Report of Accusation

"54 minutes!"

The Rubik's Cube die had strangely stalled for a while before the final two simplest steps. The Red Cedar Tribunal Head stared at the die, every second feeling like a year as he worried for Gu Shen. He guessed that the die had paused because the boy had expended too much Mental Power and needed to stop briefly before making one final sprint.

He must have reached his limit.

What a pity, what a pity.

Otherwise, the result could have been even faster... Though being faster no longer held any meaning. In all previous assessments, Azure Dice's fastest Dream Interpretation record had been 3 hours and 1 minute. Gu Shen had shattered that record by more than two full hours. It seemed unlikely that an even faster record would emerge for many years to come.

As the Rubik's Cube die in his palm completed its final internal assembly, the boy slowly opened his eyes.

Dream Interpretation complete!

At that moment, every member of the Assessment Team had their eyes fixed on Gu Shen's face. They wanted to see the lingering emotions from that dream in his eyes... Everyone who had experienced Azure Dice would retain traces of fear, lingering dread, and similar emotions in their gaze.

But there was nothing in Gu Shen's eyes.

They were clear, black and white distinct, like a pristine lake.

His calmness was almost disappointing.

"Congratulations. You have completed the Dream Interpretation of the first Sealed Item, 'Azure Dice.'" The Grand Arbiter spoke flatly as he studied Gu Shen. "Your result is neither good nor bad. You'll need to pick up the pace on the second one."

The others in the Assessment Team remained silent.

Out of guilt, the Red Cedar Tribunal Head did not look Gu Shen in the eyes. He heard a soft sound as the boy set Azure Dice down before him, then quietly said, "Is that so? I need to go even faster... I thought I was already quite fast."

"You can be faster. This is an assessment for 'S-class.'" The Grand Arbiter spoke casually. "If you feel your Mental Power cannot sustain it... you may choose to give up now."

Earlier, they had not seen emotions such as fear or dread in the boy's eyes.

But they had all sensed it... Gu Shen had consumed a tremendous amount of Mental Power completing Azure Dice's Dream Interpretation.

This was the cost that Dream Interpretation inevitably demanded!

"I choose to continue."

Gu Shen smiled and reached straight for the inverted hourglass on the table.

"Very good..." Tang Qingquan said. "When you are ready to Enter Dream, turn the 'Hourglass of Time' over."

Hourglass of Time...

That was the name of this Sealed Item...

Gu Shen Nodded.

He did not start immediately.

After learning Tang Qingquan's true nature, Gu Shen simply ignored the Grand Arbiter's urging.

With the experience of Azure Dice, Gu Shen decided to carefully examine this Sealed Item before turning over the Hourglass of Time... Azure Dice had been a dream realm of segmented space, requiring him to identify its pattern. This hourglass, clearly, corresponded to the laws of time.

The sand within the hourglass was snow-white, piled up like a small mountain. He gave it a gentle shake, and the grains flowed normally.

After spending about a minute shaking it from side to side several times and examining it closely from every angle... he found nothing unusual about its appearance.

Once he was certain he had overlooked nothing, he slowly turned the hourglass over.

"Buzz."

Just as expected, the instant he inverted the hourglass, his Mental Power began draining uncontrollably, as if it had been swept into a quicksand pit along with countless grains of sand...

His Mental Power was too weak.

So the Sealed Item directly hypnotized him into a dream.

"Tang Qingquan."

After seeing Gu Shen Enter Dream, the Red Cedar Tribunal Head spoke sternly. "Today's assessment process will be recorded, and Zhou Jiren will see it as well. If Gu Shen suffers a mental collapse from forcibly undertaking a second Dream Interpretation... we will all be held responsible, and you will bear the brunt of it."

"..."

Tang Qingquan merely remained silent.

"Why are you making things difficult for a child?" the Tribunal Head pressed. "Since this was not Old Zhao's intention, why trouble him?"

The Grand Arbiter seated in the center slowly turned to look at the Red Cedar Tribunal Head beside him.

"Do you want to know why?"

At last, he broke his silence.

Grand Arbiter Tang Qingquan took a document envelope from the Briefcase he carried with him.

"Everyone. Just yesterday... I received a Report of Accusation."

This time, the Red Cedar Tribunal Head was Stunned. "A Report of Accusation? Someone accused Gu Shen?"

"It was submitted by Han Dang of the Adjudication Court," Tang Qingquan said flatly.

Han Dang was no stranger to anyone. He was a well-known rising talent, a leading figure among the younger generation of the Adjudication Court.

"He investigated Gu Shen's case in Da Teng City... the truth behind that Fire Disaster Case..." He pushed over a document folder. "I believe everyone should take a look at this Report of Accusation."

The moment the Red Cedar Tribunal Head took the document, his expression changed abruptly.

"Based on the on-site investigation and profiling of the Fire Disaster Case... there is sufficient reason to suspect... that Gu Shen does not possess a Transcendent Ability, but illegally used a Transcendent Sealed Item..."

As he read aloud from the Report of Accusation, he could not help but laugh. Then he rebuked in a low voice, "Bullshit! Since when could profiling be used as evidence?"

The Grand Arbiter smiled soundlessly as well.

"Profiling indeed cannot serve as evidence. If this Report of Accusation had not been submitted by Han Dang... I would not even have bothered to glance at it."

He said coldly, "The key lies in the 'investigated truth' contained in this Report of Accusation."

"You all came to Da Teng City to assess Gu Shen's mental potential... and the risk of him losing control."

Tang Qingquan swept his gaze around the room, his voice rising bit by bit. "We came to determine whether he possesses an 'S-Class' ability. But if this report is true... Gu Shen is merely an ordinary person. Then the problem will be extremely serious!"

If this report proved true... then fabricating the Fire Disaster Case scene, obtaining an Amnesty Decree through deception, and defrauding the Council—one accusation after another would follow.

Those were already criminal charges.

"Han Dang is currently on his way to gather evidence." The Grand Arbiter stared at his nose, his nose at his heart. "I have not yet reported this matter to Councilor Zhao. If Han Dang completes his evidence gathering and proves that everything in the report is true... you all should know what will happen, shouldn't you?"

The Red Cedar Tribunal Head clutched the report, cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

He suddenly understood Tang Qingquan's true purpose in advocating for a longer review process... If the five-man panel gave Gu Shen an "S" rating, only for Han Dang's Report of Accusation to be subsequently verified, then it would not just be Gu Shen who was in trouble.

Without a doubt.

The accuracy of the assessment would be called into question, and the five-man panel would face the harshest investigation!

"We had best pray that this is all a misunderstanding—an attempted counterattack by Zhu Wang over Zhou Jiren's Amnesty Decree incident... If this report can be withdrawn, everything will return to normal."

At this moment, the Grand Arbiter finally made his stance clear. "I think highly of this child. There is no doubt that he has 'S-Class' potential. The prerequisite is... that he truly possesses a Transcendent Ability."