It Cannot Shake My Heart

"What the hell is this!"

Hong Yuan's reaction was faster than her thoughts, letting out a sharp shout.

The giant axe tore through the wind and snow, chopping down toward the turtle's head with the force of a thunderbolt.

When the giant axe was still several meters away from the turtle shell, the runes on the shell lit up on their own.

An invisible force surged upward. Hong Yuan only felt a tremendous power crash against the face of her axe. She was knocked back several steps, her arms going numb.

The webbing between her thumb and forefinger holding the axe nearly split open.

"Stop!"

Yin Chen dashed forward, throwing his arm out in front of Hong Yuan.

His face was ashen, staring fixedly at the giant turtle.

The opponent hadn't moved an inch, yet completely nullified Hong Yuan's full-force strike. This was absolutely not something they—or at least he and Hong Yuan—could handle.

It's up to you, Boss Chen!

A magnetic voice echoed across the ice field.

The volume wasn't high, but it covered the sound of the wind, clearly piercing the ears of the three people.

"I have waited for you for a long time."

The giant turtle's gaze swept over the faces of the shaken Hong Yuan and the guarded Yin Chen one by one.

Finally, it settled on Chen Guan, who had remained silent all along.

"The one bearing the Xuanwu Mark, you have finally arrived."

Xuanwu Mark?

These words made Yin Chen's breath skip a beat, and he abruptly turned to Chen Guan.

So Chen Guan was hiding a secret he had never seen before.

He forcibly suppressed his churning thoughts, steadied his voice, and asked, "Who might you be, Your Excellency? Why are you waiting here?"

The giant turtle turned a deaf ear to Yin Chen's question.

Those ancient eyes only focused on Chen Guan, waiting for his response.

Its voice rang out again, carrying an indifference that had weathered eons.

"My name is Wu Xuan, the guardian of this place. This is the trial ground of Xuanwu. Only those who pass the trial can glimpse the secrets of Xuanwu."

It spoke slowly, "I can lead the way to the Xuanwu Tower, but the tower is fraught with danger, and you are responsible for your own life and death."

"Xuanwu Tower..."

Yin Chen chewed on the name.

His heart pounded in his chest like a drum.

Xuanwu, that was a sacred beast that only existed in mythical scrolls.

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable throb at the name, as if this tower had some deep connection with him.

Chen Guan's gaze finally moved away from the carapace covered in ancient runes to meet Wu Xuan's eyes.

Although he didn't know what the Xuanwu Mark Wu Xuan mentioned was, bringing up the Four Sacred Beasts inevitably made people think of other things.

Therefore, this trial was something he had to undertake.

He looked back at Wu Xuan: "Please lead the way, senior."

A faint glimmer lit up in Wu Xuan's calm, ancient eyes.

Its massive body began to turn, eventually facing away from the three.

Following its movement, a deafening, earth-shaking roar echoed from the distant snow-capped mountains.

A rift appeared out of thin air in the center of the mountain, constantly expanding to both sides.

Deep within the rift, a pitch-black giant tower broke through the earth's crust, rising section by section.

The tip of the tower pierced into the lead-gray clouds.

That was the Xuanwu Tower.

Chen Guan looked up at the giant tower.

A sense of awe welled up spontaneously, and even his fingertips felt a bit hot.

Behind him, Yin Chen and Hong Yuan stood dumbfounded.

In the face of this miraculous sight, they had even forgotten to breathe.

"You, stay here." Wu Xuan's deep and resonant voice pointed at Yin Chen.

Yin Chen's figure swayed slightly, his silver hair flapping in the biting cold wind. He wanted to follow Chen Guan, but felt an invisible force firmly restraining him.

He looked up to meet Wu Xuan's weather-beaten eyes, which were calm and showed no emotion whatsoever.

"You too." Wu Xuan's gaze turned to Hong Yuan.

Hong Yuan gripped her giant axe, her brows full of unwillingness. She hesitated to speak, but a massive force pressed down on her from all around, clamping her down so tightly that she couldn't even move a fingertip.

"I shall grant each of you your own serendipity." Wu Xuan's voice vibrated across the ice field, its authority leaving no room for argument.

"This is a part of the Xuanwu Trial. Only those who pass can glimpse a sliver of heavenly secrets."

[Here we go, here we go, is there actually no Xiao An in this episode?]

[One episode apart feels like three autumns, haven't seen Chen Guan in a long time.]

[What's the Xuanwu Trial? Is the working tiger coming to clock in again?]

[Definitely. Bro Tiger just got back from Long Ao's place and is coming to mess with Chen Guan again.]

Chen Guan didn't look back. Watching the equally long-lost chat comments, he turned and stepped into the tower gates. Wu Xuan didn't follow, and the gates closed behind him.

Inside the tower, the light instantly turned dim. This place was poles apart from the lead-gray sky above the ice field.

Underfoot was no longer a hard layer of ice, but cold, smooth stone slabs. Like the whispers of a ten-thousand-year epic, the stone walls were carved with obscure runes, every stroke and line containing unfathomable power.

Chen Guan didn't act rashly. He stopped and looked around. The space inside the tower far exceeded his expectations.

The towering dome faded into darkness, with no end in sight. He took out the shard given to him by the White Tiger from his storage ring.

Touching the shard, the scalding sensation made Chen Guan realize that the warmth he felt in his fingertips earlier was no illusion; it was this shard acting up.

It began to vibrate slightly, emitting a faint hum. This sound created a wondrous resonance within the tower.

On the shard, the originally dull patterns now glowed with new life, emitting a faint, eerie light that pointed forward.

Chen Guan's gaze followed the direction the shard pointed, looking toward a deep, dark corridor where the runes on the stone walls grew increasingly dense.

He didn't hesitate. Putting away the shard, he walked along the corridor, pondering in his heart. This shard was the White Tiger's communicator; was it really connected to the Xuanwu Tower?

Could it be just like the chat said, the working... White Tiger was coming?

At the end of the corridor, a massive circular stone chamber appeared before his eyes. In the center of the chamber, the light was dim and unclear, and the runes on the surrounding walls flickered along with it, emitting a dazzling glow.

Chen Guan stopped in his tracks. A sudden realization dawned in his heart: this was the first stage of the trial.

The light twisted more and more violently, eventually coalescing into a vast, boundless wasteland.

On the wasteland, fierce winds howled, and yellow sand filled the sky.

In the distance, a continuous stretch of ruined ancient cities could be vaguely seen. This place was starkly different from the extreme cold of the ice field; the scorching air felt like it could burn away all vitality.

[An illusion? Isn't this Brother Guan's specialty?]

[Who is the person above looking down on? When has the Thousand-Hand Guan ever had a weakness?]

[This illusion is a bit too realistic. Who turned on my sensory sharing? Not only is it hot, but there's also a sense of suffocation. Oh, my bad, I wore my sweater backwards.]

Chen Guan didn't make a move for the time being. He observed his surroundings as the fierce wind whipped up dust and sand, obscuring his vision.

His perception gradually spread out. He noticed that no matter how violent the wind and sand were, the sandy ground remained completely unchanged, like a static texture.

Although the ancient cities in the distance were ruined, the architectural style and degree of damage of each one were surprisingly identical. This couldn't be a natural creation.

He walked toward the nearest ruined ancient city. On the city walls, ancient runes faded in and out of sight. He couldn't understand those things; his understanding of the world was still not profound enough.

At a time like this, Chen Guan couldn't help but miss Su Yuehe. If she were here, she could probably understand these squiggly runes.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a summoner and couldn't just click a button to call someone over.

Approaching closer, Chen Guan reached out his hand and touched it gently. It felt cold, but not like solid rock. He closed his eyes, and his spiritual power slowly seeped in.

He could sense the flow deep within the illusion.

The illusion attempted to erode his mind, conjuring scene after scene in his head: his original body, the Return to Origin Group, An Changqing, and even his once ordinary life on Earth.

The illusion sought to amplify his fears, his reluctance, and his desires.

Chen Guan's expression remained unchanged.

Deep down, he did indeed harbor concerns about his original body and a thirst for power.

But he refused to be enslaved by his emotions. What the illusion presented was nothing more than his past, his attachments, and his present.

It could not shake his resolve.