The tower descended slowly from the heavens.
Its blue body shimmered like crystal, emanating a pure energy that made the ground tremble.
When it finally touched the earth, a wave of energy spread across the entire plain, destroying part of it and cracking the surface.
The barrier surrounding it then shattered with a dry snap.
In that same instant, the young cultivators surged forward from every direction in unison.
Everyone ran, all of them moving at the same time, each trying to reach the entrance first, even if, in the end, that gave them no real advantage. They didn’t care.
But before them, some cultivators from the Core Formation realm also tried to enter. With speeds several times faster than the younger ones, they reached the front first.
However, as soon as they touched the energy field at the base of the tower, an invisible force struck them. Their bodies simply exploded into flesh and a pool of blood before everyone’s eyes.
Their deaths confirmed what the sect elders had suspected. The entrance was restricted. The tower only accepted those whose cultivation was below the Core Formation realm.
A brief silence spread. Everyone approached the tower, but none dared to touch it.
Soon, three great gates opened, one on each side of the tower.
The sound echoed like thunder. Without hesitation, the youngest cultivators from the main forces of the three domains charged forward and threw themselves inside.
None of them dared attack one another at that moment. No one wanted to waste strength without knowing what awaited them within.
Five minutes later, the three gates closed at once. The crash made the ground vibrate, and then the outside world lost all sight of what was happening inside.
The interior of the tower was vast.
Everyone who had entered now found themselves in a large circular hall. The walls emitted a calm, constant blue light, and the air seemed alive, thick with an extremely pure Qi.
Hundreds of young cultivators from various forces were spread throughout the hall, observing each other in silence.
Then, the floor began to glow.
Ancient runes lit up beneath everyone’s feet, connecting through blue energy lines that formed a perfect circle.
In an instant, an intense light filled the place, and every single person there was engulfed by it.
When the light faded, the hall was empty.
Everyone had been teleported.
Kyrian felt space distort.
When he opened his eyes, he was alone in a completely white room.
The floor, ceiling, and walls seemed to be made of solid mist, a faintly flickering blue light.
The air there was cold but clean and pure, and there wasn’t a single sound.
He looked around, but there were no doors, no windows, no exits. Just that empty place. He took a few steps to the side but still felt like he hadn’t moved at all.
Then, the mist began to move. It swirled slowly, taking on shapes, faces, shadows, and fragments of memories.
And in an instant, illusions appeared and began to strike everyone.
For each person, the visions were different.
Every cultivator was enveloped by a different type of mental illusion, each shaped by their desires, their fears, and their greed.
Some saw themselves with limitless power. Others saw themselves surrounded by enemies. Many more became lost in scenes crafted by their own minds.
The trial of the tower had begun swiftly.
The first test evaluated integrity and willpower.
Those who gave in to greed, fear, or anger were immediately enveloped by blue light and expelled from the tower, unfit for the inheritance that lay within.
Kyrian was unaffected. His calm gray eyes cut through the mist as if it didn’t exist at all.
The illusions tried to take shape but dissolved the instant they entered his field of vision.
Kyrian watched it all with indifference, as if merely waiting for time to pass.
Meanwhile, the others faced their trials.
Shen Yu advanced with the same tranquility as Kyrian. He walked slowly within the mirage that tried to surround him but reacted to nothing.
His mind was stable, his Qi controlled. The illusions simply couldn’t find a crack to slip through.
The blue glow around him intensified, recognizing his absolute calm.
Mo Tianhai didn’t bother with restraint. His sword intent floated around his body, slicing through the images and distortions that appeared.
The illusions came from all directions, but his sword intent destroyed them before they could affect his senses.
He also advanced slowly, each step accompanied by a cutting sound.
Wu Jian fell to his knees several times but didn’t stop.
His face was strained, blood dripped from his nose, and his body trembled.
The illusion tried to show him defeat, failure, humiliation, the events with Di Fei and Long Xue, and the guilt he carried.
But he only screamed and pressed forward with determination, ignoring everything. His willpower sustained him even as his body faltered.
Mo Xia also resisted. Her illusions showed pain, loss, and guilt. She cried, but she didn’t stop.
Each tear fell to the floor and vanished until the mist completely dispersed before her. The blue energy around her faded, and she took a deep breath, exhausted but whole.
Long Xue, however, wasn’t as fortunate.
The illusions swallowed her completely. She saw versions of herself she had never managed to become, the prodigious cultivator, the admired core disciple, and the woman she had forgotten how to be.
No matter where she went in the sect, everyone knew her. But she no longer knew herself.
She tried to resist, but the images were too real. In no time, she fell to her knees, crying, and the blue light enveloped her completely.
Her body vanished from within the tower.
Outside, she reappeared unconscious on the grass, immediately spotted by Mei Ran. It didn’t take long for Long Xue to be pulled toward her.
After seeing her condition, Mei Ran sighed, she had only fainted.
The same fate befell dozens of other cultivators. Within thirty minutes, more than half of those who had entered the tower were expelled.
The plain was now covered with unconscious bodies, all breathing, but alive.
Inside the tower, the number of active presences had drastically decreased.
The energy seemed to grow denser, and the blue light that dominated the walls began to vibrate with greater intensity all of a sudden, as if something were changing...