The Trial

"This emperor set two trials. If you can pass them, you may receive this emperor's legacy."

"I..."

"Bang—"

Shi Lan had just wanted to ask whether she could refuse the trial and return the way she came when the Guiding Cloud Sword Emperor's divine sense waved a hand and shut the doors of Guiding Cloud Hall. He paid no attention to her at all.

Clearly, when the Guiding Cloud Sword Emperor had left his legacy behind, he had given no one who entered a choice.

Shi Lan was rather helpless. She had originally planned to go back first and return once she was stronger and had a better chance of succeeding.

The Guiding Cloud Sword Emperor's divine sense clearly could not communicate with anyone. It only followed a fixed pattern, carrying out the tasks he himself had arranged.

The divine sense slowly stepped in front of Shi Lan, raised a hand, and reached toward the top of her head.

Shi Lan was already tall, but compared to the Guiding Cloud Sword Emperor's divine sense, she was more than a head shorter, barely reaching his chest.

Seeing the divine sense move, Shi Lan instinctively tried to step back, but she could not move so much as a finger.

The large hand touched the top of her head. A tsunami seemed to surge through Shi Lan's mind. After a dizzying whirl, everything went black, and she lost consciousness.

Weakness. Exhaustion.

Those were the first things Shi Lan noticed when she regained consciousness. Her body was utterly empty; her vast true qi had vanished without a trace. Her powerful physique, once able to withstand a mid-grade magic treasure head-on, was gone as well. Her bones and muscles were limp, her hands and feet weak.

It was as if she had never practiced