"Sleep?"
Xu Le had no idea why this voice wanted him to go to sleep.
But he was brimming with excitement about collecting Zhang Zhe's inheritance. If someone told him to sleep now, how could he possibly manage it?
To be more precise, this prompt wasn't actually a voice. It was more like a reminder from his subconscious.
As though it were an innate ability every Forbidden Warlock should possess.
His subconscious was reminding him that he should go to sleep now.
Something important would happen if he slept.
"So I really should go to sleep now?"
After all those examinations, it was already nearly seven.
He certainly wanted to collect that inheritance.
But a night of tense fighting, the joy of surviving, and the excitement of becoming a Warlock had all left Xu Le a little tired.
So going to sleep now didn't seem like such an unreasonable choice.
The problem was that Xu Le didn't know what would happen... while he slept.
He could sense that something would definitely happen this time.
But he couldn't tell whether it would be good or bad!
That was what troubled him.
"Forget it. I'll head back to the dorm first."
As he walked, Xu Le looked toward the central squares in the university's various sections.
Large numbers of Night Watchers and Guards were clearing away corpses-human ones, Oddity ones, and some things of unknown origin that were still alive.
Whenever a living creature leaped out, the Night Watchers killed it on the spot.
Xu Le knew that these creatures might well be living humans, but they had already been polluted.
The Night Watchers had the means to purify them, but they couldn't purify so many people.
There wasn't enough time. Neither the equipment for purifying bodies nor the Warlocks could keep up with the number of polluted people.
Those afflicted by Guyinduo Pollution could only be abandoned.
Most of the corpses were disposed of through burning and destruction.
If a Calamity Sorcerer was available.
A few fireballs to burn them, or frost to freeze them before blasting them into powder, would completely dispose of the corpses.
Without a Calamity Sorcerer, the Guards generally burned them with fuel oil.
Fuel oil could burn at temperatures above 1,500 degrees.
Only temperatures above 1,500 degrees could completely destroy human bones, eliminating the possibility of the remains mutating.
Along the way, Xu Le heard students crying from time to time.
Some held one another, while others grieved alone.
Their emotions also dampened Xu Le's earlier joy.
Perhaps people couldn't truly share one another's joys and sorrows, but in this world, emotions were connected.
The pain this Guyinduo Black Tide had brought to Lighthouse University was unlike anything it had suffered in decades.
"I wonder how things are outside."
Xu Le rather hoped that everything outside Lighthouse University was fine.
But a moment's thought told him that was impossible.
The Night Watchers had taken so long to arrive with reinforcements. They must have had an important mission.
That also meant the world outside was probably in an even worse state than Lighthouse University!
After walking for a while, Xu Le suddenly stopped in front of a pitch-black classroom.
Only Night Watchers were here. There were no students, not even anyone crying-just wordless silence.
The classroom's roof had collapsed. Night Watchers and Guards carried out one body after another, some charred black, others mangled.
Xu Le couldn't count the corpses. All he could say was that there were many.
"They were all wiped out...? Four hundred lives!"
Although these people had nothing to do with him, as a fellow human being, Xu Le still felt an ache in his heart.
He took a deep breath and turned away from the final cremation.
When he had first crossed over, he hadn't really understood why all of Lighthouse, all of Deep Blue Star, was determined to find true light and end this age of darkness.
Now, he understood a little.
When he returned to the men's dormitory area, a Guard stopped Xu Le.
"Wait. Have you been examined?"
"Yes. Here's my clearance."
Xu Le handed his clearance tag to the Guard, who glanced at it before giving it back.
"All right, head inside. Unless you have something else to do, don't wander around over the next couple of days. The council will issue announcements by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
"Understood. Thank you."
Xu Le nodded to the Guard.
He didn't mention that he had become a Warlock. Until he had enough confidence to back it up, the fewer complications, the better.
After climbing to the second floor, Xu Le reached his dorm room.
As expected, he was the first to return after passing the examination. No one else was in the room yet.
Even if his roommates made it back, they wouldn't be this quick.
"Heh. I don't even know whether those roommates of mine can come back, or how many will."
Xu Le shook his head, lay down on his bed, and slowly closed his eyes, but he couldn't fall asleep.
Feeling around beneath the covers, where he lay all alone, Xu Le began to mutter.
"Ah, I suppose I've reached the age when I ought to find a girl. Though it's June or July, lying alone in bed feels terribly cold. Especially my heart-it's astonishingly cold. This frail body of mine is perhaps unequal to the provocations of darkness and Oddities. Perhaps only a girl I fancy, sharing these covers and standing against the darkness with me, could warm me a little."
As he muttered, Xu Le drifted into a deep sleep. He had no idea how long he slept.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
The sound of water rang in Xu Le's ears. When he opened his eyes, he was in that dark world again.
The last time this scene had appeared was when he first saw the Guyinduo Soul Tree.
"So it really is this place. I should've guessed long ago... Huh? Holy shit, there's someone here? How could anyone be here?"
Xu Le's eyes suddenly widened. He could clearly see someone slowly walking toward him.
When they were close enough, Xu Le finally made out the other person's face.
A bald head and a cold, horse-like face.
Narrow eyes, a hooked nose that almost curved back on itself, a drooping mustache and goatee, and thin, purplish lips.
The man's appearance struck Xu Le with intense visual force.
Facing him, Xu Le didn't dare move rashly. The presence emanating from the man-his presence alone-gave him an unprecedented sense of pressure.
This man could kill him instantly!
No, this man... could kill White Cicada, Black Cicada, and the toad instantly!
The bald man paused beside Xu Le, sniffed with his hooked nose, then glanced at him.
"Oh, another one died? Heh heh."
With that, he left, walking farther and farther away until he vanished into the darkness.
Only after he had disappeared completely did Xu Le begin gasping for breath.
The pressure this man exerted was simply overwhelming!
With a presence like that, was he really human?
"Isn't this where the Guyinduo Soul Tree is?"
Xu Le was puzzled. Everything here looked very much like the mental world he had visited before.
But if this was his own mental world, how could an outsider appear here? Someone he didn't know at all, at that?
"I'll go take a look."
Xu Le looked ahead. The same faint blue light remained, exactly as it had before.
He walked slowly toward it, the dripping water echoing constantly in his ears.
Xu Le felt wetness beneath his feet, but when he looked down, he could see nothing underfoot besides his own toes. There was only utter blackness.
As he approached the blue light, Xu Le gradually made out what lay ahead.
An enormous tree, so tall he couldn't even see its top. Beneath the tree...
There were people!
More than one, too.
From left to right, they were...
An old man, a boy, a somewhat plump middle-aged man, an ordinary middle-aged woman, and a woman in red seated on a rock.
Since all of them had their backs to him, Xu Le could only judge their ages from their builds, voices, and clothing.
"Old man, yours is pretty good today too, right? What is it?"
The boy spoke. From his tone, he seemed very interested in whatever the old man to his left had.
"A Mysterious Fruit. Want it?"
"Will you give it to me? Keh keh keh keh keh!"
Xu Le's scalp prickled. He didn't quite understand how a child could produce such an absurd laugh.
But when he thought back to the body's original owner before he crossed over, he accepted it.
The original owner's laugh had been much like this kid's.
"Of course. Just reach out and take it."
"I'm afraid you'll bite me!"
The two spoke with smiles that never reached their eyes.
As they talked, Xu Le gradually drew closer.
As Xu Le approached, their voices gradually fell silent.
The old man on the left stood first. He glanced at Xu Le, flashed a toothy grin, then left.
After the old man rose, the boy stood as well.
But when he turned around, Xu Le realized that he wasn't a boy at all. He was a short young man with a somewhat sleazy face.
Calling him a dwarf would have been a stretch, but his build certainly wasn't that of an ordinary person either.
He was probably about Xu Le's age!
The short man said nothing as he passed Xu Le, but a moment later, he suddenly doubled back, tilted his head, and spoke to him.
"You're number seven. If someone else dies, you'll move up to number six."
"What do you mean?"
"You got here too late. Come earlier next time. Keh keh keh..."
He didn't answer Xu Le's question. After another burst of that strange laughter, he left.
Xu Le turned to watch him. He didn't press him, only watched silently as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Move aside."
"Oh, sure."
Then the middle-aged woman approached as well, and Xu Le obediently stepped out of her way.
After all, the short man had said he was number seven. The ranking probably followed the order in which they had entered this place.
He wasn't sure what purpose it served, but one thing was certain: all these people were more experienced than he was.
In unfamiliar territory, he ought to remain humble.
This middle-aged woman was the fourth person Xu Le had encountered.
Two remained.
Xu Le slowly walked beneath the tree. The plump man glanced at the woman on the other side, then looked at Xu Le.
"Newcomer?"
"Yes."
"Then you probably aren't familiar with the rules here yet."
"That's right."
Xu Le nodded obediently. In an unfamiliar place, having a veteran offer guidance ought to be a good thing, right?
Provided... that veteran was a good person, one who didn't want to screw him over.
The fat man didn't notice the brief flicker in Xu Le's eyes and continued.
"Simply put, this place didn't have a fixed name. Later, though, we decided to give it a name of its own. By unanimous agreement, we called it the Gundo Mother Tree Realm."
Before you continue