Chapter 155: Is Su Mu a Gold Expert?

"Have you seen the Sea God?" Mu Qing suddenly asked, breaking her long silence. Her voice was crisp, carrying a slight, childlike lilt that clashed with the serious frown on her face.

Hu Jie shook his head. "It's laughable, really. I've been here for ten years and haven't seen the Sea God once. I've dived to the seafloor countless times, hoping that if I just dealt with the Sea God, I could pull this problem out by the root. But I failed. The Sea God isn't some creature. He is the ocean itself!

"Wherever the ocean is, His power reaches! I might be a Silver Rank 1 transcendent, but I couldn't possibly kill the ocean. And it's not just me—even a legendary Gold expert would be useless here.

"That's why I said there's no going back. Anyone who sets foot on this island can never return."

Mu Qing frowned deeply and fell into silence. No one knew what she was thinking.

Yang Dongqing was losing his grip. "I don't believe you. This is just your side of the story!"

"The King is telling the truth," a man's voice rang out from outside the door. A fat man strolled in, his nose twitching and his eyes lighting up at the spread of food on the table.

"Old Hu, you're really not playing fair. You always break out the good stuff to entertain the new nightmare apostles, leaving us old friends to eat your leftovers."

The fat man seemed very familiar with the King. He invited himself to an empty seat close to Mu Qing, sat down, and dug right into the meal. As he ate, his small, lecherous eyes kept stealing glances at her slender legs exposed beneath her short skirt.

Mu Qing cast an expressionless glance at the fat man and casually draped a pristine white napkin from the table over her lap.

"Who are you?" Yang Dongqing asked.

"I'm the Minister of Finance for the Sea Kingdom, Pang Yang. I've been here for five years. Little brother, when I first arrived, I felt the exact same way you do. I looked at Old Hu's treacherous face and figured he couldn't be a good guy. He was spouting total nonsense, so I thought he definitely had some conspiracy going and was trying to trick me.

"But after waiting a year, guess what? We really couldn't fucking go back!" Pang Yang tore into a bright red lobster. He didn't even spare the innards in the head, sucking it clean in one loud gulp.

He glanced up at the absolute disbelief on Yang Dongqing's face and smiled. "Still don't buy it? Little brother, don't be so paranoid. Think about it. If Old Hu were lying, why would he tell a lie that could be exposed so easily?

"If you still don't believe it, just wait a year or so. You'll find out for yourself."

Yang Dongqing looked as if he had taken a heavy blow. "Jasmine... No, I don't believe it. There has to be a way back. Su Mu! Su Mu! Say something!"

At a total loss, the first person he turned to was Su Mu. Su Mu was leisurely eating his lobster. Feeling Yang Dongqing's desperate gaze, he remarked mildly, "Mm, this lobster is pretty good."

"Who asked you about the lobster? I'm asking if we can actually go back! Jasmine is still waiting for me! Aren't you supposed to be smart? Tell me, are those two telling the truth?"

Yang Dongqing was on the verge of a breakdown. He desperately wanted Su Mu to give him the answer he needed to hear.

However, Su Mu merely replied, "I don't think Mr.

"Have you seen the Sea God?" Mu Qing, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly asked. Her voice was crisp, with a slightly childlike pitch that created a faint sense of dissonance against her serious, frowning expression.

Hu Jie shook his head. "It's laughable, really. I've been here for ten years and haven't seen the Sea God a single time. I've dived deep into the sea countless times, fantasizing that if I just dealt with the Sea God, I could solve the problem at its root. But I failed, because the Sea God isn't a creature at all. He is the ocean itself!

"Wherever the ocean is, His power reaches! I am a Silver Rank 1 transcendent, but even I couldn't possibly kill the ocean. Let alone me, even a legendary Gold expert would be powerless.

"That's why I said we can't go back. Anyone who sets foot on this island can never return."

Mu Qing frowned deeply and fell into silence. No one knew what she was thinking.

Yang Dongqing was starting to crack. "I don't believe it. That's just your side of the story!"

"The King is telling the truth," a male voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. A fat man walked in, his nose twitching, his eyes lighting up at the delicacies on the table.

"Old Hu, you're really not playing fair. You always bring out the good stuff to entertain the new nightmare apostles, leaving us old friends to eat leftovers."

The fat man seemed very familiar with the King. Upon entering, he casually took a seat quite close to Mu Qing and started eating the food on the table. His small, lecherous eyes stole occasional glances at her slender legs, exposed beneath her short skirt.

Mu Qing cast an expressionless glance at the fat man and casually draped a pristine white napkin from the table over her legs.

"Who are you?" Yang Dongqing asked.

"I'm the Minister of Finance of the Sea Kingdom, Pang Yang. I've been here for five years. Little brother, when I first arrived, I thought exactly like you. I thought Old Hu looked treacherous, didn't seem like a good person, and spouted total nonsense. I figured he definitely had some conspiracy and was trying to trick me.

"But after waiting a year, guess what? We really couldn't fucking go back!" Pang Yang devoured the bright red lobster, not even sparing the innards in the head, sucking it clean in one gulp.

He glanced up at Yang Dongqing's utterly disbelieving face and smiled. "Still don't believe it? Little brother, don't be so paranoid. Think about it. If Old Hu were lying, why would he tell a lie that could be so easily exposed?

"If you still don't believe it, just wait a year or so and you'll find out."

Yang Dongqing looked as if he had suffered a heavy blow. "Jasmine... No, I don't believe it. There has to be a way back. Su Mu! Su Mu! Say something!"

At a total loss, the first person he thought of was Su Mu. Su Mu was currently eating lobster at a leisurely pace. Feeling Yang Dongqing's gaze, he said mildly, "Mm, this lobster is pretty good."

"Who asked you about the lobster? I'm asking if we can actually go back! Jasmine is still waiting for me! Aren't you supposed to be smart? Tell me, are those two telling the truth?"

Yang Dongqing was on the verge of a breakdown, desperately hoping to hear the answer he wanted from Su Mu's mouth.

However, Su Mu's reply was, "I don't think Mr. Hu is the type to deceive people."

Thump!

Pale-faced, Yang Dongqing slumped heavily into his chair.

Unexpectedly, Su Mu shifted gears. "But it's not entirely impossible to get out."

At those words, Yang Dongqing shot to his feet, staring fixedly at Su Mu with eyes full of expectation.

He wasn't the only one; everyone else in the room also stopped what they were doing, their gazes locking onto Su Mu.

"What way?" Yang Dongqing's voice carried a slight tremble.

Su Mu set down a clean lobster shell, swept his gaze over the crowd, and smiled. "It's simple. Since this Nightmare is affected by the Sea God's power, wouldn't just leaving this dreamscape do the trick?"

"No! What are you talking about? If what Hu Jie said is true, then this place has already been affected by the Sea God, making it impossible to leave."

"He's not talking about leaving here and returning to reality, but... the Black Fog!" Mu Qing's crisp voice rang out. She looked at Su Mu, her gaze burning.

Su Mu wiped his hands with a napkin and offered a word of praise. "It seems there is a smart person among us."

His remark caused everyone present to frown, but no one lashed out. Instead, they waited for Su Mu to continue.

"Miss Mu guessed correctly. The method I'm talking about is heading into the Black Fog. This place is influenced by the Sea God's power, but the world within the Black Fog is not. This means that entering the Black Fog will let you escape the Sea God's influence."

"Tch." A scarred man let out a sound of disdain. "I thought you had some brilliant insight. Who doesn't know the Black Fog is extremely dangerous? No one knows what's actually inside it. Legend has it that even Gold experts can't return alive after going in. You call that a solution? That's clearly just throwing your life away."

Su Mu smiled slightly. "There are other Nightmares inside it."

The scarred man grew even more contemptuous. "How do you know? Have you been there?"

"Naturally, I have."

The moment he said that, the entire room fell slightly silent. Many of the nightmare apostles present were stunned, looking at Su Mu in disbelief.

Everyone knew how dangerous the Black Fog was; even Gold experts didn't dare to enter it. Yet Su Mu claimed he had been there? How was that possible?!

"Anyone can brag! You expect us to believe you've been there just because you say so? How can you prove it?"

Su Mu pushed up his Tinted Glasses, which concealed a crystalline blue light. He smiled. "With your level of strength, I'm afraid you aren't worthy of me proving it to you."

"What did you say?!" The scarred man flew into a rage. He immediately pulled out a handgun loaded with Mithril Bullets and aimed it dead at Su Mu. "Say that again if you have the guts! Believe it or not, I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Nightmare apostles were a group of people who hovered on the line between life and death; one could hardly expect them to have good tempers.

A crystalline blue light flashed in Su Mu's eyes, and he said calmly, "Before you pull the trigger, you'd best confirm what exactly you're holding."

The scarred man froze and subconsciously glanced at the gun in his hand. Instantly, he was terrified out of his wits. How was that a handgun? It was clearly a red-and-black venomous snake, flicking its tongue!

The venomous snake bared its fangs and viciously bit down on his hand.

"Ah!" he cried out in alarm, violently flinging the venomous snake away.

Clatter!

The handgun hit the hard floor with a heavy thud.

"This..." The scarred man's face turned green, then white. "You tricked me!"

"Enough!" Pang Yang, the Minister of Finance who had been eating, suddenly let out a low shout. "He's telling the truth. I possess a Bronze Law called [Discern Truth from Lies], which can distinguish between truth and falsehood. I can prove that Mr. Su is telling the truth. He really has been into the Black Fog."

The scarred man, who was just about to pick up his handgun, suddenly turned pale. His face was filled with disbelief. He had long heard of the Bronze Law [Discern Truth from Lies], and it indeed could distinguish lies. But if what Su Mu said was true, didn't that mean the other party's strength was at least comparable to a Gold expert?!