The darkness slowly dissolved.
The endless battlefield of corpses vanished. The blood-soaked courtyard vanished. Emma Stone vanished. The mocking Imperial Family vanished.
But the scenes lingered inside Tony’s mind like invisible scars. When his vision finally returned, he found himself standing once more before the World Tree Spirit.
Neither of them spoke immediately. The atmosphere felt strangely awkward. Tony stood there silently while staring into the distance. The images of the nightmare still lingered before his eyes. He could still remember the disappointment in his father’s gaze. He could still remember kneeling before the bodies of the Clark Family.
Even though he knew it was merely an illusion, the emotions it invoked felt entirely real.
Meanwhile the World Tree Spirit quietly observed him. For the first time since meeting Tony, she wasn’t looking at the troublemaker who bullied other disciples, slapped enemies for amusement, cheated through trials, and constantly argued with her. The person standing before her now felt different.
The carefree smile was gone. The playful expression was gone. The shameless confidence was gone. What remained was a serious young man whose greatest fear had just been exposed before her eyes.
-
"Are you done with me now, or do you still have more torment hidden somewhere?" Tony asked quietly.
The World Tree Spirit actually froze for a moment. During all the trials she had only known one version of Tony Clark. The arrogant version. The shameless version. The troublemaker who slapped participants and bullied enemies. Yet the person standing before her now seemed completely different.
For several moments she found herself unable to answer immediately. Eventually she composed herself and spoke. "You passed the trial." Her voice was softer than usual.
Tony stared at her for several seconds before nodding. "Good. Then stop standing there and give me the inheritance."
The spirit coughed awkwardly.
"What?" Tony asked with an impatient look.
The spirit sighed heavily. "There is... a small complication."
Tony’s face immediately darkened. "Complication?"
The spirit nodded reluctantly. "The inheritance... I can’t give it to you."
Tony stared at her in disbelief. "What kind of nonsense is that?"
The spirit folded her arms. "You cheated... You entered the World Tree pod before reaching maturity and absorbed the Primordial Energy that was originally meant to nourish the next generation of World Tree seeds."
Tony froze.
The spirit continued mercilessly. "Because of your actions, abnormalities appeared from the very beginning. You should not have been part of the original inheritance pathway."
For several moments Tony remained completely silent. Then he slowly pointed at her. "Wait... You knew this from the start? You watched me pass the first trial. You watched me pass the second trial. You watched me survive that damned nightmare. And now you decide to tell me there is a complication?"
The World Tree Spirit genuinely looked embarrassed. Even she knew his argument was valid. If she truly intended to reject him, she should have done so at the beginning. Not after he completed everything.
Tony continued relentlessly. "If you knew all of this from the beginning, why didn’t you stop me before I entered the trials?"
The spirit finally answered. "Because I couldn’t."
Tony frowned. "What does that mean?" The spirit sighed. "Because despite the abnormalities, you legitimately passed every trial. The World Tree itself acknowledged your qualifications. I had no authority to stop you."
Tony immediately smirked. "Exactly... So, you shouldn’t reject me now!"
After several moments she finally raised her hand to silence him. "Even if I wanted to give you the inheritance, I still can’t."
Tony’s expression darkened once more. "Why?"
The spirit’s expression finally became serious. "Because the inheritance itself is incompatible with you. The World Tree is fundamentally Yin in nature. The inheritance itself is Yin. The original successor was always intended to be female."
"More importantly, you already possess a Yin Flower within your body. If you forcefully absorb this inheritance, the conflicting energies will destroy your foundation. The inheritance won’t strengthen you. It will kill you."
This time Tony truly became silent. Not because he accepted her reasoning. Not because he agreed. But because he understood she wasn’t lying. The frustration inside him immediately surged. He completed every trial. He reached the end. He endured the nightmare. Yet the reward itself couldn’t even be given to him. The entire situation felt ridiculous.
Several moments later Tony finally exhaled. "Fine."
The spirit blinked in surprise. She expected an argument.
Instead Tony simply folded his arms and spoke calmly. "If I can’t have the inheritance, compensate me."
The spirit stared. "Compensate?"
Tony nodded. "I completed every trial. I passed every test. I survived your nightmare. Then give me something else. I’m not leaving empty-handed after all that."
The World Tree Spirit felt another headache forming. After several moments she finally sighed and waved her hand.
Instantly the surrounding void transformed. Thousands of treasures appeared around them. Ancient weapons radiating divine light floated through the air. Supreme cultivation manuals appeared one after another. Countless precious pills capable of changing destinies rested within crystal containers. Ancient artifacts. Rare treasures. Forgotten techniques. The entire void became a sea of priceless rewards.
The spirit pointed toward them and spoke with obvious reluctance. "One request. Any reasonable request. A weapon. A cultivation technique. An alchemy pill. A treasure. Choose one."
Tony slowly observed the countless treasures. His eyes moved from one item to another. Any participant would go insane seeing such rewards. Yet the more he observed them, the calmer he became.
The World Tree Spirit watched confidently. Surely he would choose a powerful weapon. Or perhaps an ancient cultivation technique. Maybe a divine pill. All of those choices would make sense.
Then Tony suddenly smiled.
"What?" she asked cautiously.
"I want the World Tree seeds."
The treasures vanished instantly... The World Tree Spirit froze completely.
Tony’s smile widened after seeing her reaction.
The World Tree Spirit stared at him as though she had just heard the most outrageous request in existence.
And for the first time since meeting Tony Clark, she genuinely regretted allowing him to choose his own-reward.