The third day of the evaluation began with silence.
Not the calm kind. The tense kind that pressed against the chest and made breathing feel deliberate.
Li Fan stood at the edge of the inner training field, hands behind his back, eyes half-lidded. Around him, fewer disciples remained. At least a third had already been eliminated. Some left angrily. Others left quietly. A few were carried away after pushing themselves too far.
Chen Yu stepped beside him.
"Senior," he said, voice low, "today feels different."
Li Fan nodded. "Because today removes luck."
Chen Yu swallowed. "What remains then?"
"Decision-making," Li Fan replied. "And consequences."
---
The elders arrived one by one.
This time, there were more of them.
That alone told Li Fan everything he needed to know.
The lead elder stepped forward. His aura pressed down slightly, enough to make weaker disciples stiffen.
"Outer disciple evaluation," the elder said, "Day Three. This stage will determine who advances immediately and who is delayed."
A murmur rippled through the field.
Delayed advancement meant stagnation. It meant being forgotten.
"Today," the elder continued, "you will enter the Boundary Trial."
That word hit hard.
Chen Yu's expression tightened. "Senior… that trial hasn't been used in years."
"Yes," Li Fan said. "Because it exposes the core."
---
The formation ahead was massive. Stone pillars etched with ancient symbols surrounded a sunken arena. Qi fluctuated unevenly, like breathing.
Li Fan observed quietly.
Han Bo stood several paces away, jaw tight, eyes fixed forward.
Zhao Min fidgeted.
The girl stood still, hands clasped, gaze occasionally flicking toward Li Fan before she caught herself.
Li Fan noticed. He did not acknowledge it.
---
"The Boundary Trial," the elder said, "will place you under layered pressure. Mental, physical, and spiritual."
He paused.
"You may form temporary alliances. You may betray them. You may act alone."
Another pause.
"There will be no interference."
That was the real warning.
---
As the disciples were led inside, the pressure intensified immediately.
The air grew heavier. Sound dulled. Even footsteps felt slower.
Chen Yu exhaled carefully. "Senior, my qi feels… sluggish."
"That is intentional," Li Fan replied. "It punishes inefficiency."
They entered the arena.
The ground shifted beneath them.
The moment the formation activated, everything changed.
---
Li Fan felt it instantly.
The Boundary Trial did not attack directly.
It waited.
A voice echoed, not aloud but inside the mind.
Advance.
Several disciples rushed forward instinctively.
Li Fan stayed still.
The ground beneath those who rushed cracked.
Two were swallowed instantly, eliminated without a sound.
Zhao Min froze in terror.
Han Bo cursed. "Cowards die first!"
He took a step forward.
Li Fan spoke calmly. "Stop."
Han Bo hesitated.
The pressure increased.
"Why should I listen to you?" Han Bo snapped.
Li Fan met his gaze. "Because you hesitate every time you are uncertain. And uncertainty means death here."
Han Bo clenched his fists.
The girl shifted closer to Li Fan.
"I won't move," she said quietly. "Tell me when."
Li Fan nodded once.
---
The terrain reformed.
Stone paths emerged slowly, uneven and narrow.
Li Fan studied the spacing, the angles, the qi density.
"This is not a maze," he said. "It's a filter."
Chen Yu frowned. "Filter for what?"
"Impulse," Li Fan replied.
---
A disciple ahead tried to leap between paths.
The formation reacted instantly.
Pressure crushed down. His qi collapsed. He was expelled violently.
No scream.
Just absence.
Zhao Min whispered, "I can't… I can't think straight."
Li Fan turned to him. "Then don't think broadly. Think narrowly. One step. One breath."
Zhao Min nodded rapidly. "Yes. Yes."
---
Han Bo scoffed. "You're babysitting weaklings again."
Li Fan looked at him. "And you are still compensating for insecurity."
Han Bo bristled. "Say that again."
"You rush because you fear being overlooked," Li Fan continued evenly. "You lead loudly because silence terrifies you."
The words hit.
Han Bo's jaw tightened.
"Shut up," he growled.
Li Fan said nothing more.
He didn't need to.
---
They advanced slowly.
Li Fan went first, but not obviously. His steps were light, deliberate, almost hesitant to an untrained eye.
Each step tested pressure.
Each pause gathered information.
Chen Yu mirrored him almost perfectly.
Zhao Min followed, clumsy but stable.
The girl followed Li Fan precisely, matching his rhythm.
Han Bo lagged slightly behind.
The formation noticed.
The pressure shifted subtly toward him.
Han Bo felt it and pushed forward harder.
"Idiot," Chen Yu muttered.
Li Fan did not correct him.
---
The first mental trial activated.
Illusions bloomed.
Not beasts.
People.
Familiar faces.
A disciple screamed as he lashed out at something only he could see.
Zhao Min froze completely.
The girl's breath caught.
Li Fan spoke immediately. "Do not engage. These are not enemies. They are reflections."
The girl closed her eyes. "I hear voices."
"Then listen without responding," Li Fan said. "They cannot harm you unless you accept them."
She nodded, jaw tight.
Han Bo laughed harshly. "This is nothing!"
He struck at an illusion.
The backlash hit him like a hammer.
Han Bo staggered, coughing blood.
The formation surged.
Zhao Min cried out.
Li Fan reacted instantly.
"Chen Yu, ground Zhao Min's qi. Now."
Chen Yu moved without hesitation.
Li Fan turned to Han Bo. "You triggered a resonance."
Han Bo glared up at him. "Help me!"
Li Fan's eyes were cold. "Why?"
The question hung.
The formation waited.
Han Bo swallowed. "Because… because we're allies."
Li Fan tilted his head. "Temporary alliances require value."
Han Bo clenched his teeth. "I won't slow you down."
Li Fan studied him for a moment.
Then he extended a hand.
"Control your breathing," Li Fan said. "Follow my timing exactly."
Han Bo hesitated, then obeyed.
The pressure eased slightly.
The formation stabilized.
The elder observers exchanged glances outside.
---
As they advanced deeper, the trial escalated.
The paths narrowed further.
The illusions grew more intimate.
Zhao Min suddenly stopped. "I can't move."
Li Fan turned. "What do you see?"
"Myself," Zhao Min whispered. "Failing. Again and again."
Li Fan approached slowly. "Then you are finally seeing reality."
Zhao Min's eyes widened. "What?"
"Failure is familiar to you," Li Fan continued calmly. "That is why it paralyzes you. Accept it. Then move anyway."
Zhao Min trembled. "I don't know how."
Li Fan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Step forward while afraid."
Zhao Min took one shaking step.
The illusion cracked.
Zhao Min gasped.
"I did it," he whispered.
"Yes," Li Fan said. "Remember that."
---
The girl watched the exchange closely.
Later, when the pressure shifted toward her, she stiffened.
"I feel like I'm disappearing," she said quietly.
Li Fan looked at her. "That is the formation testing your sense of self."
"I don't like it," she admitted.
"You don't need to like it," Li Fan replied. "You need to anchor yourself."
"How?" she asked.
Li Fan met her gaze. "By choosing who you are following."
Her breath steadied.
"I choose you," she said.
Li Fan did not respond verbally.
The formation reacted.
Pressure redistributed.
Her path stabilized.
Chen Yu noticed and said nothing.
---
Han Bo watched the interaction, something dark brewing behind his eyes.
Later, when Li Fan paused to observe the terrain, Han Bo stepped forward on his own.
"I don't need your instructions," Han Bo said loudly.
Li Fan turned slightly. "Then accept the outcome."
Han Bo stepped onto an unstable path.
The formation reacted violently.
The ground cracked.
Han Bo screamed as pressure crushed down.
He clawed at the stone, trying to retreat.
No one moved.
Li Fan watched calmly.
"Help me!" Han Bo shouted.
Li Fan said quietly, "You stepped out of alignment."
The formation expelled Han Bo brutally.
His body slammed onto the outer field, unconscious.
Eliminated.
The elders said nothing.
The trial continued.
---
Zhao Min exhaled shakily. "He's… gone."
"Yes," Li Fan said. "And the formation is calmer now."
Chen Yu nodded slowly. "It removed instability."
Li Fan agreed.
---
The final layer activated.
A massive pressure descended.
Only a few disciples remained across the entire arena.
Li Fan's qi surged briefly, stabilizing at the edge of Level Three.
Not突破.
Not yet.
But close.
The formation tested endurance now.
Minutes stretched.
Zhao Min collapsed, but not eliminated. Just unconscious.
Chen Yu knelt, breathing hard.
The girl swayed.
Li Fan stepped closer to her. "Focus."
"I'm trying," she whispered.
"Don't try," Li Fan said. "Decide."
She straightened.
"I will stay."
The pressure receded slightly.
The formation recognized her resolve.
---
Finally, a bell rang.
The Boundary Trial deactivated.
Those still standing remained.
Li Fan stood upright, expression unchanged.
Chen Yu was beside him.
The girl stood a step behind, steady but drained.
Outside, elders recorded names.
The lead elder looked directly at Li Fan.
"Li Fan," he said, "you advanced others while suppressing yourself."
Li Fan replied calmly. "Stability required it."
The elder studied him for a long moment.
"Noted," he said.
---
As they exited the field, the girl walked beside Li Fan again.
"I wouldn't have survived without you," she said quietly.
Li Fan responded, "You survived because you chose correctly."
She looked at him, something unspoken forming.
Li Fan kept walking.
Behind them, the evaluation shifted toward its final phase.
Promotion was close.
Control was established.
And Li Fan had already decided who would rise with him.
(Chapter Ended)