Chapter 132: Start of the Trial
The gates loomed high before them, not the ornate spires of a palace or the cold marble of an imperial estate, but an archway made entirely of ancient, living roots. Twisted and dark with age, the roots formed a jagged, pulsating tunnel into a thick green mist. Something about it seemed alive, not in the way a forest breathes, but the way a beast watches in silence.
The trial had officially begun.
The maze breathed like a living thing, its walls a tangle of towering trees whose bark pulsed faintly with green-blue light, as though veins of magic ran beneath their surface. Vines drooped from their branches like withered fingers, some twitching of their own accord when brushed, others recoiling with a hiss. The ground was uneven and spongy, thick with moss that muffled footsteps but exhaled the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves. Above, a canopy of luminous foliage filtered the sunlight into shards of gold and green, shifting with the wind in eerie silence. Every turn brought a new texture: the sharp crackle of brittle thorns underfoot, the cloying sweetness of flowers that lured with perfume before revealing rows of hidden teeth, and the ever-present whisper of something slithering just out of sight.
The air was thick with enchantment, warm one moment, frigid the next and it carried with it distant growls, flutters, and sometimes voices that weren’t real. Certain paths shimmered with illusion, mirroring safety where danger lay in wait. Magic clung to the skin like mist, buzzing at the edge of awareness, and the deeper one wandered, the more time and direction seemed to blur. It was not merely a test of survival; it was a place designed to peel back the layers of fear, instinct, and trust.
"This is the Verdant Labyrinth," the instructor had said earlier that morning, voice booming through a crystalline orb floating in the sky above the crowd. "A maze where your instincts, intellect, and survival will be tested. Within its paths lie not only beasts, but flora with venomous temperaments. Your task is simple: reach the other side alive."
Simple. That was generous.
Feng Jiao Xue stood beside Mo Tianze, gazing into the maze. Around them, others shifted nervously, some adjusting their weapons, others drawing protective talismans. No groups had been formally assigned, but it was clear that few wanted to go in alone.
"They’re afraid," Mo Tianze murmured. "And some of them can’t even hide it."
Feng Jiao Xue didn’t answer immediately. She was scanning the perimeter, noting how the vines at the entrance seemed to twitch when someone stepped too close.
"There’s reason to be," she said finally. "This maze doesn’t just test power. It tests who you are when you’re hunted."
A sharp chime sounded in the air, and the roots of the archway shifted, parting just enough for two people to pass side by side.