Shun An's resentful words gradually turned into fading whispers, dissipating into the air before finally dispersing, carried along by the soft breeze of the wind into nothingness.
And yet, this breeze was only the beginning of the sixth trial.
Within the vast, endless darkness that blocked his eyesight, Shun Long began to hear more and more voices echoing around him, each of them letting out their own complaints and bitter resentnt.
The next person whose voice Shun Long heard was Lu Wen; the previous alchemist of the 'Sky Fortune Kingdom' and the second young master of the Lu family of the 'Floating Cloud sect'.
Unlike Shun Fang and Shun An, there wasn't any apparition that carried Lu Wen's voice this ti, nor were there any powerful illusions created by the sixth trial.
It was just that single veil of darkness shrouding Shun Long's surroundings, not allowing him to see anything.
And yet, Shun Long still rembered the handso young alchemist's face, as his resentful voice entered his ears
''Brother Shun... no, Shun Long! Tell , how could you be so heartless? I had been planning to take the position of family head from my brothers for my entire life, investing everything I had into this plan. And just when I was about to succeed, you just had to bring that horror of a woman back to the sect and ruin everything for , hadn't you?! Did you really hate so much that you didn't even wish to give a way out? Did I harm you so badly that you would rather cut off my only remaining lifeline? Why couldn't you at least save , you bastard?!''
Lu Wen's aggrieved voice didn't stop for even a mont, his words oozing with endless resentnt as he yelled each question at Shun Long one after the other.
It was almost as if 'Lu Wen' was blaming everything that had gone wrong in his life on Shun Long.
And in a way, he wasn't completely wrong either! The second young master of the Lu family had conspired with another family to support him behind the scenes, just so he could get the title of family head from his younger and elder brothers, and had truly outsmarted both of his siblings in the end. If Shun Long hadn't brought Liu i back to the sect and if Liu i hadn't razed his supporters -the ng family- to the ground with her undead army to take her revenge, Lu Wen would most likely be the family head of the Lu family by now.
However, due to Liu i's actions, not only were Lu Wen's plans thwarted as a result, but the talented young alchemist had also been killed by his elder brother soon after. So in a way, Liu i, and indirectly, Shun Long, were indeed the ones responsible for his tragic fate.
However, unlike with Shun Fang and Shun An's situation, Shun Long didn't bat an eye at his previous 'friend's' miserable plight or his aggrieved voice. After all, Shun Long didn't feel the slightest bit of pity for Lu Wen after learning the truth about him from fatty Fu.
A person who had concealed from him the inner workings of the sect and had been planning to rope him into his family and 'control' him using a Dao oath couldn't ever be considered a friend. Such a person was no different from a deceitful, two-headed snake.
Still, Lu Wen's perfidious personality and his cunning were sowhat worthy of praise... in their own treacherous and twisted kind of way that was.
And yet, just like Shun An's voice, Lu Wen's ramblings disappeared soon after, before a different voice replaced it and gradually entered Shun Long's ears. This ti, it wasn't any of Shun Long's old acquaintances or family mbers, but surprisingly... Liu i's.
The sect master of the 'Floating Cloud sect', Liu Jian, was now blaming Shun Long for all of Liu i's actions.
Not only had Shun Long sohow seduced his daughter and led her astray, persuading her to leave the sect with him and leading to the destabilization of the inner sect as a result, but he didn't even stop Liu i from coming back and attacking the sect either.
It was that single chain of actions that eventually led to the ruin of the 'Floating Cloud sect'.
Soon, more and more angry voices sounded in his ears, each of them more furious and full of hatred than the last one. Their identities ranged from re Qi condensation cultivators, all the way to peak-stage Dao Emperors like Murong Tian, an exalted patriarch of the powerful Murong family! And yet, it was only after hearing Lu Wen's dismayed chagrin that Shun Long's eyes suddenly widened, his expression turning more and more colorful with every voice that followed after that!
After all, it had been Lu Wen's ramblings that allowed him to finally grasp the true, ominous nature of this sixth trial!
In the beginning, after hearing Shun An blaming him, Shun Long had thought that perhaps he would have to face all of the guilt buried in his heart and overco it. That this was the true purpose of this trial.
But after hearing Lu Wen's and even Liu Jian's voices coming from the darkness around him, he quickly realized that he had been sorely mistaken with his initial assumption. After all, he didn't feel any guilt whatsoever towards the two of them, let alone towards people like Murong Tian who clearly deserved death.
No, what this sixth trial wanted to do wasn't make its challengers overco their own guilt. It was to push their minds to their limits and either break them... or make them even stronger!
No, this sixth trial didn't aim to make its challengers overco their own guilt. It was designed to push their minds to their limits and either break them... or make them even stronger.
This was the true terror of the sixth trial of the 'Heavenly Tower'; the trial of the mind!
The mont this thought materialized in his mind, Shun Long felt his surroundings tremble before the darkness around him began to recede at a terrifying speed.
A few monts later, he found himself back at the peak of the mountain, the purple-robed old man now staring at him with an incredulous look in his previously unshakable gaze.
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