The ground trembled. Not the random quiver of distant movement, but a deliberate, pulsing rhythm—like a heartbeat emanating from the earth itself.
Tian Jue's eyes narrowed. "It's not a beast," he said flatly. "It's the inheritance ground."
Before Huan Tao could reply, the air ahead shimmered. The tree line warped, twisting into a tunnel of black-gold light, and from it stepped a figure. It wasn't flesh and blood—it was a projection woven from spiritual will, towering nearly three meters, wearing an ancient bronze mask that hid its face.
"Two intruders. One in the marrow-tempering stage… one at the threshold of tendon and bone refinement." The voice rumbled like thunder rolling through a canyon. "One has the blood of slaughter. The other… the scent of survival at all costs."
The figure raised a hand, and in its palm a sphere of crushing gravity formed, bending the surrounding air.
"This ground has slept for three thousand years," the presence continued. "To enter, you must endure The Measure of Worth."
Without warning, the sphere burst apart, scattering into dozens of shimmering fragments. Each fragment solidified into a beast formed of pure spiritual essence—fangs, claws, and eyes burning with killing intent.
Huan Tao grinned, wild aura erupting. "Heh… guess it doesn't like our faces."
Tian Jue didn't smile. He felt it immediately—these beasts weren't normal constructs. They adapted with every strike, matching strength for strength, speed for speed. And unlike the living predators in the forest, these didn't tire.
The first wave came fast. Tian Jue blocked with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his newly tempered bones—yet instead of pain, there was a satisfying clang, like metal striking metal. He countered with a hammer fist, shattering the construct's ribcage into motes of light.
But another lunged at his back instantly, claws aimed at his neck. He spun low, tendons whipping his body in a blur, and swept its legs before crushing its skull with a downward stomp.
Huan Tao was a whirlwind beside him—every slash of his claws tore through two, sometimes three constructs at once. But Tian Jue noticed something when Huan Tao fought too aggressively, the constructs multiplied. The trial wasn't testing pure strength—it was testing control.
A deep hum filled the clearing, and the masked figure's eyes began to glow through the bronze.
"You fight well… but until you learn restraint, the trial will devour you."
The constructs doubled.
Tian Jue stepped back, breathing evenly, feeling the heat of battle urging him forward—but he forced himself still. His muscles tensed like drawn bowstrings, but he didn't release.
The masked presence was watching. Not just the fight—it was watching them. Every flicker of killing intent made the constructs surge in number. Every reckless blow drew more pressure.
It's not a contest of power… it's a measure of control.
"Huan Tao!" Tian Jue's voice cut through the clash. "Don't just kill—direct your force!"
"What?!" Huan Tao tore through another construct, but his wild grin faltered when he noticed two more forming in its place.
"Strike to disable, not destroy!" Tian Jue's tone was sharp. "Treat them as allies you don't want to kill!"
Huan Tao blinked, clearly confused, but for once she followed without argument. She began aiming for knees, wrists, and shoulders—breaking forms apart instead of annihilating them. The constructs hesitated, and their numbers stopped multiplying.
Tian Jue's own movements shifted. Instead of hammering blows that shattered, he flowed—redirecting, locking joints, dispersing force through the ground. His refined tendons and bones allowed him to absorb strikes without flinching, making each counter precise and minimal.
Slowly, the swarm's aggression dwindled. The air's crushing pressure began to lift.
The masked presence's voice rumbled again. "Good… strength without restraint is savagery. Restraint without strength is cowardice. But strength tempered by will… is worth passing on."
The remaining constructs dissolved into threads of golden light that coiled into the air. The masked figure extended a hand, and from the golden threads, an ancient seal appeared—floating between Tian Jue and Huan Tao.
"This is but the key," it said. "The true inheritance lies beyond the veil. Whether you claim it… depends on how deep you are willing to walk."
The bronze mask tilted slightly toward Tian Jue.
"You… are unshackled by fate yet bound by it. Your body's path is incomplete. Beyond the veil, you may find what you lack."
The ground split with a thunderous crack, revealing a spiral staircase of light descending into darkness.
Huan Tao gave him a wild grin. "I say we keep going."
Tian Jue smirked faintly. "Of course. We've only just started'
The staircase of light felt endless, spiraling downward into a void that seemed to swallow all sound.
Every step Tian Jue took felt heavier—at first like walking with soaked clothes, then like wading through a mire of lead.
By the time they reached the bottom, the "ground" wasn't stone at all, but an endless plane of white bone, polished smooth like marble. Strange runes pulsed underfoot in a slow heartbeat rhythm.
The masked presence's voice echoed from everywhere.
"The inheritance is for those who forge themselves beyond mortal limits. You will walk the path of pain and emerge unbroken… or be scattered into the marrow of this place."
From the bone floor, pillars erupted—each tipped with an ethereal chain. The chains wrapped around Tian Jue's limbs and torso before he could react. They didn't burn or crush… but pulled.
One chain tugged at his arms, another at his legs, but the worst was the one sinking into his sternum—it wasn't pulling at his body, but at something deeper.
His vision wavered. His soul felt like it was being dragged from his flesh.
The curse… it's reacting.
Huan Tao roared, breaking a chain in a single violent twist, but another formed instantly, coiling tighter. His wild aura flared, but the more brute force he used, the faster the chains regenerated.
Tian Jue clenched his teeth. Not brute force. Precision.
He let his breath fall into rhythm—slowing, steadying—guiding his refined tendons to resist strain without tearing, letting his bones absorb the pull. Inside, he focused on the chain in his chest, visualizing his spiritual power wrapping around his soul like an unbreakable shell.
Each breath condensed his will. The more his body adapted, the more the chains began to slacken.
The masked presence's voice resonated again.
"You refine blood, marrow, tendon, and bone… but now, refine will. Without it, your strength will shatter."
One by one, the chains broke—not in a dramatic explosion, but like rusted links falling apart under steady pressure.
When the last one dissolved, the bone floor rippled, revealing a single jade pedestal. Upon it rested a black-and-gold crystalline shard, pulsing with a heartbeat-like glow.
Tian Jue felt it the moment his gaze locked on it—a technique meant for perfecting body cultivation, but it carried an ominous undertone. The shard whispered of strength beyond the mortal frame, yet each pulse carried a shadow of something ancient… something that recognized the curse inside him.
Huan Tao eyed it but stepped back. "Looks like it's calling for you, Tian Jue."
Tian Jue reached out, the shard's cold surface sending a shiver down his spine. As it sank into his palm, a system prompt flared before his eyes:
You have gained: [Heaven-Demon Physique Codex — Fragment].
This fragment resonates with your curse. Refinement of flesh will feed refinement of soul. Proceed with caution.
The masked voice spoke one last time before fading into silence:
"Beyond strength, you must decide what you will become—demon, immortal… or something else entirely."