"Mmmh~ That was the best sleep I've ever had!" Stretching her body after a long relaxing sleep at the fluffy and soft books, Mui wanted nothing more than to take these fluffy books along with her. Unfortunately, carrying so many books along with her was not possible. Especially considering that she still had a trial to complete!
[The Second Trial, Test of Will, is going to start within the next two minutes. For your own safety, it is recommend to be prepared for the trial.]
"Wah!? Only two minutes left until the second trial starts and it's also warning me about my safety- Don't tell me... Is the Test of Will perhaps some sort of dangerous trial!?" Feeling a hint of panic after realizing that the second trial might be far more dangerous than she had first thought, Mui sprung up from the small mountain of soft and fluffy books she was laying on top of before nervously waiting for the remaining two minutes to pass.
"Hm? Wha- The books are disappearing!?" Having waited for what felt like an eternity, everything around her had started emitting a gentle light at some point in time... And before she had time to react to what was happening, the bookshelves all around her turned into wisps of light before disappearing into thin air.
The books she had thrown on the ground during the First Trial were no exception, as they also turned into small motes of light before disappearing. The only exception being the Myriad Water Arts she had chosen as her cultivation mantra during the first trial.
[The Second Trial, Test of Will, is going to begin.]
"Begin? But there is nothing-"
Rumble-!
Not getting the chance to finish her sentence after having read through the short message that had been given by the box of words following the disappearance of the countless books and bookshelves, the ground beneath her started violently shaking.
Crack~
"Ah!?" Suddenly hearing a loud cracking sound coming from the ground around a thousand meters away from where she was standing, Mui could not help opening both of her eyes in disbelief.
RUMBLE-!
From the small crack in the ground, what started as a small pointy rock, soon turned into a large mountain that pierced through the misty sky above. Even the place where she had been standing had been lifted a few dozen meters off the ground. Turning into the base of the mountain.
"Ah!? Wha-what is this, why does my body feel so heavy...?" Feeling a clear change in her movements after the appearance of the mountain, Mui could not help exclaiming this to herself as she searched around for the box of words. Wanting to find out what had happened... And at the same time also find out what she had to do to complete the second trial.
Why is it so far away?
Finding the box of words after looking around her now rocky surroundings, Mui could not help wondering why the box of words that had always appeared directly in front of her had now appeared on a location that was different from the past... But due to the weird weight that seemed to be pushing down on her, Mui did not think too much about this as she quickly made her way towards the box of words to find out what was happening.
[The second trial, Test of Will, will require you to climb the mountain under a special pressure that will only affect your soul. The pressure will increase the higher up you climb. During the trial, there are special areas along the way that will allow you to rest. If you faint or fall asleep outside any of the special areas, the trial will be considered to have failed!
The time limit is one week, food and water will only be provided inside the special areas found on different elevations of the mountain. The requirement for completing the second trial is to reach the peak of the mountain.]
Reading through the box of words, Mui could not help freezing up after reading the last part of the description given about the second trial.
"No... No more endless supply of delicious fruits...?" Muttering these words to herself, a somewhat hollow look appeared in her eyes, as she realized that she would no longer have a constant and endless supply of delicious fruits available to her whenever she felt hungry.
No... I can still get access to the endless supply of delicious fruits if I reach one of the special areas higher up on the mountain!
Turning to look up the mountain as she thought about this, it did not take long for Mui to spot one of these special areas that had been mentioned in the box of words. Not that the special areas were in any way hard to spot considering that they were all made out to be filled with small trees, flowers and other plants. Making them stand out on the desolate rocky surface of the mountain without any other signs of life.
Thump~!
Fighting the part of her that wanted to rush up the mountain towards the closest special area where she could once again have access to her endless supply of delicious fruits again, Mui sat down on the ground before closing her eyes.
Although she had no clue about the pressure that was bearing down on her soul and causing her to have a more difficult time moving her body, Mui clearly understood how dangerous this was. Especially when considering the fact that this pressure was only going to grow stronger the farther up the mountain she made it.
If she did not prepare herself properly, would she not end up turning into a pancake at some point in time!?
Spending the next few minutes with her eyes closed trying to find a way to adjust herself to the special pressure on her soul, Mui ended up finding out that the pressure would grow weaker when she circulated the Myriad Water Arts.
Experimenting with this for a few more minutes until she was sure that the pressure on her did indeed grow weaker when she circulated the Myriad Water Arts, Mui got up before starting to move towards the special area that was located closest to her. Officially starting her journey towards the peak of the mountain!
...
Whoosh~
At the same time Mui had started the second trial, Xuan Hao was flying above a large lake that covered an area more than a dozen times the size of the Heavenly Sky Kingdom.
Below him, all sorts of ships could be seen moving around. Travelling between the different small islands that could be found around the massive lake, sometimes a few demonic beasts living in the lake could also be seen coming up to the surface to attack the ships travelling between the different islands located in the lake.
"I wonder how far that girl, Mui, has made it since last." Not paying any attention to what was happening below him, Xuan Hao could not help wondering how Mui was doing inside the trial that had been set up by the system.
Although her talent was by far the highest, he had seen so far. Given that she did not have any cultivation, he could not help feeling nervous about how well she would do in the trial given out by the system. After all, he had no idea what the trial was about and only had the title of the trial to go off...
[Trial Participant: Mui (random name, generated based on native names from the Ewaria Continent)]
[Status: A Young Orphan that has managed to take the first step on the path of cultivation.]
[Age: 12]
[Talent: 78]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Condensation Realm, First Stage]
[Progress: Second Trial (Test of Will)]
[Time limit for Second Trial: 7 Days]
"She already made it through the first trial and moved on to the second trial!?" Using the system to view her progress, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a sense of happiness and relief after discovering that she had managed to pass the first trial and move on to the second trial.
At least it seemed like his worry had been for nothing. Not too surprising considering how focused the system was on the talent of the disciples he took in. Never really caring about what cultivation realm they had reached when he took them in.
BOOOM-!
However, just at this moment, a loud explosion took place below him. Followed by two powerful auras clashing violently with each other on one of the small islands.
"Hm? Two Domain Lords?" Instantly seeing through the strength of the two people clashing with each other below him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit curious about what had caused two Domain Lords to start fighting with each other, as he came to an abrupt stop before looking down towards the small island where the two Domain Lords were located.