Ken spent the remaining days reliving his experiences in the secret realm, remembering all the formations he had saw and everything he felt at those moments. Those last days passed in the blink of an eye, and his time to fulfill his promise and go to the Residence of a Buddha and a Demon arrived.
"2 weeks are left before the secret realm will implode and collapse."
Ken heard the familiar voice talks again. It didn't talk to him ever since he gave it a clear date for his departure, and this date was due.
"True. Let me get a good night's sleep and have some food, and I'll go to take the challenge. I need to be in my best condition to face the trial."
"Yes, of course."
10 hours later, Ken stepped into a portal and disappeared from the library he had spent the last month and a half in.
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"Am I inside the residence?"
"Yes. I took you directly inside, so you won't have to go through the cultivators lurking outside and risk death. You already have three Inheritor Tokens, so it's your right to go straight to the sites."
The voice explained and Ken almost rolled his eyes at how bad it was in improvising excuses. It was obviously a ruse as they wanted him to go there so much that they didn't care about anything else.
"Where is the challenge?"
"Just walk through the door and you'll be there. It's the final challenge of this inheritance site, you are exempt from taking the first two challenges thanks to the tokens."
Ken nodded and opened the door, entering the room where it might all end for him. Before he entered, he sneakily popped two pills into his mouth, swallowing them quickly, and none were the wiser.
"Welcome to the Challenge of Mind Tenacity. Sit crossed-legged inside the formation in the center of the room and close your eyes; let yourself drift into meditation. If you cancel your meditation before being told you can stop, you will fail the challenge and have to go to another inheritance ground to earn your fourth token."
Ken followed the instructions and folded his legs as he positioned himself in the middle of the formation, not before he scrutinized it with his gaze and probed it a little with his Runic Qi.
Once ready, he closed his eyes and let the darkness embrace him. It took only a few seconds before his mind was calm and serene, but this state lasted even shorter. A strong will burdened his mind, filling him with fear.
He could see the silhouette of a demon, standing in an imposing manner as if it was about to devour him. His mind was invaded by terror, but Ken didn't budge. He remained unwavering in his spot and continued his meditation.
The terrorizing intent disappeared, and instead, another one arrived. It was a calming intent, one that made Ken feel that he was safe and at peace. Ken knew that nothing bad could happen to him if he follows this intent, and he almost opened his eyes to answer the call of the intent.
The strong contrast between the Demonic and Buddhistic intents was hard to ignore, and the young cultivator almost fell for its trap.
'I don't need the protection of others. Nobody but me can keep me safe.'
The two intents intertwined with one another, agonizing Ken with fear and hope, agony and comfort. While Ken struggled to let his own will defeat the mind invasion, he didn't notice there was another type of corrosion seeping into his mind.
'I'm lucky to be defended by the supreme elders. They promised me my life is not in danger in the secret realm.'
'I wish I could stand by their side and serve them.'
'I must become their inheritor and gain their trust and acknowledgment.'
Those thoughts pervaded his mind, corrupting it with thoughts of loyalty toward the seven elders. Ken, who was too busy prevailing the challenge, could do nothing about them.
The challenge was getting harder every minute; at one moment he was promised eternal peace and happiness while at the other he was threatened by doom and calamity that will devour his soul and leave nothing behind.
His once calm expression changed into a distressed one. His forehead became wrinkled, and his jaws were clenched. His fists were so tight that his fingernails cut through his skin and made his blood fall on the ground, painting the formation in red.
"Swallow this pill to complete the challenge."
Ken felt a warm, round pill touch his lips, and he forcibly opened his mouth to let it float inside. He swallowed it instantly, and he was thrown into a world of illusions. He saw himself in the middle of an open plain, with no change in the terrain as far as the eye can see.
However, there was one big difference. To his right, he could see a Buddha sitting in a lotus pose, and his senses told him to get up from the ground and run to it. To his left, a large demon stood tall, promising to let him rule the world if he succumbs to it.
Deep in the illusion, his senses were rendered useless, and foreign Qi traveled in his meridians, leaving marks on different areas of his body. They showed a glowing mark for a moment before dissipating as if they were never there. Even his brain was not spared; in fact, that's where nearly a fourth of the whole foreign Qi was heading.
This Qi came from the pill he had swallowed earlier although he thought it was only meant to make him enter the illusion.
'Nobody can promise me anything. If I could rule the world with the demon's power, then the demon would already be the supreme ruler. If Buddha could offer me eternal peace and happiness, everyone would be worshipping Buddha. I can only rely on myself!'
Ken remained strong and true to himself throughout the challenge, and the mental torture was finally over. He was pulled back to reality, and the familiar voice spoke again. Ken was never so happy to hear it before.
"Congratulations on clearing the Challenge of Mind Tenacity, you've cleared the trial of Elder Graham. You may now stop your meditation and claim your rewards."
However, things didn't follow the script this time. Ken collapsed on the ground, falling asleep. The three pedestals rising from the ground almost seemed stupid as there was nobody to appreciate the incoming awards.
"Weird, that should not have happened."
The voice said as it checked on Ken, but the child was snoring softly and unresponsive.
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Ken woke up four hours later and found himself in the same empty room. The formation was gone, and his blood was cleaned from the stone floor. Three pedestals were waiting for him to claim his rewards in the center of the room.
"You finally woke up, you've been out for four hours. Let me say it again: Congratulations on clearing the Challenge of Mind Tenacity, you may go and claim your rewards."
"Thank you."
Ken got up from the floor and approached the prizes and checked their contents. As always, he left the middle prize for last as he knew it would be the Inheritor Token.
'Serenity Technique.'
Ken found a heaven-grade technique whose job was to calm his mind. By practicing this technique, his mind would become tenacious and harder to manipulate. Ken found it almost sarcastic that the same elder that wanted to manipulate him also gave him a way to strengthen his mind once he was done with him.
'Wait, I can't talk like that. The elders always had my best interest at heart, and they've taken good care of me. I must be thankful for their gifts.'
This thought appeared in his mind and Ken acted on it. He cupped his fist and bowed.
"Ken Sue thanks the elder for this valuable gift."
He purchased it for 100,000 BP and moved to the third reward.
'A full inheritance for Buddhistic Qi and Demonic Qi cultivators. It's useless to me, but I can do something with it for Henry.'
Ken thought to himself before buying the inheritance for a million and a half BP. He had around five million BP left after everything he had claimed which seemed more than enough.
He bowed and cupped his fist again, prompted by the grateful thoughts that swarmed his head.
'I shall meet the gracious elder now.'
Ken reached for the Inheritor Token in the middle pedestal with anticipation and waited for the elder to materialize.
"Good to finally meet you, Young Inheritor. I'm Elder Graham, a cultivator of Demonic and Buddhistic Qi, a supreme elder of the Bloodthirst Sect, and a supreme elder of the Peaceful Demon Sect."
Ken hurriedly cupped his fist and offered a deep bow to the materializing elder.
"Ken Sue greets Elder Graham. Thank you for all the gifts you've given me. I shall pass on your inheritance to my close friend; he is a cultivator of the same types of Qi and is a great person."
"Of course, I gave away this inheritance in order to help our inheritor strengthen their worthy close friends. The journey of cultivation can never be done alone."
"Thank you for the advice, Elder."
There was not much they could talk about as Ken was not a cultivator of the same Qi as Elder Graham. The old monk only asked him a few questions that seemed to test the child's loyalty and dissipated with a satisfied nod when Ken passed his test.
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