Eldritch Horror Theatre

Tearing open the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison bare-handed?

Aside from the caster and the victim, there should have been absolutely no one else inside the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison. Yet, right before her eyes, Fu Qian had forcefully barged his way in.

Even Ji Liushuang, who had always been full of confidence in Professor Fu, seemed to sense the world’s absurdity at this moment.

The crucial problem was that even with an extra person in the mix, the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison remained incredibly stable after a slight initial ripple.

Ultimately, it was just an ability. A High-Tier Transcendent violently cracking it wouldn’t be too surprising, especially given the exaggerated Combat Power Professor Fu displayed.

But invading it while keeping the Sword Prison completely stable was another matter entirely.

”Don’t forget, I’m a swordsman too.”

Seeming to sense her thoughts, Fu Qian stretched, stood casually, and immediately offered a smiling explanation.

A swordsman...

That single sentence successfully awakened a particularly profound memory for Classmate Liushuang—especially a certain scene involving the Unity of Body and Sword.A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Ji Liushuang relaxed her posture considerably and even took a step back.

Though she hadn’t gotten an answer right away, now that Professor Fu had broken into the prison, she could clearly slack off for whatever came next.

By comparison, Ben wasn’t nearly as calm.

Although he still gripped the Finger Orb and followed the rule of not speaking unless spoken to, his gaze finally flickered as he faced the pure white void. He could no longer maintain his posture of absolute voidness.

”How do you feel right now?”

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn’t leave him to wallow in anxiety for long. After a moment, he stepped forward and asked with a smile.

...

As if suddenly freed, Ben let out a silent breath and tried to speak, but no sound came out.

”...Where is this place?”

After a brief, statue-like freeze, he immediately picked up the bad habit of answering a question with a question. He subconsciously glanced at Ji Liushuang, a flash of indescribable distortion crossing his face.

It was a pity, of course. Even though this development was unexpected, without instructions from her leader, Classmate Liushuang obviously wouldn’t speak.

Even her expression remained completely unchanged, offering no clues whatsoever. She was truly flawless.

At the same time, she faintly guessed his intention in having her take action just now.

In the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison, one could only tell the truth. Had Professor Fu concluded that this guy would lie?

From the very beginning, when he asked if she wanted to come along to explore the unknown, had Professor Fu already planned to borrow her newly developed ability?

But leaving aside how he could be so sure, even with such preparations, not being able to lie didn’t mean one was forced to answer, right?

What if he just stayed completely silent, or started prevaricating by changing the subject?

”A place where you can only speak the truth.”

While Ji Liushuang’s thoughts spun rapidly, Fu Qian paid no mind to Ben’s rudeness and continued to explain mildly.

”You might have already realized that just now, but that’s fine. You can continue experiencing it.”

As an intellectual, Professor Fu undoubtedly displayed an extremely high level of grace.

Not only did he carefully answer the question, but he was also true to his word, refraining from applying any further pressure.

”You people are completely out of line... I want to leave this place!”

After a silence that wasn’t too long, the tester finally issued a stern protest.

...

There really was a problem.

At the same time, Ji Liushuang, who had been observing the changes in Ben far more closely than before, finally caught that jarring hint of distortion again.

From just now until this moment, Ben’s behavior still seemed perfectly normal at first glance.

Facing a sudden change in his situation, he panicked while trying to figure out what was going on.

He hadn’t completely bought into Professor Fu’s answer, instead silently thinking it over and judging it for himself.

After letting those emotions build up for a moment, he erupted in anger, stating that he was no longer willing to serve as a volunteer.

It was all very reasonable... but combined with the answer he had wanted to give just now but couldn’t, the situation became terrifying upon deeper reflection.

The purpose of lying was nothing more than to hide the truth.

And from just now to this moment, all the changes Ben had displayed were highly consistent with Professor Chang’s prior assessment.

In other words, was this not the truth?

Had this orb not provided any further relief for his condition?

Ji Liushuang’s gaze fell on Ben’s hand.

Despite expressing deep dissatisfaction with the test, this item had not been discarded. On the contrary, he gripped it tightly.

This bizarre detail once again highlighted the abnormality hidden beneath the surface of normality.

An abnormality that even she, despite this being her second time interacting with him, had failed to notice just now...

”Sure, be my guest.”

By contrast, Professor Fu next to her seemed completely unsurprised by the scene before him, his tone flat and easygoing.

Yet, faced with this response, Ben, who had been filled with righteous indignation just a moment ago, suddenly went dead silent.

...

”Look at you. You didn’t even bother to ask how to leave.”

After a brief silence, Fu Qian’s flat voice sounded again, but the soul-interrogating weight behind it was immensely powerful.

”What I said earlier still stands. You can answer whenever you want to.”

After saying this, Fu Qian didn’t even pay attention to the other man’s reaction, turning directly to glance at Ji Liushuang.

”There’s no need to overthink it, really. I already mentioned the reason before.”

”...The parameters are too conservative?”

This abrupt remark caused a sudden flash of insight to strike Ji Liushuang, who had been deep in introspection.

On the way here, Professor Fu seemed to have mentioned that the scale of the test was a bit too small.

”Exactly. Some things are very unnoticeable when the magnitude is low, and they’re extremely easy to confuse.”

Fu Qian continued his earnest explanation, still acting entirely unconcerned about the subject hearing them.

”Even I wouldn’t claim to be able to use Insight on everything.”

”But for situations like this, there’s a very simple solution: amplify the magnitude.”

As he spoke, Fu Qian displayed the nebula-like blue hue on his hand.

It was, of course, the Lucid Dream.

What he had done just now was actually very simple. After handing the Finger Orb to Ben, he smoothly activated the Ring, pulling Classmate Liushuang in alongside them.

The core of the dream was naturally Ben, and the ending condition he set was for Ben to answer a few of his questions.

As time passed, this would become an increasingly intense urge for Ben, forming a perfect pairing with his unique brand of Ecstasy.

Deriving thrill from self-restraint.

Never having been truly cured, after being forced by his own command to suppress this urge, what he would experience next was an endlessly soaring pleasure.

And when it finally came time for Fu Qian to ask the question, Ben clearly wouldn’t want to reveal this, but he couldn’t lie inside the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison.

That sword strike from Classmate Liushuang was the equivalent of blocking off the only avenue for releasing pressure.

Under the combined effects of everything that followed, his Ecstasy would soar all the way to its limits, thereby making the true effect of that orb blatantly obvious.