The Wheel Of Samsara - 60 Ashen Heart III

“The Hellblaze Trials are divided in three parts.” Rebecca was looking intently at Amon with her green eyes as she spoke, raising three slender fingers in her hand.

She had called him not long after Daniel left and told him the news. Her son would need to prepare for the trials. More than that, he would need to be ready for what was to come. The Hellblaze Trials would be the least of his problems.

“The Trial of the Will, which will test the limits of your will power.”

“The Trial of the Mind, which will test your creativity and wit.”

“The Trial of the Heart, which will peer into your psyche and mindset.”

“Those are the qualities our Founder wanted young cultivators to excel at.” Rebecca explained with a calm and gentle voice as Amon heard her eagerly.

Rebecca’s eyes turned somewhat wistful as she remembered the past. She couldn’t help but smile softly as she quoted the words she once heard herself from an Elder as she prepared for the Hellblaze Trials years ago.

“Cultivators need a strong will, to make sure they never stop striving for their objectives.”

“Cultivators need a sharp mind, to guarantee a good use of this will and deal with all obstacles they will face in life.”

“Cultivators need a good heart, to make sure their will and minds are set in the right direction.”

“As such, you will have to rely on yourself for the Hellblaze Trials.” Rebecca said in a warning tone as she looked at Amon. This was not a test of strength, and there was no way to get around it.

Whether they liked or not, the greatest opponent the participants would have to face would be themselves. The only fact the participants could count on was that they would leave the Trials with a complete knowledge of who they were, be it a blessing or a curse.

“If these trials are hosted in the Abyss Sect and the Founder was the one that created them, why are the other four Sacred Sects involved?” Amon could not help but ask. He felt that it was not in the best interest of the Abyss Sect to share its resources like this, since all of the rewards from the Hellblaze Trials were provided by the founder.

“The Hellblaze Trials were made for the younger generation of cultivators as a whole.” Rebecca shook her head gently. “The main purpose of these trials is not the rewards; it is guiding the young cultivators to the right direction. It is not something our Founder wanted to restrict to his own sect.”

In other words, the rewards were just an incentive. Hearing this, Lya silently sneered in the interspatial ring. The real purpose was to make sure the young cultivators would follow the path that Arthur Royce deemed worthy. If they had a mindset similar to what he deemed “correct”, they would be rewarded. If not, they could only leave in empty-handed, knowing that the way they thought was “wrong”.

“There is something else.” Rebecca said as she looked at Amon with a pained expression. Her hesitation was clear as she tried to find the right words to speak to him. “More than likely, the Hellblaze Trials will be dangerous.”

“How so?” Amon raised a brow, clearly confused. Killing was strictly forbidden in the Hellblaze Secret World. Not only that, even if no one else but the participants could enter the Secret World, the Elders and representatives of the Five Sacred Sects still had means to know what was happening inside.

“Your father will be involved.” Rebecca spoke the words that had been stuck in her throat, and she could only look regretfully at her son as his expression greatly changed.

His face kwpt changing from to white to green, and his golden eyes widened. His brows furrowed deeply, and slowly his expression distorted into one of nothing but hate. Seeing her son like this was very hard for Rebecca, but she was powerless to do anything.

“Excuse me.” Amon said in a low voice, as he stood up and silently left the room. He couldn’t think straight, and he did not know exactly what he was feeling in the raging volcano that his emotions had turned into. What he knew was that it certainly was not something good.

Rebecca sighed loudly, as if trying to push away the matters weighing in her chest. She had a very tired look on her face as she stared at the door through which Amon left. She knew her son wanted to be alone to sort out his feelings. She too, had a lot to deal with regarding such matters.

While Amon and Rebecca were left alone with their troubles, Lya too as going through an array of complex emotions. The Hellblaze Secret World was something that had been achieved after the War of Falling Leaves, as Nemeus called it. All that Lya knew about it were things that Arthur had planned alongside Alexei, the Ashen Heart Tree included.

Hearing Rebecca’s explanation on how the Hellblaze Trials worked, Lya felt a deep contempt for all that Arthur Royce had done.

“Truly arrogant.” Lya thought to herself. She understood Arthur’s choice, but for him to do things that way was the same as admitting he thought he could dictate how people needed to think.

Nevertheless, she could not deny the usefulness of the Hellblaze Trials, especially for Amon. He would be able to confront all of his flaws and weaknesses, and that was a major step he needed to take in his path as a proper Soul Cultivator. In the Hellblaze Trials, Amon would have nowhere to hide from himself. He would be forced to understand himself, and what would follow would be growth.

“A pity that neither Arthur nor Alexei had this chance.” Lya shook her head as a wry smile appeared on her face.

If, long ago, something like the Hellblaze Trials had existed, maybe things would have been different. Lya found it very ironic that Arthur was the one that made the Trials, even more so considering that he also decided to sever the path of Soul Cultivation.

Her expression slowly turned cold and ruthlessness appeared deep in her eyes. She was not Nemeus. She did not have to understand Arthur Royce, much less forgive him. The mess he was as a person was not her problem. Her responsibility was to properly raise Amon and take him to a different path from what both Arthur and Alexei had taken, nothing more.

Arthur Royce and Alexei Vine were very similar and very different. Nevertheless, they both had an unbearable arrogance that came with power. They could bend the world itself to their will, and they were not afraid to do so with people too.

They had strength to rule the world, and they never hesitated to do so. They felt it was only natural. In that regard, they were very similar. The point where they differed was in which direction to take the world, and that was what split them apart and eventually led to war.

They never once considered that maybe they should not meddle with the lives of others. However, while Alexei did what he wanted without a care, Arthur Royce hid his intentions behind his ideals, always trying to be in the moral high ground.

Lya gave a long sigh as she resentfully remembered the past. As her thoughts drifted, her expression turned solemn, and the ruthlessness in her eyes gave way to an unbreakable resolve. She would not let Amon fail where Alexei and Arthur did.

What she had to do, what she decided to take upon herself, was to prove that a strong Soul Cultivator could be a decent human being.