Comprehension
1721 Words
The scene shifted.
Zhou Chen suddenly found himself standing in a room completely devoid of light. The air was heavy, cold, and strangely damp, as though he had stepped into the belly of some forgotten beast.
Then flash!
A blinding light cut through the darkness for a moment, revealing a monstrous serpent coiled before him. It had two heads, each one large enough to swallow him whole. Both pairs of eerie, luminous eyes locked onto him with hunger and amusement, as though savoring the fear painted across his face.
Zhou Chen’s expression paled. His breathing turned shallow.
I have so little primordial essence left, he thought, panic clawing at his chest. And my only cultivation method is that cheap one I bought with the last of my Task Hall contribution points. How am I supposed to fight something like this?
Hummmmmm—
A deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating through his bones. Before him, a sword appeared, floating just out of reach. Its blade was a deep, blood-red, glinting faintly under an invisible light. Its hilt, pitch black and cold as obsidian, was carved into the shape of a snarling wolf’s head.
Zhou Chen stared at it, entranced, until a searing pain shot through his skull. His vision blurred.
Just when he thought his head would split apart, a pale blue light blossomed from between his brows, washing over him like cool water. The pain receded, leaving his mind startlingly clear.
Slowly, Zhou Chen’s breathing calmed. His body felt lighter, his senses sharper. Checking himself over, he tightened his grip on the sword and lowered into a battle stance. If survival is the key, he thought grimly, then I will survive.
As if provoked by his readiness, the massive serpent shifted, raising both heads. Cold, slitted eyes watched him, patient, almost mocking like a predator playing with its meal.
Fuuuuu—
The entire room went black again.
“Damn it. Am I supposed to fight in pitch darkness now?” Zhou Chen cursed inwardly.
Though fear gnawed at him, he forced his breathing to steady and slowly closed his eyes, letting instinct take over. Unbeknownst to him, the sword in his grip began to emit a faint crimson glow, bathing the darkness in a ghostly light.
Riiip!
The sound of flesh tearing filled the room. Pain exploded in his thigh.
Zhou Chen grunted, his knees almost buckling under him. His leg throbbed violently, warm blood streaming down and soaking into his boot. His eyes burned, water threatening to spill over, but he bit it back.
“No... I won’t cry. I have to stay strong... for Mother... for Ling,” he muttered through gritted teeth.
But his resolve was cut short by another slash
Puuu!
This one tore into his left shoulder. Blood spattered across the floor.
“Endure... endure...” he chanted inwardly, forcing the pain deep down.
Puuu! Puuu! Puuu!
The attacks came faster now, one after another, leaving deep gashes across his body. Zhou Chen knew that if he didn’t start fighting back, he would simply bleed out in this place.
Riiip!
This time, however, the sound was different. A pained shriek split the air. The serpent recoiled, one of its heads dripping black blood.
Zhou Chen’s eyes flared with sudden resolve. He pressed the attack, his sword flashing red as it struck again and again.
Clang!
Sparks erupted as serpent scale met steel.
Fuuuu!
The beast’s strikes came harder and faster, as if enraged that its prey dared to resist. The battle raged on and on, a storm of blood, claws, and steel. Minutes stretched into hours until finally
Screeeeeee!
The serpent let out one final, ear-splitting wail before collapsing with a thunderous crash. Its body twitched once, then went still.
But the darkness remained.
Zhou Chen stood frozen, chest heaving, sweat and blood running down his face.
“Huh...” he panted, anxiety creeping into his features. He waited for the cold, mechanical voice that usually marked the end of these trials.
It didn’t come.
“I’ve won... let me out,” he called aloud.
No answer.
“LET ME GO!” he shouted, his voice hoarse.
Then finally,
“What do you see?” a deep, calm voice rang out.
Without thinking, Zhou Chen answered, “Nothing.”
The voice repeated, “What do you see?”
This time he paused. Something inside him told him the question wasn’t about sight.
“I... I don’t see anything with my eyes,” he said slowly. “But I’ve learned something.”
He tightened his grip on the sword.
“To survive, one must be strong. Only with power can I take back what I’ve lost whether it’s revenge or something else... I don’t even know yet.”
He closed his eyes.
“One only sees the truth when one is blind. Being blind is seeing, and seeing... is being blind.”
The silence stretched, heavy and expectant.
“What I see,” Zhou Chen finished quietly, “is the truth of life.”
Another moment passed before the voice spoke again.
“...Pass. Prepare for the next challenge.”
---
In a distant, glittering castle filled with ancient relics and silken curtains, a maiden knelt on one knee before a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
“There was no trace of the one you seek, my lady. All we know is that he was executed for betraying his colony. They say he helped a stray demon beast escape. His mother was killed alongside him as a warning to others. I think you should give up. He’s already dea—”
“Shut up!” the woman snapped, her emerald-green eyes flashing.
The maiden lowered her head and scurried away, leaving her mistress alone.
The woman turned toward the open window, gazing out at the moonlit courtyard below.
“He’s alive...” she whispered to the night. Her voice trembled. “I know he is. Please... come back to me.”
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks, sparkling like jewels under the silver light.
---
NEXT CHALLENGE: HELL PURGATORY
When Zhou Chen heard the name, he assumed it was just another mental trial. He was wrong.
He found himself in a stone chamber shaped like a massive jar. Lava poured from gaping holes in the walls, the heat suffocating.
A single platform jutted up from the center, barely wide enough for one person. Zhou Chen leapt onto it just as the lava rose, licking at his heels—then consumed him entirely.
His screams echoed off the stone as his skin melted, flesh burned, and bones cracked under the blistering heat. He should have died, but the platform pulsed with an ancient energy, healing him again and again.
Each time his body was restored, it was burned once more. Over and over, like steel being tempered in a blacksmith’s forge, Zhou Chen’s body was reforged through pain.
By the end, he no longer screamed. The agony became part of him.
“Pass.”
The voice returned at last.
Zhou Chen stood, shaking but alive.
So this is what hell tastes like, he thought grimly.
---
The stone room vanished, replaced by a circular chamber lined with walls glowing faintly with ancient runes. The air was thick, buzzing with a quiet, oppressive energy that pressed down on Zhou Chen like invisible chains.
“What now?” he asked, his voice steady though his heart raced.
“Each symbol contains spirit energy,” the cold, dispassionate voice replied. “Your task is to absorb as much as you can.”
Zhou Chen’s eyes widened. Spirit energy? Even the most powerful cultivators spent years learning how to absorb and refine such energy safely. A single mistake could tear apart the sea of consciousness, leaving one a soulless husk forever wandering between life and death.
He swallowed hard.
This is no ordinary trial... These runes aren’t just old, they feel ancient, beyond anything of this era. If I succeed here, my path will be different from other cultivators... but if I fail
He didn’t finish the thought when.
Suddenly, BOOM!
A searing light shot from the nearest rune and pierced between his brows. Zhou Chen gasped, clutching his head as foreign knowledge flooded his mind.
Universe Uprising.
The words etched themselves into his consciousness like fire.
It was a cultivation technique, an ancient one, containing seven levels of comprehension. For now, Zhou Chen could only understand the first
His lips curved into a grim smile. “This is good stuff.”
Without hesitation, Zhou Chen sat cross-legged and opened his spiritual sphere.
BOOOOM!
The room trembled as an invisible vortex formed around him, hungrily devouring the rune energy. Pain exploded in his head, stabbing deep into his soul.
It felt as though invisible claws were tearing apart his mind, piece by piece.
Zhou Chen clenched his teeth, his body shaking.
I’ve already been through Hell Purgatory. This pain is nothing!
Though his face twisted with agony, he refused to scream. He remembered the first lesson the trials had taught him—survival meant enduring everything, no matter how unbearable.
Hours passed.
He would absorb until he reached his limit, then collapse forward, breathing heavily on the cold stone floor. When the pain dulled, he would sit back up, grit his teeth, and begin again.
Days may have passed, time had lost its meaning here.
Then,
BOOM!
An explosion of spiritual energy erupted from his body, so violent that the room itself quaked.
Zhou Chen’s eyes shot open. For the first time, he could clearly see the world around him. The runes glowed with dazzling clarity, their patterns no longer mysterious but comprehensible. He could feel the air brushing against his skin, hear the faint hum of energy in the walls, even the steady rhythm of blood pumping through his veins.
He exhaled slowly, feeling something inside him change.
“I wonder how much I’ve consumed,” he muttered.
“Amount consumed: 20%,” the voice replied. “Pass. Not bad.”
Zhou Chen blinked. “When the hell did you start giving compliments?”
But before he could say more, the voice spoke again:
“Next trial: Hell Compression. Good luck.”
Zhou Chen’s expression darkened. “Wait—did you just say good—”
“Begin.”
The chamber vanished.
- Writer
