As Su Yang passed through the silver gate, the world shifted once more. The mist faded, the glowing runes on the floor dissolved, and warmth washed over his body. This time, it wasn't pain or sorrow that greeted him.
It was perfection.
He stood at the summit of a radiant golden palace — a vast immortal sect, stretching as far as the eye could see. Celestial energy danced in the air like ribbons of starlight, and spirit beasts soared above white jade towers. Around him were cultivators in luxurious robes, bowing respectfully.
"Lord Su Yang," they said in unison.
Su Yang blinked. "What...?"
Then he looked down at himself.
His robe shimmered with divine patterns. On his back, a flaming emblem — the symbol of Karma Fire. His body pulsed with power — Blood Tempering (Peak)... Meridian Foundation Realm... no, higher — it felt limitless.
This world, this illusion, was showing him the peak of cultivation. The future he could one day reach — or be tempted to claim too early.
"My lord," a gentle voice whispered.
He turned. Lu Ying approached in a glowing white gown, her ice powers harmonizing perfectly with the fire surrounding him. She smiled softly, holding his hand.
"I knew you'd rise above all others."
Before he could speak, Max leapt into his arms — now three times his usual size, covered in golden fur with purple streaks and wings on his back. "Woof!" Max barked proudly.
More people arrived.
Jin Hao, standing respectfully behind him.
The Ice Serpent Valley girl, her expression filled with admiration.
Elders of the great sects came to kneel before him. One even whispered, "Even the Emperor must yield to Lord Su Yang's will…"
He knew it was fake — but it felt good.
Too good.
Su Yang closed his eyes, trying to calm the storm inside. His heartbeat was steady, but a part of him — that small, hidden part — wanted this.
All of it.
Power. Fame. Followers. Love.
Everything he never had in his first life… Everything he'd begun to gain in this one.
"I deserve this," he heard a whisper inside his mind. "Why struggle? Just take it. Stay. Rule."
But then the illusion flickered.
For just a moment — just a flash — he saw chains.
Chains of golden light, coiling around his arms and legs, invisible to all but him.
"This is a trap," he whispered.
The illusion wavered.
He looked down at Max — the real Max wouldn't be this big, or this quiet. His Max would be jumping around, trying to steal meat from the table. And Lu Ying — she wouldn't be here like this. She was far away, training to stabilize her body. The real her had struggled, cried, bled.
This... was too perfect.
"No real journey is this easy," Su Yang muttered. "This is not the world I want."
He stepped back from Lu Ying's illusion, letting go of her hand. Her smile turned eerie — unnatural. Her skin cracked like porcelain. The palace behind her began to tremble.
"I want to build my path with my own hands. I don't need false worship. I don't need illusions of love. I need truth — even if it's hard."
Golden flames erupted from his body — his Karma Fire Body responded to his clarity. The flames roared upward, burning through the illusion.
"False heaven — BE GONE!"
With that shout, everything shattered.
The palace exploded into fragments of light. The cultivators, the wealth, the status — all burned to nothing under the force of Su Yang's inner will.
He stood alone in a black void as the illusion broke.
And then... silence.
Until the mist returned.
He now stood on another golden platform — the number "2" glowing beneath his feet.
Su Yang fell to one knee, panting slightly. Sweat lined his brow — not from physical exhaustion, but mental strain.
"That illusion... was more dangerous than the first," he whispered. "Not because of pain... but because of comfort."
The silver gate to the third illusion pulsed faintly in the distance.
Behind him, in other layers of the illusion world, other disciples were trapped — crying in false luxury, begging not to leave their perfect fantasy.
But Su Yang?
He stood tall once more.
"Let's move forward," he said.
And he stepped toward the next trial.
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