Chapter 457: Half a Year
Hui Yue and his awoken friends spent all their time cultivating. The days passed in a blur. The seasons outside this strange realm changed, but within everything was the same. They all stayed at the same location, and the cold stone mansion never changed as no one left the hall they had been placed within.
The cold air of the mansion did not become warmer as the season's changed, nor did it become freezing cold, it stayed constant all the time. Similarly, the sun outside never set. It merely hovered in the same spot in the sky no matter how many days passed.
Soon three months had gone by, but the final three who were still sleeping showed no signs of waking up. Though Hui Yue and his friends were certain that they would wake up eventually, and although they were slightly worried, none of them ever mentioned the possibility of moving on.
After four months had passed, Deng Wu's eyes opened, and he sat up with a confused expression on his face. He was pale, and it was clear that he had been through hell and back from the haunted look in his eyes. But despite this, he was still alive. When Hui Yue and the others saw that Deng Wu woke up, all of them were filled with excitement. They jumped towards him, completely ignoring the fact that he looked as though reality had collapsed around him.
"Don't worry." Hui Yue said gently as he patted his shoulder. "The world you saw when your heart was being tested was not real. No matter what transpired, it was to help you understand your martial path and forge your determination."
Deng Wu nodded his head and sighed deeply as he leaned back against the cold wall of the stone mansion supporting himself. "This time I think I survived thanks to Little Dragon." Deng Wu said with a quivering voice as he closed his eyes. Sweat was on his forehead as he remembered the world he had just lived in for what seemed like forever.
"How long have I been unconscious?" He asked worried, but in his heart, he was even more worried when he saw that neither Jo nor Sha Yun had woken up. For him to have such a close call, he feared that they were not faring any better than him. This truly terrified him; the two women were his good friends and the thought that they might not pass the trial was too horrifying a thought.
However, looking at Hui Yue, he saw that the young man by his side had eyes filled with the certainty that his friends would wake up soon. Seeing this, he did not comment on their current situation as he didn’t want to question his hope.
"It has been four months since I woke up." Hui Yue said truthfully, but he could not say exactly how long he had been in the dream world because the bull refused to tell him. All they knew was that this trial was many times harder than the rest, and all the trials were taking far longer than they ever thought possible. The more trials they passed, the longer each became.
Once again those experts with resolute martial hearts slowly started to cultivate. After having understood their martial hearts and their martial path it was like the wool covering their eyes had been removed and now they were advancing by leaps and bounds in their cultivation. They were discovering new insights at a rapid speed, and they absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth faster than ever before.
The most worried in their group was Lao, and as a result, he threw himself wholeheartedly into cultivating. He was constantly cultivating, only allowing for a brief break now and then to consume some food or water. During these months, he was always seen seated in meditation, his eyes closed and his palms placed in his lap as he focused on the energy surrounding him. He knew his sister more than anyone else, and he could not help but fear that her martial heart was not strong enough. Still, he had faith in her and held onto the slim hope that she knew what she was doing and could endure.
Just like earlier, the days once more went by in a blur. Everyone focused on balancing the strength they had gained through this trial of fire. They were all eager to improve, and thus everyone was busy and focused doing their own thing until the day that five and a half months had passed. The day Jo opened her eyes.
Jo was unlike the others who had awoken. Her face did not seem devoid of blood. She was not pale or frightened. Instead, it had a healthy color to it, and a small smile was on her lips.
"I’m hungry!" She blurted out as she stretched her body and stood up. Although she was so late waking up, she was, without a doubt, the one who had been the most casual about this test. The others could not help but wonder exactly what she had experienced, yet no one asked her.
They all knew what they had experienced within the Trial of Determination was personal. That it was not wise to share it with others, and therefore they would not make it hard on her by asking.
"Come here." Hui Yue laughed as he looked through the Universe Box to find some dried fruits he had saved for her. Although he wished he had better food, this was the most delicious thing he had left.
When Lao saw his sister awaken, his entire being shook from relief and tears welled up in his eyes. Everyone around pretended that they did not notice, and after hurriedly wiping them away he rushed to her side giving her a hug. He truly was elated that she was fine.
Everyone was relieved to see Jo awaken. Although they trusted in their companions, it would be a lie to say that they had not feared that there was something wrong. But seeing Jo awaken and looking so healthy as if the trial had been a walk in the park, this gave them enough hope that Sha Yun would soon awaken as well.
Once more they returned to cultivating and just as they expected, half a year after Hui Yue woke from the Trial of Determination Sha Yun woke up. The moment she woke the entire world seemed to be filled with an oppressive aura. Her entire body was sparkling with golden specks of light as she levitated off the ground. In the air, her body was shaking slightly.
Everyone looked at her completely stumped. They had no idea what was happening before the bull rushed forward and placed a hand on her forehead while mumbling a few incantations. Soon afterward her body trembled once more before it returned to the golden and orange colors it usually had, and the specks of light retreated back into her body.
"Outstanding." The Bull said with a nod of his head. "Although she did not know her martial way she was able to persevere through the trial through sheer determination and willpower. She is quite something." He sighed in praise. So far every member of this group had surprised him time and time again, and he could not help but feel that there was something special about them.
At first, he had seen Wang Ju Long's outstanding performance with her poison arts. Secondly, he had seen all the amazing abilities that had been created, including a blue version of the true Phoenix Descent and also an energy he had never seen before. Now there was someone who had managed to get through the Trial of Determination through sheer stubbornness not by finding their martial way. This was truly a crazy group of cultivators.
"Well done everyone!" The Bull said as Hui Yue rushed to Sha Yun's side. Sitting by her side and gently letting her rest on his lap he gave her something to drink. "You have all done well to get through this trial. This old bull did not believe that everyone would pass the trial, but it seems my sight is getting fuzzy with time. Everyone passed, and this is truly spectacular!"
"The next trial will start whenever you are ready. This means that you can choose to stay here in the stone mansion and recuperate for some time before we begin it, but when it starts you will have no other choice but to continue until you finish."
"The final trial is the Trial of Talent, and this trial is in no way simple; however, while it is not simple, it is less lethal than the one you just passed."
"Should you fail this trial then you will be teleported out of this realm and will have to wait to see if your friends can gain the Formation of Life. If you pass through the trial, then I will take you directly to the Formation of Life and it will be yours to take."
"The Trial of Talent will be held in the Tower of Talents, a place where each of you will enter a room. Within this room, you will fight energy beasts, soldiers, cultivators and even possibly your clones again. Only if your talent is above average will you be allowed close to the Formation of Life."
"However, although I say above average, this is not above average for your standards. These standards were made back in the day when the divine master created this realm. I guess that the Trial of Talents will require one to be a peerless geniuses to overcome it." The bull sighed.
"Fortunately all of you are geniuses in your own right, though, as for whether or not you have what it takes to breakthrough, that will depend on yourself."
"I've said what I needed to. Tell me when you are ready to enter the Tower of Talents." The bull said before he turned around and found a corner of the stone hall to sit down in.
Hui Yue contemplated for some time but looking at the weakened Sha Yun in his arms he was not in a hurry to rush into the next battle.
"The next trial is an individual assessment once more." He began speaking with his friends. "This time we can prove just how much we have improved our Phoenix Descent alongside what our long training against our energy clones taught us."
The others nodded their heads seriously as they looked at the ceiling above them.
"Let’s rest up until all of us are in peak condition." He said with a sigh as he gently helped Sha Yun into a sitting position which was supported by Wang Ju Long on her other side. "When we are all in peak condition we will challenge the Tower of Talents and prove that although we might not be from the era filled with geniuses, we are all above average!"
Hui Yue's words caused all of them to nod their heads. They were indeed all geniuses of the younger generation. For them to be assessed as just above average was a great embarrassment, and all of them were eager to prove their worth. However, one trial had just ended, and they were no longer in a rush.
They had already been within this realm for well over a year, to rush at the final trial seemed silly. Therefore they spent another two months slowly adjusting their minds to the coming trial.
One day, eight months after Hui Yue had first finished the Trial of Determination, he moved towards the bull. This cold stone hall which had been their home for a long time was now finally going to be changed for a new location. Looking around Hui Yue felt no regret leaving, if anything, he could not wait for a change of scenery.
"We are ready to undergo the final trial. Please take us to the Tower of Talents." He said with a firm voice. All his friends were standing behind him, and the bull finally stood up after having been seated the exact same way for two months. Nodding his head the world once more blurred for the friends as they felt the ground under their feet change.