NOVPUBAce's voice echoed softly across the clearing, low and melodic, like the rustle of leaves before a storm.
He then suddenly moved like a shadow while the vines danced like marionettes in a cruel play.
The fox struck first, trying to circle around and lash at him with a tail made of fire and illusion. Ace snapped his fingers.
BANG!
A seed exploded beneath the fox's paw, sending it tumbling into a tangle of thorns.
The vines around its body scattered like glass, revealing burn marks and twitching ears.
The fox whimpered, its pride, more than its flesh, wounded.
"Cute," Ace said, stepping over it.
He didn't finish the fox, he didn't need to.
The beast recoiled as he passed, limping away, tail tucked between its legs.
Then came the lion.
It roared, flapping its single wing furiously, summoning a gust to launch at him like a golden missile. Ace didn't dodge.
Instead, he whispered: "Bloom."
A cluster of sun-colored daisies at his feet erupted into growth, forming a dome of petals just as the lion crashed into it.
For a breath, the world was silent.
CRACK!
The lion was sent flying backward, blinded, concussed, and howling in confusion.
The wing that made it so majestic hung limply, the bone clearly fractured.
Ace tilted his head. "You should've picked symmetry and gone for a pair of wings.."
He turned before the lion even hit the ground.
The panda came last, slow but mighty.
It roared and slammed its shell into the ground, causing tremors.
A clear defensive posture.
Ace grinned. "So you think you're safe in that shell?"
He plucked a seed from his pouch and flicked it like a pebble.
It landed softly… then burrowed.
Vines erupted from within the panda's shell wrapping its limbs, twisting joints, and dragging it into a forced bow.
The panda screamed. It didn't break, but the shame of its helpless pose—kneeling to the enemy—would linger for life.
"Better stay curled up, little tank."
And finally, the snake.
The serpent had been slithering at the edges, fangs ready, waiting for an opening.
Perhaps hoping Qiong Qi would come back. Ace turned slowly to face it.
The snake hissed and lunged.
Ace lifted a single finger.
BOOM!
From the ground, a massive sprout shot up and smacked the snake out of the air like a flyswatter.
The beast slammed against a stone pillar and crashed to the floor, dazed.
The snake trembled.
Its tongue flicked once… twice… then it slithered back, defeated, not daring to raise its head.
The crowd stared, all stunned.
All four Epic-rank soul beasts were easily defeated by a human. No help or use of soul bonds.
Xiao Thao stood frozen, his face pale, the weight of everything crashing down on him.
Ace smiled as he stood amidst the wreckage of beasts and pride, a faint smile playing on his lips as his gaze settled on the trembling cultivators.
He took a step forward, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Xiao Thao, what do you say?" His voice was soft, almost amused. "Want me to continue, or will you surrender?"
Xiao Thao clenched his fists, his jaw tight.
His pride screamed in protest, but his body wouldn't move, wouldn't even speak.
Every instinct told him that the man before him wasn't bluffing.
Just as the silence stretched thin, Xiao Qi stepped forward, his voice trembling but clear.
"We… surrender. We're sorry."
Ace's smile never faded, but his eyes turned cold.
"Good. Good." He nodded, the approval in his tone laced with warning. "But next time…"
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in as he turned to walk away.
"…If you pull a stunt like this again, I'll kill you."
With that, Ace turned his back to them and began to move towards the steps.
Soon he stood before the stairway, eyes tracing its rise into the unknown.
He exhaled softly.
"Let's see what all the buzz is about," he murmured, almost to himself, and lifted his foot.
The first step welcomed him without resistance.
No pressure, no force, nothing out of the ordinary.
But then again, that was expected.
Ninety-nine point nine percent of those gathered could take the first step. It was merely an invitation, more of a threshold.
His foot met the second step. This time, a subtle breeze stirred.
A strange wind that brushed against the skin and whispered past the ears, but nothing threatening. Just a warning that this trial had begun.
Still unbothered, Ace placed his foot on the third step.
Step by step, he moved steadily upward—calm, composed, eyes fixed forward. His pace never wavered.
Each movement carried an unspoken assurance, like someone walking a path they had already seen.
Behind him, Xiao Thao watched with clenched fists and gritted teeth.
"He was definitely using something, hidden weapons, tricks, illusions... I don't believe he could reach Dark Gold in such a short time."
His voice was sharp, accusatory, laced with the bitterness of humiliation.
But the others didn't speak.
Xiao Qi, Xiao Chen, and Xiao Zen exchanged glances, each seeing in the other what they refused to say aloud: they no longer shared Xiao Thao's doubt.
No illusions, no tricks could have left their soul bonds crippled in seconds.
No scam artist could stand unfazed against four elite talents of the Xiao family.
No, Xiao Zhi was no longer the trash they used to know. This was a different xiao zhi.
Still, Xiao Thao couldn't see it.
Blinded by pride. Poisoned by revenge.
Xiao Thao, gritting his teeth, he also began climbing the steps behind Ace, his heart a storm of pride and desperation.
Meanwhile, Ace had already arrived at the tenth step, the point where, according to rumors, the true trial finally began.
The moment his foot touched the step, the world around him shifted.
An illusion? he muttered, eyes narrowing as the once-ancient staircase dissolved into a familiar courtyard bathed in golden light.
A girl appeared before him.
"Ace, this is Duke," she said softly, her smile tinged with awkward joy. "We're getting married next month. I want you to come… here's the invitation."
It was Rina.
Standing beside her was a tall man with a sharp grin and arrogance spilling from every gesture.
Duke.
Ace stared for a moment, silent.
Then, with a faint smile, he reached forward and took the invitation.
No anger. No jealousy. Just… acceptance.
So this is how the trial begins. Do I escape by attending the wedding? he wondered.
"Ace?" Rina asked, her eyes flickering with confusion at his lack of emotion.
"Oh, right. I'll be there."
He smiled again, calmly.
Strange… he thought.
Is it because I know it's an illusion? Or because I've truly moved on? Or maybe… after dying once, some things just don't matter anymore.
His eyes shifted away from them, finally focusing on the illusion itself, the grass, the air, the scent of jasmine in the wind.
Such intricate detail. Whoever built this illusion was a master.
Everything's deliberate… yet hollow.
Duke stepped forward, voice low and mocking.
"Ace, I know you once had feelings for Rina. But don't try anything. She genuinely wants you there."
Ace tilted his head. Rina turned slightly red, leaning shyly into Duke's arms.
Was that what hurt once? Her leaning into someone else?
Or was it simply the fact that I thought I mattered?
"This is getting annoying," he muttered.
With a casual swipe of his hand, the illusion cracked like glass, shattering into shards of fading memory.
When the light cleared, he was standing on the tenth step again.
"That was easier than I expected."
His voice was neutral, but something in his gaze had grown colder.
Calmer.
He lifted his foot and ascended to the eleventh step.
Instantly, the scene changed once more.
A sudden dart sliced through the air, grazing his cheek.
He paused, touching the thin line of blood with his fingers.
"Oh… that actually hurt," he muttered.
Then came more, hundreds of darts, flying toward him from all directions.
He began to move.
His steps, graceful, precise and calm.
Avoiding the darts was simple at first, as though this illusion were testing his reaction speed.
But with each breath, the assault intensified, more darts, sharper angles, unpredictable rhythms.
"So… is this the trial? Do I outlast the traps? Or was i supposed to get rid of the source?" he asked aloud, studying the pattern.
That's when he noticed it.
The darts came from a forest up ahead—hidden, but not beyond his reach.
With a flick of his hand, roots burst from the earth like serpents, spiraling through the trees.
Screams echoed.
Every dart shooter was crushed, suffocated, erased.
He stepped into the forest, surveying the illusion's choice of enemies.
"Humans…?" he whispered.
Curious. These trials reflect not just power, but perception. Regret. Memory. Perhaps… guilt?
The forest then faded.
He stood again at the base of the twelfth step, just one stride away.
"Well then…"
He raised his foot, lips curling into a faint smile.
The Twelfth Step.
As Ace placed his foot upon it, a warm voice echoed softly through the corridor—gentle yet commanding, like a breeze laced with memory.
"Welcome."
It was unmistakably her voice.
Ace froze. Recognition hit him immediately—Red I.
