The second stage of the Righteous Annihilation Sect's outer sect examination was the Test of Wit, held in the twisting caves of Shadow Mercy Valley, overseen by Senior Brother Gu Shan, the sly Valley Master known for his illusionary pranks. Alex, the 16-year-old transmigrator cursed by the heavens, and Jin Hao, his newfound best friend and self-proclaimed "future legend" from the wealthy Jin Merchant Clan, stood among the drenched candidates who'd survived the fiery chaos of the Thousand Steps Cliff. Their accidental fire-and-flood fiasco had earned them the nickname "Chaos Duo," whispered with equal parts awe and dread by the other test-takers.
Senior Sister Shui Bing, the youngest Valley Master of Flood Redemption Valley, loomed at the cave's entrance, her silver robes pristine despite the muddy aftermath of her water qi dousing the cliff fire. Her cold, glacier-like face and Nascent Soul Early Stage aura made candidates tremble, and even Sect Leader Duan Renyi, who'd popped by to "inspire" the hopefuls, seemed to shrink under her gaze. Rumors swirled that her Shui Clan had ties to the Immortal Realms, and her strictness could freeze a dragon's heart. Yet, Alex noticed her subtle kindness—like when she'd tossed him a dry cloak after the cliff, muttering, "Don't catch a cold, idiot," her warm heart peeking through her icy facade.
The Shadow Mercy Valley caves were a labyrinth of stone tunnels, their walls etched with illusion runes that shimmered like starlight. Gu Shan, a wiry man with a mischievous grin, materialized in a puff of smoke, his Core Formation Early Stage aura buzzing with trickery. "Welcome to the Test of Wit!" he declared, twirling a jade flute. "Navigate the labyrinth, find a Jade Token, and exit. The illusions will deceive you—outsmart them, or be trapped forever!" He winked at Alex. "Disaster boy, your chaos might just fool the heavens."
Shui Bing's eye twitched, her voice cutting like a blade. "No favoritism, Senior Brother. Ensure fairness, or I'll flood your valley into a lake." Gu Shan paled, nodding vigorously. The other examiners—stern-faced outer sect elders in silver-and-black robes—shifted nervously, clearly intimidated by Shui Bing's authority. The candidates, a mix of scrappy villagers, haughty clan heirs, and nervous wanderers, exchanged wary glances, already whispering about Alex's knack for turning tests into disasters.
Jin Hao, fanning himself with a gaudy jade fan, leaned toward Alex. "This is gonna be epic, brother. My brain's a maze of genius, and your bad luck's a skeleton key. We'll breeze through!"
"Doubt it," Alex muttered, clutching his soggy bamboo basket of spirit turnips. "The heavens probably rigged this place to bury me." His dantian, still stuck at Early Qi Condensation, throbbed faintly from the cliff's Spirit Stone, but he wasn't optimistic.
"Begin!" Gu Shan clapped, and the candidates surged into the caves. Alex took one step—and his bad luck struck like clockwork. He stepped on a rune, triggering an illusion of a collapsing ceiling. Rocks seemed to plummet, and candidates screamed, scattering like roaches. Alex dove, crashing into Jin Hao, who yelped and stumbled into a wall. The wall shimmered, revealing a hidden passage that hadn't been there a second ago.
"Nice one!" Jin Hao grinned, scrambling through. "You're a walking trap-finder!"
"Not on purpose!" Alex groaned, following. The other candidates gaped, their shocked expressions a mix of envy and disbelief. A haughty clan heir, clad in blue silk, muttered, "How does that orphan keep finding shortcuts?" Another, a burly villager, grumbled, "He's cursed, but the heavens keep rewarding him!"
The passage led to a chamber filled with floating Jade Tokens, their green glow tempting but suspicious. Alex reached for one, only for it to morph into a swarm of illusory wasps. He flailed, his rusty dagger useless, and tripped over another rune, activating a trapdoor. He and Jin Hao plummeted into a lower chamber, landing in a pile of glowing mushrooms that pulsed with qi.
"Spirit Glow Shrooms!" Jin Hao whooped, stuffing his pockets. "These are worth more than my dad's third mansion!"
"Worth the wasps?" Alex asked, swatting at lingering illusions. The mushrooms' qi warmed his dantian, hinting at progress, but he was too busy dodging a fake boulder that rolled toward them. Jin Hao, with his rich-kid reflexes, yanked Alex aside, laughing. "You're like a magnet for trouble, but I'm sticking with you. This is too fun!"
The other candidates, peering down from the trapdoor, were slack-jawed. "They fell and found treasure?" a girl in braids whispered. "That's not fair!" An examiner, Elder Lin, a wiry man with a perpetual frown, scribbled notes, muttering, "Unorthodox, but effective." Shui Bing, watching from a floating water orb, raised an eyebrow, her cold face softening slightly. "Reckless," she said, but her tone held a trace of warmth.
The duo pressed on, their antics turning the labyrinth into a circus. Jin Hao, ever the showman, tossed a Spirit Glow Shroom at an illusory wall, revealing another passage. Alex, trying to avoid trouble, stepped on a rune that unleashed a fake dragon. Its roar shook the cave, and candidates screamed, some dropping their tokens in panic. Jin Hao, unfazed, shouted, "Hey, dragon, want some gold?" and threw a handful of spirit coins, which disrupted the illusion, revealing a fork in the path.
"You're insane," Alex said, half-laughing, half-panicking.
"Says the guy who trips into treasures!" Jin Hao shot back, dodging a fake spike trap that Alex accidentally triggered. The other candidates, now trailing them, were a mix of frustrated and awestruck. A lanky boy named Wei, who'd bragged about his clan's library, muttered, "They're idiots, but they're winning!" A girl named Mei, with a scar on her cheek, snorted, "It's like the heavens are pranking us through them."
Gu Shan appeared in a shimmer, clapping slowly. "Impressive chaos, you two. But don't get cocky." He vanished, leaving an illusory snake that Alex promptly tripped over, activating a rune that flooded the chamber with mist. Candidates coughed and stumbled, but Jin Hao's fan cleared the air, revealing a glowing Jade Token on a pedestal.
Alex, wary of traps, hesitated. Jin Hao, however, strutted forward, only for the pedestal to sink, triggering a barrage of illusory arrows. Alex tackled him out of the way, crashing into a wall that crumbled to reveal a second token. The crowd gasped, and Elder Lin's frown deepened. "This defies logic," he muttered, scribbling furiously. Shui Bing's water orb hovered closer, and Alex swore he saw her suppress a laugh.
"Got it!" Jin Hao snatched both tokens, tossing one to Alex. "We're unstoppable, brother!"
"We're a disaster," Alex corrected, but he couldn't help grinning. Their chaos was working, somehow.
As they neared the exit, a massive illusory demonic beast—a horned tiger—blocked the path. Candidates froze, but Jin Hao whispered, "Fake. Watch this." He threw another Spirit Glow Shroom, disrupting the illusion, but Alex's bad luck kicked in, triggering a real trap: a collapsing tunnel. Rocks fell, and candidates screamed, but Jin Hao grabbed Alex, sprinting through a side passage that Alex's fall had opened. They tumbled out of the cave, muddy, bruised, and clutching their tokens.
The remaining candidates staggered out, their faces a mix of shock and exhaustion. "They turned the labyrinth into a warzone!" Wei complained. Mei, however, smirked. "They're crazy, but they're not boring."
Shui Bing descended, her face a mask of ice. "You two disrupted my brother's test," she said, her voice chilling the air. The examiners flinched, expecting punishment, but she continued, "Yet your hearts sought truth through chaos. Pass." She tossed Alex a qi-replenishing pill, her eyes warm for a fleeting moment. "Don't make me regret this."
Jin Hao high-fived Alex. "We're legends, brother!"
Alex sighed, clutching his token and shrooms. "We're doomed, you mean."