Jared glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He stepped up to the crystal bed but paused and turned toward Vivian.

“Miss Chance, I think I’ve figured out what this trial is really about.”

Vivian lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“The illusion digs up the deepest fear in a person’s heart,” Jared said slowly. “What you’re really observing isn’t whether we can endure the fear, but whether we can stay true to ourselves and remain unshaken.”

He nodded toward the bed. “Lord Wagner’s reaction showed that fear took over inside him, and his body lost control. In your eyes, someone like that isn’t worthy of being your cultivation partner.”

A faint shimmer flickered in Vivian’s eyes, a ripple that hadn’t been there a moment earlier.