The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

That is the power of words. The language of the gods, the voice that names all things, transforming thoughts into phenomena, and giving phenomena entirely new meaning!

Linggong sensed the gaze. It shot forth from the depths of the raging fire, persistent, stubborn, and unyielding. The Eye of the Wood God was staring at her, its pupil, formed from tree patterns, shrinking.

The wood grain gathered, then converged layer by layer, surging in all directions. The eye transformed into a flower, a flower formed solely of wood grain. It bloomed magnificently on the charred tree trunk.

【Death Transformation into a Thousand Flowers】

"—!"

In an instant, Linggong collapsed to the ground.

She knelt on the ground, prostrate in the center of the magic circle she had drawn. She issued no warning, took no action. It wasn't due to complacency or carelessness, but because at this moment, she couldn't even utter a sound.

The power has vanished.

Life force was draining away, along the land, along the air, along the spreading branches of the divine tree. She saw the members of the control team fall one after another, clearly having avoided the aftershocks of the god's rampage, yet utterly powerless against this invisible and colorless attack.

Numerous life forces surged onto the surface of the divine tree, transforming into one withered flower after another!

That is the rule of the forest. The underlying logic of the ecosystem. Life will inevitably perish, but the forest will always endure. Because the departed lives will nourish the soil, becoming the foundation for the survival of trees and flowers. Even without gods or Buddhas, life continues to cycle in nature, and the greatest and strongest power of the Tree God is the basis of the principles of the forest.

The transfer of life.

The God of Death will absorb the surrounding life to complete its rebirth, transforming into a thousand brilliantly blooming divine flowers!

The sacred tree was covered by a thousand flowers. The withered blossoms repelled the flame soldiers, covered the fire curse, and shattered the charred layer outside the shell, revealing newly sprouted buds.

The fallen god slowly rises, having once again triumphed over fate; it will ultimately become a new calamity. It will transform all living beings into wood, allowing them to grow endlessly, constructing an immortal divine kingdom without death!

Linggong moved her lips, trying her best to make a sound.

I'm entrusting this to you...!

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

A familiar response rang out.

He was exactly as I remembered him. He wasn't exactly composed, and there was a hint of bravado in his demeanor. Yet, he was full of confidence, hence his high spirits.

Unstoppable!

A stream of light shot into the sky, turning a thousand withered flowers pure white!

The wood grain on the surface of the sacred tree converged, and a new divine eye was urgently generated, gazing into the depths of the light. Even the gods were astonished, for what they were looking at was not light at all.

That was a sword! A sword forged with magic!

Highly concentrated magic forms the gleaming blade, its incredible power extending high into the sky. The greatsword is as long as an ancient tree; it is a heavy sword only giants are qualified to wield, its strikes capable of splitting mountains and shattering the earth.

The swordsman was merely a young man in white, his hair dancing in the torrent of magic, a cunning smile on his face.

"You thought I'd lost my magic, huh?" Lü Wenjun laughed. "Too bad... you've fallen for it!"

Lu Wenjun's magic power had been exhausted when he stepped into the trap. Helpless, he had no choice but to retreat from the front line with the others.

—How could that be?

Ultimately, he himself knew this weakness best. Having devised the plan to lure him into a trap, how could he not have prepared for it? Pershka held onto his shoulder throughout the escape—that was to bestow upon him magical power. The magical power to unleash his final blow!

Lu Wenjun raised the giant sword high and walked towards the god. The sword was clearly an incredible size, yet he wielded it with effortless ease.

The tree god's branches and leaves grew rapidly, projecting out like countless threads, attempting to steal his life and transform it into nourishment for the flowers. However, the connection was severed, the branches and leaves collapsed, and even without the divine power of the setting sun, the "Death Transformation into a Thousand Flowers" technique was completely ineffective. This was because the power of the sword had severed the link.

That was pure power, pure mass, magical light bursting forth high in the sky, severing the tentacles of the gods with absolute presence!

"Mortals cannot defeat gods? Unfortunately, children don't like this kind of grand theory."

"They love unrealistic fantasies, of the weak defeating the strong, of the small triumphing over the large. A little man can defeat a knight, a child can overcome a giant. They don't need swords and magic, for they have wisdom, courage, and... lies!"

This famous story is included in Mrs. Holler's collection of fairy tales.

A clever and courageous child embarks on a journey to vanquish a man-eating giant. He sets a trap, exhausting the giant. With silver tongue, he tricks the giant into committing seppuku (ritual suicide). He cleverly steals the giant's treasured sword and uses the giant's divine weapon to behead the demon king. Thus, his mission is accomplished, and he returns home in glory.

His name is also "Jack." This name is used to refer to scoundrels, swindlers, and nameless individuals, but it can also refer to heroes who overcome the strong with the weak. That is the true face of the Sword of Light, a trump card specifically designed to defeat powerful enemies.

Other Tales Manifested: Jack the Giant Slayer!

"Come, review the lies you've believed!"

This is magic with extremely demanding activation conditions.

This technique has a significant special attack effect against strong or giant enemies. However, this technique can only be used on opponents stronger than oneself, and it can only be activated after the opponent has been deceived.

The sword of lies, used to slay giants, is powerful depending on how many times the opponent is deceived. The more times the deception succeeds, the stronger the sword of lies becomes.

In this battle, the number of times the Outer God was deceived was—

Deceived by the will-o'-the-wisp, he was ambushed by Lacey during the chase, mistakenly believed that Lu Wenjun had lost all his magic, had his vision obscured by Pershka's white sky, and accidentally fell into a trap set by Faris and Ling Gong.

Up to this point, that's a total of five times!

Magic danced wildly, its blazing light like a storm. Harsh conditions and limitations resulted in overwhelming power under extreme circumstances. What was originally just a child's dagger, through five layers of lies, transformed into a sword of light capable of slaying gods.

The Wood God trembled with a sense of crisis, a threat far greater than anything he had ever faced before. His survival instincts kicked in, and in a split second, the withered flowers closed in, while the gathered divine power shot out like a cannonball.

The sky was instantly covered in ashes. On the battlefield, a thousand flowers bloomed!

This is the final judgment.

If one were to wield a lightsaber to cut down a thousand flowers, then the hard-won power would be exhausted in a single offensive or defensive exchange.

Therefore, Lü Wenjun turned the greatsword to the side.

She bent her legs and put on a white outfit.

The spiral patterns on his feet instantly filled in, and just before the thousand petals hit the ground, Lü Wenjun leaped forward with his strongest leg. He brushed past countless petals, undaunted by the violence that could shatter his body. The brilliance of the greatsword extended with his extreme speed, like a meteor streaking across the battlefield.

He trampled the withered flowers one after another, like an immortal stepping over a floating staircase, a lightning-fast meteor twisting and turning, finally arriving at the highest point of the battlefield... towering above the ancient trees!

Sword's edge. Divine gaze. Scar. Shout. Their gazes met in mid-air as Lü Wenjun slashed at the ancient tree's scar.

He swung the divine sword forged from lies, an unstoppable slash tearing through his wounds and embedding itself deep within the ancient tree. The figures of man and god intertwined; he landed and slid, the light sword in his hand dimming and vanishing.

A massive arc of sword light appeared like the aurora borealis, cleaving the entire divine tree in two!

·

Lu Wenjun silently turned around and looked at the ancient tree that had fallen amidst the loud noise.

Fatigue spread through his bones. His legs groaned, making it almost impossible for him to stand. This time it wasn't a lie; the long-lost stinging sensation dominated his brain. He was completely exhausted, nearly utterly drained.

He swayed slightly, as if he were about to collapse. But he still forced himself to stand and moved forward at a slow pace.

I can't fall down yet. I don't have the right to fall yet...

Lu Wenjun walked step by step toward the northern part of the battlefield. On the way, he almost fell, but was supported by a slender hand.

It was Pershka. She glared at him irritably and dragged him toward their destination.

"Hey, you fox spirit!"

The target was not far away. Kneeling in the magic circle whose shape was no longer recognizable, his face was blackened by smoke, and his lips had lost their luster due to dryness.

"Ah...ah..."

Linggong struggled to sit up, wanting to say something, but her throat was too dry to utter a word. So she could only wave her hand slightly to show that she was alright.

Lu Wenjun breathed a sigh of relief, but then lost his balance and fell to the ground, dragging Pershika with him. The witch was angrily saying something, and Ling Gong seemed to be laughing. He didn't bother to retort and looked at the remains of the Wood God.

The upper half of the ancient tree had been cut off. The decaying and hollow remains stood in the fire, yet inexplicably, they appeared somewhat cleaner than before. The holes filled by the tree rings no longer resembled wounds, but rather looked like a face gazing into the sky.

For the first time since the start of the battle, they heard the true voice of the Wood God.

"Among the gnarled branches of ancient trees,

The summer breeze is still, and the leaves hang gracefully.

Time flies like an arrow.

It was no longer the chorus of cicadas, but the ethereal and elegant voice of a woman.

"Congratulations, heroes."

"You have won."

Those who regained consciousness rose from the ashes, and in the distant temple, the vanguard who had been imprisoned by the Tree Burial were also freed. They looked around blankly, then heard shouts coming from afar.

Lu Wenjun raised his arms high and let out a heartfelt cheer.

"We won!!"

Then, cheers from the young people echoed through the forest.

It was pure joy, unrelated to any self-interest.

The fruits of hard work, friendship, and victory...

An unforgettable summer memory.

The god who transforms the outside world explains it.

A priest, the god of wood.

True name, Jiu Jiu Neng Zhi Shen.

Expedition over!

Chapter 66 Summer Breeze Quietly Breezes, Autumn Leaves Hanging (6K)

What happened after that is unclear to anyone who experienced it firsthand.

Most of the new students were dizzy and disoriented from the effects of the divine magic, while the few who were lucky enough to escape the attack were too exhausted to move. The members at the very center of the battlefield collapsed almost instantly, so the rest of the story can only be pieced together from the descriptions of bystanders:

After the battle, Ji Chuanjun arrived at the scene immediately, treated all the freshmen, and transferred them to the school hospital. It is said that his speed was so fast that it was hard to describe the details; he just "whooshed" through everything.

"The description 'in a flash' is too vague..." Lü Wenjun squinted.

“That’s exactly how it is,” Mingxiao said. “I just glanced back! And then, in a flash, the wounds and dust were gone, and in another flash, you were all gone from the battlefield. Honestly, it was terrifying; even I could barely see clearly.”

"...Could it be that the professor is actually quite nervous too?"

"After all, there's a bunch of idiots who're excited to kill a god. It would be strange if a teacher wasn't worried."

After that, Merdin walked through the forest and repaired the battlefield. Many ancient trees were destroyed in the battle, but a considerable number of plants proliferated due to the appearance of the otherworldly god. In the end, the gains of the Four Seasons Forest were roughly equal to the losses, and the ecological environment remained largely unchanged.

The forest monsters complained incessantly, but they accepted the outcome—Big Lacey had helped evacuate the monsters and animals early on, so there were no unexpected casualties. It itself was quite satisfied with the result, because finally no one was competing with it for territory.

"The fearsome rookie killer has been resurrected. Next year's freshmen are in for a treat," Mingxiao gloated.

“Should we be more careful from now on…” Ling Gong said.

"Old Man Lacey said he helped a lot this time, so as long as you guys don't go too far, he won't interfere."

"Yay, winner's privilege!"

The Wood God, having regained consciousness, was reportedly taken away by Teacher Lingge. Its fate is still under discussion, but its life is safe. All that remains are numerous trivial matters.

"Is its life really not in danger?" Faris questioned. "I mean, it was cut in half, turned from a forest into a tree."

Lu Wenjun nodded: "To be honest, when I first looked at it, I thought it was dead..."

“What do you think God is?” Mingxiao said. “The body and form are just external things, which can be reshaped as long as there is enough magic or faith. The key is the inner self.”

The otherworldly god, devoid of consciousness, personality, and memory, possessing only a lingering obsession, is essentially a catastrophe. The battle to subdue this otherworldly god is the process of managing the disaster.

Calming the madness and suppressing the obsession allows reason to re-emerge from the spirit. Only through such renewed "education" can the otherworldly god hope to return to its original divine form. This is the true meaning of the ritual of battle.

"In other words, if someone goes crazy, beat them until they stop going crazy," Virsa concluded.

"Vilsa has grasped the essence perfectly!" Mingxiao praised. "That's pretty much it. You guys were quite lucky this time. Jiujiu's wisdom is inherently kind; he even knew to say thank you after waking up. The thing I fought last time wasn't any good; it was beaten awake but still thinking about causing trouble..."

"I'm curious, how was it finally resolved?"

"We beat him up a second time and he ran away. Next time we see him, we'll beat him to a pulp." Mingxiao stood up. "That's settled then. Senior sister has to clean up the mess. Good luck to you guys!"

She left the fruit she brought as a visitor and slipped away, leaving the miserable patients in the ward looking at each other in bewilderment.

Three days have passed since the battle ended, and the vast majority of freshmen were cured by the next day, leaving only a few unfortunate patients in the school hospital.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been unable to lift my hand,” Virsa said.

The brave soldier's arms were wrapped in bandages, tied up like two chicken legs, looking as if they had suffered comminuted fractures. Lu Wenjun said weakly, "As the saying goes, scars are a soldier's medals, and yours are covered in them..."

Vilsa looked distressed: "I can't access the forum anymore."

"You're actually paying attention to this? Are you a bit too addicted to the internet?!"