The wind howled across the summit, yet no one spoke.
Four disciples stood before the elders atop the trial platform — battered, bloodied, but victorious.
Only three would be chosen.
Elder Qian's gaze swept across the group like a scythe.
"Jiang Ping," he said first, lips tight. "Step forward."
The crowd shifted.
No one expected him to make it…
…and even fewer wanted him to.
The boy trembled as he walked.
"You are loyal. Determined. But… undisciplined," Elder Qian continued.
A pause.
"You are not chosen."
Jiang Ping exhaled — not relief, not sorrow. Just… breath.
Fang Xi said nothing. But his fingers curled ever so slightly.
I'll raise him in the shadows. Let them forget the pawn.
🎖 The Three Chosen
"Shui Fang," Elder Hua announced, "for precise control and mastery of elemental defenses… you are chosen."
"Han Yuren," Elder Qian added, "for lethal efficiency and resolve… you are chosen."
Then silence.
Only one slot remained.
Wei Lian's eyes darted toward Fang Xi.
Some elders whispered.
Others remained still.
At last, Elder Hua stepped forward.
"Fang Xi," she said calmly. "You were not the fastest. Nor the strongest."
"But you walked the Mirror Gate and survived."
"You are chosen."
Gasps echoed among the crowd.
🎭 The Aftermath
In the inner sect feast hall that night, music rang and firelight danced.
Fang Xi stood at the edge of the celebration, a cup of plum wine untouched in his hand. Across the hall, Shui Fang toasted with silver-robed cultivators. Han Yuren sat in cold silence, flanked by silent followers.
Wei Lian approached quietly.
"You won."
He raised a brow. "Did I?"
"They'll watch you now. All of them."
Fang Xi's eyes didn't move.
"Let them."
🕶 A Private Invitation
Later, in the shadow of the moonlit corridor, a servant delivered a scroll.
No insignia.
No name.
Only words:
'The Summit rewards many. But we choose only one.'
'Meet us at the Red Willow Hall at midnight. Alone.'
Fang Xi's lips curled.
🧱 Red Willow Hall
It was a ruin — long abandoned — with ivy twisting through its stone bones.
Inside, candlelight flickered.
Seven figures sat in a crescent around a simple dais. Robes gray. Faces veiled.
The central figure spoke:
"You carry the mark."
Fang Xi did not deny it.
"You entered the Mirror Gate and saw him, didn't you?"
"…A fragment," he replied.
The air trembled slightly.
"Then you are qualified to receive the first boon."
"Name it."
A silence.
Then Fang Xi replied with a voice colder than frost:
"Knowledge. Not power. I want the truth of the Echo Cult."
The leader nodded.
A small black box was handed to him.
"Then take it. But beware — truth is heavier than blades."
📜 Inside the Box
Later, in his chamber, Fang Xi unsealed the box.
Inside:
A sliver of bone etched with ancient runes
A map fragment showing a sealed cave below the sect
And a letter: "The vault beneath the mountain. Only one with the mark may enter."
He smiled.
And so the real trial begins.