Once Shin grasped all the questions, he opened his mouth and started answering, “If I ever cross my boundaries, I would like to say that I would kill myself off, however, I really don't know what I would do if I cross them. Because if I become so corrupted that I go against my own morals, there is no way that I would kill myself off in that situation. So, I desire to create something that would do that in my place, but currently that task is an impossibility. Hopefully after ascending to the next world, I may find something to solve that problem.”
“For the second question, I will always believe that there is a mountain above a mountain and do whatever I can to find it and achieve it, even if it takes my entire life. I will never stop in my pursuit.” Shin folded his arms and continued with a serious expression, “I do not like someone stuffing my knowledge into my brain but I am not also an idiot, so of course I will accept the information that is being given to me for the third question. After all, who would like to arrive at a situation unprepared. I may be a risk taker but I only take risk after preparing myself thoroughly.”
“My greatest fear is that I may one day find myself stopping my pursuit of knowledge and breaking all the moral codes that I have set for myself. Because on that day, I would be nothing more than a mindless beast without a purpose.”
Shin then took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he recalled his greatest regret. It still pains him to this day for allowing that to happen and it was from that day onwards that instead of just having the desire to know and comprehend all things, he came to have the desire to become strong, strong enough to prevent something like that ever happening again in his life.
Shin clenched his hands tightly as he spoke, “During the initial stages of my cultivation, I focused more on my ambition and my research instead of putting any effort into cultivation. Still, I progressed in my cultivation rapidly with a speed comparable to my peers which was testament to my talent. I had entered a sect, a dual-cultivating one, and I met a woman who I really liked. She was the master of that sect. Her name was Zara.”
“She was very similar to me and we hit off quite well. And although I didn't like her ways of obtaining the knowledge, I respected her for it. She was ready to sacrifice a lot for our own ambitions. I stayed with her, cultivated together with her and eventually fell in love with her. She liked me back too. And therefore, she stopped selling her body to obtain knowledge. And we considered some other ways to reach our ambitions.”
“We both left the sect itself, and started exploring the world. Years went on, and piece by piece, we were taking steps towards our dreams. During the journey, we met many friends. Some of these friends were great women whom I started to care for as well. Zara respected my preferences and therefore I had a relationship with multiple girls including her. We met many enemies too, but Zara overpowered them all. She was strong, strong enough to make me wonder, why did she even choose me as her partner.”
“For this reason, I never put any efforts to cultivation. And this was my greatest regret. One day....one unfortunate day, we were ambushed by a strong enemy, who killed them all in front of my very eyes? Even Zara.” Shin gritted his teeth and continued, “She sacrificed herself to let me escape. And that day I realized, the truth of this world...that all that matters is strength. And I, who had the potential to reach greater strength, was a fool for not doing my best every single day.”
Shin stopped reciting his story and sighed. This had happened a thousand years ago and he had somewhat accepted what had happened to him. He used that rage, that wrath he felt on that day towards himself, as a fuel to grow. And lo and behold, he was here at the peak of the world, ready to explore whatever waited for him in the next. He had vowed to himself that day that he would never, ever be what he was before and always put his greatest effort in achieving his dreams that now included a drive to grow stronger.
“Anyway, now that is over, I will answer the fifth question. I would feel despair if I lose all my strength that I have gained. But if I receive something, something equal in value or greater than, what got lost? I will crush my unhappiness and keep moving forward. If it's lower than what I lost, then I would get revenge on whoever caused me that loss some or the other way.”
As Shin finished saying this, the words on the holographic screen changed and he heard the voice in his head.
[ The candidate Shin Akatsuki has passed the first trial. ]
Shin was surprised as he didn't feel that it would be this easy to pass the first trial. Although it brought forth some sad memories and regrets, he couldn't really say that it was something hard for him. So, Shin guessed that the first trial was just an appetizer for the next trials.
[ Trial 2 – Intelligence ]
[ The candidate will be given three riddles to solve. He has to answer all of them correctly to pass the trial. ]
Hearing what pertains in the next trial, Shin started to laugh. This trial was going to be easy as solving puzzles was his strong point, although he can't say that for the others, especially how he remembered Xi Yanxi who was an absolute idiot in these kinds of things.
[ I copy your actions, yet remain unseen, In still waters, my likeness is keen. I'm not alive, yet I faithfully follow, A silent companion in sunlight or shadow. What am I? ]
After quite a bit of thinking, the answer that Shin came up with was ‘Reflection,’ which he prudently answered.
[ Correct ]
[ In the realm of slumber, I come to play, A phantasmal wanderer, elusive in the day. Born in the mind's twilight, I dance and gleam, A cryptic enigma, what am I, not what I seem? I weave tapestries of unreality in the silent night, Yet vanish with the dawn, an ethereal flight. Visions and fantasies in my elusive stream, Can you unveil the mystery? What is my theme? ]
Shin smiled as this also was an easy question. He spoke out loud, “The answer to that is ‘Dream’.”
[ Correct ]
[ In the corridors of wisdom, I quietly reside, A phantom elusive, in shadows I hide. Not in plain sight, yet fundamental and vast, My nature obscured, a puzzle to contrast. I'm sought by the seekers, elusive and rare, Yet in every soul, a flicker I share. Transparent and silent, I persist in the mind, What am I, the conundrum you must unwind? ]
That was a real difficult question even for him. Shin contemplated the riddle over and over in his mind, yet he was getting confused between two answers. Truth or Knowledge. Therefore, he choose to go with what his gut was telling him, “Hmm…Knowledge?”
[ That is an accurate answer ]
[ The candidate Shin Akatsuki has passed the second trial ]
Shin breathed a sigh of relief as he heard that although the trial was quite easy for him, slowly and steadily these trials are getting harder and harder. He waited for the next notification to come and he didn't have to wait for long as he heard the voice in his head once again.
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[ Trial 3 - Comprehension ]
[ The candidate would be given multiple martial arts/skills. He would have to learn two of them till complete mastery. After this, the candidate will have to fuse the two martial arts/skills he has learned. The candidate would be judged based on the time taken to master and fuse the skills and the quality of the fused skill. He would fail if the quality is worse than the initial two martial arts. Choose the two martial arts wisely. ]
Ok, so this trial is basically testing his comprehension speed, critical and logical thinking. He would have to choose two martial arts, “Wait! what do you mean by the term ‘skills’?”
[ Martial arts and skills are not exactly the same thing despite numerous similarities in their characteristics. However, for your simplicity you can consider skills as martial arts. ]
That didn’t clear his doubts at all. In fact, that made him even more confused. Shin questioned once again but he didn't receive any more help or answers. “Aah, whatever. I should do what I can with the knowledge I have since it did say that martial arts and skills are similar. With my comprehension, it should be somewhat of a doable task, as I had created many martial arts during my lifetime some that I still use.”
Just as Shin finished saying this, multiple books appeared in front of him with various titles such as ‘Fire Fury Storm’, ‘Thunder Armor’, ‘Blink fault’, etc. He wasn't much surprised to this sudden appearance as he had guessed that they were his so-called skills two of which he needed to learn and fuse.
Shin started going through them all one by one and it took him a lot of time, about an hour for him to go through every single one of them, as there were nearly 100 books. And most of them were not martial arts at all, at least like what he is used to seeing. Maybe that's why the trial was mentioning them as skills. “Still, this gives me a lot of confidence and I think I would be able to clear this trial with some effort. The only one thing that I didn't really understand is their classification. Most of them are ranked common and uncommon books while one of them is a rare.”
Shin had asked the trial to give him more information about this classification but yeah, as he had expected there was no reply. Still, he had his own theories though he didn't know how aptly they applied to the skills. Anyway, after contemplating on the synergy of the skills, he decided to select ‘FIREBOLT ENHANCEMENT’ and ‘FIRE PHOENIX’.
The fire bolt enhancement skill uses the fire element to improve the strength and explosive power. It also utilizes the lightning element which is higher version of the fire element and uses it to improve dexterity, reaction time and overall speed. It is basically comparable to a buff type martial art. The fire phoenix skill on the other hand creates a small phoenix using flame element that could be used to heal injuries.
Both of them were of the common classification, as Shin didn’t want to take the risk with the obviously higher ranked uncommon or rare skills both of which were much more complicated than common ones. The major synergy between the two skills, he had selected is their fire element. Though, he could also observe other some similarities between them.
When Shin made his choice, the rest of the books that were spread across in the white room vanished, leaving the two chosen books with him. Shin shook his head at that fact and sighed with relief, “Thankfully I had read all of them or else this would have been quite a loss.” Then he sat in front of the two books contemplating on ways to fuse them together into one.
…
Four months later,
Shin was sitting in a cross-legged position deep in meditation when suddenly multiple red lightning bolts erupted from within him, dancing across his body. His eyes also snapped open and anyone who was observing could see that the color of his irises had changed into vibrant red from his normal purple. Shin stood up from his seated position and then moved across the white room with a speed so tremendous that it felt like he was teleporting. He even created sonic booms whenever he moved.
After experimenting for a little while, Shin abruptly stopped and thrusted his left hands forward, delivering a powerful punch.
BOOOM!
The very fabric of space cracked from the impact, but those fixtures quickly repaired themselves. “Even though I used my full power, I could only cause cracks in the space. Wow! This place is quite sturdy and it even repaired almost immediately.” Shin mused with amazement as the red lightning continued to course throughout his body.
Looking at his left arm, Shin conjured up a sword in his right arm with his qi and made a deep cut. The entire arm suddenly erupted in orange flames and the wound healed instantly as though it had never existed. “Finally, I finished creating the new martial arts, or should I call it skill? Anyway, I'll name it the THUNDER FIRE NIRVANA.”
[ Skill created – 'Thunder Fire Nirvana' is a common skill that utilizes the elements of fire and lightning to enhance the strength, speed, and regeneration.]
“What? It is only a common skill? I thought it would be an uncommon at least. Did I fail?” Shin questioned with anxiety.
[The new skill that is created is better than the two that were used for fusion. Therefore, the candidate Shin Akatsuki has passed the third trial. ]
“Oof, I was worried for nothing,” Shin side with relief. “Thankfully, the trial didn't require me to create an uncommon skill or else I would have easily failed.”
[ Trial 4 - Isolation ]
As the voice in his head pronounced the beginning of the fourth trial, i.e. isolation, the entire floor of the room, Shin occupied vanished, revealing a dark expanse below. Shin attempted to fly away, but soon discovered that his movements were completely restricted and therefore he found himself plummeting down into the abyss. Darkness enveloped him as he felt a pull from his divine sense, indicating a clear shift in space. Shin immediately recognized that he had been teleported to another dimension entirely. Once the spatial shift had settled, Shin realized he had reached his destination.
“Oh, my heavens. I can't see anything; it's completely black. I can't even see my own body. This place is void of any sound or smell.” Panic welled within him as he spoke, but he quickly regained his composure shortly afterwards.
Soon, he noticed another scary detail. When he had spoken earlier, he was unable to hear anything. As the realization of this fact set in, another terrifying detail was noticed by him. He wasn't even able to feel his own body. “Did the trial seal away all my senses? Oh no…until now, I had thought that if I sensed anything dangerous, I could just teleport over. Now, I have a premonition that I won't be able to do so. I was thinking of this place too lightly.”
Terror gripped him as he comprehended that he couldn't escape this place and the fact that he was completely at the mercy of the trial. Shin didn't like this situation at all. But he was the one who entered this trial anyway. So, he had to lay on the bed that he had made.
Shin took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. At least he was able to feel himself breathing even though he didn’t understand how that was possible as his senses were sealed. The same was with how he spoke. He knew that he had spoken, but he can't hear anything. He was utterly bewildered and scared of his own situation, and within what felt like minutes to him, Shin calmed down and started analyzing the situation.
“I was sent here by the trials after it announced that I passed, and the next trial was named Isolation. So, I just have to make sure I don't have a mental breakdown staying here alone for who knows how long, unable to do anything. The trial is probably testing how much I can endure anyway.”
Shin thus waited, waited and waited for a considerable amount of time before boredom started to set in, prompting him to attempt meditation. Unfortunately, the results were not promising as he had initially assumed. It seemed that he couldn't even meditate in this peculiar and mysterious place.
…
…
…
“AAAAAAAAAAAH! When the hell are they going to take me out of this place?” Despair was seeping into his soul. Based on the calculations racing through Shin’s mind, it had been at least a century since he became trapped here. The most despair-inducing fact was that he couldn't even do anything to distract himself from this crushing loneliness. “When is the trial going to end? I probably won't be able to take more of this F#%& Bit$% #%&*$% #$%&……….”
…
…
A long, long while later, as Shin neared insanity after what felt like hundreds of thousands of years to him, his sufferings finally ended. He was teleported back into the white room. The moment Shin re-entered the room, he was overwhelmed with euphoria. A ray of light penetrated his brain and soul, stripping away all the despair and negative feelings that had accumulated from that terrible trial.
“Huuuu.....” Shin sighed and he felt like he was in heaven. The light was calming his soul so effectively that it was much better than any of the spirit healing medicine, he had ever experienced. With the lights effect, Shin's mind slowly yet steadily started to clear up. It took time however eventually Shin regained the calm and serenity that he normally used to have.
[The candidate Shin Akatsuki has passed the fourth trial.]
[Trial 5 – Inner Reflection]
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Please give me at least some time to rest. Please! I beg of you!" Shin cried and implored, but his pleas went unheard.
[ The candidate will be going through an illusion that would contain his greatest fears. All the candidate has to do is confront them and accept them. ]