Royal Saint Crown University, King's Campus.
Inside the Secret Knowledge Society gathering point, in a small, narrow room, Naifnis was currently sitting on a chair. In front of her was a table, and sitting opposite her across the table was a young man.
The man was around twenty years old, with short blond hair and glasses. He was currently looking intently at the table in front of him, where several large sheets of paper were placed. Upon closer inspection, one could see that they were test papers filled with questions, and now every question on them had been answered in writing.
The questions on these test papers were all related to the novel "the queen insect's queue". After the young man carefully read through all the questions and answers, he nodded and then looked at Naifnis in front of him.
"Very good, Miss Boyle, your answers are perfect. I believe you must have carefully studied Mr. Ci Rong's collection of books," the young man said to Naifnis with a smile, while she placed her hand on her chest and replied seriously.
"Of course. If we want to understand Mr. Ci Rong better, to get closer to Mr. Ci Rong, we must seek his wisdom within these books. Finishing Mr. Ci Rong's collection is an obligation for every member of our society, Mr. Eile."
Naifnis said to the young man in front of her. His name was Eile, and he was also a member of the Secret Knowledge Society, one of Ci Rong's most fanatical followers from the beginning. He had long regarded Ci Rong as an object of worship and was the first member of the society to finish reading "the queen insect's queue".
Initially, Ci Rong managed the society himself, but after he began some work within the inner area, he started entrusting the management of the society mainly to the most loyal Eile. Eile was responsible for conveying Ci Rong's orders to the society and assessing members who could enter the inner area. Currently, he was assessing Naifnis.
After finishing the written test, Eile questioned Naifnis in person. The content of the questioning was naturally about the various details and contents of the first four volumes of "the queen insect's queue". Facing Eile's questions, Naifnis, who had finished reading all four volumes, naturally answered fluently and handled Eile's questioning perfectly.
"Excellent, Miss Boyle, you have passed the test. It seems you have grasped the essence of Mr. Ci Rong's collection. You are qualified to take another step closer to Mr. Ci Rong..."
Looking at Naifnis in front of him, Eile said with a smile, and Naifnis also replied sincerely.
"It is my honor to be able to get closer to Mr. Ci Rong."
Seeing Naifnis's attitude, Eile nodded and then said to Naifnis.
"Come with me now."
Saying this, Eile walked out of the room and into the assembly hall, followed by Naifnis. The two then walked all the way to the end of the hall, to a corridor covered in dense spiderwebs.
This was the spiderweb corridor. Entering from here would lead to the so-called inner area of the Eight Point Nest.
Eile stopped in front of the spiderweb corridor, then took out a small, exquisite box from his clothes. Inside was a small bottle. Eile then poured out a small, transparent pill from it and handed it to Naifnis.
"Take this, then imagine yourself as the little insects in the book, silently recite their lines, and then you can pass through here."
Eile said to Naifnis. Naifnis paused slightly after taking the pill, then swallowed it.
Seeing that Naifnis had taken the pill, Eile took the first step forward, walking into the depths of the spiderweb corridor, and Naifnis immediately followed. She followed Eile's instructions, silently reciting the lines of the insects from "the queen insect's queue" and imagining herself to be like those insects.
In this way, Eile led Naifnis forward. They eventually passed through the spiderweb corridor and arrived at the end of a corridor. Here lay a stone statue that had fallen to the ground and broken into several pieces, and beside the statue was a staircase leading downwards.
It was clear that this stone statue was originally used to block off this staircase, but it had been moved and broken on the ground, now revealing the staircase leading underground once more.
"This is..."
"This is a secret we discovered when our Secret Knowledge Society was first established, an ancient ruin hidden beneath this school. The Secret Knowledge Society was initially founded around this secret, but later, under the school's intervention, it was sealed off, and many of us forgot about its existence until Mr. Ci Rong came and reopened it."
Eile explained to Naifnis, then took the first step down the stairs. Naifnis immediately followed suit.
Afterwards, Naifnis followed Eile down the stairs. Under the illumination of gas lamps, they descended for quite some distance. Just as Naifnis began to feel nervous about the narrow space around them, a horrifying scream came from the path ahead, startling Naifnis.
"This... What's happening up ahead?"
"Heh heh, don't panic. Let's keep going forward, and you'll know in a moment."
Eile chuckled softly and continued to walk forward. Naifnis swallowed a mouthful of saliva and followed.
As they walked forward, the screams ahead became increasingly clear and numerous, from both men and women, each different. These screams originated from further down the corridor, and it seemed more than one person was making them. The sounds echoed in the dark underground passage, causing Naifnis to get goosebumps.
Finally, Eile led Naifnis to the end of the passage. After passing through a stone door, they arrived at a suddenly spacious underground area.
This underground space was three to four meters high and over ten meters long and wide, supported by several circular stone pillars. Lanterns hanging on the pillars emitted bright orange-yellow light, illuminating the entire dark space.
Scattered around this underground hall were many damaged, unrecognizable stone statues. Beneath the stone pillars of the underground hall were compartments made of wooden boards. Within these temporarily constructed wooden compartments, there were sadists and prisoners.
These prisoners were both male and female. They were all wearing blood-stained rags, most of them tied to torture racks and being whipped, the whips tearing skin and drawing blood. Some were being severely beaten with sticks by the sadists, their bodies bruised and fleeing everywhere. Some were tied to chairs, being pricked with needles by the sadists, or having their entire fingernails torn off...
Wails, shrieks, pleas for mercy... various sounds intertwined and echoed above the underground space, including the wild laughter and curses of the sadists. Blood was splattered everywhere on the floor and walls. Naifnis stared at the scene before her with wide eyes.
This place was simply an underground torture chamber. Although Naifnis had never seen the tortured prisoners, many of the sadists were members of the society, those who had previously finished reading the four books of secret transmission and become Ci Rong's loyal followers. At this moment, they were all using the torture tools in their hands with a frenzied expression, tormenting the prisoners before them, their bodies splattered with blood, completely lacking the scholarly air they had on the outside.
The cruel scene before her impacted Naifnis's heart. She had never imagined that the inner area would actually be a torture ground specifically for abusing others.
"This, what is this? Emma, Bernie... They are torturing others. Why are they doing this?"
Looking at the scene before her, Naifnis murmured, asking, while Eile beside her slowly replied.
"They are cultivating. They are diligently cultivating to walk the path of the Extraordinary and become true Extraordinaries. Mr. Ci Rong said that for us loyal members of the society, he is willing to guide us towards the path of the Extraordinary."
"Becoming a true Extraordinary... requires torturing others like this?" Listening to Eile's words, Naifnis murmured in disbelief, while the other party continued to answer casually.
"Yes, according to Mr. Ci Rong, to become an Extraordinary, one must accumulate something called Spirituality, and this 'Fear Punishment Method' can accumulate a type of Spirituality called'Shadow'.
"After mastering this method, one tortures others, making them fear you, dread you. According to Mr. Ci Rong, 'fear' is one of the most important spiritual manifestations of'Shadow'. Therefore, after mastering this method, when one is feared and dreaded, one can accumulate'Shadow' Spirituality within their body. The higher the number and degree of fear, the more'Shadow' can be generated. After'Shadow' accumulates to a certain extent, one can advance to become an Extraordinary of'Shadow'."
...