The Deadly Trap of Remnant Dream

Tang San opened his eyes and saw Shrek Academy.

The gate to the courtyard was askew, and the Training Ground was littered with rubble. Most of the dormitory had collapsed, and black smoke was billowing from the direction of the canteen, with a lingering, acrid smell of burning in the air.

Xiao Wu collapsed in front of him.

A short, black spear was stuck in her chest, and blood was flowing down her clothes. Dai Mubai, Oscar, and the others lay sprawled around her, and even Flender was leaning against the wall, his glasses shattered.

"Elder brother..."

Xiao Wu reached out her hand to him, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Tang San rushed over, and just as he touched her fingertips, an old hand pressed down on his shoulder from behind.

"Did you see that?"

Shi Nian's voice rang close to my ear.

"Canghui Academy only lost to you once on the field, yet you keep pushing them. Today they're the ones who die, tomorrow it could be your turn."

Tang San didn't turn around, but reached out and picked up Xiao Wu. Her body was very cold, and her face was frighteningly pale, but her eyes were still fixed on him.

Shi Nian chuckled twice.

Does it hurt?

"If you had given up sooner, they could have lived a few more days."

Tang San hung his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Shi Nian circled around to his front, seven Spirit Ring floating among the ruins. The last black Spirit Ring shone the brightest, and grayish-white mist surged in from all directions, entering Tang San's mouth and nose.

Tang San tried to release his Spiritual Power, but his consciousness was pushed back by the gray mist as soon as it left his body. The Remnant Dream isolated him from external perception; he could neither hear the wind in the alley nor feel the Mist lingering on his clothes.

The surrounding scenery changed accordingly.

Xiao Wu disappeared from his arms, replaced by the Blacksmith in Holy Soul Village. The furnace fire had gone out, and Tang Hao sat at the table with his back to him, his right arm severed at the shoulder.

Several corpses lay outside the door.

Oscar clutched half a sausage, a sharp blade piercing his chest. Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda shattered into countless sparkling fragments. Dai Mubai stood in front of Zhu Zhuqing, both covered in blood. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame had been extinguished, his charred hands still clutching a piece of Shrek Academy uniform.

Tang San walked past them, and with each step he took, a low shout echoed from beneath his feet.

Someone asked him why he left the academy alone.

Someone asked him why he hadn't come back sooner.

Those voices were all familiar, even Oscar's usual languid tone was exactly the same. Shi Nian was able to capture the most vivid parts of his opponent's memories and then piece them together into his Remnant Dream.

"Mistress, you're late."

Tang Hao turned his face, and blood was flowing from all seven orifices.

Tang San raised his head, his eyes already bloodshot.

Shi Nian stood at the door, her smile widening. Remnant Dream was most adept at digging out people's fears and then pressing them down layer by layer. The younger one was, the less experience one had, and the easier it was for them to be dragged down by the scene before them.

So what if it's level 41?

So what if it's a fourth Spirit Ring after ten thousand years?

In his Remnant Dream, few below the Soul Douluo were able to remain conscious.

Tang San glanced at Tang Hao at the table, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Father."

Tang Hao opened his mouth to speak, but then came a series of hurried footsteps outside the Blacksmith. Spirit Hall knights rushed into the courtyard, and the leader pierced Tang Hao's heart with a sword.

Tang San suddenly stood up, Blue Silver Grass grew wildly from his feet.

"Kill them!"

Shi Nian let out a low shout.

Dozens of the Spirit Hall knights rushed forward simultaneously. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass wrapped around the first few, and the Spiderweb Restraint followed closely behind. But after those people were torn apart, their bodies immediately turned into gray mist, and they rushed back in from outside the door.

Tang San grew increasingly anxious as he fought, and his Soul Power was being consumed faster and faster.

A knight's longsword grazed his shoulder, tearing his clothes. Tang San felt pain, but the wound didn't bleed. He released a hidden arrow with his Sleeve Arrow, the arrow piercing the knight's brow. The man was still calling his name as he fell.

Another group of knights charged in from outside the courtyard gate.

Tang San deliberately erratically, and his legs began to weaken. The surface of the Blue Silver Grass lost its luster, and the area Spiderweb Restraint became smaller and smaller, until it could only cover the two people in front of him.

Shi Nian enjoyed watching his prey struggle. As long as Tang San hadn't completely broken down, he would continue to approach and pour more of his Spiritual Power into the Remnant Dream.

The Shi Nian are hidden in the gray fog, watching patiently.

He didn't notice that the purple hue in Tang San's eyes was gradually deepening.

Under the Purple Demon Eyes, the walls of the Blacksmith, the blood on the ground, and the knights rushing into the courtyard all had subtle double images. Tang Hao's clothes were also problematic; the cuffs of his robe were intact, just as they were when he left Holy Soul Village many years ago.

Xiao Wu's hair combing just now was also wrong.

A blue string was tied to her left Scorpion-Tail Braid. This morning, Ning Rongrong had clearly changed that string to red.

Shi Nian could stir his fears, but it couldn't know every single detail.

Tang San did not break the deadlock immediately.

The Purple Demon Eyes could see the afterimages in the Remnant Dream, but it couldn't find where Shi Nian was hiding. The opponent was a level 72 Soul Sage; in a direct confrontation, he might not even be able to get a single complete opportunity to use Hidden Weapons.

He needs to wait.

When Shi Nian concluded that his consciousness had been shattered, and the opponent entered the range of the Yama King Post to deliver the final blow.

Tang San was still attacking.

Blue Silver Grass grew increasingly disoriented, and his pace slowed. Half an hour later, he was knocked to the ground by a knight, and despite trying to get up twice with his arms, he couldn't manage it.

The Remnant Dream was also eroding his spirit. Seeing through the illusion could only keep him awake; the repeated screams and deaths would still drain his Spiritual Power. Tang San had already bitten his tongue until it bled, and his palms were marked with several bloody welts from his fingernails.

These injuries are real.

He lay on the ground, panting, his right hand hidden in his sleeve. The Yama King Post pressed against his forearm, the chill seeping through his skin. It only gave him one chance; once it struck, whether it hit or not, Shi Nian would not give him a second chance.

That's enough.

They emerged from the gray fog of that Shi Nian.

The Blacksmith disappeared, and the surroundings returned to the desolate alley. Tang San knelt on the ground, his forehead covered in sweat, and his face was deathly pale.

"You're already proud enough to have me play with your Remnant Dream for so long."

Shi Nian took three steps away, a ball of grayish-white Spiritual Power gathered in his palm.

Instead of immediately unleashing his palm strike, he bent down and stared into Tang San's eyes.

"Twelve years old, level forty-one, and a ten-thousand-year fourth-level Spirit Ring. If you can live to be twenty, I'm afraid no one in Heaven Dou City can control you."

Tang San's gaze was unfocused, and his lips moved slightly.

Shi Nian drew nearer. "It's a pity you're not twenty anymore."

He wanted to destroy Tang San's last vestiges of consciousness and then throw his body into the river outside the city. Even if Shrek suspected Canghui, they had no way to deal with him without evidence.

Tang San raised his face.

"Shi Nian, have you ever seen Yama?"

Shi Nian paused in his movements.

He saw a pair of terrifyingly clear, purple eyes.

Tang San raised his right hand, and a black glint flashed from his sleeve.

It's just three steps away.

There was no sound of air being torn apart, nor any fluctuation of Soul Power.

The small, dark note had already reached Shi Nian's chest.