The world around Yun flickered again, twisting like old paper burning from the edges. He thought just for a moment that the illusion formation was giving him a break, but instead it only changed shape. It never stopped. It never rested. It felt like Daiost Brush Master, even long dead, was grinning somewhere saying "no rest for the chosen, brat."

Yun staggered as the ground under him turned from stone to mud to burning sand, all in a handful of breaths. His head pounded. His heartbeat felt too large for his chest. But he didn't panic this time—he forced his expression blank, like Shen Yu had drilled into him.

"Breathe slow, Yun," he muttered to himself.

He didn't sound confident, but at least he didn't sound like the old version of himself either.

And then the world stabilized.

Illusion Layer 4 – The Village That Never Existed

The temple ruins melted away, forming streets that looked like Starfall Village… but not really. Buildings were slightly crooked, faces were foggy, the sky was stuck between dawn and sunset. A soft golden color that never brightened, never dimmed.

Yun saw villagers walking by, waving to him.

"Morning, Yun!"

"Yun, help me with this basket?"

"Yun, you'll be village chief someday eh?"

It felt warm. Too warm.

His heart twitched. Part of him wanted to run to them, hug them, beg them to stay safe. But Shen Yu's voice—real Shen Yu from outside the illusion—echoed in his mind:

"This world wants you to cling. So don't."

Yun forced his mouth into a straight line.

"None of you are real," he whispered.

The villagers paused. Smiles evaporated. Their faces stretched too wide, their eyes too small, their bodies too thin.

"Really…?" one of them gurgled.

They rushed him all at once, limbs bending wrong. Yun didn't scream—not like the old him. Instead, he slid his foot back and activated the movement Shen Yu taught him. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. He pulled the Star Step through his blood, forming it into a half-shape.

His body flickered and appeared behind the closest "villager" and he chopped his hand like Shen Yu had shown.

The illusion cracked like glass, splitting into a thousand broken reflections.

He didn't feel triumph.

Just… relief.

And a strange coldness that stayed in his chest like a seed beginning to bloom.

Illusion Layer 5 – The Mirror Truth

The next illusion was worse.

Yun found himself staring at… Yun.

A perfect version. Exactly the same clothes. Same stance. Same hair sticking out like a chicken feather. But this Yun looked calm. Cold. Unshakeable.

"You're weak," the copy said, voice hollow. "You keep caring too much. You rely on people. You hesitate."

The real Yun clenched his jaw. "I'm learning not to."

The copy smirked faintly. "Too slow. You will lose everything before you grow strong enough. Emotion is a chain. Fear is a chain. Attachment is a chain."

Yun didn't want to hear it.

But it wasn't entirely wrong.

The copy raised its hand. A blade of star-light formed.

"Kill me," the false Yun said. "If you cannot kill me, you cannot kill your weaknesses."

Yun hesitated—but only for a breath. Then he stepped forward and struck using the crooked star-light blade he'd begun shaping the previous day. The strikes were clumsy, messy, not elegant at all. But they carried force. They carried will.

The mirror Yun broke into light.

And Yun felt something shift inside himself… something tight and heavy snapping quietly.

He didn't like the feeling. It was too cold.

But it made him stronger.

Illusion Layer 6 – The Cosmic Audience

The landscape peeled away again, revealing a colossal hall made of drifting nebula clouds. Stars floated like lanterns. Voices whispered from the dark, too far, too ancient.

Yun felt small again—but bolder than he used to.

A giant shadow stepped out. Not human. Not beast. Eyes like comets burning in a storm.

"Child of Lianxing. Child of Yueran," it rumbled. "You are late."

"What do you want?" Yun shouted, though his voice cracked embarrassingly halfway.

The figure leaned down, the weight of its gaze pinning Yun's breath.

"To judge whether you are worth protecting… or consuming."

A sphere of cosmic flame appeared above its palm.

Yun's legs trembled, but he forced them still. He forced his face blank.

He thought cunningly, not emotionally—Don't try to overpower it. Outsmart it.

Shen Yu's voice again slipped into his memory:

"In illusions, the strongest opponent is always bound by rules. Find the rule and break it."

Yun scanned the illusion, heart racing. The flame pulsed in a rhythm.

He counted.

1… 2… 3…

There was a pause on the fourth beat.

He leapt.

The cosmic creature roared in surprise—because Yun jumped toward the flame, not away. On the fourth beat, when it dimmed, he slapped the illusion-flame with his palm.

The entire world exploded into white light.

When Yun opened his eyes, the creature was gone.

The nebula hall vanished.

Only silence remained.

A faint voice echoed from nowhere:

"You're learning. Good."

Back Outside the Illusion – Shen Yu Watching

Shen Yu stood outside the core of the formation, watching Yun's silhouette flash in and out of focus within the illusion barrier.

He frowned slightly—not worried, but calculating.

"He adapts faster than predicted," Shen Yu murmured.

A second figure materialized behind him—the ghostly projection of Daiost Brush Master himself.

"You see it too," Daiost said. "He is his father's son… and his mother's. If he completes all eight illusion layers, he will shed the softness that holds him back. And gain something dangerous."

"Dangerous for who?" Shen Yu asked quietly.

The ancient master chuckled, voice like ink flowing across old paper.

"For everyone."

Back in the Illusion – Yun's Awakening Sharpens

Yun breathed heavily, crouched on one knee. Sweat dripped down his jaw. His palms tingled with leftover cosmic fire. He didn't fully understand what he just fought—but he knew the illusions were no longer simple tests.

They were shaping him.

The way he thought.

The way he reacted.

The way he held emotions back.

He wasn't sure if he liked it.

But he wasn't sure he hated it either.

The ground rumbled under his feet.

Another illusion was starting.

He stood up straight this time, not shaking.

"Come on then," Yun muttered. "I'm not the same scared brat anymore… so let's finish this."

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