The Blade's Path, The Third Trial
The ten-minute respite passed in focused silence. When the guide opened her eyes, her professional demeanor had fully returned, though a new layer of watchfulness lingered when she glanced at Yao Xuan.
"The break is over. Follow me."
She led them to a stark, open courtyard paved with smooth gray flagstones. Dominating the space were ten towering archways. Suspended within each arch was a massive, brutally sharp guillotine blade, their polished edges catching the cold light and gleaming with silent menace. The air was still and carried a metallic chill.
"The third trial assesses courage and adaptability under pressure," the guide announced, her voice echoing slightly in the austere space. "When I give the command, you will have one minute to prepare. At 'start,' you must pass through all ten arches. The scoring is based on time: thirty seconds is the baseline for six points. For every three seconds under, you gain one point. For every three seconds over, you lose one point. A reminder." Her gaze swept over them, serious. "These are real guillotines. An impact would be fatal. Our safety arrays are precise, but do not rely on them recklessly. Also, scores here can fall below zero. Failure to pass means elimination from all subsequent trials. Guillotines, raise! Ready!"
She moved to a control panel and pressed a large red button.
A series of deafening mechanical CLANGS and the shriek of grinding metal filled the courtyard. The ten massive blades began to swing in a complex, staggered rhythm, rising and falling with terrifying speed and force, each descent slamming into its stone groove with a crash that sent sparks flying and vibrations through the ground. The noise was chaotic, jarring, and designed to fray nerves.
Xu Xiaoyan instinctively took a half-step back, her face paling. The raw, mechanical violence was a different kind of fear from a living soul beast. She didn't cling to Yao Xuan, but her knuckles were white where she gripped her staff.
"Steady, Xiaoyan," Yao Xuan's voice was calm, cutting through the cacophony. He wasn't looking at the blades with fear, but with calculation. "Gu Yue, analyze the striking force."
"Understood." Gu Yue's violet eyes narrowed. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a stout pillar of condensed earth element directly under the path of the next falling blade.
CRACK-SHATTER!
The blade cleaved through the stone pillar as if it were soft clay. Gu Yue didn't flinch. "Kinetic force approximates five thousand kilograms, plus significant edge acuity. Equivalent to a focused assault from a mid-rank Soul Master."
"Only five thousand kilograms?" Yao Xuan's assessment was immediate. "Form up on me. Tight circle."
His calm certainty was infectious. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan quickly moved to flank him, with Gu Yue completing the formation. They stood at the precipice of the first crashing blade.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!..." The guide's countdown boomed over the din.
Yao Xuan centered himself. The fear in the air, the screaming metal—it all faded into background noise. He focused inward, on the second brilliant circuit of his triple bloodline circulation.
"...Three! Two! One! Begin!"
"Ancestral Dragon Chaos Qi!"
Five percent of his formidable blood energy ignited. Not a flashy explosion, but a controlled, potent release. From his body erupted a shimmering, pale nine-colored energy that coalesced into a translucent dome around the five of them, its surface swirling with faint, dragon-like patterns.
Simultaneously, Gu Yue acted. Wind energy spiraled from her fingertips, wrapping around each of their legs with a gentle but insistent push. "Go!"
As one, they broke into a sprint. They didn't run like individuals, but as a single, cohesive unit shielded by the luminous dome.
CLANG! CRASH! BANG!
The guillotines fell. One after another, they hammered down onto the protective dome with earth-shattering force. Each impact sent concentric ripples of light shimmering across the shield's surface, but not a single crack appeared. The terrifying blades stopped dead, arrested by the serene, sovereign energy, the shockwaves dissipating harmlessly into the air around them. Inside the dome, the sound was muted to a deep, rhythmic thrum.
Nine seconds.
They emerged from the tenth archway, the dome of Chaos Qi dissipating like morning mist. Behind them, the guillotines continued their mindless, violent dance, now irrelevant.
Xu Xiaoyan let out a long, shuddering breath, then grinned, her earlier fear replaced by exhilaration. "That was… incredible."
"Efficient," Gu Yue corrected softly, but a slight upward tilt at the corner of her mouth betrayed her satisfaction.
The guide had already halted the machinery. The sudden silence was almost as shocking as the noise had been. She approached, her eyes fixed on Yao Xuan with deep respect. "That defensive skill… it's exceptional. To maintain such a stable shield under sequential impacts of that magnitude while moving… your control is masterful."
"It was sufficient for the task," Yao Xuan replied simply. He had used only a fraction of the technique's potential. With his current reserves, he could summon defenses capable of weathering the full onslaught of a Soul Saint. These guillotines were but a mild test.
"Your time was nine seconds," the guide said, consulting a small readout on her wrist. "A perfect score. Again." She shook her head slightly, a wry smile forming. "With performances like these, direct entry to the Inner Court isn't just a possibility—it's an expectation. Rest for ten minutes. The fourth trial awaits."
As they rested, Yao Xuan contemplated the next challenge. 'Special skills assessment…' Raw strength or defense might seem brutish. He needed to demonstrate finesse, control, and the intellectual depth of his power. His mind went to the spear forms Xiao Zhi had painstakingly deduced—the Great Wilderness Annihilation Spear. A display of ranged, precise, and profoundly skillful attack would showcase a different facet of his sovereignty. It would also avoid any… unintended demonstrations of overwhelming force that might complicate matters later.
When the guide beckoned, they followed her back into the main building, ascending to the second floor. Here, the décor shifted from historical grandeur to sophisticated modernity. The walls were pristine white, adorned with intricate, gilded schematics of advanced soul tools—blueprints for flight apparatus, energy cores, and defensive arrays—that seemed to pulse with a hidden, logical rhythm.
They were led to a spacious waiting chamber where a handful of other examinees already stood in nervous silence. The guide lowered her voice. "The fourth trial is a demonstration of a special skill or unique ability. Choose one to present to the examiners. Think carefully about what best represents your unique strengths."
"Understood. Thank you, senior," Yao Xuan said, his mind already made up. He would let his spear speak, not just of destruction, but of artistry, discipline, and the annihilating grace of the Ancestral Dragon's decree.