The moment Ye Tian and Yue Qing stepped through the arch of the Corruption Temple, the world around them twisted.
Stone turned to mist.
Time fractured.
They were separated.
Ye Tian's Trial
He stood alone in an endless field of ashes. A shadow emerged—it had his face, his voice, his rage.
"You think power will fix your pain?" the shadow mocked. "You abandoned kindness. You became what you hated."
[System Alert: Mental Trial Activated – Resist the Self]
Ye Tian didn't flinch. "I don't need to be kind. I need to win."
A battle of will began. The shadow mirrored every move, every skill, every thought.
But Ye Tian had one thing it didn't—growth.
And as the battle raged, he forced a crack in the illusion.
Yue Qing's Trial
She awoke in the ruins of her former sect—burning again.
People screamed. Her father cursed her name. Her hands were stained in blood not her own.
"You're cursed," they cried.
"No," she whispered. "I was sacrificed."
A blue fire ignited from her heart.
[Corruption Trial: Embrace or Reject the Curse]
She didn't reject it. She didn't accept it.
She made it hers.
Meanwhile, Aboveground
Zhao Feng gathered three elite disciples. "Prepare to descend. If he's alive… we end him before he rises."
Lin Ruyan stood in the shadows, conflicted.
"If he is alive… I need to see him."
Back in the Temple
Ye Tian collapsed to one knee.
[Trial Complete. New Trait Unlocked: Will of the Abyss]
[Hidden System Function Activated: Soul Echo]
Yue Qing returned to him, her body glowing faintly.
They had both changed.
But deeper within the temple… a pair of crimson eyes had opened.
They've passed the first test. Let's see how far they'll fall...