Li Ming tumbled through a whirlwind of light, his robes flapping around him like a kite caught in a storm.

Bai Guo, clinging to his shoulder mid-flight, squawked in alarm. "Descendant! Hold on! I did not sign up for midair acrobatics!"

Li Ming flailed. "Neither did I! I didn't even pack a lunch!"

The wind shifted. They landed roughly on a massive floating platform in the middle of a gargantuan arena. The platform was wide enough for hundreds of disciples to fight, and the air buzzed with raw spiritual energy.

Li Ming looked around. Dozens of other inner disciples had also been pulled in, each scrambling to get their bearings.

Lan Yue stood nearby, calm as ever. "Li Ming, this is Trial Two.

This round tests your combat adaptability—your ability to fight against multiple opponents in succession.

No preparation, no warning."

Li Ming blinked. "No preparation… I just fought Zhao Feng yesterday!"

Lan Yue smirked faintly. "You'll adapt, or you'll fall. That simple."

Before he could ask more, a loud gong echoed across the arena. From all directions, spiritual constructs resembling past challengers and beasts materialized, ready to attack.

They weren't illusions or reflections—just tough, highly trained sparring opponents conjured by the sect to push disciples to their limits.

Li Ming clenched his fists. "Alright… let's not get flattened today."

Bai Guo hovered at his side, wings twitching. "Speak for yourself. I'm staying out of the melee unless someone starts throwing haymakers."

The first opponent, a tall disciple with energy crackling like lightning around his fists, dashed toward Li Ming.

Li Ming reacted instinctively, leaping back and sending a burst of wind from his palm. The wind hit the attacker, who staggered but regained balance instantly.

Li Ming muttered, "Okay… definitely faster than last round."

The second disciple approached from the side, wielding a spear glowing with golden energy.

Li Ming pivoted, dodging in a roll and slamming the edge of his foot into the platform to push off and strike the spear hand with a gust of wind.

Bai Guo squawked. "Yes! That's my descendant! Use the spin move!"

Li Ming groaned. "Spin move? Who taught me a spin move?!"

A third challenger charged from above, diving down like a hawk.

Li Ming barely raised his arms in time to deflect the strike, and the combined wind energy threw the disciple off-balance.

By now, the arena was chaotic—energy blasts colliding, sparks flying, and disciples scrambling to keep their footing on the floating platform.

Li Ming ducked, rolled, and sent a focused gust at a charging disciple, sending him skidding across the surface.

"Focus… control… speed!" he muttered, sweat running down his face.

He felt the energy flowing through him differently now—he wasn't just reacting.

He was reading the movements, anticipating attacks, using his own cultivation energy in tandem with Bai Guo's subtle guidance.

One disciple with a sword glowing like molten metal dashed toward him.

Li Ming timed his jump perfectly, twisting midair to land behind the attacker, and released a spiral wind strike that pushed the disciple off balance.

Bai Guo clapped his wings. " He's fighting smart AND fast!"

Li Ming panted, barely able to speak. "Yeah… let's… not die today…"

The arena shook. The floating platforms shifted slightly, forcing everyone to adjust constantly. Each step mattered; one misstep could send a disciple plummeting.

Li Ming's heart raced. He dodged a spinning strike, then caught the attacker's momentum and sent him flying with a gust.

Another one lunged—but this time, Li Ming acted instinctively, combining a jump, a spin, and a push of energy to knock the attacker back.

The crowd below—other disciples who weren't summoned—watched in awe. Li Ming had gone from someone barely managing a platform to dominating the Trial Two arena with strategy, speed, and raw energy.

Bai Guo hovered closer. "Descendant… maybe, just maybe, you're finally growing up!"

Li Ming didn't respond. He had three opponents still charging, and he needed every ounce of energy he had left.

He felt the wind surge around him, every movement in perfect harmony with his cultivation. Every strike, block, and dodge flowed seamlessly.

But just as he prepared to counter the last two disciples simultaneously, the floating platform beneath him shook violently.

Li Ming froze, barely keeping his balance.

Bai Guo squawked, feathers ruffling. "Uh… descendant… I think the next round isn't just the disciples…"

The ground cracked, golden light flaring up, and the platform started tilting dangerously.

Li Ming's eyes widened. "What now?!"

And then, from the very center of the arena, a massive surge of energy shot up, so intense it threatened to throw everyone off their feet.

Li Ming clutched the edge of the platform, wind whipping past him. "This… isn't just a trial anymore…"

-----

Li Ming's stomach sank. The arena itself seemed to have a mind of its own. The platform tilted, cracked, and shifted as if trying to toss him into the abyss below.

Bai Guo hovered nearby, feathers ruffled. "Descendant… I think it's trying to eat you!"

Li Ming squinted. "I swear, if I get platform-shredded before I even finish, I'm suing!"

The remaining disciples still attacked, but now it was impossible to focus solely on them. Li Ming had to move with the platform's every twist and tilt, timing jumps, rolls, and strikes perfectly.

A disciple with lightning-imbued fists dashed toward him. Li Ming leapt, spun midair, and released a gust of wind beneath his feet, propelling himself backward. He kicked off a floating shard of the arena to launch himself toward the attacking disciple.

"Whoa—this is insane!" Li Ming shouted, barely dodging a flying fist that slammed into the platform where he had just been.

Bai Guo squawked. "Descendant! Use the shards! Bounce! Spin! Fly!"

Li Ming gritted his teeth. "I'm trying! It's like a treadmill… on fire… in the air!"

Another disciple came from the side, swinging a spear glowing like molten gold. Li Ming twisted, letting the platform tilt work in his favor. He used it to swing past the spear, launching a wind punch that sent the disciple skidding off balance.

Cracks widened beneath him, energy flaring. Li Ming leapt from shard to shard, sending gusts of wind to push back multiple attackers at once. Each motion needed precision; miscalculating a single step could send him plunging hundreds of meters.

Bai Guo clapped his wings. "Descendant! You're turning this into acrobatics with destruction! I love it!"

Li Ming barely had time to respond. "I… hate it! I hate it so much!"

The platform's tilting accelerated, forcing him to spin, roll, and kick off shards in rapid succession. The disciples attacking him struggled to adjust, their attacks missing or colliding with each other as the battlefield became a chaotic dance of energy and momentum.

Li Ming's spiritual energy burned brighter with every movement.

He wasn't just dodging—he was manipulating the wind around him, turning the arena's instability into an advantage.

A gust here, a push there, and suddenly the attacking disciples were stumbling.

One lightning-charged disciple lunged, aiming to strike Li Ming mid-spin. Li Ming caught the disciple's wrist, twisted, and sent him flying using a shard as a ramp.

He landed lightly on another platform, spinning just in time to intercept another strike.

Sweat poured down his face. "Okay… focus… don't die… don't die… definitely don't die…"

Bai Guo snorted. "Descendant, you sound like an old cultivator giving himself a pep talk!"

Li Ming didn't have time to answer. The arena tilted violently, a massive shard shooting upward like a spear. He vaulted over it, spinning in midair, and slammed both palms into the next shard, redirecting its momentum toward an incoming disciple.

The disciple tumbled, wind blasting him across the platform.

Li Ming landed, crouching, exhausted but steady. He inhaled deeply. "That's… twelve attacks, maybe thirteen? Who's counting anyway?"

Bai Guo flapped beside him. "Fourteen… fifteen… descendant, we're losing track of the numbers!"

Before Li Ming could respond, the platform lurched again—but this time, a massive surge of energy shot from the center.

A huge golden spiral rose from the arena floor, crackling with raw power.

Li Ming's eyes widened. "Wait… that wasn't in the trial rules!"

Lan Yue's voice rang across the arena. "Li Ming! Use everything you've learned! Channel your cultivation fully!"

Li Ming's palms glowed. Wind and spiritual energy twined around him like ribbons. He took a deep breath. Alright… time to show what I've got.

He jumped, spinning in the air, sending a cyclone of wind energy outward, intercepting the golden spiral. The collision rocked the arena. Pieces of the platform shattered, flying like debris.

The disciples who were still standing scrambled to avoid the blasts.

Bai Guo hovered nearby, feathers bristling. "Descendant! Don't stop now!"

Li Ming gritted his teeth, planting his feet on a shard and pushing off at the perfect angle.

His energy surged, forming a spiraling tornado of wind that enveloped the spiral and the remaining disciples attacking him.

For a moment, everything seemed frozen—energy, movement, and even the air itself.

Then—BOOM!

The tornado expanded violently, knocking back every attack, every disciple, every shard. Li Ming skidded to a stop, panting, standing atop a single shard.

Silence fell.

Bai Guo landed, feathers slightly singed. "Descendant… I think you just broke Trial Two's record."

Li Ming panted, looking around at the cracked, tilting platform. "Maybe… but I'm pretty sure I also broke every bone in my legs in spirit."

Lan Yue appeared next to him, eyes wide. "You've passed the first stage of Trial Two… but the arena isn't done."

Li Ming blinked. "Not done?"

Lan Yue's lips curved faintly. "Prepare yourself, Li Ming. The next stage is about to wake up. And it's… not human."

A low rumble vibrated through the platform. Shadows stretched across the shards. The wind picked up violently.

Li Ming's pulse quickened. "Oh no… it's moving."

Bai Guo puffed out his chest. "Descendant… maybe, just maybe, we're about to learn what 'extreme' really means."

The shards of the platform lifted, tilting higher, and the wind howled like a living thing.

And then—something enormous stirred beneath the surface, ready to strike.

Li Ming's eyes widened. "Okay… now I really regret leaving my bed this morning."

To be continued...

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