Chained Trials

"Witches, werewolves, vampires?" The Saints of Return of the Dead looked bewildered. To them, these terms existed only in movies, novels, and the brief mentions in official archives: "In the Middle Ages, witches, werewolves, and vampires ran rampant, serving as a primary root of social turmoil. The Holy See and bounty hunters were the main forces hunting them down." Beyond that, they knew very little about these ancient evil beings. Finding nothing in his own mental database, Brother Red Chicken was the first to panic. "This question is hard, but at least it has to do with the Spirit Realm! I think vampires, witches, and werewolves should correspond to the three evil classes of the First District. There are only twenty-one seconds left. Time is running out—want to take a gamble?" If they answered incorrectly or failed to answer again, he felt certain he would die under the next barrage of bullets. "Werewolves should be Aberrants. As for vampires and witches, have you noticed that among the First District's evil classes known so far, none fear light or drink blood, nor are there any evil classes specialized in dark magic?" Guan Ya knitted her slender brows. She glanced at the countdown, her expression turning grave. "Besides, we have to consider trick questions. Perhaps all three evil creatures correspond to the same class." "Werewolves aren't Aberrants!" Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "The origin of witches' dark magic is the legendary Runic Runes. Runes are the supreme power in Norse mythology. According to the deductions of the Second District's Scholars, Norse mythology corresponds to the yet-to-be-opened Third District. Werewolves should also be a class from the Third District. As for vampires, I'm not too sure." Back when he was in the space inside Little Red Riding Hood, he had seen information regarding medieval werewolves, and later asked Fu Qingyang which class the item belonged to. Yet after examining the appearance of the transformed demonic wolf, Fu Qingyang had immediately shaken his head, stating that the demonic wolf transformed from Little Red Riding Hood did not belong to any known class. As for witches' dark magic originating from Runes, that was something he had heard from the Archbishop in Red inside the Thriller Cruise instance. "Werewolves and witches belong to the Third District?" Sun Miaomiao's face turned pale. Weren't they completely doomed then? The Third District hadn't even launched yet—who would know the class names? Guan Ya and the others looked just as hopeless. It seemed they would have to endure another baptism from the anti-aircraft machine guns. Whether they could survive it this time was anyone's guess. Zhang Yuanqing, however, showed not the slightest panic. He turned to the Sole-Heir Knight beside him. "Over to you!" Only then did everyone remember that Zhai Cai was the sole inheritor of the Holy See's Knight Order. As an orthodox organization that had fought against witches, werewolves, and vampires, the Holy See was bound to possess detailed intelligence on these evil beings. "Time for my show." Zhai Cai strode forward a few paces, faced the blackboard, and said in a steady, resonant voice, "Witches belong to the Mage class, werewolves belong to the Ice-Fire Demonic Wolf class, and vampires belong to the Fatal Alchemist class." [Correct answer! Score for this question: 10 points!] "Phew..." Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Brother Red Chicken gave Zhai Cai a thumbs-up, lavishly praising him: "Boss, you're freaking incredible!" "Vampires are Aberrants?" Guan Ya asked, puzzled. "Why did vampires never appear again after the Middle Ages ended?" Enjoying Brother Red Chicken's flattery, Zhai Cai smiled and said, "Vampires were a breed cultivated by medieval Aberrants, akin to secret techniques developed by ancient cultivators. Once the ancient cultivators died out, those secret techniques were lost to time. My teacher mentioned that in certain mysterious ancient tombs, vampires from the Middle Ages might still be sleeping. These evil creatures aren't particularly strong in direct combat; their main advantages are immense self-healing capabilities and longevity." After saying that, the Sole-Heir Knight looked deeply at Zhang Yuanqing. "You know an awful lot. It doesn't match your level or status!" Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, Guan Ya, Brother Red Chicken, and Tianxia Guihuo all averted their gazes in unison, pretending not to have heard a word. Paying him back in his own coin, Zhang Yuanqing retorted in an infuriatingly smug tone, "Matches my intellect and good looks just fine, though!" Just as Zhai Cai was about to butt heads with him, a new question appeared on the blackboard: [Begin exam!] [Please correctly identify the following classes in the Spirit Realm: the class with the lowest intelligence, the fastest class, the most destructive class, the class with the strongest vitality, the class with the deepest knowledge reserves, the class with the strongest defense, and the most balanced class. Value: 10 points.] [Exam time: 50 seconds. Countdown begins!] "Fire Master. The one with the lowest IQ has to be Fire Master," Sun Miaomiao said loudly. Brother Red Chicken protested, "I think it's Siren!" "Sirens are just bad-tempered, not brainless," Zhai Cai said. "The fastest should be Wind Mage." "Why not the Void class? No matter how fast you are, you can't beat teleportation," Zhang Yuanqing questioned. "That's actually a false dilemma. Over short distances, the fastest should be a Lightning Mage's escape techniques—nothing in this world is faster than lightning, including teleportation. But over mid-to-long distances, Wind Mages are number one, because I don't consider teleportation to be 'speed,'" Zhai Cai replied. "Let's put speed on hold for now. What is the most destructive class?" Zhao Chenghuang asked briskly. "I say Fire Master." "Wouldn't that overlap?" Guan Ya frowned. "You were the one who said to watch out for trap questions—who says answers can't overlap!" Tianxia Guihuo said in a deep voice. "Among all major classes, the most destructive is indeed Fire Master. Fire-attribute spiritual energy is the most violent energy in existence. After becoming a Saint, when I attended the Scarlet Fire Gang's elite training course, the elder lecturer said so himself." Zhao Chenghuang picked up the thread: "The strongest vitality is Wood Monster, the deepest knowledge is Scholar, the strongest defense is Earth Monster, and the most balanced class is Night Wanderer! The fastest class is still pending!" At this point, only fifteen seconds remained on the clock. Guan Ya thought it over and said, "Let's try it. Go with Wind Mage." She immediately explained her reasoning: "Lightning Mages are fastest over short distances, and over long distances, Void teleportation is unmatched. However, both rely on active skills, whereas only the Wind Mage's wind riding is passive. Therefore, Void and Lightning Mage must either both be chosen or neither—there's no picking one over the other. But the question asks for the fastest! 'Fastest' implies there can only be one." A Scout's deductive ability was both precise and efficient. Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward at once and recited the answer they had agreed upon. [Correct answer! Score for this question: 10 points!] The tension in everyone's nerves slackened, and smiles broke out. Another correct answer meant avoiding a barrage of machine-gun fire. Brother Red Chicken was both relieved and indignant—relieved that they had survived another question, but indignant about why Fire Masters had to have the lowest intelligence. Sure, he hated studying, lacked culture, and despised using his brain, but he still had a high opinion of himself—comfortably above average, in fact! After that, they answered three more questions correctly, bringing their score to fifty points. Of those three questions, two involved relatively profound Spirit Realm lore, while one was a purely absurd brain teaser, leaving everyone—the Sole-Heir Knight included—sweating bullets as they answered. Guan Ya said delightedly, "There should only be one question left to clear this room." She looked toward the blackboard. "The rules didn't state a passing score requirement, only that there must be at least six examinees. That indicates the number of questions corresponds to the number of participants." "Once we finish this question, we'll reach the fifth floor!" Brother Red Chicken looked down at the gunshot wound in his lower abdomen. The hem of his shirt and the waistband of his pants were soaked red with blood. His condition was deteriorating. Excessive blood loss had left him mentally drained; he had no room left for error. Right then, the seventh question appeared on the blackboard: [Begin exam!] [Which classes can coexist? Name at least two combinations. Value: 20 points.] [Exam time: 60 seconds. Countdown begins!] As the question surfaced on the blackboard, everyone's expressions gradually froze, panic and gravity slowly seeping into their eyes. Incomprehensible! They couldn't make heads or tails of the question, much like an underachieving student staring at advanced calculus. This had nothing to do with intelligence; it was a matter of insufficient knowledge and experience. The Saints instinctively turned to Zhang Yuanqing and Zhai Cai, hoping the guild leader and the Dominator Knight could provide an answer. But both of them were frowning deeply with solemn expressions. "I don't understand it!" Zhai Cai sighed, turning to Zhang Yuanqing. "How about you?" The others held their breath, not daring to make a sound, terrified that Zhang Yuanqing would chime in with, "Same here!" Fortunately, even though Yuanshi Tianzun wore a grave expression resembling an elementary schooler confronted with a calculus function, he was at least deep in thought rather than surrendering on the spot. Which classes could coexist? What did coexistence mean? It took Zhang Yuanqing only two or three seconds to figure it out. Coexistence meant dual classes. The first person who came to mind was the Free Heavenly King—no, the Fear Heavenly King, who dual-cultivated Bewitching Demon and Scout. Next, he thought of Sect Master Chunyang, who dual-cultivated Night Wanderer and Illusionist. However, the consequence of Sect Master Chunyang's dual-class cultivation was madness; therefore, evil classes and orthodox classes could not truly coexist. As for the Fear Heavenly King, after being corrupted, his original Scout character card had transformed into a Bewitching Demon character card, merely retaining his Scout skills. Strictly speaking, that didn't count as dual-class coexistence. Finally, Zhang Yuanqing thought of Empress Wa. This Spirit Realm Administrator was a dual-class Musician and Scholar. Thus, within orthodox organizations, Musician and Scholar could coexist. But that was only one combination. There was still another. What other two classes could coexist...? Zhang Yuanqing racked his brain at top speed. Time ebbed away rapidly. By the twenty-second mark, everyone's faces were taut. With ten seconds left, only despair remained in their eyes. Zhai Cai ushered everyone back into a corner and propped up his longsword. With five seconds left... Zhang Yuanqing finally spoke: "Musician and Scholar can coexist; Water Ghost, Scout, Wood Monster, Earth Monster, and Fire Master can coexist!" [Correct answer! Score for this question: 20 points!] [Exam concluded. Total score: 70 points!] The words appearing on the blackboard struck everyone's hearts like a hammer, jolting their spirits. Having already braced themselves for a barrage of bullets and left their lives to fate, they were instantly overwhelmed by the ecstatic relief of surviving disaster. "The inventory can be opened now!" Brother Red Chicken joyfully alerted everyone. He pulled out a Wood Monster class item to staunch the bleeding and treat the puncture wounds on his thigh and left abdomen. The others hurriedly retrieved items to tend to their injuries as well. Sheathing his knight's broadsword, Zhai Cai looked at Zhang Yuanqing and clicked his tongue. "As the inheritor of the Knight Order and as a Dominator, I knew orthodox classes could fall into evil classes, but this is the first time I've ever heard of dual classes coexisting. Not only did you know, you even named the exact classes that can coexist. Jumang, are you the illegitimate son of the Second District's Baihui President? Or maybe the illegitimate son of some peak Dominator?" Mimicking Zhai Cai's smirk, Zhang Yuanqing curved the corner of his lips. "Guess!" Zhai Cai remained silent for a few seconds, then said slowly, "I admit, I really am asking for a beating." "The five major classes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth can coexist?" Having preliminarily stopped her bleeding, Guan Ya approached with a strange expression. The Saints of Return of the Dead looked over as well. "Yeah!" Zhang Yuanqing said. "Actually, the higher-ups of the Five Elements Alliance discovered this secret long ago. More than a decade ago, they gathered Scholar families to study the power of the five elements, which resulted in the creation of several extremely high-grade items. For some unknown reason, the research was halted later on." The Yin-Yang Turntable was crafted back then. However, Zhang Yuanqing's inspiration regarding the coexistence of the five elements hadn't come from that experiment, but from the Chaos of the Five Elements instance. It came from the Heaven-Worship Set. It came from the First Emperor, the first person to merge the powers of the five elements. "Among ancient cultivators, there were mighty figures who cultivated the power of the five elements. But modern Spirit Realm walkers are restricted by character cards and can only follow a single class," Zhang Yuanqing explained. Just then, the classroom's back door slowly materialized, indicating they could leave. Having treated their initial wounds, everyone rushed out of the classroom without delay. They had expected the outside to be the corridor leading to the fifth floor, but to their surprise, the classroom's exit opened into another room. The room was completely empty, devoid of furniture, decorations, doors, or windows. Hanging on the stark white wall directly opposite the entrance were four paintings. One was dominated by dusky yellow tones, depicting a museum hall filled with numerous sculptures and collection pieces. At the bottom was a line of English: [Museum of Wonders] Another showed a small village shrouded in midnight wind and rain. Beneath the dark night, lightning flashed amidst thunder; the village's outline was blurry, exuding an eerie, terrifying aura. At the bottom was a line of English: [Dark Village] A third portrayed a battlefield steeped in a sea of blood and mountains of corpses. Bodies of armored knights and towering, ferocious aberrant monsters were piled high like hills. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, forming a demonic face. At the bottom was an inscription: [War of Demon Slaying] The last depicted an ancient castle bathed in brilliant sunshine, with a garden full of blooming flowers. Standing gracefully in a small window was a beautiful maiden, smiling as she gazed into the distance. At the bottom was an inscription: [Castle of Mysteries] Beneath these scrolls stood a placard reading: Welcome to the Wise Men's Amusement Park — World of Painted Scrolls! World of Painted Scrolls Rules: 1. Please choose one painting as your trial to clear the stage. 2. Complete the objective within three hours, or the painted scroll will permanently close. 3. The painted scroll trial requires multiplayer cooperation; no fewer than six participants are permitted. 4. Clearing any one painting will allow you to leave this room. 5. After entering the scroll, please use your "Exam Hall" points within thirty minutes; points will expire thereafter. "I don't know if six is your lucky number, but you're definitely a dirty troll," Zhang Yuanqing said, his mouth twitching as he looked at the Sole-Heir Knight. This damn thing was a chain of trials! "I knew it—how could it be that easy? I haven't even felt a real life-or-death crisis yet..." Zhai Cai sighed. "Quit complaining and pick a painting."