Xiao Lian's feet landed on solid ground, though the world around her was anything but stable. The three paths...Power, Wisdom, and Sacrifice, had merged into a battlefield suspended in the void.
The air crackled with energy, remnants of their trials still swirling around them.
Across from her, Ji Ren stood tall, his muscles taut from the Path of Power's brutal challenges. His aura was heavier, wilder—like a beast barely leashed.
To her right, Qin Ziyan emerged from the shadows.
Something was different about him.
His usually sharp eyes were clouded with something deeper, uncertainty? Regret? Or something even darker?
The voice that had guided them all along echoed once more.
"The final test begins. Only one may claim the ultimate inheritance."
Xiao Lian's hands tightened into fists. She had expected this.
From the start, the Celestial Pagoda had been a game of survival, of proving one's worth to whatever ancient force controlled it.
Ji Ren exhaled loudly, rolling his shoulders.
"Guess we have to fight."
Xiao Lian frowned. "Do we, though?"
Ji Ren scoffed. "Unless you have a better plan, strategist."
She did. But first, she needed to understand what Qin Ziyan was thinking.
She turned to him. "Are you really going to fight me?"
Qin Ziyan's fingers twitched. His hesitation was clear, but something else lurked behind it—a conflict he wasn't voicing.
Then, his eyes flickered toward Ji Ren.
And suddenly, Xiao Lian understood.
Qin Ziyan didn't know whom he should be fighting.
His mind was torn between old loyalties, new doubts, and the whispers of whatever had led him down the Path of Sacrifice.
But that hesitation wouldn't last forever.
She had to act before he made a decision.
First, deal with Ji Ren.
She turned back to him. "Let's make this quick."
Ji Ren smirked, taking a stance. "You sure you want to fight me?"
"I don't," she admitted. "But I'm not stupid enough to go easy either."
They moved at the same time.
Ji Ren's power was monstrous, each step sending shockwaves through the battlefield. His strikes were overwhelming, his speed shocking despite his brute-force style.
But power alone wasn't enough to win.
Xiao Lian dodged, calculated, and adapted. She didn't need to beat Ji Ren outright, she just needed to make him lose.
And Ji Ren, for all his strength, was predictable.
She used his own instincts against him, leading him into a trap, a spot where the battlefield itself was unstable.
A well-timed feint, a precise sidestep and Ji Ren fell through the crumbling platform, swallowed by the void below.
His startled shout rang out before a burst of golden light pulled him back, sealing his defeat.
Xiao Lian exhaled.
One down.
But before she could turn to Qin Ziyan, he attacked.
A flash of dark energy streaked toward her.
She barely dodged in time, the force of it cutting into the battlefield like a blade.
Xiao Lian spun to face him. "You hesitated before. What changed?"
Qin Ziyan's face was unreadable. "I stopped being indecisive."
His voice was empty.
No sarcasm. No amusement.
Just cold resolution.
Something had changed in him.
Xiao Lian tensed. Qin Ziyan had never been the strongest fighter, but he was the most unpredictable. His illusions, his tactics, his ability to see through others, and now, whatever the Path of Sacrifice had done to him had made him worse.
Or rather, it had made him someone willing to win at any cost.
Xiao Lian braced herself.
This fight wouldn't be like Ji Ren's.
This one… was real.