Sol walked up the narrow staircase, unsure of what to expect at the other end. However, he was not flustered; instead, he was excited. Never had he been so sure of anything in his life before, leaving him with an unquenchable thirst that reflected in his quickened strides.
At the other side, there was no door, so Sol directly walked into what looked like a thick forest in the middle of nowhere, at the dead of night. He quickly looked over his shoulder and noticed that the door he had passed through was gone.
"Oooh? The second trial has begun already?" Sol giggled like a child who had just been invited to play his favorite game.
While the first trial had been hell, it had fundamentally changed him. Even without being told, Sol knew he was not the same man as before. Before the trial, he was just a boy hiding his pain through mischief. But now he felt like he had outgrown that stage of life. With such outstanding growth, how could he not be eager to learn the secrets of the next trial?
Krash!
Sol felt as if a sledgehammer had been mercilessly rammed into his skull. With the pain came a flash of a thousand images, carrying twenty-seven years of memory.
"Aah."
Staggering back and forth, he rubbed his temple with a deep frown. Only now did he notice the bloodied sword in his hand and the corpses lying beneath his feet in a pool of their blood.
"COMMANDER!"
Several voices screamed in unison from behind, the sound of steel plates clashing echoing through the air. Sol didn't bother to check, because he already knew who they were. According to his memories, he was in the body of Wang Yan, a commander of five thousand men within a staggering fifty-thousand-strong Jin Dynasty army, under the command of Emperor Tai Zhao himself.
According to his memories, the Jin Empire was militaristic, hellbent on conquering all of the central plains. Wang Yan was a brutal man who showed no mercy to kingdoms and even small villages that refused to submit. In one of his memories, an entire village was set ablaze after their small three-hundred-man army was defeated, killing every single soul.
His brutality led to rumors that the emperor was possessed. Nevertheless, this did not weaken his military power; it strengthened it. He became nicknamed the Demon Emperor, capable of boosting the morale of an army with a simple sneeze. He was a figure who had abandoned the mandate of heaven and forced fate to favor him through will and brutality, earning the respect of everyone under him.
However, his horrific acts also earned him the nickname the Demon Emperor. So it was not surprising that the greatest opposition to Emperor Tai Zhao's plan of conquering all of China would come from the warrior monks of the central plains. Amusingly, in this world, these monks had supernatural abilities, which they used to compensate for their small numbers. For the first time since his campaign began, Emperor Tai Zhao faced real opposition—and that was why he took the field with his elite troops.
Marching his army for thousands of miles, Emperor Tai Zhao had easily destroyed several temples. His army seemed unstoppable, and everyone believed the warrior monks of the central plains were about to be wiped out—but that ended when they finally reached Mount Hua, home to the famous Shaolin Abbot of the temple, Shi Ming.
The greatest monk on the central plains.
Sol frowned as he looked toward Mount Hua in the distance, safely hidden within a golden bell made of pure energy. The golden light illuminated the dark night, dazzling magnificently, while inscriptions flowed across its body like water.
Genuinely, Sol was impressed by the dazzling sight.
'Is this something I can learn to do if I become a Buddhist, or is this fake and just used to further the plot?' Sol giggled inwardly at his thoughts.
Because of this technique, Emperor Tai Zhao's army could not climb the mountain. Furious, the emperor ordered the mountain to be surrounded in a bid to cut off food and water from the temple. What everyone thought would be over in weeks had stretched out to three months, and the monks were still holding strong, leaving everyone wondering how long these monks had been storing food and if they had already anticipated this war.
To make matters worse, warrior monk detachments constantly descended the mountain, harassing unsuspecting Jin troops and quickly escaping as reinforcements arrived. Using these tactics, they had slowly chipped away at a staggering three thousand soldiers in the past three months while losing barely fifty. It was clear that the Jin army was losing this war of attrition.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Jin Empire spies had caught wind of Monk Shi Ming's secret call for all monks across the central plains to unite and form a great holy army against Emperor Tai Zhao. Since then, several monks had tried to reach the mountain. Many succeeded, but most were not so lucky, like the dead monks lying at Sol's feet. However, the situation had changed with news of the formation of a five-thousand-strong warrior monk force coming in from the east.
The dead monks beneath Sol's feet had been tasked with delivering this message to Shi Ming—but they never made it past Wang Yan.
"All those memories, yet no direction on what I'm supposed to do?" Sol muttered under his breath, looking at the bodies beneath him.
What was he supposed to do in this world? Help them win the war?
Sol shook his head. Naturally, one could assume winning the war for their side was the goal of the trial, but he refused to believe the second trial would be so simple and straightforward. Looking over his shoulder, he could see a small detachment of about fifty soldiers on their knees, fists cupped. His eyes narrowed as he stared at them intently for several seconds, leaving them confused and nervous.
"Let's head back to camp. We are done here." He finally broke the silence.
"Understood!"
With his soldiers bringing all five corpses along, Sol couldn't help but immerse himself in Wang Yan's memories.
The Wang family in this world was a warrior family famed for producing several generals. Currently, Sol's five-thousand-man army was just a small detachment in his father's twenty-thousand-strong force, under a great general of the empire.
Members of this family began training as early as seven years old. This was why every member was immensely talented in combat.
Wang Yan was a skilled swordsman, one of the four great swordsmen of the central plains. However, he was also extremely skilled at archery and horseriding. He had begun making a name for himself on the front lines as early as fifteen.
With all his life experience and memories burned into Sol's mind, he finally understood why weak civilians who become Ascendants and pass the trial suddenly become highly skilled combatants or strategists. He understood why they were easily given high military positions and put in charge of a nation's army as soon as they became Ascendants.
The realization that he would carry Wang Yan's skills back to his world was so exhilarating that he could barely hide his excitement. If it weren't for the troublesome situation of the Jin army, his excitement would have gone through the roof.
The journey back was quiet, which was what Sol needed to accept the new reality of his life in this second trial. Adjusting to Wang Yan's identity wasn't easy, even though he carried the man's memories. Several minutes later, they returned to the tightly defended main camp on the northern side of Mount Hua, where Emperor Tai Zhao stayed.
Contrary to expectations, the camp appeared normal, with average-looking tents scattered everywhere. There were no grand tents or excessive security that would attract unwanted attention. Any outsider viewing this camp would doubt a general was stationed here, let alone the emperor.
Based on Sol's memories, Emperor Tai Zhao didn't achieve success as a mindless brute; he was also a cunning tactician. That was why he valued the Yao family as much as the Wang family. Unlike the Wangs, the Yaos were tacticians and strategists. They preferred manipulating the battlefield from the shadows rather than fighting on the front lines. They were a stark contrast to the Wang family.
Yao Gong, patriarch of the Yao family, commanded another twenty thousand troops, alongside his son Yao Gao, who was also a five-thousand-man commander like Wang Yan. The remaining ten thousand troops were personally commanded by Emperor Tai Zhao himself.
Sol headed directly for the main tent at the heart of the camp, where the usual daily meeting was being held. On his way, he enjoyed the bows and greetings from everyone who passed by. The look of admiration and respect in their eyes was completely different from what he was used to back on Earth, in 5580.
'Everywhere seems better than home,' Sol sighed inwardly.
Entering the tent, Sol was greeted by what he could consider the most intimidating sight he had ever seen. Seated on the sidelines were several minor commanders of three-thousand and one-thousand men, while at the center of the room was a huge circular table holding a map of Mount Hua and the surrounding terrain. Figurines represented both Jin Empire troops and warrior monks.
Standing around the table were four men. At the far end was a gallant figure over six foot five, dressed in golden robes embroidered with a dragon. His deep black hair had gray strands, hinting at the true age of a young-looking emperor who could easily be mistaken for thirty, even though he was in his mid-fifties.
To the right was his father, Great General Wang Chong. He was nothing short of a mountain, standing over seven feet tall. His helmet amplified the wild look in his eyes. His bushy mustache and monstrous physique gave him the visage of a barbarian. Compared to him, Sol noticed Wang Yan lacked raw strength but made up for it with speed and technique. However, in the face of absolute strength, all forms of technique and trickery were useless. That was why Emperor Tai Zhao kept this brute close, even when surrounded by talented individuals.
There was no strike force without Wang Chong.
Compared to him, strategist general Yao Gong was a slender figure like his son, with a small frame and graceful movements. Both Yao Gong and Yao Gao wore unnaturally long eyelashes, painted nails, and always used a hand fan to cover the lower half of their faces. Their temperament, choice of makeup, and hobbies made the men of the Yao family appear feminine.
While it was claimed that this strange lifestyle helped cultivate their terrifying minds, it was well known that the Yao family got along well with both men and women—a taboo at the time. However, even with their sexuality known across the empire and several people calling for their execution, their great minds were too valuable to discard.
Against everyone's advice, Emperor Tai Zhao kept the Yao family close. In no time, they had grown into a force capable of rivaling the ancient Wang family. Currently, the race to see who would claim the title of Grand Marshal between the two families was to be decided in this war. Sol knew how crucial this war was, which was why he had devised a plan for the Wang family to score the most contributions in the conflict on his way here.
Seeing Wang Yan appear, Emperor Tai Zhao's eyes lit up and he asked, "How did it go?"
Relying on Wang Yan's memories, Sol moved with grace, cupping his fists and falling to a knee with his face lowered.
"The messengers sent to inform Shi Ming of the warrior monk army closing in from the east have been cut off, as ordered," Sol responded calmly, though his eyes were distant.
The current situation of the war was unique. To prevent Shi Ming and his warrior monk rebels from escaping Mount Hua, they were forced to surround the mountain, cutting off their food supply. However, the presence of a third force entering the fray made the situation even more dire. Should the third force and Shi Ming's army launch a pincer attack on any of their armies, their formation could easily crumble, creating the opening needed to instantly turn the battle in their favor.
However, if the emperor moved his forces in anticipation of the third force, it would create a hole in their encirclement, which could be exploited. They could easily use the opportunity to break through and join the third force.
If nothing changed, this war could easily become a disaster for the Jin army.