The endless sea of clouds remained perfectly still.
Ling Yue stood quietly with her eyes closed.
Her breathing gradually settled into a steady rhythm.
She no longer chased the illusion with her sight.
Nor did she allow the silence to unsettle her.
She simply listened.
Felt.
Waited.
The tiny white-scaled lizard remained concealed atop her head.
His golden eyes observed her calmly.
Several moments passed before he spoke again.
"...I can remove you from the formation."
"There would be little difficulty in doing so."
Ling Yue's eyelashes twitched.
For a brief moment—
she almost nodded.
Then—
a faint smile slowly appeared on her face.
"...No."
Lizarius remained silent.
Ling Yue kept her eyes closed.
"...I want to try on my own."
She took another slow breath.
"...I've been training so hard."
"...If I just let Senior solve everything for me..."
"...Then what was all that training for?"
The sea of clouds drifted silently around her.
Her voice remained soft.
Yet it carried an unexpected determination.
"...If I take the easy way out..."
"...I don't think I'll be satisfied."
"...Even if I pass."
She lightly clenched her fist.
"...I want to know what I can do."
"...By myself."
Silence.
The hidden lizard quietly watched her.
Ling Yue scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"...Well..."
"...At least at first."
"If I really can't figure it out..."
"...Then I'll ask Senior for help."
A sheepish grin appeared on her face.
"...I'm not stubborn enough to fail on purpose."
"...But..."
She straightened her posture once more.
"...I want to try first."
Her words faded into silence.
Lizarius neither praised nor criticized her.
Several breaths later—
he answered calmly.
"...Very well."
Ling Yue smiled.
"...Thank you, Senior."
She spoke no more after that.
Her breathing gradually steadied once again.
Everything outside her awareness slowly faded away.
The endless sea of clouds.
The illusion.
Even the passage of time.
None of it mattered.
She recalled every lesson she had received during the months spent training within the dream realm.
*"Observe."*
*"Do not rush."*
*"Everything leaves traces."*
*"Even an illusion follows rules."*
Her awareness slowly expanded.
Not outward through her eyes—
but inward through her mind.
The invisible white-scaled lizard quietly closed his own golden eyes.
He merely observed.
Without offering another hint.
Without disturbing her thoughts.
Ling Yue remained completely motionless.
Patient.
Calm.
Searching not with her eyes—
but with her awareness.
The examination had only just begun.
Time passed.
Within the illusion—
there was no sun.
No moon.
No sense of passing hours.
Only endless silence.
Ling Yue remained where she was.
She neither searched blindly...
Nor forced her way forward.
Instead—
she simply observed.
Not with her eyes.
But with her awareness.
Gradually—
she noticed it.
A rhythm.
The sea of clouds wasn't completely still.
Every so often—
the illusion fluctuated ever so slightly.
Like the surface of calm water disturbed by the faintest breeze.
"...There..."
Ling Yue murmured.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The endless white remained unchanged.
Yet now—
she wasn't looking at the illusion.
She was looking...
Through it.
She took a single step.
Then another.
Rather than wandering aimlessly—
she followed the faint disturbance.
With every step—
the fluctuation became slightly clearer.
The farther she walked—
the stronger the sensation grew.
Finally—
she stopped.
Before her—
the endless clouds appeared no different from anywhere else.
Ling Yue quietly reached forward.
"...Let's see if I'm right."
Her fingertip touched empty air.
Ripples spread outward.
**Hum—**
The entire world trembled.
**Crack...**
A tiny fracture appeared before her.
Then another.
Another.
Like shattered glass—
countless cracks rapidly spread throughout the endless sea of clouds.
Ling Yue smiled.
"...Found you."
**Crash!**
The illusion shattered.
---
The sea of clouds vanished.
The mountain summit returned.
The colossal stone sword once again towered before her.
The emerald grass swayed gently beneath the breeze.
Ling Yue blinked.
"...I'm back..."
She quickly looked around.
Not far away—
another figure suddenly appeared.
Chi Bai.
"...Hah!"
He looked around in confusion before breaking into a grin.
"...I did it!"
Moments later—
another ripple appeared.
Gu Su emerged calmly.
Then—
Song Qin.
Duan Shen.
Fu Yao.
Chi Xue.
Feng Lu.
Ling Yufei.
Ling Jianfei.
Finally—
Ling Wei's figure gradually materialized as well.
One after another—
every recommendation disciple returned to reality.
Some appeared thoughtful.
Others looked relieved.
A few still seemed slightly dazed.
Each had escaped the illusion in a different way.
Some had discovered weaknesses within the formation.
Some had relied upon their senses.
Others had remained calm until they perceived the truth.
Yun Rui quietly watched them all.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"...Interesting."
She slowly nodded.
"...Very interesting."
The disciples turned toward her.
Many still expected another trial.
Instead—
Yun Rui spoke calmly.
"...I must admit..."
"...I'm somewhat surprised."
Her gaze swept across the entire group.
"...In such a short period of time..."
"...Every one of you escaped the illusion."
Her words caused several elders observing from afar to nod faintly.
Yun Rui continued,
"...This concludes your first assessment."
"...Congratulations."
A brief pause followed.
Then—
she smiled.
"...From this moment onward..."
"...All of you are officially disciples of the Cloud Sword Sect."
Silence lingered across the mountaintop.
The recommendation disciples were still processing Yun Rui's words.
They had passed.
They were now disciples of the Cloud Sword Sect.
Ling Yue blinked several times.
Then—
she tilted her head.
"...That's it?"
Everyone subconsciously looked toward her.
Ling Yue scratched her cheek.
"...It felt..."
She searched for the right word.
"...Much easier than I expected."
Silence.
The smiles on several faces froze.
Chi Bai slowly turned toward her.
"...Easier?"
He stared at her as though he had misheard.
"...Did you just say..."
"...Easier?"
Ling Yue nodded honestly.
"...Yeah."
Chi Bai's mouth twitched.
"...Is..."
"...Is that what you call easy?"
Song Qin stared at her in disbelief.
"...I thought I was going to lose my mind..."
Duan Shen nodded heavily.
"...Same."
Chi Xue slowly exhaled.
"...I almost couldn't distinguish illusion from reality anymore."
Feng Lu gave a bitter laugh.
"...By the end..."
"...I wasn't even sure whether I was still inside the examination."
Gu Su remained silent.
But his slightly pale complexion spoke for itself.
Even Ling Yufei frowned.
"...That illusion..."
"...Wasn't easy."
Ling Yue looked from one person to another.
Her confusion only deepened.
"...What are you all talking about?"
"...Wasn't it just a sea of clouds?"
Everyone fell silent.
"...A sea..."
Chi Bai repeated blankly.
"...Of clouds?"
Ling Yue nodded.
"...Yeah."
"...I just stood there."
"...Then I found the weak point."
"...And broke out."
She looked around once more.
"...Wasn't everyone's the same?"
No one answered.
Instead—
every gaze slowly shifted toward Ling Wei.
Ling Wei himself had been staring at his sister for several moments.
He finally walked over.
His expression carried genuine curiosity.
"...Yue."
She turned toward him.
"...Hm?"
"...What exactly did you encounter?"
Ling Yue answered without hesitation.
"...An endless sea of clouds."
"...I couldn't see anyone."
"...Senior told me it was an illusion."
"...Then I figured out where the weak point was."
"...After that..."
"...I broke out."
She blinked.
"...That was all."
Ling Wei remained silent.
Several breaths passed.
Then he asked,
"...That was all?"
Ling Yue frowned.
"...Was there supposed to be more?"
Ling Wei slowly nodded.
"...Yes."
"...Mine was completely different."
He looked around.
"...Judging by everyone's reactions..."
"...It seems each of us experienced a different illusion."
Ling Yue's eyes widened slightly.
"...Huh?"
She looked around at the others.
"...Different?"
Chi Bai immediately nodded.
"...Very different."
"...There weren't any clouds."
Song Qin added quietly,
"...Not for me either."
Duan Shen folded his arms.
"...Mine wasn't even close."
Ling Yue looked back at her brother.
Curiosity immediately filled her face.
"...Then..."
She leaned forward slightly.
"...What exactly did you see, Big Brother?"
Silence.
Ling Wei didn't answer immediately.
His expression gradually became complicated.
He lowered his gaze for a moment.
Then—
he slowly spoke.
"...I was back..."
"...In our old home."
The smile on Ling Yue's face slowly faded.
Ling Wei continued quietly.
"...Father..."
"...Mother..."
"...They were both there."
"...Alive."
The surrounding disciples fell silent.
No one interrupted him.
"...Everything..."
"...Felt completely real."
He unconsciously clenched his fist.
"...They smiled."
"...They talked to me."
"...They asked me why I'd been away for so long."
His breathing slowed.
"...For a moment..."
"...I forgot it was an illusion."
Ling Yue stared at him without blinking.
Ling Wei smiled bitterly.
"...Until I remembered something."
"...Father..."
"...Had already died."
"...Long ago."
He looked toward the colossal stone sword.
"...That was when I understood."
"...No matter how much I wanted it to be real..."
"...It couldn't be."
"...So I rejected the illusion."
Silence settled over the mountaintop once again.
Even Chi Bai—
who could rarely remain quiet—
lowered his head.
Only then did many begin to realize—
the first assessment had never been the same for everyone.
The formation had not tested them with a single illusion.
It had searched each person's heart...
And confronted them with something different.