The morning mist clung thick to the peaks of the Boundless Sky Sect. Bells tolled from the jade towers, echoing through the valleys like the beat of war drums. Disciples streamed toward the trial grounds, their robes fluttering as excitement and dread mingled in their eyes.
Today was the start of the Team Trial - the first great hurdle that would decide who among the outer disciples could even dream of stepping into the Inner Sect.
-
(The Trial Announcement)
The great courtyard was packed with hundreds of disciples. At its center stood a massive stone platform carved with formation runes that glowed faintly in the morning light. Elders sat in a semicircle above, their gazes sweeping over the sea of young cultivators like hawks watching prey.
An elder in golden robes stepped forward, his qi heavy and commanding. His voice boomed across the courtyard, shaking even the stones beneath their feet:
"Disciples! Today begins the Formation Survival Trial. You will enter the Illusory Labyrinth, a realm woven from arrays, traps, spirit beasts, and shifting landscapes. Only those with wit, courage, and teamwork shall endure."
A murmur swept through the crowd.
"You will form teams of three," the elder continued. "No more, no less. In this trial, betrayal or abandonment will bring punishment from the formation itself. Aid one another - or perish together. After seven days within, the top ten surviving teams will be chosen to advance!"
Seven days. The words hit like thunder. This wasn't a simple spar - it was a crucible.
The elder's voice grew heavier. "Remember this: The labyrinth tests not only your blade, but your heart. Illusions shall tempt you. Beasts shall hunt you. Rivals shall ambush you. If you cannot trust yourselves and your companions, you are already dead."
Silence blanketed the courtyard.
-
Lui Yan's gaze shifted across the disciples. Some were already clumping into groups - friends clasping wrists, fellow clan members standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Lui Yan!"
Lin Yumo waved like a lunatic, nearly tripping over his own feet as he shoved through the crowd. His grin was bright as always. "You're with me, right? If you say no, I'll just follow you anyway, so better to accept fate!"
Before Lui Yan could answer, Yan Mei approached, her eyes calm but steady. She clutched her bow across her back. "If… if you'll have me, I would join as well."
Lui Yan's lips curved into the faintest smile. "Then it's settled."
Lin Yumo whooped. "Perfect! The calm one, the pretty one, and the genius. We're unbeatable!"
His cheer drew more than a few sneers. From the other side of the courtyard, Chen Wuying stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back. Two tall disciples flanked him, both carrying swords.
"Well, well," Chen said, voice smooth as silk, eyes sharp as knives. "The herb-picker, the coward girl, and the fool. What a… formidable team."
His lackeys chuckled.
Lui Yan met his gaze, unflinching. He said nothing, only letting silence answer. But deep inside, he could feel Chen's hostility like the coiling of a snake, waiting to strike.
The golden-robed elder raised his arm. Runes blazed across the stone platform. With a roar of qi, a shimmering gateway of light burst open, swirling like a storm.
"The trial begins! Enter!"
Disciples surged forward in teams, vanishing into the gate one after another.
"Here we go," Lin Yumo muttered, eyes wide with excitement.
Lui Yan nodded once. Yan Mei's fingers tightened around her bowstring. Together, they stepped into the light.
The world twisted.
-
They emerged into a realm of fog and shifting stone. The air hummed with spiritual energy. Mountains rose and collapsed in the distance like waves. Forests twisted, their trees moving when one wasn't looking. The ground itself seemed alive, breathing beneath their feet.
"This is…" Yan Mei whispered.
"The Illusory Labyrinth," Lui Yan finished, his eyes scanning every detail. He could feel it - arrays layered upon arrays, illusions woven with killing intent. A place meant to break both mind and body.
A faint shimmer rippled ahead. Lui Yan narrowed his eyes. "Stay close. Something's watching."
-
They didn't have to wait long.
Out of the fog, shapes slunk forward - low, sleek bodies, glowing red eyes. Wolves. But their forms wavered with qi, half-beast, half-illusion. Shadow Wolves, creatures born from the array itself.
The pack snarled as one and lunged.
Lin Yumo yelped. "I hate wolves!"
Yan Mei's bow twanged, an arrow slicing through the mist. It struck true, piercing the throat of one wolf. The beast dissolved into smoke, its death shriek echoing unnaturally.
Another wolf leapt at Lui Yan. He moved with calm precision, a small pouch already in his hand. He scattered a powder into the air - crushed bitterleaf mixed with fire lotus. The powder ignited as the wolf inhaled, flames bursting in its maw.
It howled, collapsing into smoke.
The fight was quick but tense. By the end, the ground was littered with fading shadows. Lin Yumo leaned on his knees, panting. "Haah… I almost died of fear, not wolves."
Yan Mei lowered her bow, her breath steady but eyes sharp. She glanced at Lui Yan. "You… didn't panic."
Lui Yan shook his head. "Panicking doesn't help."
And it was true - though his heart raced, he forced calm, his mind calculating every movement. Yet he knew these wolves were nothing. The real trial had yet to begin.
Far across the labyrinth, Chen Wuying and his team strode through the fog. Unlike others, Chen seemed unhurried. His hand brushed against the wall of mist, feeling the pulse of the formation.
"So," one of his lackeys said, "what now, Senior Brother? Do we hunt beasts?"
Chen's lips curved into a cold smile. "No. Beasts are meaningless. Our prey is Lui Yan."
He flicked a jade token. Runes glowed briefly, spreading through the mist. With a twist of his qi, the labyrinth shifted. Corridors realigned, paths collapsed, and somewhere far away, Lui Yan's team felt the ground tremble.
Chen's eyes gleamed with malice. "Let's see how long his little herbs save him when the world itself turns against him."
-
The earth rumbled beneath Lui Yan's feet. Walls of stone surged from the fog, trapping them in a narrow corridor. The air grew heavy, pressing down with suffocating qi.
"This isn't natural," Lui Yan muttered. "It's being forced."
The walls shuddered - and began to collapse inward.
Lin Yumo cursed, his fingers flying across the formation marks etched into the stone. "It's a crushing array! I can slow it, but not stop it!"
Yan Mei's eyes darted to Lui Yan. "What do we do?"
He felt the crushing pressure close in. His hand brushed against his sleeve, where the faint glow of the artifact fragment Elder Hua Yun had given him still lingered. If he used it, he could stabilize the collapse. But… others would notice.
He clenched his jaw. No choice.
Subtle, like a whisper, he bled a thread of artifact power into the walls. The crushing stopped, the runes faltered - and with Lin Yumo's quick adjustments, the corridor stabilized.
They stumbled out just as the walls slammed shut behind them.
Lin Yumo dropped to the ground, wiping sweat from his brow. "I… I'm amazing, right? Totally saved us!"
Yan Mei, still shaken, glanced at Lui Yan. "You… you did something. Didn't you?"
Lui Yan only shook his head. "We survived. That's enough."
But in his chest, his heartbeat thundered. If others discovered what he carried… no, he couldn't risk it.
High above the labyrinth, elders observed through mirrors of qi. Their faces remained calm, but one pair of eyes lingered on Lui Yan longer than most - Elder Hua Yun's.
"He stabilizes himself too quickly," murmured a grey-robed figure in the shadows. "For a mere Qi Refining disciple, his composure is unnatural."
Elder Hua Yun said nothing, her expression unreadable.
But her fingers tightened around her sleeve.
-
Hours passed. The team moved carefully, Lui Yan guiding them through traps, Lin Yumo decoding runes, Yan Mei picking off stray beasts with her bow. Slowly, they began to flow together, each covering the other's weaknesses.
By nightfall, they found shelter in a hollow of stone. Lin Yumo collapsed, groaning. "Seven days of this? I'll die before the beasts kill me."
Yan Mei offered a faint smile. "You'll live. You talk too much to die."
Lui Yan sat quietly, his mind never resting. Every shadow, every rustle of qi - it all pressed at him. He couldn't shake the feeling that the labyrinth itself was watching, learning.
And then it happened.
The ground split beneath them, a rune flaring bright. The stone crumbled, pulling them into a deeper cavern.
They hit the ground hard, dust rising.
A roar shook the chamber.
From the darkness, a beast emerged - massive, its body forged of both flesh and glowing formation qi. Its eyes burned like suns. Its body shifted, half real, half illusion.
"A… fusion beast," Lui Yan whispered, his breath cold.
The trial had only just begun.