The image revealed Duan Yiwei.
Yun Jin instinctively frowned.
The scene was simply too uncomfortable to look at.
In this first trial, Duan Yiwei had established a massive jianghu organization and, under the pretext of hunting down enemies, had practically slaughtered the entire martial world.
The image showed him with a ferocious expression, leading his subordinates as they massacred countless lives.
Yun Jin wasn't surprised by Duan Yiwei's nature.
What puzzled her was why Duan Yiwei would completely reveal it.
Curious, Yun Jin directly asked the Heart Trial Mirror.
An Tong showed a smug smile, "Little Master, do you really think everyone can remain clear-headed in the illusion like you? Your divine soul is exceptionally strong, so from beginning to end, you knew those worlds were merely trials, didn't you?"
Yun Jin nodded.
An Tong smiled, "But for everyone else, that's not the case. Once they enter the illusion, their memories and cultivation are sealed. To them, while inside, they couldn't sense anything abnormal, so everything they do comes straight from their true nature. If, under the Heart Trial Mirror, they could still conceal their true selves, wouldn't that mean I'm completely useless?"
Only then did Yun Jin understand.
So her remaining clear-headed from start to finish was the exception. For most people, once they entered the illusion, they became pieces within the game.
Yun Jin now understood why Cheng Su and Ye Liuqin acted in such roundabout ways, why Jin Yu ended up being schemed against, and why Duan Yiwei revealed his true nature.
If they had also entered the trials while fully conscious, given their experience as cultivators, their choices would've likely been different.
Soon, everyone passed the first trial.
An Tong summarized, "From the first trial alone, the friends you brought, Little Master, all have acceptable temperaments. As for Kunlun Sword Sect, Jin Yu and that female sword immortal called Linglan are decent enough, but the rest still have problems. The disciples of Beast Taming Sect and Xuandan Sect, although their memories were sealed during the trial, naturally carry a sense of superiority ingrained in their bones. If they cannot shed this arrogance, they are likely unsuited to cultivating the Dao of Wushuang Sect. As for the few from Qingxiao Pavilion, the situation is even worse. Beyond arrogance, they act without restraint. By the second trial, they will probably completely unravel."
Yun Jin nodded.
Although the scripts of the second trial might differ, the core of the test was largely the same, how one treats the weak after obtaining overwhelming power.
Yun Jin couldn't help but sigh and had a feeling that.
A thousand years ago, the Four Great Holy Lands had rushed without hesitation to save Wushuang Sect. Although they arrived too late, their intent had been sincere.
After the crisis passed, with no Wushuang Sect above them, the Four Great Holy Lands inevitably began to swell with pride.
Kunlun Sword Sect, under Master Ji's leadership, was slightly better. There were still many true sword cultivators sincerely devoted to the sword. But proportionally, quite a few sword cultivators had likely already strayed from their original hearts.
The other three Holy Lands were uniformly aloof. Beast Taming Sect and Xuandan Sect were tolerable, at least not deliberately slaughtering innocents. But Qingxiao Pavilion was practically no different from the Demon Clan.
Is this what it meant for decay to flow from the top down?
First Li Heng, then Duan Yiwei and others, and finally Lin Xiao as sect master… Qingxiao Pavilion seemed rotten through and through with no hope of saving it.
The Four Great Holy Lands…
Yun Jin had a vague feeling.
When Wushuang Sect truly grew powerful, she would inevitably have to face the Four Great Holy Lands head-on.
When that time came.
How could she avoid hurting the feelings of her masters?
Yun Jin felt conflicted.
The internal problems of the Four Great Holy Lands were simply too severe. For now, because of her masters, the disciples of the Holy Lands could still help her.
But in the future, once they realized that Wushuang Sect wouldn't develop according to their wishes, it's highly likely that they would turn hostile.
At that point, her masters would be placed in an extremely difficult position.
Thinking this far ahead, Yun Jin couldn't help but laugh.
Why is she worrying about these things so early?
There's still a very long way to go before Wushuang Sect can grow to the point where the Four Great Holy Lands feel threatened.
If she voiced these concerns to her masters now, they would probably only treat her like a child and think she just was overthinking.
She would think through solutions on her own, and try her best to avoid a situation where both sides would be forced into such a difficult position.
With early planning, coexistence should still be possible.
That was for the other three Holy Lands.
As for Qingxiao Pavilion, in Yun Jin's view, it was rotten to the core from top to bottom.
In the original story, Lin Xiao had repeatedly sheltered Yang Yun, allowing the Demon Lord to grow all the way to the end.
This Qingxiao Pavilion had also ridden the coattails of the male and female leads, rising together with them.
This sect is definitely problematic.
If Qingxiao Pavilion continued to remain entangled with the Demon Clan in the future, it would be better to eliminate it sooner rather than later.
Seeing Yun Jin's expression, An Tong suddenly asked curiously, "Little Master, in your final trial, you seemed to harbor deep hatred toward the Demon Clan."
Yun Jin coldly sneered, "What reason is there not to hate them?"
A scene surfaced in her mind.
She had transmigrated through countless worlds. By all logic, this should've been something long past.
Yet recalling it now, her heart still ached unbearably.
The Yun family was located in Yuan City, within Canglan Kingdom. Yuan City was small, its resources scarce. The entire city lacked even a single cultivation family, and cultivators were extremely rare.
Some people lived their entire lives without ever seeing a cultivator. The Yun family was merely a wealthy household within Yuan City.
Yun Jin had grown up cherished and pampered. At the time, she knew cultivators existed, but had never thought of pursuing cultivation herself.
Her lifelong wish was to simply live peacefully with her father, her mother, and her other relatives. At that time, her wishes even included Ye Danxia.
She only wanted to spend her life together with them, whole and complete.
As for cultivation, longevity, or world-shaking power, those things were far too distant from her.
Back then, she only had such a simple, ordinary wish.
Yet even such a wish was as impossible to realize in this world as ascending to immortality.
It was an ordinary day. She and Ye Danxia had agreed to go on an outing outside the city.
That morning, her parents were still fine. They smiled as they saw them off, reminding them to bring more attendants and to be careful.
At the time, she had never imagined that it would be a final farewell.
When they returned that day, the Yun residence was drenched in blood. The courtyard was filled with the corpses of Yun family members and servants.
Yun Jin went mad and rushed inside. Among so many people, only her grandfather still had a single breath left.
Her grandfather handed her the family heirloom ring and urged her to seek immortal destiny.
But at that moment, she had no thoughts for immortal destiny. She cried and asked what had happened.
The reason was absurdly laughable.
She had no intention of cultivating, but her family thought otherwise. By chance, they discovered she possessed a spiritual root. Though they didn't know what type, having a spiritual root meant she could cultivate.
So her grandfather and parents concealed it from her and poured out the family's entire fortune to purchase a five-hundred-year-old medicinal herb, planning for her to take it and find a master who could teach her.
But how could mortal actions escape the eyes of cultivators?
During the purchase of that herb, certain people noticed it.
And then.
The Yun family suffered this sudden calamity.