As Lin Xue stepped into the grand illusion array known as the Seven Heavens, her surroundings instantly shifted. The sunlight above dimmed, replaced by pale moonlight filtering through drifting snow. The world turned silent, save for the soft crunch of her footsteps.
Her illusion trial had begun.
---
First Heaven – The Past That Bleeds
Lin Xue found herself standing in the courtyard of her childhood home—once lively, now consumed by silence. Snowflakes drifted down lazily. A younger version of herself sat in the center, hugging her knees, blood on her lips, bruises blooming on her arms.
A voice rang out—her father's—cold, emotionless.
> "You should never have been born. Your ice body is a curse. You'll bring nothing but disaster."
Lin Xue stood frozen, pain rushing through her heart like ice in her veins. She remembered this day—the day her clan sealed her away after discovering her mutated Ice Serpent Constitution. But now, standing as she was, Lin Xue walked forward.
She knelt before her younger self, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
> "You are not a curse," she whispered. "You are the storm before the bloom. The cold that keeps the world in balance."
The scene shattered like ice breaking beneath a hammer. The First Heaven had been cleared.
---
Second Heaven – The Chains of Obedience
Now, Lin Xue stood in the center of a sect training hall, dozens of girls kneeling in formation. A man—her former elder—stood on a raised platform, sneering.
> "Obey, and you may live another day. Disobey, and the cold will consume you."
She looked around, realizing this was the day she had been forced to injure a fellow disciple for the elder's amusement. The illusion replayed cruelly—she was ordered to strike.
But Lin Xue stood firm. Her hand, glowing faintly with ice energy, refused to raise.
> "I no longer serve cruelty," she said with calm defiance. "Your rules never defined my worth."
The training hall faded into mist. The chains around her heart loosened.
---
Third Heaven – The Echo of Betrayal
The mist reformed. Lin Xue now stood alone before the figure of a man—her first friend, perhaps something more. He smiled as he handed her a drink... laced with poison.
> "I'm sorry, Xue'er. They offered me power. You understand, right?"
This was the betrayal that had cemented her distrust in warmth and affection. She'd nearly died that night.
But instead of lashing out, Lin Xue walked forward.
> "I pity you," she whispered, looking into his illusionary eyes. "You were weak, and I let that define me for too long."
The man crumbled into frost, carried by the wind. The third illusion melted away.
---
Fourth Heaven – The Mirror of Desire
This time, Lin Xue stood in a glacial palace, adorned with crystal mirrors. Each one reflected a different version of herself—one full of pride, another consumed by anger, another ruling as a cold-hearted empress.
But in the center stood a mirror that showed her true self—fragile, hidden behind a composed mask.
She stepped toward it.
> "I do not need to hide from myself," she said softly. "I am flawed, but I am growing."
She touched the mirror. It shattered into silver dust. The fourth illusion faded.
---
Fifth Heaven – Loneliness Eternal
Now she was alone in a white void, snow endlessly falling. No sound, no life. Time didn't move. She walked, and walked, and walked.
No one came.
No Su Yang. No Jin Hao. No elders. No serpent valley. Just cold.
> "Is this… what I feared the most?" she murmured.
Her chest tightened.
But then—she remembered the moment Su Yang reached out to her during the trial, how Jin Hao had smiled despite being from a different sect, how Master Bai had protected her.
Tears froze on her cheeks.
> "I'm not alone anymore."
The wind blew, and the void cracked. The fifth heaven broke.
---
Sixth Heaven – Wrath Unleashed
Lin Xue now stood amidst flames and blood. A city burned around her. Her body moved on its own, unleashing waves of terrifying frost and freezing thousands in a heartbeat. Her power was out of control.
A voice echoed in her head:
> "This is your future. A monster. A calamity."
She screamed.
The snowstorm within her erupted, clashing with the illusion's fire. Her real power surged—ice coiling around her spirit like a serpent ready to strike.
> "No… I control my power. It doesn't control me."
With a breath, she released a spiritual ice lotus, its petals blooming outward. The flames extinguished. The sixth trial collapsed.
---
Seventh Heaven – The Choice of the Heart
At last, Lin Xue stood on a frozen lake beneath a black sky.
Before her stood two doors—one leading back to her sect, a path to power and status. The other, a lone bridge that stretched into the unknown, marked by Su Yang's silhouette waiting silently at the end.
A whisper echoed from the wind:
> "The safe path… or the uncertain one?"
She thought of Su Yang's stubborn warmth. Of his calm gaze during the trial. Of how he didn't flinch when helping her, despite knowing her constitution was dangerous.
She walked toward the bridge.
> "My path… is not built on fear."
Each step made the ice crack—but she didn't stop.
When she reached the figure at the end, it turned. Su Yang smiled.
The illusion faded.
---
Outside the Array
A beam of soft blue light erupted from Lin Xue's body as she stumbled out of the illusion array. Snowflakes spiraled around her, but they weren't cold—they were soothing.
Elder Bai stepped forward, eyes wide.
> "She… stabilized her mutated Ice Serpent Constitution during the illusion trial?"
> "Her soul has grown," whispered another elder. "She's blooming…"
From the distance, Su Yang, watching silently, nodded.
> "She's stronger than I thought."
---
[End of Chapter – Lin Xue's Seven Heavens Trial]