Wings flapped high up in the air, and the darlings of freedom, a flock of birds, soared through the blue skies. They dived through clouds, enjoying unrestricted movement in all directions. Each feather had a unique color; these were the paradise birds.
One of them diverged from the group and dived right towards the ground. As it was about to hit the ground, it lifted its beak and started floating forward. With a abrupt motion, its wings opened as it came to a halt, right on the edge of a pavilion’s window.
With each step its claws took, a dozen feathers dropped from its body till it was only bones. It had no muscle tissue or organs, only its bare skeleton. The fallen feathers dissolved into qi.
The now skeleton bird made its way to the edge of the window. It bent its legs and jumped forth onto a bathtub’s edge. A delicate hand caressed the bird's skelly body. “What news have you brought me this time?”
Her body was covered in bubbles, enjoying a relaxing time. The paleness of her body outmatched even the bubbles, nearing a sickly tone. Her pitch-black hair, secured in a bun, contrasted with her fair skin.
She held the bird's body and, with a clench, dislocated all its bones. She picked a specific one and read the inscriptions. “Ha ha, Alcan is alive?” She put her hand on her lips when she laughed. “That’s fine. He won’t be able to survive the Deathly Trials.”
With a swirl of her fingers, the collapsed skeleton bird was rebuilt in seconds, and colorful feathers grew on its body till it was back to being a normal paradise bird. It took to the skies to attend to his duties for its owner.
…
A week later - Day of the Deathly Trials -
Alcan was in a cultivation position. His hands lay flat on his knee with his back straight. His eyelids opened, and his brown iris’ were sharper than usual today. The sharp aura he released was erased by the smile that found its place on his face. “I have made significant progress in my cultivation.”
His hand got coated in a thin membrane of light qi, exuding warm light, and yellow and orange hues mixed. His hand smashed onto the small table by his bedside, sizzle, smoke escaped beneath his hand. After lifting his hand, he saw not only a larger but a deeper imprint than his previous attempt.
His hand remained unharmed. It wasn’t burned. It was thanks to the modification he had made to the Poison Well Technique. While minuscule, the small change allowed his hand to remain unharmed by the heat his qi generated.
He noticed that while one’s qi could hurt themselves; the damage done would be lesser to oneself.
His casting speed had also increased. It was to the degree where it could be considered a non-factor. Obviously, if he tried casting different techniques, the results would vary.
This small trick of covering his palm with light qi wasn’t the only technique he had learned; it was nowhere close. He had created an entirely separate technique using all his gains from The Poison Well Technique that was better suited for his light qi.
He gathered his bearings and took the road. He had to be in the sect center by the 8th mist (8 a.m.). The life of the sect had just started to lighten up. Most sect disciples were still sleeping soundly.
Halfway through his journey, his eyes widened and his senses screamed. He instantly turned around and was met with the Déjà vu-inducing scene of Lyra looking at him. “Are you trying to send me to my grave early, Lyra?”
Lyra placed a hand on her hip and said, “It’s not my fault! You shouldn’t have been able to sense me with your 3rd layer cultivation.” Alcan looked at her dully, which made her sigh in defeat. “Alright, I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you off.”
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Alcan raised an eyebrow. “I thought we agreed to meet after the exams. You are acting like I’m heading to my death. I will be fine. You should be worried about your duties instead.”
“My duties..” she muttered beneath her breath, “I should remember my duties.” She didn’t say the second part aloud, it only resounded within her mind.
Alcan leaned in and placed a peck on her rosy lips. “I will see you after it. Have trust in your fiance a little.” He winked, then turned back to continue his way.
She hesitated for a moment before running up and hugging him from behind. “Just try your best, alright?” Alcan patted her hands and said, “I will.”
…
Alcan couldn’t help but chuckle on the road after he left Lyra’s side. He was in his thousands. He could differentiate faked emotions from genuine ones. He could see that Lyra was genuine when she saw him off. “I wonder if I can turn her to my side. It’s not a bad idea. I wonder what secrets this sect holds that I do not know.”
Alcan was no fool. He hadn’t fallen in love with a woman he met a few days before. All he was doing was manipulating her with love, and it seemed like he was seeing its returns. "There is something holding her back. I wonder what is it?"
The sect center was a richly decorated hall. Its columns were red, and the walls were black. There were countless white inscriptions on the ceiling, and the stained windows let light of numerous hues to filter in.
He couldn’t help but smirk at the already formed groups. The weak had surrounded those who were strong. “Human nature never changes. Even after I changed universes, it's still the same.”
His sharp gaze fell on the largest group. A man with short blonde hair stood in the center of it, his thin body exuded the aura of a 7th layer cultivator.
Alcan did a quick calculation in his mind: for that group to survive, they would need to kill all other examinees, or else some were bound to die from thirst. “Is he overconfident due to his cultivation, or is he keeping them close just in case?”
He didn’t mind this one bit; the larger a group, the easier they would be to avoid. The rest of the 5th and 6th layer cultivators weren’t worth paying special attention to; they seemed like rich kids.
Two, in particular, took his interest; one was an old man who seemed as if even the wind could kill him. He wore a gray coat that matched his gray sandals, and despite his seemingly weak constitution, his body let out a fierce 6th layer aura. The other was a woman with likewise 6th layer cultivation, whose hands were shaky and eyes jittered constantly .
“I definitely look out of place here with my 3rd layer cultivation... But if I play my card right, I can survive.” Alcan hadn’t tested his new technique on a human yet, so the results were yet to be seen.
No eyes ever fell on him; examinees were trying to assess those with the most oppressive auras. Those with strong auras acted like beacons of threat; some attracted gazes of fear, while others showed caution.
Alcan enjoyed being inconspicuous, it would suit him well during the trials. No extreme hostility fell upon him, it seemed that the previous Alcan had no bad blood with any examinees here.
Rumble, Rumble. The ground beneath shook, the stained window broke, the supporting column came off, and the ceiling took to the sky, unblocking the scene of a colossal dragon sculpted out of earth. On its head lay a woman with white hair and pitch-black eyes. Her hands supported her chin as she lazily gazed beneath.
With a light swirl of her fingers, the entire hall sank beneath the ground, exposing more of the dragon's body. Alcan’s wide-open eyes solely focused on the woman atop the dragon. He couldn’t care less about the dragon. All he cared about was its source, the woman.
“So this is the power of a Rank 2 cultivator!” Alcan couldn’t believe the abysmal jump in power from Rank 1 to Rank 2. He couldn’t help but wonder how powerful the sect leader must be.
His intense gaze coincidentally met hers. “This must be the examinee Su told me about.” Her gaze didn’t linger long. He was a dead man in her mind, and she didn’t believe he could survive with his 3rd layer cultivation.
She lazily snapped her fingers, and while no visible effect was seen, each examinee knew what this action meant.
At that exact moment, dozens of examinees who were either late or tried to avoid the trial had a sharp spear created from the ground beneath them lunge into their hearts. The spear left most of them in two pieces as it retreated into the ground as if nothing had happened.
Alcan could see the exact process as a late examinee just a few meters away from the gathering ground had met the same fate. His hand reached out towards them amongst his agonizing screams as death took him.
“With that out of the way, we can start the Deathly Trials!” Another snap of her fingers was heard. This time, all the examinees fell to their knees weak, and every single one of them, Alcan included, fell unconscious.