Bab 13: Chapter 13
The first thing Yun Che noticed upon being transferred to this illusion was a sharp dagger lying at a side, within hand's reach of both Yun Gu and himself. He sighed, a bit disappointed, 'Isn't this the same as the Phoenix spirit trial? Do I prioritize strength or a loved one, right? So I should let Yun Gu kill me with this knife?'
Yun Gu laughed manically at this moment, "Yun Che my disciple, those scum who are chasing us for the Sky Poison Pearl have no idea the pit they have dug for themselves. I have formed a plan to solve this problem once and for all!"
Yun Che was surprised. That was because he had actually seen this memory from the original Yun Che's memories, and it wasn't supposed to go like this. This was the point where Yun Gu would entrust the Sky Poison Pearl to him and then be killed by the people chasing them, setting the original Yun Che on a path of vengeance.
Yun Gu was not supposed to say that he had a plan for solving their problem, and it intrigued him. This was definitely related to his test for this trial!
He put on a curious expression and asked, "What is your plan, master?" If the original Yun Che was here, he would definitely have been overjoyed to get the chance to save his master.
Yun Gu answered with a devious glint in his eyes, "After studying the medicinal book a lot, I finally found a way to use the Sky Poison Pearl in an offensive way such that I can poison even hundreds of Sovereign Profound realm cultivators to death at once! I am going to use this method and kill all the millions of people who are chasing us. Then no one will dare to try to steal it from me any longer!"
Yun Che was taken aback. This was not how he expected this to go. The original Yun Che would have been ecstatic and assisted his master to kill those millions of pursuers, since he had eventually killed them himself later in his life, in the exact same way. But perhaps that was the trap of this test.
The Phoenix trial tested how much Yun Che loved Su Ling'er. Upon seeing Yun Gu, he had expected the Dragon God trial to test the same for him. But it seemed it was the exact opposite: did Yun Che have a strong enough heart to kill his own beloved master to save millions of people, who were his enemies and had eventually died to his own hands?
He then finally realized the difference: the Phoenix was a benevolent being who placed huge priority on compassion and self sacrifice, so it was understandable that her trial would test those qualities. But the Dragon God was a strong and tyrannical being who prioritized justice and righteousness, even at the cost of loved ones, so his trial would test those qualities.
This was not a test of love and devotion; this was a test of having the courage to make hard decisions. Would Yun Che be able to kill a single beloved person to save millions of hostile ones? Would he be able to sacrifice his feelings for the greater good?
The original Yun Che would have definitely failed this test, but the current Yun Che was not emotionally affected by his memories. He was someone who saw objectivity and rationality as the greatest virtues.
Yun Gu stood up, "Alright disciple, I am going to use this method to poison the water reservoirs. That would be the fastest way to spread the poison."
Saying this, he turned around. As he turned around, Yun Che realized this was his chance. Because he was unable to feel any of his profound energy or techniques while in this illusion – the spirit had sealed those for the time being.
Picking up the dagger, he sneaked towards Yun Gu's back. He had killed people before, but they were all despicable scum and had all immediately burnt to death from a distance, which had made the act a bit easier for him. But now he was about to kill a person up close, with his own hands. And although he was not emotionally affected by Yun Che's memories, he knew that the real Yun Gu was an innocent man, which made this even harder.
'Not a person. Just an illusion, not real. I won't actually be killing anyone,' he repeated words to himself to convince himself to do the deed.
Finally, just when Yun Gu was about to walk away and Yun Che was about to miss his chance, he hardened his heart and swept his left hand forward to grab Yun Gu's mouth from the front. Pulling him towards himself, he fiercely thrust the dagger into the back of his neck, then let go.
Yun Gu made some gurgling sounds, and then turned around to look at Yun Che with a face of betrayal. Yun Che kept himself steady, aware that this was yet another test of his mental strength. Finally, Yun Gu toppled down and died.
The surroundings twisted and distorted into a black space and the Dragon spirit reappeared, "Why did you do that? Why did you kill your beloved master in favor of your enemies?"
Yun Che, who was now shaking and breathing a bit raggedly from the shock, answered with a smile, "I learnt a valuable lesson from a book I once read. It was a great moral that influenced my current personality. 'To do the wrong things for the right reasons'. Meaning, to commit a lesser evil for the greater good, or to prevent a greater evil from occurring."
Yun Che was not lying this time. He had indeed read a great novel in his original life that had instilled this moral in him. The Dragon spirit was puzzled: he had gone through Yun Che's memories, but didn't find any such book. But then, he had only skimmed through them and not gone into details, so it was understandable.
Finally, he nodded, satisfied, "Good. Just like in the Phoenix trial, you managed to understand the essence of this test as well. And you took the hard choice, evident from your slight hesitation and current state. You have passed."
The spirit did not realize that Yun Che's hesitation and current state were not because of having to kill his beloved master, but because he was unaccustomed to the act of killing.
Yun Che finally received the rewards of his month long test.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone