It was Ling Tian Tian that stood proudly above the stage!
In the end, the beautiful and awe-inspiring lady of the Flying Snow City had won the battle!
"Yay, yay!", "Urraah!" small cheers immediately echoed amidst the audience, and soon, almost all examinees were cheering aloud.
Some people, like Yueshi's friends, were a bit crestfallen; but they knew that, winning or not, Yueshi had proved himself – proved how strong he was and, at the same time, brought honor to their city and dojo.
The two on stage did not immediately leave. One lying on the ground, another leaning on her sword, they looked into each other eyes.
"Your spear is too hard." Suddenly, Ling Tian Tian spoke.
Yueshi almost laughed, thinking that if her words were heard out of context… he then felt strange stares being directed at his lower half, as if trying to see some bulge on hir pants.
"I know." He answered, thinking for a moment. "But a soft and flexible spear doesn't match with the path I walk." What he was aiming for was not the deadly and vicious strikes of a serpent – unpredictable and hideous – but the almighty and overbearing power of a dragon – destroying anything on its path with reckless power.
Ling Tian Tian nodded, seeming to understand.
"Your sword and you are too vicious, so it is easy to predict your moves." Since she was treating this as an exchange of pointers, he did not mind doing the same.
Tian Tian looked at him for a moment, as if asking why vicious strikes were no good.
"You are always aiming to kill, that's why I called your strikes vicious. However, because you always aim to kill, you not only constantly release killing intent, but you also subconsciously aim at vital spots." His words were calm and spot-on.
"I see." She nodded in understanding. "But you are also easy to read. Your spear arts are great, but you rarely move your body. Your footwork is lacking, and your thinking is not flexible; there are more ways to dodge than just sidestepping, retreats, or rollings." Yueshi had not been able to perceive it by himself, so her words were truly welcome.
'Well, he didn't teach me these.' All he had learned from Mu Qiang was how to use a spear, through the most painful way. "I think you have already noticed it but…"
And then, they continued at it for a few minutes. The elders were clearly giving them special treatment after seeing their talent, telling everyone to wait.
Exchanging pointers was an important part of growing as a martial artist and cultivator; however, finding a suitable partner was not always easy.
It was only when two individuals had around the same strength that they could see the qualities and flaws of the other. Such experience was invaluable, as even the teachings of a master, at times, were not as precise as the opinion of a rival and peer.
After they settled that, the battles continued.
However, the following battles were lackluster if compared to the fight between Yueshi and Tian Tian.
Moreover, because Tian Tian had spent a lot of energy and her mind was a bit hazy after the fight and continuous use of strong moves, she ended losing in the final battle – despite knocking almost everyone else out.
Thanks to that, the final winner was a guy named Mo Baiyun, another genius that had tested for dark-red talent. He was at the middle phase of the third stage and, after Yueshi and Tian Tian, had the greatest combat techniques
Nonetheless, his abilities fell short if compared to the two.
Like that, the second trial of the outer disciple examination came to a close. Those that had lost were given the choice to leave, however, most decided to stay to watch the last trial.
Only one out of then people managed to pass the first and second trials, and the third one cut that number by half. However, the participants were still many, and the fourth trial was said to be the one with the greatest difficulty.
According to the others, the fourth trial was used to test one's willpower and heart, and as per Yuan Yue's words, for most, it was the hardest examination. Quoting her words, the young, talented, and pampered young masters and ladies lived most of their lives in peace and quietness, so their willpower was fairly weak.
To Yueshi, though, it seemed that it wasn't that big of a deal.
Right now the examinees were divided into two groups, those that had passed the first three tests and those that had not.
The first group was sitting on the cold ground, in an area directly above a giant array. The second group stood around them in a circle, watching the last test unfold.
"You all have come this far already, and now, we will be giving start to the fourth and last test!" The thunderous voice of an elder boomed in the hall. "To pass, you will have to withstand thirty minutes inside the illusion that will be cast, or break free from it."
Yueshi breathed in, looking at a certain spot in the audience. There he could see Yuan Yue and Wu Feng cheering from him and Xuehua.
Then, he looked to his side, where Xuehua sat with her eyes closed and focused. Lastly, he looked to a place a few meters away, where Ling Tian Tian sat with a calm and collected expression.
Smiling, he closed his own eyes. If there was something in which he was confident, it was his willpower and determination!
While he was thinking, the spiritual array below him started to shine in a blinding white light.
As the world was consumed by the white color, Yueshi felt his mind sinking into darkness; however, he did not struggle. Whatever this challenge was, he would face it head-on.
When Yueshi recovered his vision, he was standing in the middle of an endless field of blood and slaughter.
The Ten Thousand Dreams, Myriad Illusions Array was a legacy left behind by the Flying Snow Sect's founder hundreds of years in the past.
It was composed of almost a hundred minor arrays, including the one present at the testing hall. And although this one lacked in comparison to the true array, it was enough to test the examinees.
As its name implied, the array had the power to create illusions and send people into illusory words and realities; if one could not break free then they would eventually lose their minds inside the illusion, being controlled by it.
Obviously, the elders would stop it when the examinees reached a critical point and, if they reached that point before the thirty minutes mark, they would be disqualified.
Right now, Yueshi could see bodies littering the ground and blood flowing like rivers, and, at every passing second, another body would be added to the mountain of corpses. It was an eerie and frightening scene.
At the scene in front of him, Yueshi felt the urge to puke. Dismembered bodies were amongst the most beautiful things present… there were all sorts of organs spilled on the ground, and someone had even tied a few bodies together with the intestine of someone else.
Before he could get his act back together, there was already someone jumping at him.
Instinctively, Yueshi swiped with his spear, cutting the person in half; seeing that person's organs spill out of his body, the urge the thrown up increased.
'Clean your mind, clean your mind… nothing here is real!' He kept repeating to himself.
This field of blood and slaughter… if he lost himself in fear, disgust, or the dense killing intent, he would be bound by the illusion.
Thankfully, after a while, he had managed to calm down.
Looking around, Yueshi was still disgusted by the scene, however, his eyes revealed a serene expression. "This is not real." He muttered and the world around him started to crumble.
However, that was merely the first illusion.
Like that, time ticked by slowly as the disqualified examinees watched.
The fourth trial was extremely boring if compared with the others, but no one complained, only observing, waiting… who, amongst the remaining people, would become a disciple? And who would fail at the last step?
The array could create tens of thousands of different illusions, and once someone delved too deep into them, their chances would dwindle quickly. Even those with strong willpower were not safe, as their personalities were prone to certain behaviors.
An example would be a proud and arrogant young man – even if his willpower was great, if put into an illusion where he was the emperor of the heavens, it would be hard for him to give up on the intoxicating feeling of being above all.
At the five minutes mark, a few people had their tests interrupted by the elders, therefore failing. Then, each following minute was marked by more and more people being disqualified.
When twenty minutes had passed since the test had started, close to half of the participants had lost the chance to travel that last step.
However, the following ten minutes proved themselves as an even greater hurdle. In batches of tens, or even twenties, people started to be disqualified from the trial.
Twenty-nine minutes in, only one-tenth remained… a minute later, having achieved their goals, many people had given up.
One could see that their clothes were drenched in sweat, their breaths heavy. Right now, the only ones still competing were those aiming for the top – people like Ling Tian Tian, Yueshi, Mu Baiyun, and other talented geniuses.
None of them wanted to let the others win without putting in a good fight, because that was how talented people were.
Well, with exception of Xuehua.
She didn't seem too concerned with the results of the examination, or perhaps, she just didn't wish to compete with her brother. Therefore, with a thin smile, she moved toward the Flying Snow Dojo's group
Yuan Yue could only stand there and shake her head at her, thinking this 'older sister' really lacked ambition.
Meanwhile, in the illusory realm…
Yueshi was not sure of how many dream worlds he had gone through. There were cruel and brutal ones where he had been killed or tortured, and there were strange ones where reality and fantasy were so closely interlinked that made him doubt reality.
Nonetheless, despite being tired, he still decided to see how far he could go.
With a shattering sound, another illusory realm was broken into pieces.
This time he found himself sitting on a wooden chair in a small room.
Raising from the bed he walked to the door, crossing through it, he saw two women sitting and chatting happily while preparing food. One of them was none other than his beautiful sister, Xuehua. As for the other…
"Mother!" Black hair that flowed down like a river, and black eyes that shone like the starry sky, it was none other than his mother - Wurou.
Noticing his presence, both women turned and looked at him with smiling eyes.
"We were just going to call you to eat." Saying so, his mother walked toward the kitchen, returning with many dishes, and placed them on the table.
Xuehua quietly slipped away, returning not long after with the tableware.
"What's with that face? Why are you so surprised?" With a dubious look, his mother asked him. Yueshi hesitated for a moment, before finally sitting down while saying it was nothing.
It did not take long for the table to be set, and then they proceeded to eat in silence.
However, despite the silence, the atmosphere was great and harmonious as the three of them enjoyed the food. No, what they enjoyed was not the food, but each other's presence.
Since his arrival in the Heavenly World, Yueshi had never imagined something like this - not this vividly.
"So, when do you two plan on marrying?" While they washed dishes together, his mother suddenly asked making him choke.
Xuehua smiled slightly while patting his back. "We have yet to decide a date."
At her words, Yueshi became even more confused. He felt this was not right, and knew he should be in an illusion, but yet everything seemed perfect. It was as if everything until now – all the training, cultivation, and fights – had merely been a dream.
"Shi'er, do not waste too much time, or my beloved daughter-in-law will be stolen!" Wurou sent her son a disapproving glance.
Xuehua smiled softly at her words, meanwhile, Yueshi stared at her dumbly. As his mind wavered, he could not pinpoint from where the strange feeling he had in his heart was coming from. Just like that, he started to accept this as reality.
"Hmph, as if. Don't you see how handsome and intelligent your son is? As if I'd let my bride be snatched away." His words were shameless, but a pure smile adorned his face.
"But since you are concerned… I promise we will marry soon and give you a bunch of grandsons and granddaughters to spoil."
His words made Xuehua stop washing plates as she blushed furiously, while his mother laughed loudly to the side.
Right… how could such a harmonious atmosphere be a lie? Living happily and merrily with his mother and Xuehua, it was just perfect.
In the blink of an eye, days seemed to pass by, and Yueshi was completely immersed in the new reality created from his deepest desires.
Over here, he and Xuehua were fiancé and fiancée, his mother was always happy and there was no one trying to hurt them or take his happiness always.
Here, no one would try to kill him and hurt and humiliate Xuehua.
There also wasn't anyone always threatening his and his mother's joy.
Above all, there would never be such things.
It was a perfect life, despite being simple. They were not overly rich, but with the three working together in a small restaurant, they had enough money to pay their bills and a bit more to go out from time to time.
Not lacking money, and in the company of each other, they spent every day happily.
Holding Xuehua's small and tender hand as they walked under the starry sky, Yueshi felt a sense of satisfaction inside of him.
Seeing his mother smile every day, without having to hide her pain and sorrows; being able to hug Xuehua's slender body and sleep by her side every night… as long as this could continue forever, then he would be more than happy to stay here…