The Celestial winds howled around the Skyfall Gate.
It stood at the edge of the heavens—a glowing passage that connected the Celestial Realm to the Mortal World below.
Yue Yun stood before it.
His robes were plain white now, stripped of their usual divine glow. The sword Skyfire was gone—sealed away. Around his wrist rested a thin silver band, faintly glowing.
A Divine Restraint.
It suppressed his power.
It hid who he truly was.
Behind him, Li Zhen stood quietly.
"You may forget who you are," the High Immortal said, his voice calm but serious. "The Mortal Realm changes people. And your trial…"
He paused.
"…is not just to fight."
Yue Yun didn't turn.
"It is to feel."
Silence followed.
Yue Yun's expression remained steady, but something in his chest felt heavy.
His thoughts drifted.
To Yue Yan.
To the way she looked when she returned—strong, but distant. Quiet in a way she had never been before.
He hadn't had the chance to ask her the truth.
And now…
He was leaving too.
"Do not lose yourself," Li Zhen said softly. "And if you do…"
A brief pause.
"…find your way back."
Yue Yun gave a small nod.
Then—
He stepped forward.
And into the light.
—
The fall was silent.
No wind.
No sound.
Only the sensation of falling—through light, through shadow, through something that felt endless.
Memories flickered through his mind.
Training beneath the watch of the Divine Lords.
Flying across the skies on Ao Xuan's back.
Laughter echoing through the Cloud Gardens—
Yue Yan beside him.
Then…
Darkness.
—
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the ground.
Grass brushed against his skin as the wind moved gently through the field. The sky above was gray, heavy with clouds.
For a moment, he didn't move.
His body ached.
Different.
Weaker.
The silver band around his wrist pulsed faintly, reminding him of what had been taken.
Or… sealed.
Yue Yun slowly pushed himself up, his gaze scanning the unfamiliar land around him.
No golden skies.
No divine energy.
Just—
The Mortal Realm.
He exhaled quietly.
And somewhere deep inside, something shifted.
His trial had begun.