Skipping the Sixth Trial

In an antiquely furnished room, Hu Haoran sat cross-legged, digesting everything he had encountered on the Soul Sealing Platform and steadying his emotions in preparation for the sixth trial. From Xiao Ge and the others, he had learned that the sixth trial was primarily a test of character, conducted within an illusion created by the Illusion Spirit Platform.

Inside the Illusion Spirit Platform, everything was illusory. No one knew what you would become, not even the chief examiner. Once someone failed the trial, it was easy for them to become lost in the illusion. Shrek's instructors would then use specific methods to wake those failed candidates and declare their failure.

However, every candidate who entered the Illusion Spirit Platform would experience a refinement of their spiritual power. This was also a benefit Shrek Academy offered to every candidate who came for the assessment.

Hu Haoran suppressed the restlessness in his heart. During the fifth trial, his stubborn insistence had driven all five of them into a desperate situation. If the assessment had not suddenly ended, they would likely all have had to experience death once. Although they had been told they had passed, Hu Haoran still felt that his actions had put his companions in such danger.

"Are you still blaming yourself?" Lan Ziyu appeared before Hu Haoran at some unknown point. His arrival had been utterly silent; he was already beside Hu Haoran before Hu Haoran could react.

Hu Haoran abruptly opened his eyes. When he saw that it was Lan Ziyu, he calmed down. After a long silence, he nodded and said, "Perhaps I was too willful. If we hadn't entered the Multi-armed Vajra's territory, Xiao Ge and Hong Lu wouldn't have had to taste death. The rest of us could have passed the assessment safely as well."