If Cheng Shi had never overseen a Truth Limit experint, he would never have recognized this thing as nearly identical to the star at the very center of the Truth Limit. But in its current state, it looked more like a star encased in ice.
A fine layer of frost covered the celestial body, as though it had entered its own ice age.
"!!??"
Why would a refugee be carrying sothing like this?
Cheng Shi was stunned. He didn't rush to grab it. Instead, he cautiously stepped back and frantically scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming there was no ambush did he — shock still plain on his face — use the Finger Bone Brooch on the charred corpse from a safe distance.
He kept his distance and asked only one question:
"You're... Volent?"
Driven by the pale green and deep blue glow, the corpse's jaw fell open and rasped: "Yes."
"...Hm?"
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply.
He'd suspected as much — but wasn't this a bit too absurd?
He'd randomly killed an NPC he'd stopped for directions, and it turned out to be the number one Grand Scholar of the Erudition Presidium, Scholar Volent — who also happened to drop the Ritual of Truth?
That frozen star had to be the Ritual of Truth!
Was this right?
What kind of dumb-luck protagonist storyline was this?!
Cheng Shi was dumbfounded — but quickly recovered, his expression lighting up!
He triple-checked that nothing was amiss, then sprinted over, snatched up the "cooled" Ritual of Truth, shoved it into his spatial storage, and blasted Volent's remains into ash with two consecutive lightning bolts.
Now, no one could tell a Grand Scholar had ever been here.
Cheng Shi was grinning from ear to ear, utterly satisfied. The trial's greatest prize was already in the bag — winning or losing no longer mattered.
Of course, extra points would be nice, but that clearly wasn't happening anymore.
Still, in the end, fortune had smiled upon him. All praise to [Fate]—
Actually, forget that. Praise [Ti] instead.
Thanks to [Ti], this world was still alive.
But he still couldn't figure out why [Ti]'s power had been able to restore an experintal sample belonging to Origin.
Cheng Shi left the spot and headed out, brow furrowed in thought as he walked. If gods were constantly stealing Authority from one another, was it possible that [Ti] had been so busy all this while because He was researching how to steal...
Origin's Authority?
The audacity of that thought startled even Cheng Shi himself. But without it, he simply couldn't explain how a variable within an experint could transcend the experint's dinsion and restore a sample belonging to the Creator.
That reminded him of Scarred Cheng Shi's advice — urging him to learn more about [Ti].
But [Ti] was wrapped in too much mystery. How could he possibly get close?
And another thing — the Ritual of Truth had fallen into his hands so easily. Did that an [Truth] had conceded defeat?
Was He still alive? Was [War] still alive?
How many secrets lay hidden beneath this truth that had shaken the universe?
Cheng Shi gazed upward with furrowed brow and thought:
'Let this trial end soon. I need to see the Fun God. Benefactor, I have far too many questions.'
The players scouring the city managed to eliminate several Grand Scholars, but two still remained at large.
Unable to find them, they reluctantly abandoned the pursuit and regrouped.
Five reunited at the experintal grounds in the West District. Only Chen Yi was missing.
Chen Yi was too obsessed. He was convinced that [Truth] was interfering with his relationship with his Benefactor, so he had launched an unrelenting hunt against [Truth]'s followers, vowing to eliminate every last Grand Scholar within this trial.
No one comnted on this. Seeing Cheng Shi's slightly disappointed expression, ng Youfang offered consolation:
"You really wanted the Ritual of Truth?
Well, I hear you. Even if you can't get it now, don't worry — once I reclaim my Divine Throne, I'll definitely borrow it from [Truth] and let you play with it for a few days. How's that?"
"..."
Everyone else's expressions grew more bizarre by the second, but Cheng Shi actually believed him.
He knew Old ng wasn't lying — assuming he actually had a Divine Throne, it would absolutely happen.
Too bad he didn't have one, and the Ritual of Truth was already in Cheng Shi's possession.
Naturally, Cheng Shi kept this to himself. He rely grumbled about how viciously [Truth] had designed this experint — using the lure of faith to endanger players' lives. Even if the players cracked the puzzle, they'd fail the trial by wrecking the experint, earning zero points.
The players sighed in resignation and echoed his sentints, but given that this was a Special Trial, they ca to terms with it.
And so, the trial hadn't yet ended, but the remaining ti was garbage ti. With the clock still ticking, everyone dispersed to explore the history of things that interested them.
Cheng Shi walked alongside Hu Xuan, asking about Lu Xia.
Hu Xuan smiled as she described this "older brother" she had only recently t:
"He's quite peculiar. He doesn't like eting familiar faces. He tirelessly spreads [Birth]'s philosophy across the world, yet He avoids attention — quietly delivering one life after another.
He believes the universe's essence is continuation. The more desperate a place, the more it needs Him — and that's His reason for not returning to [Birth]'s side.
He feels [Birth] already has more than enough children nearby. Rather than drowning in [Birth]'s ocean, He'd rather carve out His own stream and enrich more soil.
So encountering Him in Tusnat was, in itself, a stroke of luck."
"..."
Cheng Shi had been listening earnestly, but the mont phrases like "[Birth]'s ocean" entered the conversation, the imagery in his head spiraled out of control.
He forced an awkward laugh and offered a vague agreent: "Luck is great. I'm pretty lucky too."
But just then, Hu Xuan stopped abruptly. She tilted her head, smiling at Cheng Shi:
"There's sothing I never told you. Before the trial even started, I saw [Fate]."
"!?"
Cheng Shi blinked. "An audience?"
Hu Xuan shook her head:
"No — in my rest area.
The trial notification had already appeared in my vision. But one second before I entered the trial, I saw Him descend right before my eyes.
And then, what should have been my [Fate] trial suddenly beca a [Truth] one.
So, Fate Weaver — let
ask you: was that lucky?"
"!!!
You were sent in by [Fate]?!" Cheng Shi's pupils quaked.
Hu Xuan smiled and nodded: "Yes. So when I saw you here, I wasn't particularly surprised. And finding Lu Xia was also inspired by that event.
I had a feeling He wanted
to co help you.
And it seems I didn't let Him down."
"..."
Hearing this, Cheng Shi plunged into deep thought. If [Fate]'s appearance was no coincidence but a "rescue," it ant He had seen through [Truth]'s plan — just a beat too late.
And that also ant [Truth] had been targeting him all along. Not as a potential backup material for the experint, but as soone who had been placed on the operating table from the very start.
Well played, [Truth]!
Cheng Shi recalled the trial's initial prompt: "Limited truth is never truth..."
Ha — that was never a hint to the challengers. It was an epitaph [Truth] had written for Himself!
So He'd been prepared for self-destruction from the trial's inception — waiting only for the [Ti] power within Cheng Shi.
Sigh... what could he say? [Truth]'s targeting of him was infuriating, but it had to be admitted — like [Prosperity], He was truly soone who practiced what He preached.
But in this absurd world, what good was living by your convictions? The will you championed was nothing more than experintal conditions imposed on you by the Creator.
You championed it, spread it, proved it, upheld it — and in the end, all you were doing was following the rules 'He' had written for all living beings.
When you thought about it that way, it was truly despairing.
What was 'He' even observing?
And was [Truth]... still alive?
The first question was nearly impossible to answer. But the second seed to find its answer the mont the trial ended.
[Special Trial (Pursuing [Truth]) — Challenge Successful]
[Evaluating performance and calculating rewards...]
[Player: Cheng Shi — Performance Rating: C]
[Item Obtained: Universe Truth (C) x1]
[Road to Ascension
20]
[Ladder of Ascent
3]
[Current Road to Ascension Score: 2301 — Global Ranking: 291,306]
[Current Ladder of Ascent Score: 190 — Path Ranking: 24]
[Trial Cleared — Preparing to exit]
...
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