Lantern, Hourglass, Dice

"Gu Shen, as you can see, there are three 'Dream Realm Sealed Items' placed in front of you. The final assessment of the Assessment Team is very simple... touch the three Dream Realm Sealed Items in sequence, enter the Dream Realm, and complete the Dream Interpretation."

A long table separated the classroom, with Gu Shen on one end and the Assessment Team sitting upright on the other.

"The Dream Interpretation time for the three Sealed Items will become your final assessment score."

It was Grand Arbiter Tang Qingquan of Yinghai District who introduced the rules. When he spoke, the expressions of the other Assessment Team members changed slightly, but none of them said anything.

The Grand Arbiter was expressionless, leaning forward slowly, sizing up the unremarkable young man in front of him.

He had seen countless people, but he couldn't detect any astonishing Mental Power fluctuations from this young man.

Being selected as an authority figure to assess "S" level was no easy task.

Each member of the Assessment Team who landed in Da Teng City this time was a powerful individual with Transcendent strength.

They were all sizing up the kid in front of them.

And on the table were three items... an ancient Lantern, a depleted Hourglass, and a restored Rubik's Cube Dice.

"You should be clear about the rules of Dream Interpretation, right?"

The Grand Arbiter asked routinely. He had read Gu Shen's file. This newcomer had performed outstandingly in the Fire Disaster Case. Zhou Jiren had even fought for an Amnesty Decree for him. Presumably, he had already done enough homework to prepare for the assessment during this time.

"Rules..." Gu Shen was a little dazed, "What rules?"

Tang Qingquan frowned.

He didn't understand. Zhou Jiren had elicited the Dream Interpretation test questions on the plane. Hadn't he explained them to this newcomer?

"Is this your first time entering the Dream Realm?"

The assessor next to the Grand Arbiter was quite patient. He looked at Gu Shen and said earnestly, "The Dream Realm is a world woven by Mental Power, so everything in the Dream Realm is illusory... no matter how powerful the Sealed Item is, it's no exception."

"Once you touch the Sealed Item, there is no possibility of withdrawing."

He pointed to the three items on the table and said, "As for how to perform Dream Interpretation, it's not complicated. You only need to first realize that you are in a dream, and then you need to find the unique aspects of the Dream Realm. Finally, you need to use the unique aspects to naturally complete the 'discernment', which is the so-called 'Dream Interpretation'!"

Gu Shen listened carefully, while using Awakening of Insects to verify what they said about Dream Interpretation.

He woke up from the grassland, first realizing that he was in a Dream Realm.

Then he discovered the "unique aspects"... the unique aspect in Awakening of Insects was probably the heavy cumulonimbus cloud.

The Dream Interpretation of Awakening of Insects was very simple.

Not long after waking up, the cloud on the grassland rained, and he sat down in accordance with his heart, and immediately realized that the grassland was in harmony with the breathing technique of the rain... and he completed the discernment and Dream Interpretation so simply.

"The three Sealed Items brought this time have quite intense characteristics." This Assessment Team member solemnly handed over a small copper piece, saying, "This copper piece is called 'Heart-Peering Shard'. If you cannot bear their Dream Realm, we will forcibly take you away... the price is that you will suffer slight mental damage and need to recuperate for ten days to half a month."

"Of course... if you leave the Dream Realm in this way, your assessment will also be over."

He paused and sat back, "Do you understand?"

Gu Shen took the Heart-Peering Shard.

He weighed it. It had a lot of texture. It looked like copper, but it seemed to have other mysteries. It felt cool to the touch.

"Understood."

Gu Shen gripped the Heart-Peering Shard and took a deep breath.

Senior Apprentice Sister Luo had said that the Tribunal housed thousands of Dream Realm Sealed Items... These Sealed Items had different characteristics and were used by people to hone their Mental Power. Some Transcendent individuals who perfectly mastered the rules of the Dream Realm could use Sealed Items as their weapons.

If the Sealed Item was prepared specifically for assessing him... would they choose one from the assessors themselves to avoid "leaking the questions"?

He walked to the table and examined the three Dream Realm Sealed Items.

The Hourglass sat quietly on the table, all the sand at the bottom, looking no different from an ordinary object. But after a few more glances, Gu Shen's heart was immediately entangled by an aura of decay and death.

This was probably a Dream Realm Sealed Item related to "time."

Hmm... a very dangerous thing.

Gu Shen looked at the Dice again, unable to see anything unusual. It was just a simple Dice.

Unpredictable, unassessable.

Finally, he looked at the Lantern.

The most eye-catching thing on the table was the old Lantern in front of the Grand Arbiter.

It looked like an antique from hundreds of years ago, yet its core burned with a vigorous flame, reflecting the tattered painting on the Lantern's oiled paper skin. It depicted countless chasing flames and ghosts, flickering with the flames, breathing as if they were alive.

It looked like the hand-painted style of the Yinghai District from a long time ago. He looked at the Grand Arbiter. Gu Shen had done his homework on the identities of all the Assessment Team members, and only this one was from the Yinghai District. Perhaps this was his Sealed Item?

The Grand Arbiter stared at him expressionlessly, propping his elbow on the table.

"Choose quickly," Tang Qingquan knocked on the table, urging, "There's no difference between these three."

"...Okay."

Hesitating for a moment, Gu Shen reached out and touched the Azure Dice.

After observing them all, the Azure Dice gave him the most gentle and harmless feeling.

After touching it, according to the Assessment Team's instructions, Gu Shen held the Azure Dice in front of him.

He waited for a second, but nothing happened.

And the next second, Gu Shen realized that he was terribly wrong...

"Crack!"

A crisp sound exploded!

Something seemed to crack in his mind, and his entire soul was struck by lightning!

Intense pain struck.

Gu Shen looked down, his expression astonished.

He saw the restored Azure Dice spinning rapidly in his palm, scrambling itself, making a crackling sound—

Because his Mental Power was too weak.

Gu Shen struggled to resist the Mental Power pull of the Azure Dice...

He tried hard to see the last twisting trajectory of the Azure Dice.

A few seconds later.

"Click."

When the Rubik's Cube stopped, the Gu Shen in reality had solidified like a stone sculpture.

A gentle breeze passed by.

Bright light shone into the classroom with the wind, landing on the faces of every Assessment Team member behind the long table.

At the moment when the Grand Arbiter spoke earlier.

Their expressions all changed subtly for a moment.

"Tang Qingquan, you have modified the rules without authorization... Doing so violates our original intention." The Tribunal Head of the Red Cedar District Prison Institute said in a low voice, "The original rule was that he only needed to choose one item and complete the Dream Interpretation to complete the assessment."

"What's the difference?" The Grand Arbiter said lightly, "If Gu Shen can complete the first Dream Interpretation... we can just inform him later. This is Old Zhao's intention."

The Red Cedar District Tribunal Head frowned.

How could there be no difference?

This assessment is of great importance. If Gu Shen learns that the rule is to touch three Sealed Items... he will definitely reserve some strength in the first Dream Interpretation.

The most important thing is that it will lead to misjudgment.

With only one Dream Interpretation, he will definitely go all out...

But with three Dream Interpretations waiting for him, this young man may misunderstand the difficulty of this assessment.

Each of these three Sealed Items is engraved with a nightmare-level Dream Realm!

"It's a bit of a pity that he didn't choose my 'Cage of the Netherworld Phantom', otherwise this assessment could have ended early."

The Grand Arbiter smiled and said, "Maybe he thought your 'Azure Dice' looked simpler?"

"...I was already prepared to enter the dream and take him away." The Tribunal Head sighed softly and said, "The Dream Realm of the Azure Dice is very torturous. If he can't bear it, giving up early might be a good choice."