"The Great Emperor... of Fengdu...!?"
The atmosphere in the hall grew unbearably oppressive again.
After a long silence, He Zheng finally managed to speak, as though forcing the words out of his throat.
Although the bloody characters had vanished the instant they were only halfway formed, he had still seen them. He was not particularly educated, but Yang Qiao came from the area around Fengdu in Chongqing.
Through her, he had learned what those words meant.
The Great Emperor of Fengdu, ruler of the underworld. In other words, a being similar to the Ten Halls of Yama, but on an even higher level.
"Maybe it was a Fengdu Judge, or an emissary..."
Huang Liang gave a bitter smile. As a National Security special operative, he knew a fair amount about folklore.
But after saying that, even he had no idea what else to say.
Whatever it was, its power was beyond imagination. If they dared enter, their chances of survival would probably be even lower than in the third exam.
In the silence, Ye Lin glanced sideways at An Ke.
He could tell that An Ke had not expected this either. She was not pretending ignorance to trick them into going in.
If she were truly deceiving him, she would not have suggested exchanging for the Book of Questions and Answers.
That made the reason this key posed a problem very simple.
The world where the relic came from was extremely difficult. It was not something a newcomer could survive.
Working backward, anyone who obtained it must have survived many exams, most likely seven. Naturally, the world the key opened would also have the difficulty of a seventh exam.
Ye Lin's eyes flickered as he pieced the whole matter together.
So it was not that An Ke had been unable