The air beyond the fifth obstacle didn't smell of volcanic mud or ozone; it smelled of nothing. It was a sterile, crystalline silence that felt heavier than the gravity pits. As Group 7 moved forward, the physical world seemed to lose its saturation, turning into a dreamscape of grey stone and silver mist.

  Drill Instructor Gane stood at the threshold of the sixth trial, his arms crossed over his iron breastplate. "From here on, your muscles are useless," he stated, his voice echoing unnaturally. "The array will now look at your 'Foundation of Intent.' If your heart is hollow, your path ends here."

  Lin Qingyu stepped forward, keeping his gaze slightly unfocused. He could feel the array—a complex web of psychic threads—reaching out to brush against his mind.

  Obstacle 6: The Mirror of Shattered Will

  The sixth death manifested as a hallway of tall, dark obsidian mirrors. As the disciples walked through, the mirrors didn't reflect their current selves. Instead, they showed moments of absolute failure—scenes of being rejected by the sect, of being humiliated by rivals, or of dying alone in a gutter.

  Lin saw the disciples around him begin to sob or scream. One girl collapsed, clawing at her reflection as it showed her family disowning her.

  When Lin looked into the glass, he saw the "Original Novel" ending—the total destruction of the world by the Final Villain. He saw the sky turning black and the mountain peaks crumbling into dust.

  Careful, he warned himself. Don't look at the details. Don't analyze the Villain’s face.

  He forced his mind to "blur" the image. He focused on the reflection’s lighting rather than its content. He projected a sense of simple, shallow fear—the kind a child has of the dark—rather than the calculated dread of a man who knew the prophecy. He walked through the hallway with a shaky breath and wide, "clueless" eyes. To the observers, it looked like he was simply overwhelmed by the scary pictures.

  Obstacle 7: The Fog of Regret

  The mirrors gave way to a thick, violet mist that tasted of copper. This trial probed for past sins. For many, it was the guilt of a stolen pill or a hidden betrayal.

  As Lin entered, the mist tried to find a hook in his past. It searched for the regret of his previous life, but Lin wrapped those memories in a layer of "static." He focused on a singular, mundane regret: I should have bought that extra jar of honey last week.

  The array, confused by such a trivial anchor, pulsed with frustration. Gane, watching the monitor-stones, frowned. "His mental resonance is... fuzzy. It’s like trying to grab a handful of smoke. Is he that pure-hearted, or is he just that simple-minded?"

  Obstacle 8: The Weight of Karma

  Suddenly, the mist cleared, and Lin felt as if a mountain had been dropped onto his consciousness. This wasn't physical gravity; it was the pressure of one's destiny. The "Heavenly Dao" was measuring the importance of his soul.

  A hero like Shen Yuanxing would feel a crushing weight here, as his fate was tied to the world's survival. For Lin, the weight was immense because he was the "Anomaly."

  He immediately diverted the pressure. He redirected the "Karma" into his balanced meridians, letting it flow through him and into the ground. He bent his back, his face turning pale, making it look as though he was on the verge of being crushed. He stayed in that state of "near-collapse" for exactly the duration of the trial, staggering across the line just as the pressure lifted.

  Obstacle 9: The Void of Ambition

  The ninth trial was a sensory deprivation zone. No sound, no light, no touch. The array waited for the disciple to project their greatest desire to fill the void. This was where most "Geniuses" failed by projecting visions of becoming the Sect Leader or an Immortal.

  Lin sat in the darkness. The void beckoned. Tell me what you want, it whispered.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Lin projected a vision of a small, quiet garden. A simple wooden chair. A cup of tea that never got cold.

  The void seemed to recoil. It wanted grander things to feast upon—greed, lust for power, or the fire of revenge. By offering it the "peace of a shrub," Lin effectively starved the trial. He emerged from the darkness looking bored and slightly sleepy, which Gane interpreted as a lack of "Cultivator’s Spirit."

  Obstacle 10: The Heart’s Execution

  The final death was the most dangerous. The array formed a spectral executioner—a figure made of starlight—that stood before the exit. To pass, the disciple had to stand still while the executioner swung a "Spirit-Slaying Blade" at their forehead. The blade wouldn't kill the body, but it would shatter the mind of anyone whose soul contained a "Great Deception."

  Lin reached the figure. The executioner raised its blade.

  Behind the scenes, Gane leaned forward. This was it. If Lin Qingyu was a spy or a hidden master, the blade would reveal a flash of his true power as his soul instinctively defended itself.

  Lin saw the blade descending. Deep within his Soul Ocean, his vast Divine Sense began to stir—the part of him that knew about the ancient immortal soul, the part that understood the Spirit Severing bridge.

  Sleep, Lin commanded his soul.

  He didn't defend. He didn't tense. He let his mind become like a pool of muddy water—cloudy, shallow, and still.

  The blade struck.

  A flash of light filled the valley. Lin felt a sharp, cold sting in the center of his brow. For a split second, the array touched the "Forbidden Knowledge" hidden in the depths of his mind. It saw a glimpse of a shadowed figure, an ancient evil, and a map of a 500-chapter fate.

  But the information was too complex for the Outer Peak array to process. It was like trying to download a library through a straw. The array glitched. The image of the Final Villain was distorted into a blurry, unrecognizable smudge of darkness.

  Lin staggered back, clutching his head. He let out a genuine groan of pain—the mental strain of suppressing his own soul was real.

  "I... I think I saw... a big shadow," Lin wheezed, his voice trembling. "It looked like... a very large, very angry potato."

  The light faded. The "Obstacle Course of Ten Deaths" vanished, leaving thirty-two exhausted disciples shivering on the grass.

  Drill Instructor Gane walked over to Lin Qingyu. He looked at the youth’s forehead, where a small, red mark—the "Seal of the Average"—had been burned by the executioner’s blade.

  "A big shadow," Gane repeated, his voice skeptical. "The Heart’s Execution reveals the core of one's worries. Most see their death. You saw... a potato?"

  "It was a very dark potato, sir," Lin said, looking appropriately traumatized. "I think I might be hungry. Or perhaps I have a deep-seated fear of root vegetables."

  Gane stared at him for a long, uncomfortable minute. He looked at the monitor-stone. The reading for Lin Qingyu was a mess of "Low Resonance" and "Inconsistent Depth." It was the reading of someone whose soul was simply too disorganized to be impressive.

  "Get out of my sight, Disciple Lin," Gane growled, turning away. "You passed. Rank 88. You’re lucky the array doesn't test for 'Uselessness,' or you’d be the first to fall."

  Lin walked away, his steps shaky. He found a quiet spot behind a pile of crates and sat down, his heart finally beginning to slow.

  That was too close, he thought. The array actually touched the memory of the Villain.

  "You're shaking."

  Xue Lianhua was there, her hand resting on her sword. She had watched the final trial from the sidelines. She had seen the way the spectral executioner had hesitated for a fraction of a second when it struck Lin.

  "Soul trials are... draining," Lin said, giving her a weak smile.

  "Gane thinks you're a fool," Xue said, her voice low. "But the array didn't give a clear reading on you. It flickered. I’ve never seen the Heart’s Execution flicker before."

  "Maybe it needs more Spirit Stones," Lin joked.

  Xue didn't laugh. She leaned in, her cold aura providing a strange sort of comfort. "Whatever you saw in there... the 'Shadow'... keep it buried, Lin Qingyu. The sect is looking for heroes to lead the charge against the 'Silent Rot.' If they think you have a 'Prophetic Soul,' they will tear you apart to see how it works."

  "I have a 'Potato Soul,' Senior Sister," Lin reminded her. "Very common. Very boring."

  [Emotional Stability System]

  World Event: The Ten Deaths Trial - Concluded.

  User Rank: 88th (Perfectly Mediocre).

  Detection Status: Information regarding the Final Villain remains 'Encrypted' and 'Blurred' to external observers.

  System Note: You successfully survived a Soul Probe by pretending to have the intellectual depth of a vegetable. I'm both impressed and concerned.

  Mental Stability: 82% (Significant strain).

  Reward: Internal Soul-Lock (Passive).

  Effect: Your Divine Sense is now naturally harder to probe by anyone below the Soul Transformation realm.

  As the sun set over the militarized camp, Lin Qingyu watched the disciples being sorted. Shen Yuanxing was being surrounded by instructors, his Rank 1 finish making him the focal point of the new "Iron Law" strategy.

  Lin, unnoticed by the crowds, began to walk toward the medicinal tents. He knew Mu Ruxin would be waiting with tea.

  He had survived the second major hurdle. The "Chapter 20" raid was over, and the "Militarized Trials" had failed to expose him. He was still just a Level 4 disciple with a shaky foundation and a fear of dark potatoes.

  The path to Chapter 500 was still long, and the "Silent Rot" was growing. But as Lin felt the newly acquired 'Soul-Lock' stabilizing his mind, he felt a flicker of genuine satisfaction.

  "One day at a time," he whispered. "And maybe... a few more jars of honey."