When Shui Bing'er stood up from the frozen lake, her knees were still weak.
She stood there for a while, waiting for the strength in her legs to return, before slowly turning around and walking towards the lake shore. Feng Xiaotian stood by the ice rock, watching her approach step by step, without going to meet her.
She walked up to him and stopped.
The two looked at each other for a moment. Neither of them mentioned what had happened on the frozen lake.
"Where is your Fourth Trial?" Shui Bing'er asked first.
Feng Xiaotian glanced towards the northeast.
Not far.
Shui Bing'er nodded and beckoned Little Frost to her feet. The Frost Dragon stood up, shook its scales, walked to her side, and nuzzled her shoulder with its head.
"Let's go," Shui Bing'er said.
The two climbed onto Little Frost's back. The Frost Dragon spread its wings and took off, flying in a north-northeast direction.
Feng Xiaotian sat behind Shui Bing'er, looking down at the icy plain below.
Heading northeast from the glacial lake, the terrain becomes flatter, but the air grows even colder.
The cold wasn't brought by the wind; it seeped from deep within the ice, as if the ice field itself was breathing.
After about the time it takes for an incense Little Frost to burn, the blue line in Feng Xiaotian's palm began to heat up.
"We've arrived," he said.
Little Frost landed in front of an ice wall. The ice wall wasn't very high, about four or five zhang (approximately 10-15 meters), and its surface was so smooth that it didn't seem to be naturally formed.
In the center of the ice wall was a crack, so narrow that only one person could pass sideways. A faint blue light flowed deep within the crack, flickering on and off, as if something was breathing.
Feng Xiaotian stepped forward and stood before the crack. The blue lines on his palm and the blue light deep within the crack were of the same frequency, like two identical pulses echoing each other.
Without hesitation, he stepped sideways into the crevice.
Shui Bing'er followed behind, and as soon as she stepped into the crack, an invisible force surged out from both sides of the crack, blocking her back.
She took a step back and tried again. Before her foot even touched the inside of the crack, the force pushed her back again. It didn't hurt her, but the boundary was very clear.
Feng Xiaotian heard the commotion inside and came out. He saw Shui Bing'er standing in front of the crack, with an invisible line beneath her feet.
"Only I can get in," he said.
Shui Bing'er nodded, stepped back to the ice wall, and found a place to sit. But her lips were pursed, and her shoulders and back were tense.
Feng Xiaotian noticed Shui Bing'er's awkwardness.
In the Third Trial, Shui Bing'er helped him suppress the Wind Trace; in the Fourth Trial, he accompanied her on the lakeshore to catch the Ice God's essence. On both occasions, the two were by each other's side. Now it was his turn, Shui Bing'er wanted to accompany him, but was kept outside.
He could tell that Shui Bing'er was a little frustrated.
Feng Xiaotian walked up to her and gently touched her hair. The movement was very light, as if he was afraid of messing up her neatly tied ponytail.
"Wait for me here," he said. "I'll be there soon."
Shui Bing'er looked up at him, her lips twitched, and she nodded.
Feng Xiaotian turned and walked towards the crack, stepping inside sideways. His figure disappeared into the depths of the blue light.
Shui Bing'er sat beside the ice wall, with Little Frost lying beside her, its head resting on its front paws. She stared at the crack, remained silent for a moment, then closed her eyes and began to regulate her breathing.
The inside of the crack appears much wider than the outside.
After Feng Xiaotian stepped inside, the scene before him changed. The space at the end of the crack was neither an ice chamber nor an ice cave.
It was a vast, grayish-white space, without boundaries or ups and downs, like a solidified mist.
What I was stepping on wasn't ice, nor was it the ground, but a blurry expanse of something solid that I couldn't stand on.
Feng Xiaotian stood there, looking around. There was nothing there.
Then he heard a sound. It wasn't coming from any particular direction; it seeped directly into the space itself.
"You've come."
The voice was exactly the same as his own.
Feng Xiaotian turned around.
Behind him stood a person. That person looked exactly like him, wearing the same clothes, with the same face, the only difference being his eyes, which were devoid of light.
That was himself. Or rather, the version of himself he least wanted to be.
" The Fourth Trial, the Trial of Wind, begins," said the person who looked exactly like him. "It is the judgment of what you fear most deep down."
He raised his hand and waved it, and the gray-white space suddenly changed.
Feng Xiaotian found himself standing on a battlefield. Beneath his feet was scorched earth, and the air was filled with the smell of rust and burnt metal.
He glanced down at himself, wearing the school uniform of the Godwind Academy, with the Soul Power of the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf surging within him, ready to possess him at any moment.
He has someone behind him.
He turned his head. Su Ran leaned against the collapsed stone pillar, a deep wound on her chest that exposed bone, blood seeping from between her fingers. Lu Hanxiao knelt beside her, the Snowy Owl had already dispersed, only a wisp of its shadow remained around him.
Ji Ning lay motionless on the ground, one hand still clutching the short blade. Ye Qingyu stood at the farthest point, using her last bit of Soul Power to support the Wind Zither, the music playing intermittently, as if it might stop at any moment.
Everyone was watching him.
"Captain..." Su Ran's voice was weak, "We..."
Before Feng Xiaotian could speak, the sky above them darkened. A massive black shadow descended from the sky, carrying a devastating force, crashing down upon them all.
Dark Feng Xiaotian's voice came from behind him, very softly, as if it were whispering in his ear.
"You can't catch it. Run away."
Feng Xiaotian raised his head and looked at the black shadow that was crashing down.
"They're dead, so be it. As long as you're alive, that's enough."
However, Feng Xiaotian did not turn around. He did not retreat either. He simply took a step forward and stood in front of everyone. His Martial Soul exploded within him, and the moment the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf possessed him, cyan wind blades exploded around him.
He opened his arms.
The moment the shadow slammed into him, the whole world trembled. Feng Xiaotian felt an indescribable force pressing down on his shoulders, back, and arms, forcing his knees to bend and his teeth to bleed. The ground beneath his feet cracked open, the fissures spreading outwards for dozens of feet.
But he did not fall.
He stood there, supporting himself.
Dark Feng Xiaotian stood behind him, silent for a long time.
"Why didn't you dodge?" he asked curiously.
Feng Xiaotian didn't turn around. He stood between the dark figure and everyone else, his arms braced against his knees, his knees trembling, but he didn't back down.
"Because... I'm the captain." His voice trembled, but every word was clear.
"The captain deserves to die?" Dark Feng Xiaotian.
Feng Xiaotian remained silent for a moment.
"The captain shouldn't abandon his teammates."
Dark Feng Xiaotian did not respond.
He stood there, watching Feng Xiaotian's retreating figure. That figure stood straight amidst the blood and scorched earth. He suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
If it were him, he would have turned and run. His teammates dying is no big deal; as long as he survives, that's enough. He said those words himself, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with them when he said them.
But the person in front of me said, "The captain shouldn't abandon his teammates."
He thought about it, but couldn't figure it out. But he remembered the answer.
The dark figure vanished. The charred battlefield, the collapsed stone pillars, and the teammates behind him all disappeared within moments, like dust blown away by the wind.
Feng Xiaotian stood there, panting. He looked down at his hand; the web between his thumb and forefinger was split open, and blood was dripping down his wrist.
The grayish-white space reappeared. Dark Feng Xiaotian was still standing behind him.
"You won the first round," he said, "But this is just the beginning."
He raised his hand and waved it, and the gray-white space changed once again.