The morning sun shone upon Mount Qingshan, but the light felt… unnatural.
Golden rays shimmered against invisible barriers that now surrounded the mountain.
The entire region seemed cut off from the world, as if reality itself had sealed it within a divine cage.
Lin Tian sat cross-legged atop a jagged rock, his aura calm yet profound.
The Nexus energy within his body flowed like a river of stars — infinite, yet terrifyingly silent.
But then, a sound echoed in his mind.
A mechanical chime that didn't belong to heaven nor earth.
Ding!
[Celestial System Initiated]
Host: Lin Tian (Reincarnated Immortal of Nine Heavens)
System Type: Nexus Convergence Protocol
Primary Directive: Ascend the Path of Mortal Rebirth.
First Trial: "Judgment of the Mortal Heart."
A sphere of light materialized before him — pure, crystalline, and pulsating with cosmic rhythm.
Inside, countless runes formed the structure of a celestial program — the very consciousness of the System that governed worlds.
Lin Tian's brows furrowed.
"So it begins… the first trial."
The sphere cracked, and from within emerged a humanoid figure — neither man nor spirit.
Its body was woven from data, its eyes infinite, its voice divine.
"Lin Tian," it spoke, "to wield the power of the Nexus, you must prove your heart remains untainted.
You carry the arrogance of the heavens — but can you bear the pain of mortals?"
The world around Lin Tian dissolved.
In a flash, Mount Qingshan vanished.
He found himself standing in the middle of a ruined city. Skyscrapers lay in rubble, flames danced upon shattered streets, and screams echoed in the distance.
Humans — weak, terrified — ran in chaos.
Lin Tian felt his heart tighten.
"This… is Earth? No. It's a test illusion…"
Before he could move, he saw her — Liu Xue, the girl who had once saved his mortal self before his awakening.
She was trapped under debris, reaching for help.
Without hesitation, Lin Tian rushed forward.
He tried to summon his power — but the Nexus energy didn't respond.
He looked down; his divine aura was gone. His body was purely human.
"They sealed my cultivation?"
The Celestial System's voice rang through the burning sky.
"This is the Judgment of the Mortal Heart.
You are stripped of divinity.
To pass, you must save those before you — without power, without arrogance, and without pride."
Lin Tian clenched his fists. The once-mighty immortal now bled like any man.
The fire burned his skin, and smoke filled his lungs, but he didn't stop.
He lifted the rubble with shaking arms, pulled Liu Xue free, and carried her through the collapsing ruins.
His vision blurred, his breath ragged, but his will remained unbroken.
Hours passed. The illusion continued. He saved strangers, faced beasts of fire, and endured the torment of mortality — hunger, exhaustion, and despair.
Finally, as he fell to his knees, the girl he'd saved looked at him and whispered,
"Why… why do you keep helping us? You could've run away…"
Lin Tian smiled faintly, his voice hoarse.
"Because even without power… an immortal's heart must protect life."
The world shattered like glass.
He was back on Mount Qingshan.
The Celestial Sphere floated before him again, glowing brighter than before.
Ding!
Trial Complete.
Heart of Compassion: Affirmed.
Nexus Authority Expanded: 12%.
The light sank into his chest, and the Nexus sigil on his palm burned with golden fire. His aura exploded outward — vast, divine, unstoppable.
He could now feel the heartbeat of the planet itself — the flow of energy through the world.
Every breath of wind, every rustle of leaves, every pulse of human emotion resonated within him.
"So this is what it means to bridge Heaven and Earth…" he whispered.
But before he could stabilize his new power, the System spoke once more:
[Warning: Unknown Celestial Entity Detected]
[Second Trial Initiating: "The Shadow of the Fallen Immortal."]
The skies darkened instantly. Thunder tore the heavens apart.
A silhouette appeared beyond the clouds — tall, cloaked in chaos, eyes burning with crimson hatred.
Lin Tian froze.
He knew that presence. It was one he had long buried in the annals of eternity.
"Impossible…" he whispered. "That's… me — my past self."
And as the world trembled, the clone of the ancient Heavenly Immortal descended — a god of wrath come to judge his reincarnation.