Light Barrier - Chapter 41: Lantern, Hourglass, Cube
“Gu Shen, as you can see, there are three dream sealed objects in front of you. The assessment of the assessment team is very simple. Touch the three dream seal objects one by one, enter the dreams, and complete the Dream Deciphers.”
A long table divided the classroom. On one end was Gu Shen, and on the other end was the assessment team sitting upright.
“The time it takes to resolve the dreams of the three sealed objects will be your assessment result.”
The one who introduced the rules was the grand magistrate of the Ying Sea District, Tang Qingquan. When he spoke, the expressions of the other members of the assessment team changed slightly, but they didn’t say anything.
The grand magistrate was expressionless as he leaned forward and sized up the ordinary-looking young man in front of him.
He had seen countless people, but he couldn’t feel any shocking mental fluctuations from this young man.
It wasn’t easy to be chosen to be a judge for S-grade assessments.
Every member of the assessment team was an expert with a certain amount of transcendental strength.
They were all sizing up the young man in front of them.
On the table were three items—an ancient lantern, an hourglass, and a restored Rubik’s Cube.
“You should be familiar with the rules of Dream Decipher, right?” the grand magistrate asked routinely.
He had seen Gu Shen’s files. This newcomer’s performance in the fire case had been outstanding, and Zhou Jiren had even secured a pardon order for him. During this period of time, he must have done his homework to prepare for the assessment.
“Rules…” Gu Shen was a little confused. “What rules?”
Tang Qingquan frowned.
He didn’t understand. Zhou Jiren had asked about the content of the assessment, Dream Decipher, on the plane, but did he not explain it to this newcomer?
“Is this your first time entering a dreamscape?” The assessor beside the grand magistrate was quite patient. He looked at Gu Shen and said, “Dreamscapes are worlds woven with mental power, so everything in the dreamscapes is illusory. No matter how powerful a sealed object is, it’s no exception.
“Once you touch a sealed object, there’s no possibility of you withdrawing.”
He gestured to the three items on the table. “As for how to resolve the dreams, it’s not complicated. You only need to realize that you are in a dream and then find the peculiarities within the dream. Finally, use these peculiarities to complete the exploration, which is the so-called Dream Decipher .”
Gu Shen listened attentively while using Jingzhe to verify what they said about Dream Decipher.
When he woke up on the grassland, he had realized that he was in a dream.
Then he discovered ‘peculiarities’… Perhaps the peculiarities of Jingzhe were the thick cumulonimbus clouds.
The Dream Decipher of Jingzhe was quite simple.
Not long after he woke up, it rained on the grassland. He sat down according to his heart and immediately comprehended the breathing technique of this grassland that was in harmony with the rain. Just like that, he completed the Dream Decipher.
“The three sealed objects we brought are quite intense.” An assessment team member handed over a small bronze token solemnly. “This bronze token is called the Heart-Prying Token. If you can’t withstand a dream, we will forcibly remove you. The price is that you will suffer minor mental damage and need to recuperate for ten days to half a month.
“Of course, if you choose this method to exit the dream, your assessment will end.”
He paused and leaned back. “Do you understand?”
Gu Shen took the Heart-Prying Token.
He weighed it in his hand, feeling its texture. It looked bronze, but it seemed to have another mystery. It felt cool to the touch.
“Understood.” Gu Shen grasped the Heart-Prying Token and took a deep breath.
Senior Sister Luo said there are thousands of dream seal objects in the Adjudication Bureau. These sealed objects have different characteristics and are used to temper mental power. Some transcendents who perfectly control the rules of these dreams can use these sealed objects as their weapons.
If they’re sealed objects specially prepared for assessing me, will they be chosen from the sealed artifacts carried by the assessors to prevent ‘leaking the questions’?
He approached the table and looked at the three dream sealed objects.
The hourglass sat quietly on the table, its sand settled at the bottom of the glass, looking no different from an ordinary object. But after taking a few more glances, Gu Shen immediately felt an aura of withered decay and deathly stillness entangling his heart.
This is probably a dream sealed object related to ‘time’. Hmm, it’s very dangerous. Gu Shen looked at the Rubik’s Cube but couldn’t see anything unusual. It was a simple Rubik’s Cube.
It was impossible to estimate and evaluate.
Finally, he looked at the lantern.
The most conspicuous item on the table was the old lantern in front of the grand magistrate.
It was clearly ancient, like an object from centuries ago, but the center was burning with an exuberant flame, reflecting the painting drawn on the oil paper of the lantern. It had countless flames and ghosts painted around it. As the flame flickered, it breathed in and out, as though it were alive.
It looked like the hand-painted style of the Ying Sea District from a long time ago. He looked at the grand magistrate. Gu Shen had done his homework on the identities of all the members of the assessment team. Only this one was from the Ying Sea District. Perhaps this was his sealed object?
The grand magistrate was staring at him expressionlessly with his elbows propped up on the table.
“Make your choice quickly.” Tang Qingquan knocked on the table, urging. “There’s no difference between these three.”
“… Okay.”
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Shen stretched out a hand and touched the Rubik’s Cube.
After observing it for a while, he found that the Rubik’s Cube seemed to be the gentlest and most harmless sealed object.
Gu Shen held the Rubik’s Cube in front of him according to the assessment team’s instructions.
He waited for a second, but nothing happened.
The next second, Gu Shen realized that he had made a huge mistake…
Crack!
An explosion sounded!
Something seemed to have cracked in his mind, and his entire soul seemed to have been struck by lightning!
Agonizing pain coursed through him.
Gu Shen looked down in astonishment.
The restored Rubik’s Cube rotated rapidly in his palm, scrambling itself with crackling and popping noises.
It was because his mental power was too weak.
Gu Shen struggled hard against the mental pull of the Rubik’s Cube.
He tried his best to see the final movements of the Rubik’s Cube.
A few seconds later…
Click.
When the Rubik’s Cube stopped, the Gu Shen in reality was already frozen like a stone statue.
A breeze blew in.
The bright sunlight shone into the classroom with the wind and landed on the faces of each member of the assessment team behind the long table.
The moment the grand magistrate spoke…
Their expressions subtly changed.
“Tang Qingquan, this seems to be different from the original assessment process.” The chief justice of the Redwood District’s Penitentiary Bureau frowned. “The original rule is that he only needs to choose one item and complete the Dream Decipher to complete the assessment.”
“Yes,” the grand magistrate said calmly, “but this is Elder Zhao’s intention. Elder Zhao said that after completing the first sealed object’s Dream Decipher, we can consider ending the assessment in advance.”
The chief justice of the Redwood District was speechless.
“Elder Zhao?” The chief justice was silent for a moment before asking, “Elder Zhao gave this young man a pardon order. Why would he increase the difficulty of the assessment to this extent? These are nightmare-level dreams!”
Deciphering three nightmares in a row was very difficult for even transcendents who had officially joined the Adjudication Bureau and cultivated for a while!
Telling Gu Shen that he only needed to decipher one dream, as opposed to three consecutive dreams, was actually quite different.
In the former, he would exert all his efforts.
In the latter, he might try to preserve his strength.
However, preserving strength in nightmares was a foolish choice.
This young man gave the Redwood chief justice a good first impression, so he didn’t look too pleased. “This young man seems to have average aptitude, but he has a good eye. I saw him take a few more glances at the Cage of Ghosts and thought he would choose it. I didn’t expect him to choose the Blue Cube.”
Another big shot opened his mouth and tried to smooth things over. He smiled and asked, “Perhaps he discovered that the Blue Cube is actually simpler?”
How could there be anything simple about three nightmares?
It was just the difficulty of the Cage of Ghosts…
If the young man had chosen it from the beginning, the assessment would have probably ended.
“… I’m already prepared to enter the dream and take him out.” The Redwood chief justice sighed softly. “The dream of the Blue Cube is very tormenting. If he can’t withstand it, it might be a good choice to give up early.”