The Hall of Trials was cool, dry, and silent. A single spiritual lamp cast a poor glow, designed to maximize confusion. I stood before the trial: three towering stone tablets, each carved with the same impossibly complex formation script. Two were traps, one was pure.
I activated the Heaven-Piercing Demon Eye, pushing past the residual migraine. The world dissolved into energy.
The three tablets screamed for my attention.
Two were dark, heavy with corruption. The Elder had not lied; two were indeed flawed.
The script on the left pulsed with chaotic, uncontrolled energy. Veilbreaker Sight revealed the underlying truth: a tiny, almost invisible counter-loop in the seventeenth rune line. Activation would reverse the energy flow, shattering the user's meridians. A fatal lie.
The script on the right looked stable, even attractive. But the Insight of Ruin still functional showed a structural flaw in the stone tablet itself. The formation was pure, but the stone was cracked. Activation would cause the unstable stone to explode, crippling the user. A physical trap.
The script in the center glowed with a soft, steady, pure white light. The lines of energy flowed in an unbroken cycle. My Eye showed no chaos, no structural flaws, and no underlying deceit. It was the only truth in the room.
The Silent Path Pavilion was testing for discernment.
I walked toward the center tablet. I did not need to study it. The answer was absolute.
"I choose the center script," I stated clearly, my voice echoing slightly in the silent hall.
The Elder's voice came from the archway behind me, tinged with disbelief. "You barely glanced at the scripts, child. Are you so arrogant that you do not fear crippling yourself?"
"I am not arrogant, Elder," I replied, turning to face him. "I am simply certain. The purpose of this test is not to choose the most aesthetically pleasing path, but the only viable one."
The Elder, identified now as Elder Wei, stepped forward, his peak Meridian Foundation aura pressing down on me. "Prove your certainty, or face the consequences."
I activated the Veilbreaker Sight fully. I looked at the Elder and read his emotional truth: surprise, suspicion, and a sliver of genuine hope.
"The test has three flaws," I explained calmly. "The script on the left contains a catastrophic energy reversal loop in the seventeenth sequence. The script on the right is pure, but the base stone has a fatal weakness point in its structural integrity. It will explode upon activation. The center script is the only one that is both pure in its function and sound in its foundation."
Elder Wei's composure broke. His grey beard trembled. He knew I was correct, especially about the structural flaw, which should have been invisible.
"The structural flaw," he whispered, awe mixing with his suspicion. "How did you see that?"
"I see the truth of composition," I replied, maintaining my calm facade. "Everything is made of threads, Elder. I simply see when they are tied incorrectly or stretched too thin."
The Elder stared at my right eye the one that was red, different from my blue left, searching for the spiritual disturbance, but the Veilbreaker Sight was stable, contained by my new Lower Meridian Foundation Realm. He couldn't see my eye itself, only its chilling, absolute result.
"Incredible," he muttered. "The test is passed. Jian Longwei, you are admitted to the Silent Path Pavilion, Outer Court. You have the most discerning eye the Pavilion has seen in two centuries."
"Thank you Elder." I responded with a bow. I had a base. I had a path.
"Do not thank me yet," Elder Wei warned. "Your task is to advance to the Upper Stage of Meridian Foundation within six months, using only the resources provided to you. We do not tolerate stagnancy."
I accepted the challenge. Six months was an eternity. With the Heaven-Piercing Demon Eye guiding my every internal correction, I knew I could achieve that goal in a single month.
---
My initial days in the Silent Path Pavilion were focused entirely on the archives. I was given a basic wooden residence and access to the lower-level cultivation tomes.
I didn't need to spend weeks analyzing and comparing techniques. The Heaven-Piercing Demon Eye instantly scanned every scroll. I would open the Eye, look at a Meridian Foundation technique, and see its inherent flaws, the points where the authors had optimized the Qi flow imperfectly. I rejected those techniques immediately.
Within three days, I found the single most efficient, flawless cultivation method in the entire Outer Court Archive: The Pure Path Refining Scroll. It was an obscure technique, rarely used because it required impossible precision in Qi manipulation to activate.
But with the Eye, impossible precision was simply the truth of movement.
I began my true cultivation, refining my Meridian Foundation. By the morning of the seventh day after my arrival, my cultivation base had surged to the Middle Stage of Meridian Foundation.
I was practicing a complex circulation loop in the small training ground when I was interrupted.
"Jian Longwei," a cold, sharp voice sliced through the air.
I stopped the circulation and opened my eyes. Standing ten feet away was a young man radiating the power of Upper Meridian Foundation. He carried a sheathed sword wrapped in dark blue cloth.
This was no ordinary disciple. This was Wu Qinglan, the sect's most celebrated genius swordsman, rumored to be one step away from forming his Core.
I activated the Veilbreaker Sight to read him. His emotional truth pulsed: Intense focus, absolute self-confidence, and a sharp, simmering suspicion directed entirely at me.
"Wu Qinglan," I replied calmly. "Is there something I can help you with?"
His eyes narrowed. "You passed Elder Wei's test perfectly. You are moving through the techniques too fast. You have been here seven days, and your Qi accumulation is already in the Middle Stage. You are a fraud, or you are hiding a devastating secret."
"I am hiding nothing," I countered, the lie detection of the Eye noting the faint tremor of aggression in his statement. He wasn't entirely convinced of his own accusation.
"Your foundation is too fast to be stable," Wu Qinglan challenged. "I spent four years perfecting the Meridian Foundation. You spent one week. I suspect you are using a bloodline technique to cheat the process."
I knew he was wrong. My foundation was the most stable in the sect because I had removed all the structural flaws.
"Prove it," I told him. "Prove that my foundation is weak."
Wu Qinglan smirked, a dangerous, confident expression. "I don't need to. I only need to see the truth of your combat ability. I challenge you to a duel. No casualties, but full use of Meridian Foundation techniques. I will expose the flaw in your 'perfection'."
The challenge was exactly what I needed. A highly visible victory against the sect's genius would silence the suspicions and grant me unfettered access to higher-level resources.
I looked at him with the Heaven-Piercing Demon Eye. I saw his Qi flow, his powerful sword intent, and his formidable Upper Meridian Foundation cultivation.
But I also saw the flaws.
His sword technique the core of his power had a subtle, persistent meridian stagnation near his left shoulder whenever he drew his blade. It was a miniscule flaw, but with the Insight of Ruin, I knew exactly where and when to strike to disable his technique instantly and cleanly.
"I accept your duel, Wu Qinglan," I said, meeting his confident gaze with my quiet, unwavering certainty. "But be warned. When the truth is revealed, it may not be my flaw you see."