – Blazing Lotus Dao
2. A tall youth with a bronze hammer – Mountain-Breaking Fist Dao
3. A silent figure cloaked in black ink – Void Needle Dao
The first came without warning.
---
▣ Round One: Blazing Lotus
The girl raised a fan of flames, casting petals of fire that spiraled like drills toward Zhen.
> [Warning: Fire-Type Law Construct Detected – Energy Penetration 62%]
Zhen didn't move.
Instead, he raised one hand—and converted.
> [Skill Activated: Spirit-Tech Adaptation → Spectral Feedback Core]
- Incoming elemental force rerouted through reverse resonance nodes
- Feedback conversion: 41% → stored as counterstrike energy
Flames wrapped around him, but his body flickered, absorbing half the force. The ground exploded beneath his feet as he blinked forward, slashing upward with a shadow-infused blade.
The attack landed before the girl even raised her guard.
Her fan shattered. She collapsed.
> [Victory: Round One Complete]
System Rating: Efficiency A-
Dao Resonance: +4% Increase
---
▣ Round Two: Mountain-Breaking Fist
The youth roared, stomping the platform, turning the arena into a rising cliff face. Boulders levitated, forming fists of raw stone.
Zhen activated Vector Step, a spatial movement art—dodging the first few, but one caught his shoulder, sending pain spiraling through his core.
> [Health -13%]
[System Alert: Partial Fracture Detected – Regeneration Boosted via Qi Compression]
Zhen narrowed his eyes. His style wasn't brute force—it was control.
He planted his blade in the ground, and through it, let his energy ripple—merging Dao resonance with spatial thread control.
> [Hybrid Concept Prototype: Spatial Harmony Constructed]
- Arena distortion: localized gravity altered
- Incoming kinetic force deflected via controlled resonance layers
The youth's next punch slowed in midair—just enough.
Zhen blinked behind him, whispering: "Too direct."
With one clean palm strike, he sent the boy crashing to the edge of the arena.
---
▣ Round Three: Void Needle
The last opponent was silent.
Then thousands of black needles flew from beneath his cloak, targeting meridian points with surgical precision.
Zhen felt his energy constrict. These were real—deathly accurate, wrapped in void.
He closed his eyes.
> [Triggering Passive Fusion: Spirit-Tech + Dao Resonance]
[New Concept Born: Shadow Bloom Domain (Unranked)]
The arena dimmed.
From Zhen's feet spread a circle of blooming lotuses—each petal shaped like a fractal sigil. The void needles hit them... and dissolved.
The cloaked disciple tried to retreat, but his shadow bent and twisted, grabbed by the domain itself.
Zhen's voice echoed: "This world taught me balance."
He raised his hand. The domain collapsed inward.
The final opponent crumpled.
---
> [Trial Complete]
Reward: Provisional Inner Disciple Badge – Dao Fusion Pathway Unlocked
System Evolution Progress: 12% → 18%
+750 Rank Points
New Skill Concept Recorded: Shadow Bloom Domain (Rank: ???)
---
▣ Epilogue: The Seeds Stir
Later that night, Ji Yuyan met Zhen in a garden of whispering bamboo.
"You didn't just adapt," she said. "You merged."
Zhen nodded. "It's not about choosing a side. It's about forging my own."
She looked at him quietly. "Some will want to recruit you. Others will want to erase you."
Zhen smiled. "Let them try."
Above them, in the sky of the Yunjing Realm, a celestial monitor lit up:
> [Multiverse Rank Update: Zhen – Rank 9874 → 6217]
Global Visibility: High
Threat Tag: Potential Multiverse-Level Anomaly – Under Watch