The Trials Begin

After the Grand Elder had used the threat of the Demon Slaying Crystal, a long, tense moment followed, where no party dared offend the other, and everyone waited for the inheritance trials to open. Since the Flaming Saber sect had lost its defensive formations, the Grand Elder had also allowed the two other sects of the kingdom and the royal family to participate in the inheritance trials, but only five of their disciples each could enter, instead of the fifteen they had brought.

As for the Flaming Saber sect, the top five outer sect disciples and the top five inner sect disciples were allowed to enter, as well as a few other talented disciples chosen by the Grand Elder.

This, of course, meant that Li Zhu could participate, since he was still considered the fourth strongest of the outer sect, at least for a few more days, until new rankings were formed and he became an inner sect disciple.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to everyone involved, the ground began to rumble, followed by a burst of energy, in the center of the sect. Where there used to be the Flaming Saber sect auction, the ground began to move, a large statue rising from the ground.

The auction house was crushed by the rising statue, but no one paid any attention to this, as they were all in awe of the figure portrayed in the stone monument.

The statue was that of a man smiling, with a long staff in his hand, and a spirit beast on his shoulder. His smile gave the impression of a leader, caring for his subordinates.

'That's the founder of the Thousand Illusion Mountain!' thought Li Zhu, hundreds of thoughts racing through his mind. He recognized the smiling man from a book he had read about this ancient sect, that had disappeared so abruptly from the continent.

Since the sect had existed a thousand years before the present times, there were not many records about it, and Li Zhu had only seen a few books that mentioned it, including the one where he had seen the picture of the man in the statue.

Although he was surprised, Li Zhu remembered that Ts'ui Ru was a disciple of the Thousand Illusion Mountain and realized that the statue had been an attempt from him to respect the founder of the sect that he had grown up in, while he was creating his own.

What intrigued Li Zhu the most, though, was the spirit beast on the man's shoulder, since he simply could not seem to pinpoint what beast it was. The more he looked at the beast, the more confused he became.

'Oh, its a snake! No... its a tiger! That cannot be, it is a monkey!' his thoughts were extremely conflicting, and from the expressions of confusion on everyone else's faces, it seemed as though no one could determine what spirit beast it was that rested on the man's shoulder.

Li Zhu felt himself becoming more drowsy, and knowing that something was wrong, immediately looked away from the spirit beast. He sobered up instantly, a feeling of fear rising into him, as he realized he was not being himself just then.

"This statue is more than what meets the eye!" he mumbled, understanding that the spirit beast was purposefully not distinguishable, and staring at it for too long would put you into a trance.

Li Zhu had a strong willpower, so he had managed to look away from the statue in time, but many of the weaker disciples, allies and enemies, had fallen to the ground, in slumber.

As disciples fell to the floor one after the other, the statue finally stopped moving, followed by a booming voice, which announced, "Welcome, my descendants, to the trials to receive my inheritance. I will not lie, the trials are made in a way that there could be no winner, in which case in fifty years the inheritance trials will reopen. Since I want to find a young talent, only people under the age of twenty are allowed to enter the trials, and anyone above that age will be punished for trying!"

Everyone in the sect turned their attention to the statue, listening to the introduction of the inheritance trials, in case important information was revealed.

"There will be different paths to take in the trials, and each of them brings to different treasures along the way. Of course, all paths eventually lead to my main inheritance, what I assume most of you here today wish to receive. Before anyone enters the trials, I would feel guilty if I did not inform everyone that death is a likely possibility, if you do not give up when you can no longer keep going. With all that, I hope only the capable among you attempt to receive my inheritance, and may the trials begin!"

As the words ended, the eyes of the statue lit up, two rays of light projecting into the sky. Where the lights stopped, a wooden door appeared, ready to be opened. After the door appeared, the eyes of the statue returned to stone, and the entire monument sunk back into the ground, replaced by a patch of grass that seemingly came out of nowhere.

"I guess the trials have begun... everyone who is participating, form a line behind the door, and enter one at a time!" commanded the Grand Elder, not caring that he was telling important figures such as Bo Ai what to do.

While everyone had been waiting for the inheritance to begin, Yun Mei and Yun Huan had also arrived, an elder behind them, clearly a protector sent over from the Divine Water Clan. They had not taken part in the fighting earlier, since Yun Mei had respected Shen Zan's wish that no Flaming Saber sect member be harmed.

Now, though, they would not allow the Myriad Soul Palace to profit over the inheritance, when they had even infiltrated the sect for a full year. Although the Divine Water Clan was not enemies with Myriad Soul Palace, no force would want others to grow stronger.

No one complained about the Grand Elder's words, as they formed a line in front of the floating door.

"You can now enter!" the Grand Elder announced, opening the wooden door, and revealing a blinding light, which everyone stared at with greed. Many of the elders present looked at the disciples in the line with envy, wishing they had been born years later, so that they could have such a great opportunity.

To the disappointment of the Grand Elder, Yin Shing and Song Xue were nowhere to be seen, but their grandsons had still entered the line, since they were after all talented disciples of the Flaming Saber sect.

'I will have avenge Dong Fan's death later... but those two traitors shall die!' thought the Grand Elder, remembering the protector of the sect library, an old friend of his. He was only giving in to the other sects to avoid a war which would end up in many of his disciples dying. Otherwise, if his actions would only have consequences for himself, he would gladly fight every enemy to the end, killing as many as he could. Alas, he needed to think about his responsibilities as a leader, and needed to take this humiliation, for the sake of his disciples.

It was now Li Zhu's turn to enter the inheritance trials, but as he was about to step into the shining door frame, the Grand Elder stopped him, saying, "Li Zhu, here's your inner sect identification token... you forgot to pick it up!"

And with that, he threw a small gold token, with Li Zhu's name carved into it. Li Zhu caught the token, and with a slightly confused expression, entered the inheritance trials.

There was seemingly no reason for the Grand Elder to give him his identification token now, since the inheritance was a much more pressing matter, and he could always get the token after the trials. Although he was suspicious, Li Zhu kept his thoughts to himself, as he stepped into the door, and his body disappeared.

When he reopened his eyes, Li Zhu was in a desert, the sun shining brightly above him, and sand blowing all around him.

"I guess it begins!" mumbled Li Zhu, starting to walk in a random direction.

He had been in a few inheritance trials throughout his life as a crown prince, and they were always dangerous and painful for everyone involved, which caused him to slightly dread the upcoming encounters he would have.

He was also quite excited, though, since the statue of the smiling man had intrigued him, and with Ts'ui Ru's relation with the Thousand Illusion Mountain, some treasures in this inheritance could very well be related to illusions.

'I better hold onto this' he thought, staring down at his identification token, shining under the sun. There must have been a reason why the Grand Elder had given this item to him, so he placed it in the spirit ring that Shen Zan had gifted him, before continuing his journey through the desert.