Day Two – When the Domain Turns Inward
Time inside the Spirit Boundary Domain did not pass normally.
Shen Yueqin sensed it before she saw it—the shift.
The mist grew heavier, no longer drifting aimlessly but pressing inward, narrowing paths, bending perception. The forest she had been walking through thinned suddenly, opening into a wide stone plain fractured by cracks that glowed faintly with unstable spiritual energy.
This time, the domain did not offer familiar illusions.
It offered choices.
Ahead of her, three paths appeared.
One radiated stability but felt stagnant.
One pulsed with power, aggressive and tempting.
The third was barely visible—uncertain, shifting, difficult to sense.
Shen Yueqin did not rush.
"Power without control leads to collapse," she murmured.
"Stability without growth leads to decay."
Her gaze settled on the third path.
The moment she stepped onto it, the pressure doubled.
Her breathing grew heavier—not from exhaustion, but from resistance. The domain responded immediately, amplifying her doubts.
Is this the wrong choice?
What if the other paths were safer?
She slowed her pace, grounding herself.
"I chose this," she said quietly. "Then I will see it through."
The pressure eased—not gone, but bearable.
Elsewhere – Cracks in Resolve
Not all participants fared so well.
A disciple from the Azure River Sect knelt on the ground, clutching his head. Around him, illusions overlapped—voices of elders, rivals, memories of failure.
"I can't tell what's real anymore…" he whispered.
His spiritual energy surged chaotically.
The mist closed in.
When it receded, he was gone.
Another participant, Wu Tian, stood at the edge of a ravine that had not existed moments before. His fists clenched as he steadied his breathing.
"This domain doesn't test strength," he realized grimly. "It tests restraint."
He sat down, allowing the illusion to remain unchallenged.
Slowly, the ravine faded.
He exhaled.
The Observer
Far above the domain, the Selector stood before a suspended mirror of flowing light. Within it, fragments of the trial appeared—participants moving, hesitating, failing.
His expression remained unchanged.
"They struggle," an attendant said quietly.
"As they should," the Selector replied. "This domain reveals who relies on force… and who understands themselves."
The mirror shifted.
Shen Yueqin appeared within it—walking calmly, her spiritual flow even, her gaze clear.
The Selection head paused for a brief moment.
"She neither resists nor submits," he said softly.
He waved his hand, and the mirror moved on.
By the third day, the Spirit Boundary Domain changed again.
Not abruptly.
Not violently.
It simply… empties.
Shen Yueqin became aware of it when the sounds disappeared.
No wind through leaves.
No shifting mist.
No distant echoes of other participants.
Even her footsteps made no noise.
The forest she had walked through the day before dissolved into pale light, fading like ink washed from paper. In its place stretched an endless, colorless expanse—neither sky nor earth, neither void nor substance.
Her spiritual sense reached outward.
It found nothing.
For the first time since entering the domain, Shen Yueqin stopped moving.
"This is the final boundary," she thought.
The pressure did not descend immediately. Instead, it seeped in slowly, like cold into bone. Not pain—absence. Her spiritual energy no longer responded as smoothly as before, as if the domain had dulled its presence.
Then came the weight.
Not crushing.
Not hostile.
Questioning.
Her cultivation base felt distant, unreachable, as though it belonged to someone else. The strength she had honed through years of discipline seemed irrelevant here.
A presence stirred—not a voice, not an image.
A concept.
Without your power, who are you?
Her breath faltered—not from fear, but from the depth of the question.
Shen Yueqin had always known herself as strong. Disciplined. One of the top disciples of her sect. Admired. Trusted.
But stripped of all that—
She lowered herself into a seated position.
The ground felt neither warm nor cold.
"I am not my cultivation," she said quietly.
The pressure deepened.
Memories surfaced—not dramatic, not painful. Simple moments.
Her first day entering the sect.
The quiet hours of solitary practice.
Standing beside her junior sisters, correcting their stances patiently.
Not glory.
Not ambition.
Responsibility.
"I train because I choose to," she continued, her voice steady despite the growing emptiness around her. "I protect because it is necessary. I endure because someone must."
The domain did not react immediately.
Time stretched.
Somewhere else within the Spirit Boundary Domain, disciples screamed—or collapsed—or vanished. Shen Yueqin sensed none of it.
The final test was solitary.
If strength leaves you, the presence pressed, will you still stand?
She opened her eyes.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No declaration of destiny.
Just certainty.
The pressure shattered.
Light erupted—not blinding, not overwhelming, but profound. Her spiritual energy returned, flowing more smoothly than before, refined rather than increased.
The domain around her cracked like glass.
Return
The moment the last ripple of spatial light faded, the remaining disciples reappeared on the vast stone platform.
Some collapsed to their knees the instant their feet touched solid ground. Others stood frozen, breathing unevenly, their expressions pale as if they had not yet returned from the domain. Blood stained sleeves. Spiritual energy fluctuated chaotically in the air.
The platform was noticeably emptier than before.
No one spoke.
Elders from various sects stepped forward, guiding the injured away. A few disciples were carried off on spirit stretchers, unconscious but alive. No names were called. No questions were asked.
Only after the chaos settled did a tall figure step forward.
The Selection Head stood at the edge of the platform, his hands clasped behind his back. His expression remained indifferent, as though the loss of half the participants was neither surprising nor regrettable.
His voice carried clearly across the silent grounds.
"The first trial is complete."
The disciples straightened instinctively.
"Those who stand here have passed the Spirit Boundary Domain."
A slight pause.
"You may rest for one night."
Relief flickered briefly across several faces, but no one dared relax completely.
The Selection Head continued, his tone unchanged.
"Resting areas have been prepared to the east of the trial grounds. Follow the guiding talismans. Healers will be present. Disciples may cultivate, meditate, or recover as they see fit."
A faint shift of spiritual pressure rippled outward.
"The second trial will begin at dawn tomorrow."
A murmur rose instinctively — then died just as quickly when his gaze swept across the crowd.
"Those who believe they cannot continue may withdraw now."
Silence.
No one stepped forward.
The Selection Head gave a slight nod, as if he had expected nothing else.
"Very well."
With a wave of his sleeve, luminous symbols appeared in the air, forming pathways of soft light that extended toward the resting grounds.
"Do not be late."
The light faded.
Only then did the disciples begin to move.
Among them, Shen Yueqin turned calmly toward the eastern path. Her expression was composed, but her spiritual core pulsed steadily beneath the surface — stable, restrained, ready.
The night ahead would not be for rest alone.