[Luo Jin – Early Stage 8 – 90 Points]
"Good job, Jin," Lin Feng praised.
Luo Jin simply gave a small nod and returned to his original spot in the lineup.
If only I were at full strength, if I hadn't run out of energy… No, maybe I'm just not strong enough yet, Jin reflected, contemplating his defeat at the eighth level.
Elysia then stepped forward, heading toward the screen.
Jin noticed her passing by and tried to greet her but stopped himself when he saw her serious expression. She didn't even acknowledge his presence.
"What's up with her?" Jin wondered aloud, though he wasn't really asking anyone.
"Something wrong with Elysia?" Lin An asked, having heard his muttering.
"Huh? Oh, probably nothing. Just a weird feeling," Jin replied.
"..."
Gaia, watching them from the side, gave a faint smile and made a short remark.
"Someone has entered the shadow stage of rivalry."
"What do you mean?" Lin An and Jin asked almost simultaneously.
"Forget it. It's something she needs to resolve on her own," Gaia answered calmly.
I know that feeling all too well, Gaia thought, a faint smile flickering across her lips. Back when I lived as a swordsman in a world where magic was everything, I once chased the shadow of a so-called genius… But in the end, even he turned out to be an illusion.
Lin An and Jin fell silent, turning their attention back to the screen, where Elysia had now entered the test domain.
She summoned a bow from her inventory, a beautiful weapon with pink and white highlights.
I might not be as skilled as Luo Jin in martial arts, but I won't go down without a fight, she resolved.
The trial began.
From levels one to four, Elysia dispatched the monsters with ease.
Her fighting style with the bow was elegant. She kept a safe distance even when surrounded, conjuring mana arrows and aiming precisely for her enemies' vital points.
At level five, more and stronger monsters began to appear.
Elysia stood her ground, preparing her mana-infused arrows and her bow.
She waited as the swarm of monsters approached.
Just as they were about to reach her, she leapt into the air, stepping off the monsters themselves as makeshift footholds. She aimed her arrow at the ceiling and fired.
Rain of Ten Thousand Feathers – Feather Formation Circle.
Instantly, the dark sky within the domain turned gray. White lights blinked into existence like falling stars, then transformed into thousands of glowing, winged arrows made of qi or mana. They rained down mercilessly, piercing and killing anything they touched.
Elysia stood alone amidst a sea of fallen monsters. A heartbeat later, her figure dissolved, swallowed once more by the domain's depths.
Soon after, another wave of monsters surged into the arena this time from level six.
She used the same tactic, firing her arrows and executing the same technique.
But this time, not a single monster died.
Some arrows managed to pierce their skin but they didn't go deep enough to be lethal.
"Ugh, I figured this might happen," Elysia muttered, dodging and weaving between relentless attacks.
"Elysia's starting to struggle," Lin An observed.
"…" Jin said nothing, eyes fixed on the screen.
"Her technique and fundamentals are solid. She's clearly talented. But her martial arts level isn't high enough," Gaia commented.
"That makes sense. Elysia's a spirit magic user, not a martial artist," Lin An replied.
After repeatedly unleashing her wide-area technique, Elysia finally managed to defeat all the monsters on level six but at the cost of all her mana.
When level seven began, she was quickly overwhelmed and defeated, returning to her physical body.
[Elysia – Early Stage 7 – 80 Points]
She paused for a moment, then walked back to the line.
"Good job," Jin said as she approached.
"Mm," Elysia replied with a small nod.
Gaia and Lin An exchanged a glance but didn't say anything.
"Then I guess it's my turn now," said Lin An.
"Go ahead," Lin Feng replied, making a casual gesture to let him pass.
As the atmosphere settled and the others watched in silence, Lin An stepped forward and touched the domain screen. A smaller interface immediately materialized in front of him.
*
As Lin An touched the screen and entered the domain, a small display appeared in front of him.
[System Notification]
Mission: Complete all stages of the Infinite Void
Failure Condition: –
Reward: Thunder God Lightning Mode, Space-Splitting Flash martial arts manual
Whoa, that's a tempting reward. That means I can use that technique without needing an item anymore… Looks like I need to take this seriously.
Amidst the black emptiness of the void, where silent stars floated like frozen pearls in the dark, Lin An stepped lightly though there was no ground beneath him, his stance was unwavering, as if he stood upon sacred earth.
In his hand was a long, single-edged sword with a sleek, silver sheen, Fēng Jiàn, the Wind God Sword.
I'm counting on you, partner.
Invisible winds gathered around his body, following his every breath and movement, forming an aura of unseen blades, ready to tear through anything.
"That sword…!" Gaia exclaimed, stunned.
As someone with the life experience of a swordsman, Gaia's instincts screamed at the sight of Lin An's weapon.
"You probably don't know this since you're still new to Yinzhou, but I have to admit your instincts are sharp," Jin said. "The sword he's holding is one of the Hundred Divine Artefacts Fēng Jiàn, the Wind God Sword."
"A Divine Artefact, huh… Interesting. I need to get one of those someday," Gaia replied coolly.
Jin and Elysia looked surprised by her words, as if she had forgotten something important.
"You didn't know?" Jin asked.
"Know what?"
"General Jiang also wielded one of the Divine Artefacts. Although he left it behind before his disappearance, whoever inherits his position will automatically become its new master," Elysia explained.
"And that Divine Artefact is also the grand prize of this trial, alongside the General's position," Jin added.
Gaia looked genuinely shocked but soon, doubt crept into her expression.
Sensei's Divine Artefact… Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?
*
Back in the domain, Lin An pressed on through wave after wave of monsters. From misty dragon-beasts to starborn giants cloaked in black fire, he cut them all down with graceful swordplay that channeled the essence of the wind.
"Gale Severing Steps."
"Whisper of the Tempest."
And finally, Heavenwind Burial, a devastating finishing move that created a swirling storm of blades in a single spinning motion.
At the eighth level, hundreds of abstract-shaped monsters appeared at once.
But Lin An didn't flinch.
His level 8 trial was different from Luo Jin's. Was it randomized? Or perhaps it adapted to the challenger's fighting style?
Regardless, with the aid of his Divine Artefact, the sword techniques flowed through him with perfect clarity. He moved through the chaos like the wind itself untouchable, unstoppable.
At last, the final monster crumbled into light and vanished into the void. Silence settled like a veil. Lin An stood alone, his breathing steady, his silver blade whispering wind from its edge.
No cheers greeted him, no voices broke the stillness, only the quiet cosmos bore witness to the one human who had conquered all eight levels of the dark domain.
From the corner of his lips, a faint smile surfaced.
"Next reward unlocked," whispered the system in his mind.