The Guardian raised his hand, and the space around Tianming fractured like glass. In a flash, he was gone.
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.
No sky. No ground. Just a vast, endless void filled with floating ruins—broken palaces, shattered weapons, and the bones of beings too large to be mortal. A voice echoed across the emptiness.
"This is the Realm of Forgotten Sky—where fallen aspirants are trapped between understanding and oblivion. Your first trial begins."
A path of floating platforms shimmered into existence. Each platform bore a different relic—some glowing with light, others dark and cracked.
As Tianming stepped onto the first, visions assaulted him. He saw a young warrior being betrayed by his closest friend. The pain, the rage—it wasn't just memory. It was real. Tianming had to choose: strike back, forgive, or carry the burden forward.
He chose to forgive.
The platform cracked but did not shatter.
"Your burden deepens," the voice said, "but so does your resolve."
Each new platform was a choice. Morality vs. strength. Duty vs. desire. Past vs. future. With every step, Tianming's soul was tested, not his cultivation.
Midway through the trial, he encountered another aspirant—Yan Ruo, a cold-eyed genius from the Crimson Void Sect. Unlike others, she didn't fight him. She watched.
"You're not just walking the path," she said. "You're trying to understand it. That's rare."
He didn't answer. He didn't need to. The trial had only just begun.
And behind them, in the mist beyond the last platform... something anci
ent was beginning to stir.