Eldritch Horror Theatre

Mind over matter was a reality in this unreal place.

In fact, after all their exploration, one of the greatest takeaways was that this place was not reality.

While it likely was not a dream either, in an environment like this, the power of will and perception played a far greater role in how things functioned.

The moment Fu Qian realized this, he had tried to convince himself of certain things—for instance, telling himself that his other rings were actually still on his fingers.

Of course, absolutely nothing changed.

A normal person’s first reaction to this would likely be to question the validity of their initial theory.

But Fu Qian was never one to easily doubt himself.

Many seemingly irreconcilable things did not necessarily contradict each other at their core.

Instead, his first step was to assume that both his prior conclusion and his attempt were sound. From there, he deduced what element could possibly allow both circumstances to coexist.

The facts proved that such an element did exist—consensus.The creature hiding in the dark was wounded by Old Man Li, and Excellency Ji Ning subsequently left her Imprint on it. The prerequisite for this was that, under his deliberate guidance, the team members genuinely believed to some extent that the fully grown Tree Infant had become their tracker.

But he was the only one who knew about his rings.

This raised a theoretical question. Assuming they truly were in a space governed by mind over matter, where individuals could use their willpower to shape reality into what they imagined, what would happen if those wills conflicted?

If Person A believed Person B was dead, but Person B believed Person A was dead, what would be the final outcome?

Did they each get assigned a numerical willpower value to see whose was higher?

Or was it determined by Rank, just like in the real world?

Both seemed possible. But what if another person entered the equation?

If Person C shared Person B’s conviction and strongly believed that Person A was dead, how would the situation change?

Fu Qian did not think every individual’s willpower was perfectly equal. However, for this unavoidable problem, he figured the answer would be the coupling of multiple perceptions into a single outcome—a consensus.

Compared to an abstract battle of wills, this mechanism would produce a far more stable facade.

Fundamentally, this also meant that their exploration was bound to feel seamless, because reality itself was driven by consensus.

His physical state and Items had completely reverted to how they were before the Academy assignment. That was the established information at the start of this mission.

If he wanted to change that, his solitary will was not enough.

Not to mention the issue of Rank; the team members even shared a cognitive consensus about him that acted as a wall of resistance.

...

Having hypothesized this theory, the next step was to verify it.

The earliest opportunity for this seemed to trace back to the test conducted by Li He and Aike.

Based on their experience during the Soul Walk, they had deduced that the crying was caused by individual entities following behind each person.

This was naturally one explanation for why the crying faded after their souls left their bodies. However, in a world that wasn’t strictly real to begin with, it wasn’t hard to think of other logical possibilities.

For example, the crying might truly be omnipresent, with fresh flesh acting as an excellent antenna to receive the sound before transmitting it through the connection to their wandering wills.

The reality, however, was that the moment they formed that thought, Old Man Li’s discovery naturally ruled out all other possibilities.

By the time they regrouped with the two of them, and later discussed rescuing the others, their deductions made sense to everyone. And the moment everyone believed them, the physical entities of their trackers actually appeared.

None of this served as absolute proof, but it certainly did not contradict the seamlessness mentioned earlier.

In light of this, Fu Qian had subsequently done two things. The first was exactly what he had done earlier—deliberately showing his edge and drawing suspicion.

The second was convincing himself that the Mental Resistance gained from digesting two-thirds of the Thug was just as effective against the crying.

A self-suggestion that he simply couldn’t hear the crying would never work; that would mean directly opposing the consensus of the team.

But an enhancement to his own personal resistance was a completely different matter.

After all, despite both being in the Demigod Realm, weren’t Excellency Ji Ning’s symptoms much milder than Aike’s?

Whether due to her abilities or the items she carried, she clearly possessed a superior level of resistance.

This was a precedent perfectly worth mimicking.

The final result proved exactly that—he truly did resist the crying for much longer.

Once this anomaly was inevitably noticed by the others, the next step was to use superficial changes to successfully steer their consensus toward a new truth—that he was actually an expert in the Demigod Realm hiding his true strength.

He had actually been waiting a long time for Excellency Ji Ning to question him.

At the same time, it proved that the first practical application of his theory was a resounding success.

...

”Who exactly are you? And what is your goal?”

At this moment, no matter how critical the situation was, it was impossible for Ji Ning to continue their previous course of action.

The fact that she directly took off the Gorgeous Shroud as she spoke proved her determination: to resist external threats one must first pacify internal troubles.

Her eyes, having regained their vision, were undeniably locked dead onto Fu Qian.

In a situation where everyone seemed to be working together to escape, a member of the Blood Clan had been hiding his identity all along, subtly guiding their actions... and even interfering with her search.

As her gaze fell upon the Dagger in Fu Qian’s hand, examining its genuinely silver-blue appearance, Ji Ning felt a flurry of thoughts surge through her mind.

”Who I am doesn’t matter. Please believe me when I say I mean you no harm.”

Even while being stared down by a group of heavyweights—especially Old Man Li, whose expressionless face radiated maximum oppressive force—Fu Qian showed no sign of realizing that disaster was looming.

”The Blood Clan’s numbers aren’t that large, and those in the Demigod Realm are even fewer. It won’t be that difficult to uncover your identity.”

Unfortunately, his explanation that he was a friend rather than a foe was immediately met with a threat from Excellency Aike.

As a Night Watcher in the Demigod Realm, he certainly had the standing to make such a claim, but alas—

”The Blood Clan’s numbers are indeed quite small—within the limits of your understanding.”

A faint smile hooked the corners of Fu Qian’s lips. He tilted his head to look up at the dome, his voice laced with fanaticism.

”His ancient glory has already returned. The unforgotten memories shall eventually become reality.”

Ancient glory...

The phrase clearly struck a nerve with the Night Watcher. For a moment, Aike’s eyes flickered rapidly like a hard drive light as he frantically scoured his memories.

”No harm... do you have a way to prove that, Excellency?”

With the Night Watcher momentarily stumped, Ji Ning stepped in, letting out another cold laugh as she spoke.

”Of course I do. While I’m not entirely sure why you couldn’t pull it out, I believe I can offer a little assistance.”

Yet, even when faced with this most troublesome task of self-proof, Fu Qian answered without missing a beat. As he spoke, he flipped the thin blade in his palm and pressed it down with almost no effort.

”Cut open a wound and smear blood on it to obtain abstract guidance... is this how it’s done?”

Gushing blood instantly coated the blade, but Fu Qian was in no rush to retract it. Instead, he carefully ensured it was smeared completely, including over the hilt and the sheath.