bookpower Chapter 271: The Trial
Chapter 271: The Trial
Chapter 271: The Trial
-----
The world around us shook; light engulfed us completely. I felt as if the ground below us was beginning to change, dragging us elsewhere; there was no ceiling and no walls. When we finally realized where we were, there was just an endless, azure ocean and the sky above.
We were somehow standing above the water, which seemed like a solid floor, yet it wasn’t. With just a little force, I was able to submerge my foot beneath the water, getting wet and all.
“W-What is this place?!” Zero One looked around. “W-We were just teleported here? But how!”
“Looks like it was the tower itself that did it,” said Fang Shuan. “I knew that the Venerable had done something special to that tower.”
“I don’t even know what to say...” Wai Tian looked around.
“It’s surprising... I feel a bit dizzy,” Ying Shen sighed.
“Keep calm,” I said, stepping forward. “We are on the first floor, I think?”
FLUOSH!
Suddenly, from the water, something emerged—a sphere of pure light floating above us.@@@@
It slowly took shape, surprising us, except from me; everyone stepped back in fear.
The light slowly took the form of the Heavenly Empress, a beautiful white crane.
But it was her much younger self, wearing a silver and gold-colored dress and a golden crown.
“Welcome, students. I am the administrator of this Tower,” she said. “I might look like your master; it is because she used a part of her soul to create me. You can call me the tower master if you want!”
“Wait, what?!” I gasped. “Master just made herself a mini master?”
“Haha, I guess that is fitting of her...” Wai Tian laughed. “And- Eek!”
She quickly fell asleep after the white crane girl glared at us angrily.
“Ahem! I know you might be confused right now, and that’s because you’re in the Waiting Area right now,” she said. “Each floor of the tower will have its own challenges and scenarios you must complete. Master, my creator, made them specifically based on her memories.”
“Scenarios based in her memories?” Zero One asked. “How strange... and interesting, and wonderful! What should we do there?”
“You will be assigned a mission for each floor,” the little tower master said. “The mission varies with each floor, and sometimes there might even be hidden missions, so pay attention to your surroundings.”
“I understand,” I nodded. “I think we are ready to go-”
“Not so hasty!” she said. “Before going, I must give you these.”
She materialized several golden-colored bracelets, giving one to each one of us; even my familiars received one, which perfectly adjusted to their limbs size and shape. Yes, even Violet’s large insect claws.
As I equipped the bracelet, I felt a strange zapping sensation, golden electricity coursing through my body and then slowly settling down; it was packed with power.
“W-What is this bracelet?” Wai Tian asked.
“They are called Restraint Bracelets,” the little tower master said. “They will apply a series of restrictions on your body and even your soul! You must work hard, fight, and solve the scenarios while being constantly restrained of your capabilities. Only like this will you improve rapidly.”
“W-What? Isn’t this a bit too much?!” Ying Shen said. “Can’t we take them off?”
“No, unless you want to leave,” said the girl. “So?”
“Hah... okay...” Ying Shen sighed.
At the end, it seemed that Master was more ruthless than I imagined. Forced to work hard below the bracelet’s restrictions, it sounds both fun and also painful, like something a masochist would enjoy.
And I definitely am not into that!
...
“Another thing before you depart. Every time you complete a floor, you will be given rewards, yes,” the tower master nodded. “And you’ll receive even more rewards based on how you complete each floor.”
“It sounds interesting... I had never gone through something like this before,” said Ying Shen.
“Naturally, only a mighty Venerable could ever craft such a special trial,” Fang Shuan nodded.
“I am a bit nervous... But let’s do this,” Zero One nodded.
“I’m ready,” Wai Tian nodded.
I looked at everyone; they seemed a bit surprised over the bracelets, but they still were full of energy to continue and move on despite the odds.
“Yeah, I’m ready too! Tower Master, please take us to the first floor then.”
“I was going to do it even if you didn’t want to!”
She quickly waved her hands. As the world around us quickly started to distort, the seas engulfed us completely, as it felt like we drowned to the depths of the sea.
Yet in an instant, the ocean was nowhere to be seen, and our bodies appeared in the middle of some place—it wasn’t a shore, but a grassland.
“Ugh, did she have to teleport us in this way?” I wondered, slowly standing up and analyzing my surroundings.
“Hahh... my head,” Ying Shen sighed. “Um, so where are we now?”
“Some sort of grassland?” asked Zero One.
“No, this place...”
Wai Tian kneeled, touching the grass and grabbing one of the flowers.
Then, her eyes widened as she ran somewhere.
“Huh? Wai Tian? Where are you going?”
BOOOM!
“And I shall never kneel against you, you false hero! Heavenly Empress!”
CRAAASH!
Yeah, there was no doubt about it right now.
It was the Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Empress.
This was perhaps one of their many battles; did Wai Tian realize this due to the location?!
But holy sh*t! Their fight is so intense that I feel like my whole body’s about to break.
Simulation or not, this feels way too real.
And the Heavenly Empress did say we could also die for real...
“It’s them!” said Zero One. “Should we go talk with them?”
“No! This is the past, Zero One!” Wai Tian said. “If we go there, we’ll die from the shockwaves of their clash alone. This is... I recognize this; it happened right before everything went to shit.”
“What? What time is this?” Fang Shuan asked.
“This is the last war they ever waged,” said Wai Tian. “The ultimate war between the Demonic and Orthodox Factions. When the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Demon Sect clashed for the last time!”
“Wait, there are more?” I wondered.
“Yes, they’re coming...” The tigress looked into the distance.
And with my Divine Eyes of Truth, I was also able to see them.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of immortals of all shapes and sizes, of all sorts of tribes. To differentiate one another, they wore different colored robes.
Those with the Heavenly Empress wore gold and silver clothes, while those that belonged to the Heavenly Demon Sect wore black and red clothes.
Explosions of elemental techniques, weapons clashing against each other, martial arts pushing their bodies to their limits. Although they weren’t as immensely destructive as their masters, these immortals were just as loud.
“We will never yield against you demons! Death to all Demonic Cultivators!”
CLASH!
“You disgusting peace-loving Orthodox bastards don’t belong in this world! Peace? As if!”
BAAM!
“We will achieve peace by killing all of you psychopaths! Maybe that way we’ll truly clean the world from your filth!”
CRASH!
“You’re one to say, there is barely any difference between our factions; you’re also deranged maniacs! You laugh while bathing in the blood of your enemies! Your hypocritical empress is delusional!”
BOOM!
“Don’t you dare insult our Heavenly Empress, you barbarians! With our Hope, she will prevail!”
RUMBLE!
We were in the middle of war between Immortals and the two Venerables, perhaps in the most dangerous war that this world has ever faced.
The true clash between “good” and “evil”, Orthodox against Demonic.
A classic tale told in most cultivation stories, at least the good ones.
The Demons seek true freedom and to do as they please, even if it means killing anything in their path.
And the Orthodox, who desire order and “peace” to control everything and everyone because they believe that only through complete order can a world achieve true peace.
Both sides aren’t exactly wrong, but they aren’t exactly right either.
They’re both flawed; every person, human or not, is flawed.
Not even I know how to even achieve true peace either...
It's just a fable at the end: conflicts will always prevail as long as people have freedom, and if you take that freedom away, the “peace” you achieve is nothing but artificial.
And ultimately, the system will collapse, and the people will crawl out of the walls of order, once more into the wilderness of freedom.
This is what this war is truly about: which of these selfish points of view will prevail, and which one will fall...
And the mission arrived just in time, made of golden letters, in front of us.
[You have discovered Floor 1’s Mission]: {Pick a Side, and Win!}
[Your group finds themselves in the middle of a war that will define the world as we know it. Yet is there all to it? Even if this is a fragment of the past, can you change it now?]
[Use your strength, intelligence, and cooperation and pick a side, and bring them to victory. Based on the number of adversaries you defeat; bonus rewards will be provided.]
[Time Limit: 24 Hours.]
Simple, yet to the point.
But...
Can we really pick a side in this situation?
-----