Chapter 293: The Rabbit and the White Bear

As the little boy spoke, an hourglass, a piece of parchment, and a charcoal pencil suddenly appeared beside Chen Yan and the others.

The hourglass was filled with red light.

These were Dao-Slaying Points.

"The Dao-Slaying Points before you are worth fifteen million.

After I pose the question, everyone will begin writing the answer on the paper, and the hourglass will start timing.

Once everyone has answered correctly, however many points remain in the upper glass bulb, that is how many points you will receive."

Joy appeared on everyone's faces.

Fifteen million points could allow a Dao-Slaying Bamboo to grow its fifth segment.

It could be exchanged for Morning Star-grade precious medicine or Azure Vault-grade martial arts!

As the boy spoke, a hint of difficulty appeared in his eyes as he said:

"Of course, this stage has a penalty for the candidate lords who cannot answer.

Xue Qi will randomly select two people and then obtain your skin."

As his voice fell, everyone's expressions turned stern.

A candidate asked with a trembling voice:

"What does it mean to obtain our skin?"

"Literal meaning," the boy said, a hint of reluctance appearing in his eyes:

"It is starting immediately. Everyone is not allowed to whisper, not allowed to pass information, otherwise..."

He pointed to the pitch-black giant hand above.

Everyone was solemn.

The little boy began:

"Once upon a time, a white bear liked to eat rabbits, and the number of rabbits grew fewer and fewer.

They were extremely miserable, knowing they were the white bear's feed, but they could not change their fate."

Everyone listened quietly.

"One day, a rabbit saw that the white bear liked to eat honey.

So it came up with a method.

In the end, the rabbit village chief killed that rabbit; may I ask what story happened in between?"

The little boy finished speaking.

At the round table, everyone was momentarily plunged into confusion.

This was the first stage?

Yet at this very moment.

Swish, swish, swish...

Before everyone, the Dao-Slaying Points inside each hourglass began to flow from the upper glass bulb into the lower glass bulb.

The timing had begun!

Chen Yan's eyes flashed; his brain raced as he recalled the information he had obtained from the Gatekeeper when he first entered the Dao-Slaying Forest.

Following that, he picked up the pencil directly, began to think, and prepared to write on the parchment.

He glanced around; Ma Tianyin and Lü Guiwen had also begun to write their answers.

But Chen Yan could not see the words they were writing on the paper.

Ma Tianyin gave Chen Yan a sinister look, filled with mockery.

When he entered the Dao-Slaying Forest village, he had looked at the murals on the wooden house and specifically asked the Gatekeeper what those murals represented.

Many people would overlook these details.

But he had not.

He felt very fortunate.

At the same time, Chen Yan also began to write:

【The rabbit who discovered the white bear loved honey began to lead everyone to search for honey.

In the end, everyone found a lot of honey and offered the honey to the white bear.

But after the white bear ate the honey, it still began to eat the rabbits.

Rabbit with honey.

It was even more fragrant.】

Just as Chen Yan was writing, Ma Tianyin handed in his parchment next to him.

"Number forty-six, answer incorrect," the little boy said:

"Please continue to answer."

The smile on Ma Tianyin's face froze instantly.

He spoke in disbelief:

"How could it be wrong?"

The boy shook his head:

"It is indeed wrong. Please do not continue speaking, otherwise..."

He pointed to the pitch-black giant hand above his head.

Ma Tianyin gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and began to rack his brains.

At this moment, Chen Yan also raised his parchment.

"Number forty-seven, incorrect," the little boy replied, then looked at the others:

"Number eighteen, incorrect.

Number thirty-five, incorrect."

Everyone's expression changed.

At this moment, inside the hourglass, in the glass bottle above, one-tenth of the Dao-Slaying Points had already drained away.

"Damn it!"

Someone cursed under their breath.

Sweat began to bead on some people's foreheads.

Some who were originally confident also became anxious after their first incorrect answer.

They were all quick-witted and very meticulous people.

Having learned the initial version of the story about the white bear and the rabbit from the Gatekeeper, they all felt certain.

But now...

"I don't believe it!"

Someone let out a low shout, a cyan grain of rice appeared in their hand, and they crushed it between two fingers.

Crack!

The Enlightenment Seed turned into a streak of cyan light and flowed into them through their ears, nose, and throat.

In an instant, that person's eyes widened, and two streams of nosebleed flowed out.

Seeing this, others also gritted their teeth.

They took out a white grain of rice and crushed it.

The Time Seed burst into a time barrier, granting them extra time to think.

Chen Yan furrowed his brows; he looked at his answer and fell into deep thought.

In his mind, the scenes he had seen today surfaced.

Suddenly, his gaze flashed.

The point of this question was not the method by which the rabbit handled the honey.

It was...

What the rabbit and the white bear actually represented.

More importantly, what did the honey represent?

Chen Yan widened his eyes.

He had figured out some problems.

But, a trace of chill surfaced in his heart.

In the first story, the rabbit saw the white bear mother's soul leave her body and realized that it, too, could have its soul leave its body.

This way, even if it were eaten by the white bear, its soul would not perish, and it would not truly die.

And this village—the people in the village before were all Thought Masters; when a Thought Master's soul left the body, the physical body died, but the soul did not.

Chen Yu's master, Ji Yannan, was just like this.

So, the rabbit represented the villagers, and the white bear represented the Ancient Beast...

No, the white bear represented the Ancient God Beast.

That Fei Yi in the Dream Abyss.

The villagers wanted to escape the erosion of the Ancient God Beast, so they became Thought Masters, and their souls could leave their bodies.

But having become Thought Masters, they discovered in despair.

The Ancient God Beast could still devour souls.

But...

Why did the rabbit village chief want to kill that rabbit who discovered the honey?

What did the honey represent?

And who was the white bear mother?

As Chen Yan thought, his mind trembled, and his eyes widened.

A word suddenly flashed through his mind.

Afterward, he shook his head.

Chen Yan did not want to continue thinking about it.

He was somewhat incredulous.

This was just a College Entrance Examination Secret Realm; why would such significant information be placed here?

His breathing became rapid, and he began to write:

【The rabbit that discovered the white bear loved honey suggested that the white bear must have become so powerful because it ate honey.

So they began to search for honey.

After eating the honey, their bodies began to grow strong and incredibly robust.

Afterward, they found the white bear.

But their confidence turned into a joke under the white bear's disdainful gaze.

The white bear grabbed a robust-bodied rabbit, stuffed it into its mouth, and chewed, saying:

"You have become even more fragrant."】

Chen Yan finished writing.

Beside him, Ma Tianyin was already erupting with white light; clearly, he had already used a Time Seed.

As for Lü Guiwen, he was furrowing his brows, writing and drawing in his hand, still deep in thought.

"Number forty-seven, the answer is correct."

The little boy's voice rang out.

The hourglass in front of Chen Yan suddenly stalled, with two-thirds of the Dao-Slaying Seeds still remaining in the glass bottle above.

Nearly ten million Dao-Slaying Points.

The next instant, the hourglass shattered, and the Dao-Slaying Points within surged toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan took out one Dao-Slaying Seed; soon, the red light nourished the Dao-Slaying Seed, and it grew segment by segment, sprouting five bamboo nodes.

It could be exchanged for a Morning Star-grade D-tier precious medicine.

Chen Yan did not exchange it immediately, instead looking at the boy:

"How much time until the next round of the assessment?"

"There is only the final round left tonight; there are two hours until the next round begins," the little boy said.

"Is there any place to cultivate?"

Chen Yan swept his gaze toward the edge of the wooden house.

There was clearly an entrance to a basement there.

"You can go to the basement."

The little boy said.

"Good."

Chen Yan stood up directly.

He left under everyone's gaze.

Ma Tianyin's face was taut, and sweat dripped from his forehead.

Although among those who could not answer, only two people would be randomly selected to have their skin torn off.

But he certainly did not want to be one of the people who could not answer.

What angered him even more was that Chen Yan had actually answered correctly, and he was incomparably furious.

Around the entire round table, the others were also looking at Chen Yan with a mix of envy and shock.

Many of them were soaked in sweat, yet Chen Yan had passed the assessment so easily.

It was exactly like during an exam, where you clearly didn't know a single question, but the top student in the class handed in their paper after less than a few minutes.

And then, the teacher graded it and said they scored a hundred.

They were each breathing rapidly, gritting their teeth, and cursing wildly in their hearts.

What on earth did that damn rabbit do to the honey?

Chen Yan walked into the basement.

A fishy, foul smell wafted through the dim basement, and the first thing that came into view was a long corridor.

Rows of wooden doors were embedded in the walls on both sides.

Chen Yan opened a wooden door and walked inside.

The room was very small, with only a pile of dry grass spread inside.

After confirming no one was nearby, Chen Yan took out a Time Seed and crushed it.

Subsequently, he exchanged that Dao-Slaying Bamboo for a Morning Star-grade D-tier blood-Qi precious medicine.

He began to forge his Golden Body!

As time slowly passed, the forging degree of Chen Yan's Golden Body grew higher and higher.

The feeling of power became increasingly intense.

In the end, the forging degree of Chen Yan's Golden Body reached thirty percent.

The 【Blood】 character Saint-Breaking Fruit had also only grown twelve pieces.

After all, it was only a Morning Star-grade D-tier blood-Qi precious medicine, and among the D-tier, it probably wasn't of very high quality.

However, the feeling of power remained real and tangible.

Since entering the College Entrance Exam Secret Realm, the forging degree of Chen Yan's Golden Body had increased by nearly two times.

Based on his current strength in the path of blood-Qi, he could kill Ma Tianyin in an extremely short amount of time.

If he unleashed his full strength, he wouldn't fear Lü Guiwen either.

Moreover, Ma Tianyin was now severely injured, and it was unknown if he could even exert half of his strength.

There were nearly forty hours of time left on this Time Seed, and Chen Yan did not intend to waste it.

His strength was indeed increasing quickly.

But it was also unstable.

This was the true hidden problem Chen Yan had faced over the past few months.

Previously, there was no time to consider it, but now it was different.

Chen Yan still had forty-six Time Seeds, six Enlightenment Seeds, and twenty-seven Dao-Slaying Seeds.

He was the person with the most basic resources in the entire College Entrance Exam Secret Realm.

This was the most abundant capital; one College Entrance Exam Secret Realm was enough for Chen Yan to take flight completely.

Just at this moment.

"Ahhh...!"

A shrill, extreme scream rang out.

Because of the time barrier, this scream lasted for a full two minutes in Chen Yan's ears.

Immediately following, several more long, drawn-out screams rang out.

It must have been two examinees who failed to answer, being skinned alive.

However, skinning can cause an ordinary person to die, but it will not cause a martial artist to die.

These two examinees could completely press the forfeit button and then leave the high-stakes entrance exam secret realm.