Chapter 15: The Trial Before Heaven Could Prepare

The silver-flame portal opened not with brilliance, but with absence.

Nie Qing turned toward it, startled—then narrowed her eyes.

"He's back."

But it was not just Lin Xuan returning.

It was the tomb itself collapsing behind him, folded into his shadow, rewritten as a footnote in his presence.

The platform beneath them—the Trial Realm—shuddered.

Sky cracked.

Time faltered.

And for the first time, the divine script froze mid-decree.

 Lin Xuan Returns… Unwritten

He stepped out—his eyes darker than night, his breath carrying no mist, as if he exhaled non-reality.

The cultivators nearby backed away instinctively.

Those who could perceive cause and effect couldn't see his footprint.

Nie Qing whispered, half in reverence, half in fear:

"The world doesn't remember what you walked across."

"I didn't walk across it," Lin Xuan murmured.

"I rewrote it."

 Divine Order Malfunction

In the Trial Sky, the fourth decree attempted to re-engage:

"Trial Four Complete—Preparing Tr—"

The text corrupted.

The glyphs rearranged themselves.

"Unknown protocol detected."

"Subject: Lin Xuan cannot be processed under Trial Law."

A new decree attempted to form:

"Force Initiation of Trial Five—Mirror of Heaven's Eye."

But the trial activated too early.

Unstabilized.

Unready.

And in that chaos—a door opened that should not have.

 A Door Not Meant for Mortals

From the edges of the Trial Realm, space peeled like brittle parchment.

A gate shaped like a celestial iris formed—half-open, twitching with suppressed law.

It led not into a new test… but into the heavens themselves.

A backdoor.

A breach in the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Nie Qing stared.

So did Ji Yunlan, injured and humbled, muttering:

"What is he?"

"How is he still… ascending?"

Lin Xuan did not hesitate.

The Null Flame Codex whispered in his mind:

"That gate was forged to judge gods."

"If you walk through it as a man… you won't return as one."

He stepped toward the iris.

 Interlude: Infiltrator Among Them

But just before Lin Xuan crossed, a figure approached him.

A girl in white.

No cultivation pressure. No presence.

Soft smile. Calm hands.

"You shouldn't go yet," she said.

"That door wasn't meant for you."

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes.

"Neither was the sky."

She blinked.

Then sighed.

And the illusion fell away.

 Heaven's Infiltrator: Envoy of the Mirrorless Hall

Her real form stood tall, robed in fractal glass, with hair like ink trapped in crystal. On her brow floated a shard of divine script.

"I am Yue Wuqian," she said. "Celestial Envoy from the Hall of Silent Corrections."

"I was not sent to kill you, Lin Xuan."

"I was sent to offer you an alternative."

Lin Xuan didn't draw a blade.

Didn't form a seal.

He simply asked:

"Is it death disguised as mercy?"

She shook her head.

"It's worse."

"It's purpose disguised as freedom."

 The Offer

Yue Wuqian raised her hand.

A scroll appeared—old, heavy, bound with nine karmic knots.

"This is a Heaven-Given Dao."

"You will be allowed to ascend.""You will be allowed to teach.""You will not be hunted.""But you will never touch the First Path again."

"No more Void. No more Null. No more freedom."

"Just… peace. And legacy."

The offer hung in the air.

Nie Qing whispered, "She's giving you everything a cultivator could ever want."

"Exactly," Yue Wuqian said.

"Because Heaven has realized—killing you only makes the Void stronger."

"But if you become a teacher, a leader, a hero…"

"You will chain yourself."

 Lin Xuan's Answer

He looked down at the scroll.

Touched it.

For a moment… he wavered.

He saw visions:

A great sect formed by his hand.

Countless disciples learning his techniques.

His name sung across the realms.

But then…He looked closer.

At the karmic knots.

Each one tied to a future he didn't choose.

Each one bound by Heaven's authorship.

And he let go.

"Peace is the lie offered to those with no strength left to fight."

"And I'm not done fighting."

He reached into his sleeve—summoned a flicker of Null Flame—and touched it to the scroll.

The scroll screamed.

It turned to ash that didn't fall.

Yue Wuqian stepped back, expression unreadable.

"Then you are no longer a participant in the Heavenfall Trial," she said.

"You are now… its opponent."

She vanished.

 Trial Realm Cracks

The false sky above cracked in seven places.

A golden decree shattered mid-script.

A new message burned in black flame:

"HEAVENFALL BREACH CONFIRMED."

"FULL ASCENSION LOCKDOWN COMMENCED."

"UNWRITTEN ANOMALY STATUS: HOSTILE."

And Lin Xuan smiled.

"Finally."

"Now I stop being tested."

"Now I start breaking things."