Cao San Sui had a dream.
He dreamed that his [Ladder to the Audience] score was 200, ranking first, and He was summoned by the [Time] True God.
Just as He was devoutly prostrating himself on the ground, preparing to receive the God's blessing, a Fear Demons suddenly flew over, kicked him away, and received the blessing in his stead.
He was consumed by rage and woke up in a fit of anger.
"Damn him..."
He roared, flipped over and sat up, seeing his teammates in front of him looking back at him with surprised faces, feeling slightly bewildered.
"I... Huh? How did I recover?"
Feeling the strength in his body as full as it was when He first entered the Trial, Cao San Sui was incredibly shocked.
It wasn't just him; Nangong beside him also looked much more normal at this Time, showing no signs of having just been injured.
Wait, just now?
Cao San Sui's heart tensed, and He immediately took out his pocket watch from his Arms and glanced at it.
By this Time, 8 hours had passed since the anchored Time.
In other words, He had only slept for two hours?
"That's not right... How could I have recovered like this in two hours?"
Cao San Sui frowned tightly, reached out his hand and lightly brushed the air, immediately sensing the passage of Time around him.
Followers of [Time] are very sensitive to the passage of Time, but can only vaguely sense whether the elapsed Time is long or short, not down to the exact hour and minute.
The Time here indeed hadn't passed much, probably only about two or three hours.
But the problem was, how did He recover?
He looked up with a puzzled expression and asked:
"What's going on?"
Nangong felt his gaze, didn't speak, just tilted her head towards the entrance, and then continued bandaging Xia Wan.
Although their condition had recovered, their wounds hadn't fully healed.
Instead, Xia Wan said icily:
"We just woke up too."
Cao San Sui, being able to reach 1900, was naturally not stupid. He blurted out:
"Was the cola problematic?"
Xia Wan nodded.
"Where's Cheng Shi?"
"He's on watch outside."
Cao San Sui's brows furrowed upon hearing this.
His ability to recover within 2 hours now definitely had something to do with Cheng Shi.
He didn't know if this was a special method of a high-score Priest or if Cheng Shi had done extra healing, He only knew that if Cheng Shi had malicious intentions while they were asleep, they would be dead by now.
It was a good thing He didn't act, or rather, it was a good thing He wasn't someone of an opposing Faith.
Even more fortunately, during these two hours of Time, no enemies arrived!
Cao San Sui instinctively felt a bit of lingering fear. He got up and walked out of the treehouse with a solemn expression.
Below the treehouse, Cheng Shi was chatting with Chen Chong and Song Yawen. Looking at their faces, they seemed to have also recovered to some extent.
When Cao San Sui thought that the five of them had just been asleep together, with only Cheng Shi on guard, and He was still a Priest, He said incredulously:
"Are you crazy? Letting five people fall asleep at the same Time, even if you have potions to recover everyone, you should do it one by one!"
The three people turned their heads in unison. Song Yawen grinned but didn't speak. Chen Chong's expression didn't change much, but his twitching eye corner clearly indicated that He also had some reservations about Cheng Shi's move.
Only Cheng Shi scratched his head and said:
"Huh? Don't talk nonsense. I just woke up too. All six of us slept together."
"?????"
A shiver ran through the depths of Cao San Sui's soul. He couldn't even imagine Cheng Shi being so bold.
"Cheng Shi! You're gambling with everyone's life! If anything went wrong in between, we could have been wiped out!"
Cheng Shi said thoughtfully:
"Indeed, the risk is too great, it's not advisable."
"?"
Cao San Sui's scolding tone stalled. Seeing Cheng Shi's attitude and remarks, He thought it wasn't him who did it, but rather that He was also denouncing the instigator.
"You know that and you still dare to gamble?" Cao San Sui laughed angrily.
Cheng Shi spread his hands: "But I won the gamble. We've recovered to our peak combat strength, haven't we?"
"..."
"Anyway, we're going to be here for two hours, so tell me, is the gain from this gamble big or not!"
"..."
Cao San Sui sat next to the three with a constipated look, sighing heavily:
"Next Time this happens, please tell me first. I don't want to be scared to death by you before I even get to meet [Time]."
Cheng Shi wasn't joking this Time, and said apologetically:
"You wouldn't agree, or rather, everyone wouldn't be willing to gamble, but the fact is, we might not have that much Time for everyone to recover in turns. Danger is approaching, and every second we can gain is precious."
"But what if in between there was..."
"Looking at the result, that 'what if' you mentioned didn't happen." Cheng Shi said with a grin again.
Cao San Sui was silent. Chen Chong cursed:
"There won't be a next Time, Cheng Shi. I hate uncertainty. Damn it, you don't act like a follower of [Birth] at all, you're more like a follower of [Fate]..."
Cheng Shi was amused. He reached out his hand, summoned a bit of healing light, and gestured towards Chen Chong:
"Don't believe me? I can let you experience what it's like to be a mother right now."
Before Chen Chong could react, Song Yawen leaped 10 meters away.
"..."
Cao San Sui looked at the green glow on Cheng Shi's hand and asked:
"What is it?"
Cheng Shi knew He was asking about the cola. He withdrew the healing spell and tsked:
"I call it 'Peaceful Sleep Healing'. I added strong sleeping pills and the A-Level potion 'prosperity of the Past' to the cola. This is a top-tier healing medicine that combines [memory] divine power and [prosperity] divine power. I had a total of six bottles, and now they're all used up."
After speaking, He also showed a pained expression.
"Another A-Level? I don't seem to have heard of this potion. Is it a ladder reward?"
Cheng Shi shrugged, "I don't know, I traded for it from someone else."
"Someone was willing to trade something life-saving like this?" Song Yawen ran back and asked doubtfully.
"Sometimes, the objective is far more important than life." Cheng Shi sighed silently, not knowing who He was thinking of.
Indeed.
If your life is gone, why bother hoarding so many good things?
But if you lose your goal, what's the point of living.
Although He strongly disagreed with Cheng Shi's actions, Cao San Sui still expressed his gratitude:
"When the Trial ends, I will compensate you with equivalent potions."
Cheng Shi's eyes lit up: "Oh, how embarrassing."
But his eyes were clearly filled with covetousness, and his gaze had already begun to size up Cao San Sui all over, wanting to see what good things He was hiding.
"..."
Everyone said that Da Laoof 2000 points had strange personalities. Seeing Cheng Shi today, it was indeed true.
They had already tacitly assumed Cheng Shi had 2000 points, without any doubt.
"Since everyone is awake and in good condition, shall we now?" Cao San Sui asked.
"Depart according to the plan."
Chen Chong saw that Cheng Shi had no intention of giving orders, sitting there grinning foolishly without speaking, and took over with a dark face.
"Okay, then let's call them..."
Before Cao San Sui could stand up, He suddenly felt a heatwave rising from underground, fiercely rushing towards him, and his expression changed in surprise.
The other few people were equally startled, and all stood up to look at the ground beneath their feet.
Only Cheng Shi looked up at the sky with a grim expression, gritting his teeth and squeezing out a few words:
"Damn, it's Meteor Fire Rain!"
"S-Level Forbidden Spell: Meteor Fire Rain???"
Song Yawen's voice was distorted with fear. He also looked up, and sure enough, in the distant sky, a terrifying, horrifying phantom of a giant sun slowly rose.
The edge of the sun's disk erupted with blazing firelight. Every spark that burst out transformed into a giant meteor streaking across the sky, rapidly falling towards the plains where they were located!
In the span of a breath, they fell like rain.
"Run!!"
Cheng Shi ran outwards without hesitation, not holding back any strength.
He didn't need to look after others at all. Every single teammate present was faster than him.
Cao San Sui's expression hardened. The next second, area acceleration was cast in front of everyone. Song Yawen instantly vanished like a shadow. Chen Chong activated Warrior's Charge, pulling up Cheng Shi and Cao San Sui one in each hand, and ran outwards like a storm.
The two figures above the treehouse moved even faster. Xia Wan picked up the petite Nangong and leaped from one treetop to another in just a few moves.
Chen Chong's forward charge was too fast, the strong wind stung Cheng Shi's face.
Cao San Sui was also uncomfortable. He shouted with extreme shock and doubt:
"This isn't a spell that can be cultivated in the Underground World. This is a forbidden spell that the Element Judge of the Hope Continent can master. What identities are we playing? Are we enemies with both sides?"
Enemies? No.
Even if these six people were truly enemies of the Hope Continent, the Element Judge wouldn't possibly use such a world-destroying spell to punish them.
What do six people count for in a War?
Nothing at all!
How could they be worthy of a single Meteor Fire Rain!
Cheng Shi's face darkened as He thought of a possibility.
"This Meteor Fire Rain isn't meant to hit us at all! This damn thing is meant to intercept the right-wing Demon Army!!!"