Chapter 68 – Paths of Trial, Eyes of Judgment

Let them bleed, let them burn, but let them rise—only the worthy will bear the mark of Chaos."

Asha Rani – Frost Soul Tomb

Each swing of the Ice Tyrant's claw split the sky with aurora streaks of frozen essence. The monster towered above Asha like a mountain of ancient bones and divine glacial crystal, its core pulsating with blue flame.

But Asha was a storm made flesh.

Snow swirled around her feet, and her Ice Spirit Body resonated with the trial space, absorbing the surrounding qi into her dantian like a cyclone.

The system echoed:

❖ [Ice Affinity Bonus Detected – Amplifying Technique Efficiency by 320%]

❖ [Unique Bloodline Match – Trial Zone Compatibility Achieved: 97.6%]

❖ [Hidden Objective Unlocked: Reclaim the Ancient Ice Pearl from within the Tyrant's Core]

Asha's eyes narrowed. So that's the true prize.

The tyrant let out a roar and charged.

She remained still. And then—BOOM—she vanished.

The jade fan in her hand left afterimages as she blinked from one foothold of frost to another. Each movement created deadly art: slashes of condensed frost qi sliced through the storm, sealing and then shattering the limbs of the beast.

❖ [Technique Activated: Moonlit Petals – Divine Ice Movement Art]

❖ [Crit Chain x5 – Left Arm Severed]

❖ [Right Eye Frozen]

❖ [HP Remaining: 19%]

The Ice Tyrant reared back in agony.

Then Asha moved to end it.

With one final sweep of her fan—no longer defensive, but a weapon of finality—she channeled every ounce of her cultivation into a concentrated shard of diamondized ice.

She leapt.

Time slowed.

The shard pierced directly through the center of the beast's chest, striking the glowing blue core.

❖ [Ice Core Destroyed – Trial Complete]

❖ [You have acquired: Ancient Ice Pearl – Legendary Grade]

❖ [Trial Score: 97.5 – Chaos Approval: Eligible for Direct Recruitment]

A beam of light surrounded Asha's body as the Ice Pearl hovered in front of her.

She looked up.

For just a moment, she felt someone watching.

Arya Kapoor – Blade Array Temple

Arya Kapoor had reached Floor 49. Blood trickled from her lip. Her sleeves were torn. Her right hand had suffered a deep cut from a multi-angled blade that shouldn't have existed in linear geometry.

❖ [Damage Sustained: Moderate]

❖ [Warning: Upcoming floors will deploy mirrored clone arrays]

❖ [System Prompt: Solve Central Formula Array to bypass next 20 floors]

She sat cross-legged on the glowing jade platform.

The system expected her to rest.

Instead, Arya stared at the array's core and whispered:

"Pattern… reversed chaos symmetry… left spin… it's not 2D… it's curved—dimensional bleed theory!"

Her fingers moved in a blur across floating scripts. For most cultivators, such complexity would require a month of study.

Arya solved it in 43 seconds.

❖ [System Alert: Puzzle Solved – 20 Floors Bypassed]

❖ [Trial Floor 70 Unlocked]

❖ [Assessment: Chaos-Class Intelligence – Inner Sect Candidate]

❖ [Mark of the Chaos Eye Pending Activation]

Inside the viewing platform, an elder blinked in astonishment.

"She's… already interpreting Chaos Theory Arrays. Only the founders ever did that."

Zero didn't speak. His hand hovered above her name, but he hadn't placed the mark.

Yet.

ShadowBlade – Inferno Judgment

In the volcanic trial realm, ShadowBlade was on one knee.

His armor was charred. His legs were badly burned. The Molten Warlord stood opposite him, laughing as magma dripped from its demonic axe.

❖ [HP: 7%]

❖ [Time Remaining: 2:11]

❖ [Defensive Skills: Disabled]

❖ [Inner Will – Fluctuating]

Yet despite the pain, ShadowBlade grinned.

"Is that all you got, freak?"

He summoned his final technique—not a weapon or buff, but a counter-strike based entirely on movement prediction and timing.

He dashed.

Slid under the warlord's swing.

Threw both daggers in reverse grip.

Then jammed a burning lava rock into the warlord's heart socket.

❖ [Critical – Lava Core Overload]

❖ [Boss Defeated – Survival Achieved]

He collapsed, breathing heavily as a pillar of light surrounded him.

❖ [Trial Score: 91.2]

❖ [Chaos Evaluation: Violent Will – Outer Disciple Eligible]

"Nice," ShadowBlade muttered, logging the result. "But next time, I want a real enemy."

Chaos Sect Throne Hall – Marks of Fate

Back in the Chaos Sect, Zero sat quietly as floating orbs displayed the top 100 participants. Behind him, the Supreme Elders conferred.

"Shall we begin the markings?"

"Yes," Zero said, standing. His hand raised.

Golden lines shot from his Chaos Ring, touching specific orbs.

❖ [Mark of Chaos Placed – Asha Rani – Inner Core Eligible]

❖ [Mark of Chaos Placed – Arya Kapoor – Inner Core Pending Final Test]

❖ [Mark of Chaos Placed – ShadowBlade – Outer Disciple Invite Issued]

❖ [Mark of Chaos Placed – Player 'Runesaint' – Alchemy Path Candidate]

❖ [Mark of Chaos Placed – NPC 'Yi Feng' – Ancient Bloodline Detected – Secret Guardian Path]

One elder raised a brow. "You placed a delayed mark on Arya."

"She's being watched by too many eyes. Let's see how she handles the next trial," Zero replied.

Another elder bowed. "And the girl with the Ice Pearl?"

"She belongs here," Zero said, his voice lower now. "Mark her. Prepare her trial entrance to the real Chaos Sect grounds."

A Final Shadow Enters

In a separate realm—Trial Zone #999, inaccessible to most—space split apart, and a figure cloaked in black mist entered. He bore no name. No identity. Not even the system could read him.

❖ [??? has entered the Chaos Trials]

❖ [Class: Unknown]

❖ [Power Signature: Masked]

❖ [Intent: ???]

Inside the Chaos Sect, every mirror flickered.

One elder stood abruptly. "That… that's not one of ours."

Zero's eyes narrowed.

"Then let's see what he wants."