A frenzied commotion broke out amongst the spectators at the appearance of the new trial.
"Heaven's Shadow Trial? What is that?" a youth around twenty years old asked those nearby.
"I have no idea. I've never heard about this trial?" one replied.
"Has that trial always been there? Why were we unaware of it this entire time?"
"How did he find it? It was completely invisible! Is it a new trial the Guild added recently?"
The discussions ranged from confusion to excitement, while a select few had serious expressions on their faces. They were all older members of the Guild, and such as the Grandmaster, the two Master ranked guildmembers who had been traveling with him, as well as several other high-ranking members.
"Grandmaster," Zuri said, wanting to know what was going on. "What exactly is going on? What is this Heaven's Shadow Trial John somehow found?"
The Grandmaster's eyes remained glued to the screen for some time before shifting to Zuri. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he leaned against the backrest of his seat.
"The Heaven's Shadow trial is something from long before your time," the Grandmaster said, eyes distant as if deep in thought. "When the first Guildmaster created the Shadows of Death Guild, he also created these trials. The trials were to serve two purposes: test worthiness of becoming an assassin, and test talent.
Initially, there were only the three trials, standard, elite, and genius, but for some reason, the Guildmaster eventually added a fourth, the Heaven's Shadow Trial. The reason for him creating this trial was unknown at the time, but eventually the truth came out. It was a trial to find someone worthy of becoming his successor."
Zuri's eyes widened with surprise as she heard this.
"The Heaven's Shadow trial was created to find the first Guildmasters successor?" she repeated, shifting her gaze to the screen which showed John standing before the archway. "Why was it hidden away? Did the current Guildmaster pass the trial, at which point it was no longer needed?"
"Yes, and no," the Grandmaster replied, face stoic. "The current Guildmaster did end up passing the trial, but only barely. However, the trial was not closed after his successful completion of it, and was instead left open for other trial participants to take it should they wish, to prove their worthiness to the Guild. After several decades, the trial was eventually closed and hidden, as the losses incurred within the trial were too severe for the Guild to withstand. The most promising geniuses were taking on the trial and failing, perishing within. The amount of talent lost in just those few decades was determined to be too great, and so the trial was hidden. To think this boy would discover it."
"It's that dangerous?" Zuri asked. "How many managed to pass the trial in the end?"
"By the time the trial was closed, the total participants, all geniuses worthy of passing the Genius trial with ease had they taken that trial, was six thousand and seventy two," the Grandmaster said, shifting a heavy gaze to Zuri. "And out of those six thousand, only the current Guildmaster survived. The rest perished within."
Gasps of surprise echoed within the room, as it had fallen silent as everyone listened to the Grandmasters teachings of the trials history. None of them had expected this unexpected trial to have such a brutal history to it, and hushed discussions once again broke out amongst the guildmembers, about the trial, and about if they thought John would enter it or not, and if he did, what his fate would be.
"This boy you found seems quite promising, so I was looking forward to his performance," the Grandmaster said, sullen eyes gazing at John's image on the screen. "Should he prove himself wise and enter the Genius trial, he can still be saved, but…should he enter the Heaven's Shadow trial, then I'm afraid this promising youth you found will lose his life today."
Zuri's face scrunched up with a complicated expression. Her thoughts shifted back to John's battle in the chamber the night before, and she relaxed a bit. She had confidence that whatever came his way, he would be able to deal with it. His combat prowess was just that heaven-defying.
The hushed discussions broke out into frenzied commotion as several members cried out in surprise.
"He went in! He entered the Heaven's Shadow Trial!"
A sigh escaped the Grandmaster's mouth as he slouched back slightly. He watched as John's figure appeared in a new room, starting the first trial.
"A pity. He seemed like a good lad."
…
John stood before the archway for a short while, inspecting it carefully.
'It seems like the other trials, just hidden for some reason,' he mused. 'The aura coming from this trial is much more severe than the others, so I'm assuming it's the hardest version of the trials I can take. Was finding this hidden trial the first step to be able to take it?'
After thinking about it for a while, he shrugged and stepped forward.
'If I wasn't supposed to enter it, I'm sure the Guild would have removed it entirely.'
With no more delay, he stepped into the swirling portal of energy, disappearing within. A moment later, John found himself standing in a dark room. The room suddenly burst alight, a luxurious estate popping up before him.
Mansions, gardens, fountains, ponds, and more popped up into existence, turning the dark room into a lavish estate of exquisite luxury. John surveyed the estate before him, trying to spot if there was any danger he could see.
His eyes eventually fell on a singular figure, sitting several hundred yards away from him at the top of some stairs leading to the entrance of the largest mansion. The human figure was seated in a meditative position, eyes closed as if deep in a trance.
It was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, with long black hair, and a luxurious robe.
John's head swiveled about, trying to see if there was anything else of importance, but found nothing. He frowned, wondering what the purpose of the trial was.
As if answering his thoughts, a deep voice boomed out.
"Assassinate!" it said firmly.
"Assassinate, huh?" John mused, head still swiveling about. He didn't want to send out his divine senses to inspect the area, as he didn't want it to alert the mysterious person sitting at the top of the stairs a short distance away.
After seeing nothing, his gaze returned to the man, an eyebrow raising with surprise as he felt the aura of the man.
"Middle Dao Transformation huh?" John thought, frowning with disappointment. "Based on the secrecy of this trial and the aura of the portal, I expected it to be a challenge, even for me. I guess I expected too much."
Clearly the trial was scaling the enemies based on his cultivation, and for anyone else, assassinating someone a full minor realm above their own cultivation would be a difficult task, but to John, it was nothing more than a joke.
Without giving it another thought, spatial energy wrapped around him as he dashed towards the man, officially commencing the first Heaven's Shadow Trial.
