"Damn, this is going to kill me!"
Xu Yi muttered to himself. His mind felt faint and hollow, a sensation eerily like the symptoms of dying from exhausting one's essence described in the classics. It seemed the loss of Life Source Power this time had been far beyond what he'd imagined.
Sure enough, Heaven didn't open this convenient door lightly!
What a pity! What a pity!
Xu Yi was like a country landlord who'd rather die than part with his money. Even now, he was still lamenting the great opportunity, though he'd only taken a single ladleful.
"I never imagined that one question would send Mr. Xu into the maze of enlightenment and cost him so much. I'm truly ashamed."
The Hat Man clasped his hands and bowed to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi waved a hand. "I entered the maze of my own accord. It has nothing to do with you."
The Hat Man said, "I wonder, Mr. Xu, did you solve the problem?"
"I solved it," Xu Yi said. "But I don't know whether you know the answer. If you don't, how can you verify whether mine is correct?"
"The answer is naturally known to me." The Hat Man took out a jade tablet. "It's inside this tablet. Why don't you give me your answer, and I'll activate the tablet's restriction. We'll know at once."
"Very well."
Xu Yi waved a hand and wrote a number directly on the crystal screen.
The Hat Man stared at the number on the screen in disbelief, saying nothing for a long time. The crowd urged him repeatedly, and when he finally spoke, his voice was somewhat high-pitched. "There's no need to verify it. It's correct. Mr. Xu got it right! Such a difficult problem, and you... You solved it on your own