Chapter 10: If You Get Heated, You Lose
Chapter 10: If You Get Heated, You Lose
I made my way slowly through the passage of the stone grotto.
The interior was well-ventilated, and light filtering through various openings in the ceiling ensured it wasn't dark. Judging by the sophisticated design and craftsmanship, it was clear the place had been built by a truly master artisan.
As I walked deeper into the grotto, the air around me shimmered almost imperceptibly as I passed a certain point.
Sssssss.
I knew instantly. A high-level formation—one that only a master with incredibly sharp senses could detect—had been triggered.
Come to think of it, it made sense. Why hadn't those who died here simply left? If a trial was too difficult, they could have just given up and walked out. They died because they couldn't escape this very formation. While the entrance was a simple walk-in, the moment one failed a trial, the path would transform into a hellish labyrinth that allowed no exit.
After walking for a while, I reached a fairly large plaza. At the entrance stood a stone tablet explaining the first trial.
Ten days? What about food until then?
I looked around and found a jar filled with Fasting Pills against the wall.
If I have to eat those tasteless things for ten days, I’ll go insane.
Without hesitation, I stepped into the center of the red circle drawn in the middle of the plaza.
A moment later, with a mechanical clank, dozens of wooden humanoids rose from the floor in every direction. Specific areas on them were painted red—some on the neck, some on the arms, others on the legs.
My body reacted reflexively.
The moment they emerged, I lunged forward, my instincts already deciding which technique to use and which target to strike first.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
The wooden dolls were sliced apart.
They weren't fixed in one spot, either. The floor panels shifted constantly, changing their positions. In the midst of the chaos, several dolls began to sink back into the floor.
Not so fast!
I realized it immediately. If I missed those dolls as they descended, they wouldn't come back up, and the challenge would end in failure.
I prioritized the sinking dolls first.
As expected, the other dolls moved rapidly, trying to block my path. I leaped over them, swinging my sword mid-air.
Slice!
The doll I had almost missed was cut clean through.
The dolls' movements grew faster and faster. At first, I thought this was a test of footwork, but I was wrong. This was a test of judgment.
What to cut first?
Quick and accurate judgment was the priority; footwork was secondary.
The trial was complex and difficult, but it wasn't sophisticated enough to outstrip my instincts and skill. I cut down every last doll and successfully passed the first trial.
One thing was certain: if I only had the skills I possessed before my regression, I never would have passed this first gate. No matter how much I jumped, rolled, or flew about, I would have failed.
I understood now why the trial only reset after ten days.
Many challengers must have failed this first attempt, and it would take at least ten days of careful study and practice to succeed. Only those who could accurately remember how the dolls moved and which ones descended when could devise a counter-strategy. A dull-witted challenger would have had to attempt it over and over again.
Seeing this first trial, I could understand why the average time to clear the Small Heaven Cave was three years.
Rumble.
As soon as I passed the first trial, the stone door leading to the second trial opened.
I walked slowly toward the second gate. Just before leaving the first area, I noticed writing carved into the wall. Previous masters who had passed through had left their marks near the exit.
— Succeeded on the ninth try. Bwahahaha!
— It took me sixteen tries.
— This is madness!
— Succeeded after a long thirty-seven attempts. Tears blur my vision after such hardship.
— Will I die here? I can't solve this. I resent my father.
— Damn it! I tried to go back, but there is no way out.
— Success in six tries. I dare say I am the best.
Among them, I saw a familiar handwriting at the very bottom.
— Idiots.
It was my father, who must have passed this trial before me.
"Haha."
I couldn't help but burst out laughing. It seemed my father had passed it on his first try. Still, even if he felt that way, these were technically his ancestors, yet he didn't hesitate to start off with an insult.
"Father, I passed on my first try too! Haha!"
I moved on and arrived at the space for the second trial. As expected, a stone tablet stood in the second plaza as well.
This time, the wait for a retry was twenty days. Simple math suggested this was twice as difficult as the first trial.
Survive on Fasting Pills for twenty days? I'd rather die.
Steeling my resolve to succeed, I stood in the red circle in the center of the plaza.
Clank.
A stone table rose from the floor. On top of it sat a metal sphere about the size of an adult's head.
So I have to cut this sphere.
The time given was one hour. That was far too much time just to cut a single sphere. Sensing there must be a reason, I carefully examined the object.
The surface was smooth; it wasn't ordinary iron, but an artificially crafted stone. Naturally, it would be harder than cast iron. When I tried to lift it, it was so heavy that I couldn't budge it without using internal energy.
Hundreds of swords hung on the wall for the test. There were many varieties: longswords, daggers, heavy swords, and light swords. There were even soft swords meant to be worn around the waist. Every kind of sword imaginable was there.
The implication was that this was no easy task, so one should choose carefully and try multiple times.
I walked over and picked a sword from the wall. It was a well-made, standard steel sword. Standing before the sphere, I steadied my mind and struck down with all my might.
Clang!
With a sharp ring, the sword snapped and went flying. The sphere, however, didn't have so much as a scratch. It was an incredibly hard material.
I examined the sphere again. To the naked eye, it looked like an ordinary metal ball. I fetched another sword and swung horizontally this time. Again, only the sword broke; the sphere remained unscathed.
"I guess it won't work with just brute force."
I took a new sword and injected my internal energy.
Wooooom.
Immediately, a blue light shimmered from the blade. I had manifested Sword Force.
At this age before my regression, I could use Sword Qi, but I couldn't manifest Sword Force. I hadn't mastered the subtleties of Sword Force until my thirties.
"This is my first time using Sword Force since regressing."
The color of Sword Force varies between martial artists. Even if they practice the same mental method, the color differs slightly from person to person. I had always found that fascinating. I liked the color my Sword Force emitted. Sometimes it looked like the sea, other times like the sky—a pleasant shade of blue.
Just as I was about to slowly slice the sphere with the Sword Force...
A sudden sense of wrongness washed over me, and I quickly withdrew my energy. The Sword Force shrouding the blade vanished.
This is too easy.
At first glance, I thought the test was to see if a challenger could use Sword Force, since a regular steel sword couldn't cut it. Sword Qi likely wouldn't be enough either. So, it seemed like a trial you couldn't leave until you mastered Sword Force.
However, any rising star capable of using Sword Force would just slice through it and pass. Could the trial really be that simple? Conversely, for someone who couldn't manifest Sword Force, reaching that realm was an incredibly daunting task.
One side was too easy, the other too hard. The balance was off.
Driven by a hunch, I went to look at the messages my predecessors had left on the wall.
— Bisected it in one strike with Sword Force.
— I tried eighty-nine times to cut it without Sword Force, but failed every time. Eventually, I used Sword Force.
— I cut it without using Sword Force.
— How? I can't believe it.
— Damn it! My Sword Qi won't cut it. I can't manifest Sword Force, so what do I do?
— Day 200 of studying Sword Force. I feel like vomiting just smelling the Fasting Pills.
— The person above who said they cut it without Sword Force is a liar.
— I second the liar comment.
What I wanted to see was the note left by my father. Sure enough, there was his message at the very end.
— What a load of shit.
Haha. Calling his ancestors' trial a "load of shit." A man like this must have worked hard to act so dignified in public.
But this time, he had added another line next to it.
— If you get heated, you lose.
If you get heated, you lose? Why did he add that? If it were like the first trial, he would have just left an insult and been done with it.
Heated? Heat? Could it be?
I hurried back to the first stone tablet.
The phrase caught my eye.
May be used?
It didn't say "by using," but "may be used." In other words, it meant "try to cut it normally, and if you really can't, then use them."
Come to think of it, the time given was also too long. One hour was more than enough time to cut hundreds of such stones. Furthermore, the number of swords on the wall was excessively high.
Ah! This trial must be completed without using Sword Qi or Sword Force.
My father's warning about "getting heated" was a hint not to use Sword Force. Because when you manifest Sword Force, the sword emits intense heat.
There was another fact that supported this theory. The fact that the retry period was twenty days meant it was intended to be more difficult than the first trial.
I had to cut this normally.
Thank you, Father.
Regardless, if I wasn't supposed to use Sword Force, I didn't have time to waste. I returned to the sphere. Now that I was determined to cut it without Sword Force, the sphere looked different.
How on earth can I cut this? Vertically? Horizontally? Diagonally? With a Fast Sword? A Heavy Sword?
I tried various methods with the provided swords. But I only succeeded in breaking more blades; the sphere remained uncut. After more than thirty failed attempts, I sat back against the wall, half-ready to give up.
There has to be a way.
The heartless time continued to flow, and now less than fifteen minutes remained.
Do I have to try again in twenty days?
I was on the verge of despair.
Should I just cut it with Sword Force and get it over with?
But since my father had gone out of his way to leave a hint, I couldn't choose the easy way out.
It's hard. So hard.
As I sat there in resignation, I absentmindedly emitted my Qi. It was the Qi Emission practice I had learned from my father in the mountains. A stream of energy extending from my body touched the sphere.
I wish you were a wild boar. Then I could cut you in a single stroke.
As the energy enveloped the sphere, I slowly felt its surface. Suddenly, my eyes snapped open.
"Huh?"
There was a microscopic line on the surface of the sphere. It was a line that couldn't be seen with the eyes or felt with the hands.
I focused all my concentration on feeling it. My energy began to wrap around it like a bird nesting an egg, striving to become one with the sphere. The line traced all the way around the sphere until it met its starting point.
I stood up and slowly approached it. The connection of energy between me and the sphere remained intact. With my eyes closed, sensing the sphere only through my energy, I brought the sword down exactly along that line.
Swish.
I didn't strike hard. I focused entirely on hitting the line on the sphere with absolute precision, without a hair's breadth of error.
In the next moment, something incredible happened.
Crack.
The sphere split in two. That line had been a sort of pressure point that allowed the sphere to be perfectly divided.
And an even greater surprise awaited me.
Rattle.
From the hollow center of the severed sphere, a single elixir rolled out.