Her Majesty the Empress?
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow.
She sensed around her current body and discovered that it actually possessed cultivation. Moreover, it was at Nascent Soul Stage, exactly matching her true strength.
That alone would've been one thing.
But when Yun Jin probed further, she realized that aside from herself, everyone else below was nothing more than ordinary mortals.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes.
A Nascent Soul cultivator ruling a mortal world as its empress? Is that what this is?
With suspicion in her heart, Yun Jin began to explore this world.
This world felt even more real than the one from the previous heart-trial.
In the first trial, Yun Jin had leapt directly from infancy to becoming a peerless expert, she hadn't personally experienced the years of growing up in between.
But this world seemed to lack that kind of fast-forward in time. Here, Yun Jin actually lived three full months of exploration, three months of experience, before she finally confirmed the truth.
This was still a mortal world.
The only difference was.
Her.
She was the sole empress of the entire mortal world, the only cultivator in existence.
And not just any cultivator, but one at Nascent Soul Stage.
What did that mean?
It meant that if she so wished, she could slaughter every mortal in this world without suffering the slightest injury.
A Nascent Soul cultivator in a mortal world.
That was absolute invincibility.
True, unquestionable invincibility.
In this world, the empress had no real enemies. In fact, these mortals didn't even dare raise their voices in her presence. To them, she was nothing less than a living deity.
So what exactly was the Heavenly Stairway testing here?
Yun Jin waited for a long time, yet no main task appeared. This world also restricted cultivation so she couldn't progress any further.
With nothing better to do, Yun Jin began to govern the mortal world.
She had transmigrated through countless worlds. Though most of her memories and experience were sealed, once she began managing such a vast mortal realm, fragments of knowledge and instinct gradually resurfaced.
Yun Jin remained within this illusory mortal world for a full thirty years.
Despite possessing overwhelming power, she didn't abuse it. Instead, she protected the people and nurtured the world, transforming it into a true earthly paradise.
When Yun Jin finally returned to the Heavenly Stairway, she felt slightly dazed.
Thirty years…This trial was truly ruthless.
A full thirty years, no matter how steadfast a person's temperament, even knowing it was a test, such a long span of time would inevitably expose their true nature.
Some people are benevolent and kind, a genuinely good person.
But what if, one day, they suddenly possessed power that no one else could rival?
Would that kindness still remain?
This was precisely what the second trial of the Heavenly Stairway sought to examine.
Yun Jin adjusted her slightly mindset, quickly returning to calm. Without lingering, she continued upward.
This time, when she was just one step away from the summit, she entered the third trial.
Yun Jin understood.
This should be the final test.
Once she passed it, she would reach the top of the stairway.
As for how her previous heart-trials had been evaluated, those results were still unknown.
Relaxing her mind, Yun Jin stepped into the third illusion.
This time, the moment she entered the illusion, Yun Jin felt a surge of irritation.
In the illusion, she held a sword and hovered in midair. The place she stood in was saturated with demonic qi, and below her, endless streams of the Demon Clan surged forth.
Beneath her, humans and demons were locked in fierce battle, casualties mounting on both sides. And she was the leader of the humans. Below, the battle raged on. In the sky, Yun Jin herself fought desperately against the demons' leader.
Gradually, the humans began to gain the upper hand, and Yun Jin also gained a slight advantage over the demon leader.
Just as Yun Jin prepared to press forward and slay him.
The demon leader suddenly began to beg for mercy.
"Fairy Yun, the battle has already cost both sides dearly. If we continue, even if my Demon Clan is wiped out, the humans will suffer catastrophic losses as well. Why not stop here? My Demon Clan is willing to sign a contract, submit to the humans, and offer tribute every year. What do you say?"
Sign a contract?
Submit to the humans?
Yun Jin coldly sneered and her sword fell. The demon leader's head was instantly severed, dead beyond any doubt.
After that, Yun Jin led the human race in completely annihilating the Demon Clan in the illusion.
Just as the Demon Clan leader had said, the humans also suffered grievous losses. In the end, fewer than one in ten remained standing.
Someone couldn't help but question her, "Leader, the demons repeatedly sought peace. If we had signed a contract earlier and reached a peace agreement, this great battle could have been avoided. So many of us wouldn't have died. I think—"
Yun Jin glanced at him and swung her sword.
Before he could finish speaking, he died with his eyes open.
The battlefield fell into silence.
Everyone looked at Yun Jin.
Yun Jin said calmly, "Do you not know what the Demon Clan is? The Demon Clan originates beyond the heavens. Their nature is greedy and deceitful. Once they discover a world with life, they invade en masse and seize everything. And the worlds that fall to the Demon Clan? What becomes of them? Do you not know? If even a single Demon Clan survivor remains, they will eventually rise again or summon reinforcements from beyond the heavens. At that time, it will be our extinction! Today, the Demon Clan of this world has been wiped out. Though all is in ruins, this is precisely the moment for unity and reconstruction. If I hear even a word of sympathy for the Demon Clan, or doubt about this war again, it will be death without pardon."
As her words fell.
The illusion shattered.
Yun Jin returned to the heavenly stairway.
She smiled faintly and took the final step, reaching the summit.
She didn't know how the three heart-trials had been judged. But, she had acted according to her own heart in all of them, and was free of regret.
At the summit lay an open platform, upon which stood a mirror.
"Little Master, you finished so quickly?" Tianpo's voice reconnected in her mind. "That is the Heart Trial Mirror. The result should be revealed there."
Yun Jin was curious about the results and walked over.
She stood before the mirror and looked at her reflection.
At first, the mirror showed Yun Jin herself.
Gradually, the scene changed.
It replayed her actions in the first trial, her every action in taking revenge.
Then the second trial, how she governed a nation, revered by countless people.
Then the third trial, her ruthless sword strike.
The scenes flashed by.
Finally, a line of text appeared.
"A practitioner of self-belief, a born ruler revered by the masses, a decisive commander upon the battlefield. This person's temperament is fixed, their inner principles unshakable, and they will not change due to the opinions of others. Final evaluation: No need for others' judgment, I will walk my own Dao."
Yun Jin couldn't help but smile.
This Heart Trial Mirror was rather interesting. Its final evaluation was, in fact, that no evaluation was needed.
She was quite satisfied.
She had her own principles and her own Dao. No judgment could truly alter that.
The Heart Trial Mirror likely understood this, hence came to such a conclusion.
"Ha! Even this lousy mirror finally met someone it couldn't judge," Tianpo said with schadenfreude.
"Who are you calling a lousy mirror?! You trash sword, can you speak properly?!"
A furious voice suddenly rang out.
A little boy, completely naked except for a bellyband, crawled straight out of the Heart Trial Mirror.