The light consumed Xu Tian entirely, an overwhelming blaze that seemed to stretch on for eternity. His body felt as if it were being pulled in every direction at once, torn between the physical world and something far more...abstract. For a moment, he lost all sense of time. He couldn't feel his limbs, his breath, or his heartbeat. It was as if he had become nothing—just a fleeting thought in the vast expanse of existence.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the light faded. Xu Tian's vision returned in fragments—blurry images, shifting shapes, and the overwhelming sense of disorientation. His body collapsed onto solid ground, and for a long moment, he simply lay there, struggling to breathe, his muscles screaming in protest.
Slowly, he forced himself to sit up. The air was different here, colder, heavier—almost suffocating. The ground beneath him was black stone, smooth and unnatural, stretching endlessly in every direction. Above, the sky was an endless void, as if the very concept of time and space had unraveled. There were no stars, no clouds, just an all-encompassing darkness that seemed to stare back at him.
Then, a voice, calm and chilling, echoed through the void.
> "Welcome to the Trial of the Dao, Xu Tian."
Xu Tian's heart skipped a beat. The voice—so familiar, yet impossible to place—seemed to resonate with the very fabric of his being. He looked around but saw no one. Only the emptiness.
"Trial of the Dao?" Xu Tian asked aloud, his voice barely a whisper. His throat was dry, but his determination was unwavering. "What is this place?"
"This is the space between worlds. Where the true nature of your soul will be revealed. Here, you will face your deepest fears, your greatest weaknesses, and the very essence of your spirit."
Xu Tian's breath quickened. Fear. Weakness. Spirit. He had no idea what to expect, but he could feel the weight of the words in his chest, a crushing pressure that made his heart ache.
"Why me?" he demanded, his voice growing more forceful. "Why have I been chosen for this trial?"
> "Because you defy the Dao. You are a mortal who has dared to challenge the very foundations of existence. The consequences of such defiance are not without cost. The trial will determine whether you are worthy of the power you seek."
A cold wind began to stir, and Xu Tian found himself standing up, his legs trembling slightly. He felt the pull of something greater than himself—something ancient, something that resonated with the core of his being. This wasn't just a test of strength; it was a test of everything he had ever believed in.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him cracked, and out of the fissures, shadows began to rise. They took shape—human shapes, twisted and contorted. Their eyes glowed with an eerie light, and their faces were a grotesque mockery of the people he had known in his life. His parents. Liu Wei. The villagers. All distorted, all staring at him with silent judgment.
> "Face your past, Xu Tian," the voice commanded. "These are the faces of your failures. Your regrets. Your weakness."
Xu Tian's breath caught in his throat. His knees weakened, but he forced himself to stand tall. The figures before him—his past, his failures—were not real. They were nothing but echoes of his own mind. He had left them behind. He had moved past them. He had to.
"I'm not afraid of you," he muttered, but his voice trembled. He knew that the shadows were not merely illusions. They were reflections of his doubts and fears, manifesting to tear him down.
One of the figures stepped forward—a grotesque version of his parents, their faces twisted in mockery.
"You were abandoned. You were never good enough. Your weakness is why they left you," it sneered, its voice echoing in his mind.
Xu Tian's heart ached at the words. He had spent years trying to forget the pain of being abandoned, trying to convince himself that it didn't matter. But here, in this strange place, the wound was fresh again. He clenched his fists, fighting the tears that threatened to rise.
"No," Xu Tian whispered, shaking his head. "I refuse to be defined by this. I will not let this weakness control me."
The shadow of his parents laughed cruelly, but Xu Tian stepped forward, his heart pounding. "I am not the boy you abandoned. I am stronger than you think. I am not your failure."
With a shout, he thrust his hand forward. A surge of qi, fueled by his pain and his resolve, exploded from his body. The shadow recoiled as the energy tore through it, dissipating into nothingness.
The others followed. Each shadow that appeared, each face from his past, was met with the same defiance. The pain. The doubts. The fear—they all melted away in the face of his determination. Every strike of his qi tore through the illusions, the memories, until they were nothing but whispers in the wind.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the darkness began to recede. The oppressive weight lifted from his chest, and the voices fell silent. Xu Tian stood alone in the empty void, gasping for breath. His body ached, his qi flickering weakly within him, but there was a sense of clarity now—a sense of purpose.
> "You have passed the first trial," the voice intoned, now softer, almost approving. "But this is only the beginning. The Dao will not be so easily defeated. Prepare yourself for what comes next."
Xu Tian's heart raced. He had passed. But the trial was far from over. As the darkness around him began to shift once more, he steeled himself for whatever awaited him. He had come too far to turn back now.
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