The biting cold of the early morning failed to freeze the oppressive atmosphere hanging over Shadow Academy. In the air, besides the typical dampness of dawn, mingled an indefinable metallic tang—the perpetual scent of blood from the training grounds. All new students were gathered in the massive central plaza, nearly a thousand young men and women, their faces grim, their eyes filled with unease and tension. They knew today would bring the true test.
The instructors stood expressionless on the high platform, their gazes sweeping over everyone like blades, as if selecting lambs for slaughter. The scar-faced head instructor, his voice colder than ever, resonated with an undeniable authority:
"Starting today, you will enter the academy's first true assessment—the Basic Trial Tower!"
At these words, a low murmur instantly spread through the plaza. The 'Trial Tower,' a long-rumored term within the academy, signified the most brutal elimination process.
"The Trial Tower has five floors. Each of you will be randomly teleported to different starting zones. Your mission is to eliminate as many 'targets' as possible," the scar-faced instructor paused, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd. "The 'targets' here are not dummies, nor computer simulations. They are criminals from the slums, vagrants, and some fugitives condemned to death by the organization, specially prepared by the academy for the trials."
His words pierced like cold knives, chilling many to the bone. Numerous new students turned pale, some even gagging. This meant they were about to engage in real killing.
"Don't harbor any illusions," the scar-faced instructor's voice grew even colder. "The elimination rate within the Trial Tower will reach fifty percent. This means half of you will never walk out of this tower today. Remember, in this academy, only the strong deserve to survive. Only true assassins have a future."
He raised his hand, pointing towards a towering, pitch-black structure in the center of the plaza. The tower was covered in eerie runes, exuding an unsettling oppressiveness.
"Now, everyone, enter the Trial Tower!"
The cadets were divided into groups and led by the instructors, their faces reflecting various emotions, as they approached the tower. Rin walked among them, feeling no fear, only a near-calm indifference deep inside. He knew this was the true face of this assassin's world. However, his discovery of Ye Xue's dagger's secret last night, and the bloody memory of the silver-haired girl, kept his mind from settling. How would his complicated relationship with Ye Xue, their intertwined past, unfold in such a murderous environment?
As he stepped onto the Trial Tower's teleportation array, a powerful energy instantly enveloped him. After a brief dizziness, Rin found himself in a dense misty combat zone. Everything around him was shrouded in white, visibility extremely low, with only a few paces visible. Occasionally, faint groans and the rustling sound of something being dragged echoed through the mist, sending chills down his spine.
He gripped his short dagger vigilantly, and relying on the "Blade of Demise's" instincts, quickly determined his direction. He advanced cautiously, each step silent, as if he had melted into the mist.
Suddenly, a few short screams and the dull thud of blades cutting flesh came from the mist ahead. Rin's heart clenched; he was all too familiar with those sounds. He immediately stalked in the direction of the noise.
As he pushed through a thicker patch of mist, the sight before him made his pupils contract sharply.
In a relatively open area, three bloody corpses lay sprawled on the ground, their throats precisely slit, blood pooling into a stark crimson on the floor. Standing beside these three bodies, a familiar figure coldly sheathed her dagger—it was Ye Xue.
Her movements were clean and efficient, without any wasted motion; not a single drop of blood had even splattered onto her face. Her gaze was as cold as ever, but within that indifference, a chilling, extreme killing intent was hidden. She seemed to have merely performed the most ordinary task, without any emotional fluctuation.
Rin remained hidden in the mist, not revealing himself. He watched Ye Xue, his mind a mix of doubt and shock. Her skilled and ruthless killing techniques confirmed once again that she was far from an ordinary cadet. That ruthlessness and precision, identical to his own "Blade of Demise" from his past life, filled Rin with a strange familiarity and unease. Could she truly be the betrayer?
Just as his thoughts surged, another figure emerged from the mist. It was a pale-faced, ragged man, clearly one of the trial's targets. The man, seeing the three corpses beside Ye Xue and her cold eyes, immediately crumpled to his knees, terrified.
"No… please don't kill me… please… I'm just a vagrant… I don't know anything…" The man whimpered, trembling violently, repeatedly bowing and begging for mercy, exhibiting a desperate subservience.
Ye Xue's expression remained unchanged. Her dagger slowly lifted, its tip pointing directly at the man's throat. Her movements didn't pause, nor did she hesitate, as if the man's pleas were unheard. In her world, a target was a target; there was no room for emotion.
Rin's heart lurched. He saw Ye Xue's coldness, and he saw the despair in the man's eyes. An inexplicable emotion surged within him. He had once been such a cold-blooded killer himself, even more so than Ye Xue, never showing mercy to any target. But now, facing such a lowly, pleading "weakling," a flicker of hesitation actually arose deep within him.
This hesitation, in the past of the "Blade of Demise," would have been absolutely impossible. It made him feel alien, and a hint of fear. Had rebirth truly changed him?
In that split second of hesitation, an unexpected event occurred.
The begging man's eyes suddenly flashed with a subtle, fierce glint. He abruptly leaped from the ground, a rusty dagger hidden in his sleeve, striking viciously at Ye Xue's abdomen with lightning speed! This was a desperate counterattack, with the ferocity of a cornered animal.
Ye Xue's eyes remained calm, but her reaction was a half-beat slow. Perhaps because she hadn't expected a pleading target to have the courage to fight back, or perhaps Rin's earlier "hesitation" had subtly affected her. Her body paused for a fraction of a second, the dagger narrowly missing.
"Watch out!" Rin instinctively let out a low cry.
The man's triumphant sneer bloomed on his face. He thought he had succeeded.
However, just as the dagger was about to strike, Ye Xue's body exploded like a taut bowstring. Her reaction was a half-beat slow, but still astonishingly fast. She kicked her foot, her body sliding backward like a ghost, evading the fatal blow. Simultaneously, her left hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing the man's dagger-wielding wrist and twisting it sharply!
"Argh—!" The man let out a shrill scream, his dagger clattering to the ground.
A chilling glint flashed in Ye Xue's eyes. She gave him no second chance; the dagger in her hand followed like a shadow. Before the man's scream had even faded, the blade had precisely slashed across his throat, cutting off all hope of survival.
The man's body slumped to the ground, his eyes still wide open, filled with pre-death terror and unwillingness.
Ye Xue sheathed her dagger, her movements still cold and unperturbed. She turned her head, looking deep into the mist where Rin was hidden. Her gaze pierced through the thin fog, as if she had known of Rin's presence all along.
"If you still cling to kindness, you will die sooner or later." Ye Xue's voice was bone-chillingly cold, carrying an undeniable warning, like a survival law etched into her very being. In her eyes, there was no mockery, no disdain, only indifference towards the weak, and an unwavering conviction in her own "philosophy of survival."
Rin emerged from the mist, his face complex. He looked at Ye Xue, at her utterly cold eyes, his heart a turmoil of emotions. Her words were like a slap across his face. Once, he had taught himself the same—in this world, kindness was a fatal poison. But now, could he truly, without hesitation, cut down all "weaklings" as he once did?
He felt his soul struggling, hovering between the cold-blooded instinct of the "Blade of Demise" and the "hesitation" that had appeared after his rebirth.
Ye Xue didn't wait for his response. She simply gave him a deep look, then turned and merged into the mist, continuing her hunt. Her figure quickly vanished into the white fog, leaving Rin standing alone. Although his body was unharmed, his spirit had suffered a severe impact.
"Kindness… you will die sooner or later…" Rin whispered Ye Xue's words, his hand gripping his dagger tightly, knuckles white. He knew that in this academy, this rule was immutable. He had to make a choice: become the ruthless "Blade of Demise" again, or be consumed by this cruel world in his hesitation?
He didn't know the answer, but he knew this trial had only just begun.