“This is…?”

A chill pricked my chest first, then my feet carried me out of the passage to the eighth layer. The sight hit like thunder in a blue bowl of sky.

An arena stretched to a horizon that never arrived, a coliseum floating on air like an island of stone in a sea of clouds. Azure pressed close; pale clouds drifted within arm’s reach.

“…So empty.”

Wind moved like a lonely flute. No people, no life, barely any green. Only giant trees stood at the distant rim, tall like sentinels carved from frost. The emptiness felt vast and cold.

“Yumigawa Sumeragi, by habit, this lady will explain the eighth layer to you.”

No warning, her voice slid into my mind like ice over still water. I’d been spacing out; the sudden whisper almost snapped my heart like a bowstring.

“Lady FrostyLily Dream…” I let out a tired smile. “Could you give me a heads-up next time? Don’t pop in when my guard’s down.”

“Tch. Want me to leave right now and let you grope around this layer on your own?”

Her tone turned sharp, like a blade tapping iron.

“Uh… I’m sorry. Please, go on.”

Exploring this vast place alone? I’d be wandering till who knows when, like a boat lost on a starless lake.

“Mm, that’s better.” Her voice smoothed like silk over stone. “This eighth layer is the Divine Refinement Realm. Its nature is similar to the fourth layer’s Trial Lake. It’s a border in the Nine Cold Labyrinth—only by passing here can you challenge the harsher layers ahead.”

“So the pass difficulty’s high?”

“Of course. At least harder than the first seven combined.”

“…Right.”

The words fell like lead in water. If this is tougher than all seven together—what does that even mean? I’d nearly lost on the seventh. How much worse will the Divine Refinement Realm be? Can I really reach the ninth and clear it? Worry tightened like a gray storm. Excitement sparked like flint.

I’ve had so few chances to fight. As a kid, I envied Qianji Sister chasing fierce beasts and proud spirits, like a hawk hunting in mountain winds. Now I know battle isn’t simple or light—and it can claim your life like a tide. Even so, my battle intent burned steady like a lantern in winter.

“As for the guardian of the Divine Refinement Realm—this is the key point, kid, so listen close.”

Seeing me quiet, FrostyLily Dream spoke slowly, her tone gaining iron. “The guardian is the War Goddess—Lorinne Jetti. She once shook—forget it, you wouldn’t know the names. Facing Lorinne, remember two things.

First, her spear—the Heavenly Lance, famed as the sharpest, able to pierce the vault of heaven.

Second, her shield—the Earth Shield, famed as the strongest, able to block any attack.”

I sucked in a breath; it stung cold. “Are the War Goddess’s Heavenly Lance and Earth Shield more broken than Shattered Light?”

“No. But with your current strength, can you draw out Shattered Light’s power? If not, you’re absolutely beneath her Lance and Shield. The finest sword, if you can’t awaken its force, is at best a very sharp, very sturdy blade.”

“…Fair.”

Her logic cut clean, leaving me mute. I pivoted. “Then what tier are the Heavenly Lance and Earth Shield?”

“You know the Rule Book?”

She tossed the question back like a pebble into a pond.

“I do. It’s in the Daynight Sanctuary on the Central Continent. Supposedly two extremely powerful grimoires.”

“Mm. The Lance and Shield are about on par with the Rule Book, maybe a hair higher. Most importantly, Lorinne can draw out two hundred percent of their power. Weigh that yourself.”

“…So I’ve got no chance?”

I don’t know how strong the Rule Book is, but Xinuo once mentioned it, calling it ‘pretty good.’ With her eyes and strength, anything worth that phrase is a mountain, not a molehill. And FrostyLily Dream says the Lance and Shield might even surpass it—if only by a breath.

“Not necessarily. Remember the surprise I promised? That’s your eighth-layer hint.”

She lifted the veil like moonlight on ice. “If you can’t resist Lorinne, don’t bash your head against her. Go to the far east and far west edges of the Divine Refinement Realm and seek aid. You’ll get a big surprise.

Lastly—Lorinne waits in the center. She’s already prepared, waiting for you. Go. This lady will be at the ninth layer.”

Her presence vanished like smoke in wind, leaving no echo.

“Aid? Surprise?”

I shook off the fog, steadied my breath, then sprinted toward the center of the Divine Refinement Realm. First, test how strong Lorinne is. I need a measure stone in my heart.

…

A few minutes later, I reached the center. Two or three meters ahead stood a woman, beautiful and solemn like moon on steel.

Silver armor wrapped her from throat to heel, skin hidden, face flawless as carved jade. In her left hand, a silver-gray shield bore a bold, domineering “Earth.” In her right, a silver-white lance, its tip glinting around a razor-keen “Heaven.”

Whether the Heavenly Lance or the Earth Shield, power throbbed inside them like storms caged in crystal. If not for the Shattered Light Sword in my grip, my knees would’ve buckled like reeds in gale. Heavier still was Lorinne herself—the aura rolling off her was terrifying, a mountain-range pressing down.

She dwarfed the Emperor of Flames at the peak of the Divine Realm like sun to candle. I couldn’t sense her level at all, even with Sword Intent unfurled like a banner.

“You’re the latest challenger?”

She half-squinted silver-violet eyes, measuring me like a craftsman judging steel. “Oh? A Sword Wielder, and you’ve condensed Sword Intent. Rare. But you’re far too weak. Reaching this layer means they let you off easy before, didn’t they?”

“Mm…”

She was right. Heat rushed my face, blooming red like embers under ash.

“No matter.” She sliced past my reaction like a blade. “To business. I am Lorinne Jetti, guardian of this Divine Refinement Realm. The condition to pass is simple.”

She lifted the Heavenly Lance. Silver bells chimed softly at her wrist, like frost tapping porcelain. “See the bells on my hand?”

“I do.”

A slender chain looped her wrist, ten or so tiny bells gleaming like winter stars.

“Good. The pass condition is—within three days, by any method, make a single bell fall from my wrist. Also, don’t cling to hope for mercy. You’ll lose miserably. I don’t hold back, and I don’t water down fights.”

Her tone was solemn, straightforward like granite. She wasn’t the past guardians; she was serious steel.

Any method, any trick. Just drop one bell in three days, and I clear the eighth layer… It sounds simple. But thinking of her strength, hope scattered like leaves in a storm.

…