Hui tensed, waiting for the pain to hit.

Aches bit into him, but they quickly quieted. After a few moments, he let out his held breath. Phew! I thought that was going to be way worse. That wasn’t actually that bad. Huh.

The blades hurtled toward him. Hui quickly activated his crystal form.

Crunch.

Hui jolted. Ugh! That didn’t sound good. Did my body get weaker, somehow? What happened? Startled, he looked around him.

Not even a scratch marred his body. His limbs remained on his joints, and his skin stretched, pure and clear, unmarked by the blades.

On the other hand, the blades pulled away slowly. A Hui-shaped outline appeared in their edges. Cracks spread through the blades, and in a moment, they shattered into pieces. The blades’ mountings paused, almost confused.

Hui cleared his throat. “Er, do… do I pass? Surely we don’t have to finish the ten thousand rounds with the blades broken? It doesn’t even make sense anymore.”

The chamber retracted its blades all the way to the walls. It paused for a long time. Nothing sounded overhead. Not a “Failure” or a “Success,” nor the next-round audio. Just silence. Long, long silence.

Looking up, Hui put his hands behind his back. “Senior, sincerely, did I not pass your trial? It’s not my fault that I broke your blades. Please don’t throw a tantrum over that. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for not being able to create blades strong enough to withstand this small cultivator’s body.”

More silence.

Hui sighed. “Senior, did you not promise me a reward at the end of your trial? The trial cannot continue. Therefore, should I not be rewarded?”

The voice sounded. “Disqualified.”

“Disqualified?” Hui scoffed, unruffled. “I exceeded your expectations and you disqualify me?—ah, ahem. My apologies. That was my heart demon flaring up. I’m merely an ordinary cultivator, an ordinary small cultivator.

“Senior, don’t blame me for your shoddy workmanship. As I said, I’m merely a small, ordinary cultivator. If your trial broke, it’s the fault of your trial, not myself. Disqualifying me due to your own failure, how petty!”

The doors began to open, ever so slowly.

Hui paused a moment, then widened his eyes. “Could it be? This trial was a lie all along, and Senior has none of the riches Senior is pretending to have! Senior, how tricky! To think, the body cultivators have gone all this time believing your lies. What will they think when I tell them the truth?”

The room hesitated. The door stopped opening.

Hui shook his head. “Senior, let’s think this through. I’m just a small cultivator. I don’t need many rewards. Just a few. Just one or two. Look at how small I am! I can’t carry much away.”

The door slowly closed.

Sensing weakness, Hui pressed on. “Ah! Senior, it seems I was mistaken! Hearing you say disqualified, I thought that perhaps Senior’s reputation was incorrect. But it seems that Senior’s reputation of being a powerful, upright, generous cultivator was correct! I’ll be sure to inform everyone of how righteous and strong Senior is.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The doors closed. “The disciple has passed the trial. Please proceed to the rewards.” At the far end of the trial realm, a different set of doors opened.

Hui beamed. “Wonderful, wonderful! I knew I could trust in Senior all along. Senior was merely testing my resolve, isn’t that correct? Ha! Of course, of course.”

Outside the space, Shuhang Han frowned, more confused than ever. The trial hit a thousand and some rounds, then abruptly stopped, declared him disqualified, then… decided he passed it after all? What’s happening inside that room? Ever since that disciple entered, the room has been acting strange. I wonder if it’s started to go bad from age… but no, that doesn’t seem right. Usually, things become more powerful with age!

Inside the room, Hui stepped through the new doors, still tiny. Deep darkness eclipsed the room, hiding its features from his eyes. He looked around, curious. What kind of things do body cultivators treasure? They don’t generally use weapons, so I shouldn’t see blades. Likewise, body cultivators typically eschew magic and magical artifacts. So… what does that leave? Pills? I could use some pills! Or maybe raw cultivation resources? I certainly wouldn’t mind that.

Lights burst on. Hui raised a hand, blinking against the light.

Silk. Silk everywhere, shining in a seven-colored cacophony. Bright silks, dark silks, silk robes hanging from racks, piled up on shelves, silk trousers laid out on the floor, silk shoes stacked up in the corner, silk hats set atop stands. A pole laden with long silk ribbons stuck out from one wall. Silk hand wraps dangled beneath the ribbons from a lower pole. Silk gloves pointed delicate fingers toward him. Silken cloaks dangled here and there. Silk shrouds drifted from hooks, almost floating away. Skeins of raw silk hung in the back, alongside vats of dye.

Hui blinked. C…clothes?

Wait, no. This is a cultivation world. These aren’t clothes. This is a repository of armor! Powerful, magical armor! All these clothes… every one of them is a near-Immortal level magical artifact! This is a wonderful reward, wonderful indeed!

Still, I have to wonder. Was Senior a silk worm in a previous life…?

Letting a breath out, Hui returned to his usual size. A jolt of intense pain blasted through him, only to pass as he reached his full height once more. He looked down at his nude body, then laughed. “After that trial, maybe Senior’s reward is more practical than I thought.” My clothes are long gone. Senior’s trial is brutal on clothing!

In any case, for now, I’m fully grown. I should pick clothes that can fit my full-grown form as well as my child form. When I’m done using my child-form clothes, I can hand them to my children, after all! Nothing wasted, plenty gained!

So thinking, Hui strode into the room,turning his full attention to the silks. I’m completely nude, so… underclothes… ah, surely Senior didn’t bother to—

A strip of fabric dangling against the wall caught his eye. Hui turned, slowly, to find himself face-to-face with loincloths and frilly red undershirts.

He licked his lips. Er, I appreciate Senior being so thorough, but now I’m starting to wonder if Senior isn’t, perhaps, a little too thorough. How much does Senior like the feeling of silk against their skin? I’m starting to get suspicious!

Hmm… maybe I should take the red undershirts home for Li Xiang and Bai Xue? Or would that be too forward of me?

Well… there’s no such thing as too forward with Bai Xue! I’ll take them. Worst case, I’ll give them both to Bai Xue.

Humming aloud, Hui wandered through the room, slowly dressing himself and taking extra clothes to put in his storage ring. He put a set of child-sized clothing to the side, ready for him to step into once he returned to his child form. A set of male clothing, female clothing, and children’s clothing vanished into his bag, everything from hat to slippers put away.

He glanced around him, then rubbed his hands together, quickly creating a lotus seed. He threw it into the shadows, where it vanished under a pile of silks. No need to leave this all behind. Using a lotus clone, I can come back later and empty it completely, without drawing too much attention to Gui Hui, ordinary cultivator.

Overhead, the voice cleared its throat.

Hui jumped. “Ah, that’s right! Senior is very generous, but small cultivators such as myself shouldn’t waste so much of Senior’s time.” So saying, he quickly stripped out of his clothes.

“…” The voice stared disbelievingly. I hinted to get out, so why did you get naked, huh?

Putting the clothes he’d chosen into his storage ring, Hui quickly burned his body with phoenix fire, returning to his child size, then dressed himself in the child’s clothing. Adjusting the blue robes into place, he nodded at the voice. “I’m ready. You can put me outside!”

Without another word, the voice teleported Hui out. And stay out!