The moment Li Zhang's foot touched solid ground, he let out a high whistle: "Whoa… hot, hot, hot!!!"
He was standing on a solid stone that kept wobbling.
"Huh?"
His eyes widened as he realized that the group beneath him wasn't exactly a group. He stood on a floating platform, a jagged disc of black rock suspended above a river of molten lava. No wonder he kept wobbling with flailing arms.
Below, glowing orange light pulsed like a fiery heartbeat, licking at the edges of the platform with oppressive heat.
"Whoa…" Zhang blinked, then grinned. "Now this is cool."
He turned around in a full circle. Surrounding him were dozens of similar floating rocks, each one spaced several meters apart, connected by narrow bridges made of faint spiritual light.
On the nearest platform ahead, sat a crab.
A stone crab!
But not just any crab, it was as big as a boar, its shell carved with strange patterns, its eyes glowing with faint wisdom. It slowly raised a claw in greeting.
"What's a crab doing here?" Li Zhang squinted: "Are you a spirit beast or a snack?"
"I am the Gatekeeper," the crab spoke in an ancient, gravelly tone. "To pass, you must pass five challenges which include riddles. For each wrong answer or failed challenge,… the platform will shrink and you'll eventually fall into the lava below."
Li Zhang raised a brow. "This is not a school, why do I need to get tested? Besides, how can you be sure that anyone who comes here would know literature?"
The crab waved its scroll. "Such is the randomness of this realm. If you don't have faith in yourself, you might as well jump into the lava now and save me the trouble."
Li Zhang was dumbfounded: "You can't be serious!"
"Are you prepared?" The crab unrolled the scroll and asked.
Li Zhang gave a bright thumbs up. "Born ready, Rock Grandpa."
The crab narrowed its stone eyes, and ignored the strange title.
Riddle One: "I have roots, but no ground.
I have leaves, but no branches.
I float, but never swim.
What am I?"
Li Zhang blinked: "…Uh… Have anyone told you that I haven't gone to school before?"
"Is that your answer?" The crab asked as if it was ready to pass judgement.
Li Zhang was shocked: "No, of course not!!!"
He scratched his head: "Leaves but no branches… roots but no ground…"
Fluffy clouds passed slowly over his head. No, wait, that was steam from the lava.
Then he grinned when he thought of the answer: "Lotus! It's a lotus flower!"
Li Zhang was sure of it. Everyone loves lotus and therefore they're everywhere. In the main residence of the Li family, there were several lotus ponds. The ladies would go to admire it every now and then, the young masters would also go there to recite poems.
The crab made a thoughtful clicking noise: "Correct."
Li Zhang struck a pose: "I am a genius so try harder with those riddles."
The crab looked at Li Zhang as if he was a fool and sighed.
The light bridge to the next platform glowed brighter, allowing him to cross.
On the next platform was a spirit beast illusion, something vaguely resembling a lion, made of smoke and silver bones. It growled low, circling him.
The crab voice echoed out, cold and sharp. "Defeat your shadow. It'll mirror your strength. Only when it's defeated would you be able to cross over."
Zhang cracked his knuckles: "Oh! A battle challenge! Finally."
The lion charged, fast and fluid.
Zhang ducked, rolled, and swept his leg wide, then pivoted and punched. His fists glowed faintly with earth essence, a solid weight behind every blow. The lion lunged again—faster this time—and he leapt back.
But then, something odd happened.
The lion copied his every move. Only now did he understand what mirroring means.
It leapt back when he did. It ducked the same way.
Zhang frowned: "It's an animal and I'm a human. How is it able to copy my moves?"
He glanced at his reflection on the lava surface below then got an idea.
Without thinking twice, he ran toward the edge of the platform and then stopped at the very tip.
The crab examiner was startled and thought Li Zhang had truly given up and decided to throw himself in the lava.
But Li Zhang had a smart idea. When he stopped, the lion didn't.
It mirrored him completely but couldn't slow in time. It rushed past him, lost balance, and tumbled off the edge with a crackling shriek.
Zhang blinked in disbelief: "Oh. That… actually worked?" He didn't expect the lion to be so stupid.
He looked down at his own hands and smiled brightly: "Wow. I really am smart."
Riddle Two: "I shine brightest when all is dark.
I vanish at dawn, without a mark.
I am chased, but never caught.
What am I?"
Li Zhang frowned and crossed his arms. "Sounds like Yuhan when he steals my food."
According to Li Zhang, Yuhan shines brightest when it's all dark because he can navigate safely with his wind ability. He is very fast, so after eating others snacks, he is chased but never caught.
The air was getting hotter and hotter. Li Zhang considered carefully: "Bright in the dark… disappears at dawn… gets chased but never caught…"
He snapped his fingers: "A star! Or wait, it can also be a shadow!"
The platform trembled.
"Incorrect," The crab said flatly and the stone under Li Zhang's feet shrank by half, the edge dangerously close to his toes.
"Wah! That's not fair! I gave two good answers!"
"One was wrong."
"Which one?!"
"You don't get to know."
Li Zhang pouted. "You can't bully me cause I'm a kid. There's no rule that states only one answer should be given."
The two went back and forth a few times but the crab refused to compromise so they dropped it and continued.
Riddle Three: "What breaks but never falls,
and what falls but never breaks?"
Li Zhang groaned: "Ugh! I hate tricky stuff…"
He sat down crossed legs, feeling the heat prickling his back from the lava below.
"Something that breaks but doesn't fall… and something that falls but doesn't break…"
He mumbled to himself. "Okay… things that break… like bones, glass, promises… but those can fall too…"
Li Zhang rubbed his temples, thinking that by the time this trail is over, he'll turn into a boring old man.
"…Wait a second. Morning 'breaks'… and night falls."
He slowly looked up, a gleam of triumph in his eyes: "The answer is: Morning and night!"
The crab was silent for a moment, then it gave a single nod. "Correct. You may proceed with the last challenge."
Li Zhang leapt up from the ground and fist pumped the air. "Yes!! I'm a genius! Someone tell my brothers!"
Another stone bridge extended from his platform to a wider one. As he stepped across, a gentle breeze cooled the heat behind him, and the lava shimmered like a mirror.
The last four platforms offered something new and passed them all. Except for the one the crab cheated him… He passed those in his own Li Zhang-ness way: cheerful brute force, wild guesses, and clever gut instinct.
But the final trial poured cold water over his head.
He stepped onto the last platform and found a mirror.
Just a single mirror.
It reflected him clearly. Sweaty, messy hair, smiling like always… but behind the smile, he saw something else.
His reflection in the mirror spoke in his own voice: "Are you strong because you smile… or do you smile because you're scared of not being strong?"
Zhang blinked in shock: "Whoa." Being hit so hard by his own reflection left him speechless.
For a long second, he didn't respond.
He thought of his brothers. Li Cheng with his quiet confidence and uniqueness, Li Yuhan with his quick wit, Li Yujian with his cold calm who is dependable and handled everything with ease.
He thought of Li Jingsheng who was trying hard to improve everyday, he thought Li Jingxuan, although reckless like himself but is always willing to step forward. He thought of little Li Juanxin, always protected yet finding opportunities to prove himself useful.
He'd always been the loud one, the funny one. The one who kept all his siblings from worrying too much.
But sometimes, when the lights were off and the house was quiet,... he wondered if he was just the funny one. He should have some unique qualities too… right???
Li Zhang wasn't sure.
"I smile…" He said slowly: "Because if I didn't… everyone else would worry. I'm not sure what the future holds, but for now, I am fine being the cheerleader of my family."
When the others are stressed from daily training, he'll help them relax in his own way.
The mirror's surface shimmered, then it cracked. The reflection vanished in a gentle burst of white light.
"Correct." The crab whispered in a gentle voice. No one knew whether it was touched or it was just a glitch.
Li Zhang stood tall, a little surprised by how serious his heart felt.
Then he grinned again. "That counts as passing, right? Time to find treasure! I promise to take the most treasure today."
A small jade box appeared in front of him, glowing faintly.
Inside was a refined Earth-Essence Crystal, and a bracelet shaped like a coiled hammer, one that could store physical energy and release it with double force.
Li Zhang's eyes sparkled. "OH YES."
Although his father wasn't short of weapons. It still felt good getting one with his own effort.
He danced a little victory jig, and exited after activating the talisman. This trail took too much of his brain cells and he's still just a kid.
Li Zhang thought that once he takes a nap, it won't be too late to come back and collect more treasures.