Chapter 255: Is King Chi Participating Too?

"The winner is Su Mu! Next group, get ready," the examiner announced.

Su Mu leaned on his Cane and calmly stepped down from the arena. Wherever he passed, the audience hastily backed away, clearing a path for him.

They watched him with deep wariness.

Although they couldn't see the illusions Yan Wu had experienced, they had heard the conversation between the two clearly and could guess what had happened.

Yan Wu had gone mad one moment and hurled curses the next, finally dropping to his knees to kowtow. His opponent, Su Mu, had simply stood to the side with a smile—an elegant gentleman quietly watching him lose his mind.

The stark contrast between the two made everyone present shudder.

No one wanted to experience the feeling of being so effortlessly toyed with.

"Yan Wu, get down here!" the examiner barked at the dazed man on the stage.

Yan Wu opened his mouth to respond but ultimately didn't dare speak. Looking as though he had suffered a massive fright, he carefully made his way down from the arena. He stopped every three steps, navigating the floor as if it were a minefield.

Mainly, he was terrified. He was terrified that he was still trapped in the Illusion Technique, that everything he saw and heard was fake. He might look like he was walking off the arena now, but in reality, he could be stepping onto the examiner's table.

"Hey, it's fine now. Everything you're seeing is real," a nightmare apostle eager to stir up trouble teased him with a mocking grin.

Yan Wu gave him a long look but didn't answer. He just stood there like a wooden post, completely motionless.

His reasoning was simple: as long as he didn't move inside the Illusion Technique, he couldn't make a mistake.

Watching Yan Wu's reaction, an imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of Su Mu's mouth. Thousand Illusions of Fleeting Life was truly powerful. A Silver 1 couldn't resist his Illusion Technique at all, nor could they even detect when it began or ended.

It reached the point where the victim completely confused the Illusion Technique with reality, unable to distinguish true from false.

If a person remained in a state of confusing reality and illusion for too long, they wouldn't be far from insanity. The reason mentally ill people exhibited bizarre behavior was simply that the world they saw was entirely different from what normal people saw.

The tournament continued. Although quite a few powerful Silver Laws and splendid battles emerged, the spectators, including the examiner, no longer had the same enthusiasm as before. It was like eating a piece of candy before a watermelon; the watermelon just didn't taste sweet anymore.

By the time night fell, this tournament among Silver 1 participants came to a close. Nearly half the competitors were eliminated. Those who managed to stay were, without exception, either vastly experienced in combat or possessed special abilities.

It was worth mentioning that Yan Wu, the most miserable participant in the entire venue, also stayed—primarily because his record of entering the Nightmare World ten times earned him significant points.

As for Su Mu, his placement went without saying. Although he had only been to the Nightmare World three times, his eerie Illusion Technique—capable of instantly defeating someone of the same rank with a single glance—successfully secured his qualification.

As the crowd dispersed, the examiner explained the final test for the next day.

"Everyone, tomorrow's test won't result in any eliminations, but your lives may be at risk. Those who wish to quit can leave now."

Faced with the examiner's cold words, not a single person chose to leave. As nightmare apostles who constantly struggled on the brink of death, they didn't fear danger. As long as the rewards were rich enough, anyone would dare to take the risk.

Clearly, the Empire offering a noble title as a reward this time had thoroughly stoked everyone's desires.

There were only two kinds of people in the Chiyan Empire: nobles, and commoners who hated that they weren't nobles.

"Very well. It seems no one is giving up. Tomorrow's test will primarily evaluate your ability to survive in the Nightmare World. The Empire has gathered several nightmare monsters that invaded reality and dropped them into a designated zone. Your mission is to enter that area and survive.

"In addition, this test will determine your subsequent group assignments, so I hope everyone performs well.

"Alright, you may all go back and rest now."

With the examiner's departure, everyone returned to their rooms to rest and recharge for tomorrow's final test.

Su Mu, however, slipped away using his dream teleportation just like yesterday. Only this time, he didn't wander around the General Law Enforcement Bureau; instead, he headed for the Chiyan Imperial Palace.

Yesterday, he had hypnotized most of the clerical staff and low-level transcendents. Ensuring that there were one or two of his people in every department was enough. There was no need to turn everyone into an underling; it was time-consuming, laborious, and the effort simply didn't match the reward.

By going to the Imperial Palace this time, he planned to learn more about the Dragon Seeking Plan and see if he could find the False Supreme Heaven while he was at it.

Even if a fake wasn't as good as the real thing, it was still a Supreme Heaven. It also possessed the power to grant wishes, making its value second only to a Royal Power Artifact.

Within the Chiyan Imperial Palace, Su Mu easily navigated his way to the hall where King Chi resided. Before he even entered, he could hear King Chi kicking up a loud fuss inside.

"This King doesn't care! This King must participate in this Dragon Seeking Plan!" Sitting on the throne, King Chi shouted indistinctly while stuffing potato chips into her mouth.

"Your Majesty, why must you do this personally? The Empire has countless capable individuals; they are more than up to the task," an old man's helpless voice rang out.

Through his previous investigation, Su Mu had already learned the old man's identity. His name was Dongfang Yuan, the head of the Dongfang Family, the foremost noble house in the Chiyan Empire.

"Hehe... You old fogey, your disagreement is useless. To tell you the truth, This King has already used that Blood Covenant Puppet, so no one else can use it anymore."

King Chi smiled smugly and clapped her small hands. A young woman immediately walked out from a side room. She appeared to be about sixteen, with bright eyes and a radiant smile, giving off the charming aura of a pretty girl from a humble family.

If one looked closely, they would realize that her features bore a thirty-percent resemblance to King Chi.

It was precisely this thirty-percent resemblance that made her stunningly beautiful.

However, the only flaw was that her eyes were unusually hollow, as if she possessed no soul.

"Your Majesty, you... Sigh!" Dongfang Yuan let out a heavy sigh. "Your Majesty, could you please notify this old minister in advance before you take action next time?"

"Hmph!" King Chi pouted and scoffed. "Notify you? Would you still let This King send a clone? This King just doesn't understand. Someone has to use the Blood Covenant Puppet to make a clone and join the Dragon Seeking Plan anyway, so why can't it be This King?

"Sending a clone poses no danger. Besides, you were the ones who said we couldn't fully trust the nightmare apostles and needed our own people on the team.

"Is there anyone more reliable in the entire Chiyan Empire than This King? Are you saying This King wouldn't do her absolute best to find her own father?"

Dongfang Yuan and Gongsun Quan exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. They both knew perfectly well that the most unreliable person in the entire Chiyan Empire was King Chi herself!

Aside from having the strength and aura of a ruler, absolutely nothing else about King Chi resembled a king. Take the simplest example: what kind of proper king would hide potato chips under her skirt and sneak bites of them while holding court?