The moment the last Earth Scorpion dissolved—
a warm radiance enveloped Ling Yue.
Her wounds began healing at a visible pace.
Cuts closed.
Bruises faded.
The soreness in her muscles melted away.
The nearly depleted spiritual sea within her rapidly refilled.
Within moments—
she had returned to peak condition.
Ling Yue looked down at her hands.
She slowly clenched them into fists.
"My spiritual energy..."
"It recovered..."
She flexed her fingers once more.
The exhaustion that had burdened her body only moments earlier had completely vanished.
It was as though the battle had never happened.
She barely had time to process what had happened.
The desert suddenly trembled violently.
RUMBLE!!
Three enormous Earth Scorpions erupted from beneath the sand simultaneously.
Each one radiated the same terrifying aura as the previous beast.
Ling Yue stared blankly.
"...Seriously?"
She couldn't help muttering under her breath.
"Not even a moment to catch my breath..."
High above—
the small white-scaled lizard floated silently.
Watching.
Observing.
His expression never changed.
Ling Yue could only sigh helplessly.
"...Of course."
Her grip tightened around her sword.
Spiritual energy surged through her meridians once again.
This time—
she didn't hesitate.
WHOOSH!
She shot forward, charging directly toward the three Earth Scorpions.
---
Time passed.
Battle after battle.
Failure after failure.
Victory after victory.
The dream world never rested.
Neither did Ling Yue.
Whenever she was injured—
the dream restored her body.
Whenever she exhausted every drop of spiritual energy—
her spiritual sea was instantly replenished.
Then—
another battle would begin.
Again.
And again.
Her opponents gradually became stronger.
Smarter.
More unpredictable.
The Earth Scorpions disappeared.
In their place came savage wolves.
The wolves gave way to venomous serpents.
The serpents were replaced by enormous birds capable of dominating the skies.
Each encounter forced her to adapt.
Forced her to think.
Forced her to improve.
---
Two weeks later—
the dream world transformed once again.
The scorching desert vanished.
In its place—
an ancient forest stretched endlessly beneath a silver moon.
Towering black trees blocked nearly all of the moonlight.
Thick spider webs connected trunks broader than houses.
The air itself felt damp.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Dangerous.
At the center of the forest—
BOOM!!
An enormous spider crashed violently onto the ground.
Its massive body convulsed.
Several of its gigantic legs had already been severed.
Dark green blood spread across the forest floor.
The monstrous creature released one final shriek.
Then—
its life faded away.
Its enormous body dissolved into countless particles of light.
Gone.
Silence returned beneath the ancient trees.
Ling Yue remained standing several meters away.
Her breathing was ragged.
Heavy.
Sweat soaked her forehead.
Two tiny translucent qi swords hovered weakly beside her.
Their glow flickered unsteadily.
Moments later—
both swords shattered into drifting motes of spiritual energy.
"...Haa..."
"...Haa..."
She planted her sword firmly into the ground to support herself.
Her arms trembled uncontrollably.
Even knowing the dream would soon restore her—
that battle had pushed her completely to her limit.
She looked toward the place where the spider had disappeared.
A bitter smile slowly appeared.
"...A Late Stage Fifth-Rank beast..."
"I actually defeated it..."
High above the forest canopy—
Lizarius floated silently.
His golden eyes calmly observed every detail.
*Interesting.*
Compared to two weeks ago—
her control over the reconstructed sword art had improved dramatically.
The two qi swords she produced were still crude.
Still imperfect.
But they had become noticeably more stable.
She no longer squandered spiritual energy through unnecessary movements.
Every step.
Every slash.
Every strand of qi—
served a purpose.
She was beginning to understand something far more important than brute strength.
Efficiency.
Not merely power.
Efficiency.
The small white-scaled lizard silently committed every observation to memory.
Then—
with the slightest movement of his claw—
the moonlit forest trembled once again.
Another trial was about to begin.
The moonlit forest dissolved.
The towering trees...
The shattered webs...
The bloodstained battlefield...
Everything faded into countless particles of white light.
Within moments—
the entire world disappeared.
Only an endless white expanse remained.
Ling Yue blinked in confusion.
"...Huh?"
She instinctively looked around.
"The forest..."
"It disappeared."
A moment later, she frowned.
"I thought another beast was coming."
"But..."
"It doesn't seem like it."
The endless white space rippled softly.
Then—
the small white-scaled lizard appeared before her once again.
Floating quietly in midair.
His golden eyes remained as calm and indifferent as ever.
He studied her silently for a brief moment before finally speaking.
"...That will be enough."
Ling Yue blinked.
"...Enough?"
Before she could ask another question—
the dream space distorted once more.
A humanoid silhouette slowly emerged from the endless white.
First came the outline.
Then the clothing.
Then the face.
"...Big Brother?"
Ling Yue's eyes widened.
"Ling Wei!"
The figure looked around in confusion.
"...Yue?"
His brows furrowed.
"What is this place?"
His eyes swept across the endless white surroundings.
Then they landed on the floating lizard.
His expression instantly became cautious.
"...Senior?"
Lizarius remained silent.
Then—
with another slight movement of his claw—
a sword materialized from thin air.
It floated toward Ling Wei.
Stopping directly before him.
Almost instinctively—
he reached out and caught it.
"...Senior?"
Ling Wei looked down at the unfamiliar sword.
Then back toward the lizard.
Only then did the white-scaled lizard speak.
His voice remained calm.
Emotionless.
"Let us see how much your mentality has improved."
Neither sibling understood what he meant.
Ling Yue hesitated.
"...Senior..."
"What do you mean?"
The answer came immediately.
"You will kill him."
A brief pause.
"Or he will kill you."
Silence.
Those words echoed endlessly throughout the white dreamscape.
Ling Yue froze.
The color drained from her face.
"...What?"
Ling Wei's pupils contracted sharply.
Even his composure nearly shattered.
"...Senior..."
"There must be some misunderstanding."
"There is none."
Lizarius's voice remained completely flat.
"The two of you will fight."
"One survives."
"One dies."
Ling Yue instinctively took a step backward.
"...No..."
Her breathing became uneven.
"There has to be another test."
"I don't want to fight Big Brother."
Ling Wei remained motionless as well.
His grip around the sword tightened unconsciously.
His eyes never left the lizard.
Trying to understand.
Trying to find a reason.
A flaw.
Anything.
But Lizarius merely watched them.
Waiting.
Observing.
As though this was no different from every experiment that had come before.
The silence stretched on.
Then—
the white dreamscape shifted.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the siblings.
Not enough to injure them.
Only enough to make hesitation feel unbearably heavy.
The lizard spoke once more.
"Begin."
The instant the word left his mouth—
Ling Wei moved.
Not because he wished to.
Not because he intended to kill his sister.
But because countless life-and-death battles and years of cultivation had carved one lesson into his instincts—
when an opponent gives the signal to begin, hesitation can be fatal.
WHOOSH!
His foot slammed against the ground.
The endless white floor cracked beneath the force.
Sword raised—
he shot toward Ling Yue like an arrow released from a bow.
Ling Yue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"...Big Brother!"
The instant their swords collided—
CLANG!
A sharp metallic cry echoed throughout the endless white world.
Ling Yue was forced several steps backward.
Ling Wei pressed forward relentlessly.
His sword moved with clean.
Efficient.
Precise movements.
There wasn't the slightest trace of hesitation in his attacks.
Only purpose.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Steel clashed again and again.
Ling Yue remained entirely on the defensive.
Her feet slid across the smooth white floor as she desperately blocked each strike.
Her thoughts raced.
*What is the meaning of this?*
Finally—
she shouted,
"Big Brother, stop!"
Another strike descended.
CLANG!
"What are you doing?!"
Ling Wei's expression tightened.
For the briefest moment—
pain flashed across his face.
"...I'm sorry."
His sword never slowed.
"There is no other way."
Ling Yue's heart sank.
"What do you mean, 'no other way'?!"
She twisted aside, narrowly avoiding a thrust aimed directly at her shoulder.
The blade grazed past.
Before she could counter—
another slash followed immediately.
Too smooth.
Too seamless.
Too...
Her eyes narrowed.
*...Wait.*
She retreated another step.
Carefully observing him.
Every movement.
Every transition.
Every stance.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Her breathing gradually steadied.
*These aren't Big Brother's sword techniques...*
Another exchange.
CLANG!
She knew Ling Wei's habits better than anyone.
They had sparred together countless times since childhood.
She knew the slight pause before each thrust.
The subtle shift of weight onto his rear foot before unleashing a powerful slash.
The tiny hesitation whenever he changed direction.
But this—
This swordsman possessed none of those habits.
Every movement was efficient.
Calculated.
Almost...
Mechanical.
There was no wasted motion.
No familiar rhythm.
No trace of Ling Wei.
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
*That's right...*
Her surroundings.
The endless white world.
The impossible dream.
The mysterious lizard.
Everything came rushing back.
*This is a dream.*
*It has been from the very beginning.*
Her gaze sharpened.
*This isn't my brother.*
*It's only an illusion.*
The realization shattered the hesitation restraining her.
Her breathing slowed.
Her mind became perfectly calm.
The guilt.
The fear.
The reluctance—
all disappeared.
Her sword shifted.
No longer defensive.
No longer reactive.
Ling Wei—
or rather, the dream's imitation of him—
lunged forward once more.
This time—
Ling Yue moved first.
WHOOSH!
Her movement technique erupted with far greater speed than before.
She slipped past the incoming blade like a gust of wind.
At the same moment—
her spiritual energy condensed along the edge of her sword.
A translucent qi sword formed beside it.
Small.
Stable.
Exactly as she had refined it during weeks of relentless training within the dream.
Lizarius watched silently from above.
His golden eyes never left her.
*Interesting.*
She hadn't merely identified the deception.
She had adjusted her mental state almost immediately after realizing the truth.
The hesitation that had crippled her only moments ago had vanished completely.
Ling Yue's eyes hardened.
"I'm sorry..."
She whispered.
Not to the illusion—
but to the memory it wore.
"...But you're not my brother."
The qi sword shot forward.
At the very same instant—
she stepped in.
Her true blade and the floating qi sword attacked from two completely different angles.
A technique she had spent weeks perfecting inside the dream.
The false Ling Wei raised his sword to block one attack—
But not both.
SHING!
The qi sword pierced straight through his chest.
At the same moment—
her own blade swept cleanly across his neck in one smooth, fluid motion.
The illusion froze.