The journey back to the Black Lotus Sect was without incident, but the air felt heavy with foreboding. Lin Feng sat in the carriage of the sect, its dark wood etched with lotus motifs, looking out at the passing landscape. The Burning Forge Sect's hostility and Jiang Yan's veiled offer lingered in his mind, but he pushed the thoughts aside.
For him, the sect was the battlefield, and he needed to give it his all.
---
When he came back, Lin Feng got different reactions: some disciples showed cautious respect, as his fame was rising, while others treated him with thinly veiled contempt, showing the festering wound of jealousy.
Among them was Zhang Rui, who had not healed yet from his previous injury.
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Lin Feng," Zhang Rui sneered when they crossed near the training grounds. "The winning of a duel against an outsider does not make you untouchable here."
Lin Feng stopped and looked into Zhang Rui's eyes. He replied with a cold tone, "You had your chance to prove that. How did that turn out for you?"
Zhang Rui’s face darkened, but before he could respond, a loud gong echoed through the sect.
“All disciples are to report to the Grand Hall,” a voice announced. “By order of the Elder Council.”
Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed. It was rare for the entire sect to be summoned, and rarer still for the Elder Council to convene openly.
---
The Grand Hall was an imposing structure: its vaulted ceiling supported by black marble pillars etched with the history of the sect. Hundreds of disciples sat in silence, their conversation hushed as they speculated on the reason for the summons.
Elder Shen stood at the center of the dais, flanked by the other elders. His gaze swept over the disciples, silencing the room with his mere presence.
"The Crimson Sky Pavilion Summit is over," Elder Shen finally said, his voice rumbling throughout the hall. "And in the showcase of our sect's strength, so too has it invited undesirable attention unto ourselves."
People murmured to one another.
"To ensure our continued dominance, we will hold the Night Trials, an ancient tradition to determine the strongest among you. Those who succeed will be rewarded with resources, techniques, and the opportunity to serve the Elder Council directly."
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Lin Feng's eyes gleamed. The Night Trials were infamous, a thing designed to push disciples to their limits, often at the cost of casualties.
Elder Shen's eyes danced across Lin Feng for a moment, then moved on. "Be prepared. It starts when the sun sets."
---
And so, at nightfall, in the Shadowed Arena, a place deep below the ground with flashing torch lights, the disciples got together with an atmosphere full of tension that the slight smell of blood kept reminding them how bloody a trial could be.
Elder Shen appeared on the high platform, and in an instant, the air was silent. "The Night Trials are in three stages. Only those who complete all three will be rewarded. The rest. will face the consequences of failure."
He lifted his hand, and the first stage began.
---
The labyrinth's entrance was a tunnel in, whose walls shifted and pulsed with dark energy. The goal therein was simple: to get out. The truth was little like this.
The maze lived, sustaining itself on the fears of those who daringly stepped within its limits. Twisted beasts, shadowy phantoms of imagined failures, patrolled the corridors of the maze.
Lin Feng hastened forward, his Thousand Veil Technique active and protecting him from the maze's mind-altering effects. He felt a dark beast charging towards him now, striking it down with a black qi blast as it had dissolved into nothingness.
As he went on, Lin Feng saw other disciples too, many of whom had been paralyzed by fear or fighting phantoms that weren't there. He ignored them, his eyes fixed on the exit only.
By the time he came out of the maze, less than half of the participants were left.
---
It tossed the survivors into a big arena, with its floor crimson from wars that had occurred in it. From above, a voice that became loud, like thunder, belonged to Elder Shen:
"In this stage, it would be the only you two who fight but also other creatures in the abyss; only the most robust may pass further."
The gates opened, and a tide of demonic beasts was discharged into the arena. It became chaotic as the disciples struggled to live through it.
He extended his illusions to strike from the dark as they were busy with his projections. Each of his strikes was precise, using only enough power to deliver the most effect.
The beasts all finally fell, and Lin Feng moved his attention to the other disciples. A few of them had allied, but Lin Feng made sure that didn't last, hitting with strategic strikes to cause confusion among them and make them fight one another.
By the end of this stage, only a dozen disciples were left.
---
The final stage was the most severe. In the center of the arena was a tall, black pillar inlaid with ancient runes.
Elder Shen said once more, "The Pillar of Shadows will try your resolve. To climb it to the top, one has to go through pain and despair, the onus of ambitions."
The disciples approached the pillar one by one, their bodies trembling as they ascended. Its energy lashed out, bringing their fears and regrets to the fore.
When it was Lin Feng's turn, he stepped forward without hesitation. As he climbed, the pillar's energy wrapped around him, probing his mind and soul.
His vision flared with images of a life past: the betrayal to kill him, the face of those he had murdered, the endless cycle of power and loss.
But Lin Feng did not weaken.
"This is nothing," he whispered as steady as stone. "I have endured worse."
The pillar attacked stronger than before, but Lin Feng's black qi erupted in turn, wrapping his figure as he climbed on.
At the top, he laid his hand on the runes, claiming his victory.
---
The trial finally came to an end, and only five disciples stood victorious; Lin Feng was one of them, his calm face masking the exhaustion beneath his skin.
Elder Shen stepped down from the platform and then told the remaining disciples, "You have survived. From now on, you shall have access to the most secret techniques and resources that our sect can offer; use them for good ends."
As Lin Feng reached out to take his reward, he couldn't ignore the gazes of envy of those that had failed nor the measured gazes of those who had succeeded alongside him.
---
That night, as Lin Feng was meditating in his quarters, his name was called from behind him in the darkness.
"Impressive, Lin Feng. But every rise attracts a fall."
Lin Feng's eyes snapped open and his black qi flared defensively. A figure stepped out of the shadows-a masked man whose aura suffocated.
"Who are you?" Lin Feng demanded.
“Someone who sees potential,” the man replied. “But potential is dangerous in a place like this. Watch your back, or you’ll lose more than you’ve gained.”
Before Lin Feng could say anything, he vanished, only leaving the slightest trace behind.
Lin Feng sat down, his mind racing. The Black Lotus Sect's battlefield was getting more and more dangerous, and he became a chess piece in an enormous game far beyond his imagination.