ASER - Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Illusionary Realm
"Lowly Path, you shameless bastard, you dare ambush me!"
"Sis, sis, it really wasn't me! I didn't!"
"If I say you did, then you did."
Damn!
Xia Sanlu, pinned down, understood. Feigning innocence, he said, "Sis, I don't have any money…"
He somewhat suspected this person's connection to Zhao Ritian, and Zhao Ritian was involved in the Black Mountain Auction House affair. Could it be that this person knew something about him, and that's why she wanted money?
If she demanded an exorbitant price, then it definitely meant…
Xia Sanlu speculated inwardly.
A'Diao: "Someone like me, how would I know if others have money? But I'll find out soon enough."
She grabbed his wrist, preparing to remove his wristwatch.
Holy crap!
Xia Sanlu immediately softened. "Sis, sis, I have some! I thought about it, and I do. For example… for example, one thousand remains."
Snap! The watch strap buckle was undone.
"Two thousand!"
The strap was pulled open.
"Five thousand! No, eight thousand! No more than that, Sis! It's useless if you take it, it's bound. Even if there's bonus time in it, you can't use it. Sis, I'm begging you, I have a wife and kids at home!!"
Xia Sanlu was on the verge of tears.
Then A'Diao stopped and methodically helped him put the wristwatch back on, saying, "Well then, thank you, little brother, for your support of your big sister."
"But you actually know, don't you? After entering the official exam, contestants' wristwatches can't be snatched because there's a setting that links pain to the heart meridian if it's separated from the owner… Your fighting skills aren't bad, and your physique isn't bad either, yet you didn't resist, only struggled verbally. It's clear you wanted me to take it. Would there be a penalty? Perhaps I, as the snatcher, would be directly eliminated?"
"Ah, maybe you deliberately exposed yourself just now."
"If wristwatches could be taken, Dantai Sheng would have been eliminated by her by now, along with others. Would she allow them to last until the fourth stage?"
Fuck! She saw through me!
Xia Sanlu's expression changed slightly, and he was about to dodge.
A'Diao's fingers landed on his neck, one finger pressing against his windpipe.
He didn't dare to move.
"The one who provokes first is despicable, you know. If I ask you for ten thousand remains as compensation, the Lushan teachers probably wouldn't object, right? It wouldn't count as direct extortion… What do you think?"
"I, I think it's fine. I agree. If I don't give it to you, may I be struck by lightning…"
A'Diao released her hand.
Xia Sanlu sat limply on the ground, his face pale, forcing a smile. "Sister is truly kind."
A'Diao: "That's right."
Then she snatched Xia Sanlu's backpack. "This and this spot are mine now. Scram!"
Xia Sanlu's eyes turned red, as if about to bleed, but saving his life was more important. He was terrified A'Diao would cripple his limbs, preventing him from even taking the exam.
It was already the end of the second stage, the aptitude assessment. Endure, he must endure!
"Okay, I'll scram right away!"
Xia Sanlu immediately ran off to find other spatial points.
Toilet: "These contestants, hardly any of them are truly simple. But aren't you going to ask him where he got the bonus points?"
"No need to ask, it's a waste of time. There's more than one entrance from the second level to the third. I chose the fastest one. There are probably other paths with bonus points to be earned. Not all the good things in this world can fall into my lap."
A'Diao indeed hadn't thought of this before. She had too many things to deal with and couldn't cover every aspect. But fortunately, greedy as she was, she was best at assessing situations.
"I reckon if Xia Sanlu could get them, others could too. No wonder they were all delayed for so long. Some were fighting, and some were earning other time-based rewards."
She quickly put the matter aside and entered the spatial point after verification via her wristwatch.
She was genuinely curious about this super-advanced gameplay involving time flow. Upon entering… it still felt like the liquid of the Nurturing Pool, and the nurturing effect was the same. She didn't feel much change, but Toilet did.
"I'm in a dimensional space, and I can feel that the time flow on your side has slowed down a lot. I estimate that by the time you use up all your bonus time plus normal time, only the normal amount of time will have passed outside."
After Toilet's confirmation, A'Diao began to focus on nurturing with peace of mind. However, nurturing was a physical matter, and cultivation was impossible under the confinement. So, she spent her time deducing other things in her mind, as it would be many days.
However… Beep! Half an hour later, a notification suddenly arrived.
A'Diao opened Xia Sanlu's backpack to check its contents while looking at her wristwatch.
The Bloodline Ranking and the Mental Body Aptitude Ranking had refreshed.
Bloodline Ranking, 12th place: Song Ling.
Mental Body Aptitude Ranking, 2nd place, Song Ling, 715.
Overall Ranking, 8th place, Song Ling.
"Huh, not bad."
A'Diao was surprised. "Mental mutation is this powerful? Awesome!"
Toilet: "The extent of her mutation should be quite high, and the fact that she survived is very impressive."
A'Diao took out the items from the backpack. "There are many formidable people. This Xia Sanlu… what an oddball. He actually picked so many fruits. They look quite good."
She picked one up and took a bite.
Her face immediately contorted.
The spectator stands erupted!
The contestant groups also erupted!
Lord Song and the other Song family members: "?"
Jiang Zhou choked.
Xie Jingyu smiled.
The terror of a mental mutant body was only now becoming truly apparent.
After all, she was an ultra-powerful mutant, one in tens of millions, with a mortality rate as high as 99.9%.
How many could emerge from a population of ten billion?
"It should be correct, she's a mental body mutant."
"Back in the first generation, among the strongest hundred golden prodigies, five of the top thirty were mental mutants, and three of them were in the top five. This shows that advantages in the mental body aspect easily produce powerhouses. That's why it's in the third stage, while bloodline and ABC aptitudes are ranked before it, and its point coefficient value is not as high as the latter."
"A mental mutant body brings all-around improvement, even synchronously enhancing aptitude. A terrifying transformation."
Many scholar-type principals discussed heatedly. Only then did Xie Yuqing realize how significant it was.
"Ah, then my Diaodiao isn't one?"
"We don't know. The extent of her growth, for example, the degree to which it drives aptitude increase, is greater than that of a mental mutant. Either the degree of her mental mutation is greater than Song Ling's, or her mental body aptitude is innate and has been continuously improving since she entered a state of cultivation, earlier than Song Ling, thus her aptitude improves faster."
The Kyoto Principal had one more thing unsaid: if Chen A'Diao's mental body aptitude was inherently so formidable, then her initial aptitude should also have been very high. So why did she only have that score of 99 back then?
Unless…
Soon, whether it was the powerful nobles or the Academy Alliance, they all reached a conclusion based on the currently collected information.
"Sickly in youth, showing signs of premature death. Either an innate deficiency or an illness caused by a curse."
The Qingzhou Academy Principal said thoughtfully, "Aside from Xu Ye, who inherited the foundation from the Xu family's side and avoided the Chen family's curse, this Chen A'Diao probably wasn't so lucky. Like her other brothers, she bore this curse. But because her aptitude was too terrifying, the curse couldn't forcibly erase it. This led to her foundation being damaged, almost costing her life. But she ultimately survived. The spiritual energy recovery was an opportunity for her. After being nurtured by spiritual energy, her aptitude began to recover. Since it's recovery, it's naturally faster than ordinary people cleansing their aptitude, which is why her growth rate is so terrifying."
The former is something already there, visible just by lifting a curtain.
The latter involves all sorts of digging with a shovel.
The difference is obvious.
The Kyoto Principal nodded. "More or less. It's truly frightening. To be able to rise despite the effects of a curse… I wonder how strong her original aptitude was."
Several principals looked at Jiang Zhou.
Jiang Zhou: "Why are you looking at me? I already knew."
Everyone: "Pah!"
News about A'Diao and Song Ling was delivered to the Third Prince. Several advisors hesitated to speak. The screen the Third Prince was currently watching… showed precisely Xu Ye and Xie Jingyu.
After hearing the news, he frowned. His finger, adorned with a jade thumb ring, tapped lightly on the armrest. He glanced at his advisors. "Trying to persuade me not to touch the Chen family's women?"
"Your Highness, the situation is currently critical. Caution is paramount."
"Hah! As if I don't know this is the Qu family's doing, trying to harm me… Have you found out who they are in contact with now? It's definitely not the Crown Prince."
"Not yet."
The Third Prince narrowed his eyes and suddenly sneered, "Since they want to play, let's play big…"
The Chen family members are good pawns. If he can't touch Chen A'Diao, killing with a borrowed knife is also an option.
He gave orders in a low voice, and the advisors' eyes lit up.
At this time, people who had finished the first two stages, one after another, had all arrived here.
Perhaps apart from the group of unlucky souls hanging above, only a few people hadn't arrived, like Song Ling.
"She should be arriving soon."
Sure enough, after a short while, Song Ling surfaced. Her gaze swept around, and she swam over to the people from the Southern Prefectures. She didn't get out, only asking Rao Xueya and the others, "Where's A'Diao?"
A single sentence revealed her differential treatment.
In Song Ling's eyes, everyone else was clearly an outsider; only A'Diao was truly one of her own. This "one of her own" wasn't about factions or friendship, but a true ally who could be relied upon throughout life and in matters of life and death.
It was inherently nobler, more enduring, and more steadfast than others, allowing one to trust the other's judgment and entrust their future.
Because this was a world of spiritual energy recovery, and she was a Mind Master, and someone who always relied on intuitive judgment.
"Haven't seen her. She should be in the Nurturing Pool. She endured longer than us, and she probably recovers after a short rest, so she hasn't come over. Do you want to come up?"
"No. Don't leave this area. If there's trouble, call for help."
Song Ling's indifferent words caused the cultivators from other regions nearby, who had a decent perception, especially those from the Kyoto district, to narrow their eyes in unison.
Of course, those who had come down with A'Diao earlier wouldn't dare to cause trouble, but those who came later?
There were still big fish lying in wait.
Song Ling was warning them about these people.
No matter how strong the big fish were, she and Chen A'Diao had already reached a stage where they could deliver a powerful blow to their opponents.
"The feng shui of this Danzhou is truly terrifying."
Xie San lamented. Duanmu Qingyang gave him a cold look.
The so-called private connection must be the relationship between Xie Jingyu and Qu Jiangnan, and Song Ling was definitely valued by Xie Jingyu.
This Xie Clan was also formidable, yet this Xie San still acted innocent, as if he knew nothing.
"The truly terrifying ones haven't emerged yet."
Duanmu Qingyang didn't say more and went back into the water.
From now on, she wouldn't come out of the water easily; she had to persist until she absolutely couldn't anymore.
There were too many monstrous talents.
Night fell.
The spectator stands were as lively as a village temple fair. Groups of people were eating and drinking, some were playing cards, as if on vacation. There were food stalls, hot pot, and barbecue everywhere.
It was too lively.
But inside the mist-shrouded Nurturing Pool, it seemed somewhat quiet, filled with the sound of panting.
Because they were too tired.
"Night has fallen, this water is so cold."
"It's not the water. Our bodies have consumed too much energy. Without energy and food replenishment, we can't keep up. If only we had something to eat now. Sigh, I really want to eat roasted pig trotters and grilled pork belly…"
As Xie San said this, he happened to see two chubby figures surface one after another.
The chubby Xiong Chumo and Zhao Foshou looked up and saw a group of people on several platforms staring at them with gloomy eyes.
The two of them: "?"
Splash!
Someone else emerged behind them. It was A'Diao.
Everyone looked over in unison. Even Xiong Chumo, the representative of the "salted fish" who had been lying down panting, sat up to look.
What a presence, our Boss A'Diao!
A'Diao climbed onto the platform and sat in the center spot that the people from the Southern Prefectures had obediently cleared for her. She opened her backpack and took out a package.
"This is a spatial compression pouch. Here, compressed biscuits, and these are fruits."
Rao Xueya asked curiously, "Where did the fruits come from?"
"From the dense forest, of course. There are lots of edible things in there. And there are small paths from the second and third levels that loop back to the first floor to pick fruits and replenish stamina. Didn't you know? Oh, sorry, I forgot many of you haven't deciphered the map."
Everyone: "!!!"
A few individuals also knew there were fruits inside, but they didn't have time, nor were they sure if they were edible. They were all busy looking for equipment at the time.
A'Diao: "Sigh, you guys are still too young. The exam is important, but you can't go hungry. You were so focused on finding equipment that you didn't even notice these fruits, right? Mainly because you didn't have backpacks either."
"Fuck! Why were we working so hard to find equipment? Wasn't it because of you?!"
Everyone was furious but didn't dare to speak out, only watching this person distribute food to Song Ling and a few others.
The teachers' backpacks naturally contained some items that could bypass the confinement, like the spatial compression pouch. It didn't require energy to activate; it was just a soft, open spatial pouch, like a piece of tattered cloth, but it could hold a lot.
It was a loophole! If they had known, they would have snatched one too. Now, it had come to this: only she was enjoying the benefits, which had originally belonged to Xia Sanlu and his companion.
After distributing the food, A'Diao hugged a biscuit and started munching on it, sighing as she ate, "This tastes awful."
After saying that, she seemed to realize something and immediately said, embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you guys hungry? It's not very nice of me to say this in front of you."
The others remained silent; even those from the Southern Prefectures looked melancholic.
Mental power points started rolling in.
Duanmu Qingyang: "The food, are you selling it?"
Oh my! Miss Duanmu is indeed generous and knows my heart so well!
A'Diao: "We're all brothers and sisters here. Why talk about selling? How much will you offer?"
Duanmu Qingyang: "You name a suitable price yourself."
A'Diao: "One fruit, 100 remains."
"Holy crap! An exorbitant price with millions of times profit! Have remains become as cheap as cabbage?"
Grassroots cultivators like Wen Shaoyao and the others felt their minds go numb.
The participants and the audience were all stunned.
"This, this, this… is this a price a normal person would suggest?"
Duanmu Qingyang was probably so angry she laughed. "How big is the fruit? A tomato? Do you think I'll buy it?"
A'Diao took out one the size of a fist.
"I specially picked ones with excellent plant fiber, very filling. One is enough to satisfy hunger. Who wants one? If you're too hungry, your stamina will fail, and you won't last long down there. It's like, you know, that thing between men and women… would you dare to continue without a condom? This is a matter of life and death."
At a time like this, trying to calculate cost value with her? Hmph! Take it or leave it!
Duanmu Qingyang had a headache but made a decision. "I want twenty. Give me one first, and I'll leave the other 19 with you for safekeeping."
"Okay, storage fee is 100 per day."
"…"
Duanmu Qingyang had always considered herself smart since childhood, but she discovered that beyond intelligence, there was an even higher level of cunning.
But she still bought them.
Many people didn't want to buy.
"Doesn't Xia Sanlu also have a backpack? He must have packed fruits too. Let's buy from him!"
"Right, from Xia Sanlu… Where is he?"
As everyone discussed, they suddenly heard A'Diao say slowly, "His backpack is with me. And, the fruits are also his."
She herself didn't have time to pick fruits. She had only gathered a few for herself. But who asked that guy surnamed Xia to run into her?
The more than ten thousand people who had been hungry for a day: "…"
The person who had just spoken said awkwardly, "Actually, on second thought, one hundred remains is very cheap. After all, it's during an exam. A conscientious price! I'll buy!"
A'Diao reserved a portion for herself, Song Ling, and their group, and sold all the rest. Of course, most people opted for storage.
Wen Shaoyao helped her calculate, "With this wave, she made a net profit of at least fifty thousand remains."
Guang Yunlou: "These should have been Xia Sanlu's. Her actions are too despicable. She'll definitely face retaliation after getting out. Just wait and see."
Yan Fengbai and Wen Shaoyao said no more, then bit into the fruit they had just bought.
Ah, so sour!!! Why is it so sour!
A'Diao silently munched on her biscuit, collecting mental power points, thinking to herself: Because this fruit is the largest, has high satiety, and sells well. As for whether it's sweet or not, you all have to eat it. And it's precisely because it's sour that I specially came up to sell it.
So many mental power points.
The transaction completed, A'Diao was in a good mood. She also calculated her recovery speed; she could go down again in about ten-odd minutes.
Just then, Rao Xueya and the others were talking about the illusionary realms.
The audience was actually also discussing the illusionary realms because the differences in the contestants' mental body aptitudes were too great. Many parents couldn't accept their children's low scores but were also curious why others scored so high.
Perhaps sensing the audience's resentment, the smart screens displayed individual screens one by one.
These screens were a bit strange compared to previous ones; they were more mysterious, like a kind of extraordinary magical water mirror.
Someone from Lushan Academy specially explained in the plaza.
"Everyone, this is an illusionary realm projection guided out by a Lushan mighty figure after enslaving the Illusion Heart Demon Spiders."
"It will also project the previous illusionary realm situations of all contestants, allowing everyone to judge the fairness and impartiality of this assessment. However, escaping the illusionary realm faster doesn't necessarily mean higher mental body aptitude. Overall, we look at the details of the illusion—its realism, intensity, complexity, and the final degree of detachment."
Someone asked curiously, "What kind of illusionary realms are they? Are they the same for everyone, or different?"
The person from Lushan had a good temper and explained, "The Eight Desires of Heaven and Man: greed, anger, ignorance, love, hate, life, death, and parting. Every contestant must experience them all."
"Holy crap, this theme is too profound!"
They are all still just children.
Because the test was already over, many parents present had passed the worrying stage and were directly curious about the content of the illusionary realms.
Everyone had their own shocks; people are different, and their points of desire are also different. But parents of ordinary children quickly discovered why geniuses were geniuses—they were simply different from ordinary people.
The rise and fall of empires, life-and-death battles, scheming and intrigue, etc., were all shocking.
Actually, they were no longer children; they were the future of the empire.
Many people thought to themselves.
At this moment, A'Diao, inside the examination area, was casually asked about the illusionary realm by Tian Zhongxiang.
Many people were thinking that she had spent so long in the illusionary realm, she must have been studying how to control the spider demon. Passing the illusionary realm should have been particularly easy for her.
A'Diao paused for a moment, then said nonchalantly, "I've never really cared about these torments of desire. The five stages meant nothing to me; I passed them in minutes."
Everyone: "…"
At the same moment, her illusionary realm appeared on the large screen outside the examination area.
The first illusionary realm was greed.
Swish! It was already night, and there were lights, but everyone was still blinded by a vast expanse of golden light before their eyes.
Gold, all gold, an entire mountain of gold, boundless and endless.
A chubby little dragon lay on the gold coins, rolling around.
"Mine, mine, mine, it's all mine!"
Then it just kept rolling and rolling and rolling, unable to escape the illusionary realm.
Later, it finally stopped rolling because she touched her stomach and said, "So hungry."
And then she escaped the illusionary realm.
What a long and monotonous illusionary realm.
"But did she not have to go through the other illusionary realms?"
"Yeah, just greed."
Duanmu family's elder brother suddenly had a flash of insight: "Could it be that her greed, anger, ignorance, love, hate, life, death, and parting are all the same? The key element is unified."
Greedy for wealth, an extraordinary possessiveness towards riches, obsessed with money, loves money as much as life itself, harbors hatred if wealth is taken, lives to accumulate riches, would die if money were lost, and in this life, would only part with money.
Everyone: "!!!"
The Lushan teachers were also dumbfounded.
Since the first generation, for a thousand years, such an unparalleled oddity had never been seen. Ultimately escaping the illusionary realm simply because she was hungry.
Compared to her, the thrilling life experiences of the other contestants… somehow seemed fickle and unfaithful.
How could they compare to her unwavering loyalty?
The crisis in the universe had ended. Most combat personnel were covered in blood; only one person was completely clean. After finishing maintenance on the technical equipment, he returned to that place, turned on his optical computer to watch the competition, and happened to see the scene of the little evil dragon lying in the mountain of gold.
He was stunned for a moment, but his hands changed the pattern he was working on, turning the knitting design into a little evil dragon.
Not far away, on the same balcony, the woman saw this scene. She was somewhat surprised but also saw a doting and gentle smile on the face of this person who resembled an internet-addicted youth.
She seemed lost in thought. After turning and going back, it wasn't long before she had her servants tune into the Lushan Academy competition…
After watching, the fingers pressed against her temple moved slightly.
"Hmm? I'm afraid it's not because her thoughts on greed, anger, and ignorance are focused, but because this illusionary realm simply couldn't confuse her."
"Instead, it was an illusionary realm she counter-controlled, deliberately revealing only the harmless aspect of loving wealth."
"Therefore, her mental body must be innately solid, powerful to the point of being unshakable."
The woman checked their identities and learned that the seemingly weak, internet-addicted youth below, who lacked the strength to truss a chicken, and this ferocious little sister were siblings. Her expression at that moment was a bit strange.
Perhaps… only their good looks were related?
Lushan, Lushan Academy's Headmaster made a judgment similar to the woman's. "This Chen A'Diao needs special attention. I didn't expect such a formidable seedling. An innately solid mental body is even rarer than a mental mutant."
The old man who was previously toying with a small spider raised an eyebrow. "But the mortality rate for such people is also far higher than others. Because the mental body is too powerful, its aura after solidifying is much stronger than in a liquid state. When breaking through to the Glimmer and Star Realms, they will be targeted by tribulation lightning. However, a solid mental body is precisely difficult to use, making them prone to perishing instead."
This is like having a treasure mountain but being unable to use it, and instead being harmed by it.
Headmaster: "Which monstrous talent under the heavens doesn't face the risk of premature death? They are all just defying fate in the darkness. Set up a layer of protection for her. I see she's someone who can stir up trouble. Don't let the imperial clan harm her."
Pausing slightly, his voice carried a profound meaning.
"Those old fogeys from the imperial clan have been focused on other matters recently. By the time they come to their senses and truly pay attention to this assessment, she will be exposed. She might even be assassinated."
The old man playing with the spider narrowed his eyes, sneered, and directly crushed the small spider.
"The imperial clan… Hmph!"
The Headmaster acted as if he hadn't seen it, his emotions stable. But after carefully examining A'Diao's performance data, he sighed softly. "However, her advantage lies in her mental body. She will likely struggle in the fifth stage and may not necessarily win against other contestants."
"Her foundation is damaged and probably difficult to repair. And the fifth stage places the most importance on the body's unified spirituality… I don't know how she will perform."
"No matter. As long as she ranks among the top, she can enter our Lushan Academy."
In their conversation, they had already come to regard A'Diao as one of their own.
They were looking at her super awesome talent of an innately solid mental body. As for other weaknesses, they felt those were not a major concern; after all, there are no perfect geniuses in this world.
Later, someone casually remarked, "But what if other contestants plot against her? Look, Dantai Sheng and his group are coming down."
The screen changed, and both of them saw Dantai Sheng and the others, who had been hanging, escape one after another!
They went down.
The Nurturing Pool was about to become turbulent.
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