With his newly learned Dao of Heaven and Earth and the powerful Heaven and Earth Reversal Technique, Emery was able to complete level 93 of the trial within hours. What was once an insurmountable challenge now seemed almost effortless. However, rather than stopping to consolidate his progress, he pressed on, driven by curiosity and ambition.
The elemental trials that followed pushed him to his limits. Each trial was a crucible of extreme elemental forces, forcing him to navigate the delicate balance between opposing laws. It took him several days of grueling effort, but at last, he triumphed over level 94. At that point, he considered stopping. He had already made immense progress, but the temptation to test the extent of his growth was too strong.
Beyond that, he realized something profound—this trial was the perfect place to refine his insight into opposing elemental laws. The soul world functioned differently from reality, with time flowing at an altered rate. What felt like weeks inside might only amount to days in the real world. That alone made this Heaven and Earth Scales a priceless artifact, one he needed to exploit while he had the chance. A determined smile crossed his face. If this place could push him further, he would not waste the opportunity.
“Next level it is.. level 95!”
The moment he attempted to advance, the trial underwent a radical transformation. Instead of moving up to another floor as before, he found himself suspended between four different trials, each infused with opposing elemental forces: fire and ice, water and metal, wind and earth, and lightning and plant. The challenge had evolved into something far more intricate. Instead of testing a single concept, it demanded a true mastery of balance.
Among the four, Emery felt most confident in the plant element. Without hesitation, he stepped into the lightning and plant trial. A storm of violet energy crackled in the sky, while massive towering trees pulsed with life below. The two forces clashed in an endless cycle—lightning striking, the plants absorbing, adapting, and striking back.
At first, he thought he could endure it as his plant element was his best. But he quickly realized the gap in his understanding. The moment he tried to wield both elements in harmony, the trial rejected him. Lightning tore through his defenses, disrupting his control over plant energy. The more he tried to manipulate both at once, the more unstable they became, until finally, a massive surge of lightning struck him head-on.
His vision blurred, and he found himself forcefully ejected back to the center floor. He landed on the stone platform, breath-ragged. His body was uninjured, but the sting of failure gnawed at him. He was not ready for this one yet.
Unwilling to give up, he moved to the wind and earth trial next. He had some knowledge of wind, thanks to the legacy of the legendary Roc bird, and his connection to the earth element was strong. As soon as he entered, gale-force winds howled around him, tearing at the rocky terrain beneath his feet. The ground rumbled with seismic energy, colliding with the chaotic air currents in an unrelenting storm.
At first, he held his own, reinforcing his body with earth while using wind to maintain flexibility. He moved fluidly, adapting to the unstable ground beneath him while bracing himself against the fierce gales. But the deeper he progressed, the more the trial tested him.
The forces grew more violent, clashing in ways he struggled to balance. He tried to control the wind while holding his ground, but every attempt to command one element disrupted the other. His rigid stance made him vulnerable to the shifting terrain, and his movements were too slow to properly control the wind’s currents. The realization struck him—he was treating them as separate forces rather than a unified whole. And as that thought crossed his mind, a powerful gust combined with a sudden quake threw him off balance, sending him tumbling out of the trial once again.
Frustration built within him, but rather than let it consume him, he took a deep breath and refocused. Two failures, but he had lasted longer this time. He was learning, even if the progress was slow.
With renewed focus, he entered the water and metal trial. Surrounded by shifting metal formations and flowing streams, he immediately understood the core of the challenge—water was adaptability, metal was resilience. He moved carefully, feeling out the balance between the two.
At first, he struggled. Water slipped through his grasp, refusing to be shaped the way he intended. Metal resisted his will, standing firm where he needed it to bend. But then, he recalled Grandmaster Caliborne’s guides. Water is the essence of motion. Metal is the essence of permanence. But they are not opposites. They exist within each other.
He stopped trying to control them individually and instead focused on how they naturally interacted. He let the water flow through the metal, reinforcing its structure while allowing flexibility. He let the metal shape the water’s path, guiding it rather than forcing it. And slowly, his understanding deepened. Days blurred into weeks. His comprehension expanded, his soul strengthened, and at last, a sensation washed over him—an unmistakable breakthrough.
He opened his eyes, shocked at how much time had passed. He must have been in the soul world for a month already. He considered leaving, but his gaze drifted to the last remaining challenge. The memory of the alchemy competition surfaced, where he had first gained insight into fire and ice. One more trial wouldn’t hurt.
A world of extremes unfolded before him. Blistering flames roared in the skies while sheets of ice coated the ground, creating a battlefield where the two elements fought for dominance. But unlike his previous struggles, this one felt natural. The heat did not burn him, nor did the cold freeze him. Fire and ice existed within him as equals.
He sat in meditation, absorbing the energies around him. He did not resist the fire, nor did he reject the ice. He let them intertwine within his core, merging as they saw fit. Time became irrelevant. His body, his soul, his very essence resonated with the trial. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. And then—
A surge of power ran through him. His comprehension exploded. The depths of his understanding reached new heights, pushing his mastery of opposing forces beyond anything he had imagined.
When he finally awoke from his trance, he had achieved another breakthrough. He had completed level 95.
A sense of satisfaction washed over him. He had spent too long here already. It must have been weeks in real world—
Then, the realization struck him. He looked around, frowning.
“Wait… how do I leave?”
A wave of unease crept over him.
“What the hell…? Let me out of here!!”
But the soul world remained silent.