Tang Wulin hurried along Shrek Academy's tree-lined paths, his gaze eagerly searching for his companions. Even as he moved, however, his consciousness had already sunk into his Sea of Consciousness, where he urgently addressed the emerald figure:
"Aunt Green, I have a rather presumptuous request... could I bring my companions into the Life Gate to cultivate too?"
He explained his idea in one breath. "Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Gu Yue, Yuanen, all of them... everyone's cultivation is progressing too slowly. The energy inside the Life Gate is so good that I'd feel guilty using it all by myself. I want to bring them along so we can all grow stronger together!"
Having finished, Tang Wulin waited anxiously for an answer. After all, this was a trial from the Divine Realm. Bringing others inside without permission seemed like breaking the rules no matter how he looked at it.
Yet the refusal he expected never came.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Goddess of Life floated silently. As she watched Tang Wulin's anxious yet sincere expression, deep approval and relief gradually surfaced in her otherwise tranquil eyes.
"Silly child, you've passed."
The Goddess of Life's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze brushing across a lake, carrying a barely perceptible trace of emotion.
"Passed?" Tang Wulin froze. "Passed what?"
"The trial of human nature." The Goddess of Life slowly drifted closer, her gaze seeming to pierce through Tang Wulin's flesh and look straight into his soul. "Tang Wulin, you must understand that the life nine trials test more than your talent and constitution. Above all, they test your character."
She sighed softly, her gaze growing distant, as though it had crossed the long river of time. "Over the countless years, it isn't as though I never found other candidates better