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Chapter 4259 Scholar Chapter 9
Chapter 4259 Scholar Chapter Nine
"Then you can analyze it."
Angell indicated that Normefens could now explain the rules.
However, Normeffens shook his head: "It's not time yet."
"What do you mean?" Angell asked, puzzled.
Normefens did not answer, but instead posed a counter-question: "Have you ever heard of the Nine Chapters of the Scholar?"
Nine chapters for scholars? Angell pondered for a moment and shook his head. He knew what "scholar" meant, and he could understand "nine chapters," but he didn't know what they meant when put together.
"The Nine Chapters of Scholars are special rituals set up by the Great Demon God's Cruel Scholar in each level of the Abyss." Normeffens paused, then looked at Angor: "You can also understand them as nine different trials."
"The essence of this test is actually very simple: anyone who wants to meet the Cruel Scholar must participate in the test of the Nine Chapters of the Scholar."
In other words, this is a necessary process for meeting a ruthless scholar.
It is also the only formal procedure.
No one is an exception. — Unless your strength also reaches the level of a demon god, allowing you to directly approach the Cruel Scholar, even the Cruel Scholar's followers who wish to meet Him must go through this process.
Angell: "According to you, ordinary people can also meet the Cruel Scholar by relying on this Nine Chapters of Scholars?"
Normeffens nodded slightly.
"Yes, ordinary mortals yearning for extraordinary abilities, extraordinary individuals with obsessive desires, and undead seeking revenge... No matter your identity, as long as you can clear the 'Nine Chapters of the Scholar,' the Cruel Scholar will definitely cast a glance at you."
"However, these people must pass all nine chapters completely, not even one chapter can be omitted."
"But if you are a follower of the Cruel Scholar, or if you are just a messenger, such as delivering a message to the Cruel Scholar on behalf of other powerful beings, then you do not need to go through the complete nine chapters."
"But it also requires going through a chapter, which is a sign of respect for ruthless scholars."
Angell roughly understood.
"Simply put, those who seek the ruthless scholar must undergo all nine trials. Simple audienceees only need to go through one chapter?"
“Yes, your understanding is correct.” Normfins nodded: “For those who seek knowledge, Chapter Nine of the Scholar’s Code is a ladder to advancement; for messengers and believers, it is a certificate of qualification. Before knowledge and truth, the paths of all beings may differ, but the threshold remains for all.”
Angell: "You suddenly brought this up. Does that mean my test this time is to pass the Nine Chapters of Scholars?"
Nomifens nodded: "Yes."
"According to that person, the final test of the sealing array is to lure the enemy into a trap. It can only be activated when the demon god senses it."
Because "the demon god's divine will is sensed" is one of the essential rituals of the sealing array.
"But ordinary tests are unlikely to be perceived by the divine sense of a demon god, so the final test of the sealing array must be the Nine Chapters of Scholar."
Only the Nine Chapters of Scholars, personally designated by the Cruel Scholar himself, will be perceived by the Demon God and cause Him to cast His gaze upon them, thus fulfilling the final ritual of the sealing array.
Ingres: "Therefore, I must go through the nine chapters of the scholar no matter what."
Nomefens nodded: "Yes, but the ritual array only requires the 'divine will of the demon god' to be moved,' not to make any request to Him. Therefore, you don't need to complete all nine chapters of the Scholar's Guide; you will most likely only need to complete one of them."
I understand. Just like he summarized before, a simple audience only requires going through one chapter.
In order to attract the attention of the demon god, he must now go through this chapter.
Normefens: "But neither I nor that one... know which chapter will ultimately come down, so I can't tell you the rules in advance."
Normefens can only offer Angel's help after the arrival of the scholar Jiuzhang.
"When will that challenge arrive?"
Nomefens: "I used the temporary privilege granted by that person to postpone the start time of the challenge by five minutes. Three and a half minutes have passed since you entered, and it will begin soon if nothing unexpected happens."
In short, the five minutes that Normeffens bought were to dispel Ingres' doubts and to convince him of its truth.
And it did.
However, Normefens believed that Angor trusted it because of its identity as a "book fairy," but in reality, this was completely unnecessary.
Under Angell's emotional perception, whether it was lying or not was immediately clear.
Taking advantage of this last bit of time, Normefens briefly recounted the situation of the Nine Scholars.
The nine chapters represent nine trials, which are—
"The chapters of flesh and blood, fear, memory, will, heart, time, philosophy, truth, and the final chapter."
"Although the Cruel Scholars believe that these nine chapters are essentially equal, according to feedback from many challengers, the later chapters become increasingly difficult."
Angell: "So I need to pray that the first few chapters will be the best?"
Normefens shook his head: "Not necessarily. The Nine Chapters of Scholars are basically only spread in the Abyss. Therefore, most of those who participate in this test are Abyss residents. The golden apple they covet is only what they find palatable. But you are not an Abyss resident, so perhaps this golden apple will taste sour and astringent to you."
To put it bluntly, what is poison to one is honey to another.
"That person once deduced that, if it were someone from your team, the leader dressed as a rabbit might be better at the Chapter of Willpower, the little teacuphead would be better at the Chapter of Fear, and the tentacle sea urchin floating in the air would be better at the Chapter of Flesh and Blood..."
Angel raised an eyebrow. Although he didn't know the content of each chapter's assessment, the names certainly made sense.
"And what about me?" Angell asked curiously.
“She said that anything that tests one’s knowledge is suitable for you.” Normeffens: “For example, the chapters on the heart, time, philosophy, truth, and the final chapter.”
Angell fell silent.
The "that one" that Normefens was referring to was undoubtedly the Book Fairy.
From the perspective of the book fairies, Angell overcame all obstacles and defeated all the challenges from the book fairies, demonstrating his profound knowledge.
Therefore, chapters that require a strong foundation of knowledge are certainly more suitable for a "wise man" like Ingres.
but……
What the book fairy didn't know was that Angel was simply using his God-like perspective to do whatever he wanted.
If he weren't in the Dream Crystal Plains, he would probably be completely lost.
But there are no ifs.
He was currently in the Dream Crystal Plains, and his cheat codes were still active. He was truly not afraid of the knowledge-based tests.
Even if it requires a battle, Angor is confident that he can break through with the power of Nightmare Illusion.
Just as Angell was calming down, a familiar wave suddenly swept over him.
Angell was once again unable to move or speak.
At that moment, Normefens's voice came from beside me: "The challenge is about to begin... Although the demon god's divine sense will not appear immediately, just in case, I will hide myself first and come out to remind you at the right time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Angell activated his God's-eye view and discovered that the golden ocean beneath the glass floor was churning.
The enormous human-faced lion began to slowly sink.
Its body, composed of countless golden dust particles, gradually blurred at the edges, eventually merging with the golden sea of hemp, as if it had never existed at all.
Not long after Normefens disappeared, the ground shook.
A strange building slowly rose up.
It is described as “strange” because it is a pure white, absolutely geometrically luminous cube with almost no seams on its surface.
It looked as if it had been cut directly from the dazzling light.
Once the cube was fully revealed, Angor's restrictions on movement were lifted, but the silencing remained. This meant that he now needed to move, but not speak.
Angell strode forward toward the cube in front of him.
As it drew closer, the originally dazzling light gradually softened.
Or rather, this is the characteristic of a cube: it looks incredibly brilliant and dazzling from afar, but becomes gentle and soothing up close, just like an ordinary pure white building.
It was at this moment that Angell saw a faint light gate appear on the cube.
He walked in without hesitation.
The moment he passed through the portal, Angor found himself in a slightly smaller space filled with glowing cubes of various sizes.
The outline of a human figure can be faintly seen within the cube.
At first glance, it looks like a cube-shaped amber museum.
Just as Angor was observing his surroundings, a small, crouching demon appeared out of thin air on a certain block.
Its posture is somewhat like a gargoyle. It is very thin and squats down with its paws on the block, as if it would fall down at any moment if it did not have the block to hold onto.
The little devil has a pair of ripped wings that are bigger than his body.
But the most peculiar thing was the little devil's tail, with a lantern hanging from a hook at its tip. The wick burned with a faint blue flame, and from the flame, one could vaguely sense the aura of a high-ranking being.
Angor was no stranger to this aura; he had felt a similar sensation from the Lord of No Flame before.
So, what might be contained within the flame of the lamp wick... is the divine thought of a cruel scholar?
No, the Cruel Scholar's divine sense shouldn't have descended yet. That flame might just be a symbol, or perhaps... a window?
Angel silently shifted his gaze from the flames to the dark-skinned little devil with its pointed snout and pig-like nose.
Welcome to the Chapter of the Heart.
"Gah gah gah—how strange, this time we're actually undergoing a Heart Chapter trial in an unknown world?"
"But it doesn't matter. The world is not important, the heart is the most important."
“I am the host of the Chapter of the Heart, you can call me… the Heart Demon.”
There was silence.
"Hehehe, another guy who doesn't understand humor. You should laugh when I talk about inner demons, understand?" The dark-skinned little devil seemed a bit dissatisfied. As the lamp demon, he was the host of the "Chapter of the Heart," so it was normal for him to say that he was an inner demon. And it just so happened that there was an inner demon among the demons, and the name matched. What a funny joke that was.
Unfortunately, none of these test-takers understood its humor.
Angell: "..."
He really wanted to laugh, but the text box didn't offer that option.
However, this test is the "Chapter of the Heart," which seems to be exactly the chapter that Normefens said he could handle.
The chapter on the heart is related to one's knowledge base.
However, he does not yet know the specific rules.
Angell waited silently for the dark-skinned imp to explain the rules, but after the imp uttered a lame joke that no one else understood, he changed the subject: "Alright, since you're another tester lacking emotional intelligence, I'm too lazy to chat with you anymore. Probably another ruthless avenger. Why are you so obsessed with revenge?"
"Sigh, what can we do when our master just likes people like you who are so stubborn?"
"Now that you've arrived at the Chapter of the Heart, you should be familiar with the rules here, so I won't say any more. You can make your choice now."
After speaking, the dark-skinned little devil said no more, but simply stared at Angor with his emerald green eyes.
It seems they are waiting for Angell to make a decision.
The text box then displayed a message selection option, but to Angell's dismay, there was only one option.
"Start the Challenge"
Does he not even understand the rules before he starts challenging them?
Also, this devilish host doesn't follow the rules at all; that's so unprofessional!
Just as Angel was complaining, he suddenly heard a rustling sound.
"So it's the Chapter of the Heart. This shouldn't be too difficult for you. It's a question-and-answer test." The voice echoed with a buzzing sound, but it didn't get out.
Without a doubt, the one speaking was Normefens, who had previously disappeared.
A question-and-answer test?
What questions will be asked? What answers will be given? What type of knowledge will be tested?
Angell wanted to ask, but he couldn't speak at all; he tried to use telepathy, but couldn't find where Normefens was hiding.
“You don’t need to speak. Speaking will attract the attention of the demon master on the other side. You just need to listen, and I will tell you the rules.” Nomefens seemed to understand Angor’s situation and even gave him a special reminder.
Angel remained outwardly calm, but his ears were perked up, eager to hear what kind of test this Chapter of the Heart was.
"The test of the Chapter of the Heart can be understood as... questioning one's own heart."
"Do you see those floating cubes? The figures inside those cubes are your examiners."
"When you touch any of the squares, it means you've decided to choose the person inside as your examiner."
Each examiner gives different questions.
Angell needs to select three blocks in a row, identify three examiners, and answer the questions they give in order to pass the level.
It sounds simple, but—
"...It should be noted that the questions asked by examiners are sometimes very abstract, and they may not ask questions with absolutely standard answers. However, the questions they ask will definitely contain ideological elements."
What is ideology?
This can be understood as each examiner representing a deeply ingrained, specific perspective on the world.
“For example…” Normeffens’s voice continued to whisper in Angel’s ear, “You might encounter an examiner who believes in absolute reason and regards emotions as useless noise; you might also encounter an examiner who firmly believes that strength is truth and that morality is a shackle for the weak; you might even encounter questions from a foreign race whose worldview, values, and cognition are completely contrary to yours.”
"Because these examiners have different ideologies, you must also make appropriate choices in your answers."
(End of this chapter)