Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Illusions of the Serpent

The world around Xiao Lian was on fire.

Smoke curled into the sky, thick and black, carrying with it the cries of his fellow disciples. Mount Wuqing burned. But it wasn't the scene that shook him—it was the sword in his own hand. Red with blood. Bai He, his master, lay at his feet, his robes torn, white hair soaked with crimson.

"Why?" the dying man rasped. "You were my brightest star…"

"No," Xiao Lian gasped. "This isn't real. I would never—!"

"But you could," a voice echoed. His own. Standing across the courtyard, was a reflection of himself, cloaked in dark wind, eyes like voids. "The Windblade chooses not the pure… but those willing to do what others won't."

Xiao Lian closed his eyes, the screams rising. This is the Trial of Echoes… it feeds on fear. On guilt. He breathed in—slower, deeper—and focused on the wind. Not the wind of memory, but the true wind, subtle and constant.

"I am not ruled by what I could become," he whispered. "I walk my own path."

As he opened his eyes, the false self burst like mist. The courtyard faded.

He was back on the Serpent Stairs.

---

Far away in her own illusion, Yun Mei Lian stood barefoot in her childhood palace, surrounded by jade pillars and cold faces. Her brother, General Yun Zhen, glared at her from his throne.

"You abandoned the Empire. Our family."

"No," she whispered. "I ran from a future where I was never free."

"You chose fantasy over blood. A stage over a sword."

She trembled, but lifted her chin. "And now I choose truth."

He rose. "Then prove it. Kill me. End the past."

The weight of the blade in her hand was familiar—but this was no prop from the opera stage. This was her brother's saber. The same one he wielded in his final campaign. The one they never found after he vanished.

She stepped forward, tears in her eyes.

"I forgive you," she said.

The illusion shattered in a rush of silver petals.

---

Moments later, the fog lifted from the mountain. Elder Xu stood before them, watching.

"You've passed," he said.

Yun Mei Lian's hair was damp with sweat, but her gaze was clearer than ever.

Xiao Lian bowed slightly. "What's next?"

Xu gestured to the final steps. "You enter as Outer Disciples of the Azure Serpent Sect. But make no mistake—the real trials begin now."

Behind them, the serpent statues hissed softly as the gate creaked open.