Chapter 948: The Third Trial of the Goddess of the Lake

Xia De observed the expression of the lady before him:

"Defeat you? Do you mean riddles? A contest of wits?"

Xia De blinked.

"No, just as you understand it: combat."

"Um... you... you aren't joking, are you?"

"This is certainly no joke. Defeat me now; this is your third trial."

The lady in the white robe said gently, the light around her body remaining as soft as ever, and she made a gesture of invitation.

"Is this really a trial I can complete?"

The first two tasks—proving himself at the banquet and investigating the professor's secrets—had increasing difficulty, but they were within an acceptable range. The difference in difficulty between the third trial and the first two, to use an inappropriate metaphor, was about the same as the difference between "defeating the God of Blood" and "defeating a talking white mouse" or "defeating the orange cat Mia."

"Every trial has the possibility of being completed by you."

The lady in the white robe repeated the sentence from when Xia De first arrived. Xia De pursed his lips:

"I thought the trials I had to complete were all trials of wisdom. Why must I compete in strength?"

The lady in the white robe said softly:

"In the first trial, you proved your value in the material world; in the second trial, you proved your initiative and judgment; in the third trial, you must prove your strength. This time, prove your strength to me.

I will suppress my power and use the occult system of this Era to oppose you; you need not worry about that."

Xia De gripped 【Nightwatcher】. Although he felt such a trial was still somewhat absurd, he nodded to indicate his acceptance.

Two of the four trials were already completed. Having reached this point, he had to try regardless. Although he no longer had the 【Leaf of Youth】, he felt that even if he lost, the lady before him would not beat him to the point of being beyond repair.

Xia De looked at Professor De Lei Ke, who was sitting in his wheelchair, head bowed and weeping on the surface of the lake:

"Let's solve the professor's problem first.

Professor De Lei Ke, it is like this: I brought you here, and you can make one additional wish or ask one question. Please rest assured, there is no need to pay any price. You can have this lady restore your legs so you can walk again, or erase the memories of this journey. You can even ask her to erase all memories of me from your mind, and just live as you did before, as if you had done nothing this winter."

The professor kept his head down and did not speak. Xia De continued:

"I understand your feelings. I once heard a story about a man and a dragon. Someone yearned for a dragon and wanted to see one at every moment, but when the dragon truly appeared to fulfill his wish, he was frightened out of his wits. This is very normal; you need not take it to heart."

"I... was actually frightened by my own wisdom."

The professor shook his head and said.

"Wisdom and knowledge are, by nature, a heavy power, a heavy burden."

The lady in the white robe's voice was very light. Xia De nodded from the side; the Outsider felt deeply touched by this statement in this world:

"Wisdom and knowledge are also wealth, but we all know that wealth is not necessarily the more the better. Professor De Lei Ke, make your wish. Because of my trial, I dug up the past you deliberately forgot, so I have the obligation to bury it again. Please make a wish and end all of this; this is what you deserve."

Although this meant wasting one of Xia De's gift opportunities, Xia De believed he should do this.

The old professor wiped his face with the back of his hand and looked up at the two people on the lake. The lady in the white robe was rippling with pure white holy light, and the young man holding the sword had silver-white moonlight:

"Wise one in the lake, Goddess on the water, I make my wish to you..."

The old professor extended a trembling hand and pointed at Xia De:

"Before your fair duel with this gentleman, please give this gentleman some help as much as possible."

"What?"

Xia De looked at the professor with some surprise, but the professor only shook his head. He looked at Xia De, the expression on his aged face exceptionally weary:

"Mr. Hua Sheng, all decisions were my own choices.

The fear of wisdom is my own thought. I have grown accustomed to these legs, and I am unwilling to die with doubts. Since I learned the truth today, what is the need to forget? I sought wisdom for the sake of pursuit back then, and abandoned wisdom because of fear; what is the need to regret it again now? A fool, I only need to be one once."

The midday sun shone on the professor, but it made him look even more hunched:

"Knowing these things now is enough. At least when I lie in the grave, I will consider myself happy, because there will be no more questions in my life."

"I once gave you other opportunities; your wisdom was enough for me to give you more power, but you chose the worst result back then. This choice now is not the worst, but it is not the best either."

The lady in the white robe said to the professor. Xia De did not understand this sentence, but the professor did. He lowered his eyes, his hoarse voice almost singing:

"We live on a calm little island called ignorance, surrounded by an endless black ocean, and we were never meant to set sail. The pitch-black grave is before my eyes; I wish to sleep here forever and listen to the wind and waves."

"He is fearing wisdom."

The lady in the white robe said to Xia De. Xia De shook his head at the lady:

"It is not fear, but awe. To stay away because of awe can also be considered a kind of wisdom. At least the professor himself is happy before he dies."

The lady in the white robe revealed a gentle smile:

"It seems you have understood. As a response to Professor Kan Sa Si De Lei Ke's wish, I allow you to manipulate the lake water beneath your feet."

"Very well, I can manipulate the water here, and then, now, defeat you here."

Xia De sighed softly. Obtaining the Xu Kequan meant he could move freely in this body of water.

But this kind of help was not enough for Xia De to gain any advantage. It was not that he was timid or weak, nor was this self-deprecating excessive humility; Priest Ao Gu Si had said that the "Goddess of the Lake" was a genuine ancient angel, and her status would not be much lower than the First Angel.

Even if the angel suppressed her power, Xia De had enough self-awareness to believe that he probably would not get the upper hand.

As for using divinity here, that was even more impossible. Using a drop of divinity for a drop of divinity made no sense at all. ===== CHAPTER 949 =====