Su Yang stepped forward once more. The golden steps beneath his feet shimmered, and the world around him blurred.
But this time… there was no sudden shift in landscape.
No roaring fires. No screaming wind. No warm illusion of peace.
Only silence.
And a mirror — floating in mid-air.
It was unlike any ordinary mirror. Its surface rippled like water, and Su Yang could sense a strange pressure pulsing from it.
This illusion... it's different from the others.
Suddenly, the mirror shimmered — and a figure stepped out of it.
It was himself.
But not as he was now.
This version of Su Yang had cold eyes, bloodstains on his clothes, and an arrogant sneer.
"You're not real," Su Yang said calmly, his voice low.
The reflection spoke in a chilling tone, "Aren't I? I am you, Su Yang — or rather, the you you'll become if you keep walking this path blindly."
The real Su Yang narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
The reflection smirked and stepped closer. "You say you want to protect people, but you revealed your Karma Fire Body recklessly. You say you're cautious, but you constantly help others without knowing who they truly are. You say you're kind — but in the end, everything you do strengthens your own path."
"You call it kindness. I call it calculation."
Su Yang remained silent. His reflection continued, circling him like a predator.
"You're becoming stronger every day. That's a fact. But tell me, Su Yang — how long before your strength begins to change you?"
"You already hold rare power — the Karma Fire Body, the Heavenly True Fire Art, a forming Ice Body, a unique system. Do you really believe people will simply let you live in peace? Do you truly think no one will come for you?"
The reflection paused, looking him dead in the eyes.
"One day, you'll be forced to choose between becoming a killer… or becoming a corpse."
The real Su Yang clenched his fist.
This illusion wasn't threatening his emotions or loyalty — it was challenging his morality.
What kind of person will I become?
Su Yang took a slow breath and stepped forward. "I know my path won't be easy. I know there will come a day when I have to kill — to survive, to protect, to fight."
"But I won't become a heartless monster."
The reflection laughed. "Said every cultivator before they slaughtered innocents in the name of justice."
"I don't need to justify myself to you," Su Yang said sharply. "Because you're just the worst version of me — the part that doubts, the part that's afraid of what might happen."
"I've made mistakes. I might make more. But I won't let fear decide my path."
The reflection's sneer began to fade.
Su Yang raised his hand, and flame sparked around it — Karma Fire.
"I know who I am. And no illusion will convince me otherwise."
He stepped through the mirror.
With that step, the reflection shattered into glass-like fragments, burning away in silver flame.
The world rippled — and Su Yang was back on the platform.
5 glowed beneath his feet.
---
Elsewhere…
Ice Serpent Valley Girl – Qian Ruxue
Qian Ruxue sat in a frozen garden — an illusion of her mother's death, of betrayal from her own clan. She stared at a younger version of herself, trembling in the snow.
"Your ice is cold because you are alone," the illusion whispered.
Tears froze on her cheeks, but her voice didn't shake.
"I may be alone… but I will never be broken."
---
In the Observation Pavilion
Sect Elders stood silently, watching the results from their scrying mirrors.
The Fifth Illusion was one of the most failed stages in the trial.
Introspection. Doubt. Self-worth. Morality.
One needed absolute conviction to pass it.
An elder from the Violet Mountain Sect shook his head. "More than half the candidates are failing at this stage."
Sun Xiyan's elder narrowed his eyes. "But not him."
He watched Su Yang's platform glow with a fifth symbol.
"Even worse — he's becoming more stable."
---
Su Yang's Thoughts…
Sitting cross-legged on the golden platform, Su Yang closed his eyes.
The words of his reflection echoed in his mind, but they no longer stung.
He wasn't a perfect person.
But he was decided.
And in this world of blood, power, and hidden blades… that mattered more than talent alone.
---