Strength Is Not the Key

"Did you put medicine in the dumpling soup?"

Seeing the three people fainted, Wang Sheng immediately summoned his soul power, possessed his martial soul, and turned his hands into tiger claws. A king character appeared on his head, and three long beards appeared on each side of his cheeks. His whole body also grew in size.

However, while the Soul Ring cannot be displayed, the Soul Skill can still be used.

"It really does look somewhat similar to the Fallen One."

Odin remained unmoved, her expressionless face unchanged, though a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth revealed a smile.

"Don't get agitated, Wang Sheng. Miss Odin means no harm." Zhou Qing gestured for Wang Sheng to retract his Martial Soul before turning to Odin and asking, "So the so-called test began the moment she saw you, didn't it?"

"Very intelligent."

Odin was generous with his praise, "To gain the qualification to go to the lower levels, that is, to gain my approval, it is not enough to surpass me in strength; one also needs to have brains."

"The three of them are clearly unqualified. They trusted a stranger like me so easily and ate my food without any hesitation. Two of them are pampered young ladies and princesses, so it's understandable that they are a bit naive. But Riko is already fifteen years old and Abyss Town, yet she is also so naive. It seems that Abel has taken too good care of her. This situation cannot continue."

"Perhaps it's better to stay here, so her mother won't have to worry about her dying during the downward exploration."

Tang San, however, asked about the reason why the three of them had fainted, since he had checked and there should be nothing harmful to the human body in the dumpling soup.

"What is harmful to the human body? What is harmless to the human body? Kid, your definition of poison is a bit too arbitrary."

Odin grinned, holding a glass of water, and said, "Just like this plain water, most people think it's harmless, but what do you think would happen if someone drank ten kilograms of water at once? What if they were soaking in water all day?"

Tang San was slightly taken aback.

He hadn't really considered this issue.

"Furthermore, two non-toxic things, if combined together, may become toxic and harmful to the human body. For example, eating dairy products with green peppers can cause vomiting and diarrhea; or eating fish with persimmons can also cause vomiting, diarrhea, or even dizziness."

Odin put down his water cup and continued, "In the examples I've given, any one ingredient alone is non-toxic, but if they are combined or consumed in excess, they might be harmful to the human body."

"Thank you for your guidance."

Tang San humbly accepted.

He knew these examples Odin had given him, but he had never thought of associating them with poison.

Looking back now, I realize I really shouldn't have done that.

Poisons, or medicines, are rarely used alone. They are usually prepared by mixing multiple different drugs in specific proportions. If any one of them is used in excess or deficiency, the medicine may become poison, and the poison may become ineffective.

The ingredients in the dumpling soup may be non-toxic individually, but when combined, they can have a drowsy effect.

"You are welcome."

Odin looked at the three sleeping people and said, "My dumpling soup recipe, besides being able to fill their stomachs, also has another function: it can help them sleep. It is very effective for insomniacs. These three little guys may not have been sleeping well lately, or they may be too energetic, which is why the effect is so obvious."

Ning Rongrong has indeed been having trouble sleeping lately. After all, she witnessed a massacre outside the Heaven Dou Auction House nearly a month ago, and the bloody scene still leaves the nine-year-old with some lingering effects.

What about Wei Sa?

Having participated in Soul Fight and studied human anatomy, her situation was somewhat better than Ning Rongrong's. However, she was the one who ultimately bought the stone that produced the Fallen One, which led to the Heaven Dou faction having a tendency to hold Heavenly Soul accountable... She felt guilty, which resulted in insomnia and nightmares.

To relax, the two of them naturally came with their elders to watch the Finals of the Continental Elite Tournament. However, being children at heart, and being their first time visiting the Abyss Ruins, they naturally wanted to explore it.

As for Riko—

"Come out now. You can take your young master back. If they really manage to get to the Third Layer, the Ascension Curse is something they can't handle."

Odin suddenly spoke towards the window.

"Sorry to bother you."

The Guardian of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heavenly Soul Kingdom, who were secretly protecting Ning Rongrong and Wei Sa, filed in through the window, lifted Ning Rongrong and Wei Sa, and quickly left the treehouse.

"These guys have absolutely no manners."

Only after the group had disappeared from sight did Odin slowly shake his head, and then he spoke to Zhou Qing and the others about the qualifications for ascending to the lower levels.

"The standard for going down is not actually strength... Well, you can't say that. At least the person going down needs to be stronger than a normal person. Otherwise, when going up, they might lose their grip on the rope due to the curse and fall to their death."

"Of course, if you don't plan to come back up, that's a different story—"

"However, regardless of whether you make it up or not, as long as you're not thinking about suicide but want to survive, having a smart brain that can discover and summarize the habits of the plants and animals at the bottom and judge the direction and environment is the best option."

"As for strength... it's best to have it, but it's not a crucial condition. After all, as long as there is water, soil, and living organisms in the soil, and the surrounding environment has air that people can breathe, then even if one's strength is weak, one can still survive."

The reason for saying this is that Zhou Qing, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Romantina, and Wang Sheng already meet these basic requirements, so there is no need to make things difficult for them.

But--

Where is Riko?

Looking at the sleeping Riko, Zhou Qing asked a question.

"She's still too inexperienced; later..."

"I wasn't asleep!"

Suddenly, Riko straightened up and shouted at Odin.

Actually, she was pretending to be asleep. Before collapsing, she deliberately winked at Zhou Qing and the others, but unfortunately, they didn't seem to understand her meaning and instead started chatting with Odin.

But now, seeing that Odin was about to send her back, Riko knew that if she continued to pretend to be asleep, she would really have to go back to Abyss Town later!

"I told you, you're not qualified."

Odin said leisurely, "You are only strong in terms of drug resistance because you were born on the Seventh Layer the Abyss Ruins and were sent back to the surface by your mother in a special way. However, you have neither their vigilance nor the ability to solve problems on your own when you encounter trouble."

"But I am their guide, and I have to lead them downhill!"

Riko genuine, her eyes resolute. "I've accepted their deposit; I can't give up halfway! Also, I must go down and find my mother!"

"Then, I can give you a chance—"

Odin stood up, his tall figure exuding an imposing aura. He walked to Riko's side, and before she could react, he grabbed her head, lifted her up, and threw her toward the door on the left.

That's the living room.