n

n

n

"father...

"

nThe thought of her father made her remorseful.

n

"Would he have wanted this?

" she thought.

n

"No, he would've wanted me to live!

" something sparked within her and before her copy struck her down, she charged forward pushing the blade out of her hand.

n

"Just because they're dead doesn't mean I have to join them, I live for their sake. This journey is not an excuse! It's my way of fulfilling my father's wishes, to live and survive!

" she said.

nHolding the sword, she cut down her copy and her view changed. Everything turned to mist before Ming Yue opened her eyes, finding herself back at the arena.

nAs it dissipated, the figure of her copy slowly disappeared.

n

"Then I hope you do so

", it said its last words before vanishing.

nFeeling a lump in her heart gone, she felt much better as if a weight had been lifted from her body. Being able to come to terms with the destruction of her village was difficult. She never talked to anyone about what she had experienced not even to Grandpa Meng. If anything the illusion kick-started the process but she had the rest of her life to heal. At the very least, she was able to face her own negative thoughts. As for the death and despair, this was something she could never heal from, something that changed her for good.

nMing Yue examined the changes in her mind and body from the first trial before looking at the other participants. She was not the first to break the illusion with around a hundred who idly sat and waited for the trial to end. There were others still within the illusion and those who had been thrown out by the formation. As she looked around, she noticed a few familiar faces like Yu Yao Xian as well as Fei Xian, both of which were still stuck inside the illusion. Afterwards she went on to study those who had broken the illusion before her. All of them had strong auras, many of them coming from famed sects and noble families. Nevertheless, there were some that stood out, a black robed boy, a girl dressed in pure white, a young boy wearing farmer's clothes. There were several others but she did not bother to pay too much attention.

nHalf an hour later, only a thousand remained. Yu Yao Xian was able to break the illusion while Xu Tian managed to last inside it until enough people failed.

n

"Congratulations on passing the first trial everyone,

" the announcer said,

"We will now begin the second trial. This trial will test your endurance, we will be having several experts here. If you can stay conscious under their pressure, you pass.

"

nAs the second trial was being set up, everyone felt that this second trial was too straightforward and simple. These three trials would change every tournament from fighting puppets to hunting beasts. Something like just withstand pressure seemed a little lackluster.

nMing Yue thought this as well curious as to what this trial could hold. Four pillars were then erected on four points of the square arena and each one had a figure standing on them.

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"Good luck on this next trial everyone

", the announcer spoke before floating away.

nEveryone looked at the pillars, waiting for the trial to begin. At that moment, a gigantic ball of fire manifested in the middle of the arena, a storm of wind and lightning struck down from the air, numerous phenomena came about. Hurricanes and arctic gales pounded them. Boundless energy poured out from the pillars, feeding these forces as they continued to release waves and waves of destruction. Everyone tried to evade but found themselves barely able to move, the pressure on them was too overbearing. Even standing was a difficult task for them, they could not even protect themselves with energy.

nNot in a million years would Ming Yue have thought that they would come up with something like this. One second she was hot, the next she felt like freezing. Blades of wind cut into her body as lightning continued to discharge all around her. It was extremely painful for her, with every passing second she could feel herself closer to collapsing. As someone who focused more on attack then defense, she was already at a disadvantage.

nNot even five minutes have passed before people lost consciousness, dropping to the floor. They were brought out by tournament officials, who were unaffected through special talismans.

nThe trial slowly grew in intensity, Ming Yue could feel herself slowly slipping away. She barely saw anything in front of her, surrounded by the elements.

n

"I must hold on!

" she told herself.

nSuddenly a large bolt of lightning rained down and struck her, sending shocks throughout her body. It was excruciating and for a split second, she had passed out.

nShe stood and endured the pain, supporting herself with her sword.

n

"Aghhhh!

" cries of pain rang out as more and more people found themselves unable to hold on.

nAs much as she wanted to drop out, she forced herself to keep going. The pain grew worse and worse, there was no way to describe what she felt. A hundred things happened at once: the shock of lightning, the sharp winds, a blazing ball of fire, freezing ice, this was torment.

nMing Yue stood for as long as possible, barely holding on with only sheer willpower. This trial truly tested her limits. It was not long before she fell to her knees, clinging to her sword for support. Only one thought was in her mind, to stay awake.

nAt this point, over half of the participants had fallen, failing the trial and yet it had not stopped. What felt like hours to them were mere minutes, the many onlookers watched the sight, looking at all those who still stood in the arena.

n

"The geniuses from the five families are still standing. It seems that one of them might really win this.

"

n

"What are you talking about? Don't you see all of the others?

"

n

"Yeah, and how many of them are in a better situation?

"

n

"Hah! none of you see those kids over there. The one that looks like a farmer is barely fazed by this. That one over there even looks bored. I say, this is going to be a very interesting tournament.

"

n

"I'm not going to lie, I bet my money on that girl over there.

"

n

"Cheh, she's about collapse any second now, why would you believe in her?

"

n

"What? I can't? Besides, that type of determination is hard to find.

"

nThat girl was Ming Yue and although she was in a sorry state, despite that, she continued to endure. Her performance could be considered mediocre, but her perseverance had earned her a few fans.

nThirty minutes went by and the number of people on the stage had decreased by half, leaving only five hundred left. It was not very long before the second trial had ended. What can only be described as utter chaos covered the arena. There was rubble and blood everywhere, almost everyone collapsed to the floor, reeling from the pain. Ming Yue was no different and she immediately tried to circle her energy in an attempt to heal quicker. Her clothes were torn, burnt, some of it was encased in ice and blood was spattered all of it. In fact, blood flowed from her wounds as she healed, mending her wounds. She suffered from both external and internal injuries to her organs. This was something she could not recover from quickly.

nFortunately, the third trial would not happen immediately.

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"Congratulations to those who have passed the second trial. Due to the damage done to both the arena and to all of you, the third trial will commence tomorrow

", the tournament announcer spoke before withdrawing and everyone began to leave. Many of the tournament participants chose to stay here and recuperate rather than leaving.

nMing Yue did not do so and left after regaining some ability to walk. The sun started to wane as she entered the inn and went to her room. Her clothes and external injuries was mostly restored by the time she came back. Her body felt extremely heavy and both Hei Yue and Xiao Yin greeted her from the courtyard. Knowing that she was not in the best condition, they turned in for the day and comforted her.

nShe made a bath and filled it with some of the medicinal herbs she found in the wilderness. Submerging herself, she closed her eyes and let her body absorb the restorative energy, enjoying the cool sensation. By the time she finished, night had fallen.

nShe went to bed, accompanied by the soft pillow of that which is Hei Yue. The little fox curled up next her, its dark silver fur was better than silk, its softness was undeniable. Even Xiao Yin, who generally slept on the top of her sword chose to cuddle with her, taking up the other side of the bed.. She did not have the energy to think about today's events and only wanted to sleep.

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