"Understood," Tong Zheng signaled Ke Wuwen to calm down, forcing a smile. "Good child, do as I say. Don't look at the names behind those questions. Find the ones you can do first and write the answers on the blackboard in front of you."
"But..."
"No 'buts.' Good boy, do as I say."
Ke Wuwen bit his lip in dissatisfaction, feeling that this instance was utterly detestable. The people he valued more, the more difficult the questions in front of them became. Glancing at the questions from Chi Hao, You Mi, and Tong Zheng, he had no clue what to do.
Seeing Ke Wuwen's expression, Tong Zheng had his answer. He could only try his best to encourage Ke Wuwen, "Wuwen, good child, I believe in you. We all believe in you."
You Mi quickly added, "That's right, Wuwen. Don't feel any pressure. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Even Chi Hao gave Ke Wuwen a rare, faint, encouraging smile.
Ke Wuwen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. The extraneous emotions on his face and in his eyes vanished, leaving only unwavering resolve. He shouted to the people in front of him, "I will definitely! Save you all!"
The moment Ke Wuwen started writing, the tables beside everyone began to slowly move inward. What this meant was self-evident.
The burns from the previous stage still ached, and now they could only watch as blades slowly pierced their bodies.
Despite this, everyone tacitly refrained from making a sound, trying their best not to affect the person holding their lives in their hands.
Ke Wuwen focused intently on answering, and as he wrote furiously, the tables beside Gong Liang, Mo Xiao, Gao Zhenli, Lü Bin, Gu Chenhui, and Hao Yu stopped one by one.
Only Chi Hao, You Mi, and Tong Zheng remained.
Ke Wuwen's eyes were fixed on the questions before the names of the three. Sweat trickled down his forehead, his teeth clenched his lips, and his chalk-holding hand trembled uncontrollably in mid-air.
The blade pierced through clothing and flesh. You Mi bit her lip, just to avoid making a sound. Blood trickled down her lips, and her eyes held tenacious endurance.
Finally, Ke Wuwen's hand moved again. When he finished writing, the blade that had pierced You Mi's body slowly withdrew and stopped beside her.
Only two questions remained. Tears blurred his vision uncontrollably. Ke Wuwen angrily wiped them away with his sleeve. He couldn't give up, absolutely not. One was the most important person to his most admired idol, and the other was the person he loved more than his own life.
He forced every word of those two questions into his mind, then desperately poured out everything from his memory.
Got it! He finally remembered. This wasn't something he had learned, but something a person who had helped him in his most helpless moment had told him. However, that person had later disappeared without a trace, and he could never repay them. So much time had passed, and the memory had been sealed.
With no time to think, Ke Wuwen immediately started writing. But halfway through, the chalk in his hand was reduced to a mere remnant. He held it carefully, but it still wasn't enough. There was no other chalk around.
In desperation, without hesitation, Ke Wuwen bit his finger, squeezed out blood, and used it to write the final answer.
"Wuwen!"
The pain didn't make Tong Zheng utter a sound, but Ke Wuwen's action made him unable to bear it any longer. This was the treasure he loved to the bone. It didn't matter if he was shattered to pieces in the instance, but every drop of his treasure's blood tore his heart to shreds.
The table and chairs beside Chi Hao and Tong Zheng slowly moved away. Ke Wuwen had succeeded.
The moment he felt his body could move, Tong Zheng rushed to the podium and caught Ke Wuwen, who was about to collapse. The exhaustion that followed extreme mental tension made Ke Wuwen unable to stand any longer.
"Wuwen!"
Ke Wuwen looked at his "Tong Ge" and grinned. "Tong Ge, it's great. My luck is still here. I can save you all. It's… great."
"No, this isn't luck," Tong Zheng said, carefully holding Ke Wuwen. "Everyone said you survived because of luck, but that's not it. You're very smart. You're no worse than any of us. Baby, thank you. Thank you for saving everyone. You saved us all with your ability, not luck."
The space shifted, and the white snow reappeared. This time, almost everyone noticed that the endless white snow was stained with a light red.
"So that's how it is," Gu Chenhui said with a bitter smile. "This instance is both simple and difficult. It's truly… interesting."
As soon as Gu Chenhui finished speaking, the familiar sensation returned. Everyone knew, the next stage was about to begin, but they didn't know whose domain it would be.
The nine of them were locked in a cage suspended in the air, with a burning furnace below and a ladder leading to the door of life above. The iron cage was slowly descending.
Gu Chenhui was not in the cage. He was on a dueling platform not far away, facing nine opponents who were itching for a fight.
The first person jumped onto the dueling platform. Without the command to start, they immediately attacked Gu Chenhui.
Fortunately, Gu Chenhui was not unprepared. As the most outstanding Sanda coach, his reactions were textbook perfect, even though his body was already covered in wounds from the first three stages.
The first opponent was easily dealt with by Gu Chenhui. The descending cage stopped.
Then came the second, the third. Gu Chenhui had no chance to catch his breath. As soon as he defeated one, the next would immediately follow.
The bandages You Mi had made for him earlier had almost all come undone, exposing his weaknesses. How could his opponents miss such obvious attack points?
The people in the cage watched Gu Chenhui, who was covered in injuries. Even if they couldn't feel the pain, they could imagine how much each attack on his wounds hurt him. But no one could help him. This instance was clearly a solo battlefield. The victory or defeat of one person determined the lives of others. The failure of any one person might mean total annihilation.
"Gu Chenhui?" You Mi's instinctive concern made her reach out towards the cage. Sudanshuwang.
Chi Hao quickly grabbed You Mi's wrist and reminded her, "Don't move."
After Chi Hao's reminder, You Mi realized. Even through the thick soles of her shoes, she could feel the scorching heat beneath her feet. If she had grabbed like that, no matter how fast her reaction, her hands would have lost a layer of skin. Her hands couldn't be injured. She had to protect her hands to have a chance to treat her teammates' wounds, because the road ahead was still long.
"Thank… thank you."
With that, You Mi almost lost her balance as the slowly ascending cage suddenly stopped.
With Chi Hao's help, You Mi steadied herself and immediately turned to look at Gu Chenhui. She saw him being kicked to the ground by his opponent. The opponent was now stepping on the wound on Gu Chenhui's arm, crushing flesh and blood.
The stopped cage began to descend.