"True Self"

Lin Ye swam swiftly through the lake. Beneath the surface, the jade-green pendant flickered on and off, each sudden flash blocking an invisible attack for him.

The pendant's energy was draining too quickly.

At this rate, he could hold out for fifteen minutes at most.

His heart tightened. Lin Ye stopped hesitating and circulated the Azure Origin Technique, forcibly absorbing the lake's violent, chaotic spiritual energy. He pushed Wind Chasing Steps to its limit and shot toward the center of the lake like an arrow.

Under the dense barrage of attacks, the pendant's light shield shuddered violently. Its glow had dimmed until it was nearly transparent, and it could shatter at any moment.

Splash—!

Lin Ye burst through the surface and slammed onto a cold, black rock, making stars dance before his eyes.

The jade-green pendant in his hand cracked and shattered.

He struggled to his feet and looked around.

It was a desolate little island. Black rocks riddled with honeycomb-like holes covered the ground, all shrouded in a thick gray mist that made it nearly impossible to see. The rocks beneath his feet were icy cold. Nothing grew anywhere, and the silence was terrifying.

"Lake Heart Island..." Lin Ye quickly confirmed his location.

He hurriedly checked his condition. He had used up more than half his true qi, and several parts of his body hurt, but thankfully, his injuries weren't serious.

After swallowing a few medicinal pills to steady his breathing, Lin Ye gripped the Azure Edge Sword and moved forward step by cautious step.

According to the lingering sense he got from the pendant, the legacy should be here.

He scanned his surroundings, and only after confirming there were no signs of living creatures did he crouch to examine the traces around him. The surface of the black rocks was smooth, but fine scratches remained along the edges of the holes. In several depressions lay scattered bones and rusted fragments. Some of the bones had even turned the same color as the rocks, making them impossible to distinguish without a close look.

"Many people died here." Lin Ye's heart sank.

He avoided the bones and proceeded carefully through the mist, following the direction in which the pendant's faint signal grew weaker.

The mist obscured his view, making it impossible to tell which way he was going. Lin Ye kept low and circulated the Breath Concealment Technique to its limit, making sure each step landed firmly so he wouldn't make a sound.

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the mist ahead thinned, and the outline of a building emerged faintly.

It was a square altar built from black jade, about three zhang high. One corner had collapsed, exposing its rough stone foundation. Its surface was covered in densely packed runes. Most had gone dim, with only a few still retaining faint traces of energy.

At the center of the altar sat a complete skeleton, cross-legged.

Unlike the jade-white skeleton by the lakeshore, this one had the texture of crystal, its surface gleaming with a soft sheen in the gloom. It wore a tattered moon-white Daoist robe. Its hands rested on its knees, with a palm-sized cloth pouch beside its left hand and an ancient sword stuck beside its right.

The sword was covered in cracks, and a faint dark-gold radiance flowed across it, as though it had become one with the altar.

When Lin Ye's gaze fell on the ancient sword, the True Qi seed of the Azure Cloud Art in his dantian stirred with a faint yearning.

This had to be the place.

Lin Ye drew a deep breath and suppressed the stirring in his heart. After confirming there were no obvious traps around the altar, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the skeleton.

"This junior is Lin Ye. I entered this place by accident. If I have offended you, I beg your forgiveness."

He reached out, his fingertips just about to touch the hilt.

Vmm—!!

The entire altar shook violently!

The remaining runes lit up all at once. A damaged formation took shape in an instant, enveloping both the altar and Lin Ye.

The scene before his eyes abruptly changed.

In its place was a starry sky.

Countless stars flickered in and out of sight. Some burned like blazing suns; others collapsed into black holes. At the center of the starry sky stood a figure formed from starlight, its back to him, hands clasped behind it.

Its aura came from the same source as the crystal skeleton's, yet it was millions of times stronger, as though it ruled over this entire starry sky.

"Successor."

The voice seemed to travel through time, sounding directly in Lin Ye's sea of consciousness.

"My legacy requires you to pass three trials. The first is the Trial of the Heart."

As the words fell, the starry illusion around them changed again.

Lin Ye saw his former self lying in a pool of blood, his vision blurred as his life slowly ebbed away. It was the moment of death carved deep into his soul.

The scene shifted. He saw the abuse he had suffered in the Qingyun Sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Wang Meng's sneer, Zhao Mingxuan's schemes, and the elders' indifference from their high seats.

All the scenes ultimately wove together into a vast chessboard, with him no more than a pawn that could be wiped away at any moment.

"Why do you seek the Dao?"

The figure in the starry sky spoke without the slightest emotion, its question striking straight at his heart.

Why seek the Dao?

To survive? To never be bullied again? To reach the pinnacle of martial arts and see what lay beyond?

Thoughts surged through him.

The fear of death, the fury of an ant, a pawn's unwillingness to accept its fate, the thirst for power...

Lin Ye lifted his head, his gaze resolute.

I seek the Dao:

Not for eternal life, nor to become invincible,

but to take my fate into my own hands.

My destiny is mine to decide—

If Heaven bars my way, I'll defy Heaven.

If anyone stands in my way, I'll kill them!

As soon as the words left his mouth, pale golden characters flashed deep within his sea of consciousness, radiating a cool sensation. The illusions that had shaken his resolve faded like ripples spreading across water after a stone was tossed in.

The figure in the starry sky suddenly paused. After a moment of silence, it gave a slight nod.

"The second trial: the Trial of the Sword."

The starry sky and its illusions vanished, and Lin Ye returned to the altar. A figure identical to Lin Ye slowly emerged, formed of starlight and holding a sword of starlight.

"Defeat True Self, or hold out for an hour."

Without another word, True Self moved.

Its sword of starlight quivered. It was the Wind-Thunder Stab Lin Ye knew so well!

Its speed, angle, and strength were identical to his own!

Lin Ye's pupils contracted. He drew the Azure Edge Sword and met it with the same Wind-Thunder Stab!

Clang!

The sword lights collided, sending sparks flying.

Lin Ye felt a force no weaker than his own shudder through him, numbing his arm.

True Self changed its swordplay, unleashing the Thirteen Swords of the Clear Wind in an unbroken sequence.

Lin Ye countered with the same Thirteen Swords of the Clear Wind.

On the narrow altar, the two fought with swordplay and footwork that were nearly identical. Sword light crisscrossed as the clash of metal rang without pause.

Ten moves, twenty moves, fifty moves... Lin Ye grew more and more alarmed.

True Self had copied not only his cultivation and martial techniques, but even his combat habits and reactions, down to the smallest detail.

He was fighting a perfect version of himself to the death.

Worse, that version had no emotions, knew no fatigue, and made no mistakes. Every strike was delivered with maximum force.

Lin Ye gradually fell behind. A few bloody gashes appeared on his body, and his true qi was rapidly running out.

He couldn't let this drag on.

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and held on.

He realized that there was no way he could defeat a perfect copy using moves he already knew.

He had to use something True Self didn't know.

As he parried, thoughts raced through his mind—the richness of the Azure Origin Technique, the insights of the Azure Cloud Art, the defense of the Vajra Indestructible Body, the speed of Wind Chasing Steps, the force of the Thunderbolt Sword Technique, the fluidity of the Thirteen Swords of the Clear Wind...

"Wind-Thunder... Thunderbolt... Clear Wind..."

Under the pressure of life and death, his insights collided and fused at a furious pace.

True Self thrust for his throat, fast as lightning.

Lin Ye's pupils contracted. He sprang backward, pushing Wind Chasing Steps to the limit, and narrowly dodged the attack.

Clang!

The sword trembled, and the skin at the base of his thumb split open.

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. So what if it could copy his moves? So what if it could copy his cultivation? His will could never be copied!

He unleashed the remaining true qi in his dantian. No longer defending, he forcibly melded force, fluidity, and speed into a single strike!

The sword wind carried the faint, keen edge of shattering stars.

True Self copied it perfectly.

At the instant their swords collided—

Lin Ye twisted his wrist with a fierce jerk!

His sword technique changed midway. The Azure Edge Sword swept upward at an angle, deflecting the sword of starlight. At the same time, he tapped his toes against the altar's jade surface and shot forward close to the ground, thrusting two fingers like a sword toward True Self's chest!

The strike had no set form, yet it gathered all his strength and ferocity.

For the first time, hesitation appeared in True Self's hollow eyes.

It could copy everything it knew, but it couldn't predict the step that went beyond the self!

Pfft—

His finger force pierced through the starlight illusion.

True Self's body shuddered, and the starlight around it fell into chaos.

Lin Ye seized the opening, sweeping the Azure Edge Sword back as his true qi burst forth.

"Break!"

He slashed horizontally!

True Self turned into a sky full of stardust and vanished into the nebula.

The altar shook violently. The formation surrounding it slowly faded. Leaning on his sword, Lin Ye dropped to one knee and gasped for breath. Blood seeped from his wounds, and his true qi had run dry, yet a blazing light burned in his eyes.

He had won. He had defeated the perfect version of himself.

The indifferent voice sounded from the void, touched with a hint of approval so faint it was almost imperceptible:

"Second trial, passed."