Naming Is So Hard...

Two months, Yun Jingheng They stayed on this island for two full months.

The Nightmare trial and the Abomination trial were like two millstones biting back and forth, grinding him back and forth dozens of times.

In the first week, I was almost unable to fight back. In the second week, I barely managed to hold on. By the third week, Yun Jingheng was able to grit my teeth and stay awake in the Nightmare illusion until the end. The cost was that I vomited for a whole afternoon after coming out, and all the bile was vomited.

And the hardest part is actually not the trial itself - it's the meal.

The only things that can be eaten on the island are shellfish, brachiopods, gelatinous masses attached to the bottom of the reef, and occasionally a few thin fish with gray scales that can be caught.

In the first few days, everyone was in the stage of "taking a bite and retching for a long time", but later it evolved into the normal state of "frowning, stuffing food into the mouth, and swallowing it with an expression as if being tortured."

But they also gradually discovered the benefits. These seemingly disgusting but actually very disgusting things contain extremely rich vitality.

After accumulation, Life Origin clusters of different sizes have been formed in each body.

By the second month, Xie Xie was able to turn around and talk to Tang Wulin between chewing, with gray-green juice still hanging from the corners of his mouth. His tone was as calm as if he was discussing the weather. "Today's tastes better than last week's, and there is not so much sand."

Tang Wulin responded with a "hmm", put the whole brachiopod that was still moving in his hand into his mouth, puffed up his cheeks, chewed it three times, and swallowed.

Xu Xiaoyan was the one who disliked it the most at first, but later she became the fastest person to peel the shell. Her fingernails inserted into the cracks of the shell cleanly. The translucent gel and soft flesh were completely peeled out and placed on a clean stone slab. The six people took turns reaching out to pick it up, like waiting in line to receive a meal.

On the forty-third day of the Nightmare trial, Yun Jingheng completed the last challenge.

When he walked back from the trial stone, his steps were sloppy, and the sweat from his forehead dripped down his chin and hit the rock surface, creating dark dots.

He sat down without saying a word, took a sip from the water bag handed to him by Gu Yue, then turned his head to look at her, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Passed."

Gu Yue didn't ask him "How do you feel?", he just nodded, took back the water bag, and handed over a piece of peeled meat.

Yun Jingheng glanced at the gray-green stuff, took it, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. His expression did not change during the whole process.

Abomination The trial wore him out for nearly twenty days.

Yun Jingheng When he came out, the clothes on his back were soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his spine. His back molars were clenched so tightly that the muscles in his cheeks were shaking all the time.

He sat down against a rock, lowered his head and panted for a long time, then raised his head and glanced at the other six people, but no one spoke.

There are only seven breathing sounds of different frequencies mixed together in the air.

Then Xu Xiaoyan spoke first, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against rusty iron. "... Do you still want to eat today?"

Xie Xie opened one eye and smiled weakly, "Eat. If you don't eat, you will have no strength tomorrow."

So the seven people, like seven puppets that had been torn apart and then put back together reluctantly, slowly and unsteadily stood up and walked towards the rocky beach where they could always find food.

Three days passed.

They did nothing during those three days.

Sleeping, drinking water, sitting on the rocks and watching the layer of gray fog on the horizon that will never dissipate. Occasionally, someone will say, "Don't eat that stuff today," and others will nod in silence.

There were only a few pieces of compressed biscuits left, and Yun Jingheng divided them evenly. Each person held a piece of dry food the size of a fingernail and held it in their mouths, slowly melting it, like holding a piece of candy that they were reluctant to let go.

On the morning of the fourth day, Yun Jingheng stood in front of the tallest stone pillar in the center of the round platform, looking up at the piece embedded on the top of the pillar.

The thing was not big, about the size of an adult's fist. It was completely black, with fine dark red lines flowing on its surface, like the embers remaining in the cracks of the rock after the magma cooled.

It was embedded in the groove in the center of the top of the stone pillar, and the surrounding circle was engraved with fine runes. Those runes were not activated and were silent, like knives waiting to be sharpened.

Yun Jingheng stared at it for a long time.

"... This is Ruin Trial?" Tang Wulin's voice came from behind.

"Yeah." Yun Jingheng didn't look back, "Part of the fragments left by Ruin Old Demon."

Gu Yue took two steps forward and stood half a step behind him.

Her eyes also fell on the black fragment, her eyebrows frowned slightly, and her pupils reflected the light of those dark red lines swimming slowly.

"Did he tell me how to take the exam?" Her voice was very flat, but the ending tone was tighter than usual.

"Said."

Yun Jingheng turned his head and glanced at her, "Face Destruction Fragment directly, draw Destruction energy into your body, and keep yourself from falling apart in the breath of Destruction. Hold on, forget it."

"How long will it last?"

Xie Xie asked from behind, his tone sounding pretending to be relaxed, but Yun Jingheng could hear that the string he was deliberately pressing was trembling.

"I didn't say, maybe one day, maybe ten days. It depends on myself."

Xu Xiaoyan poked half of his head out from behind Xie Xie, pursed his lips before speaking, "... What if I can't hold on?"

Yun Jingheng was silent for a moment.

"The body is shattered."

These four words fell into the air like four stones thrown into the still water.

No one answered.

The wind blew from the sea, carrying the lingering salty smell across the round platform, blowing the hair hanging down from Yun Jingheng's forehead.

Yuanen Yehui straightened up from the rock pillar, walked up, and stood on the other side of Yun Jingheng. She looked at the fragment, and her tone was as clear and crisp as ever. "What can we do?"

"You can't do anything." Ruin Old Demon's hoarse voice came from behind them.

Everyone looked around and saw a haggard old man walking slowly.

"This is the process you need to go through, and none of you can get help from others."

He stopped when he reached the edge of the circular platform and did not go any further.

"It's time to start."

He spoke, his voice hoarse, but the hoarseness was not like the dryness of old age, but rather like fire-burned sandpaper scraped on an iron surface, with a natural and irrefutable penetrating power, "Others can watch if they want to."

Yun Jingheng stood on the first step of the stone pillar base, tilted his head slightly, looked away from the fragments, and fell on Ruin Old Demon.

"What should I do?"

"Ruin Trial's rules are very simple - you go up, put your hand on it, and the rest is up to you."

Ruin Old Demon raised his right hand and tapped his temple with a skinny index finger. "The key point is to keep your mind clear. What you are doing now is Ruin Trial's previous attempt to give you psychological expectations."

This sentence was spoken very lightly, even a little carelessly, but everyone on the round stage clearly heard the weight of the last few words.

Xie Xie stood at the front, with the soles of his feet slightly moved half an inch forward, as if he was ready to rush out at any time.

The usual smile at the corner of his mouth disappeared, his lips were stretched, and he looked at Ruin Old Demon's profile. He wanted to speak several times but then swallowed it back.

Ruin Old Demon, as if he had eyes on his back, added without looking back, "Xiao Min Gong, you'd better stay still. If you move, he will be really broken."

Xie Xie's feet stopped.

He glanced down at the toes of his boots, then raised his head, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, and finally he could only hold back one word. "... fuck."

Ruin Old Demon ignored him, but turned around and faced the other six people standing on the round platform.

The pair of dark red eyes slowly scanned from left to right, across Tang Wulin, across Gu Yue, across Ye Xinglan, across Yuanen Yehui, across Xu Xiaoyan, and finally fell back on Xie Xie's face.

"So are you."

His voice suddenly deepened, and the hoarseness seemed to be pressed into a narrower resonance cavity, and each word carried a heavier weight.

"I will introduce the power of Destruction into his body. When the two sources of energy in his body collide, any external force that does not belong to him will be introduced, and the balance will collapse directly. If you touch him, he will break faster than if he were not supported."

The air was quiet for a few seconds.

The sea breeze came from the side, blowing Xu Xiaoyan's hair hanging on the side of her face and brushed the corners of her mouth. She did not reach out to pluck it, but just stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her knuckles turning white.

Tang Wulin spoke first.

The voice was lower than usual, but still steady. "Then we just watch?"

Ruin Old Demon's mouth moved, "Yes, watch. Watching is the best thing you can do."

"Only he can control the balance in his body. This small piece is just an attempt."

He paused and said, "When it really starts, don't touch him, don't make any noise, don't breathe too loudly, it will cost him his life if he is distracted."

Gu Yue's shoulders tensed slightly.

She stood behind Yun Jingheng and looked over from that angle. Yun Jingheng's profile was cut in half by the shadow of the stone pillar. The half of the face that was exposed had a very pale expression, and there was a thin layer of sweat reflecting off her forehead.

She looked at him and moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just looked away, fell on the rock in front of her toes, and closed her eyes.

Yun Jingheng turned around in the silence and faced the fragment on the top of the stone pillar.