Ghost Slaying

"Is this... my Evil Thought?"

Gu Shen looked at the sheets of blood sea opening before his eyes. 520 Official Website

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After the flame inside the oiled-paper lantern went out, the entire dream world seemed to have been filled with his own "Evil Thought"...

Had such a powerful Evil Thought really been hidden deep within his heart?

"Yes."

"But that doesn't mean you're a bad person. Evil Thought is like a reflection in water. Beneath a seemingly clear sea, a black tide capable of swallowing the entire world may lie buried ten thousand meters below."

Chu Ling said softly, "When judging good and evil, one judges actions, not thoughts. Though your Evil Thought looks vast enough to destroy the world... in the end, this is only a dream."

"Now..."

The girl said slowly, "Shatter it."

Chu Ling's tone was extraordinarily casual. The words "shatter it" sounded as effortless as chopping vegetables or tearing a sheet of paper—something that should naturally be easy.

"Shatter it..."

But when Gu Shen saw the overwhelming black tide and sea of blood, his scalp tingled.

He felt like a complete newbie fresh out of the starter village, without even a rusty kitchen knife, forced to challenge a world-devouring final boss alone—and somehow pull off the feat of taking it down with one slash.

How... was that possible?

Gu Shen braced himself and asked, "How do I slash it?"

Chu Ling looked at Gu Shen and slowly raised her arm, pressing two fingers together.

"However you want to slash it." She smiled. "Like this... or like this?"

She made a horizontal cutting motion.

Then she made another vertical cut.

Chu Ling smiled. "Either works... whatever you like."

Gu Shen stood On the Spot in a daze.

Subconsciously, he copied her exact movements, then lightly swept his fingers sideways.

Riiip.

It felt like tearing through a fragile sheet of white paper.

A dazzling streak of light gathered at the farthest horizon. With the sweep of Gu Shen's fingers, it "slowly" cut horizontally across the entire world.

The sea of blood filling the sky was split apart. That ultimate blazing light swept forward unstoppably, like scorching flames cast by the blazing sun, cutting all the evil ghosts pouring forth from hell, the wailing black tide, and the vertical pupils constantly opening open cleanly in half—

All the cries and piercing roars by his ears

were instantly shattered beneath that distant, sweeping slash of his arm!

The entire heavy, dark world was torn to pieces by blazing holy light. Countless rays of brilliance rushed toward him, while the tide of darkness seemed to have been struck by a massive bomb. Tens of thousands of tons of black tide were blasted skyward, then evaporated into vapor in midair.

So the world inside a nightmare was this fragile.

Made of paper.

One poke would pierce it.

One tear would shatter it.

"Congratulations."

"You took one minute." Chu Ling spoke calmly. "You've set a new Dream Interpretation record for the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom."

Inside the classroom.

The inner flame of the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom surged wildly, crashing against the cage walls like a tide, as though it might burst through and explode at any moment. There were simply too many evil ghosts painted on the oiled paper, densely layered atop one another, as if they were about to break through the entire lantern.

"What's going on?"

Wu Mengbai was dumbfounded. This was the first time so many vicious ghosts had been reflected from within the dreamscape of the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom.

Just looking at the paintings on the lantern, one could imagine what kind of hell the dream world must be at this moment.

Everyone was left speechless.

The Grand Arbiter was the calmest of them all. He stared fixedly at Gu Shen.

Sure enough, Gu Shen was not as simple as his file suggested.

"This kid has such honest-looking thick brows and big eyes. He doesn't look like someone with an antisocial personality..." Lin Beizhu frowned and muttered, "But his Evil Thought is way too terrifying."

"Does this mean... the risk of losing control is also very high?" an Assessment Team member hurriedly asked.

"No."

Tang Qingquan spoke. At this moment, he was instead the calmest person present.

"The vicious ghost tableau reflected within the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom has nothing to do with the risk of losing control. What matters most is whether he can defeat his own Evil Thought... No matter how small that Evil Thought may be, even if it is only a single little ghost, someone with weak willpower could still be greatly disrupted by it. But Gu Shen's Evil Thought is unprecedented in scale. It is practically as if the gates of hell have been thrown open. He should be trapped in hell right now, shouldn't he?" The Grand Arbiter said softly. "Now, I'm starting to look forward to it. Just how strong must one's will be to venture alone into hell?"

Overwhelming Evil Thought!

How was he supposed to slay the ghosts?

They had thought they would be in for another long wait.

Yet at the very moment the Grand Arbiter finished speaking—

The lantern gave a faint ripping sound!

The Grand Arbiter's expression changed drastically. His eyesight was excellent, and he clearly saw that a crack had appeared in the layered tableau of a hundred ghosts roaming at night painted across the oiled-paper surface.

This was... the lantern being damaged by an external force from within the dream?!

How was that possible!

The Cage of the Netherworld Phantom had once been a complete S-class Sealed Item. It had merely been used by an extremely powerful figure to measure "their own Evil Thought." In the end, that great figure obtained the result they sought, but the lantern had been stretched until it burst apart.

That was why it had fallen from its S-class Sealed Item rating. Even so, it remained an extremely terrifying dream-type Sealed Item.

Over the ten years he had wielded the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom, Tang Qingquan had seen hundreds upon thousands of different vicious ghost dreams.

He had seen hellish tableaux of overwhelming Evil Thought many times.

But those had all belonged to vicious criminals sentenced to the harshest punishments in the Extraordinary Tribunal. They were cold-blooded, indifferent, bloodthirsty, and capable of every evil... Hell was the best destination for them.

Ironically, once these people truly saw the Evil Thoughts within their hearts, they became the ones most terrified and afraid.

Forget overcoming their Evil Thought.

They could not even hold on for fifteen minutes.

By the time the vicious ghost tableau on the lantern had taken shape, their minds would already be on the verge of collapse... These people were used to being treated as real-world evil ghosts, feared and avoided by everyone. Yet when they truly encountered the vicious ghosts that existed in purgatory, they became as cowardly and timid as rats.

But Gu Shen's tableau—

It was the first Tang Qingquan had seen in ten years.

He had thought the story of that great figure rupturing the lantern with their own Evil Thought was merely a legend.

Yet he had never expected... it to be true!

Gu Shen's Evil Thought was too powerful for the lantern to contain... The sight was simply horrifying.

He could not imagine how the dream's host was supposed to deal with it.

And the Next Moment—

Gu Shen gave them the answer—

After a crisp tearing sound, a circular slit split open along the outer edge of the oiled-paper lantern, as if someone had sliced it with a blade.

At the same time, the flame at the core of the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom twisted and let out a shrill wail!

The countless grotesque ghosts painted across the lantern's oiled-paper surface were all cut in half at the waist.

"What?"

Tang Qingquan's Eyes widened.

Everyone else looked at one another.

Just a moment ago, they had still been wondering how Gu Shen would slay the ghosts.

The Next Moment, the ghost slaying was already over!

The scene was absurd, yet strangely dramatic.

Countless vicious ghosts stretched together like a tide, ready to swallow the world whole... Yet the Next Moment, dawn came.

Every ghost had been severed.

It was as simple as... tearing paper.

And it truly was tearing paper. The oiled-paper lantern's outer skin had split open amid that flash of firelight Just Now. This former S-class Sealed Item had become even more badly damaged.

"Hoo..."

The classroom was so silent that a pin dropping could be heard.

Only one person let out a soft breath.

Gu Shen, who held the lantern, emerged from the dream of the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom and slowly opened his Eyes.

Having solved the third dream, his face was no longer pale. Instead, it had regained much of its color. After solving the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom... he felt refreshed in both body and spirit. It had been as though something was lodged in his chest, but now he felt much lighter.

Gu Shen noticed the stunned, shocked expressions on the five Assessment Team members.

Had he slain the ghosts too quickly?

But... that was not something he could control.

One rip, and it was over.

Chu Ling had been right. It was like... tearing paper, wasn't it?

Gu Shen noticed the damage to the Cage of the Netherworld Phantom. Had the commotion in the dream Just Now been too great, damaging this lantern?

Please don't come looking for trouble with me.

He silently prayed, then returned the lantern with Both Hands, a faintly apologetic look on his face, and bowed.

The room was deathly silent. No one spoke.

Gu Shen gave a light cough to draw the examiners' attention, then carefully asked, "So... is the assessment over now?"