Chapter 703: What Is Time Trying to Express?

Cheng Shi had lied.

Everything he'd said about the trial was true. But the entanglements between himself and the Torchbearers had all been blurred into lies.

He was deliberately protecting himself — which, incidentally, also protected the Torchbearers.

However, since his analysis cut straight to the heart of the matter, nobody pressed him for details on what he and Qin Xin had actually done to Wu Cun.

Everyone began reviewing today's events. Before long, their experiences aligned perfectly with Cheng Shi's theory.

The Fate Weaver had it exactly right: whenever someone vanished from their teammates' sight at the hour mark, abnormalities followed.

So in this trial, the cause of the discrepancies wasn't some twisted temporal field or residual divine energy — it was... the players' line of sight?!

As long as a teammate couldn't see you, Time would eject you from your timeline?

This had been a trap targeting lone wolves all along?

Li Wufang frowned slightly, puzzled:

"While this all fits the reasoning, it doesn't quite fit the logic.

You have to understand — the trials They bestow always carry layers of meaning. They're also expressions of something to us players. Whether or not we comprehend it, that expression is always there.

Time typically showcases the mystery and wonder of time itself. He isn't Deceit — He wouldn't deliberately toy with players. So in this incredibly elusive temporal entanglement, what is He trying to express?"

Express what?

Cheng Shi snorted softly. His peripheral vision caught Qin Xin's sidelong glance, and the two exchanged a knowing smile.

He didn't know what Time was expressing. But he knew what he'd gained from this trial.

He'd learned the true identity of the Torchbearers' founder. He'd discovered who the real Grand Marshal was. He'd glimpsed the terrifying truth hidden within parallel timelines. He believed he'd guessed part of the reason the gods formed the Convention. He'd deepened his resolve to keep living. And he'd even expanded the Destined Ones along the way.

Even if this trial scored him nothing, the clown felt the trip had been more than worthwhile.

Of course, losing points was unacceptable.

Also — he needed to get home first.

In truth, Cheng Shi did have some ideas about the discrepancy rule he'd just deduced. He'd thought of a few things.

Time had once said "time proves everything." But Deceit had countered: "the one providing the answer isn't Time." Cheng Shi had been pondering these two statements daily. Only today — after experiencing all these discrepancies — did an inkling of understanding emerge.

If the answer wasn't given by Time, yet Time had proven something — did that mean Time's enlightenment was embedded within the path to the answer?

And could that enlightenment be: "seeing is not necessarily believing, and unseen is not necessarily unreal"?

He could see his teammate, yet that person wasn't truly his "teammate." And the cause of the change happened where he couldn't look.

If he couldn't see it, did the change count as Existence?

It was like countless parallel worlds marching forward in lockstep. A being in one world might live its entire life never realizing that countless other worlds — and countless "identical versions of itself" — existed underneath the cosmos. It believed they didn't exist. But did they really not?

No — they had always Existed.

Mortals look up to gods but cannot reach them. Gods look down on mortals as ants.

This was the truth Cheng Shi had grasped after a day of exhausting pursuit. But he didn't dare breathe a word of it to anyone.

The clown had gotten smarter. He was afraid some god would overhear his sentiments and drag him off for another lecture. If it were any other god, that was manageable. But if it were Time...

He couldn't handle that.

Or if it were Deceit...

He'd be sarcasticked to death.

The clown could already picture his Benefactor's mocking face: 'Oh, the Chosen of Time has arrived?'

So Cheng Shi simply stopped talking. He focused solely on the trial itself — no more borrowing trouble.

'All I want right now is to go home. No one — no one — is stopping me.'

"Everyone — even if this theory is airtight, for safety's sake, we need one more verification.

The next hour mark is almost here. The Doctor's still on the mountain. If I'm right and we waste more time down here, the Doctor is about to change.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if he doesn't become the apathetic Doctor that Chosen One described. But nobody likes letting a duck already in hand fly away. So... shall we head back to the mine first, then figure out how to search for our respective worlds?"

Everyone exchanged looks and nodded silently.

Cheng Shi's proposal was undeniably the best strategy at present. Now that everyone knew how to crack the puzzle, solving it would accelerate rapidly. The priority was no longer the remaining six days of the trial — it was securing the Folly experiment and the Divinity within the Abyss Colorful Crystal.

Those were valuable assets no one could afford to ignore.

So the group hurried back uphill, racing against time. Before the hour mark struck, they had to ensure the Doctor was in everyone's sight.

Before long, all four players stormed back to the warehouse. Seeing the Doctor absorbed in monitoring the experiment, Li Wufang exhaled with relief:

"See? I told you I wouldn't misjudge. The Doctor's fine."

He raised his watch. The hour mark was ten seconds away. And now Cheng Shi's countdown rang in everyone's ears.

"Keep your eyes on each other. This is no time to be verifying discrepancies — just make sure everyone stays at least in your peripheral vision. Otherwise, we'll be meeting new teammates again.

Ready — the hour mark is coming!

5, 4, 3, 2—"

BOOM—

The expected "1" never came. Instead — an explosion!

One second before the hour mark, a massive smoke bomb detonated at their feet, engulfing everyone in blinding, opaque fog.

Everyone reeled in shock — but it was already too late. The very next second, the discrepancy struck. And at that same instant, Cheng Shi — who'd already used a die to teleport beside the Doctor — stood motionless, staring at Wang Mou's face with a playful smile curling his lips.

'Sorry, everyone. Not one of you shares my timeline. So if fate allows it, let's meet again some other day.

Since discrepancies keep happening, and His hint includes only "past, present, and future" — then if I keep creating discrepancies, isn't it possible to cycle the lost teammates back from other timelines?

It's not impossible. At least the discrepancies can't endlessly introduce new timelines — because that would make the trial unsolvable.

After all, no matter how difficult a trial gets, no matter how "petty" the gods who designed it — there must always be an answer. The difficulty varies, sure — some trials are nigh-impossible.

So I'm curious whether my theory is correct. I need to test it urgently, but I can't be the one who changes. So I can only trouble you all to bear a little inconvenience.

I'll be grateful that you completed this final verification for me. As for compensation... the answer to this trial. I've already given it.

Except for the Doctor — whoever you become, I can accept it. Of course, if my Destined Ones and Torchbearers actually cycle back... that would be a god-tier opening and a royal-flush finish.

Time set a trap for me. I jumped out of it and spat into the hole.

Don't blame me for lacking manners. This isn't a manners issue — it's a faith issue.

I'm a follower of Destiny. Time was made to be spat on. What's wrong with that?'