“Are all Heavenly Eyes the same?” Shen Ye asked.
“Of course not, but I don’t really know the details. That’s secret knowledge only taught in senior year—I’m not old enough yet, and my family hasn’t told me anything about it,” Xiao Mengyu replied.
“I see.” Shen Ye sighed.
At least he had a rough understanding now.
But right now, everything around them was pitch black, making it impossible to see.
“Can that candle be shared between two people?”
Shen Ye asked.
“Let’s try! We’re in a team now, and since we’re working together, I think it should be possible!” Xiao Mengyu said.
The next second—
Their playing cards trembled slightly.
A line of small text appeared:
“You have entered the second stage of the exam.”
“This stage is a non-combat assessment. The details are as follows:”
“The Wailing Tide is approaching.”
“Scattered across the island are numerous statues of deities. Candidates must find a suitable deity’s statue, establish communication, complete its command, and obtain its promise in order to survive the Wailing Tide.”
“Failure results in elimination!”
“Additionally, since you are in a team, you only need to find one deity’s statue.”
Xiao Mengyu took out the candle flame and wedged it into a gap at the front of the motorcycle.
The surrounding darkness receded, revealing the floating island’s landscape.
The land was covered in lush green vegetation, with towering trees, flowing streams, and mountain ranges stretching into the distance.
Clouds rolled down from the mountains, and in an instant, torrential rain poured as lightning flashed and thunder roared.
The streams swelled rapidly, forming a rushing current that flooded into the forest, turning everything into a swamp.
“Look!”
Xiao Mengyu shouted.
Shen Ye followed her gaze and saw scattered remains of statues everywhere—among the mountains, in the fields, and within rock piles.
The fragments varied in size.
Some were human-sized, while others were massive.
A colossal stone arm, over fifty meters long, lay across the stream and forest, drawing their attention.
“Did you know the exam would be like this?”
Shen Ye asked Xiao Mengyu.
“The exam is different every year. Who could have predicted this?” Xiao Mengyu replied.
Shen Ye revved the motorcycle, and the ghostfire bike sped forward, jumping over vast stretches of swamp before landing halfway up a mountain.
Here, many statue fragments lay scattered—just the right place to complete their task.
Xiao Mengyu got off the bike and sighed.
“They’re huge.”
“No kidding.” Shen Ye also looked ahead.
Amid the scattered rocks, a statue’s head over five meters tall lay quietly on the ground.
It was the head of a human male, but unlike ordinary people, it had a vertical eye on its forehead, and mysterious runes were engraved on its cheeks.
Further ahead, there were torsos, limbs, decorative items, and offering platforms.
Shen Ye was about to step forward when Xiao Mengyu held him back.
“Since I successfully formed a team, my strength is now twice what it was before. Let me do the talking.”
Xiao Mengyu said.
Shen Ye thought for a moment and agreed, staying in place.
Xiao Mengyu took a few steps forward, lightly resting her hand on her sword’s hilt, and spoke.
“How should we address you?”
The massive statue head opened its eyes and looked at Xiao Mengyu before speaking in a deep voice:
“A pure human girl.”
“The Wailing Tide is coming. If you and your companion wish for my protection, you must reconstruct my body and offer me tributes according to my demands. Only then can I regain my divine power.”
“How should we offer tribute to you?” Xiao Mengyu asked.
The head stared at her. “I need to drink your companion’s blood, and you must shed your human garments and dance for me.”
“Can we change the offering method?” Xiao Mengyu hesitated.
“No. The Wailing Tide is an incredibly terrifying force. If you wish to survive, how can you expect not to make sacrifices?” The head rumbled.
A dagger suddenly appeared before its face.
Night fell.
Shen Ye gripped the dagger tightly and struck with all his strength, slicing a chunk off the statue’s head, revealing smooth stone beneath.
“Hey, that’s a deity’s statue,” Xiao Mengyu whispered nervously.
“What did you just say? Say it again.” Shen Ye glared at the statue.
The head trembled, its previous majesty gone, now wearing a grief-stricken expression.
“If you don’t agree, then forget it! Why resort to violence?”
“Drink my blood? Make her strip and dance? Do you think you deserve that?” Shen Ye smacked the statue’s cheek with his sword.
The head suddenly rolled backward, tumbling down the mountainside and disappearing from sight.
“It ran away,” Xiao Mengyu said, looking conflicted.
“Forget it. Let’s find another deity’s statue—there are plenty on the island. We’ll find one that suits us.” Shen Ye said.
He turned back, restarted the ghostfire bike.
Xiao Mengyu climbed back on, sighing.
“You should try talking to them properly. Don’t resort to violence so easily. Remember, they represent deities.”
Shen Ye scoffed.
Earlier, he had seen two lines of text on the statue’s forehead:
“Statue of the God of Wicked Dance.”
“—This deity has already fallen.”
The god was already dead.
Why should I fear a mere lifeless statue?
“He wanted to drink my blood! Back in my hometown, gods with such poor manners don’t live long.” Shen Ye said.
“Gods don’t live long?” Xiao Mengyu thought he was joking and responded casually.
“Even the sun—if it oversteps its bounds, our people will shoot it down. That’s the way we were raised.” Shen Ye said.
The ghostfire bike roared, lifted off the ground, and shot toward the mountaintop.
“That’s just mythology, isn’t it?” Xiao Mengyu shouted.
Shen Ye froze.
Right.
This world also had that myth.
Why?
No time to think.
The bike stopped at the summit.
There was nothing here except a stone horse head lying in the grass.
The horse head was about the size of a basketball hoop—much smaller than the deity statue that had demanded a strip dance.
The dense vegetation concealed it so well that one wouldn’t notice it without careful observation.
Xiao Mengyu and Shen Ye exchanged a glance.
Was this horse head…
A deity’s statue?
“Let me handle this. I have some experience with horses,” Shen Ye said.
Xiao Mengyu rolled her eyes.
Shen Ye pretended not to notice, took a step forward, and called out, “Hey, big brother, the Wailing Tide is coming. Can you protect us?”
“As you said, I only recline in the grass,” the horse head responded. “Friend, you must find my rider.”
Text appeared on its forehead:
“Fragment of the War Deity’s Mount.”
So it was a mount.
“Your rider? Does he require a specific offering?” Shen Ye asked cautiously.
“The young lady beside you wields a sword. That should suit his taste. Just show him respect, and that will be enough.” The horse head replied.
“Then, where is he?” Shen Ye asked.
The horse head said, “He is—”
A loud boom.
Something struck the horse head, sending it flying into the sky.
Two people emerged from the grass.
Zhao Yibing.
And—
An unfamiliar middle school student.
“Gotcha.”
Zhao Yibing said with a smirk.
The aura around her was completely different now, and her eyes glowed with a faint dark light.
Xiao Mengyu instinctively reached for her sword, but Shen Ye stopped her.
“Zhao Yibing, we’re done! Why are you still chasing me?”
Shen Ye demanded.
A hint of mockery flashed across Zhao Yibing’s lips. She raised her hand to unleash something—but then, she suddenly opened her mouth, her expression turning mournful.
“Shen Ye… I’m already dead.”
The four of them were momentarily stunned.
Shen Ye was the first to react.
Zhao Yibing was already dead!
When he asked his question, he had unintentionally activated “Whisper of the Abyss,” causing her soul to return to her body to answer him!
Zhao Yibing’s expression darkened as she let out a low curse:
“Damn it, an undead ability!”
She waved her hand, releasing countless scarlet threads, just about to launch an attack when—
A sudden force emerged from the void and, with a loud boom, sent her flying. She was thrown from the mountaintop into the distant darkness, vanishing from sight in an instant.
At the same time, their playing cards trembled slightly.
Shen Ye picked his up and saw two lines of small text on it:
“This round is a non-combat assessment. Private battles are forbidden.”
“If you violate this rule again, you will be expelled from the test.”
—No fighting allowed!
Shen Ye let out a breath of relief and turned to look at the unfamiliar young man across from him.
“Hmph, I’ll let you live a little longer, but it won’t be for much longer,” the young man said while staring at Shen Ye’s left hand.
With that, his figure flickered, and he dashed off in pursuit of Zhao Yibing.
Shen Ye lowered his head and looked at his left hand.
A scarlet thread was tightly wrapped around it, its other end stretching into the endless void, pointing in the direction Zhao Yibing had been blasted away.
Faint light formed small glowing text:
“???”
“Otherworldly divine spell.”
“Description: When you appear within a five-hundred-mile radius of the target, they will be able to sense your location and instantly teleport to you.”
“—Your world has yet to comprehend this type of spell.”
The scarlet thread gradually faded until it was no longer visible.
“The current spell has been used.”
“If you appear before the target again, the spell will immediately activate once more.”
—He had already endured this ability once!
In other words, after this test was over, if the next round allowed combat and he ran into her again—
She could keep teleporting to him and killing him nonstop!
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
“Good thing we don’t have to fight in this round,” Xiao Mengyu murmured in relief.
