The Third Trial – The Choice of Ascension
The air inside the Celestial Pagoda grew heavier, charged with something ancient and absolute.
Xiao Lian, Ji Ren, and Qin Ziyan stood before a massive stone archway that had risen from the ground, inscribed with celestial markings. The trial had shifted again, bringing them to what felt like the heart of the pagoda.
Above them, three luminous pathways stretched into the void, each leading to a different fate.
A voice, neither human nor entirely divine, echoed through the space:
"The Third Trial begins. Choose your path."
Three gateways shimmered before them.
The Path of Power – a blazing road of molten rock, crackling with raw energy.
The Path of Wisdom – a twisting corridor of endless books, shifting puzzles, and illusions.
The Path of Sacrifice – a shadowed abyss, whispering promises only the desperate would heed.
Xiao Lian didn't hesitate.
She stepped toward the Path of Wisdom.
It was the only choice that made sense. She had survived through intelligence, calculation, and understanding her enemies better than they understood themselves. If power alone could guarantee victory, the strongest would always rule. But history had proven otherwise.
Power could be manipulated. Power could be outsmarted.
Wisdom was true supremacy.
As she approached, the moment she crossed the threshold, the world around her shattered into cascading symbols, reforming into a vast library where the books whispered as if alive.
Ji Ren, watching her disappear, let out a rough breath.
"Tch. Figures," he muttered.
He turned his gaze toward his own path—the Path of Power.
It called to him.
Raw strength had carried him this far. If he wanted to stand on equal footing with the strongest warriors, he couldn't waver. There was no point in overthinking. Strength was the language of survival.
Without hesitation, Ji Ren strode forward, stepping onto the molten road.
The heat hit him immediately, searing through his clothes.
Pain flared, but he didn't stop.
He grinned.
Finally, a real challenge.
And then he was gone.
That left only Qin Ziyan.
He remained frozen, staring at the three paths as if the weight of his entire existence rested on this decision.
His fingers curled.
The Path of Wisdom made sense. He had always relied on strategy, illusions, and precision. But if he followed Xiao Lian there, would it change anything? Would she ever see him the way he wanted her to?
The Path of Power was tempting, but he knew better. Ji Ren would always surpass him in raw strength. That wasn't where his destiny lay.
Then, there was the final road.
The Path of Sacrifice.
A dark wind curled around his feet, whispering in a voice that only he could hear.
"She will never choose you."
"But you can still surpass them."
"All you must do is surrender what weighs you down."
Qin Ziyan's heart pounded.
The shadowy figure from before—the one who had appeared in his illusion—stood at the entrance of the abyss.
Its voice was smooth, almost kind.
"You are the only one who can see it, aren't you?"
Qin Ziyan exhaled shakily.
He shouldn't listen. He knew that.
But wasn't that what made this choice different?
Wisdom and Power were straightforward paths. Strength and intelligence had their limits.
But Sacrifice…
Sacrifice meant becoming something beyond limits.
His hands trembled.
What would he have to give up?
His past? His name? His humanity?
Qin Ziyan closed his eyes.
Then, without a word, he took a step forward.
Darkness swallowed him whole.