He crashed into a wall, puking a mouthful of blood as many of his bones broke.
Standing up, he looked at the horde of beasts coming at him with a strange gaze.
As he stood there, he thought back to his thoughts from years ago.
Years ago, before any of it happened, he'd wanted to become a cultivator and ascend through the skies, wandering through all that existed, unfettered by all and any.
Obviously, this had just been a childish dream, one he didn't have anymore but strangely enough, as he stood there, he felt it pop back into his mind.
The horde got closer and instead of getting in stance, he let go of his spear and closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
***
Uncle Seth's eyes widened as he observed Adonis.
It had to be understood that all trials were meant to encase into one another and build the foundation of the True Heir.
The first trial would tear down Adonis' mind, allowing him to face his past and trauma and overcome them to form a pure heart. A heart and mind unfettered by the world.
The second trial was meant to refine and build a style for the sovereign.
To build a style, one had to fully comprehend the true self via one's pure heart. Using your pure heart, you had to look at yourself in the mirror and understand what defined you.
This trial normally should've been the hardest for Adonis considering he was only twelve and at such an age, who knew what or who they were?
At such an age, did one even have an identity yet? Did kids of such age even have the maturity to be honest enough with themselves?
Even beyond that, at such an age, what was there to look at in the mirror?
But somehow, currently, Uncle Seth was witnessing his nephew comprehend his true self just as fast as his father had in his prime.
When the true self was found, the martial style would bloom and when it bloomed, it would fuse into one's pure heart, birthing the miraculous True Intent, an ability not even Uncle Seth had managed to obtain.
Obviously, he was happy to see Adonis fly through his trials with such ease, in fact, it left him baffled. It didn't even feel like he was trying and yet, enlightenment after enlightenment kept rolling in. His growth rate was terrifying.
No, what left Uncle Seth doubtful was the true nature Adonis was currently exhibiting.
No, to be more accurate, Adonis wasn't exhibiting one true nature, he was showing signs of many. Too many.
As soon as this thought popped into his mind, he immediately understood.
'Multiple personalities…'
Now it made sense. It all made sense.
'What's gonna happen now that they're all fusing into one…how's that gonna affect his intent…?'
He sighed.
'Oh Creator please watch over him.'
***
Adonis felt like a child in the middle of a crowd filled with endlessly varying versions of himself.
Some wanted power, others wanted peace, others wanted violence, some wanted virtue, some wanted depravity, some wanted death- it had no end.
He looked around and frowned.
'When did any of this happen to me…'
He'd never noticed he had all these thoughts, let alone personalities. The reason was because they'd never taken over him. They only subtly influenced him but never managed to fully express themselves like with other people who suffered from the same fate.
'Was I born this way or did something cause this…'
His frown deepened.
'So I have no personality of my own…?'
He suddenly found himself enraged but for some reason, as this happened, his frown vanished and he calmed down.
'In that case, I'll build myself, independently of the world.'
Most people's personalities and minds were built by their culture, experience, parents, education and more. It wasn't something to cry about but it was an inevitability of life imposed by fate.
One's environment dicatted the self.
But why should he abide by these rules? Why should he define and limit himself in the first place?
The bodies around him faded and on his chest, his pure heart manifested and around it, a singular halo of multicoloured light bloomed.
A shockwave spread through his mind as he underwent something akin to a mental rebirth.
'I am me.'
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
'Adonis Saerth Sarahadah Saelo.'
Around him, a mantle of gold and crimson aura took shape, tightly wrapping around him as at that moment, a terrifying True Intent was born.
For a moment, the world seemed dyed by his will as it all turned into a landscape of gold and scarlet where he alone ruled.
The horde of beasts faded and the dark entity fell to bits of dust and dirt.
'My style will be nameless.'
The world returned to normal and a voice echoed.
[The seventh level has been cleared.]
[Trial difficulty has been readjusted.]
[The Eighth, Ninth and Tenth level will be fused into one.]
[Final level will soon begin.]
A grin spread across Adonis' face.
These trials only seemed to make him freer and freer.
When he let go of the Detachment Sutra he felt freed from countless chains as he could now truly experience the world and its beauty but now, with his style and pure heart, he felt like he was born again, under his own will and choice.
His chest shone with a brilliant light as his pure heart manifested and atop his head, a multicoloured halo appeared, crowning him like a God as he felt his intent and aura flow through him.
At the moment, he didn't really know what the aura and intent he'd formed were, in fact, he didn't even know what intent or aura was but he wasn't worried, soon, he'd get an explanation from Uncle Seth.
No, what excited him was that now, he could finally use his style.
But what did this mean?
It meant he could sacrifice all the experience he'd stolen to his own martial style. All the experience he'd stolen before he reached the mansion plus all the experience he'd gotten during these trials.
All of it would be funnelled into his style.
He was ecstatic.