Chapter 1052: The Limit of Truth Is Hidden in

The Limit of Truth is hidden in......

Today, another large cup.

When Cheng Shi opened his eyes once more amid the ruins at the center of the city, all the threads had already linked together in his mind.

First, what could be confirmed was that the Great Scholars had also been deceived.

Their expressions, which changed drastically the moment Wei Zhi said he knew where the Limit of Truth lay, could not be faked, and the attacks they launched against Wei Zhi likewise showed they believed it was possible for Wei Zhi to know the location of the Limit of Truth.

And this meant that either Wei Zhi had deduced the location of the Limit of Truth through his own understanding of the 【Truth】 experiment, or that during this trial—or rather, experiment—he had come into contact with or approached the Limit of Truth, and from that had guessed the coordinates of the experiment's power source.

But the problem was that even Gallusha, whose status was nearly equal to that of a Great Scholar of the Scholarly Presidium, could not deduce the location of the Limit of Truth through her own knowledge of 【Truth】, so how could Wei Zhi possibly have figured it out?

Therefore, the most likely scenario was the latter—namely, that Wei Zhi had come into contact with or approached the Limit of Truth somewhere along his route during this trial!

With this logical foundation, Cheng Shi began to use the process of elimination.

After all, the players had split up not long after the start, and Wei Zhi had spent a long stretch of time alone outside; by all reason, no matter how one reasoned it out, his contact with the Limit of Truth should most likely have occurred during this stretch of time when no one could see him.

But there was always the chance of an exception, so Cheng Shi first found a way to rule out the stretch of time he had spent with Wei Zhi—this stretch included the self-introductions at the start and the subsequent parting of ways in front of Pelaia's laboratory.

As for the method Cheng Shi thought of, it was very simple:

Bluff!

As a swindler, he understood deception far better than Wei Zhi did, so he told the pursuing Great Scholars that he had already learned where the Limit of Truth lay.

If he had never approached or come into contact with the Limit of Truth, the Great Scholars would absolutely have scoffed at this claim, because they would be certain that Cheng Shi could never have discovered where the Limit of Truth was.

But what if... Cheng Shi had truly approached the Limit of Truth?

Then the Great Scholars would certainly have reacted to it; they would wonder whether Cheng Shi had truly guessed the location of the power source from some clue, and their reaction would be the key to Cheng Shi's verification.

Sure enough, after Cheng Shi's probe, the expressions of all the Great Scholars changed, and when he saw the look of startled suspicion on Wolente's face, Cheng Shi knew he had found his answer!

So it turned out he really had, without realizing it, come into contact with the Limit of Truth; as for where, the location was easy to guess—the places where his path overlapped with Wei Zhi's were only Tomorrow's Truth Gao Ta and Pelaia's laboratory.

Therefore, the Limit of Truth must be at one of these two locations!

Light flashed repeatedly in Cheng Shi's eyes; now he only needed to choose between two, and he didn't even need to choose, because the Great Scholars, who were unaffected by the time reset, would surely get to the place where the Limit of Truth existed before him to protect it!

He felt he only needed to wait, and he could follow the Great Scholars to find the answer to this experiment.

The jester's idea was good, but reality was far too gaunt.

Cheng Shi stood at the junction between the city center and the west of the city and waited a long while, yet the Great Scholars made no move; he calculated the time, reckoning that by now Gallusha should have already started the experiment, yet he still saw not a single Great Scholar on the surface of Tusnat, and his expression instantly fell.

He looked toward the direction of the experimental field in the west of the city, curled his lip, and said:

"Tch, a Great Scholar is indeed a Great Scholar—every one of them a master. It seems they guessed I was bluffing, and were watching to see whether I could really find the Limit of Truth.

But every human reaction points to a different answer; since you aren't afraid of me finding the Limit of Truth, that means the Limit of Truth is far from what I imagined.

Either it's hidden in some subtle place hard to discover, or it's plainly right before our eyes and we just can't guess it!

Gallusha once said the Limit of Truth is actually a small-scale 【Truth Orbit】, so does this small-scale 【Truth Orbit】 have functions similar to the 【Truth Orbit】?

For instance, reshaping itself into......"

Cheng Shi's brow rose; he decisively reset the time once more, and the instant he opened his eyes, he charged toward Tomorrow's Truth Gao Ta without looking back.

It should be there!

When Cheng Shi arrived beneath Tomorrow's Truth Gao Ta, Gallusha was still assaulting the base of the tower.

This mad sage glanced back at Cheng Shi, said nothing extra, merely gave a slight nod in greeting—her manner clearly showing she had not forgotten their cooperation before the time reset.

Seeing this, not a shred of the ease that needed no further elaboration of the situation rose in Cheng Shi's heart; instead, a sliver of worry welled up.

The effect of the Time Battlefield was growing weaker; he wasn't sure how many more chances he had left to spend, and if he reset a few more times and everyone stopped being lost in time, his head start would be entirely gone.

Cheng Shi's brow furrowed; he stated his guess to Gallusha in clear, concise terms, and ordered the surrounding Knights of the Doom Bell to spare no cost in fighting their way back into Tomorrow's Gao Ta.

Soon, amid Gallusha manic laughter, this tower—symbolizing the highest authority and prestige of Tusnat—fell, and Cheng Shi once again stood at the starting point of the trial, beside the round table of the Scholarly Presidium.

He looked at the two "clothed corpses" by the table, torn down to nothing but shredded flesh and bloodstains, then tossed out the Great Scholar's corpse he had stored in the Coffin of Molten Fire, and asked Gallusha:

"Is it possible that the Limit of Truth can change form, reconstruct itself, and transform itself into part of the experiment?

For instance, these Great Scholar corpses used to lay down a false trail!"

Gallusha froze for a moment; she picked up the Great Scholar's corpse and silently felt it, then, with a wonderfully expressive look, shot Cheng Shi a sidelong glance, her eyes filled with appreciation.

"Compared to the Wanderers, I think you're better suited to come with me and let the world bow to 【Folly】.

Mr. Prisoner, ever considered changing your faith?"

"Then it's true!?"

Cheng Shi paid no heed to this recruiting-style invitation; he had weathered too many invitations from different faiths and was numb to them; he only knew that if Gallusha wasn't lying, then the key to breaking this experiment had already been found!

"I did sense the breath of 【Truth】 flowing within the corpse; if one doesn't feel carefully, it's easy to misjudge it as the faith left behind by the Great Scholars after death.

Wolente is far more cunning than I imagined—he actually split the Limit of Truth apart and turned it into corpses; this way, even if I discovered this, no—rather, even if you all discovered this, you'd probably just treat it as a key clue and collect it, replacing the Scholarly Presidium as the guardians of this experiment.

After all, who would destroy these clues for tracing the Great Scholars?"

Indeed, this move was indeed cunning enough.

But no matter how cunning, it has been seen through by me!

A smile had just risen on Cheng Shi's face, but he immediately frowned and asked:

"So we need to gather all the corpses to restore the Limit of Truth?

But Wei Zhi has already gnawed on two corpses, so he......"

Halfway through, his expression changed again:

"Damn—he hasn't fused with the Limit of Truth and become the key to breaking the situation, has he?

No wonder we've all attacked Tomorrow's Truth and the old things still haven't made a move—they've probably already taken control of Wei Zhi!"

"Smart!" Gallusha stood atop the tower, one foot on the emblem of the Scholarly Presidium, gazing toward the west of the city, and said, "I'm truly starting to get curious about the Wanderers' world now. Tell me, why would the will of 【Truth】 pick on you few mortals?"

"......"

Cheng Shi had a rough guess about this, but he didn't dare say it here.

Although Galusha is merely a variable in this experiment, who knows what other tricks this 【Foolish】 Sage might have? If she learns the truth of the cosmos, God knows what chaos will follow.

In an era that is neither future nor past, it is better to leave some room for maneuver.

Cheng Shi stood beside Galusha, gazing toward the western city, pushing aside his distractions, his eyes firm:

"If He does not wish me to win, then I shall not win this trial.

But those old bastards want to replace me...

Hah. Delusion.

Today, I will snap the roots of your Gao Ta right here.

Hearken, Radiance Theocracy: send messengers to summon my companions. All other believers abandon current operations and encircle the western city.

Even if we dig up Tusnart to the third layer of earth, I will bring back Wei Zhi—dead or alive!"

"By your command!"

The Knights of the Death Bell turned their iron hooves toward the western city; Galusha and Cheng Shi leapt from the Gao Ta and raced toward the west.

Meanwhile, near the western city's timber warehouse.

Wei Zhi, who had long hidden among the ruins waiting for Cheng Shi to break the array, remained lost in fantasies of merging with the Grand Scholar—until the next instant, his consciousness shattered violently as a foreign awareness slipped silently through a fissure in his mind and swiftly seized control of his body.

Wei Zhi's consciousness, like a powerless native, could only retreat endlessly across this fertile soil of awareness; he was filled with terror, desperate to mobilize every ounce of his power to counterattack—but he could not.

For all his knowledge and learning had been acquired from the Gao Ta; even the organization he founded had been born from the Gao Ta's Association of Reason. His struggle was like showing off swordplay before a master.

"No, you cannot do this! I am also a believer in 【Truth】! I am your ally! Galadriel, you cannot do this!!!"

"Oh?

Recognizing me suggests your mastery in the School of Life Extension is decent—but it is too late.

Your companion discovered the secret of Truth's Limit. There is no choice: for the sake of the 【Truth】 cause, you must be the sacrifice.

Since you claim to be a follower of my Lord, become a stepping stone to pave His path of inquiry.

Perceive the essence, walk to Truth!"

"No!

You will regret this, Galadriel! You will regret this!!"

The original consciousness of the body shattered utterly in an instant; the position of Chairman of the Association of Reason finally returned to the hands of the Learned Chairmen upon the soil of the Gao Ta.

A hand, twisting and spasming, emerged from the ruins, pushing aside broken timber and rubble, dragging the "empty husk" out from beneath the debris.

Its lifeless eyes glanced once toward the direction Cheng Shi and Galusha had come from, then turned resolutely and ran in the opposite direction.

A game of hide-and-seek, crucial to the experiment's success, had begun.