CHAPTER 10 : TRIAL BEGINS

After few hours;

Everyone's eyes were locked on Zhen , sitting on the lotus.

"Could it be.." Elder Bi's mind raced with sudden realizations, his gaze snapping towards the clan leader. The leader's eyes scanned the open area, the weight of everyone's anticipation pressing down on him.

"Clan leader," Elder Mei's voice resonated telepathically, using a rectangular primal Orbis with a pulsating purple glow, "The first spirit stone is almost depleted, could it be.." His words trailed off as the leader intercepted.

"Hmm, I too think so," the leader responded, his hands folded, his focus unwavering on Zhen seated on the lotus.

"So, shouldn't we provide the child with the spirit crystal?" Elder Mei inquired tentatively, uncertainty lacing his voice.

"You have always been so naive, Elder," the leader retorted, a hint of anger and frustration creeping into his tone. After a pregnant pause, he continued, "Providing him with spirit crystal, huh? Do you want an outsider to awaken our divine knowledge?"

"Clan leader is wise, this servant is a fool," the elder began, his voice filled with deference. "But with due respect, wouldn't providing him with a spirit crystal guarantee the completion of the supreme Orbis? As we have seen, this child hasn't been able to nurture the Orbis to even it's one-tenth until now. Who knows how long it will take for the Orbis to be completed? It could span from several years to decades, and what guarantee do we have that he will be able to nurture it before he dies?"

The elder's words were cautious, careful not to overstep his bounds in questioning the leader's decisions.

Listening to this, a flicker of anger danced in the leader's eyes. "Hmmm, come to think of it, he is not completely wrong," the leader mused inwardly. "Over these five centuries our clan has lived, only three were able to possess the supreme Orbis. It wasn't like no one else over this long period wasn't gifted with the Orbis, but only three out of all the gifted ones were able to nurture it. These pieces of information are well kept hidden among elders and the past leaders; only the ones who were able to complete the Orbis were ever mentioned."

With a furrowed brow, the leader continued his contemplation. "From what it looks, this child probably has a chance for a second awakening, but..." He paused, clenching his fists tightly. "But if I agree with these people, then obtaining the supreme Orbis for Hao Tian in the future will be almost impossible. Yet, if I don't, will this boy even be able to nurture the supreme Orbis or not? What to do... What to do..." Confusion mingled with frustration painted across the leader's face.

Meanwhile, since no response came from the Clan leader, Elder Mei grew increasingly observant, stealing glances at the leader. Soon, he detected a line of confusion and frustration etched on the leader's visage. "This fellow always thinks he's the smartest. Did he believe I was blind? Wasn't I able to see why he wanted the supreme Orbis?" With a subtle smirk, Elder Mei continued his internal musings, casting a knowing glance at Zhen, who remained perched on the lotus. "This boy... he's given me a very good opportunity. Let's see what this power-hungry bas***d will do," he thought, his gaze returning to the clan leader.

"Why? Why isn't he stopping? The stone is almost finished," the leader muttered to himself, his voice fraught with frustration and uncertainty. "Will I really have to take this risk of letting him undergo a second awakening? But from what it looks like, even the gods are not on my side. What a dilemma... If I don't let him undergo a second awakening, it seems there is no potential in this child to nurture the supreme Orbis on his own." The leader clenched his fists, his brows furrowing, his teeth grinding against each other in turmoil.

After taking a deep breath, he regained his calm demeanor. With everyone's attention fixed on Zhen, except for the elders waiting for the leader's command, no one noticed the inner conflict raging within the clan leader.

The leader closed his eyes, and a vertical blue line appeared on his forehead. Out of the blue line, an irregular hexagonal-shaped object flew into the leader's hand. The object was as big as a fingernail, and as it touched the leader's palm, a faint yellow-gold light engulfed it.

"Attention, Elders," the clan leader's calm and soothing voice resonated telepathically using a primal Orbis, hexagonal in shape and radiating a strong blue glow. "Elders, you are all wise and experienced. From the looks of the situation, there is a chance for this boy to undergo a second awakening!"

As the leader spoke, the elders' faces underwent dramatic transformations. Some went pale, their eyes widening in shock and disbelief. Others showed signs of excitement, their expressions brightening with anticipation. However, a few elders' faces twisted with anger, their brows furrowing and their lips tightening in frustration.

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Zhen's gaze narrowed as he interrogated the spirit, "What are these exceptions you're talking about?"

The spirit responded matter-of-factly, "The skills, knowledge, and abilities within the astral splendor are all exceptions."

Zhen leaned in, intrigued. "How so?"

"Every skill and piece of knowledge within the astral splendor is a reflection of the memories carried or encountered by the user during their lifetime. Every object or concept has a memory associated with it, from which the skill or knowledge is derived. For instance, if you've learned various martial arts throughout your life, the time you take to master a specific skill represents the memory of that skill," explained the spirit.

Zhen furrowed his brow in confusion. "Then why didn't the old man tell me about this? I vividly remember the inheritance event, yet he never mentioned anything like this."

The spirit's question lingered in the air, prompting Zhen to reconsider. "Did you ask him?" it queried.

Zhen hesitated before responding, "But he passed on all the skills and knowledge of the artifact to me, so if there was such a thing, he would have mentioned it."

"If you remember everything so clearly, then I doubt he didn't tell you about wills. They're just like AI's that you guys have. The answer will be limited to the question," the spirit replied cryptically.

Zhen fell into thoughtful silence, absorbing the spirit's words. The spirit, however, persisted. "And do you really think he bestowed all the knowledge upon you?" Zhen sensed a subtle smirk in the spirit's tone, though he couldn't see its form.

"He was only able to give you what he had and nothing more," the spirit remarked with a hint of finality.

Zhen's brows furrowed in contemplation as he absorbed the spirit's words. The spirit continued, its tone piercing, "He only provided you with the skill of moon descends and knowledge about Yaduvansh, am I right?" It paused, awaiting Zhen's confirmation.

Zhen nodded solemnly. "And let me tell you," the spirit continued, its voice tinged with a knowing edge, "the art of moon descends are just basic skills of Yaduvansh. The real deal is the art of moon ascends, which taps into the spiritual energy within a person and even invokes fear among the Deities." The spirit's words dripped with significance, and despite its unseen form, Zhen could sense a teasing grin lurking behind them.

"I didn't believe that old man, first of all," Zhen muttered, his voice tinged with skepticism. "It looks like I was right not to trust that guy." The bitterness in his tone was palpable, reflecting his disillusionment.

"But.... Should I really trust this environment? On the other hand, a simulation can't make me forget a specific part of my memory. It's highly unlikely, and creating an AI illusion of such a large scale is impossible," Zhen pondered, a genuine smile of relief spreading across his face as he entertained the possibility of truth.

"Then, spirit, how can I inherit other skills?" Zhen asked respectfully.

"Oh ,stop all that respect drama, I can read your mind," the spirit retorted sharply before continuing, "Through trials."

"Explain," Zhen returned to his stoic expression, his curiosity piqued.

"Every skill and knowledge has a memory to it, as I said. So, to unlock a skill, a user usually goes through a set trial embedded within the memory. Once it is successfully completed, the user is granted the skill and some related knowledge," the spirit replied matter-of-factly.

"You said you have skills and knowledge of past users too. Are there such things other than Yaduvansh? And will I be able to obtain them?" Zhen inquired.

"Definitely, once you are able to clear the trial successfully," the spirit replied.

Zhen pondered for a moment and then asked, "The art of moon descends, I have tried reusing those skills, but unlike other martial arts or so, I can't recall it properly. Is it also related to the heavenly lightning, as you said?"

"Yes," the spirit replied. "The heavenly lightning damaged your soul critically, almost destroying it. It is the reason for your selective memory loss, and since the skills and knowledge were connected to your soul, they too got damaged."

"That explains it. It means then some steps or instances of the skill were destroyed, due to which I wasn't able to perform the skills," Zhen thought, piecing together the information.

"Would you like to go through a trial?" the spirit asked, suddenly.

"Now?" Zhen inquired, his curiosity piqued. "Can I choose the trial I want to go through?"

"No," replied the spirit. "For most users, it was an option, but your case is different. Due to the lightning and your damaged soul, the knowledge has been intermixed, making it difficult to select a particular trial."

"Hmm, Come to think of it the artifact last time was able to slow down the flow of time outside to almost stop it , which means I can go through a trial and later awaken the third eye" he mused inwardly, "But still is it worth risk.. I should gather some more information first"

"Then how will I go through it?" Zhen pressed, maintaining his stoic expression.

"It will be random," replied the spirit.

"And what about the difficulty level?" Zhen queried.

"Do not worry. The trial always checks the compatibility with difficulty before offering itself, at least earlier it used to." assured the spirit.

Listening to this, Zhen pondered, "Should I believe it or not? And that doesn't sounds very much assuring"

"I will say again, believing me or not depends on you," the spirit replied in a plain tone.

"Can I take the trials later on" he asked.

"Of course, it depends on you"

Zhen looked towards the blue sky above and thought inwardly his hand on his chin ,"It sounds okay but i should first complete the work in hand. Trials can wait."

The spirit asked again, "Would you like to go through a trial?"

"No, not now" Zhen said and turned.

As Zhen replied, he was assaulted by extreme dizziness. The motions of his body were no longer under his own control, and he fell into the sea below his feet. Soon, the sea started engulfing him slowly. The water gradually swallowed him completely, leaving only his head visible with eyes half-open.

"What the f*ck" Zhen said his voice dying out.

"Sorry , but you don't have a choice" said the spirit it's voice plain.

"Remember, not to die. If you die in the memory, you will die in reality too," said the spirit with an ominous tone, echoing through Zhen's mind like a thunderclap.

Zhen's heart raced ,anger etched on his face. He clenched his fists, his mind racing with curses for the spirit, but his body was trapped in the relentless embrace of the sea, its cold embrace threatening to consume him whole.

"This guy certainly knows how to express his displeasure," the spirit remarked with amusement, as it delved into the depths of Zhen's mind.

"How could I.... that spirit" Zhen thought bitterly, his thoughts a whirlwind of regret. "Then why did it even asked, that bast**d spirit."

As the water enveloped him completely, Zhen's consciousness began to fade, the weight of his predicament pressing down on him like an anchor dragging him into the abyss.

Zhen was the type, to weigh the consequences meticulously before taking action. However, years of living a tranquil life with his family had dulled his instincts to some degree. In the comfort of safety, he had grown accustomed to the illusion of control, believing that every situation could be managed with careful calculation. Little did he know, the tumult of the moment would shatter those illusions like glass, leaving him vulnerable to the raw force of reality's unyielding spirit.

"Also, once a trial begins, I won't be there to aid you. You're on your own," the Spirit's voice echoed through the depths of Zhen's unconscious mind, a stark reminder of his solitary journey ahead.

Zhen plummeted into the abyss of the sea, descending deeper and deeper, into a realm where darkness reigned supreme. The faint glimmers of light above vanished into obscurity, leaving him enveloped in an impenetrable cloak of blackness.

Zhen's sigh echoed with resignation, yet his resolve remained unshaken. "Now nothing can be done," he admitted with a heavy heart, his words weighted with the burden of the present. Yet, in the very breath that carried his acceptance, he forged ahead with unwavering determination.

"Better prepare for the upcoming trial," he declared, his voice steady and resolute. In those words lay a testament to his character – resilient, adaptive, and forward-thinking. For Zhen, the currents of fate may have shifted beyond his control, but he refused to be swept away by despair or regret.

Zhen's eyelids fluttered open, and he found himself engulfed by a sky painted in ominous shades of crimson. His surroundings revealed a chilling scene - lifeless bodies littered the ground next to him, silent witnesses to some unknown tragedy.

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Mass release(SUNDAY) :

160 stones = 2 chaps

200 stones = 4 chaps

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