Chapter 31: Heavenly Court: The Three Major Rebels (1/2)

The taut chain extended into the mist, disappearing beyond the horizon.

“That sound… has someone been caught?”

Su Fu leaned against the wall, her expression grave, her heartbeat involuntarily quickening.

At that moment, the Guardian moved.

It stepped forward, its movements slow, causing the chain to be pulled, the sound of metal grinding piercing the dead silence.

The sound of something heavy being dragged became increasingly clear.

Suddenly, the mist churned, and a figure was roughly dragged out.

The bronze chain coiled around his body, constricting him like a snake.

When Su Fu recognized the familiar face, her pupils contracted sharply.

“Lin Ming?!”

How could he have been caught?!

Wait!

Su Fu recalled the name on the exam paper: “Heavenly Prison Ruins Guardian.”

So, this anomaly must be the Guardian?

Then, their identities as examinees… are they prisoners?!

What the hell kind of disastrous start is this?

How are we supposed to fight this?

Moreover, there’s something else that doesn’t add up.

Even if they were truly “prisoners,” Lin Mingxi possessed the ability of 【Destiny Prophecy】, which would give him a premonition before any danger arrived.

He should have been able to avoid it entirely; it’s impossible for him to be caught so easily.

Unless, her heart sank, unless… he was so unlucky that there was no way out, and thus the Guardian caught him first.

But the probability of that is extremely low.

It’s more likely that it wasn’t just bad luck—someone intervened.

Another examinee has targeted their team.

She calmed down and quickly analyzed: For other schools, it’s well known that under the [Total Allocation] exam mode, she had received a large distribution of divine power, gaining immense benefits.

If she were an examinee from another school, what would she do?

The answer was obvious: Seven High was too strong; they had to find a way to weaken them.

Perhaps, those people had already tried to target her but failed.

So, they turned to the easiest target: Lin Mingxi.

There was no other choice.

As a prophet-type support, Lin Mingxi’s abilities were extremely useful, but his own combat strength was weak.

Compared to the troublesome Jiang Qingyu and herself, Lin Mingxi was clearly the weak link.

Almost instantly, Su Fu pieced together most of the puzzle.

But… what could she do even after figuring it out?

Her gaze fell on the Guardian wearing the bronze mask.

Those eyes glowing with an eerie blue light seemed to be staring at something.

This was a jailer of the Heavenly Court, a being specialized in suppressing serious criminals.

Just by its appearance, it looked overwhelmingly strong.

How are we supposed to fight this?!

***

Behind a broken wall in the Heavenly Prison Ruins.

“It worked!” Mo Wanqing whispered excitedly, crouching behind the ruined wall, peering through a crack to observe the situation.

Jiang Linchuan leaned against a pillar beside her: “Did the curse take effect?”

He crouched down, and from this angle, the tangled chains looked like a massive spider web.

“Halfway…” Mo Wanqing pouted, her tone tinged with regret.

“Lin Mingxi was hit, but Su Fu… the curse had no effect, like hitting cotton.”

“Probably some divine skill that controls luck, allowing her to dodge it,” Jiang Linchuan mused.

“Su Fu is just too outrageous.”

“Up until now, she’s summoned five deities. Including this time, at least six in total.”

“Divine skills are probably as numerous as a treasure chest.”

Mo Wanqing sighed, who could argue with that?

“But now, things are different.”

“Their team’s quite useful prophet teammate has already been controlled. I wonder what she’s going to do?”

Neither of them was worried about being discovered by Su Fu.

After all, curse skills come and go without a trace; it’s impossible to know who did it.

Moreover, at this point, could she really spare the effort to trouble them?

“She’s probably quite worried now,” Mo Wanqing said, her eyes scanning the surroundings cautiously.

“If she doesn’t save Lin Mingxi, Lin Mingxi will surely harbor resentment, and the cooperation of the Seven Highs will be directly halved.”

She paused for a moment: “But if she goes to save him, she’ll be testing just how strong this guardian is for us!”

“You said this exam is really outrageous.”

“Anyway, no matter how you calculate it, we don’t lose.” Jiang Linchuan smiled,

“Let’s just wait and watch the show.”

High above the ruins of the Heavenly Prison, a thick, rusted chain spanned between two towers.

Pi Chu Xi leaned against the chain, looking down at everything below.

His right eye, activated by Odin’s divine power, took in the entire situation on the field.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, they’re here already, moving so fast.”

“I told you, you can’t be too showy, right? Otherwise, you become the target, and everyone wants to take a shot at you.” Suddenly, Fang Bo Han’s figure appeared beside him.

Hermes’ divine agility was especially adept at navigating such dangerous terrain. “Tragic, tragic,” he squatted on the chain, shaking his head with interest.

“In the past, such tactics were used against the Four Highs.”

“Fortunately, we held back in the last exam,” Pi Chu Xi’s eyes swirled with runes.

“Otherwise, we’d be the ones being targeted now.”

“But seriously,” Fang Bo Han stared at the trapped Lin Mingxi in the distance,

“I’m quite curious, what is Su Fu going to do?”

Both of them were smart and quite adept at cunning schemes, almost instantly figuring out the intentions of the people behind it.

“Either don’t save him, or be the cannon fodder,” Pi Chu Xi said casually.

At that moment, he suddenly saw something interesting, his expression immediately becoming animated, and he didn’t forget to say: “No matter which she chooses, Su Fu is going to bleed today.”

“Little Fang, stop looking, I’ve got a big discovery here!”

“Go to hell, Little Fang! If I call you Little Pi, would you dare to answer?”

“Hey!”

***

But Su Fu laughed.

“Playing dirty, huh?”

“Who can’t do that!”

[Heart of a Hundred Birds] skill activated!

Suddenly, the crows circling in the sky changed their flight trajectory as if they were manipulated puppets.

Su Fu controlled the excellent aerial view, then manipulated the crows: “Charge!”

“Wherever there are people, charge there!”

Two crows immediately dispersed, frantically diving towards every suspicious corner.

They flapped their wings, emitting sharp cries, like a group of traitors shouting: “Guardian! Over here! Look here, someone’s hiding!”

Did they really think she couldn’t do anything just because she didn’t know who did it?

Since I can’t find you, then all of you come out!

The crows had excellent vision, and their diving movements were fast.

Before the examinees could quietly escape, they had already emitted sharp cries.

Almost instantly, one place after another erupted with exclamations of shock.

“Get lost!”

“Are you crazy!”

“Help!”

Crows were flying everywhere, cawing wildly whenever they reached a place with people, then swiftly moving on to the next spot.

Curses erupted from all directions, and even Mo Wanqing and Jiang Linchuan from the Eighth High were quickly exposed.

The examinees were utterly dumbfounded. “Su Fu, you’re really a lunatic!”

“You’re not doing anything human!”

Even from the higher grounds, curses from examinees could be heard, especially from Fang Bo Han, who had to leap away from the chains, his figure flashing in mid-air, but the crows were still hot on his trail, constantly reporting his new location.

Fang Bo Han: “….”

Pi Chu Xi immediately summoned the Eternal Spear, but almost simultaneously, a sharp screech echoed above his head, as if saying, “Guardian! Someone’s over here!”

“Alright, so this is how you want to play, huh?”

Su Fu watched the chaos among the examinees and smiled. “Expose my teammates? Then let’s all go down together!”

Finally, the Guardian moved.

At that moment, it felt as if the entire Heavenly Prison had come to a standstill.

The Guardian slowly raised his hand, the bronze armor emitting a low rumble.

An invisible pressure descended, far heavier than when it first appeared!

Everyone immediately felt that they could barely muster a third of their divine power!

“Charge! We can’t wait any longer!”

Pi Chu Xi was the first to react.

Odin’s Eternal Spear roared through the air, thrusting straight toward the Guardian!

But the Guardian simply raised his hand lightly.

“Snap “

Bronze chains shot through the air, splitting and extending like living creatures.

Pi Chu Xi’s Eternal Spear was instantly entangled, the sturdy divine artifact dissipating in the face of the chains!

“What?!” Pi Chu Xi pupils constricted violently.

In the next moment, the chains had already wrapped around his waist, tightening instantly.

Pi Chu Xi let out a muffled groan and was yanked away, crashing heavily into the wall.

Immediately after, Fang Bo Han was also ensnared by the chains, along with Lin Mingxi from the beginning.

With a single move, the Guardian had captured three!

The others panicked.

If even Pi Chu Xi couldn’t win, they stood no chance.

“Run! Run now!”

Mo Wanqing frantically pulled out a magic talisman, but before she could use it, a whooshing sound came from behind.

“Snap “

It was the chains!

“What the hell is this monster?!” she screamed in despair, then was instantly dragged away.

Jiang Linchuan’s defensive barrier was as fragile as paper.

The chains easily pierced through his protection, dragging another one away!

In an instant, screams of panic filled the air from all directions.

Some tried to hide behind broken walls, only to be dragged out through the cracks by the chains.

Others attempted to escape using the terrain of the ruins, but before they knew it, chains had descended from above.

“Damn it!”

“How are we supposed to fight this?!”

In the blink of an eye, most of the examinees on the field had been dragged away by the chains, locked up like dead dogs.

But there were also quite a few clever examinees who, instead of running around, took advantage of the chaos to quietly find new hiding spots.

Those chains were just too bizarre; you couldn’t outrun them, and you couldn’t fight them.

Rather than running around aimlessly, it was better to hide.

If you can’t fight, can’t you at least hide?

But just then, an examinee hiding in the shadows of the ruins suddenly felt a wave of scorching heat sweep past overhead.

“Whoosh “

He looked up and saw a dazzling trail of fire streak past him.

“Holy crap! What kind of wheel is that? It can fly?!”

Su Fu, riding her Wind-Fire Wheels, swept past the spot where he was hiding, of course leaving something behind.

Leaving a strikingly conspicuous trail of flames in the air, the intense light instantly illuminated the candidates who had been hiding well.

The candidate:”……”

In their ears, Su Fu’s encouragement still echoed: “Come on, everyone! Run hard! I’ll go ahead!”

More than one was unlucky.

Su Fu flew everywhere, leaving trails of fire everywhere, exposing candidates everywhere.

Everyone was breaking down.

“Damn it!”

“Su Fu, you lunatic!”

“Get out! Get far away!”

“Someone get this maniac down!”

Everyone was furious.

Why run when you were hiding so well?

“Get out!”

“Alright~” Su Fu cheerfully agreed, “Then I’ll go far away, you guys keep it up!”

Su Fu dashed away in a flash, but she also attracted the attention of the Guardian.

He slowly turned his deep blue eyes, as if appraising cabbages on a shelf.

The next moment, countless chains unfolded behind him, pouring down like a torrential rain.

“Snap!”

“Snap!”

“Crack!”

The crisp sounds of chains tightening echoed one after another, as one candidate after another was bound.

Take them all away!

Su Mo maneuvered her wind and fire wheels to escape, watching the candidates behind her being neatly bound by the chains like packaged dumplings.

She shook her head: “Tsk tsk tsk, you guys are a bit too weak, huh? Just lying down without even struggling when bound by chains?”

“Youth indeed, sleep comes so easily!”

“You bastard!” Mo Wanqing struggled to get up, but the chains immediately tightened, turning her face pale, “You try it! This damn thing directly suppresses divine power!”

Su Fu’s eyes lit up: “Oh? So it suppresses divine power, huh?”

“Shut up!” Jiang Linchuan roared in desperation,

“Why did you remind her!”

“It’s over, it’s over,” someone curled up under the chains wailed, “This is the legendary ‘dead at the start,’ someone save the kids…”

The Guardian continued diligently capturing people, like tying cabbages, his wrist flicking lightly, and another string of candidates was bound by chains.

He glanced at Su Fu, who was darting around in the air, the blue light in his eyes flickering.

The fast ones would be caught later, they’d all be taken away eventually.

No big deal.

Then another string of candidates was bound by chains.

But Su Fu noticed something was wrong.

She had already run far away with her wind and fire wheels, so theoretically, she should be out of the chains’ range of influence.

Yet the circulation of divine power within her was still sluggish, as if bound by some invisible force.

“Something’s not right…” she stared at the incredibly agile chains, “It’s not the chains suppressing divine power.”

Then it must be… the Guardian himself?

Does he have some kind of rule suppression on him?

But one thing is certain, the chains are indeed the best weapon against us candidate prisoners.

Almost all candidates are completely controlled upon contact with the chains, unable to resist.

But if the chains aren’t suppressing divine power, then what are they suppressing?

Su Fu pondered: “Is it the power of rules?”

Not good, why is this dungeon full of rules everywhere?

But then again, that candidate earlier was clearly misleading her, right?

Saying the chains suppress divine power, but it turns out it’s not, but some kind of rule suppression that renders them immobile.

If she hadn’t tested it herself, she probably would have been fooled too.

Su Fu sighed: “Wow, that’s too cunning.”

Just to trick a simple girl like her?

Her teammate reacted quickly, instantly responding in sync.

In that moment, it was likely that all the other examinees were misled.

It’s true even if she were caught, she’d want her opponents to be caught too.

However, since there was an examinee holding back the Warden, she could seize the opportunity to rescue Lin Mingxi.

Lin Mingxi had initially been locked at the very front, enduring the strongest suppression.

But now, whenever a stronger examinee was captured, the Warden would push the weaker ones further back, locking them in the rear.

So far, Lin Mingxi had already been moved to the middle section.

The Warden seemed to be sorting the prisoners according to some rule, and during the gaps when positions were swapped-

“That’s the chance!”

Just then, a weak voice suddenly echoed in her mind: “B-Boss…”

“Save me… wuwuwu!”

Su Fu’s eyes lit up: “Lin Mingxi?”

“Wuwuwu, I can finally use [Wisdom Revelation] to contact you, Boss,” Lin Mingxi’s voice was tearful.

“Earlier, when I was locked at the front, my divine power was completely suppressed. Now that I’ve been moved to the middle, I can finally use my skills!”

“How are you feeling now? Can you still hold on?”

Su Fu quickly asked about his condition:

“Tell me in detail how you’re feeling right now. It’s important!”

“Wuwuwu, Boss,” Lin Mingxi’s voice was choked with sobs, speaking intermittently,

“The closer I get to the Warden… it’s like my divine power is being crushed… It’s like there’s an invisible domain… the closer you are, the stronger the suppression…”

“A domain?” Su Fu narrowed her eyes.

Was that even possible?

The Warden had its own domain?!

“The chains are covered in rule runes,” Lin Mingxi’s tone was filled with fear.

“The moment you touch them, it’s like you’re locked by the power of rules-you can’t move at all. And… and…”

“And what?”

“It can even force us to obey the rules!” Lin Mingxi’s voice was trembling.

“It’s like… like we’ve been programmed… there’s no way to resist!”

That was the reason they couldn’t escape on their own.

Suppressed by the rules, unable to resist.

And for the more powerful examinees, the Warden doubled down, using its own domain to suppress their divine power, ensuring no divine skill could counter the rules of the chains.

This explanation sent a chill down Su Fu’s spine.

As a prophet, Lin Mingxi had an extensive knowledge base, which allowed him to interpret various vague and hard-to-understand prophetic messages.

If he said so, it was almost certainly true, and it aligned with her own suspicions.

“Rules.”

That was the core of this exam.

But…

It still felt like something was missing.

Just then, Jiang Qingyu’s calm voice also echoed in her mind: “I saw something earlier.”

“From the moment the exam started, I took the high ground and observed the entire process of the Warden’s appearance.”

“It emerged from the center of the mist,” Jiang Qingyu’s voice was grave.

“The moment the mist cleared, I saw… the shadow of a massive prison.”

Su Fu’s pupils constricted sharply.