Chapter 6

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Chapter 6: The Beginning of the Trials

Because of this, master, you have to become strong as soon as possible before they find you. Let’s start your test right now!” Mei’er’s golden eyes sparkled with urgency, her voice trembling with the same fear Yun Xi felt deep within his bones. The four overlords were no ordinary foes; they belonged to the realm of gods, entities whose power was said to be capable of tearing stars apart with the flick of a finger. Even Mei’er, the gentle star spirit, understood the gravity of the situation.

Master was so brave. He dared to date four overlords at the same time. He is indeed worthy of being her master and of being loved by the stars as the Starchild.

“I… I still have time.” Yun Xi wiped the sweat beading on his forehead, his mind spinning wildly. This wasn’t a joke, it never had been.

Whatever sins he had committed in his past life as the Starchild, they now came crashing down upon him. But now? He was nothing more than an ordinary boy from the White Lotus Sword Domain. A simple baker, clinging to a mundane dream of inheriting his family’s humble shop, overcoming his first heartbreak, and one day settling down with the girl he loved.

He never desired earth-shattering adventures or cosmic entanglements. A peaceful, uneventful life was the most he had ever hoped for.

“According to the warnings from the stars, one of the apostles of the four overlords has already arrived in this region. But master, you’re hiding well. She won’t find you immediately.”

Yun Xi’s heart leapt with a flicker of hope. “Then… will the apostle leave if she can’t find me?”

“No,” Mei’er replied, her expression solemn. “As an apostle of one of the four overlords, she is duty-bound to search every inch of this god’s domain. She will turn over every stone, search every shadow, and leave nothing unchecked—not even the tiniest mouse.”

Yun Xi’s stomach churned.

“You’re hidden well, master,” Mei’er continued, “but once she finds you… you won’t have a chance to escape.”

His face paled. “Then… what’s the rank of this apostle?” Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as his voice cracked under the weight of his growing despair.

Ah, the subordinates of my ex-girlfriends… why must they take things so seriously?

“At the very least, she’s only a 7th Rank. She’s not a particularly powerful apostle… perhaps just a vanguard.” Mei’er’s words, meant to reassure, instead sent Yun Xi’s world crashing down around him.

“Not very powerful?! She’s only a 7th Rank?!”

He could hardly believe his ears. A 7th Rank… it was a 7th Rank! Did she even know what she was saying?!

Though he had no clue what an apostle truly was, he understood well enough that in terms of combat, a 7th Rank was the stuff of legends. Anyone who reached that stage could receive the coveted Silver Leaf Emblem—a mark of power so immense that even a single individual could obliterate entire domains.

Here, in this small village, Hua Huo was considered an unparalleled genius, having reached the 3rd Rank, with the strength of a thousand soldiers. Yet the gap between a 3rd Rank and a 7th Rank was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

A 7th Rank could annihilate armies. They could reduce cities to rubble with a mere flick of their wrist. Against such a force, millions of soldiers would crumble like dried leaves in the wind.

Even the master of the White Lotus Sword Domain himself was only at the 6th Rank, and he ruled with absolute authority. But this… this unknown apostle could single-handedly obliterate the entire White Lotus Sword Domain without breaking a sweat.

In the vast expanse of the Sky Sword God’s Domain, a 7th Rank was akin to a walking calamity—each one a force of nature beyond mortal comprehension.

And now, one of these terrifying beings was hunting him.

“I’m done for. There’s no escape,” Yun Xi muttered, his mind spiraling into despair. He began calculating his meager savings. Even if he sold his bakery, the farthest he could flee was a few sword domains away. But escaping the Sky Sword God’s Domain entirely? That was nothing but a fool’s dream.

And even if he managed to run, could he truly hide forever?

The enemy had already found this domain; it was only a matter of time before they closed in.

And worse still—this apostle was merely the vanguard.

Even if he fled to another domain, sooner or later, the others would follow. Death without a burial… Yun Xi saw the bleak image of his future before his eyes.

There was only one option left.

He had left behind a legacy in his past life. The trial Mei’er spoke of—it was his only hope.

“Mei’er, open the trial,” Yun Xi said at last, his heart steeled with grim determination. No matter how grueling it would be, he would endure it. He had to.

There was no future otherwise.

He didn’t know who he had been before, or why he had provoked the wrath of his four terrifying ex-girlfriends, but that no longer mattered.

What mattered now was survival.

All he wanted was to live an ordinary life, to hold the hand of the girl he loved, to grow old beside her. That was his wish, his dream.

I don’t want to die.

I want to stay with Hua Huo…

And maybe Milei from the Flower Shop, El’phyllis from the Jewelry Store, and Fei Li from the Cake Shop… if possible.

The enemy had arrived.

“Yes, master! It will begin!” Mei’er’s eyes sparkled with excitement, standing on tiptoes as she reached up to him.

“Hey—”

Before Yun Xi could react, her lips pressed against his, soft and sweet. Their bodies melded together, and he felt an electric current surge through his veins.

Their souls intertwined, Mei’er’s delicate fragrance filling his senses, her warmth wrapping around him like a silken thread. Through their connection, Yun Xi felt the power of the stars flood into his body, a tide of endless radiance seeping into his being.

Through Mei’er, he was linked to the infinite cosmos.

“Eh… Goo…”

As her kiss deepened, the scenery around him began to shift.

A giant roulette wheel slowly emerged, turning like the inexorable wheel of fate itself. Countless images flashed across its surface.

A dragon of the void bathed in starlight. Its gaze pierced through dimensions, locking onto Yun Xi with an intensity that stole his breath.

For just a fleeting moment, across the vast expanse of the cosmos, their eyes met.

She was one of them. One of his ex-girlfriends. And she was beautiful beyond comprehension.

But rejecting her marriage proposal… had led to his downfall.

Wrapped in the glow of a thousand stars, Yun Xi felt his body being whisked away by the roulette’s spinning light.

“You cannot escape!”

The roar of the Supreme Dragon Goddess echoed through the stars, resounding in frustration as Yun Xi’s presence disappeared into the cosmos.

A small bridge, a murmuring stream, and a cascading waterfall.

“Boom boom boom!”

Yun Xi’s eyes snapped open to the sound of rushing water. He found himself crouched beside a flickering bonfire. The darkness stretched out endlessly around him, thick and suffocating.

He was no longer in the Sky Sword God’s Domain.

Wherever he was now… the real trial had just begun.

Crack! Crack! The bonfire sang its peculiar song, each sharp sound slicing through the night as flames danced and coiled, fed by mysterious fuel that fueled its unwavering warmth. Its light painted the shadows on Yun Xi’s stiffened frame, a living tableau of motion and stillness.

“Is this the trial?” he murmured, testing the movement of his limbs. Stiffness bound his body like invisible chains, and he struggled to reclaim its rhythm. The time in this place, it seemed, was at odds with the cadence of his heartbeat and breath. A dissonance thrummed within him, his biological clock a stranded voyager in this alien realm.

If words could lend it meaning, he might describe it as though his breaths waltzed to one rhythm while his heart beat to another—a disharmony so subtle yet palpable.

“Hoo… ha…” Yun Xi exhaled deliberately, inhaling with calculated precision. Though he was no swordsman, not even a novice, he sought solace in the wisdom he had gleaned over the years. As the saying went: You may not have walked the path, but you must have heard the tales. And as Hua Huo’s childhood friend—the best swordswoman their village had ever known—he had absorbed lessons simply by existing in her radiant orbit.

He adjusted his breathing with purpose, aiming to attune himself to the strange pulse of this world. Whatever trial awaited him would demand his peak condition, and he would not falter.

In his mind, he imagined the trial as a brutal, bloody gauntlet—a gauntlet worthy of the term. His heart steeled itself for an ordeal carved from nightmares.

But then, a sweet, melodic chime pierced his focus. “Jingle!” The sound reverberated, soft yet insistent, until it settled inside his thoughts. Mei’er’s voice, warm and lilting, called to him from within.

“Master, the trial has begun.”

“Starchild, love system activated.”

“Mission issued.”

“Within the dark forest lies a beautiful princess, asleep in an eternal slumber. Your task: awaken her with a kiss of true affection.”

“The reward for winning her love: a Sword Arts Seed. Remember, this is merely the beginner’s test—an easy start for a noble master such as yourself. Proceed, and claim your glory!”

For a moment, the world held its breath. Yun Xi froze, the words spiraling in his mind like mocking phantoms. Seconds stretched into endless moments, his thoughts a chaotic storm until, suddenly, his composure shattered.

“What cursed system is this?” His voice erupted into the night, brimming with incredulity and rage. “Isn’t this supposed to be a trial? Sleeping Beauty?! What madness is this?”

The stars above twinkled indifferently, and the bonfire continued its relentless crackling as if mocking his outrage.