Chapter 322: In a dream, unaware that one is a guest

328. Chapter 328: In a dream, unaware that one is a guest

"Don't!"

Inside the Ninth Trial Secret Realm.

After a long period of no progress, the struggling Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke suddenly felt a sense.

She raised her head and saw dozens of light beams shooting into the secret realm from beyond the sky; from the trial mechanism she learned that these light beams were support provided by the Wizard World, yet she felt no joy, instead letting out a lament.

After all this time, Ai Rui Si has already completed eight trials.

Each time she completes a trial, her level and strength receive a considerable boost.

Therefore, upon entering the Ninth Trial, she already possessed the level and strength equivalent to a Fifth-level Sage.

The surging level and strength, lacking the knowledge and accumulation to control her power, made Ai Rui Si feel that something was amiss.

How could a small child possibly wield, let alone wield well, a heavy blade weighing dozens of catties?

Nonsense!

Thus, after entering the Ninth Trial, Ai Rui Si did not rush to pass; instead, she made use of her nine retries to focus on honing herself, refining the precise control of her abilities.

By now, Ai Rui Si has used up five of her retries, and is about to begin the sixth attempt at clearing the Ninth Trial.

During the previous five attempts, while she did not claim to have fully mastered the strength of a Fifth-level Sage, she could at least use various abilities confidently without worrying about losing control or harming herself.

This counts as a very noticeable improvement.

And with each increment in her fine-grained control of strength, the trial's difficulty decreases slightly.

Based on this, Ai Rui Si is full of confidence that she will pass the Ninth Trial before her nine chances run out.

According to the trial mechanism, as long as Ai Rui Si passes the trial, her level and strength will inevitably rise to the level of a Sixth-level Sage.

At that time, the Special Ruins World will undergo smelting and evolve into a "Natal World" entirely under Ai Rui Si's control.

As long as Ai Rui Si's knowledge and understanding of the rules keep pace, she can at any time aim for the rank of Grand Sage.

Thus, Ai Rui Si need not worry that, after opening the channel through the parallel universe behind the Special Ruins World, she would become a mere tool or an insignificant pawn!

However……

Watching sixty-four radiant light beams come from beyond the sky, penetrating the entire trial secret realm and lingering without dispersing, even showing a tendency to grow brighter.

Ai Rui Si's mood became extremely complex.

Even while inside the Ninth Trial, Ai Rui Si's mastery over the Special Ruins World is sufficient for her to know the origin of these light beams.

"Are you really trying to help me? Or……"

Ai Rui Si murmured softly to herself.

"They are certainly not really trying to help you!"

The figure of Ai Rui Si. Mei Si Ya, dressed as a Northern Boundary Beastmaster Wizard, quietly appeared, a scornful smile curling her lips: "Back then, when my identity was exposed, what awaited me was not being valued, but being beaten to death. Guess why."

Ai Rui Si turned her head to look, waiting silently for the explanation.

After barely passing the Eighth Trial, Ai Rui Si, in a moment of carelessness, failed to suppress her surging strength, causing two of her past lives, which should have been utterly eradicated by her, to rekindle and reappear.

Those two can no longer interfere with reality, but they can appear at any time as illusions in Ai Rui Si's field of vision.

The most disgusting part is that this process is not under Ai Rui Si's control.

They appear when they want to appear, and disappear when they want to disappear.

The manifested scene is that Ai Rui Si often glances left and right, then utters some incoherent words, as if she were conversing with someone.

If an outsider were present, eight or nine times out of ten they would think Ai Rui Si is mentally deranged, talking to herself, spouting mad nonsense.

Ai Rui Si. Mei Si Ya did not beat around the bush, saying softly: "The reason is merely that my active time has not yet reached the node of the Nostradamus Saint's prophecy; I should not have appeared! Hehe… haha…"

Ai Rui Si. Mei Si Ya threw her head back and laughed wildly, her expression and demeanor appearing quite mad: "Just because the time has not yet reached the prophecy's node, I should willingly be beaten to death. Hahaha… huh huh huh… This is the Wizard World! This is the Supreme Council!"

"There's nothing new under the sun."

The mature version of Ai Rui Si, dressed in a light blue floral skirt and tranquil and serene, also came to join the fun, uttering a "nonsense."

Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke listened to the words of her two past lives, but remained unmoved, regaining her composure.

The situation remains unclear; Ai Rui Si does not know what the Supreme Council intends.

Therefore, she will not develop resentment toward the Wizard World or the Supreme Council based on just a few provocative words.

Ai Rui Si composed herself and quietly awaited the trial mechanism's response.

Given the circumstances, besides acceptance, there is no other option.

Accepting amid suspicion and accepting calmly make no difference.

Not long after, when the sixty-four light beams forcibly shoved something into the secret realm of the Ninth Trial, the trial mechanism triggered a reactive response.

The predetermined Ninth Trial reset, wiping clean Ai Rui Si's previous failures, and her figure suddenly vanished.

The entire trial secret realm also shattered in an instant and was quickly reassembled.

One becomes two, two becomes three, ultimately giving rise to a full sixty-five distinct trial secret realms, completely separating Ai Rui Si and the sixty-four wizards who had been forcibly crammed in by the Supreme Council using special means.

Thus, Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke passing the trial herself would be useless; the other sixty-four wizards must likewise pass the trial individually, or pass with her assistance.

Only then does Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke count as having completed the brand-new Ninth Trial.

Moreover, the possibility of remelting the Special Ruins World has become much slimmer.

This really is…… helping backfired?

In the starry sky.

Lin Ke felt that the light beams falling on his body began to generate a strong suction.

For a wizard, this is not a very wonderful experience.

One moment his motionless form is silently held in place, the next he is dragged by the powerful suction toward an unknown destination.

However, Lin Ke did not resist; indeed, he was very cooperative.

"Remember to come find me, Grand Wizard."

Jessica Michelle shouted hysterically, and in an instant she disappeared.

Lin Ke's figure was likewise moved away by a pillar of light at that same moment.

He only saw Jessica Michelle open her mouth, but couldn't hear clearly what she said.

He felt as if he had been thrown into a tumbling washing machine.

Gurgle-gurgle, clatter-clatter, spinning nonstop.

Not long after, Lin Ke's consciousness grew muddled from the spinning, leaving him dazed, confused, and hazy.

He didn't know how many turns he had made.

With a puff.

It felt like a meatball being squeezed and rolling into the water.

Lin Ke broke free from the dizzying state and fell into a warm, humid environment.

For some reason, his eyelids felt unusually heavy, and he couldn't open them no matter what.

He wanted to speak, but couldn't manage to do so.

Even moving his body was extremely difficult.

Moreover, he grew increasingly drowsy.

The time he could stay awake each day was extremely little, less than a minute.

Wait…

What does "each day" even mean?

How do I even know this?

Doubt arose in his heart; without further thought, Lin Ke drifted back into sleep. This state persisted for a long time—about several months—until finally a major change occurred.

Lin Ke felt that the warm, humid environment that had housed him for this time began to push him out, forcing him to leave.

Leave then, just leave.

Who cares?

For some reason, Lin Ke became extremely emotional, even sulking.

Following that expulsive force, Lin Ke struggled to escape the warm, humid environment, leaving the place that no longer welcomed him.

The escape process went very smoothly.

In just a moment, Lin Ke left the warm, humid environment through a relatively narrow passage.

What is this smell?

As soon as he left, Lin Ke sensed something amiss.

He instinctively twitched his nose.

Wait, what is a nose?

Sniff, sniff…

After twitching his nose a few more times, Lin Ke inhaled air carrying an indescribable odor, finding it unpleasant.

Still, that original warm, humid environment was more comfortable.

Merely having left for a short while, Lin Ke found himself missing it.

However, those who abandon me cannot be kept from yesterday.

Since you've already left, don't dwell on it too much… okay?

Might as well take a look at the new environment.

Thinking in a daze, Lin Ke blinked and forced open his eyes, which had not been opened for a long time.

What came into view was a person wearing a hat and mask, whose face was unclear, only revealing a pair of bright eyes that seemed able to speak.

Lin Ke clearly saw in the other's eyes a meaning like "Hey, this guy is pretty interesting."

He was about to use his limited mental faculties to consider his current situation.

With a crisp crack,

Feeling a burning pain in his buttocks, Lin Ke found it hard to believe.

I……got spanked?

His anger flared instantly.

Lin Ke, following his instinctive emotion, opened his mouth and shouted: "Who is it? Come out!"

Something unexpected happened.

Lin Ke thought he had shouted a curse, but what he heard was a clear, ringing cry.

Only then did Lin Ke's remaining sliver of intellect realize that he had become a newborn infant!

"I……"

Not knowing how to express his feelings at the moment, Lin Ke opened his mouth, yawned, and fell asleep just like that.

Before falling completely asleep, he seemed to hear a mutter.

The nurse or doctor holding him murmured in Chinese, a language they hadn't heard in a long time: "Little one, you're finally born. You'd better be a good, considerate child; your mother suffered a lot carrying you."

On the bed, the young woman who had just completed postpartum cleansing and newly become a mother, her face glowing with maternal light, slowly raised her hands.

Seeing this, the nurse hurriedly handed the sleeping infant over.

The young mother held the baby close to her chest, stared at him for several moments, her mouth twisted, almost crying out: "How can he be so ugly!"

For a moment, the doctors and nurses in the delivery room were all amused.

"Newborns are all like this—wrinkly skin; after a few days, once they stretch out, they'll look nice."

The doctor gave a reassuring sound, then gestured for the nurse to push the bed out of the delivery room.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, more than six years have passed.

The young mother, after six years of tempering, has made great progress in the role of mother.

She even went from never touching spring water in her pampered upbringing to mastering various dishes, all to prepare nutritious and delicious meals for her son.

What pleases the young mother is that her son is naturally well-behaved and never causes trouble.

Apart from liking to be alone since childhood and not playing with peers, he is practically the perfect son in the world.

"Lin Ke, come here."

The young mother had simmered a pot of carrot and spare rib soup, ladled out a bowl, and called out from the kitchen.

"Coming."

A pink-carved, jade-like, overly cute little boy responded, walking with steady steps into the kitchen.

Seeing her son's little-adult demeanor, the young mother couldn't resist teasing him, so she put on a stern face and scolded: "When parents call, one must not delay. You came too slowly; Mom is very unhappy!"

The little-boy version of Lin Ke stared with big eyes, showing deep helplessness, then, under his mother's feigned tearful gaze, he gave in, sighed, bowed, and said: "Sorry, I was wrong; I'll definitely fix it next time."

"This is my good son!"

The young mother proudly hummed, gave the little boy a kiss on the cheek, then lifted the bowl of spare rib soup and said in a commanding tone, "Finish it, not a drop may be left, understand?"

"I know~"

The little boy drew out his response, carried the soup bowl slowly to the dining room, placed it on the table, sat properly, scooped soup with a spoon, and sipped slowly.

"Just a few more days, and I'll be seven years old."

While sipping the sweet carrot and spare rib soup, Lin Ke was scheming in his heart.

After more than six years of development, Lin Ke's wisdom has largely recovered, with no significant difference from before supporting Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke.

What troubles Lin Ke is that his sea of consciousness has been sealed by a mighty force and cannot be opened.

His connection with Fu Lan Duo has been completely blocked.

His current mental strength is only slightly stronger than that of his peers, still below the average level of twelve-year-olds in the wizard world.

The pay-to-win system simply cannot be summoned.

No golden finger, no extra assistance.

Even the various knowledge learned in the wizard world has been sealed; he can only sense it but cannot retrieve it.

In all these circumstances, he has truly become a genuine six-year-old child.

Of course, becoming a six-year-old does not mean he must act childish.

Lin Ke has never hidden his abnormality; he enjoys solitude, thinking, and reading.

The single mother, still busy in the kitchen, was only slightly surprised at first, but did not reject it; instead, she smoothly accepted her son's peculiarity.

Very tolerant, very great.

Lin Ke always dislikes going against others' wishes; he often does things he doesn't want to do, and there is a reason for that.

The single mother was originally a cultivator of considerable strength.

During pregnancy, because Lin Ke unconsciously meditated every day, absorbing too much nutrition and energy, the single mother's cultivation was completely ruined, and her body became even weaker than an ordinary person's.

Wanting to change this situation is not difficult; if Lin Ke could regain some strength or achieve success in cultivation.

And Lin Ke's long-awaited seventh birthday is exactly the starting point of cultivation in this realm.

Lin Ke understands that, regardless of whether this world is real or illusory, to pass the trial and achieve the goal of supporting Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke, everything hinges on cultivation.

Since one must cultivate according to this realm's methods anyway, upon achieving success in cultivation, adjusting the single mother's body and restoring her cultivation would be a natural extension—why not?

Toward his mother, Lin Ke has always held respect.