CHAPTER 39 — RESONANCE TRIAL: THE SECOND ECHO
Jason Wu didn't feel the ground beneath him—only the sensation of rising through an endless river of golden light. The swirling luminescence flowed around him like currents of warm wind, lifting him higher into the star-filled void.
His body was weightless. His breath was steady. But his mind was racing.
He had survived the First Echo.
A trial created by the First Wu—an ancestor so powerful even Longwu Sword spoke his name with caution. The labyrinth, the echo beasts, the memory hall, and the shadow of himself… all of it had nearly crushed him.
And yet—
Jason was still standing.
Longwu Sword hummed quietly in his hand. Not sarcastic this time. Almost gentle.
["Not bad, boy. Your ancestors would've been mildly impressed. Maybe."]
Jason exhaled slowly. "Mildly?"
["Very mildly. Extremely mildly. On second thought, they might still call you an embarrassment. But you lived, so that's a start."]
Jason groaned. "Why do I even talk to you?"
["Because I'm the only one who won't sugarcoat the fact that you almost died seventeen times within that maze."]
Jason winced. "It felt like thirty."
["That's because you ran headfirst into two walls."]
"Oh."
Before Jason could defend himself, the golden current shifted. The swirling light condensed into a massive circular gate made of star-forged metal. Ancient engravings pulsed on its surface like veins of molten gold.
Jason steadied himself.
This wasn't a normal gate.
It looked like something carved into existence by a Titan.
Longwu Sword buzzed faintly.
["This… Jason, this gate was not built by the First Wu. This is older. Much older."]
Jason froze. "Older than the founder of my lineage?"
["Yes. This is from the era before cultivation was even understood. An era before techniques, before sects, before clans. A time when only willpower shaped the heavens."]
Jason felt his skin prickle. "Then why is it part of MY resonance trial?"
["Because your bloodline is older than your First Wu ancestor."]
Jason's stomach dropped.
Before he could ask, the gate split open.
A flood of silver mist burst outward, engulfing him.
---
### THE SILVER REALM
Jason stumbled as his feet touched solid ground again.
He stood in an open landscape—flat, endless, blank. No sky. No horizon. No wind. Everything was covered in smooth silver light, like a world made entirely of moonlight.
Jason whispered, "This place feels… empty."
Longwu Sword replied softly.
["This is the Realm of Echoes. A memory-space where ancient wills are preserved as trials."]
Jason turned slowly, his footsteps echoing unnaturally loud.
A lone structure appeared in the distance.
A massive stone platform floating just above the ground, with four enormous pillars rising from its corners. Each pillar was carved with runes so old even Longwu Sword muttered in confusion.
["I can't read these. Which is concerning. I'm three generations older than your First Wu."]
Jason's heart hammered faster.
Yet he walked toward the platform. He felt drawn, as if something inside those pillars called to him.
When he reached the edge of the platform, golden flames ignited across its surface—forming a circle around him.
A deep voice echoed.
**"The Second Echo awakens."**
Jason looked up sharply.
A second figure materialized on the far side of the platform.
Unlike the First Echo, this one was not a silhouette.
This one had a face.
A young man—perhaps in his mid-twenties. Tall, calm, radiating the aura of someone who had weathered countless storms. His eyes glowed silver, and his long black hair drifted like shadows in the wind.
He wore a simple robe with the same emblem Jason had been born with—a twisted dragon curling around a sword.
Jason's breath halted.
This man looked like him.
Not identical. But extremely similar.
Stronger, older, wiser.
Jason whispered, "Who… are you?"
The man stepped forward, his voice calm and steady.
**"Wu Jian."**
Longwu Sword gasped—a sound Jason rarely heard.
["Jason—Wu Jian was your great ancestor. The one known as the Silent Monarch. The second strongest in your entire lineage history."]
Jason froze. "Second strongest? Then who was first?"
["The one after him. But that's not your concern. Yet."]
Wu Jian raised his hand, and the silver realm shifted like rippling water.
**"Descendant. You carry the burden of our blood. The First Echo tested your resolve. But resolve is meaningless without control."**
Jason stiffened.
**"The Second Echo is the Trial of Dominion."**
Jason swallowed. "Dominion of what?"
Wu Jian's eyes glowed brighter.
**"Dominion of yourself. Dominion of your power. Dominion over the force that hunts you."**
Jason held his blade tighter.
Wu Jian pointed a finger at him.
**"Show me you can wield power without letting it consume you."**
Jason's feet slid backward as an unseen force pinned him down. His legs trembled, but he refused to fall.
Longwu Sword vibrated urgently.
["Jason. Brace yourself. This is not a normal trial. Not a battle. Not a puzzle. This is a test of pure spiritual mastery."]
Jason gritted his teeth. "Meaning?"
["You must control the resonance inside your body. If not, you implode."]
Jason's blood ran cold.
---
### THE RESONANCE AWAKENS
Without warning, Jason's entire body ignited in silver light.
His meridians flared painfully, as if molten metal coursed through them. His heart pounded, each beat sending shockwaves through his veins.
Jason screamed.
Wu Jian observed from afar, expression unreadable.
**"Feel it. This is your untamed resonance. The strength your enemies seek. The power your ancestors forged. You must master it—or be destroyed by it."**
Jason collapsed to one knee.
"Longwu—help me—!"
The sword's voice snapped sharply.
["FOCUS! Stop fighting the resonance—guide it!"]
Jason gasped. "How?!"
["Use your breathing! Align your flow! Do not let the energy run wild! Breathe in—hold—release through the core!"]
Jason followed instinctively.
A cold surge tore through his limbs. He steadied it with a slow exhale.
His veins lit up in glowing patterns beneath his skin—constellations forming and fading.
Pain roared through him, but his body held.
Wu Jian nodded.
**"Good. But not enough."**
He raised his hand.
The world split open.
---
### THE THREE SPHERES OF DOMINION
Above Jason, three massive silver spheres formed, each one glowing with different intensities.
Wu Jian spoke slowly:
**"Dominion over Body.
Dominion over Mind.
Dominion over Blood."**
Jason's pulse raced.
Wu Jian continued:
**"Choose one. You may only face a single sphere in this trial."**
Jason blinked. "If I choose wrong…?"
Wu Jian's eyes sharpened.
**"Then you die."**
Jason's throat tightened.
Longwu Sword muttered darkly.
["Great. Fantastic. Wonderful. You are choosing between three flavors of death."]
Jason glared at the sword. "You're not helping!"
["Fine. Pick the third one. The Blood Sphere."]
Jason blinked. "Why that one?"
["Because your enemies are after your blood. Because power comes from understanding the core of your existence. Because the other two spheres will break your body in one minute. And your mind in three seconds."]
"…Fair enough."
Jason stepped toward the Blood Sphere.
Its glow intensified, pulsating like a heartbeat.
Wu Jian's expression finally changed—something like approval.
**"Very well, descendant. Face the truth of your blood."**
The Blood Sphere split apart, forming a massive vortex of red and silver energy.
Jason stepped inside.
The world exploded.
---
### INSIDE THE BLOOD SPHERE
Jason fell through a swirling tunnel of crimson light, landing on a floor of pulsating veins. The air smelled of iron and lightning. Echoes of many voices whispered around him—not words, but feelings.
Courage.
Rage.
Despair.
Triumph.
Sacrifice.
Jason whispered, "This… this is the memory of the Wu bloodline."
Longwu Sword spoke softly.
["Yes. You are standing inside the collective will of your ancestors. Every pain. Every struggle. Every triumph."]
Jason felt a single tear fall.
A figure materialized before him—another ancestor. This one older, wearing heavy armor marked with claw scars. He held a massive spear in his hand.
**"To carry our blood is to carry our war."**
Jason took a shaky breath.
"I'm ready."
The ancestor pointed the spear at him.
**"Then survive our judgment."**
The ground beneath Jason cracked. Red lightning erupted around him. The whispers grew louder—hundreds of ancestral wills testing him, probing him, measuring him.
He screamed as their pressure crushed down on him like a mountain.
But he refused to fall.
He forced one foot forward.
Then another.
Then another.
The whispers shifted.
From hostile… to accepting.
Jason's body glowed with red light. His heartbeat synced with the pulse of the sphere. His blood hummed with a power older than the worlds themselves.
Wu Jian's voice echoed distantly.
**"You have touched the truth of your blood. Now—claim it."**
Silver chains materialized around Jason's wrists—symbols of his former limits.
Jason roared.
Red light exploded from his chest.
The chains shattered.
The Blood Sphere burst apart.
Jason stood in the center of the silver realm, breathing heavily—but standing taller than before.
Wu Jian stared at him with something resembling pride.
**"You have passed the Second Echo."**
Jason straightened his back.
The ancestor raised his hand.
Silver light enveloped Jason.
**"Prepare for the Third."**
Jason's heart pounded.
Longwu Sword whispered:
["Boy… the Third Echo is the harshest of all. Brace yourself."]
Jason took a deep breath.
"I'm ready."
The world shattered.