From the Stone Platform

There was no bell.

No burst of light.

But the instant Hao Nhien’s foot touched the stone, the chaotic fluctuations surrounding him suddenly seemed to move farther away.

It felt as though an invisible boundary had appeared between him and the land behind.

Hao Nhien turned.

The scene changed immediately.

The overlapping currents of sand, water, wind, and spiritual force were now separated into distinct regions.

The distance also became clearer.

Areas that had previously been hidden from him were suddenly visible.

And within those areas, Hao Nhien saw people.

Not one.

Several.

A tall, broad-shouldered man was moving through violent wind currents.

Farther away, a female cultivator in pale blue robes stood before a stretch of water where the terrain changed continuously.

In another region, Hao Nhien saw Lang Tuyet.

He was slightly surprised.

Before reaching the platform, he had been unable to detect any aura other than his own.

Only now did he realize others were also moving through their own trial regions.

The terrain in each area differed.

But every region contained some combination of wind, water, stone, and constantly changing spiritual currents.

Hao Nhien tried calling to Lang Tuyet.

His voice dispersed the instant it left his mouth.

It never reached her.

He extended spiritual sense toward her region.

That also failed to cross the invisible barrier separating the different spaces.

From here, it seemed he could only watch.

Hao Nhien looked toward the people still moving below.

The tall man caught his attention first.

His physical strength was considerable.

When powerful wind pressed against him, he only shifted one shoulder and continued forward.

Small stones blocking the road were knocked aside.

Shallow water barely slowed him.

At first, his progress was much faster than Hao Nhien’s had been.

But once he reached a region where several spiritual currents crossed, his advantage began to fade.

Every time he forced one current aside, another changed direction.

The opening he had created disappeared almost immediately.

Sometimes he advanced a long distance.

Then had to retreat again to avoid a new wave of pressure.

Hao Nhien watched.

The man was not simply relying on brute force.

Once he realized going straight no longer worked, he began changing direction and reducing the amount of power he used.

But his habit of using force to create a path still cost him time whenever the surrounding currents changed too quickly.

At one point, he struck aside a large stone blocking the way.

The shock from his attack caused the sand beneath it to collapse.

The man immediately retreated before the ground gave way.

He stood still for a long while.

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Then chose another route.

Hao Nhien nodded faintly.

There was nothing inherently wrong with the man’s way of using strength.

In simple terrain, it allowed him to progress extremely quickly.

Only when the environment became complicated did the advantage become less obvious.

In the neighboring region, the female cultivator in pale blue robes advanced in an entirely different manner.

She never hurried.

Whenever she entered a new position, she observed the wind, terrain, and the movement of nearby spiritual currents before stepping forward.

Sometimes she even threw a small stone ahead to test the reaction.

Her progress was stable.

She rarely needed to retreat.

However, she often spent a long time trying to determine a full route.

Whenever the currents changed unexpectedly, many of her earlier calculations had to be revised.

Hao Nhien watched her stand before a water channel for quite some time.

Eventually, she chose a path that appeared safe.

She had only taken several steps when wind from behind changed the direction of the water.

The woman stopped immediately.

She did not force her way onward.

She only observed again.

Then took out another small stone and used it to test the water.

This time, she did not attempt to determine the entire route.

She chose only the next short section.

She crossed it successfully.

Hao Nhien watched a little longer.

Then shifted his gaze toward Lang Tuyet.

She stood within a region of low rock.

Small channels of water crisscrossed the ground before her.

Wind from both sides continuously changed direction after striking the stone outcrops.

Lang Tuyet did not move immediately.

She took several small jade pieces from her storage ring.

Then placed them at different points ahead.

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.

He recognized them.

They were the kind of jade pieces commonly used to test spiritual fluctuations while appraising items.

Lang Tuyet watched their reactions.

When a current of spiritual force swept through, the nearest piece trembled slightly.

Another piece behind it barely reacted.

She immediately adjusted their positions.

After several tests, she chose a direction.

The method helped her identify regions with stronger fluctuations.

But as she moved deeper, the currents changed too quickly for the jade pieces to remain accurate.

One piece had barely touched the ground before a gust carried it away.

Lang Tuyet watched it disappear.

Even from a distance, she looked slightly helpless.

Hao Nhien could not help laughing.

Of course.

Even inside an unknown space, Lang Tuyet’s first reaction was still to inspect everything before making a decision.

But she was not stubborn.

After several unsuccessful attempts, she collected the remaining jade pieces.

She kept only one in her hand for places that were genuinely difficult to judge.

Then she began moving in shorter sections, adjusting according to what she observed in real time.

Sometimes she moved quickly.

Sometimes she stopped for a long while.

At one point, she stepped left.

The water ahead abruptly changed direction.

Lang Tuyet immediately withdrew her foot.

She waited for the new current to stabilize.

Then shifted toward a nearby rocky outcrop.

She did not force herself to continue along the route she had originally chosen.

Hao Nhien watched a little longer.

Her overall progress had increased noticeably.

Not because she was physically moving faster.

But because she no longer needed to return to earlier positions as often.

Hao Nhien looked over the different trial regions.

A clearer understanding gradually formed.

Everyone possessed different strengths and different experiences.

Some used power to create a road.

Some relied upon careful observation to avoid danger.

Others tried to test and predict changes before acting.

Each method had advantages.

But once the environment changed, not every advantage remained useful in the same way.

Hao Nhien looked down at his hand.

Earlier, when he had lost balance, his instinct had been to circulate True Qi according to habit.

His blocked meridians had prevented that.

Only when he was forced to adjust his body differently had a strand of True Qi unexpectedly entered a secondary meridian branch.

He did not know whether the phenomenon could be repeated.

But if it truly had something to do with the adaptive nature of the Body-Soul Fist Art, then the changes occurring inside his body might be far more complex than what he had observed at U Minh Mountain.

Hao Nhien memorized the sensation.

He did not attempt to cultivate on the stone platform.

Below, Lang Tuyet had just crossed a broad region of water.

She stood on a rock and looked toward the platform where Hao Nhien was standing.

But her gaze seemed to pass through empty space.

There was no sign she could see him.

Hao Nhien did not know whether she would be able to observe the others once she reached the platform.

Nor could he determine whether this place was a formation, a space created by some ancient artifact, or an old form of trial.

The only thing he knew for certain was that the currents within this place followed rules he still did not fully understand.

And his own passage through them had given him several things worth studying.

Some time later, the tall man finally found a way through the region of intersecting currents.

He no longer tried to force every obstacle aside.

Instead, he moved during moments when the pressure decreased.

When necessary, he still used strength to open a path.

The woman in pale blue also gradually escaped the area where the water continuously changed direction.

Lang Tuyet continued forward as well.

Her pace was not especially fast.

But it remained stable.

Hao Nhien watched from the stone platform.

Then strange fluctuations began appearing across the trial regions below.

At first, only a few extremely faint lines of light appeared along the boundaries between the different areas.

Then the surrounding spiritual currents gradually weakened.

The figures still moving below began to fade.

Hao Nhien frowned slightly.

He could not tell whether those people had completed their trials.

Before he could see the outcome clearly, a veil of light covered each region one after another.

At that moment, the stone platform beneath his feet trembled.

Hao Nhien immediately withdrew his attention.

He steadied himself.

The wind, water, sand, and spiritual currents that had filled the surroundings began disappearing from his perception.

The space before him gradually darkened.

Only a faint patch of light remained in the distance.

Hao Nhien extended spiritual sense.

This time, none of the currents he had experienced remained.

Instead, a familiar sensation suddenly appeared from deep within his soul.

Hao Nhien froze.

The feeling did not come from the wind.

Not from the water.

Not from any external current.

It seemed connected to a memory that had existed within him for a very long time.

He had not yet identified what it was when the darkness around him slowly closed in.

And within the faint light ahead, another scene began to emerge.