Chapter 856: My Path

How should I describe the past five years I've spent?

First, I left my original room and woke up in an empty one. There, three Shengxiao stood before me: Hu, Tu, and She.

Their games were ridiculously simple for me, like playing a game of dropping a handkerchief. The only slightly challenging one was the Hu-type slaughter game, but I had no opponents to fight.

So, I got a bye and was directly considered a slaughter survivor.

Next, I just needed to crack a Tu-type escape code lock and answer a few questions on ancient Chinese knowledge posed by She to safely walk out of the room.

Once I cleared that game, I could keep clearing it every time, so the Mianshi Fangjian could no longer hold me back.

I arrived at a lonely building in Zhongyan Zhidi. The moment I opened my eyes, a girl with long hair down to her waist and dressed all in black walked past me.

She glanced at me, and I gave her a symbolic look in return, but neither of us said a word before she hurried away.

I entered a long period of solitude again. I never saw any of them—Bai Yang, Mian Yang, or Zhang Qiang—but this time, the solitude was different from before.

This time, the solitude had an "end".

I just needed to keep strengthening myself while waiting, until the day Bai Yang appeared, and then my solitude would be over.

So, YNA is real.

Do you know why I tattooed those three letters on the side of the third knuckle of my index finger?

It's because I can touch it with my thumb anytime.

Some things become true if you keep telling them to yourself.

Almost every day, I revisited the three challenges left by Bai Yang.

The first: to bring despair to people. The second: to stop everyone from collecting Dao. The third: to recruit trustworthy strong individuals.

Even though there are three challenges, Bai Yang insisted on calling it one, as if he was overestimating me.

No matter how I think about it, these three things all require dealing with people, and dealing with people is exactly what I'm worst at.

Is this some kind of "test"?

After pondering, I decided the only way was to tackle them one by one. But even breaking them down, each one is incredibly difficult and full of contradictions.

If I make people fall into despair, they're more likely to receive Hui Xiang, meaning they'll become strong individuals to varying degrees—they'll retain their memories and awaken extraordinary abilities. At that point, anyone would want to collect more Dao for that slim chance of escape.

If I then try to stop them from collecting Dao, I'll be up against not just ordinary participants, but Hui Xiang recipients.

Although I have Duo Xin Po to protect myself in critical moments, I can only "seize the heart", not "seize the soul". In a real fight, I could die at any time.

If Man Li and Duo Xin Po are both types of Hui Xiang, then theoretically, people here could get full enhancements to their bodies and minds, or even supernatural ones. Alone with just Duo Xin Po, I'm no match.

In summary, if I blindly push people into despair or block them from collecting Dao, I'll be in danger in no time.

Before long, I'd become notorious in Zhongyan Zhidi, and being hunted would be the least of it—I'd fail the third challenge of recruiting strong individuals.

So, how on earth can I solve these three problems?

I walked into the building behind me, found some abandoned paper and pen, and wrote down all three challenges.

Though my abilities are limited, I have many "weapons". If I choose the right ones, I can tackle even the toughest problems. Right now, I need to organize my thoughts and not rush.

This is the Jide Lin Fazhe—listing out the problems clearly solves half of them already.

I believe Bai Yang is someone similar to me. From his various conversations, I've been piecing together his thought process, just as he must have analyzed my personality through the "Lying Game" based on my stories.

So, this challenge might be tailored specifically for me.

In other words, Bai Yang knows I don't like dealing with people, yet he still gave me these three challenges. The first might be to train my ability to interact with others, while the second could be something I can accomplish without interacting at all.

Our identities—mine and Zhang Qiang's—must be important to him. He's willing to take risks to push us onto these paths, which means if we don't do what we're supposed to, it will affect him.

I'm not one to boast, but I know Zhang Qiang isn't as strong as I am, so when Bai Yang spoke, he subtly guided him toward the Shengxiao path. This included things like telling Zhang Qiang alone that "becoming a Shengxiao grants eternal Man Li". It's a complete, ongoing psychological suggestion, and with my well-timed hints, we basically steered Zhang Qiang onto that road together.

Of the two paths Bai Yang offered, Shengxiao is simpler than participant, so I believe it was intentional on his part.

After gauging my personality and assessing my abilities, he led me down the participant path and customized this challenge for me.

But it's really tough.

In the past ten days, I've participated in more games than ever and gotten up close with various participants. I admit some of them don't seem bad, but you never know what's in someone's heart, so I can't trust them.

Every time the game ends and the referee hands out the Dao to everyone, I find myself fantasizing about things I'd never considered before.

For example... should I use Duo Xin Po to control everyone and snatch the Dao to escape?

That way, they'd all mimic my actions and run in the opposite direction, meaning the plan is feasible—they couldn't catch me. But I'd face huge risks.

Snatching once or twice might keep me safe, but what about in the long run?

I don't have a solid solution, so if I can't do it, I'll switch to another goal.

What if I don't snatch them and instead choose to "destroy" the Dao?

After all, I don't need them; I'm just waiting for someone.

Holding Dao means worrying about others trying to steal it or risking my life.

So, I've got my first lead: to safely obstruct the participants, first, I need to find a way to destroy the Dao, and second, I have to stay hidden.