Shen Ye was taken aback.
Why did it say “Insufficient sunlight”?
Could it be…
“You are my savior, the strongest tree in our hearts! You will surely lead us safely through every crisis, grow stronger, and reach new heights of glory!”
Shen Ye gave the piece of wood a thumbs-up.
Xiao Mengyu shot him an exasperated look—
Are you crazy? Saying something like that to a piece of wood.
But the moment Shen Ye finished speaking, the word “sunlight” on the wood was crossed out.
“Water” and “sunlight” had both been offered.
Only “fertilizer” remained!
Just then, a deafening roar erupted from outside.
Xiao Mengyu quickly turned her head to look outside.
By now, the time should have been up.
But since the floating island was vast and their hiding spot was near its center, they couldn’t see what was happening right away.
“Xiao Mengyu—what was the fertilizer for the wood again?”
Shen Ye asked.
Xiao Mengyu, still observing the situation outside, pondered for a moment.
“I only know about mineral fertilizers, organic fertilizers, and compound fertilizers. But if this piece of wood is a statue of a deity, I doubt it will ask for something so simple.”
“That’s what I thought too, but I have no idea what it actually wants.” Shen Ye replied.
As they were thinking, a hint appeared on the wood:
“Designated fertilizer: Poetry related to the moon (spiritual nourishment).”
Spiritual nourishment…
Shen Ye’s mouth twitched.
Give it sunlight, and it thrives—now it wants spiritual nourishment too!
So this was the style of the Moonlit Lineage?
Drinks cola, demands praise, and now wants poetry?
“Before my bed, the bright moonlight glows, I suspect it’s frost upon the ground. I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, Then lower it, longing for home.”
Shen Ye recited blankly.
The word “fertilizer” on the wood was also crossed out.
The offering was complete!
The wood trembled slightly, then retracted all its roots, stretched out, and collapsed motionless on the ground.
A line of small characters appeared on the wood:
“I have begun to protect you.”
Success!
Shen Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a bit drained.
“Now that we have two offering statues, we should be able to get through this ordeal.”
He murmured.
“We still don’t know what this red mist actually is,” Xiao Mengyu said.
The noise around them grew louder.
Even the ground was trembling.
Suddenly—
A massive head emerged from the mist, its eyes staring into the mountain crevice.
It was like a colossal creature crawling on the ground, hands pressed against the earth, looking down at Shen Ye and Xiao Mengyu’s hiding place.
Compared to it, the mountain crevice wasn’t even as large as its nose bridge.
Xiao Mengyu saw the countless eyes covering its hands and gasped:
“It’s been following us this whole time!”
“It’s so huge—how do we even fight it?” Shen Ye exclaimed.
The greatsword had already charged forward.
Spinning in the wind, it expanded dozens of times its original size and slashed straight at the giant’s head.
Clang!
A deafening crash rang out as the giant’s fiery-red head vibrated violently.
Rocks and sand flew everywhere.
Its head slammed into the ground, leaving a shallow crater.
Even so, it showed no fear—on the contrary, its eyes shone even fiercer.
Blood mist swirled.
The giant disappeared into the dense fog.
“It’ll be back!”
The same thought flashed through Shen Ye and Xiao Mengyu’s minds.
“Damn it, this is just a test—why make it so terrifying?” Shen Ye muttered.
“Because our world is actually fighting against these terrifying things,” Xiao Mengyu replied.
Shen Ye turned to her.
“There are a lot of monsters like this?” Shen Ye asked cautiously.
“There are far more terrifying ones. Sometimes, an entire city can be wiped out—”
“But ordinary people only hear on the news that it was an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or tsunami,” Xiao Mengyu explained.
“Wait, for an exam like this, aren’t they worried about candidates dying?” Shen Ye asked.
“Huh? You didn’t sign the death liability waiver?” Xiao Mengyu said in surprise.
“No.” Shen Ye replied.
“Then Manager Qian must’ve signed it for you.”
“Damn that old Qian, not even giving me a heads-up. If I had known, I could’ve at least mentally prepared myself.”
—Maybe I’ll die here.
Shen Ye shook his head slightly and overcame his fear.
After all, he had a skeleton in his fish tank—by now, he wasn’t that afraid of monsters anymore.
Besides, the noble families wanted to kill him too.
So did “Zhao Yibing.”
Now, there were just some extra monsters.
Tired.
I’m too exhausted to be afraid—let’s all just perish together.
With a sharp whoosh, the greatsword flew back at high speed and urgently carved into the wall:
“The giant’s weakness is its head—hitting other parts is useless.”
Shen Ye and Xiao Mengyu brightened up.
Having a sword spirit really made a difference!
The blood mist trembled violently.
The crimson giant emerged once again, crawling toward the mountain crevice.
The greatsword shot forward again, continuously slashing at its head.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The deafening strikes echoed as the blood-colored giant fixed its gaze on the two inside the crevice, pain flashing across its face, reluctant to retreat.
The mist shifted.
A massive dark-red centipede scurried out, lunging straight at them.
The greatsword could only suppress the blood-colored giant—it couldn’t split its focus to deal with the centipede.
The dark-red centipede was extremely fast, almost reaching the crevice.
Shen Ye drew his Dagger.
Xiao Mengyu gripped her Luoshui Sword tightly.
Suddenly, they heard a noise beneath their feet.
The piece of wood rolled forward, leapt up, and stabbed its sharp roots into the mountainside, suspending itself in the air.
A line of words appeared on it:
“Don’t be afraid—fight with all your strength.”
By then, the centipede had reached them. Just as it was about to clash with them, it suddenly changed it direction and lunged at the wood instead.
—A perfect chance!
Xiao Mengyu and Shen Ye struck together, unleashing a powerful slash.
Their sword energy sliced through the centipede’s body, causing it to convulse madly.
It turned toward them again, lunging forward—
But the next moment, it opened its jaws and bit down on the wood.
“I get it now! This wood can force enemies to attack it!”
Xiao Mengyu realized.
However, the wood displayed another message:
“It’s not forcing enemies to attack me—I can serve as your substitute.”
“Moreover, if you give me a drop of blood, I can temporarily transform into you and take your place in the exam.”
A substitute…
The two exchanged a glance, both somewhat astonished.
This wood is incredible!
“We’ve struck gold! We need to hurry and kill this centipede!” Shen Ye said.
They launched a relentless assault, striking again and again with their swords, forcing the centipede into sharp, frantic screeches.
Yet no matter how hard it tried, the centipede couldn’t land a hit on them.
The more frenzied it became, the more it focused on attacking the wood, completely unable to turn around and deal with the two.
Finally—
Xiao Mengyu swung her sword with all her might, and the razor-sharp sword energy, forming a streak of white light, severed the centipede’s body.
The bisected creature thrashed violently on the ground, emitting piercing hisses of agony.
Its cries carried a terrifying resonance, while bright green venom oozed from its body, corroding everything it touched.
A voice suddenly rang out:
“Shen Ye, cut me a piece of that meat.”
The great skeleton!
“This is a centipede. It’s extremely poisonous. You’re going to eat it?” Shen Ye asked.
“Eat! Hurry up! I need to prepare.”
Prepare?
“For what?” Shen Ye asked.
“This place is too dangerous. I need to find a way to restore my body. Otherwise, if you die, I’m finished too,” the skeleton said.
“You’re quite motivated. Alright, I support you.”
Shen Ye stepped forward, wielding his Dagger, sliced off a chunk of centipede meat, and stored it in his ring.
With the centipede dead, the disturbances in the mist grew even more violent.
The giant let out a deep, resonant roar, shaking the earth.
The dense mist suddenly dispersed.
The giant’s head emerged before them once more.
Its eyes darted around, then locked onto Xiao Mengyu.
Not good!
Shen Ye instantly realized—
The wood that drew attacks was with him, while the greatsword was with Xiao Mengyu.
The wood attracted aggression.
That’s why the giant wasn’t attacking him.
Its target was Xiao Mengyu!
“Catch!”
Shen Ye shouted and threw the wooden block over.
In that instant—
The giant’s head snapped toward him, its pupils fixed on Shen Ye.
This brat has no wood—he has no defense!
Eat him!
The giant was about to make its move—
But Xiao Mengyu, being who she was, reacted the moment Shen Ye tossed the wood.
“I’m not afraid of it. You keep the block!”
She tapped her sword lightly against the block midair, sending it flying back into Shen Ye’s hands.
The giant’s head turned toward Xiao Mengyu again.
This girl looks tastier!
The giant was about to strike—
“You hold onto it!”
Shen Ye flicked his palm, sending the wood back toward her at an even greater speed.
The giant’s head turned back to Shen Ye.
“My combat experience is better than yours. You keep it!”
Xiao Mengyu knocked the wood back with a flick of her sword.
The giant’s head turned again.
“You hold it.”
“You hold it.”
“You hold it.”
“Listen to me, you should be the one holding it.”
“I’m more experienced in battle. You hold it.”
“I’m a man. I can’t let you stand at the front. You hold it!”
“You hold it!”
“You hold it!”
“Hold it!”
“Hold it!”
The wood flew back and forth, making the giant shake its head over and over.
The faster the wood moved, the faster the giant shook its head!
At this point, if some dance music played, the scene would look like a full-on nightclub rave.
“No, you keep it. My movement technique is good enough to dodge its attacks!”
Shen Ye said, tossing the wood upward with both hands—
The giant instinctively turned toward him.
Hmm?
It had gotten used to shaking its head—
But wait!
The block hadn’t been passed. It was still in Shen Ye’s hands!
Shen Ye made a fake passing motion right in front of the giant.
—The same trick had fooled it earlier.
“Fast break, two-on-one, fake pass.”
Shen Ye grinned and set the wooden block on the ground.
The giant snapped out of it and turned toward Xiao Mengyu—
—But she was already gone!
“Bro, they’re already dunking, and you’re still looking the wrong way?”
Shen Ye crossed his arms and said.
Above the giant’s head, Xiao Mengyu held the Luoshui Sword, slashing downward with full force—
A blindingly sharp sword aura formed a thin white line, slicing through the giant’s forehead, between its eyes, down its nose, through its mouth, and all the way to its chin.
But it didn’t stop there—
The greatsword shot out from behind Xiao Mengyu, emitting a sharp, ringing sound as it streaked across the same cut again like a shooting star.
Clang!
Xiao Mengyu sheathed her sword and moved like a swift bird, flipping in the air before landing gracefully beside Shen Ye.
“Was that good enough?” she asked.
“Good enough? That was legendary swordsmanship!” Shen Ye flattered her.
Xiao Mengyu lifted her chin and rolled her eyes at him.
Across from them—
The giant’s head silently split apart.
Blood splattered across the ground.
It was dead.
The great skeleton’s excited voice rang out again:
“Hey, this is a huge win! Hurry up and get me a chunk of that giant meat!”
