Chapter Ninety-Two: Trials Upon Trials

Li Zhan, who was nearest to Li Hao, asked, "Young master, have you awakened?"

"…"

Li Hao paid him no mind. Lin Xueyou explained, "Brother Li Hao has not awakened. He may have gone through another trial. Everyone, please do not disturb him for now."

"So that is how it is!" Li Zhan said.

After hearing Lin Xueyou's explanation, everyone kept their distance from Li Hao.

At this moment, Li Hao's body was in an unconscious state. Each step his fleshly body took, his soul would undergo a trial within an illusion.

After witnessing the battle between that swordsman and spearman, Li Hao had walked sixteen hundred meters under the crushing pressure upon his soul when he felt he could go no farther. A voice in his soul warned him: "Li Hao, hold on no longer. Stop here. Going forward will only be harder and more exhausting, and you may gain nothing at all. The road ahead is far longer than you can imagine. As long as you stop, all suffering will end. You will no longer have to endure this torment."

Li Hao truly felt exhausted. Everything ahead was unknown. Yet another voice told him: "Li Hao, you cannot stop. If you do, you will be left with nothing. You will lose all trace of your grandfather, and seeing your parents will remain forever beyond reach. If you stop, what will you do when Lu Yao, Lin Xueyou, Lu Xuemei, Xiao Lan, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, Qin Zhen, Zhen Ba, Lu Zhengtian, Lin Huashu, your Grandpa Hundred Herbs Lu Yishan, Lu Feng, and Qin Ya—the people who care about you—are in danger? I tell you, all you can do is watch them suffer. Nothing else. You may give up and admit your cowardice. You may also stop and admit your uselessness."

Hearing these voices, Li Hao roared from the depths of his soul, "No! As long as I am alive, I will not give up. I cannot give up. If I truly can do nothing, then I am no different from the dead. If I cannot walk, then I will crawl. Even if I have to crawl, I will crawl my way out."

He very much wanted to give up, but his deep yearning for strength, his longing for his loved ones, and his awareness of the unknown dangers ahead all told him he must not yield. As long as he held on, he would succeed.

When Li Hao had staggered onward for eighteen hundred meters, he had completely run out of strength to take another step. In the end, he could only crawl, and when he finally reached two thousand meters, the crushing force on his body vanished without a trace. Then the scene before him changed.

Two roads appeared before Li Hao. One was lined with countless treasures, with many people scrambling over one another to seize them. The other led to a village under assault by endless ferocious beasts, where corpses lay strewn everywhere and the air was filled with cries of despair, fear, and agony.

Li Hao saw this and decisively abandoned the road of gold and jewels, turning back to the village to save its people. The instant he returned to aid them, the two scenes vanished.

Then another scene appeared. He was traveling through a spatial storm together with Lu Yao, Lu Xuemei, Lin Xueyou, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, Qin Zhen, and Zhen Ba. Ahead, a great battle was raging, and within it he seemed to see his grandfather in grave peril. Yet with his companions at his side, he could not move quickly; if he stayed with them, his grandfather would remain in danger. If he abandoned his companions, he could save his grandfather, but he would also leave the party he had brought with him to the hazards of the spatial storm.

It was a cruel dilemma: save his grandfather, or protect his friends. Though he was deeply worried for his grandfather's safety and terribly anxious, Li Hao ultimately released ten clones to rescue his grandfather from peril, while still refusing to forsake the safety of the friends beside him.

As soon as Li Hao made his choice, the scene vanished again, replaced by another. Before him lay the apocalypse and a colossal sword of unimaginable power, a blade capable of shattering stars and extinguishing worlds. If he wished to save the common people and his kin from misery, he had to obtain the sword. Yet to claim it, he had to sacrifice the one dearest to him as an offering.

Faced with this cruel choice, Li Hao decided to make himself the sacrifice for the sword before him. He murmured, "May time remain as it was, though I grow gaunt with sorrow, my face stained by tears, my heart torn by parting. Let tears fall, yet let my heart remain true. Though my loved ones live, my life can no longer repay them. Take care. Farewell..."

The meaning of his murmured soul words was this: if only time could remain unchanged; by now my heart is utterly worn, and I leave my family unwillingly, while tears have wounded my heart. Though I weep in sorrow, my love for you remains ever the same. Even if you are safe and sound, this life of mine can no longer repay the kindness you have shown me. May you all be well. From now on, I can no longer stand guard at your side.

Lin Xueyou, Lu Yao, Zhen Ba, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen all saw Li Hao's strange behavior and heard his baffling words.

Lu Yao asked, "Sister Xueyou, what is wrong with Brother Li Hao? What does he mean by that?"

Her question was also the answer the other four wanted to know.

Lin Xueyou replied, "I do not know exactly what is happening to Brother Li Hao. He may well be trapped in an illusion. What he says sounds tragic, as though he has been forced to make some terrible choice. Everything we have experienced may well be this strange sword testing whether it has found its master. Perhaps ever since Brother Li Hao broke the seal at the cave entrance, our trials began. Only the one who ultimately passes through all these ordeals can earn the giant sword's recognition."

Zhen Ba said, "I think Sister Xueyou is right. Back when my mother followed my father's instructions and passed down the Crescent Moon Yin-Yang Saber to me, I also went through many trials. I barely passed in the end before I could summon the Crescent Moon Yin-Yang Saber."

Kui Hu added, "Yes. The more powerful the treasure, the harsher the trial."

None of them knew what trials Li Hao was undergoing, so they could only silently watch as he stepped toward the giant sword before him.

After speaking, Li Hao quickly gathered the laws of heaven and earth with both hands, controlling the colossal sword before him. In his heart, he thought that if the giant sword were to pierce his brow in one blow, everything would be over.

When they saw Li Hao gathering the laws of heaven and earth and directing them toward the giant sword, which was five or six times larger than he was, everyone grew extremely tense. Then, as Li Hao felt himself be pierced through the brow by the sword within that half-real, half-false illusion, Lin Xueyou and the others were overjoyed.

In their eyes, Li Hao had successfully taken the giant sword into his sea of consciousness. Yet Li Hao still had not awakened and remained utterly unaware of the movements of those around him. To everyone else, having obtained such a treasure should have made him happy. But Li Hao's reaction was bizarre; after putting away the sword, he simply stood there in a daze, motionless.

Lu Yao said excitedly, "Look! Those words are gone."

Zhen Ba exclaimed in wonder, "Eh? Those words seem to have flown into the young master's brow."

Only after hearing Lu Yao and Zhen Ba did everyone turn their attention to the dense lines of text that Lin Xueyou had previously read. Sure enough, just as Zhen Ba said, every word beside the giant sword had vanished into Li Hao's brow.

After Li Hao had stabbed himself to death with the sword, he felt no pain and believed he had already died. Yet he also felt as though he had not died, and the contradiction left him bewildered and at a loss.

Just then, a beautiful girl of seventeen or eighteen appeared before him, with arched brows and phoenix eyes, dressed in red. Li Hao studied the red-clad beauty curiously, and she studied him in return.

This beautiful girl, who had suddenly appeared, wore a low-necked robe of gauzy red, as though enveloped in a veil of blood, giving her an eerie air. She seemed about eighteen or nineteen years old. Aside from skin as white as snow, her entire body was red, and her features were exquisitely lovely. Her beauty was in no way inferior to that of Lin Xueyou or Lu Xuemei.

The red-clad girl looked into Li Hao's clear, water-like eyes, as if he could see straight through another's heart. Li Hao gazed at her exquisitely beautiful phoenix eyes, blinking as they fixed on him, and he too felt utterly baffled. He was just about to ask, "Miss, where have you come from?"

But before he could speak, he was stunned by what unfolded before him. The girl, beautiful beyond the dust and smoke of the world, knelt on one knee before him and said, "Youshe Blood pays respects to my master!"

Li Hao stared blankly at the sight and at the girl's words. He had no intention of speaking to the beauty kneeling before him and only muttered to himself, "I clearly already died. How can I be here?"

The kneeling girl, who called herself Youshe Blood, heard his murmuring and explained, "My lord has misunderstood. That was a trial; my lord did not die."

Li Hao was still perplexed by this explanation and asked, "If I did not die, then where am I now?"

Youshe Blood answered, "My lord's soul is within your own sea of consciousness!"

Li Hao repeated in astonishment, "Within my own sea of consciousness?"

As his words faded, a familiar voice suddenly came to him: "Yes, young master. You are indeed in soul form, within your own sea of consciousness."

Li Hao cried out excitedly, "Little Ninth Brother!"

It was indeed Little Ninth's voice. As soon as he spoke, he took human form and appeared before Li Hao.

Li Hao said with great excitement, "I really did not die. I am truly still alive!"

Seeing the beauty kneeling before Li Hao, Little Ninth noticed that Li Hao had no intention of helping her rise and quickly reminded him, "Young master, have you forgotten something?"

Li Hao asked in confusion, "Forgotten what?"

Little Ninth glanced at Youshe Blood, who was still kneeling before Li Hao. Only then did Li Hao realize that the beautiful girl who had suddenly called him master was still kneeling there. He hurried to help her up, but the moment his hand was about to touch her body, it was as though he had touched blazing fire, and he snatched it back at once.

From the side, Little Ninth watched his young master, who in spite of his age could be called a slayer of beauties, yet at this crucial moment was so shy. He was inwardly anxious for Li Hao, wondering when his master's pristine state would finally be set aside. He laughed as he watched, his gaze toward Li Hao full of teasing amusement. Li Hao was already embarrassed, and when he realized Little Ninth was mocking him, he flew into shame and anger and kicked Little Ninth four or five zhang away. Yet after being sent flying, Little Ninth showed no sign of being hurt and only laughed even harder.

Li Hao's face was flushed red. He had again forgotten to tell the beautiful girl kneeling before him to rise. Though Li Hao was very likable, Youshe Blood continued kneeling there, her expression serene and indifferent, neither joyful nor sorrowful, as if nothing could disturb her cold composure. Since Li Hao had not told her to stand, she remained on her knees without moving.

After Little Ninth's interruption, Li Hao had many doubts in his heart and could only set them aside to seek answers later. He quickly said to Youshe Blood, "You may rise now!"

Youshe Blood answered respectfully, "Yes, my lord."