Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Mond felt a little uncomfortable under everyone's gaze. He scratched his short white hair, walked casually to an empty metal chair next to the banquet table, and plopped down on it, the chair creaking under its own weight.

He looked down at the chair beneath him and felt a little uncomfortable. He still preferred sitting on a leather sofa to this metal chair.

Seeing that everyone else was still looking at him, Mond touched his face in confusion and turned to ask Shangyue sitting next to him, "Have I suddenly become handsome?"

Shangyue's black wings trembled slightly. Her cold eyes swept over Mond's face, which was filled with genuine confusion, and in the end, she said nothing, only giving him a disdainful look.

If they weren't in the Death House of the Strongest Tournament right now, based on Mond's shameless words, Shangyue felt she might have spat in his face—her Feather Clan upbringing prevented her from doing such a thing, but the contempt in her eyes was obvious enough.

Lin Yi got up from the sofa and walked to Mond's side.

He examined the fresh wounds and bruises on the demon youth's body and asked, "How are you feeling?"

When Mond's eyes lit up upon seeing that it was Lin Yi who had come to ask him questions.

He immediately rolled up his sleeves, showing off his bulging muscles, and the unhealed wounds on his arms bled slightly with the movement.

“Excellent!” Mond’s voice was full of confidence. “In my current state, taking on three Sorrowful Moons in one go is a piece of cake!”

The moment the words left his mouth, the air in the banquet hall suddenly turned several degrees colder.

Shangyue slowly stood up from the metal chair.

Her movements were slow, but every subtle gesture exuded an aura of danger.

Black wings spread out completely behind her, each feather taut and straight.

She didn't look at Mondstadt, but the murderous intent emanating from her had already locked onto this outspoken demon.

Mondl belatedly realized something was wrong, and when he turned to look at Shangyue, the smile on his face froze.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something to ease the tension, but his brain got stuck while frantically searching for the right words.

At this tense moment—

"Cough, cough."

Two soft coughs came from the direction of the head of the banquet table.

Anna remained seated, her pale fingers folded on her knees.

She didn't even look up at the two sides arguing; her two coughs were just right, soft enough for everyone in the banquet hall to hear.

Shangyue paused in her movements.

Her eyes met Anna's deep purple eyes for a moment.

Anna's eyes were calm and expressionless, but the meaning behind them was clear: not here.

Shang Yue took a deep breath, and the killing intent around her receded like a tide.

Her black wings slowly folded, and she sat back down in the chair, the whole process completely silent.

But her gaze toward Mond remained icy, the meaning clear: this is not over.

Mond instinctively shrank his neck. Although he wasn't really afraid of Shangyue, he still knew to behave himself on the territory of the owner of the House of Death.

Especially those Axe-wielding guys still spinning wildly at the entrance, constantly reminding him how dangerous the rules here are.

The dragon-hunting spider lay at Lin Yi's feet, making unintelligible gurgling sounds in its throat, as if mocking Mondstadt's predicament.

At this moment, Baha flapped its wings and flew off Su Xiao's shoulder, circled once in the air, and landed steadily on Mond's shoulder.

It tilted its head, preened the feathers on its wings with its sharp beak, and then asked, "You've been wandering around that maze for so long, have you seen that red-robed female mage? Is she dead or alive?"

Mond was taken aback by the question. He tried to recall his experience in the Labyrinth of the Dead: the winding passages, the eerie whispers, and the ghosts that would occasionally appear to tempt him... The images flashed quickly through his simple and straightforward mind.

“Dylin? The one from the Arcane Eternal Star?” Mond scratched his head. “I don’t think I saw her. There are too many paths in the maze; I’ve taken at least twenty forks, and they all look pretty much the same. But—”

He didn't finish his sentence.

The air in the center of the banquet hall suddenly distorted.

Without any warning, a spatial fluctuation appeared out of nowhere, like ripples spreading from a pebble thrown into calm water.

The center of the ripples expanded rapidly, forming a circular portal with a diameter of about two meters.

It was fortunate that everyone present knew the banquet hall was an absolutely safe zone—the fact that even those Axe Bros outside the door were so desperate they couldn't bring themselves to step inside was the best proof of that.

Violating the rules here could have consequences far worse than being hunted down by Axe Bro.

So the moment the portal appeared, Su Xiao only slightly tightened his fingers on the hilt of his sword. The blade of the Dragon Slayer slid half an inch out of its sheath, and blue lightning flashed across the blade for a moment before disappearing quietly.

He didn't actually draw his sword, but the dangerous aura he exuded in that instant made the temperature in the banquet hall drop several degrees.

In any other situation, such a sudden spatial fluctuation would have been enough for Su Xiao to immediately swing his sword and slash—he never relied on the goodwill of others for his own safety.

The spatial portal stabilized, and a figure fell from it.

It's Dilling.

She fell onto the gleaming marble floor of the banquet hall with a dull thud.

His dark red robe was tattered and torn at the edges, revealing skin underneath that was also covered in wounds.

The wounds were bizarre; some looked like they had been torn apart by sharp claws, while others resembled scorch marks left after being corroded by some kind of dark energy.

What's most striking is her left eye.

That eye had turned completely black, and the surface of the eyeball even had an ominous oily sheen, as if it had been filled with thick ink.

The blackness was slowly spreading around her eyes, forming a fine, spiderweb-like pattern on her pale skin.

Dillian's body trembled violently.

With her still-functioning right hand, she laboriously pulled a small metal bottle from her waist; the bottle was only the size of a thumb.

Her fingers trembled with weakness, and it took her three tries to finally manage to unscrew the bottle cap.

"hiss--"

Dillian brought the bottle opening to her lips and took a deep breath of the gas escaping from inside.

The gas was pale gold. The moment she inhaled it, Dilling's body arched violently, as if she had been struck by an electric current.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out; only thick black mist poured out of her mouth, nose, ears, and even the pores of her skin.

The black mist twisted and tumbled in the air, and the outlines of human faces could be vaguely seen. They let out silent screams and finally disappeared without a trace under the soft light of the banquet hall.

As the black mist dissipated, the blackness in Dillian's left eye began to slowly fade.

First, the whites of the eyes returned to normal, and then the black of the pupils gradually faded, revealing their original color again.

It was just much dimmer than usual, as if covered with a layer of dust.

“Ha…haha…” Dillian lay on the ground, letting out a weak laugh, “Trying to kill me…dream on…just a dead woman…”

She struggled to stand up, but failed twice.

Finally, she gave up and used her still-movable elbow to support her body as she slowly crawled toward a decorative pool in the corner of the banquet hall.

It was a shallow, circular pool about three meters in diameter, with crystal-clear water and white pebbles at the bottom.

Several purple aquatic plants, whose names I don't know, grow by the pond, with tiny flowers.

Dillian climbed to the edge of the pool and, without any hesitation, rolled over and into the water.

puff.

Water splashed up.

The clear pool water was quickly stained light red.

Dilline's wounds began to heal slowly after coming into contact with water, and the marks of being eroded by dark energy gradually faded.

She lay on her back at the bottom of the pool, her eyes open, staring at the high dome of the banquet hall, letting the water wash away the blood and exhaustion from her body.

Lin Yi noticed this detail.

Dilling has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness—at least she has very high standards for her own hygiene.

This may be a habit caused by certain experiences in her childhood. In this severely injured and weak state, the first thing she wanted to do was to wash her body.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. None of those who can advance through the first stage of the Battle of the Strongest are simple characters.

As the top spellcasting faction in the Void, Arcane Eternal Star still needs to save face.

If the contestants they sent couldn't even survive the first round of the Death House test, they wouldn't have the face to send someone here and risk embarrassment. Just as Dillian was recovering in the pool, Baha flapped his wings and flew over.

It hovered above the pool, tilting its head to examine Dillian in the water, its black eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.

"Yo, isn't this the genius mage from Arcane Eternal Star?" Bahamut's voice was clearly mocking. "What's gotten into you? Did you get chased around the labyrinth by those undead for dozens of times?"

Dillian lay at the bottom of the water, not even blinking, completely ignoring Baha's presence.

Baha didn't care and continued its performance: "Let me guess, did you fall under an illusion as soon as you went in, and then unleash a whole series of fireballs at thin air? And then get blasted away by the aftershocks of your own spell?"

"Or worse, perhaps you've been possessed by some ancient spirit? Judging from your appearance just now, your left eye was as black as if it had been smeared with charcoal. Could it be that you've been 'corrupted'? That stuff is not easy to remove; even with purification magic, you'd have to lie in bed for three days—"

"Shut up."

Dillian suddenly spoke.

Her voice came from underwater, muffled by the current, but the coldness within it was clearly discernible.

She sat up from the pool, her wet, short red hair plastered to her cheeks, water droplets dripping down her chin.

The left eye has recovered about 70-80%, but there is still a faint gray mark around the pupil.

Dillian looked up at Baha in the sky.

Her eyes were calm, but Lin Yi noticed that her fingers, which were hanging in the water, were slowly tracing something—it was a gesture for casting a spell. Although it was very subtle, it could not escape the eyes of someone who was paying attention.

Bach clearly noticed this as well.

But its goal was to entice Dilling to break the rules of the banquet hall.

So instead of backing down, Baha flew even lower, almost touching Dillian's face.

“What, you want to make a move?” Bahamut’s tone became even more provocative. “Come on, come on, hit me here. Let me see what decent spells the casters of Arcane Eternal Star can still cast after soaking in the water for half a day.”

Dillian's fingers paused for a moment.

Her gaze passed over Baha and landed on the banquet table.

Su Xiao remained seated, her back to the pool, seemingly uninterested in what was happening around her.

But Dylin knows the Spellbreakers too well—or rather, Arcane Eternal Star's research on the Spellbreakers is deeply ingrained.

Something's wrong, something's very wrong.

Those who destroy the law are a very protective group of people. Although Di Lin has not had much interaction with Su Xiao, according to the information she has obtained, Su Xiao's behavior at this moment is very abnormal.

With that thought in mind, Dillian dispersed the elemental power that had been gathered at her fingertips.

She took a deep breath and climbed out of the pool. Her soaked robe clung to her body, outlining her slender yet powerful physique.

Water dripped down her clothes, forming a small puddle at her feet.

She ignored Bach and went straight to the banquet table.

Baha circled once in the air, clicked his tongue, seemingly regretting that he had failed to provoke Dillian, and flapped his wings to fly back to Su Xiao's shoulder.

Di Lin stopped in front of Su Xiao.

She was soaking wet, pale, and had traces of erosion still visible in her left eye; she looked utterly disheveled.

But her back was very straight, and her chin was slightly raised, the arrogance of someone from the Arcane Eternal Star was etched into her bones.

Dillian might not care much about others, but she absolutely cannot show weakness towards Su Xiao. Otherwise, even if she survives the Strongest Tournament, her situation on Arcane Eternal Star will definitely not be much better.

Under everyone's gaze, Dillian slowly raised her right hand, pointing it at Su Xiao—

He gave me the middle finger.

The banquet hall was completely silent.

Lin Yi knew Su Xiao too well; this provocative behavior had crossed his bottom line.

Although Su Xiao's face was expressionless, the cold light that flashed in his half-closed eyes was enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who knew him well.

The last person who dared to provoke Su Xiao like this has already been torn to pieces in the real world—literally.

The cleaners were later forced to intervene and engage in a series of troublesome negotiations with the authorities.

It's also thanks to the fact that the people Su Xiao killed were all scum that the authorities tacitly approved of this incident.

Dilling was clearly unaware of these things, or perhaps she knew but didn't care.

She withdrew her hand, turned and walked to an empty seat on the other side of the banquet table, her soaked robe leaving a trail of water behind her.

The moment she turned around, Su Xiao's eyes opened completely.

That wasn't an angry look, but an extreme calmness, as if assessing the prey's fatal weakness and calculating the best angle and timing to strike.

Lin Yi could even imagine the scene in Su Xiao's mind at that moment—he was thinking about where to bury Di Lin, how to do it, and how much time it would take to dispose of her.

However, all of this was interrupted by a soft cough.

Anna rose from her seat.

Her slender, pale fingers gently touched the surface of the banquet table.

With this action, a pure white light spread from the tabletop, rippling across each participant like water.

Lin Yi looked down at his arm. A white fluorescent light covered his skin, bringing a warm, soothing sensation. He could feel that this energy had a strong healing effect.

What concerned Lin Yi even more was that when this healing energy came into contact with the abyssal power within his body, it did not produce a noticeable rejection reaction.

The power of the abyss is corrosive and aggressive to most external energies, but when faced with the white fluorescence released by Anna, it simply lay dormant, as if observing, or perhaps... adapting.

Su Xiao also stood up from the sofa and walked to the banquet table to sit down.

He chose a spot between Mondstadt and Moonbreak, across the table from Dylan.

The moment Su Xiao sat down—

Heavy footsteps came from the direction of the Golden Gate.

The Gluttonous Beasts outside the door, which were still spinning and colliding with each other, suddenly stopped moving.

Their bulky bodies came to a standstill, and the iron chains wrapped around them rattled.

The rift in the center of the torso slowly closed, and the teeth-grinding friction sounds disappeared.

Then, they started moving.

Instead of the previous violent and disorderly rampage, they marched in an orderly fashion.

One after another, Axe-wielding beasts, Knife-wielding beasts, Chain-hammer-wielding beasts... all the Gluttonous Beasts lined up in two columns, taking heavy steps as they entered the banquet hall.

Their footsteps thumped on the marble floor, creating a dull thud that sent a slight vibration throughout the banquet hall.

Mondl clenched his fists instinctively, Sorrowful Moon's wings spread slightly, and even Dillian sat up straight, her wet fingers tracing the starting stance of a defensive spell under the table.

Only Lin Yi and Su Xiao remained relatively calm.

Lin Yi knew very well that these monsters couldn't harm him because he had Anna's protection.

Su Xiao, on the other hand, simply had it as a habit.

The Gluttonous Beasts marched straight to the banquet table.

They circled around the people sitting at the table and finally stopped behind Su Xiao and Shang Yue's seats.

The remaining forty-odd large headless monsters huddled together, their chains clanging against each other, their weapons dragging on the ground, and the rift in the center of their torsos opening and closing slightly, spewing out a damp, bloody vapor.

The monsters' boiling killing intent was undisguised as they locked onto Su Xiao and Shang Yue. Coupled with the wounds on their bodies from their recent mutual slaughter, the sight alone was enough to make many timid people faint.

If looks could kill, Su Xiao and Shang Yue would have been torn to pieces by these monsters by now.

But this is a banquet hall.

Anna tapped her pale fingers lightly on the table.

"Quiet."

Her voice was soft, yet it caused all the Gluttonous Beasts to pause in their movements.

They seemed to be suppressed by an invisible force, their bodies slightly lowered, their cracks closed, and even the clanging of the chains was much quieter. (End of Chapter)