Haotian set down his pill furnace, the faint medicinal fragrance still lingering in the air of his courtyard. For days he had worked tirelessly on concoctions, but now he sought to temper his final elemental cultivation method—shadow. The inky threads of qi coiled around him like living mist, cold yet weightless, wrapping his form as his focus deepened.
By the time the sun touched the horizon, a subtle hum resonated through his body. The shadow element had reached minor success.
In that moment, the nine elemental forces within him—fire, water, earth, wind, wood, lightning, ice, light, and shadow—all surged together. They roared through his meridians, each strand of energy harmonizing in an overwhelming tide. His physique swelled with raw potential.
This is just minor success… he thought, a small smile curving his lips. If I reach major, or even perfect… perhaps peak success…
He stepped outside to test his strength. Without much thought, he casually extended his fist toward a distant boulder and flicked it forward in a slow punch.
BOOM—
The rock shattered into a rain of gravel, the shockwave peeling dirt from the ground in a clean arc. Haotian blinked, momentarily stunned. That strike had carried the full harmony of all nine elements, yet it was barely one percent of his already restrained strength.
"Fearsome," he murmured, shaking his head. Then, as though nothing had happened, he returned to his workbench and resumed pill-making.
Time passed swiftly.
One crisp morning, a bell rang across the Burning Sun Sect. A herald's voice rose above the noise of the disciples gathering.
"By decree of the sect master, an invitation has come from the Azure Sky Sect! The Yearly Trial of Talents shall begin in one month!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The herald continued:
"Ten disciples from each surrounding sect may enter the Azure Sky Forbidden Realm to seek treasures and artifacts. The realm teems with monsters—slay them, and bring back their cores to earn points. The rarer the monster, the more points gained! The top three scorers will be granted treasures by the hosting sect. The competition is open only to those in the Core Condensation Realm!"
Haotian's gaze sharpened. A forbidden realm meant danger… and opportunity.
The herald's voice took on a lighter tone.
"The Burning Sun Sect will hold an internal tournament to decide our ten entrants. However—Haotian, as well as Yu Lianhua and the Six Elemental Guards, will enter without contest!"
The Six Elemental Guards stepped forward, their presence a wall of confidence:
Feng Lanyue – Wind Element
An Yuerin – Water Element
Huo Zhanfeng – Fire Element
Tu Jianhong – Earth Element
Jin Xuanming – Lightning Element
Lan Shuyin – Wood Element
The crowd erupted in protest, voices overlapping in discontent. But as quickly as it began, reality set in—none among the Core Condensation disciples could match those seven.
Thus, the tournament decided only the final four spots. In a single afternoon, the remaining disciples were chosen.
Twenty disciples in total would set out: ten from Burning Sun Sect, ten from other allied sects. Three elders and one high elder would serve as their escort into the Azure Sky Forbidden Realm.
The stage for the trial was set.
Haotian eventually took a break from his constant pill refining, turning his focus to the last of his elemental cultivation methods—Shadow. For days he remained in deep meditation, sinking into the cold, flowing currents of that element until at last, he reached minor success.
The moment the shadow element merged into balance with the other eight within him, his body reacted. Power surged through his meridians like a roaring tide, each elemental force interweaving into a living storm.
This is only minor success… he thought, feeling his physique subtly harden and his senses sharpen beyond their usual clarity. If I reach major success… perfect success… maybe even peak… what kind of monster will I become?
He rose from meditation to test the sensation. A casual punch—barely a tap—sent a compressed shockwave screaming across the courtyard. Far in the distance, a boulder exploded into fragments with a sharp BOOM. Haotian stared at the debris in disbelief. He hadn't even used a fraction of his restrained strength—certainly not more than one percent.
Satisfied and slightly unsettled by his own potential, he returned to pill crafting.
Time passed quietly until an announcement rippled through the sect:
The Trial of Talents, hosted this year by the Azure Sky Sect, would soon begin. Each participating sect would send ten disciples into a forbidden realm filled with treasures, ancient artifacts, and dangerous beasts. Every beast carried a monster core that could be exchanged for points—the rarer the beast, the higher the score. At the trial's end, the top three disciples with the most points would be awarded special rewards.
The Burning Sun Sect quickly declared they would hold an internal selection tournament to choose their ten representatives. The only requirement: participants must be within the Core Condensation Realm—a rule that immediately cut down the number of competitors and reduced the threat of higher cultivation pressure.
The moment the announcement was made, five names were locked in without debate: Haotian, Lianhua, and the Six Elemental Guards—Feng Lanyue, An Yuerin, Huo Zhanfeng, Tu Jianhong, Jin Xuanming, and Lan Shuyin.
That left only two open spots.
The disciples erupted into loud protests at the idea that so many slots were already taken—until the murmurs faded into reluctant silence as reality set in. None of them could touch the core group's strength. Even those who harbored grudges knew better than to think they could topple the six guards, much less Haotian himself.
The smaller tournament went forward with fierce duels, and after hours of hard-fought matches, the last two disciples were chosen. With ten representatives confirmed, preparations began for their journey.
Three elders and one high elder were assigned as escorts for the Burning Sun Sect's contingent into the dangerous forbidden realm.
The countdown to the Trial of Talents had begun.
Preparations moved quickly. By dawn the next day, the sect courtyard was alive with activity. The ten chosen disciples stood in a neat row at the central plaza, travel packs secured, weapons and storage rings checked for the final time. Around them, ordinary sect members gathered to see them off, voices mixing in a constant hum of excitement and envy.
The three elders—robes shimmering faintly with protective wards—stood alongside the high elder, whose silver-threaded crimson mantle swayed with the morning wind. His gaze swept over the group, lingering on Haotian for a fraction longer, as though weighing something silently.
"Remember," the high elder said, his voice carrying over the crowd. "The forbidden realm will not coddle you. The Azure Sky Sect has its rules, but the beasts inside follow none. Trust your allies. Do not overreach. And if you value your life—know when to retreat."
The words hung in the air like a quiet warning, but no one missed the faint gleam of challenge in the elder's eyes.
Haotian glanced to his left. Lianhua stood calm and steady, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of her sword. Beyond her, the Six Elemental Guards exuded the silent confidence of warriors who knew their own worth—Feng Lanyue's eyes sharp as ice, An Yuerin radiating stillness, Huo Zhanfeng burning with restrained energy, Tu Jianhong solid as stone, Jin Xuanming quietly poised, and Lan Shuyin with an unreadable half-smile. The two newly chosen disciples looked more tense, shifting from foot to foot, their eyes darting between the veterans.
The high elder gave a short nod to the elders, and without another word, the escort formation activated.
A pulse of light flared beneath their feet as a series of engraved teleportation talismans awakened, humming in resonance.
WHUUMMM—
The air around the plaza warped, colors smearing into streaks as the world folded inward. In a single heartbeat, the Burning Sun Sect vanished from their sight, replaced by the towering gate towers of the Azure Sky Sect.
The Azure Sky Sect's mountain complex rose like a crown from the clouds, its peaks capped with jade-green pagodas and floating platforms linked by shimmering light bridges. Disciples in pale blue robes moved with practiced precision, their eyes flicking with curiosity toward the sudden arrival of their guests.
"Burning Sun Sect delegation," announced one of the Azure Sky's gate wardens, bowing with formality before gesturing toward the inner courtyard. "You will be quartered in the Eastern Guest Hall until the trial begins."
The group followed, their footsteps echoing softly against polished stone.
Haotian's gaze swept across the sect's sprawling architecture, his spiritual sense brushing over faint traces of suppressed formations buried in the mountain itself. Even here, power slept beneath the surface.
The Trial of Talents was close—and Haotian intended to see exactly how far his nine-element cultivation could carry him inside that forbidden realm.
The Eastern Guest Hall offered only a brief pause. Barely an hour after their arrival, a clear, resonant chime rolled across the Azure Sky Sect's mountain complex—three deep notes that vibrated through the stone itself.
Outside, disciples began moving in purposeful streams toward the central summit. The Burning Sun Sect's escort elder stepped into the guest chamber."It is time. All participating sects will assemble for the opening ceremony."
They departed in formation, crossing luminous skybridges that arched high over mist-filled chasms. Below, waterfalls cascaded from the peaks into rivers hidden by clouds. The closer they drew to the central summit, the heavier the air felt—not from heat, but from the sheer density of spiritual power gathering ahead.
The Grand Convergence Plaza was a vast circular platform carved directly into the mountain's heart. Towering jade pillars ringed its perimeter, each crowned with a floating lantern flame that burned without smoke.
Dozens of sect banners fluttered in the high wind—crimson, gold, azure, white, black—each marked with the sigil of its order. Their disciples stood in disciplined blocks, flanked by elders and masters whose gazes weighed newcomers like scales balancing worth.
The Burning Sun Sect took their place among the outer ranks, across from the Iron Fang Sect, whose armored disciples glared with open disdain, and beside the Verdant Moon Sect, whose pale-robed cultivators regarded everyone with cool detachment.
At the plaza's center stood a raised dais of blackstone, upon which the Azure Sky Sect Master awaited—robes of deep blue edged in lightning motifs, hair bound with a jade crown, eyes like still water hiding storms. At his sides were the trial's officiating elders, each emanating the quiet pressure of late-stage cultivation that needed no announcement.
When the crowd had settled, the Sect Master's voice flowed across the plaza without strain, carried on spiritual resonance.
"Honored guests. Disciples of the gathered sects. Today, you stand upon the threshold of the Azure Sky Trial—a realm older than any sect here, older than the mountains themselves. Within it, treasures sleep, beasts hunger, and the legacy of the ancients waits for those with the strength to claim it. This is no stage for hesitation… nor for mercy."
The murmurs from the crowd were a mix of eagerness and caution.
Haotian let the words wash over him, but his attention drifted to the other sects' top disciples—each one radiating their own distinct killing intent, confidence, or suppressed hunger for dominance. A few met his gaze and did not look away.
The Sect Master's final words struck like a gong."Three days within the realm. No killing beyond necessity. No destruction of the realm's heart. Survive, and return with proof of your worth."
BOOM—the sound of massive stone gates opening rolled from somewhere behind the dais, echoing like the roar of an awakening beast.
The Trial of Talents was about to begin.
The azure glow of the realm gates pulsed like the heartbeat of some colossal beast, each wave of light reverberating through the assembly. Elders barked final orders, sect banners rippled in the wind, and the gathered disciples stood tense with anticipation.
Haotian stood with Lianhua and the Six Elemental Guards—Feng Lanyue, An Yuerin, Huo Zhanfeng, Tu Jianhong, Jin Xuanming, and Lan Shuyin—shoulder to shoulder, their spatial rings already loaded with supplies. Even without words, their formation radiated readiness.
The gates began to hum. The air around them thickened, charged with both spiritual energy and the heavy scent of ozone, as if the barrier between worlds strained to remain closed. With a single gesture from the Azure Sky Sect's high elder, the shimmering veil split open into a swirling vortex of light and shadow.
They stepped through together.
A pressure like a tidal wave slammed into them the instant their feet touched the other side. The air here was heavy, saturated with wild elemental currents that lashed and coiled unpredictably—threads of flame seared the edges of the grass, icy gusts cut across their skin, and streaks of crackling lightning forked overhead without warning. The ground itself felt alive, humming with buried power, while the trees towered impossibly high, their roots coiled like sleeping serpents.
Somewhere in the distance, an unearthly roar ripped through the air, deep and resonant enough to rattle their bones. Shapes moved between the treeline—too fast to clearly see, but large enough to make even veteran disciples shift their stances instinctively.
The realm was not a battlefield. It was a predator's den.
Haotian exhaled slowly, his golden eyes scanning the surroundings. "Stay sharp," he said, voice low but firm. "This place will kill the distracted first."
The Six Elemental Guards tightened their formation. Lianhua's hand rested lightly near her weapon. Every sense was on edge.
Somewhere ahead, the hunt had already begun.
The first sign of movement came from the treeline to their left—a low, guttural growl rolling through the underbrush. Leaves shivered, branches snapped, and a hulking beast twice the height of a man lunged out, its hide bristling with jagged stone-like plates. Its fangs dripped with venom, and its eyes glowed a hungry crimson.
Haotian didn't even bother drawing a weapon. He stepped forward, his aura surging briefly with faint traces of all nine elemental streams—fire flickers, wind currents, a ripple of earth, arcs of lightning, glints of light, shadows coiling, frost breath, gravity pulses, and crystal sheen. The ground beneath him cracked.
The beast roared.
Haotian punched once.
The shockwave blasted straight through its armored skull, snapping its neck and flattening the grass behind it. The carcass hit the dirt with a resounding thud.
The Six Elemental Guards froze in place, their expressions a perfect mix of awe and disbelief.
Lianhua covered her mouth, then broke into a light giggle. "We may not be in much danger with Haotian around."
The others glanced at each other and nodded in unison. "This trial should be a piece of cake," Feng Lanyue muttered.
From then on, it was exactly that—at least for them. Monster after monster crossed their path, each meeting the same fate: one punch, one strike, one clean execution from Haotian. Beasts lunged, roared, or tried to flee; none survived long enough to even leave a scratch. The only reason they weren't waist-deep in corpses was because the male guards—Huo Zhanfeng, Tu Jianhong, and Jin Xuanming—moved quickly to retrieve beast cores before the bodies were stored into spatial rings.
The women—Feng Lanyue, An Yuerin, and Lan Shuyin—stood back and watched, occasionally exchanging quiet remarks or smiling faintly at Haotian's efficiency.
Hours later, Haotian stood alone on a high ridge, scanning the landscape below. His eyes narrowed slightly as the Eyes of the Universe flared to life. Through its vast perception, the world's layers peeled away before him—flowing energy currents, hidden traps, and buried treasures all coming into view.
Something caught his attention—a faint, concentrated pulse of dark element, tucked beneath a boulder in the valley below.
He turned to the team. "Follow me."
Without waiting for an answer, he dashed down the slope, the others quickly moving to keep pace. In moments, he was at the boulder, hands gripping its sides. The rock groaned and lifted as if it weighed nothing, revealing a deep purple shard embedded in the soil beneath.
He crouched, plucking it free. The faint, dark aura curled like smoke from its surface.
"What is this?" Lianhua asked, stepping closer.
Haotian's eyes glimmered gold as he activated his Eyes of the Universe again. Lines of information burned into his vision.
"This… is a rare piece of metal ore. Perfect for crafting weapons with dark attributes—or an amulet to ward off dark spiritual attacks."
The others leaned in, marveling at the find.
It seemed this "piece of cake" trial might also come with its own unexpected rewards.
The deeper they ventured, the more it felt as though the realm itself was laying its riches at Haotian's feet. Wherever the team went, he was the first to spot glimmers of rare ore in a cliffside, the faint shimmer of spiritual dew clinging to ancient herbs, or the distant ripple of energy that betrayed something extraordinary.
They passed a grove of silverleaf lotus, each petal worth more than a year's stipend for an elder. Haotian plucked them without hesitation. A cluster of crystal-veined iron caught his attention beneath a waterfall—he had it mined out in moments.
Then came the chase.
A sudden flash of white streaked through the underbrush, vanishing between the trees. Haotian's eyes narrowed. "Stay here."
He moved.
Leaves exploded into the air as he blurred through the forest, each step carrying him across entire stretches of ground. Ahead, a root-limbed figure darted between shadows—no mere plant, but a 10,000-year-old ginseng, its body pulsing with ancient vitality. It ran with the desperation of prey that knew what awaited if it were caught.
It didn't matter.
Haotian's figure flickered, appearing directly in its path. One hand shot out. The ginseng froze mid-step as his fingers wrapped around its leafy crown.
It flailed. He didn't loosen his grip.
Moments later, he returned to the group, holding the trembling ginseng in one hand like a prize. "This will do well for alchemy."
Lianhua could only laugh and shake her head. "You make it look too easy."
By the time the sun began dipping toward the horizon, their spatial rings were swelling with wealth—cores, herbs, ores, and materials that would have taken lifetimes to gather in the outside world.
But then… the air changed.
Haotian slowed to a stop on a narrow game trail, eyes sweeping the treeline. The others nearly walked past him before they noticed the way his aura had sharpened.
"What is it?" one of the guards asked.
Haotian didn't answer immediately. His Eyes of the Universe flared open, golden light tracing every inch of the forest ahead. Beyond the outer trees, where the shadows grew too deep, something stirred.
Not a beast this time.
The ground carried a low, thrumming pulse—deep, rhythmic, like the heartbeat of the earth itself. The trees here bent ever so slightly toward that source, their leaves trembling despite the still air.
Haotian's voice was quiet when it came. "There's something ahead… something old. Strong."
Then the scent hit them—a coppery tang of blood so thick it clung to the back of the throat. A faint mist curled along the ground, seeping toward them from the direction of that hidden pulse.
Lianhua's earlier smile faded. "That… doesn't feel like a piece of cake anymore."
Haotian stepped forward, every sense fixed on the shifting shadows ahead. "Stay close. And be ready."
The mist thickened as they advanced, curling like pale fingers around their ankles. Each step seemed to pull them deeper into a place where the light struggled to exist, the canopy overhead knitting itself tighter with every yard they covered.
Then it moved.
A ripple passed through the shadowed treeline, bending trunks as if something massive had brushed against them. The low pulse in the ground quickened, matching the drumbeat in their ears. Haotian's eyes narrowed, the golden filigree of the Eyes of the Universe burning brighter—peeling back the darkness.
And he saw it first.
A shape—no, a presence—unfurled in the black. Its form was jagged and shifting, like it had been carved from equal parts bone, steel, and nightmare. Four legs as thick as tree trunks carried a body plated in overlapping scales so dark they swallowed the light. Veins of crimson light pulsed beneath them, beating in sync with that earth-born heartbeat.
Its head was worse.
A wolfish maw stretched too far, ringed with tusk-like fangs, and within its eyes burned a dim, almost human intelligence—predatory, assessing. From the corners of its mouth, strands of viscous black ichor dripped to the ground, sizzling where they landed.
It stepped forward.
The sound wasn't a growl—it was a deep, grinding vibration, like stone cliffs cracking under strain.
"Bloodmaw Stalker," Haotian murmured, his voice barely above a breath. "And not a young one…"
The guards stiffened. Even Lianhua's composure faltered; she knew the stories. Stalkers weren't supposed to be here—they belonged in the inner territories of high-tier realms.
The creature inhaled, and the mist itself seemed to flow into its chest, darkening its already nightmarish form.
Then it roared.
The blast hit them like a physical wall, rattling their bones and sending leaves spiraling from the canopy. The ground trembled under its weight as it lunged, closing the distance with terrifying speed for its size—each bound tearing gouges in the earth.
And in that moment, the air was nothing but the rush of its charge, the stink of its breath, and the knowledge that this was no ordinary trial foe.
The Bloodmaw Stalker's claws tore trenches into the soil as it lunged—its shadow blotting out what little light filtered through the canopy. The roar still echoed in their bones when Haotian's body moved.
No shout. No flourish. Just a blur.
One instant he was standing before them, the next his form flickered forward, the ground under his feet exploding into a shallow crater from the force of his launch. His fist, wreathed in faint elemental resonance—nine colors shimmering in layered halos—met the creature mid-leap.
BOOM.
The impact was a thunderclap wrapped in an earthquake. The Stalker's massive body folded unnaturally around the blow, a shockwave rippling out in a perfect sphere that shredded the nearby undergrowth. For a split second, there was silence—then a wet, ripping sound as the beast's torso spasmed, and something spherical and glistening blasted free from its chest.
The beast core spun through the air like a tossed coin, trailing a faint red glow before clattering against a tree trunk and rolling to a stop. The Stalker collapsed without a sound, its lifeless bulk settling into the dirt.
The mist swallowed the scene's edges again, but the terror it had carried was gone—snuffed out in the space of a heartbeat.
Haotian exhaled through his nose, lowering his fist. His voice was calm. "We should keep moving."
The others, still blinking from the sudden kill, didn't even feign surprise anymore. They'd seen it too many times in too few hours. Lianhua just shook her head with a faint giggle, murmuring something under her breath. The guards retrieved the core, stowing it along with the corpse into their spatial rings.
Without ceremony, they stepped over the cooling body and pressed deeper into the realm, the air growing heavier as they made for the inner section—where the true heart of the trial waited.