"Well since you've claimed your reward, it's about time we head onto trial three! The first test was one of strength, the second of wit, and the third, luck!"
"Luck?" The crowd couldn't help but say in unison. This was naturally better for weaker competitors like Minos, however he still didn't like things like this. He preferred when everything was under his control, so avoided luck as much as possible.
"Isn't that unfair? This only benefits those weaker competitors, but disadvantages us." The beautiful women from earlier couldn't help but say.
"Unfair? Whoever said life was fair? In fact it's exactly because life is unfair that my late master decided to let his final test be one of luck." The strange man said as he got slightly agitated, much to the crowd's confusion.
As he continued speaking however, the crowd seemed to realize why he had become slightly angered.
"My late master was a brilliant man, a genius in the true sense of the word. By the time he was 15, he had already entered the Inner Heaven Realm."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. To reach the mid stages of the Mortal Renewal Realm at 15 would already qualify one as a genius, much less breaking through a major realm in that same time.
"Since you all understand what I mean, then you should know that even such a genius was eventually defeated by luck. His fortune simply wasn't as strong as his enemies, which cost him his life."
"Let me give you all one word of advice, the most important thing when it comes to cultivation has never been talent, or background, or anything else, rather, it was always luck."
"My late master only realized this by the time he was on his deathbed. Despite his brilliance in life, a single moment of misfortune ended it all. So don't question this trial of luck, it will instead be the most important test of your lives." The strange man finished.
Without a moment of wasted time, the strange man clapped once more, causing the world to go blurry for a moment, before the colors were reestablished. The palace dining hall had been replaced by a large white room, with five doors on the other end.
"The test is simple, pick a door. One door is death, and the other four are life. You will keep going until only one person is left."
Minos became solemn as he heard this. If the door of death did as it claimed, it meant that only one person would be alive by the end of it. He couldn't help but look towards Venix, who seemed to be coincidentally thinking the same thing.
Their eyes met for only a moment, but a thousand words seemed to be exchanged. What happened next was up to fate, and as friends, they wouldn't hold back against one another, as a final respect.
Under the crowd's eyes, the five doors slowly opened, each one completely identical to the ones beside it.
Minos took the lead, with Venix close behind him. Without hesitation they both randomly picked a door before walking in.
The world behind the door was dark, and each step couldn't help but fill a person with a sense of impending doom, but Minos kept his mind steady.
After walking for what seemed to be hours, he finally saw the light once more. Walking out, he entered a new room, this time with four doors on the opposite wall instead of five.
Venix also exited at the same time, the two acknowledging one another before waiting for the other two survivors to show up.
From out the door came the beautiful women from before, as well as the large man who came in third place originally. At this point, there were only four people left, and soon there would be three.
Venix took the lead this time, with Minos being right behind him. Once again the two picked a door at random, and once again, the two were lucky, successfully making the journey into the next room.
This time the beautiful women came out, signaling the unfortunate death of the large man who had managed to do so well up until this point. The three paused for a moment, looking at each other. The beautiful woman had apprehension in her eyes, Venix's face was shaded by his cloak, and Minos's deep black eyes were as still as water.