Light Barrier - Chapter 35: Dream Decipher
Rumors had it that this assessment would be exceptionally severe.
The rumors were true. Everyone who came was a renowned cold-faced leader.
But the scene inside the cabin was different from expectations. These law leaders had gathered together to drink and play games in harmony. They seemed more like a group of elderly tourists enjoying a vacation.
If this assessment team was acting under Elder Zhao’s orders, did this mean that the upcoming assessment, which had been full of fireworks, would be handled with ease and leniency?
Luo Er and Zhong Wei felt a chill in their hearts. They didn’t dare to ask.
“It’s time for me to leave.” Mr. Tree smiled, raised his head back, and downed the wine in his glass. He patted the grand magistrate beside him affectionately and said drunkenly, “Mr. Tang, you handle your liquor well. Let’s have another round another time!”
He stood up, staggered out of the cabin, and raised his arms. Luo Er and Zhong Wei hurried forward to support their teacher and left the noisy cabin. The cold rain hit their faces, waking them up a little.
“Teacher…” Luo Er spoke up. She had too many questions.
“The content of the assessment in two days is Dream Decipher.” Mr. Tree’s voice suddenly became extremely clear, completely unlike that of a drunk. He said coldly, “These old fellows in the assessment team aren’t as simple as you think. Where is Gu Shen? Let’s go. We’ll talk on the way.”
A black vintage car drove on the rainy night.
Zhou Jiren was leaning against the back seat, a hint of drunkenness still lingering on his cheeks. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, feeling uncomfortable no matter how he adjusted it, so he loosened it.
From the moment he participated in his impeachment meeting in the Dadu District until now, he had been wearing a well-fitted tunic suit. The remaining alcohol in his body was as sharp as a knife. Usually, he exuded a warmth that made people feel as though they were bathing in a spring breeze. But when he was serious and silent, Mr. Tree was like a mafia godfather with the words ‘don’t disturb me’ written all over him, making people feel intimidated.
“Because of the pardon order, I caused you a lot of trouble and made you worry.”
He closed his eyes, spread his arms, slowly digested the alcohol, and then apologized to his two disciples.
“It’s all over!” Zhou Jiren laughed heroically. “You should have gone to see the impeachment meeting in Dadu. It was extremely interesting. One after another, people stood up to speak up for me. The situation looked very promising, but when it came to the secret ballot, these people revealed their true colors. The votes were one-sided and overwhelmingly crushed the no impeachment side. Since they hoped for my downfall, why didn’t they dare to stand up and tell me their true intentions openly?”
Zhong Wei, who was driving, said, “They didn’t dare.”
Even in old age, a lion was still a lion.
“Zhao Xilai helped me a lot. Because no one dared to step forward, he used his veto power.” Their teacher recalled the scene of the impeachment and imitated in a low voice, “Since no one wants Zhou Jiren to be removed from his position, the result of the vote does not matter.
“Unfortunately, you weren’t there to see how wonderful the expressions of those guys who spoke up for me were.” He laughed, his face full of mockery. “This old fellow Zhao Xilai isn’t easy to deal with. It’s not because he appreciates me or we’re friends that he doesn’t want me to be impeached. It’s purely because no one is more suitable than me for the position of the grand adjudicator of the Adjudication Bureau.”
This made sense.
Both Zhong Wei and Luo Er understood.
Since its establishment, the Adjudication Bureau had attracted a large number of geniuses and powerful experts. These people had resolved numerous troubles for the Parliament and solved countless transcendental events. However, being appointed to sit in the highest position didn’t merely consider strength.
If the grand adjudicator managed to unite everyone in the Adjudication Bureau, then this person’s ‘right to speak’ would become too great to control. The Parliament was unwilling to see this happen.
The most uncontrollable people gathered together and were under the control of one person.
Undoubtedly, the position of the Parliament would be greatly threatened.
Therefore, the ideal person for the position of grand adjudicator of the Adjudication Bureau should have extraordinary abilities while also being isolated by many people.
“Zhao Xilai is very clear about this. In the East Continent, he can’t find someone else like me.” Zhou Jiren stretched lazily with a faint smile of self-deprecation. “I’ve been fighting and killing for decades, dedicating myself to the people of the continent. I don’t have many friends left in the Adjudication Bureau. I’ve taken in a few disciples, but all of them are model workers who only know how to work. If they get rid of me and replace me with someone else, who knows what kind of storms will happen.”
Luo Er sighed softly. “But shouldn’t the Adjudication Bureau do these things?”
“There are too many bothersome things in the East Continent. It’ll just upset you if I tell you.” Their teacher rubbed his forehead. “Zhao Xilai vetoed my impeachment and appointed a strict assessment team to balance the resentment of those people.”
“But Teacher, I saw that you… got along well with them on the plane,” Zhong Wei ventured cautiously.
“Bullshit.” Mr. Tree smiled. “The more cunning you are, the calmer you are, with a face full of smiles. If they don’t pull any tricks, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. When the time comes, we’ll let Gu Shen charge in with full force and show his skills, fair and square, reasonable and just. But for the sake of Zhao Xilai’s assistant, we took the same plane. For six hours, we had three rounds of drinks but didn’t say anything useful. The only content revealed was that the assessment was Dream Decipher.
“But… what’s the use of just knowing it’s Dream Decipher? Who knows what kind of strange dreams they’ll pull out?” He sounded a little depressed. “These people are all resolute people who have studied Gu Shen’s file dozens of times. They took the rooftop case to Deep Sea for analysis. Deep Sea thinks that Gu Shen is a mental-type transcendent, so the assessment team decided to only test his mental potential.”
Luo Er and Zhong Wei frowned.
Sure enough.
Things were not as simple as they had thought.
These people were not playing according to routine at all. The results of the special training over the past few days could be considered a complete failure. But judging from the results of Gu Shen’s special training, failure might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Had the assessment team really wanted to assess strength and physical fitness, things would only be worse.
Gu Shen might very well create an ‘unprecedented’ assessment result.
“Among the dead transcendents, one of them was an assault type who strengthened his torso. Deep Sea thinks that Gu Shen might be hiding very formidable means.” Mr. Tree smiled. “So, the assessment team will only assess his mental potential. The original intention is to prevent Gu Shen’s other aspects from inflating his score.”
“That should be good news. However, Little Gu’s mental potential…” Zhong Wei’s expression revealed concern. He hesitated for a moment before saying tactfully, “Teacher, Little Gu might not be as talented as you think.”
Mr. Tree raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I brought him into the Jingzhe Dream.” Luo Er went straight to the point. “It took him four hours and thirty-nine minutes to complete his comprehension. This result isn’t too bad, but it falls far short of a mental-type S.”
Mr. Tree smiled. “That’s indeed quite average. What about his other aspects?”
“Based on the special training over the past few days, if I were to give him a rating, Little Gu’s physical fitness is about a D+, and his strength and speed are about E,” Zhong Wei said honestly, shaking his head. “His mental power is better, about a B+. The overall evaluation is at most a C.”
Mr. Tree still had a calm and unhurried expression, as though all of this was within his expectations.
Senior Sister Luo said, “I have a hypothesis. Gu Shen might not be a transcendent of the regular three types, so normal ratings might not apply to him.”
Mr. Tree narrowed his eyes and smiled. “You mean… Gu Shen might be the special type?”
“I can only say… we can’t rule out that possibility.” Luo Er struggled to find her words for a moment. “Isn’t the ‘Fire Stealer’ in the Central Continent someone who can steal the transcendental power of others? The abilities of the special type are still largely unexplored within the Transcendental Spectrum Chart. This assessment shouldn’t only test mental potential. It’s unfair to Gu Shen.”
“We can’t strive for those conditions. Those old fellows in the assessment team only care about conducting the assessment, not fairness.”
Zhou Jiren shook his head with a solemn expression. “They’ve come from various regions of the East Continent to conduct this assessment in the strictest manner. Zhao Xilai’s attitude is very strange. He sent Cui Zhongcheng to Oto City to oversee matters and specifically instructed these old fellows not to show any mercy. I don’t understand. Does he want Gu Shen to pass the assessment, or does he want him to fail?”
The car fell into a short silence.
After a while, Mr. Tree murmured, “Perhaps he just wants to see if Gu Shen’s ability can truly reach the legendary S-grade.”