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[Scene: Beginning the Trial]
The fractured guardian loomed before them, its form constantly shifting—one moment a woman in divine robes, the next, a beast of pure chaos. Its essence whispered truths that threatened to splinter the mind.
Max stepped forward, Origin Eyes flaring as glowing sigils formed beneath their feet—locking them into a sealed realm.
"We'll face the past," he muttered, "but not as bystanders."
The guardian raised its hand and whispered:
"Step into the shoes of the forgotten. Live their regrets. Survive their end."
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[Scene: Trial Initiation – Fragmented Lives]
The world shifted.
Max now stood at the edge of a battlefield. Sky cracked. Mountains bled. An unknown war consumed the land. He was inside the mind of a cultivator named Zhao Fen, who stood at the peak of the fifth minor realm in the Qi Initiation stage—yet died before reaching the next.
Max gritted his teeth as a barrage of arrows tore through the illusion. Though the body wasn't his, the pain felt real.
In a flash beside him, Lian Yue stood trapped in her own echo—living a moment of a betrayed Saintess, accused of heresy and sentenced to be sealed alive within a tomb.
They had to survive not just the trial—but the lives they were forced to relive.
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[Scene: Reality Blurs]
Max's body trembled as he broke out of the illusion first, Origin Eyes glowing faintly purple, allowing him to see the break lines in the echo.
He rushed to Lian Yue—her hands twitching, mouth moving silently, as she relived the horror.
"Lian! Snap out of it!"
He gripped her shoulder, and injected a thread of pure Qi into her spiritual sea. Her eyes shot open, tears falling freely.
"I was… buried alive," she whispered. "I felt everything. I thought I was going mad…"
Max steadied her. "We're not done yet."
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[Scene: A Moment to Reflect – Status Windows]
The echoes faded, and the trial paused briefly—perhaps allowing them to recover.
Lian Yue leaned back, clutching her side. "I… need to see how far I've come. If I don't, I might lose my grip on who I am."
She summoned her status. Ethereal text formed before her, readable only to herself—yet Max could sense the fluctuation of power as she did so.
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#### Lian Yue - Status Window ####
Name: Lian Yue
Age: 17
Realm Category: Mortal Realm
Major Realm: Qi Initiation
Minor Realm: Fourth Minor Realm
Level: 38
Segment: Middle Stage
Lifespan Limit: 230 years
Qi Path: Petal Flow Veins (Unlocked)
Constitution: Silent Bloom Body (Rare Variant)
Talent Grade: High-Grade Yellow Tier
Notes: Latent bloodline signature remains dormant.
She sighed. "Still the same realm, but the bottleneck feels weaker."
Max smiled faintly. "You've grown faster than most I've seen."
She raised an eyebrow. "And you? You're always checking my window. Let's see yours."
Max chuckled, and mentally triggered his own.
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#### Max - Status Window ####
Name: Max
Age: 19
Realm Category: Mortal Realm
Major Realm: Qi Initiation
Minor Realm: Fifth Minor Realm
Level: 45
Segment: Early Stage
Lifespan Limit: 260 years
Qi Path: Samsara Flow Veins (Awakened)
Eyes: Origin Eyes (Stage II – Enhanced Perception)
Talent Grade: Unknown
Constitution: ??? (Sealed)
Notes: Spiritual Sea shows unnatural expansion; signs of law comprehension detected.
"Looks like I finally broke through," Max whispered. "And my Origin Eyes… I feel them adjusting to something deeper in this place."
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[Scene: Echo Guardian's Second Phase]
The sealed chamber began to tremble. The guardian—now forming a cohesive shape—revealed itself as a warrior monk with galaxies rotating in his chest cavity.
"You have passed the trials of pain and memory," the guardian said. "But truth does not come so easily. Now… you must face what you fear to remember."
A portal opened behind the guardian.
It pulsed with golden threads of time—and screaming shadows.
Lian Yue frowned. "That doesn't look like just another trial…"
Max tightened his grip on his fan.
"That looks like the next chapter of our story."
⸻
#### System Notification ####
[Trial Phase One: Complete]
[Participants: Max, Lian Yue]
[Status: Stable Mental State Achieved]
[Warning: Second Trial May Induce Temporal Regression]
[Note: Next Milestone – Library's Core Heart]
[Reward: Echo Memory Fragment I | Status Insight Unlocked]
⸻
End of Chapter 20