WBICDPH Chapter 45

Chapter 45 — A Lucky Accident

The eight-sided die in his hand was made of some unknown material. It felt icy cold to the touch, and each face was engraved with tiny, mysterious totems that looked exquisitely crafted.

Lin Jin turned it over and over, studying every angle, tracing the carved symbols with his fingertips. But before he could figure anything out, one of the totems suddenly burst into a flash of silver light beneath his fingers.

Startled, Lin Jin fumbled to smother the glow and nearly dropped the die.

At the same time, a surge of formless spiritual energy wrapped around his entire body. When a wave of dizziness hit his consciousness, he realized what was happening—he was about to be transported into a trial realm.

Boom—

Rolling thunder echoed in his ears.

The sound had seemed distant and hollow at first, but in the blink of an eye, it was right beside him.

After a brief sensation of weightlessness, Lin Jin’s feet touched solid ground again. Before he could steady himself, his heart suddenly clenched tight.

He had lived in this world for a long time now and was fully accustomed to this body. He knew that the strange sensation was a warning—his body’s instinctive reaction to imminent danger.

Acting on instinct, he dodged to the side. A flash of light streaked past his eyes, and a bolt of lightning crashed down where he had just been standing, scorching the ground black and leaving it smoking.

What the hell?!

Shaken, Lin Jin hurriedly looked around.

He was standing on a barren plain beneath roiling thunderclouds. Lightning flickered behind the clouds, and at any moment another heavenly bolt could strike from anywhere.

“Lin Jin! Are you insane? You skipped the beast-taming trial world and ran straight into the martial realm to get yourself killed?!”

Before he could gather his thoughts, a familiar girl’s voice rang out beside his ear.

His danger sense flared again—but before he could react, a red figure flashed past him and blocked the strike. With a single swing of her blade, she split the incoming lightning apart.

“Why are you just standing there? Trying to die?!”

Her shout finally snapped him back to reality.

He glanced down at the eight-sided die in his hand. The silver surface shimmered, and several lines of text appeared:

[Trial Realm — Profound Tier, Level Six · Martial Path]
[Trial Requirement: Withstand 300 lightning strikes daily]
[Stay Duration: Three days. Total lightning strikes: 900. Completed: 2]

“…How many?!”

“Quit spacing out! Either draw your weapon or switch worlds! I’m not taking your share of lightning for you!” Hua Nanzhi yelled as she cleaved another bolt, sweat already forming on her nose from the strain.

“O-okay! How do I switch?!” Lin Jin spun the die frantically, unable to figure it out.

“The totems on each face represent different paths! Pick one and light it up!”

“But…” Lin Jin stared at the abstract symbols.
“…I can’t read any of these!!!”

Forget it—anywhere was better than standing here getting struck by lightning!

Gritting his teeth, he randomly activated one face.

The die turned green. The barren martial plain vanished, and he reappeared inside a ruined city.

[Trial Realm — Profound Tier, Level Six · Medical Path]
[Trial Requirement: Cure the plague within the city]
[Stay Duration: Three days. No deaths allowed during this period, or the count resets.

“…?”

Great. Completely wrong again.

He switched worlds once more.

This time, the die glowed purple, and he found himself standing on a vast grassland.

[Trial Realm — Profound Tier, Level Six · Beast-Taming Path]

Lin Jin sighed in relief.
Finally—something in his field.

But when he checked the task, the floating text read:

[Trial Requirement: Unknown]
[Await instructor assignment]

“…Huh?”

Well, that made sense. Hardly anyone practiced beast-taming anymore—there probably wasn’t even a punishment system set up yet.

So he sat cross-legged on the grass, idly spinning the die while waiting.

Qingyu Platform.

Liu Xun leaned lazily against the railing, fanning herself as she watched the monitoring mirror—and the suspicious figure known as Moyuzi—curious what kind of task he would assign.

Soon, a flash of white light appeared in the beast-taming realm. Several round, fluffy, adorable Cotton Beasts popped into existence.

[Trial Requirement: Get along harmoniously with the Cotton Beasts for three pleasant days]

“…?”

Liu Xun shot to her feet, stormed over, and kicked Moyuzi square in the rear.

“You think I’m blind?! That’s a trial? Those are Cotton Beasts! Even someone who isn’t a beast tamer could get along with them—you’re clearly favoring that brat!”

“I am not!” Moyuzi protested, nearly jumping from the kick, and pointed to the mirror.

Arms crossed, Liu Xun glanced over dismissively—only to freeze.

Inside the realm, Lin Jin cautiously approached the Cotton Beasts. Half of them instantly stiffened and fainted. The rest bolted in terror, screaming as they ran.

She had never seen a human with such abysmal affinity that even Cotton Beasts rejected him.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me. He can’t even get close to Cotton Beasts—what kind of beast tamer is he?!”

But then she reconsidered. Even if he failed, Moyuzi would probably sneak him out later. That wasn’t punishment at all.

Grinding her teeth, she formed a hand seal. A strand of violet spiritual energy slipped into the mirror.

Meanwhile, Lin Jin stood alone on the grassland, staring at the panicking Cotton Beasts in despair.

Am I really that unlikeable?

His task was to coexist peacefully with them for three days—but if they refused to approach him, he’d be trapped forever.

Panicking, he checked the die again. The words “Cotton Beast” began to blur… then transformed into “Flamecloud Sparrow.”

“Oh no…”

A sharp screech cut across the sky.

He looked up to see nearly ten adult Flamecloud Sparrows circling overhead, eyes glowing red. The largest dove toward him, ready to bite his head off.

“Master, are you trying to kill me?!” he yelled as he fled, activating the die again.

The die turned blue—Music Path. He couldn’t play instruments or smash boulders with melodies.
Alchemy Path—impossible.
Artifact Forging—equally hopeless.

By now, Lin Jin was nearly despairing. Was he going to be trapped in the trial realm forever?

Maybe he should go back to the martial world and beg Hua Nanzhi to help him survive nine hundred lightning strikes… though she might kill him before the lightning did.

With a heavy sigh, he activated one of the last two faces.

The die turned gold.

This time he appeared in an elegant study filled with shelves and the scent of ink and incense.

He finally relaxed. This… this was more his speed.

Checking the die:

[Trial Realm — Profound Tier, Level Six · Talisman Path]
[Trial Requirement: Draw 100 third-rank or higher talismans daily]
[Stay Duration: Three days. Total required: 300. Completed: 0]

Drawing talismans? Drawing pictures? Easy!

He found talisman paper, cinnabar ink, and even illustrated manuals—he could just copy them.

Perfect.

Unable to find a proper brush, he dug through his storage ring and pulled out a frayed old brush he used for notes.

Back on the Qingyu Platform, Liu Xun fumed.

“He thinks this is a vegetable market, picking trial realms at will?! That’s my talisman realm—get out!”

A lazy voice echoed as Zheyu appeared, lounging in her chair.

She sneered at the cheap brush in Lin Jin’s hand. “My disciples use proper talisman brushes and still struggle with sixth-rank diagrams. That brat’s using a split-tip junk brush—he’ll only produce ashes!”

But before her thought finished—

Her fan clattered to the floor.

In the mirror, Lin Jin clumsily copied a sixth-rank talisman with messy strokes.

The paper didn’t burn.

Instead, a faint golden glow flashed.

Sixth-Rank Wind-Sharing Talisman — Complete.

[Total Completed: 1 / 300]

Lin Jin examined the crooked talisman with satisfaction.

“Huh. Drawing talismans isn’t that hard,” he muttered, blowing gently on the wet ink.