After a few hours of the Azure Ghost expining the Azure Dragoeique to Yuan, he slowly began to uand and learn how to use the first step,Wingless Dragon Step.

  Since he did not possess any spiritual energy in his body, using the Azure Dragon Steps without it was nearly impossible. However, with the help of the Green Royal Key, it became feasible,though not without its own limitations.

  The first problem was activation speed.

  If Yuan had his own spiritual energy, activating Wingless Dragon Step would take only an instant, allowing him to flee immediately.But since he relied oernal energy from the Green Royal Key, it first had to flow into his body before activating the teique, creating a few-sed dey.This dey could mean life or death if he was caught in a situation where an enemy was too close.

  The sed problem was limited usage.

  The Green Royal Key only held a small reserve of spiritual energy.If Yuan used Wingless Drago full power, he could only use it two or three times before the key ran out of energy.If he tried to serve energy by using the teique at a weaker level, he risked not moving fast enough, which could lead to certaih.

  The third, and perhaps most dangerous issue, was ck of trol.

  Without proper mastery, Azure Dragon Steps would funore like a straight-line dash rather than a teique with precision and flexibility.Yuan wouldn't be able to ge direid-movement, meaning if he miscalcuted his path, he could crash into obstacles or even run straight into danger instead of esg it.

  Despite all these challenges, Yuan had no other choice.

  Running away from the trial was impossible. He was ihe ed Ghost Prince's iance, and his only way forward was to quer the trials.Even more, there was a ce for him to reach the Meridian Awakening Stage,something that would ge his fate forever.

  Thus, with determination burning in his heart, Yuan focused on training the Azure Dragoeique.

  As Yuan traihe Azure Ghost also took the time to expier steps of the teique. However, those higher-level steps were of no use to Yuan for now, as he cked the cultivation base to execute them.

  Nearly half a day passed, and Yuan finally mao use Wingless Dragon Step with the external help of spiritual energy provided by the Azure Ghost.

  But something ued happened.

  During his training, Yuan unknowingly sed his hearing.

  Even the Azure Ghost was surprised. He theorized that training the Azure Dragon Steps, which required keen foovement and awareness, had iently helped Yuan clear his senses, allowing him to unlock his stage in cultivation.

  For Yuan, this experience was magical.

  It was as if his ears had been uer all his life, muffled and unclear. Now, it felt as if his head had finally emerged above the water, and for the first time, he could hear everything with crystal crity.

  Both Yuan and the Azure Ghost weled this ued progress. This newfouened sense would make surviving future trials easier.

  With their preparations plete, Yuan and the Azure Ghost turheir attention to the staircase before them.

  It was identical to the staircases they had entered on the previous floors—a passage leading to the challenge.

  But this time, there was one major difference.

  This would be the st staircase they would see in this pce.

  The final trial awaited them.

  Taking o deep breath, the Azure Ghost turo Yuan and spoke with a solemn tone.

  "Child, always remember,anything happen. Eveh. This st trial is unlike any before it. Are you truly ready? There will be no room frets."

  Yuan gazed at the Azure Ghost, taking in the flickering figure adorned in azure robes, its bd yelloatterns dang like liviies ihereal light. His expression remained unwavering as he answered.

  "I will nret anything,because there is nothing tret. There is no way out. I only walk forward. I've made the best preparations I possibly could, so why waste time speaking ret? I will keep walking, even if it means fag death."

  Without another word, Yuan stepped forward, asding toward the end of the staircase. Behind him, the Azure Ghost silently faded into the background, his form slowly dissolving into the air.

  The world around Yuan began to shift once again. The radiant light of the room faded, dissolving into airely new reality.

  For the first time siepping into this mysterious iance, he saw a clear blue sky, vast and endless, with only a few scattered white clouds hanging in the heavens.

  The grouh him solidified into a great mountain peak, standing tall above the world. The wind howled, crisp and cold, carrying the st of distant nds far beyond his reach.

  The view was breathtaking,a sight so grand that any ordinary person might have fallen to their knees in awe.

  But Yuan did not smile.

  He felt no joy in the beauty of the ndscape.

  Instead, his grip on the Green Royal Key tightened, his body teh caution and wariness.

  Something wasn't right.

  Before he could fully assess the situation, the ground trembled violently beh him.

  A thunderous quake ripped through the mountain, the very h Yuan's feet beginning to move.

  The ground shook so violently that he could barely keep his bance, falling to his knees as the mountain itself trembled.

  But this was not a mere earthquake.

  The entire mountain was shifting,as if it was alive.

  Crack!The earth split apart, and the sky above shattered like gss.

  Yuan's breath caught in his throat as he desperately searched for something,anything,to hold onto.

  Nothing.

  There were no trees to grip, no ledges to grab. Oiness.

  He ched the Green Royal Key in one hand while his into the crumbling soil, trying to keep himself from falling.

  And then

  A blinding green light exploded from the Royal Key.

  The mountain colpsed.

  The sky shattered.

  Everything around him vanished into an abyss of nothingness.

  Yua his body plummet through the void, the weightlessness overwhelming his senses.

  He could not scream.

  He could not think.

  It was too sudden,too unreal.

  The Green Royal Key, once his greatest hope, vanished in the light, leaving him with nothing.

  He was truly falling.

  Falling towards death.

  For the first time, Yuarue despair.

  There was no ledge to grab, no teique to save him.

  Azure Dragon Steps?Useless. It would only make him die faster.

  The Green Royal Key?Gone.

  This was it.

  His end.

  As he tumbled through the abyss, Yuan stopped struggling.

  Instead, he let his thoughts drift,revisiting the memories of his life.

  The faces he onew.The stories his grandfather told him.The vilge where he was born.The jourhat led him here.

  He had fought so hard.

  Yet in the end

  It was meaningless.

  He had failed.

  A small, bitter smile formed on his lips.

  With his st breath, he closed his eyes and whispered his final words.

  "Goodbye."

  As Yuan's body was about to be swallowed by the abyss, the very space beh him vanished.

  And then

  A single azure fme ignited.

  It emerged from nowhere, dev Yuan's falling body in an instant.

  From the depths of the abyss, a voice cold, emotionless, victorious,spoke.

  "I win."

  ----

  Within a luxurious room, a young man with azure-blue hair and dark blue eyes, possessing a strikingly handsome face, sat in solitude. He wore a azure robe, embroidered with the patterns of a bck dragon and a yellon, their figures coiling in a delicate yet imposing design.

  In the silence of the room, the young man sat motionless, his gaze fixed ily on the book in his hands. The cover bore the title:

  "Azure Basilisk Fme Art."

  For what seemed like ay, he remaiill, fully immersed in its tents.

  Then

  A kno the door.

  The focused expression on his face slowly faded. Closing his dark blue eyes, he exhaled softly, then shut the aome with a quiet but decisive motion. After a brief moment of silence, his voice cold, emotionless, and anding,broke the stillness.

  "Enter."

  The door creaked open, and an elderly man stepped iaking two measured steps forward, he immediately fell to one knee, bowing respectfully.

  "Young Master," the old man's voice was steady but ced with urgency. "The Family Head has issued an order,every member of the family above the Soul F stage is to participate in the search for the ed Ghost Prince. Each has been assigned a specific region, and the Young Master's designated region is the Illusion Forest, he Human Domain."

  Hearing this, the young master's cold gaze sharpened. His fiightened slightly over the book's cover as he muttered to himself.

  "The Illusion Forest… Ha."

  A humorless chuckle escaped his lips. He leaned back slightly, his pierg gaze locked onto the old man.

  "They wao be stationed in the Illusion Forest? Even though I haven't even reached the peak of the Soul Fusion stage?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Heh, what a fine scheme these old bastards have devised."

  He tapped his fingers idly against the armrest of his chair, his tone growing colder.

  "I have no choice but to ply, don't I? Even though the Illusion Forest has swallowed Soul Assion stage cultivators whole, I'm expected to walk right in. Objeg would be pointless,I would only face punishment, as the order came directly from the Family Head. But tell me, Elder Blue Scale..."

  His eyes narrowed, amusement flickering behind their icy depths.

  "Why is the ed Ghost Prince even here? Does he have a death wish?" He scoffed. "Or has he already fotten how he killed my foolish eldest brother?"

  For a brief moment, silence filled the room.

  The elderly servant stiffened, his expression paling as he frantically gnced around, as if afraid of unseen ears lurking in the shadows.

  "Y-Y-Young Master," he stammered, his voice filled with unease. "P-Please be careful with your words! The walls have ears... You must never fet that."

  A low chuckle echoed through the chamber. The young master rested his head against his hand, crossing his legs leisurely as a smirk tugged at his lips.

  "Who cares about the walls, Elder Blue Scale?" His voice was ced with mockery and defiahey already want me dead. Even the Family Head does."

  His expression darkened, his smile growing sharper.

  "Uhe other Dragon s, our Azure does not rule with brute force,we rule with schemes and traps. We are the weakest of the Five Dragon Kings, but also the most intelligent. That is precisely why we still hold our pce among them. The Family Head rose to power through ing, not strength."

  His gaze turned icy, his voice dropping lower.

  "But because of that, treachery runs deep in our blood."

  Leaning forward, he chuckled once more.

  "They 't kill me ht,not as long as I maintain my ties with the Void Dragon . So instead, they resort to petty schemes, hoping I fall into their traps. Heh… such ughable tactics."

  For a brief moment, he closed his eyes, lost ihought.

  Then, after what felt like an hour, he opehem once more,their depths refleg a newfouermination.

  Slowly, he stood up, his azure robes flowing elegantly around him.

  Elder Blue Scale immediately followed, his bowed posture unwavering as he trailed behind.

  The young master let out a final, amused ugh, and with a graceful wave of his hand, his body was suddenly engulfed in a burst of azure fmes.

  In the instant,both master and servant had vanished.