Neo's eyes flew open, taking in the sight of the cave once again.
There was a mix of sadness and anger on his face, and his eyes were moist with tears.
Memories resurfaced—memories of his traumatic past, where he was bullied, mocked, and ridiculed daily. They came back in waves.
One particular memory, vivid in his mind, replayed again.
Even without the trial forcing him to relive it, Neo could never have forgotten that day.
It was a day that shaped his character and made him truly understand himself. It was the day he realised he had a defining trait:
His fighting spirit—or, more accurately, his refusal to succumb to oppression.
Neo's first rule was always to fight back against bullying, and he had lived by that rule for years. He would continue to live by it.
No matter the cost, even if it meant death, he could never allow himself to be oppressed and not fight back.
He just couldn't!
This was why he had been able to pass the Trial of Self.
The Trial of Self was a test orchestrated by the Spirit Realm to select those who held a core belief they would always stand by.
In other words, it was the Spirit Realm's way of finding those with a true will.
This true will could be anything—to never lie, to always help those in need, or even to always kill short grandmas!
It just had to be a belief that your whole existence and every fibre of your being supported.
Neo's true will was to fight back against oppression, and in the Trial of Self, he followed this will and passed the trial.
And the reward for passing the trial was...
Ooomm!
With a thought, Neo's consciousness transported to his soul space, where a small, dark blue planet slowly orbited.
Seeing this, Neo felt overwhelmed with emotion. His consciousness flickered as he fought back tears.
He couldn't believe it. He finally had a Celestial Body in his soul space!
Yes, the reward for passing the Trial of Self was the creation of a True Celestial Body.
This meant...
Neo was now a Mind Spiritual!
He was no longer mortal!
He could hardly believe it. Without needing to purchase anything, he had directly become one of the rarest Spirituals on the planet!
Overjoyed, he wanted to scream. This was the best reward he could have hoped for! That final fruit on that tree had actually been a Truth Fruit!
After taking several minutes to calm down, Neo examined his Celestial Body closely.
It was dark blue and quite small. From his perspective, it resembled a ping pong ball. This indicated that he had just created the Celestial Body and was in the early stages of formation.
Neo was now a Spiritual—and a Mind one at that!
He could truly begin his journey to power!
Suddenly, a thought entered his mind. Neo exited the soul space and opened his eyes. His hands moved to the silver Immortal Pendant, and he lightly caressed it.
He was thinking about his mission and the fact that...
He was already making progress!
He had managed to create a Celestial Body in his soul space. This meant he could now begin the journey of Ascension!
All he had to do now was find some formation pills to speed up the growth of his Celestial Body.
Although time flowed slower in the Spirit Realm, the growth of one's Celestial Body was based on real-time.
This was why the Formation Stage was the only stage where staying in the Spirit Realm was actually a disadvantage.
What would take just five real months could take more than two Spirit years. It was definitely not easy.
As long as Neo could leave this zone and reach a shelter in time, he could buy the pills he needed and accelerate his ascension.
Growl!
Neo's stomach suddenly growled, signalling that the Legendary beasts he was raising were beginning to get restless.
He set aside his thoughts and stood up. As he did, he noticed something strange.
"Shouldn't I be more injured than this?"
Anyone hearing him would think he was mad.
His muscles were torn, his skin shredded in several places, he had a splitting headache, and he looked and felt weak.
But Neo knew how he 'should' have been...
Had he managed to heal himself? Was his common-grade physique really that impressive?
Shouldn't he still have broken bones from all those crashes earlier?
Neo shook his head and sighed. He realised his body was getting stranger.
Ever since he fully transformed on his eighteenth birthday, his body had not been the same at all.
Still, he could only pay closer attention in the future. Besides, he was far too hungry to dwell on such thoughts right now.
Hungry and scared.
He had no idea how long he'd spent in this hidden cave, but it had been quite a while, right?
Surely that devilish gorilla wasn't still waiting for him outside, right?
Right?!!
Neo shivered at the thought.
He might have comprehended two basic concepts and even created his True Celestial Body, but he was too tired for a fight—both physically and mentally.
Not to mention, he still couldn't defeat an Uncommon-grade beast. The gap between common and uncommon grades was vast, and it would take time for Neo to bridge it.
But among common-grade beasts?
Neo was king!
He bade farewell to the wilted tree that had given him three valuable opportunities, packed his things, and turned around.
After hours of walking, he reached the wall of the cave and hesitated before touching it.
This was it...
He was about to leave!
Shing!
A bright flash of light, and Neo was back on the other side.
He quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of danger and sighed in relief when he saw none.
No hairy, furious gorilla waiting to crush him into a pulp!
Neo made for the tunnel hole instantly. He couldn't waste any time; he had to escape!
But he abruptly froze. Neo stared at the tunnel in shock as his face turned pale.
The tunnel was blocked!
He was trapped with the gorillas!