Nest Church Follower

Meanwhile...

Inside the assessment's secret realm.

A very secluded place.

Elder Xiu led a group of proctors for nearly ten minutes, passing through several passages deep within the secret realm, and finally stopped on an empty stone platform.

There was nothing around the stone platform except for the gray-white rocky ground extending in all directions, and in the distance, several broken stone pillars could be vaguely seen leaning against the ground.

Above us was a dark gray dome, devoid of any light source, yet a uniform, cold light shone down from all directions.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Someone couldn't help but mutter under their breath, "This... doesn't seem like a place to discuss business."

"It's so spacious. There's not even a place to sit."

"Why did Elder Xiu bring us here?"

Elder Xiu stopped and turned around. His face was calm, but there was something heavy in his eyes, like the low-hanging clouds before a storm.

"Gentlemen."

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it echoed across the empty stone platform, "I have obtained the specific figures for the casualties inflicted by the Nest Church this time. Thirty-seven dead, nineteen seriously injured, and over fifty slightly injured."

Everyone's face darkened.

"But what I want to talk about today isn't the casualties." Elder Xiu paused. "I'm very curious, how did this Nest Church brainwash you, as human beings, to willingly risk your lives for those alien lackeys?"

Everyone was stunned.

I don't know why Elder Xiu said that.

But which of those present wasn't an extremely intelligent person in the past?

After a little thought, I understood.

Some people's pupils constricted, some instinctively took a step back, and some turned pale instantly.

Elder Xiu's statement suggests that he suspected there were members of Nest Church among them.

Upon closer reflection, it's true.

Their area was attacked by the Nest Church, which is very likely... due to an inside agent.

Once this thought arises, it's like a nail driven into everyone's heart.

"Elder Xiu..." Elder Zhao began, his voice slightly hoarse, "You mean..."

"A genius of Su Mu's caliber has just emerged, so why is he specifically targeting our testing site?"

Elder Xiu's voice was steady, but each word was like a stone soaked in water, "I reviewed the previous battle records. After that wisp of evil spirit fell from the sky, it didn't hesitate, didn't probe, and didn't attack indiscriminately. It went straight for Su Mu. Its target was so clear, it was as if it had been marked in advance."

Some people wondered, "Since Su Mu is in first place, attacking him doesn't seem like a problem."

Elder Xiu nodded. "Indeed, attacking the number one is no problem. But its target is too clear. Given the arrogance of the Evil Race's divided soul, it's impossible for it to actively attack a specific person as soon as it enters."

Moreover, they were a group of students who were not even in the 2020 cohort.

Based on my understanding of these Evil Races, they use the power of their divided souls to indiscriminately attack every examinee, creating maximum chaos and plunging everyone into a desperate situation. Then, they select the most valuable target to strike.

He paused.

"And, most importantly... they prepared Cult Evil Token."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone's expression changed.

Cult Evil Token.

That thing is extremely important even in the lair of the Evil Race.

It's clearly impossible to mobilize a few geniuses just to destroy a single assessment base.

Therefore, they knew there was someone here who was destined to be killed.

"There are clearly many other alternatives to using the Cult Evil Token order," Elder Xiu continued. "None of the examiners in the normal assessment have reached the Third Transcendence. If they wanted to kill the people here, they could have prepared a lesser-tier treasure. Using the Cult Evil Token means... they know I'm here."

Everyone fell completely silent.

"The only people who could possibly leak information about Su Mu are those of us present here."

Someone immediately spoke up, "Elder Xiu, you've already cast Silencing Curse, you shouldn't..."

"That's what I thought at first too," Elder Xiu interrupted him, "But what if it was before I came? Don't forget, I was also notified before I came here."

Everyone was shocked.

That's certainly possible.

Before Elder Xiu arrived, even if they were present, the strongest among them was only at the Second Transcendence.

Second Transcendence spiritual power cannot control everyone's movements. Perhaps at that moment, the information had already been leaked.

Someone else asked, "But if Silencing Curse was cast, how did they know you were here?"

Elder Xiu glanced at him. "The Silencing Curse I cast only prevents me from mentioning Su Mu. But since I'm here, I can naturally say it."

Everyone understood.

The Silencing Curse only blocked Su Mu's information, but the news of Elder Xiu's arrival at this assessment site could still be transmitted.

The Nest Church knew the Elder Xiu were coming, so they prepared Cult Evil Token. Su Mu's information had already been leaked before the Elder Xiu arrived.

"Therefore," Elder Xiu began slowly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, "The reason I've said so much is to make you understand what I'm about to do."

He paused.

I will examine your Heart Questioning.

Heart Questioning.

The moment those two words were uttered, everyone was shaken.

The Heart Questioning method is the fastest way to identify a traitor for those below the Third Transcendence.

However, because this Heart Questioning is extremely damaging to one's mental state, if the dungeon master is of low level and has low mental strength, there is even a possibility that they may become mentally impaired.

Even for dungeon raiders of their caliber, the psychological damage would take at least one or two years to recover.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is very difficult to use this method.

But right now, Elder Xiu has already expressed his doubts.

In other circumstances, he might have considered it more carefully.

But now, this assassination attempt is related to the college entrance examination, and also to Su Mu.

So these people had no choice but to accept their fate.

However, at this very moment...

A figure suddenly went berserk.

A middle-aged man in a dark gray uniform suddenly lunged at a female proctor standing nearby, grabbing her throat with one hand and conjuring a short, black blade in the other, which he pressed against her carotid artery.

Everyone was stunned.

They never imagined that the seemingly righteous, taciturn, and hardworking middle-aged man was actually a member of the Nest Cult.