The Celestial Pagoda’s First Trial

Xiao Lian hit the ground hard, the air knocked from her lungs as she rolled across cracked stone. The world spun, and when she finally steadied herself, the platform she'd been standing on had vanished. The last thing she remembered was the shattered core, the blinding light and then nothing but darkness.

Now, she stood in a desolate expanse.

The sky above was a swirling vortex of gray and gold, with distant flashes of lightning illuminating the jagged peaks that surrounded her. The ground beneath her feet was a vast battlefield, littered with rusted weapons and skeletal remains. The wind howled, carrying faint echoes of screams long faded.

"SIS," she whispered, brushing dirt from her bloodied hands. "Where are we?"

A faint hum crackled to life in her earpiece.

"Analyzing environment... Warning: You have been transported to an isolated trial zone within the Celestial Pagoda. Participants have been separated to face individual challenges. Threat level: Unknown."

Xiao Lian wiped sweat from her brow, her pulse pounding. She scanned the ruins, her body tense, ready for an ambush.

"What kind of challenge?" she muttered.

The wind shifted.

And then she saw them.

Figures emerged from the fog, spectral warriors, their translucent bodies flickering like dying embers. They wore ancient armor, weapons gleaming despite their ghostly forms. Their faces were hollow, eyes glowing faintly with golden light.

"They're spirits," Xiao Lian breathed, heart hammering.

"Correction," SIS said, voice grim. "These are not mere illusions. They are remnants of past warriors, bound to this place. Data suggests they are searching for a successor."

A successor? Xiao Lian gritted her teeth, her fingers inching toward her dagger.

"What do I need to do?"

The spirits moved, forming a circle around her, their mouths moving without sound. Then, as if responding to an unseen signal, they began to kneel, all except one.

A taller figure stepped forward, his armor more ornate than the others, with a broken crown resting atop his helm. He raised a hand, and the battlefield shifted. Weapons lifted from the ground, hanging in the air like marionettes on invisible strings. The bones of the dead slid across the earth, rearranging themselves into strange formations, like pieces on a board.

A chill ran through Xiao Lian's spine.

"This is... a puzzle?" she whispered.

"Confirmed," SIS replied. "The trial appears to be a tactical test. Historical records indicate this formation resembles an ancient battlefield strategy known as the 'Eclipsed Dragon Formation,' designed by a legendary strategist."

Xiao Lian's heart sank. She'd trained for combat her entire life, not solving ancient riddles.

"If I fail?" she asked, though she already suspected the answer.

"The spirits will not allow failure," SIS said. "Their purpose is singular: to find someone worthy. If you cannot solve the puzzle, you will become part of the formation."

Xiao Lian swallowed hard, the weight of that reality pressing down on her chest. She could almost feel the lingering resentment clinging to the battlefield, the countless warriors who had failed before her.

She stepped forward, carefully studying the floating weapons and scattered bones.

The layout was intricate, spears hovering in specific angles, swords forming intersecting lines. The bones had been arranged into clusters, some stacked, others spread out like constellations.

A puzzle, yes but one rooted in strategy.

Xiao Lian closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

She remembered sparring with Ji Ren, how he would point out openings in her stance. She thought of her late master, who had once forced her to play endless rounds of weiqi to teach her patience.

The battlefield was a board. The weapons, the bones, they were pieces. And the spirits were waiting for her to make the first move.

She knelt, tracing her fingers along the ground, feeling the cracked stone beneath her skin.

"This formation," she whispered, thinking aloud. "It's designed to trap an enemy force, isn't it?"

"Correct," SIS confirmed. "The Eclipsed Dragon Formation encircles and overwhelms opponents. However, historical texts suggest a hidden flaw in the design. If exploited, the formation collapses."

Xiao Lian's pulse quickened. A flaw.

She rose to her feet, eyes scanning the puzzle again, this time with new clarity.

The spears formed the dragon's "claws," reaching outward. The swords created the "spine." And the bones...

The bones were the heart.

"I have to break the heart," Xiao Lian muttered. "That's the key."

She stepped toward the largest cluster of bones, the densest point of the formation. The crowned spirit watched her closely, as if testing her resolve.

Xiao Lian unsheathed her dagger.

"I hope I'm right," she whispered, and then plunged the blade into the ground at the center of the cluster.

The reaction was instant.

The battlefield shook, and the floating weapons clattered to the ground. The bones disintegrated into dust, and the spirits let out soundless cries as their bodies flickered, unraveling like threads in the wind.

The crowned spirit remained.

He stepped closer, the light in his eyes dimming. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he removed his broken crown and placed it at Xiao Lian's feet.

A pulse of golden energy surged through the battlefield, and the ruined landscape faded.

Xiao Lian blinked, finding herself in a new chamber, a vast, circular room with a single stone pedestal at its center.

A scroll lay upon it, glowing faintly.

She stepped forward, her hands trembling as she picked it up.

"SIS?" she whispered.

"Scan complete," the system said. "Congratulations. You have obtained the strategy records of the Celestial Commander, a collection of ancient battle tactics and cultivation techniques lost to time."

Xiao Lian's breath hitched.

The trial had been more than a test of intelligence. It had been a rite of succession.

She glanced back, half expecting the crowned spirit to still be there. But he was gone, his purpose fulfilled.

Xiao Lian pressed the scroll to her chest, her heart pounding.

One trial down.

But how many more remained?

She squared her shoulders, her jaw tightening.

Whatever the pagoda threw at her next, she would face it.

Because she wasn't just fighting for herself.

She was fighting for Ji Ren, for Qin Ziyan, and for everyone else who had been dragged into this twisted game.

And she would not fail.

Not now. Not ever.