The voice faded.
Yet its presence lingered over the endless plain like an invisible mountain pressing against every living soul.
No one dared to breathe too loudly.
The elders of the Heavenly Order Sect, cultivators who had stood at the peak of their generation, now found their spiritual senses completely useless. Every technique they released dissolved into silence before reaching more than a few meters ahead.
It was as though the world itself had forbidden them from seeing beyond what it allowed.
The First Elder slowly raised his hand.
"No one advances."
His voice was steady, but the tension beneath it was impossible to hide.
"This place... isn't a battlefield."
"It has rules."
Zarek's gaze remained fixed ahead.
Rules...
The word carried more weight than ever before.
The System's ancient voice echoed softly.
"Every law creates order."
"Every order creates a boundary."
"Find the boundary..."
The voice disappeared before finishing.
Zarek frowned.
"You stopped."
Silence.
"...You're doing it again."
Still no answer.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So I have to finish the lesson myself."
The stone pillars surrounding the plain began moving.
Not quickly.
Not violently.
Each rotated by a fraction of an inch, producing a deep grinding sound that echoed across the empty landscape.
The symbols carved upon them emitted no light.
Yet every cultivator instinctively looked away.
Simply staring at them caused headaches to bloom behind their eyes.
One young disciple ignored the warning.
"What exactly are these—"
Before he could finish...
The symbol he stared at...
Changed.
No.
It had always been different.
Only now...
His mind noticed.
Blood streamed from both of his eyes.
He collapsed without a scream.
The healers rushed toward him.
His body remained alive.
His consciousness did not.
The First Elder's expression hardened.
"Everyone!"
"Lower your eyes!"
"This isn't something your minds can comprehend!"
The disciples immediately obeyed.
Only Zarek remained standing, his gaze calm.
He wasn't looking at the symbols.
He was watching...
Their shadows.
The shadows moved differently.
Each pillar cast its shadow toward the center of the plain.
Not according to the sun.
According to something else.
Zarek slowly followed the converging lines.
His footsteps were measured.
Neither hurried nor hesitant.
Every step stopped just short of where the shadows met.
The ancient voice returned.
"Why did you stop?"
"Because crossing blindly would be arrogance."
A brief silence.
Then...
"...Good."
It was the first time the System had openly approved one of his choices.
The air suddenly grew cold.
A ripple spread through the plain.
The shadows converged into a single point.
Then...
A figure emerged.
Not by appearing.
By becoming visible.
As though it had been standing there from the very beginning.
It wore a simple gray robe.
Its face was hidden beneath a weathered hood.
No spiritual pressure escaped its body.
No cultivation could be sensed.
Yet every elder instinctively stepped back.
The figure carried an ancient stone scale in one hand.
Its empty eyes settled upon Zarek.
"You answered."
Its voice was emotionless.
"So the trial may begin."
The First Elder immediately stepped forward.
"We are cultivators of the Heavenly Order Sect. We request—"
"You were not called."
The words were quiet.
Yet the First Elder's voice disappeared completely.
He opened his mouth again.
Nothing came out.
Not even a whisper.
The figure hadn't attacked.
It had simply decided...
That he would not speak.
The realization chilled everyone present.
This wasn't overwhelming power.
This was authority.
The hooded figure slowly walked toward Zarek.
Each step echoed across the plain.
Not on the ground.
Inside everyone's heart.
It stopped an arm's length away.
"You carry something that should not exist."
Zarek met its gaze.
"So do you."
For the first time...
The figure remained silent.
Then...
A faint smile appeared beneath the hood.
"Interesting."
The scale in its hand trembled.
One side slowly sank.
The other remained perfectly still.
"You do not fear judgment."
"I fear ignorance."
The smile widened almost imperceptibly.
"A better answer."
Behind Zarek, the elders exchanged uneasy glances.
None of them understood what was happening.
Yet somehow...
It felt less like an interrogation...
And more like two ancient scholars testing each other's understanding.
The hooded figure raised one finger.
"One question."
"If your answer satisfies the Hall..."
"You may proceed."
"If it does not..."
The surrounding plain became silent once more.
"...You will leave."
Not die.
Not be punished.
Simply...
Be denied.
The figure looked directly into Zarek's eyes.
"What is the purpose of power?"
Zarek didn't answer immediately.
He knew this wasn't asking about cultivation.
It was asking about him.
The System remained completely silent.
For the first time...
It offered no guidance at all.
Only the wind answered.
And Zarek began to think.