The starry heavens trembled as six pillars of light, imbued with the profound mysteries of origin, thundered down from the center of the eight-colored tribulation cloud, enveloping Tang Wulin and the other five with unerring precision.
The surrounding meteorites, the distant starlight, and even the flow of space itself froze the instant those six pillars descended. All pressure on their bodies vanished, and the far more perilous Heart-Questioning Trial officially began deep within their spiritual origins.
Xie Xie's consciousness plunged into a bizarre, kaleidoscopic labyrinth of space and time.
Countless shattered hourglasses and warped clocks floated around him. He saw another version of himself whose cowardice dragged his teammates down; he saw his future self, lost in the void in pursuit of ultimate speed, reduced to a pile of dry bones.
The Law of Time became an invisible blade, relentlessly stripping away his lifespan. His skin began to wrinkle, his long hair turned gray, and his vitality drained away at an alarming rate.
"Before time, all things come to nothing. Everything you cherish will eventually decay. What meaning does your speed have?" An ethereal challenge echoed through the labyrinth.
Xie Xie looked down at his shriveled hands, then suddenly broke into a grin. He straightened his hunched back and clenched both hands, as though seizing the very threads of space and time.
"All things decaying is the universe's rule. But my rule, Xie Xie's rule, is to protect every minute and second of the present. The past cannot be changed, and the future is elusive and uncertain. I cut down only the enemies before me now!"
As his words fell, he crossed his arms and slashed them forward. The Space-Time Law exploded beneath his blades, and the labyrinth shattered with it. His appearance instantly returned to its prime.
Inside a