Stirring the Evil Within

Su Zhan thought about it and felt that what the Moon Beast said made a lot of sense.

Yes, if someone had something like that, they would keep it tightly sealed; why would they take it out?

Now, the only thing that's publicly available and whose whereabouts are known is this so-called prize.

Su Zhan continued to inquire of the Moon Beast, "Just how difficult is this Formation? Does it require cultivation level, combat ability, or something else?"

The Moon Beast shook its head and said, "No, if it were simply a matter of strength or cultivation level, it wouldn't have been left there for so long without being taken away."

"While this isn't good news for others, it should be an advantage for you."

"Within the Dragon Gate Nine Palaces lies a virtual world. Everyone who enters sees different scenery, which is said to reflect the deepest fears of the challenger. That's why no one has ever succeeded."

"Many highly skilled individuals confidently attempted it, only to end up going insane, forcibly breaking the Sealing Formation, and escaping."

"Those who were weaker, we haven't heard from them since; they're probably trapped inside or died there."

What are you most afraid of?

Su Zhan thought for a moment, but still couldn't imagine what he was most afraid of.

Is it death? A ghost? Or an even more powerful opponent?

He had no answer in his heart, nor did he want to think about it any further. Time was running out; he only had a month. It would be best to try out this Formation first.

If all else fails, think of another solution as soon as possible.

Su Zhan: "Where is this formation located?"

Moon Beast: "Everyone knows it's by the Bay Moon River, quite far from here, it'll probably take four or five days."

"The Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon should be almost fully recovered by now. Release it and let it lead us; that should get us there faster."

Su Zhan nodded, and as he spoke, he released the Time- Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon, which, even after shaking its wings, was still only the size of a palm.

Su Zhan conveyed his message to make it bigger.

It quickly expanded its size, allowing Su Zhan and the Moon Beast to sit on it together.

The Moon Beast patted the Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon's back with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, the little guy you raised is indeed very good."

Before the words were even finished, the Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon carried them out of this area, its speed seemingly echoing the Moon Beast's praise of it.

It clearly enjoys being praised like that.

With their all-out pursuit, they soon reached their destination, a vast and empty place before Su Zhan's eyes.

There's a little Illusionary Technique going on here; the Formation has been concealed by someone. However, the Formation isn't very sophisticated and can't stop someone with high cultivation or someone who's proficient in Formation.

Perhaps it was to prevent those with weak cultivation levels from accidentally entering; Su Zhan didn't think much of it.

Before entering, she cautiously asked the Moon Beast, "This Formation won't be like Lian Yu's formation, where they can't sense you at all or use Artifact inside, right?"

The Moon Beast shook its head and said, "No."

Su Zhan went inside with peace of mind.

Since no one was able to emerge fully conscious, Su Zhan couldn't extract any more information from them.

They could only step inside in complete darkness.

Upon entering, he felt his consciousness blur. He tried to shake his head to stay awake, but it was all in vain.

A short while later, everything went black before his eyes, and he completely lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he had forgotten his identity and why he was there, and he considered himself a member of this world.

Yes, this is another world, a world he has never seen before.

This appears to be a school, but unlike ordinary schools, this school is more like a concentration camp.

The school conducts a major exam every six months, and the second 50% of each exam is completely disqualified.

Su Zhan couldn't remember how many years he had lived in this school; they lived here in a daze.

I don't know why I came to this school, nor when I can leave. All I know is to study desperately in order to escape being wiped out time and time again.

Under such intense pressure, many students are on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Because of repeated eliminations and rapid staff turnover, Su Zhan gradually approached the bottom 50%.

He was always plagued by a nameless restlessness, unsure whether it stemmed from this high-pressure life or from the rejection he felt from the world.

My deskmate next to me had a cold expression, the air was heavy and oppressive, no one spoke, only the sound of countless pens writing on paper at the same time.

The sound of writing was inexplicably irritating. Su Zhan looked up, feeling as if he shouldn't be there, but he didn't know why.

He must devote all his energy to learning this obscure and unfamiliar knowledge in order to avoid the next crisis.

He vaguely knew that the knowledge in the textbook would help him become one of the top 50%. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bloody sentence written on the textbook: Kill those who are better at studying than you.

Apart from this strange statement, everything else is normal knowledge; it's just that every few pages, this seemingly crazy statement appears.

For example: Here you have no friends, everyone is your potential enemy, they are all waiting for a chance to kill you, especially those whose grades are worse than yours, they are simply demons!

Sometimes these words would vanish from the book in the blink of an eye, as if it were all just his illusion.

He shook his head, feeling his inner turmoil growing increasingly violent. The atmosphere here could ignite the deepest malice in people's hearts, making him unable to control his murderous urges.

As his agitation intensified and his consciousness became increasingly clouded, these words appeared more and more frequently, their color growing ever more vivid red, almost as if smeared with human blood.

At this moment, both the Moon Beast and the Time-Space Sealing Demon Dragon were trapped outside, extremely anxious.

Unexpectedly, after following Su Zhan inside, they were ejected! This was completely beyond their expectations!

They tried to get in multiple times, but there was no way.

Gradually, a bad premonition began to rise in the Moon Beast's heart.

In truth, no one in this world knows what the real test is within the Formation.

The so-called "may happen to your most feared thing" is nothing but a rumor.

The hallucinations produced within can incite people to kill those around them, and these people are all manifestations of their own spirits and souls.

Once they take action, it's self-harm, which is why, even when those people emerge, they're all in a state of madness.

It wasn't the intense pressure that caused their emotional breakdown, but rather that their spirits had been utterly destroyed by their own actions.