Night had fallen over the Ye Family estate, but Ye Chen did not return to his quarters.
Instead, he walked to the secluded cliff behind the garden, where moonlight glimmered over jagged stones.
Inside his mind, the Book Realm had shifted again. The Hidden Sect Scroll's knowledge pulsed like a heartbeat.
> "Every truth has a guardian… first trial begins," the whisper said.
Ye Chen's pulse quickened, but fear did not touch him.
> "Then let the guardian appear. I will read… and I will endure."
---
A faint ripple of light appeared before him.
From the shadows, a figure emerged—a woman in flowing black robes, her eyes like liquid night. Qi radiated from her, so dense it pressed on Ye Chen's chest.
> "I am the First Guardian," she said, voice soft yet piercing.
"No scholar, no poet, no mortal may claim the Scroll without proving their worth."
Ye Chen bowed lightly. "Then let the trial begin."
---
The guardian moved. Her speed was blinding, her strikes precise, each one guided by invisible thought and intention.
Ye Chen barely dodged the first three, relying not on brute strength, but on instinct shaped by comprehension.
Inside his mind, the Book Realm opened, books fluttering like leaves in a storm. One floated forward:
> "Combat of Thought and Flow"
He studied her movement as though reading a text: each strike, each step, a sentence; each pause, a punctuation of intent.
> "She fights like a verse, her body the poem… then my response must be a counter-poem," Ye Chen thought.
He whispered softly:
> "The river flows not against the stone; it moves around, shaping its path."
His qi responded—not with raw force, but with precision, flowing like water around the guardian's attacks.
---
The Guardian's eyes widened slightly. She increased her speed, her aura flaring with frost-like energy.
> "Interesting. Few can perceive my intention so quickly. Few can move with comprehension."
Ye Chen remained calm, letting every movement, every dodge, become a step in the mental dance of battle. He began to integrate the knowledge of the Hidden Sect Scroll:
Resonant Qi Flow – aligning his internal energy with her strikes.
Intent Reading – predicting movements before they occur.
Counter-Pattern – redirecting force rather than resisting it.
With a final, flowing gesture, Ye Chen's palm barely touched her chest—soft, deliberate, yet the Guardian's qi faltered, and she staggered back.
---
She bowed her head slightly, a faint smile breaking her stoic expression.
> "You have passed the First Trial, Ye Chen. Not by strength, but by understanding.
Few have ever faced me and emerged with insight intact. Few have ever read my movements like text."
Ye Chen nodded.
> "Strength is fleeting. Understanding endures."
The Guardian vanished into the night, leaving only a faint ripple in the air—and a glowing mark on Ye Chen's palm.
Inside the Book Realm, the Scroll shimmered brighter. A new passage appeared:
> "One who masters comprehension shall face the storms of the world unshaken. Yet even comprehension must be tempered with courage, for the next guardian waits beyond the horizon."
Ye Chen exhaled, a faint smile on his lips.
> "Then let the next guardian come. I will read, and I will prevail."