Thud.
After a brief mont during which Mikael sensed his surroundings twist and distort into nothing more than a blur of unrecognizable colors, he once more felt solid ground beneath his feet.
Blink.
His eyes, which had instinctively closed when space shifted, opened once more, revealing the location to which he had been ‘teleported’.
Mikael was now standing at the edge of an imnse rectangular room, one that, at first glance, looked to be hundreds of ters long and dozens of ters wide.
Illuminating him in a soft and gentle green light were nurous ethereal-looking crystals embedded in the ceiling, each pulsing intermittently as they filled the room with a glow that felt both peaceful and otherworldly.
The ceiling in which these green crystals were set was entirely composed of gray stone—but it wasn’t the rough kind of stone, rather the kind that looked as though a master craftsman had spent ti carving it with devouring passion.
The walls of this titanic rectangular room were made of the sa architectural gray stone; it was as if the one who created this place had access to only a single material…
This theory would be proven wrong the mont one eye landed on the floor, as it was the exception to the previous pattern.
The floor was separated into two parts, the edge and the rest, the ‘edge’ was the part on which Mikael was teleported onto and he was currently on, and it constituted of the first 10 or so ters before the hundreds of ters that followed.
The ‘edge’ floor material was a beautiful, almost sacred white stone which, like all before it, was carved in a display of masterful craftsmanship.
Beyond this small part of the floor was the rest of the room, which was hundreds of ters long and whose floor was constituted of obsidian-colored stones that seed to absorb all the nearby light in a way that it beca a lightless void!
And that wasn’t all, as the instant Mikael’s gaze landed on this unique floor, he instinctively knew that it was unbelievably durable!
‘Oh?’ he ntally exclaid as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow, his sharp gaze zooming in on… sothing that had attracted his attention.
This ‘sothing’ was so distance away from him, and at first glance, he estimated it to be approximately 300 feet away—and that wasn’t all, as this presence standing upon the lightless obsidian floor possessed a humanoid shape!
‘Varnari!’
This humanoid figure was far too tall to be human, so he instantly realized that it was a Varnari, and after an instant, he quickly felt that this figure was… familiar?
‘Tharvonis! This is Tharvonis and… he seems tired?’ The figure’s back was facing Mikael, so he couldn’t be 100% sure of himself, but he had a feeling that it was Tharvonis—and that the latter was tired, he didn’t see any signs of it, but he simply felt it…
Step.
Tharvonis suddenly moved, but his movents weren’t smooth or natural; in fact, it was the opposite, he moved as if the world itself was weighing on him, as though an unbearable pressure pressed down upon his shoulders.
His movents were slow and seemingly made with great difficulty as the proud Varnari warrior took another step forward, and as he did so, his gaze was focused directly on the other end of the rectangular-shaped room.
A part of this location that was extrely different from the rest of it by a simple fact—the fact that it wasn’t empty!
There, there were two stone pedestals whose craftsmanship was as exquisite as the rest of the room!
Bzzzt!
Just as Mikael had finished taking in the entire place, he suddenly felt information being transmitted directly into his mind, information in a foreign language that normally should have been total rubbish considering he had never heard it before, but—
Mikael was a Spiritual Foundation Realm cultivator after all, and any cultivator of this realm and above had the capability to understand all languages, and consequently, he was able to perfectly understand everything that was ‘said’.
“…”
After organizing the information he had obtained, he was able to understand so things.
It turned out that the rectangular-shaped room Mikael was currently in was, as he expected, special—special in the fact that it was the place a powerful Soul Phase cultivator had chosen to use as his resting place.
Of course, if it had only been that, Mikael’s Foresight of Heaven’s Mandate wouldn’t have ‘guided’ him here. The true reason why he was here was because this place wasn’t only the Soul Phase cultivator’s resting place but also where he had left his inheritance behind!
This powerhouse had been fatally injured in the brutal war that happened millions of years ago, which was why he needed a resting place for obvious reasons, and an inheritance site to pass down his possessions to the lucky and talented cultivators that would one day co across this place.
The only request he made to those cultivators in exchange for his inheritance was first to pass his Trials, and second, to make it clear where and from whom they had obtained it.
In the end, it was simply a dying old man’s last wish—to not be forgotten…
Mikael was happy with that point, as it ant that there probably weren’t any hidden strings coming with this inheritance; he simply needed to pass these Trials!
Unfortunately, while the above news was good, not everything was as joyful as that, as even though this inheritance site was well hidden, it had still been opened nurous tis in the millions of years since its creation, in a way that the most precious things weren’t there anymore…
‘Still…’ Mikael’s eyes glinted with a hint of joy as his gaze zood onto the two pedestals at the other end of the room, ‘...it doesn’t matter, as what I ca here for is there!!!’
Step.
Instinctively, he took a step forward, and then he felt an invisible pressure immobilize him as a ssage appeared directly in his mind:
{Trial taker, do you want to participate in the trial for a part of Lord Qe’thuun’s inheritance? [Yes / No]
Note: Be warned that by participating in the trial left by Lord Qe’thuun, you are at risk of suffering mind fragntation, soul disintegration, or even death!
If you don’t believe yourself able to survive Lord Qe’thuun’s trial, you may simply refuse and will be teleported outside.}
Mikael wasn’t surprised by the ‘ssage’ that appeared before him, as it had already been stated in the information he previously received that before his death, Qe’thuun had created a kind of Spirit responsible for ensuring that this inheritance would keep functioning even after his passing.
And it was this very Spirit that gave the sa ssage to each trial taker to warn them of the danger lurking ahead!
Mikael kept silent for half a second, during which he focused his attention on his Foresight of Heaven’s Mandate calamity-sensing ‘sense,’ which was still as silent as ever. His gaze then moved to Tharvonis, who was currently taking the trial and still alive—showing that doing this trial wasn’t necessarily a death sentence…
“Heh.”
A slightly mocking, disdainful, and confident sound escaped Mikael before his lips curved upward and he spoke, “I accept to participate in this Trial!”
After all, with the above-ntioned factors, he was able to infer that the trial wasn’t a death sentence, and knowing that, what kind of cultivator would he be if he deflated himself just because of so ‘scary words’ like mind fragntation, soul disintegration, and death!?
{Good luck, Trial Taker!}
The mont Mikael verbally said these words, the inheritance spirit ‘spoke’ its reply before the invisible pressure that was immobilizing him suddenly disappeared, allowing him to take further steps forward toward the magnificent stone pedestals.
Step.
The mont Mikael’s foot crossed the line separating the white floor from the obsidian one, he felt a certain ‘weight’ begin to press down on him—but this weight wasn’t sothing physical; it was a pressure weighing directly on his mind, and what he guessed to be his soul!
At that mont, the information he had on this Trial passed through his mind:
{Trial Na: Lord Qe’thuun Partial Inheritance
Trial Phase: 1
Description: The Trial Taker must cross the Star Core floor and take the 999 steps required to reach one of the two Inheritance Pedestals while enduring the ntal and Soul pressure, which will increase with every step.
Note: This pressure is calibrated in accordance with one’s cultivation realm, and the trial will not beco easier for those with a higher cultivation realm.
Important Rules:
1st: Attacking or interfering with other Trial Takers during Phase 1 is entirely forbidden! (Not following this rule can lead to expulsion from the Trial or instant execution!)
2nd: There can only be one true winner!
Reward: Once—or if—the Trial Taker reaches an Inheritance Pedestal and successfully touches it, Phase 1 of the trial will end, and the Trial Taker will receive a Soul Cultivation thod.
Soon afterward, Phase 2 of the trial will begin in function of the situation at that mont.}
Knowing what the Trial was about, he understood that the weight he was feeling on his mind and soul was this so-called ntal and Soul pressure!
‘Pain Resistance… isn’t that what this trial is about? It uses fancy words like ntal and Soul Pressure but in the end isn’t it just being able to endure suffering and—’
Thoughts of the nurous tis where he suffered passed through his mind.
Monts where he suffered for his path of cultivation, monts where it would have been excessively easy to stop enduring unimaginable tornt but he chose pain above weakness, all for a chance of growing stronger and more powerful!
Tis like when he did Body Tempering—actually, any Body Tempering that he did counted, as it was always painful—but it wasn’t all, as when he removed the impurities from his body, impurities that had accumulated from excessive pill consummations.
Or even when he created and reforged his body to form the Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique thod was another example; the only thing all of them had in common was that they were always accompanied by unimaginable tornt, and that wasn’t even ntioning the worst of them all—
That day when he used his Ferocity Mark for the first ti and suffered from the absolutely dreadful after-effects and pain that followed in the days after, which to this day remained the absolute worst suffering he had ever endured.
‘Suffering and enduring to grow stronger… I can be considered an expert!’ he thought as a fierce glint appeared in his eyes while his lips curled upward in a wild grin, ‘Let’s see—’
‘Let’s see if today is the day I break my “record”!’ he thought to himself as his wild grin grew even wider; at that mont, the unimaginably handso man was emanating a wild, arrogant, and overbearing aura.
It was as if he were screaming, “CO ON!” with an unshakable belief in himself, and this overwhelming aura pushed back the ntal and soul pressure as he took a step forward, and then—
BOOM!
His aura exploded outward as his legs erupted with power, propelling him forward, and in a single instant, he was already at the 10th step.
Instantly, the pressure from the 1st to the 10th steps struck him with unimaginable force—the power of all ten steps rging together, crashing down on him with overbearing intensity and weight.
After all, this trial was designed in such a way that Trial Takers would progress step by step, enduring the pressure brought forth by each new step, and only once they were acclimated to it would they move forward, each step increasing the weight pressing upon them.
But Mikael didn’t follow this acclimation process; instead, he leapt straight to the 10th—and this wasn’t so ‘loophole’ that allowed him to skip the 1st through the 9th and only endure the 10th. No, no, no!
It was the opposite, as by doing that, he was instantly struck by the combined pressure of steps 1 through 10, an accumulated force far beyond what the 10th step alone should have been capable of producing.
At that mont, any other Trial Taker would have realized how stupid and mad this idea was and would have obediently chosen to walk the rest of the journey step by step, but—
Mikael wasn’t just anyone, and he had ground to make up!
💬Got Thoughts? I read every comnt, and your words genuinely shape Mikael’s path.
———
A/N:
A little inheritance and trial(s, maybe the s, who knows?) to go with the Secret Realm opening as this is in the the!
Mikael is passing so ti in a gravity chamber(actually not really but it looks similar if you ignore the difference between affecting body / soul and mind but anyways…
Mikael is fired up and determined to obtain the Soul Cultivation thod and it’s understandable after all or else it would be ti consuming and complicated, it would be sooo much of a sha if he failed and didn’t obtain it… right?
———
📚 Chapters ahead await on Patreon: /SDASLUMMY
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Glad you’re walking this path with .
— End of Chapter —
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